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Houston Astros star George Springer has been disciplined by the MLB ... and it's over a homophobic slur he mouthed at an umpire after a strikeout.

The incident went down back on April 23 during the Astros-Twins game -- when Springer was called out on strikes by umpire Angel Hernandez on a pitch GP clearly thought was WAY too low.

As Springer was venting about the call in the dugout ... cameras caught the outfielder mouthing the words to Angel, "f**king c*** sucker!"

Now, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has issued a statement to Outsports ... saying the MLB has internally punished the 'Stros star for the vulgar language.

"This inappropriate behavior was addressed with Mr. Springer and the Houston Astros,” Manfred said ... “and he has been disciplined.”

Unclear what the punishment was for Springer ... but he has NOT been suspended for the altercation.

Neither Springer nor the Astros have yet to comment on the situation.

Tom Brady says there are TWO good reasons he's not the highest paid player in the NFL ...

1) He'd rather have the Patriots use the cash to pay other good players

2) HIS WIFE'S ALREADY SUPER RICH!!!

It's true ... TB12 explained the whole thing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" when Jimmy pointed out that Brady (who's won more Super Bowls than any other QB ever) is the 18th highest paid QB in the NFL.

Don't worry, he ain't exactly poor -- Brady is slated to make $15 million in 2019.

But, Tom broke it down this way ...

"I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, winning has been a priority. And, my wife [Gisele] makes a lot of money."

Brady continued ... "I'm a little smarter than you think. Actually, it's a salary cap. You can only spend so much and the more that one guy gets is less for others. And, for a competitive advantage standpoint, I like to get a lot of good players around me."

He's not kidding about Gisele ... she's made a FORTUNE over the years as the highest paid model on the planet.

According to Forbes, the Brazilian raked in $42 million in 2013 alone -- though that number has gone way down over the years.

She reportedly only made $10 mil in 2018.

HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE ON THAT MEASLY SALARY?!!?

Tyreek Hill is adamantly denying he's ever abused his 3-year-old son ... and says his fiancee is the one who's gotten physical with the boy in the past -- and he has text messages to prove it.

It's all in a letter reportedly sent to the NFL on Thursday by Hill's attorneys, who say Hill has NEVER "punched" his son and was in no way responsible for the boy's recent broken arm.

As we previously reported ... Hill's fiancee, Crystal Espinal, accused the Chiefs superstar of abusing their son in leaked audio tapes ... but Tyreek strongly denied those allegations.

Now, Hill's attorneys -- per ESPN -- are not only saying Tyreek's never beaten his son ... they're alleging it's actually Espinal who's harmed the child in the past.

Per the letter, Tyreek has text messages from Espinal that read:

Tyreek: "Crystal you know I didn't cause any bruising or harm to [our son]. But for some reason I still may be charged."

Espinal: "I know you didn't. I did. I hurt [our son]. I'm the one that did it. I was hurt and mad at you so I blamed you for everything."

Hill's attorneys in the letter also say the only times Hill has ever put his hands on his son are to either calm him down or to play with him.

The attorneys also say Tyreek's son is by no means "terrified" of the Kansas City superstar ... saying they have eyewitness accounts that "[their child]'s eyes light up when he sees" Tyreek.

The attorneys add that Tyreek is currently going through both family counseling and individual counseling ... and is "looking forward to having the opportunity" to speak with the NFL regarding the allegations.

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was treated after suffering a mild heart attack in Milwaukee on Tuesday ... and luckily, he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Celtics released a statement on Thursday ... saying the ex-NBAer received immediate medical attention and will be able to return to Boston, although it's unclear if he will be able to attend tomorrow night's Game 3 matchup in the Eastern Conference semis against the Bucks.

Ainge has had health issues in the past -- he also suffered a mild heart attack in 2009.

The 60-year-old won 2 titles with the Celtics during his 14-year career before taking his talents to the front office. He's widely considered one of the best execs in the league ... and helped put together Boston's 2008 title-winning roster.

Tom Brady, Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel bro'd down over some sushi in Beverly Hills ... they're super rich and super famous ... so, question is, who footed the bill???

The power trio hit the town after shooting a bit for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Wednesday ... getting a table at Yazawa Japanese BBQ.

Of course, Brady's been all over La La Land this week ... he was spotted throwin' the pigskin with some UCLA players earlier in the day before joining the stars for dinner.

So ... who pays the tab?! Let's break it down:

Kimmel -- Jimmy just had Brady and Damon on his show ... so a few sushi rolls as a thank you for coming on his show ain't out of the question.

Damon -- the actor's a HUGE Pats and TB12 fan ... so a congrats on winning a 6th SUPER BOWL dinner is definitely not out of the question.

Then there's Brady ... the dude's made more than $212 MILLION in his career -- and that's just his football salary -- and uhh, we might have our winner.

Regardless of who whipped out the wallet ... that's one helluva power table.

RIP to Yasiel Puig's bat ... the Cincinnati Reds slugger snapped his lumber over his knee like the Hulk on Wednesday ... and it looked incredibly easy.

