TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Univ. of Tennessee has just barred 16 students -- and 9 other fans -- from attending games the rest of this season ... after the school says they were all involved in throwing trash at the Ole Miss game.

If you missed it ... UT football fans heaved things onto the field at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 16 after losing to Ole Miss -- infamously hitting head coach Lane Kiffin with objects, and making a massive mess.

Two days later, the SEC fined the university $250,000 for the chaos ... and this week, UT announced after an investigation, it found 16 UT students and 9 non-students had been involved in the trash throwing.

The school said, as a result, all of the above are banned from all university sporting events for the rest of this academic and athletic year.

School officials said more punishment could be on the way.

UT's Athletics Director Danny White says the university is also taking extra measures to ensure a similar scene never happens again ... promising changes in a letter to the SEC this week.

Some of the plans, White explained, are effective immediately ... including prohibiting student guest tickets, increasing law enforcement at games, and removing bottle caps from concession stands.

Mark your calendars ... Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will officially take the ring in December -- with the YouTube superstar announcing the fight date Friday.

"Pucker up Timmy, it’s time to kiss ur last name and ur family’s boxing legacy goodbye," Jake said on Twitter minutes ago.

The epic showdown is set to happen at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay ... and Jake is vowing to hang out with some local celebs after coming away with the win.

"DEC 18th Im changing this wankers name to Tommy Fumbles and celebrating with Tom Brady."

Of course, Jake has previously claimed Tommy will have to legally change his name if he loses ... which he's told us he's not sweating at all, 'cause Fury is guaranteeing to put Paul into retirement.

Jake is 4-0 with wins over Nate Robinson, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley ... but this is his first fight against a boxer.

Fury -- heavyweight champ Tyson's lil' bro -- is 7-0.

After months and months of going back and forth, it's finally happening ... and we legitimately cannot wait.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan was back in the operating room on Friday ... the WWE legend had yet another surgery -- this time after he revealed he's been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The former wrestler and his family spelled everything out on his social media page this week ... announcing in a video on Thursday that doctors had recently found cancer in his body.

"It's been going on for a couple months now," Duggan said, "and [my wife] Debra and I have been living with it and getting ready, but reality is here."

Duggan said he went down to Charleston, SC on Friday to have a procedure done to try to help eradicate the disease ... and, fortunately, Duggan's family said everything went well and the 67-year-old is now recovering.

"Jim's surgery went as planned," Duggan's family said. "He is resting comfortably now. Thank you for your prayers, good vibes and well wishes. Please continue them as he continues to heal."

As we previously reported, Duggan just had surgery less than two weeks ago ... though it's unclear if it was related to the cancer or for another issue.

Duggan has battled health problems in the past ... back in 2018, he spent time in the ICU suffering from heart issues -- but he recovered from that a short time later and thanked doctors for it all.

Duggan is one of the best wrestlers of all time and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011.

Saquon Barkley was thinking about his alma mater before their huge game against Ohio State this weekend ... 'cause he just hooked up each Penn State player with his unreleased Nike signature kicks!!

The Nittany Lions thanked the New York Giants star running back for sending over his Air Trainer 3 collab sneakers ... saying, "Just delivered📍👀"

It's an EXTRA special gift ... 'cause these Nikes won't be available to purchase until next Friday.

The shoes are pretty dope -- they have an awesome colorway with SB's lightning logo in the heel and insole, plus his jersey #26 on the tongue ... and come with a price tag of $140.

SB always shows love to his alma mater ... just last month, the 24-year-old was hangin' on campus with students, getting wrecked in beer pong.

Of course, PSU fans looooove Barkley -- he left his mark during his three seasons by logging in 5,557 all-purpose yards, 53 total touchdowns ... and was a Heisman Trophy candidate.

The Pro Bowler also set the school record for most rushing touchdowns, most rushing yards by a freshman and sophomore and most total yards in a game.

The National Women’s Soccer League Player’s Association has been heard loud and clear -- the org. just announced the league has met all 8 of their demands for change made amid the Paul Riley scandal.

Riley was fired as head coach of the North Carolina Courage after a damning report from The Athletic accused him of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, and homophobic rhetoric while working with multiple leagues and teams dating back to 2010.

