TMZ Sports - Page 50

Former NFL safety Sergio Brown is fighting back in his murder case this week ... pleading not guilty to charges that he killed his mom and concealed her body afterward.

According to a spokesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, Brown entered the pleas before an Illinois judge on Wednesday.

He's now due back for another hearing in the case late next month.

As we previously reported, Brown was first hit with one charge of first-degree murder and one count of concealment of a dead body back in October ... after officials claimed he killed his 73-year-old mom in Maywood in September and dumped her body near a creek behind her home.

Authorities alleged that following the killing, Brown hightailed it to Mexico -- where he was seen partying and dancing seemingly without a care in the world at a Tulum club.

Brown was eventually extradited and arrested ... and later transported to Illinois to face the charges.

Shaun White grew up shredding the half pipe at a youth action sports camp in Oregon ... a time that had such a profound impact on the 3x Olympic gold medalist, he just teamed up with Philadelphia 76ers and NJ Devils owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer to buy the camp!

Talk about coming full circle.

We Are Camp, founded in the late '80s, is located in Ft. Hood, Oregon, a kick-ass skiing and snowboarding spot about 75 miles east of Portland. They offer a bunch of different activities in addition to snow sports, including mountain biking and skateboarding.

“As a kid, I was so thrilled to spend every summer going up to Windells and High Cascade Snowboard Camp,” White said, reminiscing on his many family vacations to the 28-acre campgrounds.

“Those were some of my fondest memories. I would snowboard the best park and halfpipe in the morning and then the afternoons would be filled with skateboarding, trampolines, and mountain biking, it was epic!"

Shaun, of course, went on to become the greatest snowboarder of all time... affording him the connections and opportunity to partner with Harris and Blitzer.

"I’m honored to officially partner with We Are Camp along with Josh and David. I’m excited to step in and help elevate a place that’s so special to me, so come June, you’ll know where to find me!”

Sources tell us the camp was valued at around $10 million!

A lot of money ... but Josh Harris and David Blitzer are incredibly successful. In addition to the Sixers and Devils, they own the Prudential Center arena in New Jersey.

It didn't work out the first time around, but New York Jets coach Robert Saleh is hoping for a different result moving forward with Zach Wilson ... telling reporters the 24-year-old quarterback will be his team's starter for the foreseeable future.

The Jets haven't been able to find a valuable replacement under center following Aaron Rodgers' Week 1 Achilles injury ... and after a two-game experiment with Tim Boyle, Saleh told the media Wednesday that Wilson -- who initially took over for the four-time MVP -- was the team's best chance to win.

Boyle was cut from the team following NY's 13-8 loss to the Atlanta Falcons ... after he threw for just 148 yards and failed to toss a touchdown.

Wilson hasn't been great for the Jets ... and aside from a surprise victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, he struggled to gain traction with the starting gig.

Saleh seemingly alluded to Rodgers being out for the rest of the season ... saying Wilson was excited to finish out the 2023-24 campaign strong.

The Dallas Cowboys might be without their head coach for their huge matchup with the Eagles this weekend ... 'cause the team says Mike McCarthy is slated to undergo surgery later Wednesday that could keep him from the sidelines on Sunday.

The Cowboys revealed McCarthy will have a procedure on his appendix after he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis following some abdominal pain he was suffering from earlier Wednesday morning.

The team says the 60-year-old is scheduled to be released from the hospital before sunrise Thursday ... and, somehow, he "anticipates coaching" against Philadelphia -- this despite kickoff being roughly 100 hours away.

While he's out, the Cowboys say their three coordinators will run team practices.

Of course, it'd be a big blow for the Cowboys if McCarthy cannot ultimately make it to AT&T Stadium ... because, after all, the contest is quite possibly the biggest regular season game the team has had in the last few years.

If Dallas wins, both teams will sit atop the NFC East with 10-3 records. If it loses, however, it will not only be two games behind Philly in the standings, it will also lose out in a tiebreaker scenario.

It appears Morgan Wallen is chasing Josie Canseco like a shot of whiskey -- the country superstar was spotted entering a London hotel and restaurant with the ex-MLB slugger's daughter this week ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

The "Last Night" crooner and model arrived at the Chiltern Firehouse around 1 AM Tuesday morning ... and sources say they stayed there for about two hours before leaving in the same Mercedes Sprinter van.

We're told the two were having a great time ... laughing and smiling throughout their visit.

Morgan showed up to the venue in a green jacket, trucker hat and signature cowboy boots ... and Jose Canseco's kid donned an all-black ensemble.

It's unclear whether the two are really "dating," as neither follow each other on Instagram ... but perhaps they were trying to keep from having a paper trail.

