TMZ Sports - Page 50

Antonio Brown is opening up on his bromance with Tom Brady ... praising the QB for not only helping him be great on the field -- but off it as well.

AB made his official return to the practice field with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday ... and spoke at length with reporters about his relationship with TB12.

"Tom is my boy," Brown -- sporting a TB12 hat -- said after practice. "One of the greatest leaders to be around. He’s encouraging, always inspiring. He brings out the best out of people around him. He wants the best for everyone around him."

As we previously reported ... Brady invited AB to live with him in Derek Jeter's mansion after inking his one-year deal earlier this week ... and even got him in touch with Tony Robbins.

While Brady inviting AB to live with him could be considered questionable to some -- given his rape and sexual misconduct allegations (which Brown denies) -- the receiver makes it clear the mansion is a judgment-free zone.

"Nothing that I’ve done in the past matters," AB added. "He’s always getting better, day in and day out. And I just learn a lot from him -- how he trains, how he takes care of himself professionally, his discipline, his work ethic, his approach."

Israel Adesanya says his wonky pec at UFC 253 was NOT due to steroids or some sort of medical issue ... rather, the MMA star says it's simply 'cause he smokes too much weed!!!

"It might have just been unhealthy living a little bit -- like, smoking weed," the 31-year-old said on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show this week. "That's what the doctor from the UFC said."

If you missed it ... while Adesanya picked apart Paulo Costa on Fight Island on Sept. 26, his right pectoral muscle flopped around far lower than his left one.

Viewers were concerned something might be horribly wrong ... and critics suggested it could be "juice" related.

But, Adesanya said he got everything checked out recently -- including getting an ultrasound and a mammogram -- and he claims docs told him everything was likely due to too much devil's lettuce.

"After a performance like that, I'd think I was on steroids too," Adesanya joked.

Adesanya says docs explained the disfigurement was nothing more than "a fat deposit" ... and he added he's now feeling -- and looking -- much better.

"It calmed down," Adesanya said. "Not as sensitive."

As for Adesanya's plans for weed now ... he says docs advised him to stop -- but he's laughing about that idea.

Great photo of Ole Miss tight end DaMarcus Thomas -- who was back on campus and SMILING one day after being discharged from the hospital.

The 18-year-old freshman football player had suffered a frightening injury during Monday practice -- with coach Lane Kiffin saying the player initially couldn't move and lost all feeling in his body.

Thomas was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment -- and fortunately, Thomas began to regain feeling and movement.

University officials later told the media Thomas was on the mend and they were hopeful he would make a full recovery.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning ... when Thomas was back at the Ole Miss training facility -- smiling with Katie Bason, director of player development (and another woman).

Worth noting ... Thomas appears to be sitting up without assistance, an unbelievable sight considering he's just 2 days out from the injury.

Bill Belichick believes the 2020 NFL season is a "joke" because of the toll the COVID pandemic has taken on the league ... at least, that's what ex-Pats lineman Matt Light thinks.

The retired Super Bowl champ says he's convinced Belichick doesn't give a DAMN about New England's horrible 2-5 record ... arguing that with all of the canceled practices, missed training camp, mandatory quarantines and rescheduled games, no one is taking the 2020 season seriously anyway.

"This is not the game of football we all know," Light said Tuesday on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."

"It’s something other than that. Bill recognized it early on. I firmly believe that."

The Patriots look pretty terrible right now -- and would be last in the AFC East if not for the NY Jets being a complete dumpster fire.

Light -- who played under BB from 2001 to 2011 -- says he's convinced Belichick is focusing on building a better team for the future when "we can play for a real championship, with real players getting after it, fully prepared, getting ready to go."

"5 years from now, when we look back on this season, are we going to be talking about it?" Light asked.

Eddie Johnson -- a former NBA All-Star turned convicted child sexual predator -- has died, officials confirm.

At the time of his death, the 65-year-old was serving a life sentence in Florida stemming from a 2006 sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl.

Johnson died on Oct. 26 after a battle with an undisclosed illness, but officials didn't confirm his death until this week.

"Fast Eddie" was a solid player for the Atlanta Hawks from 1977 to 1986 -- making two All-Star teams (1980, 1981). He also played for Cleveland and Seattle.

But, Johnson had major issues off the court ... he was reportedly arrested more than 100 TIMES in his life for everything from cocaine possession to burglary and robbery ... even assault on a police officer.

Johnson was banned from the NBA for LIFE in 1987 due to cocaine use ... and things got worse from there.