Games were canceled as a result of the scandal ... and once the season resumed, the NWSLPA listed 8 demands to fix the current culture within the league and players held a protest at mid-field.

Among the demands ... the players called for an independent and thorough investigation into each club "to determine whether any abuse, whether presently known or unknown, has occurred at any point in time.”

The league also agreed to the creation of a 5-person committee to oversee the investigation, which will include "two representatives from the NWSL Players Association, one from NWSL, one Club representative, and one jointly selected neutral party."

On top of that, players will be directly involved in finding Lisa Baird’s replacement … giving them “an opportunity to be heard” in the hiring process after the commissioner resigned amid the backlash.

"Each of these demands is seen by the players as one step closer to the goal of taking our league back," Tori Huster, president of the NWSLPA, said.

Yasiel Puig has settled his sexual battery case after cutting a check to his accuser, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story, a woman -- ID'd as Jane Roe in court docs -- alleged the former L.A. Dodgers star forced her into a bathroom while at a Lakers game at Staples Center in 2018 and was sexually inappropriate with her.

The woman claimed she did not know Puig before the incident ... and eventually sued him in 2020 over it all, asking for more than $50,000.

At the time, Puig denied any wrongdoing ... saying in a statement, "The fact is that I had consensual sex with a woman I met at a Lakers game after she propositioned me."

He continued, "Afterward, we talked about going out together, but she said she did not want her fiancé to find out. We messaged each other afterward and planned to get together again, but we never did. She's now suing me based on completely made-up allegations."

The two battled it out in court over the last year ... but sources tell us the sides settled this week after Puig paid the accuser an undisclosed amount.

Court documents confirmed the settlement.

We've reached out to Puig's attorneys for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

As for the accuser, her attorney, Vince Finaldi, tells us the case "has been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties."

Puig, meanwhile, has been out of the MLB since 2019 ... when he last played for the Cleveland Indians.

Jake Paul's proving revenge really is a dish best served cold ... 'cause after almost 2 years, he's finally responding to Gigi Hadid, brutally clapping back over the drama surrounding Zayn Malik and her family.

"Your 'rEsPeCtFuL KiNg' punched your mom in the face," Paul Tweeted on Friday.

Let's explain.

Jake's beef with the model started back at the Wilder vs. Fury II fight in 2020, when the YouTuber claimed the singer told him to "f*** off" for no reason, saying he almost had to "clap up" Malik.

Gigi defended her man at the time, writing, "Lol cause he doesn’t care to hang w you and your embarrassing crew of YouTube groupies ..? Home alone with his best friends like a respectful king cause he has me, sweetie. Unbothered by your irrelevant ugly ass. Go to bed"

While the feud seemed long over, Paul reignited the beef after Zayn recently got in a blowout fight with Gigi's mom, Yolanda Hadid ... who claimed the father of her granddaughter pushed her into a dresser.

We broke the story ... Malik pled no contest to 4 charges he criminally harassed Yolanda and a security guard. He must take an anger management class and domestic violence program ... and he was also given 360 days of probation.

Zayn denies getting physical with Yolanda.

Jake obviously saw the situation as a perfect opportunity to troll the hell out of Malik and Hadid ... using her own words against her.

Logan Paul even weighed in, clowning his bro with a simple Tweet.

After a Halloween away from the office, TMZ is back together in person for another spooktacular day ... sharing costumes and some scary good times!!!

It's definitely been the year of Britney, and lots of costumes in the office reflected the singer's many eras ... from "Toxic" to "Slave 4 U." There was also some politics, billionaires and even Kim K at The Met Gala mixed in.

Jake Paul, Jeff Bezos, AOC, Run-D.M.C., Dog the Bounty Hunter, Kanye West, Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo and Bernie Sanders were all fair game ... and it wouldn't be Halloween 2021 without a 'Squid Game' costume.

Halloween falls on a weekend this year, so be sure to check the website for plenty more celeb looks, haunted parties and holiday treats.

Khloe Kardashian and her daughter True are battling COVID together, and both need some time to recover, which means canceled commitments for Khloe.

