TMZ Sports - Page 31

A poker player who lied about having terminal cancer in order to raise funds to get into the World Series of Poker Main Event is now apologizing for his fib ... saying this week, "What I did was wrong."

Rob Mercer -- a 37-year-old Vallejo, Calif. native -- came up with the tale back in June, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in an effort to gather the $10,000 he needed to buy in to the world's most prestigious poker event in July in Las Vegas.

Mercer created a GoFundMe with the hopes of gathering the cash -- and it touched so many, it reportedly led to him earning between $30,000 and $50,000 ... allowing him entry into the tournament.

But, the Review-Journal reports several in the poker community became suspicious of Mercer over the way he had acted at the event. Mercer had reportedly provided vague responses to questions about his illness and failed to share concrete proof of his alleged terminal colon cancer diagnosis as well.

The outlet also reports several people saw him gambling in a casino, and when he was approached about the poor optics of that ... he was said to have been defensive.

Eventually, Mercer fessed up about everything, telling the Review-Journal on Tuesday, "I shouldn't have told people I have colon cancer. I did that just as a spur-of-the-moment thing when someone asked me what kind of cancer I had."

Mercer, however, said his story wasn't without at least some merit. He told the outlet he believes he does have undiagnosed breast cancer -- and he made up the colon cancer story because he was embarrassed to say he was dealing with a disease not as commonly found in men.

"I did lie about having colon cancer," said Mercer, who ended up getting eliminated from the Main Event early on. "I don't have colon cancer. I used that to cover my situation."

Mercer said due to his belief that he does have breast cancer, he has no intentions of returning the money he obtained through his GoFundMe.

As for his future on poker tables, Mercer told the Review-Journal he has quit playing due to "his deteriorating health." He told the news organization that he now spends around 18 hours a day in bed.

Tristan Thompson has been granted temporary guardianship over his little brother after he was left unable to care for himself following the sudden death of his mother.

A court hearing Wednesday determined the NBA player will now act as guardian to 17-year-old Amari. In the end, Tristan's petition for temporary guardianship was granted ... and a hearing on permanent guardianship was scheduled for November.

Tristan wasn't present in court during the hearing, but his attorney spoke on his behalf via Zoom.

TMZ broke the story ... Tristan filed for this a couple weeks ago, and the result today was expected. Nobody was contesting it, including Amari's father -- who Tristan says has been absent from his life.

Amari's dad, Trevor Douglas Thompson, did not receive notice of Wednesday's proceeding because his whereabouts are apparently unknown. Tristan's side claims Trevor has no involvement in Amari's life.

Now that Tristan has been given the green light to take responsibility for Amari, the issue of conservatorship is also on the table as he approaches 18. Amari cannot take care of himself, as he faces mental and physical disabilities, so Tristan is stepping in.

TMZ broke the story -- Tristan's mother, Andrea, died suddenly earlier this year -- which is why Tristan is making the moves to protect his brother. Amari has already been introduced to the KarJenners -- and Tristan will presumably continue to have their support through this.

The last thing that was touched on was money left behind in Andrea's probate estate -- which amounts to about $103k. It's not available for disbursement yet, but Tristan is going to oversee that cash for Amari as well.

Nina Agdal's restraining order against Dillon Danis is now in full effect ... after Logan Paul's boxing opponent failed to show up to a hearing on Tuesday.

A temporary restraining order was originally granted on September 7 ... forbidding Danis and anyone associated with him from posting any sexually explicit images of Agdal.

Danis was given nearly two weeks to file his opposition papers ... but after failing to do so, a New Jersey judge granted the restraining order on Wednesday, court docs obtained by TMZ Sports show.

The restraining order will remain active until further order from the judge. You'll recall, Agdal sued Danis over his incessant trolling posts about her on social media since his fight against Paul was announced last month.

The judge found Danis posting any explicit images of Agdal could result in her experiencing "irreparable emotional distress and reputational harm if Defendant continues to post such photographs on the internet."

The docs also lay out Agdal's repeated attempts to serve Danis the papers.

Video we obtained appears to show Danis telling the process server on Monday they had the wrong guy ... but his identifiable features look like a dead giveaway.

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams is no longer with the team -- the coach resigned from his position on Wednesday.

Confirmed details surrounding Williams' status remain unclear at the time of this post.

Williams -- who did not travel with the Bears for their matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the weekend -- released a statement regarding his resignation ... saying, "It is with great regret that I tender my resignation as the Defensive Coordinator of the Chicago Bears Football Club effective immediately."

