TMZ Sports - Page 28

Noah Knigga is looking to give the people what they want ... telling TMZ Sports he's gotten a ton of requests to sell jerseys and merch after becoming an internet sensation -- and he wants to help make it happen!!

The two-sport junior from Lawrenceburg H.S. in Indiana went viral after the masses got wind of his unique surname (relax, it's pronounced Kuh-Nay-Guh) this week ... which, naturally, resulted in thousands of social media users chiming in on the phenomenon.

We caught up with Noah -- a three-star linebacker -- about his new fame ... and he says the whole experience has been life-changing.

The football and basketball star says his accounts have been flooded with people inquiring about getting their hands on some apparel ... and while he would love to fulfill the demand, Knigga explained he's gotta make sure anything he pursues won't hurt his eligibility with the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

FYI -- Indiana is one of the handful of states that has not allowed Name, Image and Likeness monetization at the high school level yet, so Knigga says he's looking to meet with officials before giving anything the green light.

Aside from a potentially booming business on his hands, Noah also tells us he's gotten a lot more interest from college coaches about playing ball at the next level ... naming schools like Indiana, Eastern Michigan, Kentucky, Northwestern and more that have reached out.

Tony Dungy's stirring up bad blood with the NFL's new golden goose in Taylor Swift ... essentially saying she distracts from the sport, which he thinks is a very bad thing.

In a recent interview with Fox News, the former NFL player/coach was asked how he felt about Travis Kelce's biggest fan, and he said the "Taylor Swift effect" takes away from on-field action ... going on to compare her to outside noise now infecting the game itself.

TD said, "That's the thing that's disenchanting people with sports now. There's so much on the outside coming in. Entertainment value and different things taking away from what really happens on the field."

Dungy's not some just loud-mouthed commentator either ... the guy's got credentials to back up his claims. Tony played three seasons in the NFL before embarking on a coaching career which earned him a Super Bowl title and a spot in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Of course, Taylor's been a frequent guest in Travis' suite at Chiefs games since mid-September and even showed up as recently as New Year's Eve against the Bengals. She'll reportedly hit up the playoff game in K.C. against the Dolphins tonight despite ice-cold temperatures.

We don't know if TS has seen the interview yet, but we have a pretty good idea of what her reaction might be ... if her viral Golden Globes stare-down of Jo Koy is any indication.

Remember, Taylor shot daggers at the GG host during his rough opening monologue when he said, "The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL -- on the Golden Globes we have fewer camera shots to Taylor Swift."

A seemingly harmless joke that didn't go over well, but Dungy and Koy seem to have the same point here ... Taylor herself isn't the issue. It's the NFL tearing focus away from its primary product, its own games, to grab interest from a new audience.

Between her glam selfies and active sex life, Gypsy Rose Blanchard has loads of reasons to smile these days, and Lamar Odom's hoping she continues grinning ... with a new set of teeth.

Sources close to the ex-NBA star tell TMZ he's reached out to Gypsy on social media ... offering her a full dental makeover from his new company Oxy Dental.

We're told Lamar's just like most of America -- he's been fascinated with Gypsy's story and felt compelled to help after learning her dental struggle was a big part of her journey.

Gypsy's responded ... she's thankful for the gesture, and is communicating with Lamar via social media, where they follow each other.

The procedure would normally cost about $30K, but Lamar's told her this one's on the house. We're told she's receptive to the idea, but it's still unclear if she'll accept.

Lamar's regularly helped out other reality stars with his rehab wellness facility ... so this shouldn't come as a surprise.

He noticed some patients at his rehab facility needed affordable dental options, and that prompted him to open his own dental office last month in Lomita, CA.

Lamar knows the drill himself ... splashing out $80,000 on his own teeth in 2022 after previously confessing on 'KUWTK' that he hadn't visited the dentist in 7 years.

As for Gypsy's ordeal -- several of her teeth and salivary glands were removed when her mother, Dee Dee, claimed she was suffering from tooth decay.

Gear up, Swifties ... Brett Favre tells TMZ Sports if the Chiefs don't make this year's Super Bowl -- fans WILL blame it all on Taylor Swift!!

Favre, of course, doesn't think it's right ... but he says, like it or not, it'll come if Travis Kelce and Kansas City aren't able to compete for the Lombardi Trophy next month.

"If they don't win it," Favre said, "or get to the Super Bowl, people are going to say, 'That's why.'"

Swift, needless to say, is used to it by now ... after all, people have deemed her a K.C. curse for weeks -- as her new boyfriend and the Chiefs only won five of their last 10 regular season games.