Morgan has a son, Indigo Wilder, with his ex-fiancée, Katie Smith ... and has been pretty lowkey in the dating world following their split, outside of brief relationships with Paige Lorenze and Megan Moroney.

As for Josie, she famously dated guys like Mike Stud, Brody Jenner and Logan Paul ... but appears to be single at the moment.

Von Miller -- for now -- will not miss any Bills practices or games despite his domestic violence arrest last week ... this according to Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane.

The Bills exec spoke at length on the matter with media members just minutes ago ... revealing his team has no plans to suspend its star pass rusher amid allegations that he roughed up his pregnant girlfriend during a violent incident at their Dallas-area apartment on Nov. 29.

"There's not a lot that I can say," Beane told reporters. "Von is here. He'll be a part of the team."

Beane said repeatedly the Bills plan to let both the criminal investigation and the NFL's probe into the issue play out before they make any kinds of rash decisions regarding Von.

He did say, however, if something unnerving comes up in the investigation process ... things regarding Von's status could change.

But, Beane also added, "The guy that we've known here for a year and a half," the allegations seem "out of character."

As we reported, an arrest warrant was issued for Miller late last week after police say his GF told cops he pushed her, put his hands around her neck ... and pulled a chunk of her hair out of her head during a heated argument.

In 911 audio, the woman can be heard telling dispatch she was left bloodied and bruised after the alleged altercation.

The woman, though, reportedly recanted the story just a day later ... with WFAA reporting she said in a text message to their reporters, "Things were blown way out of context."

Taylor Swift was asked about grouchy NFL fans who feel like there's way too much focus on her during games -- and insists she only has one purpose for being there ... cheering on Travis Kelce.

The pop star addressed the increasingly thorny issue -- a growing grievance for NFL diehards -- during her TIME Magazine profile after she was named Person of the Year, and her response basically amounts to ... take it up with Roger Goodell.

She says, "I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in. There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once."

T-Swift added she was just there to "support Travis" ... and went on to explain, "I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads."

It's fascinating this was brought up ... 'cause it has, in fact, become a point of conversation among those who tune in every week to watch their favorite football team.

While Swifties and casuals might be fascinated/intrigued to see as much as Taylor as possible during the broadcast ... the sport purists of the world have been up in arms over all the Taylor talk.

Based on her answer here, it sounds like she's passing the buck off to the league and whatever channel is airing any given game she might be attending -- as they're the ones who decide where to pan to with camera, and she can't help if they want the spotlight on her.

If it makes anyone feel any better, Taylor also said she'd become a huge fan of the gridiron action ... saying, "Football is awesome, it turns out. I’ve been missing out my whole life."

And speaking of Travis ... she shed more light on how they came together and when as well -- revealing they hooked almost immediately after he name-dropped her in his podcast way back in July, as he told the tale of shooting his shot and seemingly being rejected.

Taylor says she appreciated his boldness, and noted they'd been seeing each other long before she showed up to his first game in Kansas City. She also characterized their dynamic in a really glowing way, saying ... "When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care."

Taylor finished ... "The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other."

Yeah, these two might just be the real deal ... at long last.

NY Giants star Xavier McKinney plays on the gridiron like a comic book villain ... and now, after getting a huge torso tattoo, his stomach art matches his game!!

The 24-year-old safety recently hit up LeBron James' ink artist, Ganga, for the piece ... and it turned out awesome.

His abs are now covered by an image of a pissed-off Thanos ruling over a smoldering city. On one of his obliques, meanwhile, he got a pic of the Joker put down -- and on the other, Ganga drew on "Guardians of the Galaxy" character Groot.

Ganga also touched up some of McKinney's other tats that he had gotten previously ... while adding the words, "Most Wanted" and "Beware of Dog" as well.

The NFL player was clearly thrilled with the final results ... sharing pics of his new ink while writing in a caption, "Tattoos over war wounds .."

"Special thanks to my brother @gangatattoo and all the artist who helped bring this piece to life."

Taylor Swift is TIME Magazine's Person of the Year -- and if we're being frank ... nobody's really surprised, 'cause she stands out as the far and away winner of 2023.

The mega pop star was tapped by TIME's editorial staff to grace their big end-of-year cover -- and the publication's editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, apparently felt it was important for him to come on 'Today' to explain the pick ... considering everyone/everything else as possibilities.

Obviously, there were a lot of choices this year ... in fact, TIME's finalists included all the big names from Trump to Putin and King Charles to Barbie -- not to mention a ton of other notable people/groups that made a splash -- but Jacobs said the staff chose joy this year.

He says, "Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well."

Jacobs adds, "Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power. Swift is the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story."

