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Tristan Thompson is in the throes of what could become a paternity dispute, but the newborn's mother isn't waiting for a judge to decide whether he's the daddy ... she's already given the baby his last name.

Maralee Nichols posted of photo of the baby, with the caption, "First came love, then came you ❤️ Angelou Kash Thompson."

Maralee went on to grouse that Tristan is not embracing the child, saying, "I want to thank everyone for your well wishes. Me and baby are doing great. Right now my heart and mind is on focusing on the baby right now. I am heartbroken that Angelou's father doesn't want to be in his life. I am hoping this lawsuit will bring us together and we can be a family."

It is interesting ... Maralee wrote, "First came love" ... clearly suggesting this was more than what Tristan has called it -- a one-night stand.

As we reported, Nicole claims the baby was conceived in Houston back in March ... around the time Tristan was in town to celebrate his 30th birthday. If she's right on the timeline, the baby was conceived when Tristan was still with Khloe Kardashian -- at least publicly they were together.

Nicole, who filed legal docs to establish paternity, claims she and Tristan were together for 5 months, and she also alleges he offered her $75,000 to stay mum on the baby ... with this threat -- he allegedly said he's retiring after this season and he will then become unemployed, so she'd get way less than the $75k he was offering.

She also claims, according to the Daily Mail, she had promised him a "birthday surprise" in Houston, which he knew meant birthday sex.

If this is indeed Tristan's baby, it would be child #3 for him.

Maralee is asking for child support and reimbursement for the medical expenses related to her pregnancy and birth.

The chef who told the NFL that Antonio Brown faked his COVID vaccine card is now planning to sue the Buccaneers star ... saying the wide receiver still owes him $10,000.

Steven Ruiz spelled it all out to TMZ Sports this week ... saying after the NFL ruled he wasn't lying about Brown's bogus vaccine card --- he's planning to move forward with a lawsuit against AB.

"The game plan now is to file a lawsuit and take it from there," Ruiz said. "People provide a service and you've got to pay for it. That's it."

As we previously reported, Ruiz said he cooked for Brown regularly this past year ... but when it came time to pay a bill for it all, AB balked.

Ruiz said Brown owed him $10K, but he couldn't get the cash from the football player -- even after talking with Brown's attorney.

So, Ruiz ended up going public with his claims that Brown had sought and obtained a fake vaccine card and then later submitted it to the NFL.

The league investigated the claims ... and said it found Brown did misrepresent his vaccine status, and then suspended him three games without pay, costing him over $100K in lost salary.

Ruiz tells us if Brown had just paid up, he probably would've stayed quiet.

"If he had just probably paid me, you know what? He probably would still be getting paid in the NFL right now," Ruiz said. "He'd probably be playing the games that he could be playing and none of this would have even happened."

Great news! UFC president Dana White is officially COVID-19 free ... telling TMZ Sports he tested negative for the virus, and he's crediting Joe Rogan's suggested treatment plan of monoclonal antibodies, NAD drip, vitamins, and Ivermectin for the swift recovery.

"I feel incredible! Today is day 5 since testing positive for COVID, and [Friday at 9 AM], I tested negative for COVID. Thank you, Dr. Joe Rogan!"

Dana tested positive for the virus after a Thanksgiving day family gathering ... and immediately contacted the JRE host for advice.

Of course, Rogan beat the virus in a matter of days ... but it wasn't without controversy.

He (also) took Ivermectin ... a drug that some media outlets incorrectly classified as livestock medication (there are animal and human versions of the drug).

But, Dana -- who is fully vaccinated -- says Joe is very well-informed ... and most importantly, his plan works.

"Joe Rogan is a brilliant guy and he talks to the most brilliant people out there. He studies, he does his homework on all this stuff, and it's a fact that this works."

And, work it did -- the UFC honcho tells us ... "Monday I did what Rogan told me to do. Tuesday I had my taste and smell back."

White says if you think his case was a fluke ... the treatment also worked on his wife, daughter, and 80-year-old mother-in-law!

