TMZ Sports - Page 12

The Super Bowl halftime show is being protected at all costs ... with organizers blaring rock music outside SoFi Stadium during rehearsals to keep the highly-anticipated performance under wraps.

Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Eminem have been perfecting their 12-minute set with the big game just days away ... and TMZ Sports has learned anyone within earshot isn't hearing any of it, thanks to a pretty clever plan.

We're told the stadium has been playing music like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Jovi over the speakers to cover up the actual tunes that will be performed on Sunday ... in hopes of keeping everything top secret.

Of course, there are several residential neighborhoods right outside SoFi ... and if it weren't for the decoy music, there's a great chance some secrets would start to leak.

One downside -- we're told some folks living close to the stadium aren't too pleased with hearing "Livin' On A Prayer" while tucking their kids into bed ... as the rehearsals have been going on late into the night.

Fans have been hoping for even the smallest of tidbits about the show ... but it sure seems tougher than ever to get anything before the show.

There is one thing we know about the performance -- MJB has been teasing how epic it is ... saying the whole set gave her goosebumps.

Matt James now owes a golf photographer far more than just a bunch of roses ... 'cause the former 'Bachelor' star nailed the dude with an errant tee shot at a Pro-Am event in Arizona on Wednesday, nearly hitting the guy in his family jewels!!!

The hilarious (and terrifying!) scene all went down at the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am ... when James stepped to the tee box barefoot at the world-famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale to try to win some money for charity.

Matt was gunning to be the closest to the pin on the par-3 ... but you can see in the video, he had trouble even getting the ball off the ground.

His first hack was terrible -- he got nothing but grass and dirt -- and then he shanked his second swing so badly, it went 15 yards to the right and drilled a camera guy right in the thigh.

James was super sorry for the miss ... he ran over immediately and gave the guy a hug and offered him the golf ball as an apology souvenir.

The man, meanwhile, said, thankfully, he was OK.

"We came within centimeters of causing some real damage," James said of the shot. "I'm going to try to find him. I'm going to sign this ball for him. And I'm going to take him out to dinner."

Added the photog, "He felt bad. I felt it ... Next year, I'm wearing a cup."

Might be necessary, 'cause James said he intends to come back in 2023 for redemption.

Iowa born athlete Kurt Warner was thrust into the spotlight his very first year as a starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams as he led the offense on what was called "The Greatest Show On Turf" ... which culminated in their win over the Tennessee Titans (23-16) at Super Bowl XXXIV and even scored Warner the honor of being named Super Bowl MVP.

The Lombardi Trophy-winning offense was packed with high-profile platers including running Hall Of Famer Marshall Faulk and the clutch catching wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

Warner's success was so inspiring his story was made into a film in 2021 called 'American Underdog.'

Ex-MLB player Jeremy Giambi -- who played in the MLB from 1998 to 2003 -- has passed away, TMZ Sports has learned. He was 47 years old.

Giambi played for the Royals, Athletics, Phillies, and Red Sox over the course of his career ... earning a .263 batting average and hitting 52 home runs and 209 runs batted in.

His best season came in 2002, when he played in 124 games and hit 20 homers.

The A's issued a statement on Jeremy's death, saying ... "We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of a member of our Green and Gold family, Jeremy Giambi. We offer our condolences to Jeanne, Jason, and his family and friends."

Jeremy is the brother of Jason -- the American League MVP in 2000, who played for the Athletics, Yankees, Rockies and Indians.

Giambi was portrayed in the 2011 Brad Pitt flick "Moneyball" ... and was played by actor Nick Porrazzo. His character was depicted as a partier and disruption during his time with the A's ... and a scene shows him eventually being traded to the Phillies.

Giambi was part of the most memorable baseball moments of the past few decades ... when Derek Jeter made a spectacular play to throw him out at home plate in the 2001 American League Divisional Series.

RIP.

NFL star Jonathan Allen -- one of the best defenders in the league -- apologized Wednesday afternoon for saying he wanted to have dinner with Hitler ... calling the comment "dumb."

The Washington Commanders' defensive lineman tweeted early Wednesday morning that if he could choose any three people to dine with -- dead or alive -- one of them would be Hitler.