"I am taking a step back to take care of my health and my family. I appreciate the opportunity to work with the Chicago Bears, a storied NFL franchise with a rich history. The McCaskey family is first-class and second to none. I would also like to thank Coach Matt Eberflus and General Manager Ryan Poles for giving me the opportunity to come to Chicago. I would also like to thank President Kevin Warren, the coaches and players of which I value the relationships and camaraderie."

Williams continued ... "I value the NFL shield and all that it stands for and after taking some time to address my health, I plan to come back and coach again."

Lindsey Vonn went from shredding the gnar to icing down her backside real quick on Tuesday ... 'cause she was attacked by a jellyfish several minutes into a wakesurfing sesh.

The former Olympic skier said the incident happened as she was trying to get up on her board while out somewhere on a large body of water.

"I literally rode over it," she said on her social media page.

The 38-year-old told her followers that the jellyfish bit and stung her so badly ... it caused her left hamstring to swell up and turn red. Eventually, it morphed into more of a road-rash-like wound.

Thankfully, after asking her fans for remedies, she seems to be doing better now ... even getting in a joke about it all on Wednesday.

"Think it’s gonna leave a mark for a while … 🤕," she said, "at least I caught some waves before!"

Of course, Vonn is no stranger to dealing with pain ... she just had yet another surgery on her knee back in July -- and has rehabbed from that just fine.

Dillon Danis doesn't seem fazed over the lawsuit Nina Agdal filed against him for incessantly trolling her ... the 30-year-old fighter continued the onslaught online, despite being served earlier this week.

Danis is fighting Agdal's fiancé, Logan Paul, on October 14 in Manchester, and has not relented with the attacks on social media.

On Tuesday, Dillon posted a pic of Nina in a teeny bikini, part of a Sports Illustrated photoshoot from the past.

He also posted a meme featuring a photoshopped pic of Nina standing in a room with a bunch of phallic-shaped meat, with the caption ... "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life"

Danis didn't let up on Wednesday, posting a selfie of Nina in just her underwear. He also posted a Tweet from Donald Trump Jr.'s X account, which had been hacked, claiming he had a sexual relationship with Agdal.

We broke the story ... Agdal filed a lawsuit against Danis earlier this month, claiming he posted "despicable" things about her on over 250 occasions.

Nina claimed to have been humiliated by the posts which she says have caused "emotional distress and reputational harm."

Agdal even suggested "Danis had hacked [her] personal account or had obtained the private video from someone who had done so" ... as she said a video Dillon posted was only available in her private Snapchat archives, presumably only accessible to her.

Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise Danis hasn't relented ... after the suit was filed, he said straight up said he wouldn't quit.

"Nina Adgel [sic] has filed a massive lawsuit against me. She filed a restraining order against me and is seeking prison time, so the fight is in jeopardy if I’m in jail," Danis wrote, adding, "This is actually wild but I won’t stop f*** the system come get me. Logan Paul is a dead man walking."

After dodging process servers for days, Danis was officially served with the lawsuit on Monday, and the tense incident was captured on video.

Here's further proof Nick Saban no longer has beef with Deion Sanders -- the Alabama legend has nothing but praise for Prime amid Colorado's stellar start to the season ... despite their previous feud over name, image and likeness deals.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer's Buffaloes have been the biggest story in the sport so far this season ... with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter leading the squad to a 3-0 start.

The boss of the Crimson Tide sidelines was asked about what's going down in Boulder during media availability this week ... and he said he's not surprised one bit -- considering he believes Prime is great at what he does on and off the field.

"I haven't been able to see [Colorado play] a lot," Saban said. "I saw a little bit of the game last week against Colorado State, but I have a tremendous amount of respect for Deion Sanders."

"First, he's a great person and he's done a great job of marketing the program to create a lot of national interest, but I see their team playing well on the field."

He continued ... "They play with discipline, they do a good job of executing, they've been able to score points, playing decent on defense. So all those things, to me, are indicators that he's a really good coach and I've always thought that."

The two Aflac spokesmen certainly didn't see eye to eye a year ago ... with Prime calling Saban a liar for claiming he paid a million bucks to get Hunter (a 5-star recruit at the time) to commit to his former Jackson State squad.

They later made up at a commercial shoot ... where they laughed the whole thing off.

Adam "Pacman" Jones is trying to turn his most recent run-in with the law into some clicks for his new music ... using the police video of his arrest earlier this month to promote his latest rap song.

The 39-year-old posted some of the footage on his Instagram page on Wednesday ... showing him yelling at an officer after he was taken into custody at Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sept. 11.

In the clip, you can see the ex-NFL star in the back of a police cruiser ... loudly questioning a cop about why he was being arrested after he said all he did was complain to airline employees about a faulty charging port on his plane.