Johnson was arrested in August 2006 after officials say he broke into an apartment complex and followed an 8-year-old girl to her room, where he forcibly committed sexual assault.

Johnson denied wrongdoing -- but a jury found him guilty of sexual battery and molestation after less than 2 hours of deliberating.

He received a mandatory life sentence -- and spent the rest of his days behind bars.

The Huntington Beach Bad Boy is now a Huntington Beach City Council member.

MMA legend Tito Ortiz dominated the competition in Tuesday's election -- clinching 1 of the 3 available City Council seats in his home town.

The 45-year-old UFC Hall of Famer finished with 34,901 votes (14.3%) -- the most amount of votes out of the 15 candidates running for the open seats.

The next closest was Dan Kalmick, Huntington Beach Planning Commissioner, who finished with 11% of the vote.

Ortiz celebrated with a small gathering in Huntington Beach -- passionately thanking the locals for supporting him.

Tito is a hardcore Trump supporter who previously told TMZ Sports he received political support from the Trump family.

Before the election, Ortiz pushed a COVID conspiracy theory -- explaining why he believes the virus was created by man and is being weaponized by "the left."

"It's population control by the left," Tito said last month on the "I Only Touch Greatness" podcast.

"They’re trying to take out all of the older people who are getting social security and so forth."

Soccer legend Diego Maradona has been diagnosed with a blood clot on his brain and his doctors say they will perform emergency surgery ASAP.

The 60-year-old Argentinian star was hospitalized Monday in his home country because he wasn't feeling well -- complaining of dehydration and depression.

Doctors began running tests, including an MRI, which revealed a subdural hematoma -- also known as a brain bleeds -- usually caused by a traumatic head injury.

If not treated, the bleeding and added pressure on the brain from the hematoma can be fatal, according to WebMD.

Maradona's doctor, Leopoldo Luque, will perform the surgery and seemed to be optimistic about Maradona's chances, when he spoke with the media.

"This is a routine surgery that even [Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Vice President of Argentina] has undergone," Luque said.

As for how Maradona suffered the injury, Dr. Luque believes it likely happened over the past month.

"We did an MRI one month ago and everything was normal. We repeated the study and we saw the subdural hematoma. These types of injuries are tough to spot, I don't know if he suffered some kind of hit or fall."

Dr. Luque says Maradona is "alert" and "not upset" -- and has signed off on the surgery.

Back in the day, Maradona was considered one of the best soccer players in the world -- leading Argentina to a World Cup in 1986.

After his playing career, he struggled with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and health issues -- and has been hospitalized multiple times.

Kelly Loeffler -- the Atlanta Dream co-owner who bashed the WNBA's support of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer -- is headed for a runoff reelection in Georgia to keep her senate spot.

The 49-year-old Republican, who advocated for WNBA players to wear U.S. flags instead of BLM apparel in the league's Florida bubble back in July, will face off with Democrat Raphael Warnock for the position.

Loeffler was appointed to the spot by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in Dec. 2019 after Senator Johnny Isakson resigned due to health concerns. She'll now need to win a January runoff to finish out the final 2 years of Isakson's term.

Loeffler had a chance to win the position outright Tuesday night ... but after she and no other candidate received the required 50% of the vote to claim the win -- the race is now headed to a runoff on Jan. 5.

The reported results of Tuesday's vote had Warnock at 31.9%, Loeffler at 26.5% and Republican Doug Collins at 20.4%.

Loeffler was HEAVILY criticized by WNBA players this summer after she wrote a letter to league commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying, "I adamantly oppose the Black Lives Matter political movement."

In the letter, Loeffler explained, "The truth is, we need less -- not more politics in sports."

"In a time when polarizing politics is as divisive as ever, sports has the power to be a unifying antidote. And now more than ever, we should be united in our goal to remove politics from sports."

Props to Patrick Mahomes -- who, along with his foundation, split the $100,000 cost to turn Arrowhead Stadium into a polling place.

Mahomes said he brought up the idea to Chiefs' president Mark Donovan -- but one of the issues they faced was funding the cost of additional voting machines.

So, Mahomes (along with his 15 and the Mahomies foundation) and the Chiefs reportedly agreed to split the $100,000 cost to turn Arrowhead into a voting location.

"I thought it was very important, not only just to get as many people out to vote as possible, but also to use a place as Arrowhead where we have a lot of fun, show a lot of love and unity with people are coming together, and use it as a place where we can come together to vote and use our voice," Mahomes said Tuesday to Jim Trotter on the "Huddle & Flow" podcast.

