TMZ Sports - Page 14

Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Cine has officially begun his road to recovery after suffering a horrific leg injury in a game on Sunday -- the team just announced he's undergone successful surgery to fix his compound fracture.

Cine sustained the gruesome injury while playing against the Saints in London -- and it was bad. He came down awkwardly on his left leg while trying to make a block ... and a bone in his lower leg snapped in half.

WARNING -- video of the play is hard to watch.

The injury was so bad ... Cine stayed overseas to receive medical care, but on Tuesday, the Vikings said the Cleveland Clinic London's Dr. Aswinkumar Vasireddy operated on him -- and, thankfully, everything went smoothly and he should return home soon.

"We look forward to welcoming Lewis back to Minnesota to be around his teammates and coaches," the Vikings said in a statement, "and begin the rehabilitation process with the Vikings medical staff in the very near future."

Cine was the Vikings' first-round pick in this year's NFL draft. He had played in three games for the team this season.

Jim Redmond -- the man who famously helped his injured son, Derek Redmond, finish a race at the 1992 Olympics -- has died at 81 years old.

The Olympic Games confirmed Jim's passing on Tuesday, tweeting, "Our thoughts are with Derek Redmond and his family following the death of his father, Jim."

"Together, they brought us one of the most inspirational moments in Olympic history."

A cause of death was not revealed.

Jim famously came to his son's aid at the '92 Barcelona Games after Derek suffered a devastating hamstring injury in the middle of the 400-meter semifinal race.

Derek, while clearly too injured to run, began hobbling to the finish line -- and, after a few agonizing moments, Jim came down from his seat in the stands, pushed aside security guards and ran onto the track to help him finish the race.

Jim held Derek's left hand as the track star made his way to the end -- and the two shared an emotional brace, with Derek fighting back tears as his father hugged him.

In a 2012 interview with BBC, Derek admitted his hamstrings felt tight before the race and said he could barely walk after the injury, but his father told him they would finish together.

"He tried to talk me out of it at first," Derek told the outlet. "He was telling me that I had nothing to prove and that I didn't need to do this, but I told him I was going to finish."

"Then he said that we would do it together."

There's a lot Kayvon Thibodeaux could've done on his off day, but the New York Giants star rookie decided to take a mini road trip, traveling two hours to fill boxes at a food bank, all to help people in need.

The #5 overall pick even brought his mom, Shawnta Loice, along to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, about 120 miles south of the Giants' home.

The 21-year-old outside linebacker, sporting his Giants cap, stacked boxes with cans and cans of Campbell's soup ... before signing autographs for all who helped lend a hand.

The food drive is part of the ‘Chunky Sacks Hunger’ program ... recently launched by Campbell's. The soup company, a longtime NFL sponsor, is aiming to "fight food insecurity and donate one million meals to people in need".

Several NFL star defensive players are also participating in the program this season including Ravens' Calais Campbell, Bengals' Sam Hubbard, and Eagles' Jordan Davis.

"Fueling people through nutritious meals is embedded in Chunky’s DNA," Gary Mazur, Campbell Soup exec. said in September.

"In today’s world, where many continue to face hunger, we’re proud to launch Chunky Sacks Hunger and help bring more attention to this issue, while serving our partner communities through our pledge of donating one million meals."

FYI, Thibodeaux -- who's off to a nice start after missing the first two games of a season with a leg injury -- has his own charity called The Jream Foundation ... which helps underprivileged kids get the help they need.

KT also donated $50k to a dog organization in exchange for Graham Gano's number 5 Giants jersey.

If you're a big fan of Adele's hit song, "Hello," you may wanna say "goodbye" to F1 stars Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly ... 'cause the AlphaTauri drivers sang a horrendous rendition of the ballad this week -- and it's hilarious!!

Gasly shared the footage fresh off the Singapore GP ... showing the friends/teammates absolutely butchering the 2015 tune at a karaoke studio in Tokyo.