Puig Your Friend is no friend to the wood -- the dude is known for destroying his bat after frustrating plate appearances... and he put his special talent on display during the 4th inning of the Reds vs. Mets game after striking out swinging.

If you're not impressed by this ... pick up a wooden bat and try to do it yourself and NOT be in a world of pain after. Actually, don't do that ... just trust us.

Puig's been known to break bats during his career ... so he was able to regroup and walk back to the dugout without so much of a limp.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Rob Gronkowski looks like he's OFFICIALLY moved on from football -- and onto acting -- 'cause the retired Pats star killed it as a fake cop at the Billboard Music Awards!!

It all went down Wednesday night ... when Gronk kicked off the BBMA show as a "security guard" who was bouncing Kelly Clarkson.

The skit was pretty funny ... Gronk pretended to kick KC -- who he called a "seat filler" -- out of her spot to let Florida Georgia Line take her place.

When Clarkson eventually moved on to sing her opening number ... Gronk came back for more -- pretending to drag her off the stage!!

Gronk later presented an award to Cardi B with Terry Crews -- and even joked about his potential next career there ... saying he wanted to be a TV host just like TC!!!

Oh, and the guy had amazing seats -- proving Hollywood is totally down to accept him -- 'cause he was sitting in the second row just behind Taylor Swift!!!!!

Of course, Rob's no stranger to Hollywood ... he's had plenty of movie cameos, he's done skits for the WWE, and he even hosts the show "Crashletes" on Nickelodeon.

By the way, Rob also brought his smokin' hot GF, Camille Kostek, to the awards show ... which begs the question, could there be some wedding bells along with a future acting career soon???

Robert Kraft still has some very powerful allies during his Asian Spa case ... including Jay-Z and Meek Mill.

Of course, Kraft has been friendly with both rap superstars for a while -- but teamed up with them on Wednesday as part of a meeting for the REFORM Alliance, dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system.

CNN's Van Jones -- who's the CEO of REFORM -- was also on hand along with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

During the meeting, the group discussed everything from reform policy goals to employment rates and crime rates.

Earlier this year, the group pledged $50 MILLION in hopes of achieving their goal of getting 1 MILLION people released over the next 5 years.

For Kraft, his appearance at the meeting is interesting considering his lawyers in Florida had been battling all day long to keep officials from releasing surveillance footage in his spa case.

The guys could have easily asked Kraft to keep his distance from the group during his legal case because it could be viewed as a distraction -- but clearly, they don't feel that way.

Kraft not only had a seat at the table, but posed for a pic with the group -- everyone had big smiles.

Robert Kraft has been ordered to appear in court IN PERSON in his prostitution case -- and it's all going down in 3 weeks.

Kraft has been sending his legal team to Florida over the past few months to battle it out with prosecutors in his place ... in an effort to block officials from releasing the graphic footage from inside the spa.

Kraft's legal team have been grilling investigators over the past few days -- and Wednesday, they made their closing arguments as to why the video should never see the light of day.

As we previously reported, cops say they have graphic surveillance footage from inside the massage room at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida showing the 77-year-old New England Patriots owner receiving sexual acts from two spa employees.

Kraft has already apologized publicly for his actions -- but he's entered a not guilty plea in his solicitation case and plans to fight the charges. His attorneys have argued the footage was illegally obtained PLUS the release of the video would taint a potential jury pool and ruin his chances for a fair trial.

On Wednesday, the judge said he would make a decision soon that would impact the fate of the video -- and set a hearing date for May 21 ... ordering Kraft to appear in person.

Unclear why he wants Kraft to attend since the hearing is only listed a "calendar call" -- which generally just a status update in a case.

It would be the first time Kraft would appear in court for this case -- something he's clearly been trying to avoid since the information went public back in February.

Tom Brady's BFF, Rob Gronkowski, is retired ... so TB12's taking his hunt for new offseason workout partners to UCLA!!!

The G.O.A.T. joined the Bruins for an impromptu throwing sesh Wednesday morning ... and seems the Patriots QB enjoyed it -- he smiled and took pics with all the guys afterward.

Of course, this is becoming an annual thing for the NFL superstar ... just 12 months ago, Brady was in town and ran an entire workout with the Bruins' offense.

This week's sesh seemed much less formal ... but UCLA studs like Chase Cota were still jacked up for the day anyway.

"Got to work with THE GOAT today," the Bruins receiver said ... "What an opportunity, go Bruins!"

By the way ... UCLA continued the tradition of throwing some shade at USC for the star-studded workout -- tagging their pictures once again with, "#OnlyAtUCLA."

Kareem Hunt has been visiting kids at local Cleveland schools ... imploring them to learn from the mistakes he's made, Browns GM John Dorsey says.

The former Chiefs superstar was picked up by the Browns after Kansas City released him following the TMZ Sports video showing the 23-year-old shoving and kicking a female at an Ohio hotel last year.