"I thought Arrowhead was the perfect place for it, and the Chiefs were all aboard with it and some other guys on the team, we all just made our efforts strong and really got it to be a central point for everybody to go vote."

The good news ... Arrowhead got a pretty decent turnout -- with multiple Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid stopping by to cast their votes.

Tommy Tuberville -- the former college football coach -- is now a U.S. Senator (elect) after winning a seat in Alabama in a landslide.

The 66-year-old ran as a Republican -- and on Tuesday, he defeated Senator Doug Jones by a HUGE margin, flipping the seat back to red.

"Alabama, welcome back to the Republican U.S. Senate," Tuberville told his supporters during his victory speech.

"Tonight the liberals of California, New York and Washington D.C. learned the hard way that Alabama's Senate seat cannot be bought."

"If you allow me to quote my opponent's many campaign ads, they can all go to hell and get a job as far as I'm concerned."

Jones had won the seat in 2017 in a special election following sexual misconduct allegations against Roy Moore.

As for Tuberville, he earned Donald Trump's endorsement after defeating Jeff Sessions in the primary ... despite never previously holding public office.

"[Tuberville] will be a GREAT Senator for the incredible people of Alabama," Trump tweeted back in July ... "Doug Jones is a terrible Senator who is just a Super Liberal puppet for Schumer & Pelosi. Represents Alabama poorly."

Before turning to politics, Tuberville was a pretty successful college football coach -- going 85 and 40 in 9 seasons at Auburn (1999 to 2008).

Before that, Tuberville coached at Ole Miss from '95 to '98.

During his 21 years as a coach, Tuberville also spent time at Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

After declaring victory, Tuberville addressed his supporters:

"I promise I'm going to do everything for you and your family -- for your kids and grandkids -- so that they can have the opportunity of the American dream for years to come."

The victory speech was actually interrupted by a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Mike Pence ... and Tuberville was fired up about it.

Carolina Panthers safety Tre Boston's family is now the most ICED OUT in the league ... with the NFL vet gifting his wife and son matching #33 diamond pendants!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 28-year-old safety wanted to do something extra special for his wife, Cierra, and 1-year-old, Tre Jr. ... going above and beyond by getting them ice featuring his jersey number.

We're told Boston hit up Ari The Jeweler in Manhattan for the job -- coming up with two pendants made of 70 grams of gold each and 12 carats of diamonds for mom and pop.

But, Tre couldn't forget about his Mini-Me -- getting the baby boy a similar pendant with 2 carats of diamonds and 15 grams of gold!!

No word on how much Tre shelled out for the big gifts ... but we're told the bigger pieces are appraised at $20k and the boy's pendant is valued at $5k.

Here's James Harrison proving he's STILL hands down the most superhuman person ever associated with the NFL ... bench pressing a stunning 525 POUNDS!!!

The Pittsburgh Steelers legend posted the footage of the gym feat on Tuesday ... and it's absolutely insane.

Check out the clip, Harrison needs several seconds to pump himself up for the lift -- and then he attacks the weights ... and watch how the plates make the bar bend!!!

42-year-old Harrison screamed during the entire lift -- "GET OFF ME!!!" -- and the whole thing was intense as hell!

The craziest part? Harrison was feeling himself so much after putting up 525 ... he tried to get a rep of 545 lbs in!!!

Of course, not even James could get that kind of iron off his chest ... but watch how he throws the weights to the ground after the failed attempt -- yeah, BEAST!!!

Monster lifts are no stranger to James ... the guy's done just about everything possible in the weight room -- pumping iron regularly like a young Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Indiana Pacers forward Alize Johnson just surprised his family with the ultimate gift by hooking them up with a new home.... and his mother's reaction is PRICELESS!!!

The 24-year-old hooper shared the kind gesture on IG Monday ... saying, "today I surprised them with a New House I always dreamed about living in myself, but I’m taking care of them first because without them, there’s no Alize."

In the clip, Johnson's family walks up to the new crib in their hometown of Williamsport, PA ... and his mother immediately breaking down when she realizes what's going on.

She falls to her knees, "Are you kidding me?!?" -- and Johnson has to literally carry her to the new home.

Amazing!!

Johnson explained his decision for the incredible gesture ... saying, "My family is the reason I go so hard. "The reason I sacrifice everyday and continue to put in work. I just want to see a smile on their faces."