"Bro, I'm going to jail for being on the plane?!" Jones said. "Bro, I didn't even yell at nobody!"

Jones' video then transitioned into a snippet of his new rap song.

"Its always two sides of the story …….," Jones captioned the vid. "👂🏾👂🏾👂🏾new music. Ep coming."

Kim Kardashian and Odell Beckham Jr. have recently linked up on a more personal level, but the two have actually run in the same circles for years.

As we reported, Kim and OBJ have some mutual friends who have helped to bring them together, but our sources say there's nothing romantic between the pair.

Truth is, Kim and Odell have been at some of the same parties -- including his own birthday -- within the last year ... further proving they've got a lot in common when it comes to their social lives.

Both Kim and OBJ attended Michael Rubin's July 4th White Party to celebrate America's Independence earlier this year. While they didn't appear to pose in any pics together, the two were certainly in good company ... with the likes of Tom Brady, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, Kelly Rowland and a whole lot more.

Kim was also in attendance for Odell's 30th birthday party at Mother Wolf in Los Angeles back in November. Once again, they weren't photographed together ... but Kim was definitely there, leaving the bash solo later in the night.

Our sources say Kim's totally down to find love again if she finds the right match ... but she's having a ton of fun being a mom and continuing to grow her businesses.

The fan who died at the Patriots game on Sunday was involved in a physical altercation prior to his death, and now officials are reviewing video footage of the incident to determine what happened.

The Norfolk District Attorney's office tells TMZ Sports "Our investigation has included numerous law enforcement interviews and the examination of multiple angles of video capturing the scuffle prior to Mr. Dale Mooney's collapse during the Sunday night game at Gillette Stadium."

Officials tell us they conducted a preliminary autopsy which pointed to a medical issue, as opposed to a traumatic injury as a possible factor in the death. A final determination hasn't yet been made.

As we previously reported, 53-year-old Dale Mooney, who was at the Patriots vs. Dolphins game, was rushed to a local hospital after what was initially classified as an "apparent medical event."

He was pronounced dead at the medical facility.

Following the tragic news, videos of the incident surfaced online appearing to show a man in a Dolphins jersey striking a fellow spectator, presumed to be Mooney.

LSU safety Greg Brooks -- a starter on the Tigers' defense -- underwent emergency surgery on Friday to remove a large brain tumor.

Thankfully, according to a statement released by his family on Wednesday morning, the procedure was successful -- though the football player and his loved ones are now anxiously waiting on biopsy results.

"Greg continues to fight," Brooks' family said in their statement, "and we await further clarity on the extent of that battle."

"His incredible strength of character gives us confidence, but we also know that he needs our support now more than ever. Please keep Greg and our family in your prayers."

Brooks missed the Tigers' win over Mississippi State on Saturday while recovering from the surgery. Head coach Brian Kelly said Monday his absence was due to a "medical emergency" -- though he didn't elaborate on the issue. He added at the time there was no timetable for a return for the defensive back.

Brooks started his collegiate career at Arkansas in 2019 but transferred to LSU after three season. He played in 14 games for the Tigers in 2022, piling up 66 tackles and two interceptions.

An Alabama high school band director was in for a shock after refusing to stop a musical performance that cops asked him to stop -- and we mean he literally got a shock!

Johnny Mims was arrested Thursday in Birmingham for disorderly conduct and a slew of other charges, after police say he disobeyed their orders to tell his band kids to stop playing after a football game had ended, as the school was trying to clear the place out.

New body cam footage was released showing last week's confrontation, and it's pretty wild. The guy basically tells cops to piss off, refusing to halt things ... and then getting Tasered.

It's unclear why Mims didn't wanna comply, but what is clear is that he was dead-set on doing this last song with the band in the stands -- even though the game was long over. Supposedly, this follows in some sort of "5th quarter" tradition, but, on its face, it's bizarre.

Anyway, things escalated quickly. The first officer who responds tells Mims it's time to go and that he's gotta wrap it up ... but Mims tells him to get out of his face, continuing to conduct even though the cop was standing right in front of him. The band kids kept playing loudly too.

Eventually, more officers arrived, and they attempted to restrain/cuff Mims, which led to a clear struggle between the cops. Other folks appear to have gotten in the mix as well.

At a point, one cop threatens to tase Mims if he doesn't settle down ... and then the electricity starts flowing. He looks to have been zapped at least 3 times.

Jason Kelce is revisiting the rumors surrounding his brother's potential love story ... saying he fully believes Travis and Taylor Swift are, in fact, dating.

But, you need to calm down, Swifties -- it was clearly a joke.