We didn't only talk about viruses ... we also chopped it up about UFC 269 -- which is only a week away (Dec. 11).

Lightweight champ Charles Oliveira is fighting Dustin Poirier ... the man many believe is actually the best in the division.

Amanda Nunes is also fighting Julianna Pena (the "Venezuelan Vixen" told us "Lioness" isn't taking her seriously). "Suga" Sean O'Malley, Cody Garbrandt, and Geoff Neal are also on the card.

We asked Dana which fight he was looking forward to -- outside of the marquee matchups at the top of the card -- and he told us he expects a lot of violence when Josh Emmett and Dan Ige do battle on the prelims.

We also talked to White about Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev ... and he told us he's working on booking the 4-0 fighter an opponent now that Diaz shot down the fight.

If you missed it, earlier this week the superstar from Stockton told us he wouldn't fight "Borz" because he was a rookie who wasn't on Diaz's level.

Gervonta "Tank" Davis was paying close attention when champ Teofimo Lopez lost his belts and undefeated record last weekend ... telling TMZ Sports he learned a valuable lesson, don't underestimate your opponent!

"Just a mistake he made," Davis says, "Going in there thinking someone's a slouch."

Tank added ... "That just taught me to never go in there thinking I won already and I didn't."

Of course, 24-year-old Lopez, the former unified lightweight champ, lost to George Kambosos Jr. last weekend ... in what was a major upset.

It was Teofimo's first fight since he was on the other side of a shocking upset ... when he beat Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020.

Back to 27-year-old Davis -- who is a perfect 25-0 (24 KO) in the ring -- a record he'll put to the test when he steps in the squared circle with 23-year-old Mexican boxer Isaac Cruz this Sunday on Showtime PPV.

"I'm looking toward going in there and putting on a show. It's the biggest fight of my career," Tank says.

"Just be ready. I'm ready. Give the fans what they want to see."

Tank's last match was back in June ... when he defeated Mario Barrios, becoming the WBA regular lightweight champion after moving up in weight class.

Davis also addressed Kambosos ... who told us he was the best lightweight fighter in the world this week -- a sentiment with which Tank doesn't agree.

"He's supposed to feel like that. I mean, he just won," the Baltimore native says. "Maybe he was in the heat of the moment."

"But, there's a lot of lightweights to show him that he's not the best."

Tiger Woods says the only lift he was able to do following his horrific car crash earlier this year was bench press -- and he claims he hit it so hard, he was able to put up 255 pounds!!

The golf superstar made the revelation to Golf Digest this week ... saying in the weeks after he busted his leg in the infamous L.A. wreck back in February, all he could do to stay fit was get underneath iron and bounce it off his chest.

"I got to where I was doing like 250, 255," Woods said.

Of course, that's not exactly Aaron Donald or James Harrison numbers in the weight room ... but, remember, Tiger only weighs 185 pounds -- and he's 45 years old!

To give even more context to how impressive the feat is ... Woods -- who was notorious for his weight lifting back in his prime -- says the most he's ever been able to bench was 285.

Tiger, though, says his bench numbers have gone down now that he's gotten healthier ... explaining he's able to incorporate far more lifts into his routine, so the bench has taken a back seat.

"Now that I'm doing other things -- more functional stuff," Woods said, "I've gone away from benching."

Oxford High football player Tate Myre -- who died heroically attempting to stop the tragic school shooting -- will be remembered when #2 Michigan takes the field in the Big Ten Championship this weekend ... with the team wearing a jersey patch in his honor.

Michigan made the announcement on Thursday ... saying, "Our uniforms will feature a special logo during Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game."

Myre's initials and jersey number will be featured on the patch ... as well as a heart for each of the four victims of the tragedy.

"The shape is of Oxford's 'Block O', meant to honor all victims, survivors, and community members," the team added.

"I was told that everybody in that school was running one way, and Tate was running the other way," Myre's football and wrestling coach Ross Wingert told the Detroit Free Press.

"I know Tate chose to do what he thought was right and he made the ultimate sacrifice."