Both guys do their best at belting the challenging chorus ... but let's be honest, they're both better behind the wheel than a mic.

It was all in good fun, though ... as Yuki and Pierre couldn't help but smile throughout the teammate bonding.

The Singapore GP was a bummer for Tsunoda, who didn't finish the race. Gasly finished 10th.

Yuki and Pierre are pretty much inseparable ... and have gotten pretty close during their time with AlphaTauri.

Nice to see they were quick to turn things around and have a bit of R&R before the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.

Tom Brady admits he never imagined his son, Jack, would follow his footsteps and have a football career ... but he says watching his 15-year-old compete is "one of the great highlights in my life."

Jack -- Brady's son with actress Bridget Moynahan -- is currently playing high school ball as a free safety and quarterback (go figure) ... and while there could be a TON of pressure having the GOAT for a father, the Buccaneers superstar says that's not the case.

"I don't give a s*** how well he does," Brady said on his "Let's Go!" podcast with Jim Gray and Larry Fitzgerald. "I just love watching him and seeing him enjoy it with his friends."

BTW -- Jack hit up one of Brady's games recently ... and that kid is certainly growing up quickly!!

"I think one of the great highlights of my life is watching him play," Brady added. "I love watching him dig deep."

Brady says it's "so much fun" to check out Jack's games ... and believes the kid is already a better athlete than he was at 15.

"I love watching him playing quarterback," Tom said. "He's a very good athlete, great hand-eye coordination. He actually moves better than I did at his age."

Jack's football interest was clear when he hit up Bucs training camp in 2021 ... serving as a ball boy for a bit.

Brady quipped that he's mostly a one-trick pony when it comes to life skills ... but if there's one thing he can help Jack with, it's playing the QB position.

"I don't have a lot of specialties in life other than throwing the football," he said. "He's way smarter. He's got a great work ethic. He's just a great kid."

"But I can definitely help him at quarterback. That's one thing I'd say I can definitely help him with in the future."

A woman says ex-NFL star and "pro-life" Senate candidate Herschel Walker paid for her abortion back in 2009, an allegation the football-player-turned-politician calls "a flat-out lie" ... but Walker's son, Christian, is now also putting him on blast.

According to The Daily Beast, the woman -- who did not want to be ID'ed publicly "out of privacy concerns" -- became pregnant with Walker's child in 2009. She claims a short time later, Walker asked her to get an abortion. She told the outlet she went through with it, and Walker funded the entire thing.

The Daily Beast says the woman provided it with an abortion clinic receipt for $575, a "get well" card that Walker allegedly penned to her -- as well as "a bank deposit receipt that included an image of a signed $700 personal check from Walker."

Herschel, though, said the claims are complete BS -- writing in a statement shortly after the outlet published the article, "I deny this in the strongest possible terms."

"It's disgusting, gutter politics," said Walker, a Republican who's gunning to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock in next month's midterm elections in Georgia.

"I'm not taking this anymore," he added. "I planning to sue the Daily Beast for this defamatory lie."

Walker's son, Christian, a conservative, posted a video shortly after his dad's denial accusing the 60-year-old of, among other things, threatening to kill him and his family in the past.

"I know my mom and I would really appreciate if my father Herschel Walker stopped lying and making a mockery of us," Christian Walker said on his Twitter page. "You're not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence."

He added, "I don't care about someone who has a bad past and takes accountability. But how DARE YOU LIE and act as though you’re some 'moral, Christian, upright man.' You've lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives. How dare you."

Herschel said in a tweet of his own following Christian's, "I LOVE my son no matter what."

Antonio Brown ruthlessly went after his old buddy, Tom Brady, during the quarterback's reported rough patch with Gisele Bündchen ... trolling TB12 by posting an old pic of him hugging the supermodel after the Super Bowl.

AB -- who once lived with Brady and Gisele after joining the Patriots and Buccaneers -- has seemingly turned on the 7-time champ as his marriage appears to be on thin ice.