But, good news for her and the rest of Chiefs Kingdom ... Favre tells us he believes Kansas City -- despite being the No. 3 seed -- should still be considered the favorite to come out of the AFC's side of the bracket.

"Until Andy Reid is unseated as the champion," Favre said, "I have to see it to believe it."

Kansas City will begin its quest to win its second straight title later Saturday ... when it kicks off its wild card round game in frigid temperatures against the Miami Dolphins.

Larsa Pippen's dad may not approve, but her man has no issue with the reality TV star's recent controversial Instagram post ... 'cause Marcus Jordan tells TMZ Sports he approves of all her sexy content!!

As we previously reported, the 49-year-old's latest social media post was met with backlash earlier this week ... with some followers calling out the risqué pose and accusing her of editing the pic.

The image had a short shelf life, as it was later deleted ... and sources told us at the time it was due to Pippen's pops stepping in and telling her to scrub it from her page.

Larsa confirmed the development while out in NYC with her boyfriend on Thursday ... saying, "I took it down because my dad didn't like the photo."

We also asked Michael Jordan's son what he thought of the shot ... and it's safe to say his lady's got his full support.

"I approve of everything Larsa does," Jordan said.

In fact, the couple just revealed they have sex 5 times a night on the recent episode of "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" ... so it's obvious they're doing just fine in their relationship.

Browns legend Josh Cribbs has come down with Joe Flacco Fever ... but diagnosis aside, he believes the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award still belongs to Damar Hamlin ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the Bills safety earned the recognition after resuming his NFL career this season.

38-year-old Flacco has exceeded all expectations since joining the Browns in November ... leading Cleveland to a 4-1 record after Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson went down with injuries.

Despite helping the Browns reach the playoffs, Cribbs -- who had nothing but praise for the former Super Bowl MVP -- says Hamlin's story is simply too special to pass on when the league recognizes players at the end of the season.

"Right now, I say it's Damar Hamlin," Cribbs told us this week. "He came back to life on the field. He came back to life to play back again in the NFL. He is a player who essentially lost his life on the football field."

Of course, Damar saw a bit of action in the 2023-24 season ... a special moment for the player and the entire NFL after he suffered cardiac arrest against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.

"For him to have lost his life on the field and then came back, I definitely would give it to Damar Hamlin," Cribbs says.

The former return specialist gives Flacco his flowers, though ... commending the guy for going from "being on the couch with a beer" to becoming Cleveland's improbable hero.

Cribbs has full confidence in Flacco's abilities to take the Browns deep in the playoffs ... but even if they make it to the Super Bowl, he says it'll be Watson's team no matter what next season.

Cribbs backs his belief ... saying considering the Browns are paying Deshaun a massive contract, there's no way he isn't under center in 2024.

"Flacco is the now, Deshaun is no question the future," Cribbs said. "Not because of what he did in Houston, not because of what Flacco is doing right now. He's the future because he's got $230 million guaranteed. So, there is no discussion about it. He is the quarterback of the future."

It's been a busy week at TMZ ... covering everything from the Golden Globes to a Milli Vanilli divorce, but a few stories really stood out on our TV shows -- "TMZ on TV," "TMZ Live" and "TMZ Sports" -- so, check 'em out yourself!

For starters, we got into the gripping new video of OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney, and her Miami murder case, on "TMZ Live." We aired new footage showing her squabbling with her slain BF, Christian Obumseli, 2 months before she killed him at their Miami condo ... which prosecutors claim she did intentionally.

Lots of folks online viewed Clenney as the aggressor in the wild clip -- but we break down how it could have an impact on a far more important group of people ... the jury.

On a muuuuch lighter note, we also talked Tom Cruise on "TMZ on TV" and his big movie news this week -- the fact he signed a mega deal with WB to produce and star in a bunch of franchise films ... even as he's moving forward on "Top Gun 3."

The catch ... he's doing 'TP3' with Paramount, despite seemingly giving 'em the cold shoulder to sign with WB, and even getting his own office there. Yeah ... interesting.

Lastly, our "TMZ Sports" crew got into the big NFL playoff weekend ... and the aspect of it Swiftees everywhere wanna hear. QB legend Brett Favre was on the show to talk about Taylor Swift's impact on Travis Kelce's opening round game against the Dolphins.

Watch and see how he feels about a potential Chiefs loss, and who might be to blame!!! 👀

Ron Browz's name is etched in rap history for producing Nas' brutal Jay-Z diss track "Ether," and more than 20 years later he's still collecting residuals ... at least, on some social platforms, but he says others are robbing him blind!!!

TMZ Hip Hop sat down with "Etherboy" this week after his beat was used TWICE to highlight 2 of the biggest moments of the week on the internet ... both of which involved lots of "Ether" level disrespect.