The 16-year-old had interest in playing at the next level -- just days before the tragedy, Myre was at the University of Toledo football game as a potential recruit.

There's currently a petition to rename the Oxford football stadium in his name, which has reached over 202,000 signatures.

"We are proud to represent that state of Michigan and all of its communities," the team said.

Oxford H.S. is an hour north of UM. The Wolverines will face #15 Iowa in Indianapolis on Saturday for the Big Ten title.

Tristan Thompson is allegedly about to become a dad x3, this time with a woman out of Houston who claims she got pregnant after a brief fling with the NBA star ... and now wants him to pay up in the form of child support.

Maralee Nichols claims she's due to give birth to a baby boy today, December 3, according to new docs obtained by The Daily Mail. Nichols says the baby was conceived in Houston back in March ... around the time Thompson was in town to celebrate his 30th birthday.

The DM reports Thompson admits to having sex with Nichols several times at the hotel ... and previous to meeting up she had promised him a "birthday surprise" which he knew meant birthday sex.

If Nichols' timeline is accurate, Tristan was still publicly with Khloe Kardashian at the time he and the expecting mom hooked up.

One thing up for debate -- how long the fling lasted. Tristan reportedly says it was only a one-night stand, but Nichols says the two had been together off and on for around 5 months prior to the March hook-up.

As for Tristan and Khloe, they broke up in May, shortly after a woman named Sydney Chase made allegations she and Tristan had hooked up. Both Tristan and Khloe have publicly supported each other since the split and are often seen co-parenting their daughter True.

The baby boy would be Tristan's third known child.

Nichols is asking for child support and for Tristan to cover her pregnancy-related medical expenses.

Deion Sanders, in perhaps the greatest piece of coaching in sports history, invited social media celeb Brittany Renner to speak to his Jackson State football team ... and it's everything you could've hoped for!

Primetime recruited Renner to "put his team up on game" ... in other words, it was an attempt to educate his players on the pitfalls of being a high-profile athlete.

"It's my responsibility as a Coach to prepare my young men for any and everything on the field and off," Sanders wrote on Instagram.

"I brought in @bundleofbrittany to educate them on how the game is played between man & woman at their age & stage. The message may not be for everybody but trust me it's for somebody. #CoachPrime @gojsutigersfb"

Sanders asked Renner to introduce herself, but a formal intro wasn't really needed, as it appeared most of the players immediately recognized her.

If you're not as familiar as the football team was with Brittany, she's famously dated a bunch of high-profile men over the years.

In fact, Renner was accused of preying on NBA player PJ Washington while he was a star at Kentucky, eventually giving birth to his baby.

Washington accused Renner of faking the relationship ... in an effort to get to his money.

Nevertheless, Renner -- who said everyone from rappers to NBA stars have slid in her DM's -- kept it real with the fellas ... emphasizing how careful they must be when you reach a certain status.

"You want to make it to the NFL, but there's a lot that comes with it," Renner said, "To be able to decipher who really loves you for you is the billion-dollar question."

After the meeting, Brittany reflected on her time at Jackson State ... and clearly believes it was a positive experience.

Aaron Rodgers is still takin' care of business during the Packers' bye week ... popping up at a renowned sports doctors office in Los Angeles, where he appeared to stay for nearly 3 hrs.

The Green Bay quarterback arrived at the Kerlan Jobe offices Friday morning ... where he was greeted by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in the parking lot.

FYI, Kerlan Jobe -- part of Cedars-Sinai -- is regarded as one of the leading sports medicine facilities in the world, and Dr. ElAttrache, one of the best docs.

In fact, he's worked on legendary athletes like Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and Conor McGregor.

It's unclear what Rodgers had checked out, or if he underwent any procedures while inside ... but it seems very likely he was there for his COVID fractured toe.

Rodgers previously explained the injury, even showing the pinky toe to reporters, in an effort to prove the injury was NOT related to having the virus.

Speaking of COVID, notice Rodgers pulled up his mask up as he walked with Dr. ElAttrache, towards the entrance of the facility. In California, masks are still required indoors.