Brown didn't go into detail on the reason behind his post -- his caption only referenced his viral rap song, "Put That S*** On."

The relationship between the two ex-teammates has seemingly deteriorated since his shirtless exit from the Bucs last season ... despite Brady going out on a limb and vouching for AB to get him in New England and Tampa Bay.

Brown has shaded Brady on numerous occasions since their split ... and even went after him for spending time away from the team during training camp.

"Tom Brady manipulate the game gets 14 days go home get his mind rt lol," Brown tweeted at the time. "Now u see the difference. Put that s*** on."

Brown's pic was seen as distasteful in some eyes ... and drew criticism from NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe, who called him a "clown."

Brown -- who remains team-less since his outburst at MetLife Stadium -- found himself in more hot water over the weekend after a video surfaced of him appearing to expose himself to a woman in a pool in Dubai earlier this year.

Tiffany Jackson -- a former WNBA player and Texas Longhorns legend -- has passed away after her battle with cancer, her alma mater confirmed.

She was only 37.

The Texas women's basketball team announced the devastating news Monday evening, saying the former UT forward -- who was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in 2015 -- died from the disease.

"Tiffany had a great career and was an impact player," her former UT coach Jody Conradt said.

"She was recognized for her all-around game and the fact that she was tremendously mobile and could play multiple positions. She was beloved by teammates, and we share in the sadness of her passing."

Jackson was a hoops star in high school, winning a state title and Gatorade's Player of the Year award.

The awards didn't stop after high school ... during her four years at UT ('03 to '07), she won ESPN's National Freshman Of The Year award and became the only person at the school to record a combined 1,000 points, 1,0000 rebounds, 300 steals, and 150 blocks.

Jackson was selected 5th overall in the 2007 WNBA Draft and went on to play for the New York Liberty, Tulsa Shock and Los Angeles Sparks during her 9-year career.

After retiring in 2018, she re-joined the Longhorns as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team. Then, in April of this year, she got a head coaching gig ... when she was named the HC at Wiley College.

"I know she was so excited to be the head coach at Wiley College for the upcoming season," UT current head coach Vic Schaefer said.

"She will be sorely missed by so many. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family."

Several WNBA players paid tribute to Jackson, including Tamika Catchings, who called her "absolutely amazing."

"Going to miss her smile, presence and heart for others."

The scales of justice may collide with a different set of scales, because 2 fishermen who were caught red-handed cheating to win nearly 29k in a fishing competition are now in the crosshairs of the law.

Chase Cominski and Jake Runyan -- who allegedly stuffed their winning catch with weights  -- are in big trouble. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office in Ohio tells TMZ, "My staff will be meeting with officers from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources today regarding the matter. I take all crime seriously, including attempted felony theft at a fishing tournament."

Prosecutor Michael O'Malley added, "These individuals will be held accountable."

Cominski and Runyan seemingly won Friday's competition with 2, 7-pound walleyes ... but there were suspicions, so the fish was cut open. That's when everyone saw the fish were stuffed with lead weights and fish fillets ... nearly doubling their actual weight.

These guys had a history of winning these competitions, and their competitors were pissed. You hear the outrage from the crowd.

Runyan was asked on camera if he had anything to say for himself, but he was mum.

Rams star Bobby Wagner gave security guards a hell of an assist during "Monday Night Football" ... knocking the snot out of a fan who had invaded the field with a smoke bomb in the middle of the game.

The wild scene happened just before halftime of L.A.'s loss to the Niners in Northern California ... when a protester hopped over Levi's Stadium railing and began running wild on the turf.

The man -- holding a smoke bomb that filled the air with pink fumes -- managed to evade stadium staffers for several moments ... until he made his way over to the Rams' sideline.

That's where Wagner buried his shoulder straight into the dude's chest -- leveling him to the grass. Security guards were then able to pile on the guy ... and he was removed without further incident.