Check out his full explanation here ... he says he acknowledges the world's on fire right now and that they could've gone in a number of contentious directions with the POTY -- but considering how much light and happiness TS spreads, TIME went with a lighter pick.

Of course, her influence and success was unmatched this year ... so on that front, there's no justification needed. She rolled out a worldwide tour that sold just about everywhere it stopped, released a concert film of that same concert ... and dominated music services.

Plus, Taylor ended one high-profile relationship ... and started another one with NFL star Travis Kelce -- so even in the sports world, she transcended and drew eyeballs. BTW, Taylor revealed in her TIME interview that she and TK were a couple way before anyone knew.

TayTay's quoted as saying ... "This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been," before epically adding, "Are you not entertained?"

While TIME might normally be considered for somewhat heftier/more serious editorial coverage ... they clearly opted to crown the people's champion this year, and it doesn't sound like anyone's grumbling about it. Like the EIC says ... she's just larger than life itself.

The piece they did on her was glowing and positive ... however, there are old issues Taylor brought up that she clearly has sour feelings about -- namely, her beef with Kanye West/Kim Kardashian.

Specifically, she brought up that whole phone call debacle from years ago ... when Kim and Ye had TS on the phone and discussed his "Famous" song that invoked Taylor's name.

Taylor claims Kim, at first, released an edited version of their conversation that made Taylor look like she hadn't been truthful -- and she reflects on that in this TIME interview, saying ... "You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar."

Taylor adds, "That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard."

Like we said ... it's an old feud that she felt she wanted to address, but generally speaking ... she seems to be in a much better place now -- and is clearly on top.

Congrats to her ... grudges be damned!

Kid Cudi isn't letting Rich Paul and Jake Paul slide after critiquing his loyalty and ties to Cleveland.

Rich recently shared his thoughts on the "BS w/ Jake Paul" podcast as to why "The Land" doesn't embrace the "Day N Nite" rapper after all his success over the years. Well, those words didn't sit well with Cudi, who says LeBron James' agent couldn't be further from the truth, and ripping him for making bogus assumptions.

Cudi says he actually returns to Cleveland all the time -- it's where his mom lives -- he's just not all about going to Cleveland sporting events or bars ... when he's back, it's family time.

He also noted his Moon Man's Landing festival in 2023 brought 20k people from the city together ... with plans to do it again in the future.

Jake Paul took shots at Cudi too, accusing him of leaving the city behind, while also revealing he asked Cudi to walk out with him when he fought Tyron Woodley in Cleveland a few years back. JP says Cudi wanted wayyy too much money, and wasn't about to give a hometown discount.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes ... the Laker game!!

Fresh off exchanging "I Dos" in Mexico over the weekend, newlyweds Vanessa Hudgens and MLB player Cole Tucker decided to stop by Crypto.com Arena to catch the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Phoenix Suns game on Tuesday ... and the married couple looked as happy as ever!!

The duo showed up to the venue in pretty casual 'fits ... with Tucker rocking a white crew neck and snapback, and Hudgens electing for a long coat and red ball cap.

As we previously reported, the actress and athlete had their closest friends in Tulum for the occasion ... with the whole crew celebrating their vows on the beach.

There were a ton of other celebrities in attendance for the Lakers' In-Season Tournament win over the Suns ... including Kim Kardashian, Flea, Druski, Rich Paul and Floyd Mayweather.

The A-listers picked a good one, as the home team won, 106-103 ... eliminating Phoenix from the tourney.

Greatness and athleticism are in Brock Lesnar's blood 'cause the WWE legend's daughter just made history at Colorado State -- with a school-record-breaking 18.5-meter shot put!

Mya -- a junior on the CSU track team -- launched the near 9-pound spherical ball during a meet over the weekend ... and the historic moment was captured on video.

"💥18.50m💥," Mya said on Instagram. "A new PR and a new school record!!😤 Happy with a strong start to my season."

Perhaps the record-breaking put isn't shocking when you consider her dad is one of the most impressive athletes that we've ever seen. Not only is Brock a WWE legend, but he was also a UFC heavyweight champion and NCAA div. 1 wrestling champ in 2000. Lesnar also had a cup of coffee in the NFL.

How's that for an athletic pedigree?

Only time will tell if Mya follows her dad's career path and gets involved in professional wrestling after college.

For now, Mya, who has competed in 16 meets this season, will continue racking up wins, and adding to her already list of impressive accolades.

In fact, she finished in the top 3 of the indoor and outdoor track and field championships in 2023. She was also named All-Mountain West.

When it comes to her dad, Brock hasn't wrestled since SummerSlam in August ... and the 46-year-old isn't expected back until 2024.