The first was Katt Williams' "Club Shay Shay" interview where he mentioned virtually every comedian in his lane -- and the second came with Stephen A. Smith's hour-long flogging of Jason Whitlock.

The internet -- undefeated, as it is -- seized the moment and put the Ron-produced track over Katt and Stephen's highlights. That's not great for Ron, because he says if those posts aren't on TikTok or YouTube, which track music, then he's ass out ... and has no clue how much money he's missing.

He says the powers that be at other social platforms have yet to creat their royalty road map.

BTW, there's an interesting backstory on the making of the track -- Ron says the aggressive DNA of the song came from him desperately looking for a way out of his Harlem hood, and had the coin flipped on the other side, the instrumental could've belonged to Jay!!!

Ron says he passed the beat, and several others, to Jay's A&R at the time, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, but it never fell into Hov's lap.

"Ether" is not the only instrumental RB produced that morphed into a problematic track ... Busta Rhymes' 2008 hit "Arab Money" can easily be misconstrued for bigotry, especially in the current social media landscape.

Ron says he was simply inspired by the Arabic music playing inside NYC bodegas and added his 1uto-tuned twist to the hook.

However, it includes a recanting of the Islamic Shahada -- a profession of faith -- and that almost got Busta in hot water, and Ron too when he got booked for a Dubai gig ... but he swears the track is all positive.

Despite both beats taking a life of their own, Ron tells us his fav track he did was actually "Pop Champagne" with Jim Jones and Juelz Santana.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. spent four nights in an L.A. jail after he was arrested for allegedly possessing two "ghost guns," but the former boxing champion was in high spirits when he was finally sprung Thursday night, before heading to rehab.

37-year-old Chavez Jr. was met with a crowd outside the detention center in Los Angeles ... where he was asked how he was doing following his arrest over the weekend.

"Good, good," Julio responded in Spanish.

Of course, TMZ Sports broke the story on Monday ... Chavez Jr., son of the legendary Chavez Sr., was arrested by LAPD for illegal weapons possession around 1:30 PM Sunday after cops responded to a call to Julio's home.

Our law enforcement sources tell us Chavez Jr. had two "ghost guns," untraceable firearms.

A reporter asked JCC Jr. about his time behind bars.

"Well, everyone is given what they deserve. But I'm well, thank God. I'm well and ready to defend myself," Julio responded, adding, "You guys here know I'm a good person. I'm good, everything's good. They treated me good [in jail] and I'm ready to move forward."

Ryan Shazier is officially calling things off with Michelle Shazier ... filing for divorce from his longtime partner less than two months after she publicly accused him of cheating.

According to court records obtained by TMZ Sports, the former NFL star filed the docs on Wednesday.

No further details surrounding the matter were revealed, however, as a court has ordered the case to be sealed.

An attorney for Ryan declined to comment when we reached out on Thursday.

As we previously reported, Michelle went scorched earth on Ryan back in late November, claiming he sent raunchy texts to another woman.

The messages, she said, showed Ryan flirting ... before sending links to books filled with sexual content.

"Infidelity at its finest!" Michelle said in a caption on her post of the images of the messages. "I can't sit here and keep hiding anymore . You can have it. I deserve better. 🤍 This is Ryan… he’s a liar and a cheater!"

Ryan said in a statement to TMZ Sports at the time of the allegations, "Michelle and I have been living apart and are currently separated. As we work through what comes next for our family, I ask for privacy and prayers."

The Alabama Crimson Tide has found Nick Saban's replacement ... and it's none other than the man who nearly won Washington a national championship on Monday -- Kalen DeBoer!!!

According to multiple reports, DeBoer informed his Huskies squad on Friday that he was leaving them to take over the Tide -- just two days after Saban announced his retirement from Bama's head coaching position after 17 seasons.

Details of his contract have not yet been announced.

DeBoer began his college coaching career in 1997 -- and after head coaching stops at Sioux Falls and then Fresno State, he got the gig at Washington in 2022 ... and quickly turned the program into a powerhouse.

In his two seasons as Huskies head man, he went 25-3 ... and had a chance to win a national championship against Michigan earlier this week.

Of course, the 49-year-old will now have some of the biggest shoes ever to fill ... Saban won six national titles with the Tide -- and is widely considered the best to ever grace a college sideline.

Alabama reportedly also considered Texas' Steve Sarkisian and Florida State's Mike Norvell for the vacant gig ... but ultimately landed on DeBoer on Friday.