The Eagles star was asked once again about recent reports of Travis and Taylor "quietly hanging out" during his appearance on Audacy's SportsRadio 94 WIP Wednesday morning ... and while he claimed he doesn't keep up with the Chiefs tight end's relationship status, he then threw fuel into the speculation fire.

"It's hard to answer because I don't really know a lot about Travis' love life," Jason said. "I try to keep his business kind of his business, stay out of that world. But, having said that, I think he's doing great and I think it's all 100% percent true."

Jason quickly followed up by couching the whole thing ... admitting he had no idea what was going on between the two, if anything at all.

Jason's comments ARE pretty interesting, though -- one would think if Travis and Taylor were really dating, he'd probably tell his bro he should've said no to talking about it, right??

Another theory -- Traylor (that's what we'd call them if they were indeed a couple) are just casual and don't really care who knows ... so Jason addressing it wouldn't really matter.

Interesting note -- Jason said he was "blindsided" by Tony Gonzalez's question on Thursday Night Football last week ... which was the first time anyone near Travis ever addressed the rumors.

LaMelo Ball got inked up ahead of the 2023-24 NBA season ... with the Charlotte Hornets star getting three new tattoos, including his LaFrancé clothing line logo, tatted on his neck!

TMZ Sports has learned the NBA All-Star went to his go-to guy RockRollG at Pachuco Tattoo shop in Orange, California around his birthday (August 22) to get some new ink ... and we're told Melo left with three new pieces.

The first one ... an "LF" symbol on the left side of his neck, near his ear. LF stands for LaFrancé, Melo's clothing line.

The 22-year-old launched LaFrancé back in 2020 ... before he was drafted with the 3rd overall pick in the NBA Draft.

LaFrancé is also Melo's middle name.

RockRollG -- who also tatted Melo's rare angel piece back in 2021 -- did two more on Melo's wrists ... a "001" in reference to the Netflix show "Stranger Things" and his jersey number. He also got a "Heem" tat in black and red.

Dartmouth football head coach Buddy Teevens has tragically passed away from injuries he suffered in a bicycle accident six months ago, his family announced Tuesday.

He was 66 years old.

"Our family is heartbroken to inform you that our beloved 'coach' has peacefully passed away surrounded by family," Teevens' loved ones said in a statement. "We are confident and take comfort in the fact that he passed away knowing how much he was loved and admired."

Teevens -- the winningest coach in Big Green history -- was hit by a pickup truck in Florida back in March ... and the collision was so bad, doctors had to amputate his right leg. His family said he also suffered spinal cord injuries in the crash as well.

Assistant Sammy McCorkle was named interim head coach while Teevens attempted to recover.

"This is tragic news for Dartmouth and the entire football world," Dartmouth leaders said in a statement Tuesday night. "Buddy not only was synonymous with Dartmouth football, he was a beloved coach and an innovative, inspirational leader who helped shape the lives of generations of students."

The school added that McCorkle informed the football team of Teevens' passing Tuesday evening and ensured players "that they have the support and resources they need as they process such devastating news."

Teevens -- who played quarterback at Dartmouth in the late 1970s -- was first named Big Green head coach in 1987 ... and following five years on the Dartmouth sidelines, he took gigs at Tulane, Illinois, Florida and Stanford, before returning to his alma mater in 2005.

Teevens went on to pile up a 117-101-2 career record at the school ... gaining fame nationally for his efforts to limit his players' risk for concussions.

Teevens opted to do away with full-contact practices to keep his players safe ... and he also played a pivotal role in the creation of the Mobile Virtual Player, a bot college and NFL teams use to hone their tackling craft.

His tactics were so innovative, Roger Goodell recognized him as "a leader in making our game safer through breakthrough innovations" at the 2023 NFL Draft.

Teevens will be honored with a moment of silence before Dartmouth's game Saturday against Lehigh.

'Real Housewives' fans have been wondering if Kim Zolciak will make her return to the series as her divorce from Kroy Biermann heats up ... but we know she ain't even in the running.

Sources connected to 'RHOA' tell TMZ ... producers aren't considering her for a season 16 return, despite lots of speculation amid her messy public split.

We're told Kim isn't chatting with producers about coming back, either. Kim made a guest appearance on the show last season, but sources say that was a one-off.

We're told it's nothing personal toward Kim ... the show is looking to refresh the long-running series with new faces, and producers aren't looking at past housewives to fill the space.

Kim certainly has a gripping storyline -- the divorce is filled with rancor, and their Georgia home is in pre-foreclosure yet again ... this after Kroy said he sold off his own belongings and claims they're "financially destitute, largely related to Kim's love for online gambling."