Khloe announced Friday, "Hi guys I wanted to let you know True and I tested positive for Covid ... Luckily I have been vaccinated so all will be ok. We will be over here in quarantine and following current guidelines."

It's the second time Khloe's had COVID, she revealed in October of last year she had recently recovered from the virus, but had a bad case ... with vomiting, shaking, headaches and hot and cold flashes.

Khloe was just one of several members from the family who have publicly said they've had COVID ... Kanye, Kim and their kids also tested positive in 2020.

Halloween falling on an NFL Sunday doesn't happen often ... so Robert Woods made sure to take advantage of the occasion -- by coppin' awesome "'Freddy Vs. Jason" movie cleats!

TMZ Sports has learned the L.A. Rams receiver wanted to make sure he was all set with some scary cleats for the spooky holiday ... so he hit up his go-to artist, Joe Castro, to get the spikes done for his game against the Texans.

The 29-year-old decided to go with the 2003 horror film, "Freddy Vs. Jason" ... and Castro delivered.

You can see the pieces came out awesome ... they feature Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger on the side of the Nike cleats ... with a splash of blood painted on them too.

Castro tells us it took 7 hours to create the hockey-masked slasher and the bladed-glove slayer pieces ... and there's a good chance you'll see Woods wearing 'em during pregame warmups Sunday.

Metta loves Meta.

Ex-NBA star Metta Sandiford-Artest is giving his stamp of approval on Facebook's new look ... saying it's an awesome change!!

Mark Zuckerberg just announced Thursday his company is switching to "Meta" ... as it plans to expand from social media to the "metaverse."

Of course, shortly after the change was made public, the NBA champ's name started to trend ... with jokes starting to pour in.

But, Metta finally shared his thoughts on the company's similar name ... tweeting, "Very happy that @Meta is doing this. Metta / Meta is an awesome name."

Metta adds he's excited to see what Zuck's company does moving forward.

"I was literally working, and my phone was ringing non stop. Lol. Congrats FB / #meta."

The company responded to the shoutout ... saying, "Best name ever, right? Can't wait to see you on court in the meTTaverse."

Miami Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. -- one of the best managers of arms in baseball -- had surgery this month to remove his prostate and lymph nodes after being diagnosed with cancer last February.

Thankfully, though, Stottlemyre says he's recovering well and is optimistic about his prognosis.

The 57-year-old revealed to the Miami Herald this week that after feeling rundown toward the end of 2020 ... doctors ran tests on him and discovered prostate cancer.

The pitching coach said he kept it all a secret during this past season ... explaining only team CEO Derek Jeter, general manager Kim Ng and coach Don Mattingly were the only ones who knew of his battle.

"I didn't want anyone to know," said Stottlemyre, who added even his team's aces weren't aware. "I didn’t want people feeling sorry for me."

Stottlemyre says doctors quickly identified that he needed surgery in order to remedy the situation ... and he had initially planned to have the operation done during the All-Star break in July.

But, Stottlemyre explained he ultimately waited 'til this month to go under the knife ... saying the cancer was slow-developing enough to hold off until after the season.

"We talked about the risk of waiting, and because it was a relatively slower-growing cancer, they inevitably decided it was OK to have it after the season," Stottlemyre said.

"I wanted to do it during the All-Star break, but I wanted to be there for my pitchers so I chose to do it after the season."

Stottlemyre says the operation was intense -- "my insides are obviously a mess" -- but he's exercising daily and is planning to return to Miami's coaching staff in 2022.

"I feel good," said Stottlemyre, who's been coaching for the Marlins since 2018. "I'm walking five miles a day and I'm going to stay in shape and I am going to return to Miami."

Dana White has entered the Jake Paul vs. Claressa Shields beef ... eviscerating the YouTube superstar for calling the boxer/MMA fighter a "loser" ... saying, "I hope he runs into her somewhere and she knocks him the f*** out."

Jake recently called out "T-Rex" after her first loss as a pro fighter with PFL earlier this week ... saying, "Claressa Shields is a loser. In MMA, and even more so with her prima donna attitude."

Dana -- who hates the Paul bros. with a burning passion -- got wind of Jake's comments ... and he didn't hold back.