This house is beautiful and the perfect size for his large family -- after all, Johnson is the oldest son of 7 SIBLINGS (4 sisters, 3 brothers).

Pacers star Victor Oladipo praised his teammate for the gesture, "Proud of you slim!! You know what time it is!!! Congrats to the Johnson Family!"

Johnson -- who will become a restricted free agent this off-season -- signed a 2-year contract worth $2.2 million with the Pacers in 2018.

Dallas Cowboys QB Andy Dalton has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list -- meaning he will NOT play this weekend ... but no one is saying if he formally tested positive for the virus.

As the Cowboys pointed out on its official team website, players can be placed on the COVID list without testing positive.

"If a player has been exposed to individuals who have tested positive, or even has experienced some of the common symptoms, will land them on the reserve list."

We've reached out to the team for clarification -- but so far, no comment on Dalton's health status.

Dalton has been out since suffering a serious head injury during the Oct. 25 matchup against the Washington Football Team.

Cowboys rookie QB Ben DiNucci -- a 2020 7th-round pick -- started for Dallas last week against the Eagles, but it was a mess. Ben only completed 21 of 40 pass attempts for 180 yards.

Dallas fans were hoping Dalton would be healthy enough to take over the reins for the Steelers game this weekend -- but now, that ain't happening.

The Cowboys say Dalton will likely be out for another 14 days.

Of course, the team does have newly signed Cooper Rush on its practice squad ... and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday the 'Boys could go with him rather than DiNucci on Sunday.

Either way ... the Steelers are absolutely BALLIN' this season and have arguably the toughest defense in the NFL.

So, yeah ... good luck!

Cassie Randolph apparently no longer feels threatened by her ex Colton Underwood ... 'cause she dropped the restraining order against him ... in fact, she's dropped everything.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Cassie dismissed the restraining order with prejudice, meaning she can't refile it.  We're also told the police investigation is being dropped -- per her request.

Colton tells TMZ, "Today Cassie asked the court to dismiss the temporary restraining order against me. The two of us were able to reach a private agreement to address any of Cassie’s concerns. I do not believe Cassie did anything wrong in filing for the restraining orders and also believe she acted in good faith. I appreciate everyone’s respect for privacy regarding this matter."

As we reported ... Cassie filed a police report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. claiming the "Bachelor" star put a tracking device on her car.

Remember, she had made these allegations last month when she filed for a restraining order against Colton. TMZ broke the story ... Cassie claimed her brother found the tracking device taped to the bottom of her car's back bumper. As for why Colton allegedly did that ... Cassie claimed he was trying to track her whereabouts long after they had broken up.

NY Giants receiver Golden Tate's wife just went NUCLEAR on the G-Men ... saying it's "excruciating" to watch him go without targets this season.

Elise Tate -- who has been married to the NFL vet for 3 years -- unleashed an all-time Instagram rant after the Giants' 25-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... saying the team sucks because they're not throwing Tate the ball.

"Getting so many texts throughout the game GT WIDE OPEN WIDE OPEN WIDE OPEN. I KNOWWWWW," Tate posted to her 55k followers.

"I mean yeah given ONE chance in the fourth quarter of course he comes down with the ball! He's @showtimetate !!"

FYI -- Tate had 2 receptions for 31 yards and a TD in the loss ... and reportedly shouted "throw me the ball" into the camera after the late-game score.

Elise clearly wanted to see GT get more opportunities, saying, "SO UNDER UTILIZED. AS HIS WIFE I CANNOT EVEN WATCH WITH ONE EYE OPEN!!!!

"Same exact thing last game, one target in the first quarter -- of course -- an epic TD. HE NEEDS TO BW (sic) FED THE BALL. Period. Watch the film. He always comes down with the ball."

She didn't stop there.

"I'm lit. 11yrs in the NFL I've never said something like this online. but its excruciating to watch and killing his stats this year but you cant have yards on a few to no targets."

"Hes CRAZY making the most of what comes his way that's for sure though. Every time."

Elise went on to admit GT will "kill me" for speaking out and will make her delete the rant ... but as of the time this post was published, it's still live on her page.

Tate has 22 receptions for 226 yards and 2 TDs this season ... and Elise thinks QB Daniel Jones needs to look his way more often.

"HES HEALTHY! and every damn time he gets an opportunity it's a big play," Elise added. "Ain't no way this BS gonna hurt his stats this yr bc he doesn't get targets. FEED HIM THE BALL/"

The rant comes hours before the NFL's trade deadline ... and there are talks the Giants are trying to shop Tate.