In now-deleted tweets, Allen explained he'd pick Hitler as a guest because the football player said the German dictator was "a military genius."

"I love military tactics," said Allen, who added that his other two guests would be his grandfather and Michael Jackson, "but honestly I would want to pick his brain as to why he did what he did."

Allen was immediately hit with criticism following the comments ... and it didn't take long for the 27-year-old to issue a mea culpa.

"Early I tweeted something that probably hurt people and I apologize about what I said," Allen said on Twitter. "I didn't express properly what I was trying to say and I realize it was dumb!"

Allen also responded to a fan who said his comments were hurtful ... writing in a tweet to the person, "I'm sorry I offended you that definitely was not my attention, I was just answering a question."

Roger Goodell says the NFL will re-evaluate its hiring process rules in the wake of the Brian Flores lawsuit ... telling media members Wednesday, "We want to see Black head coaches in the NFL."

Goodell addressed the media in person for the first time since Flores alleged teams have been racist when it comes to hiring coaches -- and the commissioner made it clear the league is taking the claims seriously.

Goodell, who spoke at length with reporters in front of SoFi Stadium ahead of Super Bowl LVI, said they're going to look at everything from top to bottom to make sure the NFL has an equal hiring process.

"We want to see Black head coaches in the NFL," Goodell said. "And coaches of people of color, and eventually gender. That we think is all important."

Goodell said the league will look at the Rooney Rule -- which requires teams to interview minority candidates for vacant head coaching roles -- and will consider abolishing it if he thinks it'll help lead to more diverse hirings.

Goodell also said they'll look into adding and removing policies in an attempt to ensure teams are being all-inclusive in their searches for coaches.

"We're going to talk to other people -- have independent people come in and look and help us evaluate it -- because it's sometimes hard to evaluate your own policies and procedures," Goodell said. "And make sure that we're doing everything that we possibly can to create that opportunity for everybody to make sure that we are an inclusive league and make sure we get the outcomes that we want."

The NFL currently has just two Black head coaches -- Houston's Lovie Smith and Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin. Former 49ers coordinator Mike McDaniel -- who is bi-racial -- was also hired by the Dolphins last week.

Forget jinxes -- the mayor of Cincinnati is so confident the Bengals will beat the Rams in the Super Bowl this Sunday, he already started planning their championship parade!!

Aftab Pureval joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" before the city's big matchup against Los Angeles ... and he said he's been in constant communication with fellow mayor Eric Garcetti and having some friendly fun ahead of the matchup.

"We talked about maybe changing the name of Los Angeles to L-O-S-S Angeles," Pureval joked ... adding they even discussed putting a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame if Cincy pulls off the upset.

FYI -- Aftab has been successful in his bets with other mayors throughout the playoffs ... the Bengals defeated the Titans and Chiefs on their way to the Super Bowl, so he's already stacked up some bragging rights so far.

With all that success, it's no wonder Pureval is already figuring out all the details for the city's celebration ... and he ain't worried about potentially cursing the Bengals in the process.

Greg Robinson -- the #2 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft -- has been arrested again ... after cops say they found the former Cleveland Browns tackle was in possession of $120,000 worth of illegal drugs.

According to the Thibodaux Police Department in Louisiana, Robinson was pulled over on Monday at around 12 AM for a routine traffic stop.

Cops say a Police K-9 smelled an odor of drugs coming from inside of the football player's 2021 Black Cadillac Escalade ... and when they searched it, they say they found suspected cocaine, suspected crack cocaine and much more.

The officers say the stop led them to search Robinson's properties in the area, and they claim they found more illegal narcotics at those residences.

In total, cops say they found pounds of what appeared to be crystal meth, cocaine, weed and more at the homes. They also say they found firearm magazines and ammunition. They said in a statement they believed it all had a wholesale value of approximately $120,810.

Robinson was arrested and booked on a litany of charges, including felony possession with intent to distribute cocaine and felony possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.

Jail records show the 29-year-old is still behind bars.

You'll recall, this is not the first time Robinson has been accused of being in possession of a large amount of illegal drugs ... the offensive lineman was arrested back in Feb. 2020 after he allegedly had 157 pounds of marijuana in his car.

Robinson was eventually sentenced to 5 years of probation in that case.