Cooper Kupp might've been in the middle of a playoff race, but the Rams star wasn't too busy to feed the men and women keeping L.A. safe this past Christmas season ... hooking up a bunch of Sheriff's Deputies with a massive serving of BBQ!

We're told 30-year-old Kupp swung by the Los Angeles Sherrif Department's Lost Hills station just before December 25, and he didn't arrive empty-handed. The standout wide receiver, on his dime, brought trays of food -- meat, sides, they had it all -- for the appreciative deputies.

The reason? Cooper wanted to thank the LASD for all they do.

Just dropping off the food would've been plenty, but to make the trip even better, Kupp hung out and took photos and signed autographs for anyone interested.

“Thank you Cooper Kupp for stopping by the station to bring dinner for the troops and taking the time to hang out for a bit. Your generosity was beyond appreciated. #weloveourcommunities” the LASD said.

Safe to say everyone had an awesome time.

It's not the first time Kupp’s helped his community ... he’s a charitable dude. CK has a history of giving back, even providing around 8,400 meals for food banks back in 2020!

The Michigan Wolverines' championship celebration continued at a children's hospital this week -- with Jim Harbaugh and some of the Wolverines showing off their new trophy to brighten up some patients' days.

The head coach and a few of his stars made the surprise trip on Friday to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor ... just four days after they won the natty by trouncing Washington, 34-13, in the College Football Playoff finale.

The guys had some big smiles on their faces as they brought their new hardware around the facility ... and it seems the patients were loving their visit.

One young boy who had on a J.J. McCarthy jersey seemed particularly stoked ... and it appeared they even welcomed the team with a congratulatory sign in Michigan's team colors.

The team and its fans, of course, won't stop celebrating their first title since 1997 anytime soon ... they have a championship parade slated to go down in Michigan this Saturday.

An international soccer star found a new way to get under his opponent's skin ... by twisting it!!!

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger did something we've never before seen on the soccer pitch ... he gave his former teammate turned Atletico rival Alvaro Morata a "titty twister" during the match!

It all happened during the Spanish Super Cup semifinals earlier this week.

During the game, Rudiger was captured on video approaching Morata and grabbing and twisting his nipple as the forward reacted with anger, pushing AR.

What's funny ... the two know each other well. They were teammates for 18 months with Chelsea. Still, Morata didn’t take kindly to the gesture.

Surprisingly, there was no penalty (for the purple nurple or the push) ... proving while touching balls isn't allowed in soccer, nipples are fair game.

Although a lot less people are talking about his actual play, Rudiger scored one of his squad's 5 goals in the winning effort over Atletico.

Washington Wizards guard Ryan Rollins has been accused of stealing from Target on several occasions ... and now the point guard has been cut from the team.

Documents from the Alexandria General District Court show the 21-year-old was charged with seven counts of petit larceny for items worth less than $1k ... all of which are misdemeanors in Virginia.

The alleged offenses happened twice in September, four times in October, and once in November ... according to the court docs. He's due back in court in February.

According to The Athletic, Rollins has been accused of shoplifting household goods like groceries, body wash and candles.

Rollins -- who averaged 4.1 points and 1.1 assists per game this season -- was cut from the team on Monday ... but Wizards President Michael Winger said the team just found out about the charges.

"We cannot comment on that matter, or the basis for our roster decisions," Winger told The Athletic.

"We do take our role very seriously as citizens of the DMV, representatives of our fans and a team our community can be proud of. These are expectations, not aspirations."

Rollins was selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft by the Hawks before they traded him to the Warriors ... but he had season-ending surgery on a Jones fracture in his right foot.

He was sent to the Wizards in July 2023 in the Dubs' blockbuster trade for Chris Paul.

The viral video of a tall "alien" on a hill in Brazil may have already been debunked ... according to an international basketball star who's claiming to be the subject in the clip.

Italian athlete Felipe Motta, who plays for Brazil's Flamengo club, posted online about the confusing clip after it made the rounds -- but as others thought the lanky being was from a different planet, he says the clip shows him on a hike on the island of Ilha do Mel.

He says he was on a trail and enjoying the sweet view when the video was taken from a low angle, and everyone went crazy over it ... which, believe it or not, isn't new for him.

Felipe claims his 6-foot-5-inch height is something that folks have always poked fun at -- and he showed off all tall guy struggles he deals with on the daily ... but jokingly admits he'll warn people the next time he decides to take a hike.

As we reported, locals claimed they saw at least 2 figures up on the hill ... with the woman who filmed the video saying it's impossible for a human to get up there.

The Brazilian government posted about the viral video, but appeared to play it off as a hoax as a way to get folks to come visit the island ... but Felipe is looking to put the theories about it to rest.