"Jake Paul calls Claressa Shields a loser? Claressa Shields is nothing but a winner who actually fought real people in her weight class, in her own age, in her own sport and then goes over to MMA and tries to win a world title," he told MMA Fighting. "That's not a loser, that's a winner."

There's more -- "When are you gonna start fighting somebody your own f***ng age, your own weight, that actually fights in your own f***ing sport that you're claiming you're in? Shut the f*** up, you goofball. For you to call Claressa Shields a loser is f***ing unbelievable!!"

Dana also showered Shields with praise ... adding, "Nothing but respect for Claressa Shields."

"To be looked at as the best female boxer, right, and to come over here and start training and start to do this, not easy. Nothing but respect for her."

Famously tatted Team USA superstar Caeleb Dressel just got some new ink -- in the form of a MASSIVE leg piece that took 14 HOURS to complete!!

Remember, TMZ Sports spoke with the 7-time gold medalist fresh off dominating the 2020 Olympic games back in August ... and he hinted he was looking to add to his trademark body art.

Now, we know just what the 25-year-old was envisioning ... showing off a wild Western-themed piece complete with a skeleton cowboy, cacti, an eagle and flowers.

The tat is huge ... so naturally, it took more than half a day to finish.

"It was a long 14 hours but I had some great company with @travisbrucetattoos," Dressel said via Instagram on Thursday.

"Things got weird for sure but we had good music and good conversation, can’t ask for more than that. Thanks for bringing this idea to life."

We do have one question, though -- how is the bathroom break sitch??

Florida Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville has resigned from his position ... this after he admitted to bungling the handling of sexual abuse allegations during his time as the Chicago Blackhawks coach.

The NHL announced the move Thursday night ... explaining after Quenneville had a meeting with league commissioner Gary Bettman, both parties were in favor of the Panthers' bench boss stepping down.

"All parties agreed that it was no longer appropriate that he continue to serve as Florida's head coach," Bettman said in a statement.

"We thank the Panthers' organization for working with us to ensure that a thorough process was followed."

Quenneville was the coach of the Blackhawks back in 2010 ... when a player -- who later ID'ed himself as forward Kyle Beach -- claimed he was sexually assaulted by the team's video coach.

Beach said in a civil lawsuit filed in May 2021 that the coach, Brad Aldrich, told Beach he wouldn't play in the NHL if he turned down the coach's sexual advances -- so Beach claims he was forced into a sexual encounter with the man.

Aldrich has not denied having a relationship with Beach, though he's claimed the encounter was consensual.

Beach says despite bringing the issue up to Blackhawks brass ... he didn't feel enough was done to remedy the situation -- and after a lengthy investigation into the case, the NHL agreed.

Bettman hit the Blackhawks with a $2 million fine last week ... saying it was a "direct and necessary response to the failure of the Club to follow-up and address the 2010 incident in a timely and appropriate manner."

The NHL's probe, meanwhile, also revealed Quenneville did have knowledge of Beach's claims at the time ... which was damning for the coach, who had previously denied knowing about the allegations until 2021.

As a result, Quenneville stepped down from his role -- and Bettman says the two will have to have another meeting if he ever wants to get back into the league.

"I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered. My former team, the Blackhawks, failed Kyle and I own my share of that," Quenneville said in a statement. "I want to reflect on how all of this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone."

Billiards star Jeanette "The Black Widow" Lee has come through her cancer treatments "like a champion," according to her agent, and now, her prognosis going forward has improved.

The 50-year-old pool legend was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer back in the winter ... and her friends at the time feared she only had months left to live.

But, Tom George -- who's been Lee's agent for years -- tells TMZ Sports Lee handled her treatments so well ... doctors have now told her she could live several more years.

George says Lee's cancer treatments were extremely difficult ... they required 6 rounds of chemotherapy and a major surgery.

But, he says she was able to get through it all "remarkably well" ... adding that Lee is "in the upper five percent of the people that go through that regimen."

In fact, George tells us Lee was able to participate in a billiards tournament since wrapping up her chemotherapy -- competing in South Carolina earlier this month.

And, get this ... George said she did well, managing to cash out!

George says there are still challenges -- Lee does still have cancer in her system and still battles pain, fatigue and other issues daily.