As for the fractured toe, Aaron told Pat McAfee on Monday that he was still considering surgery on the digit, but preferred to let it heal naturally.

Carl Nassib -- the NFL's only openly gay player -- will be showing his support for the LGBTQ+ community on Sunday ... by wearing a pair of custom rainbow cleats.

The Raiders pass rusher -- who came out as gay earlier this year -- revealed the unique footwear this week ... announcing he'd be sporting the shoes for Las Vegas' matchup with the Washington Football Team.

If you're unfamiliar, the NFL is allowing teams to rock custom cleats in Week 13 to raise awareness and money for causes close to the players' hearts ... and Nassib is choosing to wear a pair with a rainbow design on them.

Nassib's cleats will also feature the words "The Trevor Project" in bold orange on the sides -- with "Protect LGBTQ+ lives" written on them as well.

The cleats will also feature the number to the suicide prevention lifeline -- 1-866-488-7386 -- for young LGBTQ+ people.

FYI -- The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people ... and it's a cause Nassib has had strong ties to ever since he came out back in June.

Nassib famously pledged to donate $100,000 to the org. after his announcement ... and he urged others to chip in as well.

Tom Brady might never throw another pass to Antonio Brown again -- 'cause Bruce Arians just announced the receiver's Bucs future is up in the air following his COVID vaccine card scandal.

The Tampa Bay head coach just broke the news to reporters ... saying Brown is not guaranteed a future spot on the Bucs' roster after the NFL suspended him for submitting a bogus vax card.

"Nothing's been decided," Arians said ... who added that he was "pissed" over the whole ordeal.

As we previously reported, Brown's personal chef accused the wideout of seeking and obtaining fraudulent vaccine cards, claiming Brown got them and submitted his fudged one to the league back in July.

Brown, through his attorney, Sean Burstyn, denied the claims ... though the NFL announced Thursday it found evidence that "supported" AB's chef's allegations.

The league banned Brown from playing in Tampa Bay's next three games over it all.

The NFL also hit Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards with a three-game suspension for "misrepresenting" his vaccine status as well ... and Arians said that player's future with the team is also up in the air.

"The league did their due diligence and we move on," Arians said. "I will not address those guys for the next three weeks. They'll just be working out and then we'll address their future at that time."

"Other than that, there's really nothing to say."

The Portland Trailblazers have fired general manager Neil Olshey almost a month after the team opened an investigation into toxic and hostile work allegations made by employees.

56-year-old Olshey -- who's been the GM since 2012 -- was accused back in November of bullying, intimidating and making expletive-filled rants towards staff members over his time with the team.

The Blazers immediately launched a private investigation into the allegations ... and a firm spoke with several employees on the abuse that is said to have led to "mental and physical stress."

After a review of the findings, the organization fired Olshey.

"The Portland Trail Blazers are committed to building an organization that positively impacts our colleagues, communities and the world in which we live and play," the org. said Friday.

"Following the conclusion of the independent review of concerns and complaints around our workplace environment at the practice facility, the Portland Trail Blazers organization has decided to terminate General Manager and President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey, effective immediately due to violations of the Portland Trail Blazers’ Code of Conduct."

The team says they will not release any information on their investigation out of respect for those who came forward and look to make improvements in the office.

"We are confident that these changes will help build a more positive and respectful working environment."

Tyson Fury's beef with Deontay Wilder is over ... but his feud with Anthony Joshua is clearly still raging on -- 'cause the heavyweight champ shaded the hell out of the boxer with an "A.J. is a p***y!" song on Thursday.

The vulgar lyrics all went down in England at the O2 Apollo during Fury's meet-and-greet "Homecoming" Tour -- when the 33-year-old hilariously called out the 24-2 British boxer.

You can see in footage filmed by a fan in the stands, Fury jumped on stage and began singing "A.J. is a p***y" loudly.

And, it didn't take long for the rest of the arena to join in ... with everyone in the venue singing along with the pugilist!!