Olympic skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin's BF, Aleksander Kilde, is doing everything in his power to keep his GF's spirits up ... after she suffered yet another devastating loss at the Olympics on Wednesday.

Kilde -- an Olympic skiing star himself -- posted a photo of Mikaela sitting on the mountain, head down, along with a touching note to his girlfriend ... after she was disqualified for missing a gate and skiing off the course during the competition.

"When you look at this picture you can make up so many statements, meanings and thoughts," Aleksander wrote.

"Most of you probably look at it saying: 'she has lost it', 'she can’t handle the pressure' or 'what happened?' ... Which makes me frustrated, because all I see is a top athlete doing what a top athlete does!"

He continued ... "It’s a part of the game and it happens. The pressure we all put on individuals in the sports are enormous, so let’s give the same amount of support back.. It’s all about the balance and we are just normal human beings!!"

"I love you Kaela"

The 26-year-old -- regarded by many as the greatest skier in the world -- is off to a rocky start in Beijing ... earning 2 DQ's. In fact, it's the first time that's happened since 2011 ... when she was a teenager.

Shiffrin recently appeared on "Today" and opened up about the death of her father, who died after suffering a severe head injury.

She says the tragedy made her contemplate walking away from the sport she's been competing in her entire life.

Mikaela -- who's expected to participate in three more events at the Games -- was thankful for her man's support.

Want to see another up-close look at Shaquille O'Neal's nasty feet?!

Neither did we, but the L.A. Lakers legend decided to show them off anyway on the "NBA on TNT" broadcast on Tuesday night -- and, yup, they're still gross as hell.

The Big Diesel gave the look at his gnarly feet during a pregame segment with Dwyane Wade, Adam Lefkoe and Candace Parker ... and EVERYBODY on the set was super grossed out.

Lefkoe noted the ash ... while Wade said the guy needed some Gold Bond STAT.

But, Shaq decided to take the grossness to a whole 'nother level ... saying, "First of all, that's not ash. That's dry skin!"

Wade and Lefkoe were so traumatized by it all ... they made a hilarious skit about their recovery.

Of course, this is far from the first time Shaq's proudly showed off his nasty tootsies ... he's put them on TV before and all over his social media.

Authorities in the UK have confirmed to TMZ Sports that Kurt Zouma's cats have been taken from the soccer star after he was seen on video kicking and slapping the animals.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals tells us the two cats were taken this week ... as it continues to investigate the footballer for animal abuse.

"The two cats are now in RSPCA care," a spokesperson for the RSPCA said in a statement. "Our priority is and has always been the wellbeing of these cats."

"They've been taken for a check-up at a vet and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues."

As we reported, 27-year-old Zouma was seen on video, obtained by The Sun, kicking a cat across the floor over the weekend. He was also seen in the footage slapping a cat.

Zouma -- a member of the French national team -- apologized for his actions following the video's release ... saying there are "no excuses" for his behavior.

He added that the cats were "perfectly fine" and said that this would never happen again.

Despite the horrifying video, Zouma's West Ham team still allowed him to play in its game Tuesday -- and reporters on the scene said he was booed nearly every time he touched the ball.

Fall back, Neil Young ... Joe Rogan's plenty capable of ripping himself, and is openly questioning why anyone would take medical advice from the freakin' host of "Fear Factor."

Rogan was onstage Tuesday night in Austin doing stand-up, and dug into his recent podcast controversies ... saying he was disgusted seeing the compilation video of his repeated, uncensored use of the n-word.

Rogan told the crowd -- whose phones were locked to block all recordings -- "That was racist as f**k. Even to me! I’m me and I’m watching it saying, ‘Stop saying it!’ I put my cursor over the video and I’m like, ‘Four more minutes?!'”

He was even more self-deprecating when it came to the COVID-19/anti-vaxx criticisms ... saying he's completely unqualified to offer medical advice.

He's made the point before, but this was more biting -- “If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb s**t were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better? ‘You know that dude who made people eat animal dicks on TV? How does he feel about medicine?’ If you want my advice, don’t take my advice.”

A former fitness influencer sold bogus meal plans to a ton of people dealing with eating disorders -- so says the State of Texas, anyway ... which is taking her to court.