New York Rangers winger Barclay Goodrow is gonna need an emergency trip to the dentist chair this week ... and it's all 'cause he took a puck straight to the mouth during a game Tuesday night.

Goodrow was attempting to chase down the puck during the first period of NY's tilt with the Senators in Ottawa ... when his teammate, K'Andre Miller, accidentally nailed him in the face with a keep-in attempt.

Goodrow immediately crumpled to the ice in pain ... sliding several feet before he stopped and spit out a bloody tooth.

The 30-year-old two-time Stanley Cup winner then rushed to the locker room ... and, despite being an tough-as-nails NHL player, he did not return to action.

After the game -- which the Rangers lost 6-2 without Goodrow -- head coach Peter Laviolette said his player sustained an "upper-body" injury and he's still under evaluation.

"Listen, that happens," the coach told reporters. "Certainly we don't like to see that, he's an important part of our team for a lot of different reasons."

Bam Margera finally got the green light to see his son -- this after recently crossing a huge milestone in sobriety -- and he has plans to see the boy for Christmas ... TMZ has learned.

David Glass -- the attorney repping Bam's estranged wife, Nikki -- tells us the former "Jackass" star has, indeed, been granted monitored visitation with their young son, Phoenix. We're told Bam can see Phoenix with a professional supervisor if/when he's in Southern California ... which is where Nikki lives with the kid.

As of right now, however, Glass says neither he nor his client have been informed about any potential dates for Bam to see Phoenix.

BM himself tells TMZ ... since he hasn't seen Phoenix in person for well over 200 days now, he's dead set on visiting his son right around Christmas -- which we're told happens to be the kid's birthday as well.

Bam says this is long overdue, as he claims to have only been allowed FT calls with Phoenix up until now -- and as such, Papa Bear is going to be flying into Los Angeles this month for an event and wants to spend some quality time with him. We're told Bam's coming with a sack full of presents, too, for Phoenix.

Apparently, Bam had purchased $5,000 worth of gifts for his kid -- but because of all the legal drama lately, he hasn't been able to give them to Phoenix just yet.

As we reported ... Bam recently hit over 100 days sober, which is a major win for him in so many respects. Bam tells us the judge in his divorce case has been monitoring this progress carefully -- and feels like the decision to grant him visitation is due to his sobriety.

LeRoy Butler says Florida State needs to pack its bags and get the hell out of the ACC ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the perceived weakness of the conference is a big reason the College Football Playoff committee gave the Seminoles the boot on Sunday.

"We're going to have to leave," said Butler, who starred at FSU from 1987 through 1989. "We've got to get out of the ACC. If we want to win a national championship, we've got to go."

FSU -- which just completed a 13-0 season on Saturday -- was believed by many to be one of the four best teams in the country ... but when it came time to pick the four squads who will play for this year's national championship, the CFP committee gave the nod to a one-loss Alabama team over the Seminoles.

When we spoke with Butler about the snub some 24 hours after it went down ... he was furious -- saying he believes the committee "robbed" his former team.

Then, he told us FSU's conference affiliation will need to change in order to prevent these kinds of situations going forward.

"Let's be honest, they don't think the ACC is a good conference," Butler said ... before adding, "I bet you I've gotten 50 calls from people -- 'Man, ya'll have got to get out of the ACC.'"

"This is not basketball. Football brings in the money."

While Butler didn't say where he'd like his alma mater to end up -- it seems pretty clear it's the SEC.

"The SEC is in everybody's brain -- that a one-loss team is better than a 13-0 team."

With the 1st pick in the 2040 WNBA Draft, [team name here] selects Kaari Morant! 😊

Ja Morant's 4-year-old daughter showed the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ... the NBA superstar's baby, Kaari, showed off her hoops skills in a 1-on-1 matchup against her mom, Kadre -- and it's adorable!

Kadre shared the video on social media, despite being scored on (sometimes the offense is just that good!), showing Kaari driving to the left, with handles that'd make dad proud, before knocking down the lefty layup, as mom could just stand there and watch.

Kaari was clearly impressed with her work on the court ... and she let everyone know about it, yelling, "You see the guns?! You see the guns?!" as she flexed.

Kadre -- who gave birth to Kaari in 2019 -- captioned the video with a question ... how does her daughter already have A+ trash talk?!

Ja's sister, high school hooper Niya, took the credit, saying her niece got it from her.

"Deflee got it from her tt," Niya said, "but whateva 🙄😂😂😂😂."

It seems hooping runs in the family (and some trash-talking, too) ... and thankfully for NBA fans, Morant is gearing up to return later this month when his 25-game suspension ends.

Ja will be eligible on Dec. 19, and the 5-14 Grizzlies desperately need him.