Of course, Fury was supposed to fight Joshua back on Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia ... but the tilt was shut down when Wilder got a judge to rule in his favor that fury owed him a third fight due to a contract clause.

Fury went on to beat Deontay in an epic fight, but Joshua ended up losing his replacement match against Oleksandr Usyk on Sept. 25.

Joshua is set for a rematch with OU -- but Fury's actions on Thursday night show it's clear he eventually wants that scrap with A.J. to go down.

UFC fighter Geoff Neal was arrested on Thanksgiving after cops say he was drinking and driving with a firearm ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to police records, Neal -- who's slated to fight at UFC 269 on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas -- was taken into custody at 3:47 AM on Nov. 25.

Details surrounding the stop are unclear -- we're working on it -- but records show Neal was booked on charges of driving while intoxicated and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

The records show the 31-year-old was eventually released from jail at 8:08 PM on Thanksgiving night.

Neal is set to scrap with Santiago Ponzinibbio, and, according to the UFC, the fight is still on despite the arrest.

"UFC is aware of the recent situation involving Geoff Neal," UFC officials said in a statement. "The organization has been in communication with him and is in the process of gathering more details. Neal's bout at UFC 269 on December 11th remains as scheduled."

Neal, meanwhile, has denied the allegations against him ... with his attorney telling ESPN this week that he believes bloodwork results will show the UFC fighter was not illegally drinking and driving.

"If it turns out he was not legally intoxicated -- which we expect the blood test will show -- there won't be a gun charge, either," said Brandon Barnett, who claims Neal legally had a licensed gun in his vehicle at the time of the arrest.

"I think it's somewhat premature to report on this at this point," Barnett added. "Doing what I do for a living, there's a lot of occasions where you see an arrest and then based on the evidence that comes back there's never even a case file."

Who said Brian Kelly wasn't a culture fit in Baton Rouge?!?

LSU's newest head coach -- who was born and raised in Massachusetts -- suddenly has the whole southern thing figured out ... showing off a shocking new accent while speaking with Tiger fans at a basketball game on Wednesday.

"It's a great day to be a Tiger," Kelly said ... sounding more like a guy raised on gumbo than New England clam chowder.

"I'm here with my family and we are so excited to be in the great state of Louisiana. But more importantly, to be with you great fans and to be part of what is going to be an incredible ride here at Louisiana State University."

Listen specifically to the words like "day" and "family" -- the speech had the internet on fire ... with some even digging for clips of Kelly earlier this week to compare.

The whole thing sounds like Frank Caliendo on a bad day ... but you can tell Kelly put a huge emphasis on not coming off like a guy who just spent the past 30-plus years in the Midwest -- even working on his cadence to really try to bring it home.

Tiger fans either haven't heard Kelly talk before or were simply too excited to have Coach in BR to care about the accent ... after all, the guy said he can't wait to start winning natty's.

"That's the standard, that's the expectation," he told the crowd. "We knew that coming in. We don't apologize for it. We know it's hard work. We know there's great teams in the SEC, we respect them. But, this is LSU. Geaux Tigers."

There are now TWO LeBron James offspring who can dunk a basketball ... 'cause the Lakers star's youngest son, Bryce, just rattled the rim for the first time on Thursday night!!

Just a couple years after Bronny -- LBJ's oldest boy -- accomplished the feat ... Bryce did it in warmups for Sierra Canyon H.S., and LeBron was fired up to see it.

The King had courtside seats for the big moment ... and cameras captured a big smile on his face after Bryce threw it down.

"Ayyyyeeeeeee!!!!!," said LeBron, who actually captured the dunk with his own cell phone camera. "Yo WTH man."

The dunk was pretty sweet -- Bryce took off on two feet and slammed the ball home with one hand. And, considering Bryce is just a 14-year-old freshman, it's likely the first of many.

Of course, Bronny is already killin' it a couple years after his first dunk -- he's considered one of the best recruits in the class of 2023 ... dunking the ball with ease and hearing from all of the top colleges.