The woman’s name is Brittany Dawn Davis, and she’s being sued by the Texas Attorney General’s Office for what they claim was an outright scam perpetrated on scores of women between the years of 2014 and 2019 ... when she’s alleged to have dished out countless meal and exercise regimens that were the opposite of personalized and safe.

Per the lawsuit, Davis sold herself as someone who overcame an eating disorder with proper workouts and healthy eating ... which prosecutors say led to countless people soliciting her services to do the same. Except, instead of getting personalized advice that would help them ... the Texas AG claims she fed ‘em BS, in the form of super low-calorie diets that were actually detrimental to a lot of those who actually needed to put on weight.

Davis is also alleged to have responded to people who emailed or DM'd her with cookie-cutter messages, like "You’re killing it!" and a bunch of hype lines that hardly addressed the specific needs of each client. Plus, a lot of her ex-customers claim she’d often fall off the face of the earth after just one or two interactions ... even though the AG says many signed on with the expectation of regular one-on-one consultations.

S*** hit the fan for Davis in 2019 when the backlash became so big she finally had to address it on camera ... offering a tearful apology and vowing to make things right. Unfortunately, it sounds like it was too little, too late for the AG.

The State of Texas is asking for damages of up to a million bucks ... citing what it calls false, misleading or deceptive practices.

Eric Musselman is a man of his word -- the Razorbacks head coach partied shirtless after a HUGE upset win over #1-ranked Auburn on Tuesday night ... and it was epic!!

Here's the deal -- Muss met with a group of Arkansas students outside Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville before the game ... and was asked if he would do a topless celebration if they knocked off the top team in the country.

Not only did coach make the promise, he kept it after Arkansas knocked off Auburn, 80-76 ... ripping his shirt off and celebrating like crazy!!

Check out the video, Muss was the center of attention, dancing, and having fun ... all while wearing a shoulder brace.

In case you were wondering, Eric is wearing that sling due to shoulder surgery he had to repair a torn rotator cuff in January.

But, somehow, the guy managed to back up his end of the deal despite the injury ... and thanked local officials for allowing him to rage peacefully with the crowd.

"Can’t thank these two enough for letting me celebrate with our fans tonight! Detective Ramirez & Sargent Robertson appreciate you both! #HogYeah," Muss wrote on Twitter.

Eminem is headed to L.A. to perform in the Super Bowl halftime show, but he's not coming empty-handed ... he's bringing grub from his super popular restaurant, Mom's Spaghetti.

The restaurant is killing it in Detroit, and now Los Angelenos and people visiting the City of Angels can sample Em's fare at a pop-up shop in DTLA.

The shop opens Wednesday, Feb 9 and shuts down after game day. For folks who don't want to venture to Downtown L.A., they can order exclusively on Postmates with free delivery for orders over $20. Pickup will also be available from Uncle Paulie's Deli DTLA location.

Eminem opened his 'Mom's Spaghetti' brick-and-mortar restaurant in his hometown back in September. The menu is inspired by the rapper's lyrics in "Lose Yourself" ... Spaghetti with Toasted Garlic Bread, Spaghetti with Beef or Vegan Meatball, and a S'ghetti Sandwich (which is literally a piece of Eminem's childhood).

“It’s not the kind of pasta you’d expect if your grandma came from Italy on a boat … it’s more like the spaghetti you’d know if your mom came from Michigan on a bus,” says Mom’s Spaghetti co-owner Curt Catallo.

Christmas wrapped up nearly two months ago, but Floyd Mayweather still did his best Santa impression outside of the Lakers game on Tuesday night ... doling out $100 bills to kids!

It was a super generous act for the legendary boxer ... who said, "I'm all about giving back to the kids" as he forked over cash to youngsters who were trying to sell candy bars at Crypto.com Arena.

In total, Floyd handed over $400 or $500 to the kids ... and he didn't blink an eye parting ways with the money -- adding, "The kids out here selling candy, they ain't doing nothing wrong."

Floyd then promised to repeat the gesture "every time" he sees them at the games going forward.

It should be noted ... Mayweather did not take any candy in return for the cash, a sign that he's taking his upcoming exhibition match later this month pretty dang seriously.