The Manning brothers -- Peyton and Eli -- found the whole situation pretty funny while they were in the middle of broadcasting the action ... but Wagner said afterward he had legit concerns that the fan had nefarious intentions.

"We don't know what they're carrying in their pockets," the 32-year-old told media members.

"That's just keeping it safe," he added. "You don't know what that fan got or what they're doing."

Animal rights group Direct Action Everywhere took credit for the scene after the game ... explaining the man, and another protester who had been taken down before reaching the pitch, had hit the field in order to raise awareness for a trial involving the alleged theft of pigs from a factory farm.

The org. said the protesters were cited by police and ultimately released from custody. It added that the man who was tackled by Wagner suffered a burn on his arm.

Famed neuropathologist Bennet Omalu -- the inspiration for the Will Smith "Concussion" movie -- tells TMZ Sports ... Tua Tagovailoa should never play another down in the NFL again after suffering a scary head injury last week.

"If you love your life," Omalu said in a message to the Miami star, "if you love your family, you love your kids -- if you have kids -- it's time to gallantly walk away. Go find something else to do."

Tagovailoa was injured in the second quarter of the Dolphins' loss to the Bengals last Thursday ... and Omalu, who discovered CTE, said from everything he saw on the game's broadcast, he believes the quarterback "suffered severe, long-term permanent brain damage" during the play.

Now, Omalu is pleading with the 24-year-old football player to hang up his cleats forever to avoid sustaining any further damage.

"Tua, my brother. I love you," Omalu said. "I love you as much as I love my son. Stop playing. Stop. Hang your helmet and gallantly walk away."

Tua was rushed to the hospital immediately following the hit, but he was discharged just hours later and flew back to Florida with the team on Thursday night.

On Friday, Tagovailoa told his fans he was "feeling much better" ... and was determined to get back out on the field as soon as possible.

Omalu clearly believes that would be a mistake.

"He should stop," the doctor said. "Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain."

Former NFL running back LeGarrette Blount was involved in a fight at a youth football game on Saturday ... throwing punches in a wild skirmish -- and now, TMZ Sports has learned cops are investigating it all.

The altercation happened following the conclusion of a 12-year-old-and-under game in Gilbert, Arizona.

Blount was coaching the GCYFC Gators against the Elite -- when in the postgame handshake line ... he appeared to take exception to something someone had said to him.

Drone video shows Blount became upset -- and motioned animatedly toward coaches on the opposing team for several moments. Eventually, he grew so irate that he took off in a dead sprint in an attempt to confront someone on the other sideline.

Blount was ultimately restrained -- but footage shot from the field level shows dozens of parents then jumped in between the sidelines and began arguing.

The verbal altercation grew more and more heated -- and that's when Blount ran in and was seen on video throwing two punches at a man in a white T-shirt.

He was pulled away from the area, but others in the crowd continued to argue and squabble. Finally, after several minutes, people dispersed.

Cops tell us they were called to the scene shortly after 7 PM "in relation to multiple reports of adults fighting during a youth football game."

We're told, though, the fight had concluded by the time officers arrived. No injuries were reported.

Police say they are investigating the incident and have described Blount as "an involved party."

Of course, this is not the first time Blount has thrown a right hand on a football field -- he famously clocked Boise State defensive lineman Byron Hout following a 2009 game when he was a member of the Univ. of Oregon football team. He was suspended from the Ducks over it all, but was reinstated later on.

Blount went on to have a solid career in the NFL -- winning three Super Bowl titles while rushing for 56 touchdowns in 132 games.

We reached out to Blount's rep ... so far, no word back.

Adelaide 36ers stars Craig Randall and Robert Franks put the basketball world on notice after beating the Phoenix Suns in a preseason game ... and now, the hoopers tell TMZ Sports they hope their stellar performances eventually lead to NBA jobs.

26-year-old Randall -- the G League's Most Improved Player in 2022 -- led the way with 35 points for the 36ers ... going 9-17 from three and 13-21 overall from the field.

Franks, 25, also added 32 points on 6-10 from three and 11-20 overall ... as the 36ers stunned the Suns, 134-124.

We spoke with Randall and Franks about the big win ... and Randall says while the rest of the world was shocked with the end result, they weren't.

"We came out, we did what we thought that we could do and we wanted to do and the outcome turned in our favor," the former Memphis and UT Martin star tell us.

Franks -- who played college ball at Washington State -- says the 36ers have had several practices recently where all the players were constantly hitting their shots ... so they knew if they were able to click during a game, it would be bad news for their opponents.

"Last night, we all got clicking and it got scary," the former Orlando Magic player added. "That feeling was crazy, just to feed off each other."

Both Randall and Franks make it clear they're proud to be members of the Adelaide 36ers organization ... but naturally, they see their preseason games as an opportunity to show NBA scouts what they can really do on the court -- and they hope they get that shot one day.

Gisele Bündchen is still riding solo in South Beach -- the supermodel was spotted at a Miami gym by herself Monday morning ... days after she and Tom Brady reportedly decided to remain separated during Hurricane Ian.

Gisele and Brady were forced to evacuate Tampa Bay as the tropical storm arrived last week ... but not even Ian could bring the two back together amid their alleged rift, according to Page Six.

While Brady returned to Tampa for the Buccaneers' home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Gisele elected to stay south and pass on watching her husband in person ... which shouldn't come as a surprise, considering she's been MIA at all Bucs games this season.

TMZ Sports obtained pics of Gisele at the gym earlier Monday ... showing the model rocking black leggings and a sports bra as she appears to have a serious conversation on her iPhone.

Gisele wasn't wearing her wedding ring for the workout -- but that's not a clue about her marriage status ... she rarely wore the thing even before their rough patch.

As for Brady, things haven't been going great for him on the field either -- the Bucs lost, 41-31 in the Week 4 matchup ... falling to 2-2 on the season.

Brian Robinson's road to recovery after a horrifying shooting incident is nearly complete -- Commanders head coach Ron Rivera just announced the running back has been medically cleared ... and could make his NFL debut this weekend.

Rivera said Robinson -- who was shot twice in August during an attempted carjacking in D.C. -- will officially jump into Washington practice on Wednesday ... and if all goes well, there's a "very good chance" he plays against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Rivera said the team will be cautious with the 23-year-old rookie ... but docs have told him there's no need to place restrictions on the back's workload -- at least not initially.

"We'll see how he handles it," Rivera said. "We've got to see how he reacts to contact 'cause we will have a padded practice on Wednesday. He'll get to bump around a little bit -- and we'll see how he handles that and then we'll go from there."

The Commanders picked Robinson in the third round of this year's NFL draft. He had impressed in the preseason, appearing to earn the team's starting tailback role coming out of training camp.

However, he was shot in the glute and the lower leg on Aug. 28 -- and has been fighting to get healthy and back to the field since.

But, Rivera told media members Robinson has passed every test so far, and he's "optimistic" Robinson will be available Sunday.

Devin Booker is clapping back at the haters after the Suns lost to an Australian basketball team on Sunday ... by posting LeBron James' infamous reaction to losing the 2011 NBA Finals.

Booker and the Suns -- who played all five starters -- lost to the Adelaide 36ers, 134-124, in their first preseason game ... the first time an NBA team lost to a National Basketball League team.

After the L, Book posted a screenshot of LeBron's viral speech following the Heat's Finals loss ... adding the caption, "Mood."

Remember, LBJ was asked if he was bothered by fans rooting for his downfall ... and the King offered an honest, candid response -- but it was met with backlash for how it came across.

"At the end of the day, all the people that's rooting for me to fail, they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today," James said.

"They can get a few days or a few months on being happy about not only myself but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal, but they have to get back to the real world at some point."

James would clarify his comments a few days later ... stating he wasn't saying he was superior to others, but rather everyone has to move on with their lives, good or bad.