Now, Dorsey is saying the running back is doing everything possible to show remorse for the incident ... including visiting kids after work to advise them to learn from his issues.

"What people don’t realize is once he’s off the field, he's doing things unannounced," Dorsey said to Bull and Fox on 92.3 The Fan on Tuesday.

"He's actually going out and talking to young kids and working behind the scenes to teach young kids, 'Don’t make the same mistake I made.'"

The Browns have confirmed to The News-Herald that Hunt has visited several high school students from the Elyria and Lorain area -- cities on the outskirts of Cleveland.

Browns reps tell The News-Herald they've been trying to keep his visits low key, because, "Hunt doesn’t want any attention to distract from his message."

For his part, Hunt released a statement after his Browns signing in February saying, "What I did was wrong and inexcusable."

Two things in this photo ...

1) Check out the pic of Steph Curry's gnarly dislocated finger from Tuesday night's playoff game against the Houston Rockets ... pretty sick, right?

2) Did you also know Steph Curry has a Hebrew tattoo on his left hand?

Wanna know what it says? When read phonetically, it's pronounced "Curry."

As for the finger ... seems the Golden State Warriors training staff popped it back in and taped it up ... and of course, he went back to hitting shots like nothing was wrong.

The Warriors ended up winning the game 115 to 109 ... with Curry dropping 20.

Now, the Warriors are up in the series 2-0.

Tyrann Mathieu only signed with the Chiefs a few weeks ago -- but he ain't afraid to speak his mind about his new teammate, Tyreek Hill ... saying he's very disappointed after hearing the disturbing audiotapes.

The Honey Badger appeared on SB Nation Radio when the topic turned to Hill ... who was expected to be one of the focal points of the K.C. Chiefs offense in 2019.

But, the Chiefs have suspended the star WR in the wake of audiotapes which recorded Hill arguing with his fiancee, Crystal Espinal, about the child abuse case involving their 3-year-old son.

During the argument, Hill told Espinal, "You need to be terrified of me too, bitch."

So, how does Tyrann feel about the situation?

"I think it's sad, man. Obviously, very disappointing," Mathieu told SB Nation.

"I came to the Chiefs with the hopes that I can watch him play football and watch him run back punts and catch long bombs and outrun everybody."

When asked specifically about the audio -- in which Espinal accuses Hill of breaking their son's arm -- Mathieu says, "It's very disappointing. Not only from a teammate standpoint but I'm a father as well.

Hill has denied breaking his son's arm.

Mathieu says he's only been with the Chiefs for a few weeks and doesn't know Hill that well -- so he can't vouch for Tyreek's character.

This is terrifying footage ...

A goalkeeper in a Bolivian soccer match was attacked by a fan who threw a firecracker from the stands during a match Sunday ... and the player was so frightened, he collapsed to the ground in fear.

The match took place at Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz -- where a team called The Strongest took on the Jorge Wilstermann squad.

During the very end of the match, someone ran down close to the pitch and threw a firecracker at Strongest goalkeeper Daniel Vaca ... who covered his face and immediately fell to the ground.

Several players and even the ref rushed over to check on him. It doesn't appear Vaca was injured in the attack though he was taken to a nearby hospital for further examination.

Cops quickly responded and hunted for the suspect. However, there are conflicting reports about if the suspect was arrested.

Officials ended up calling the game early -- and the good news for Vaca, his team ended up winning the match in a 2-1 victory.

Another day, another athlete honored at the White House ... this time, President Donald Trump held a special ceremony for NASCAR champ Joey Logano.

"It's my pleasure to welcome to 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Team Penske to the White House," Trump said on Tuesday.

"Over the course of the 2018 season, the #22 team earned 26 top 10 finishes, led 934 laps, won 3 races and competed against 3 former champions in the playoffs and came out ahead," Trump said.

Trump also shouted out Joey's wife and their son, Hudson -- noting Joey celebrated the championship by placing Hudson in the trophy.

"That was quite a scene," Trump explained.

Logano was stoked to be at the White House -- saying, "It's an honor to be speaking here."

He gifted Trump a track-worn racing helmet from the championship season -- which Trump says he'll put on display in the Oval Office.

Trump says he considers himself a NASCAR fan and says he's been good friends with team owner Roger Penske for years.

Trump referred to the 82-year-old as "one of the truly great people of our world."

At the end of the ceremony, Trump invited the entire NASCAR team to view the Lincoln Bedroom -- and promised to personally give the tour.

12:28 PM PT -- The World Surf League has confirmed Garcia was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.

In the past, Garcia has talked publicly about his struggles with depression and even asked fans for advice on treatment.

Surf legend Sunny Garcia -- a 6-time winner of the Triple Crown of Surfing -- is fighting for his life in a Portland hospital, the World Surf League has confirmed.

The 49-year-old was admitted to the hospital in Oregon on Monday. Details about his condition were not made public.

WSL says Garcia is currently in intensive care.

Garcia is one of the most beloved people in pro surfing. He grew up in Hawaii -- and became close friends with fellow surf stars like Kelly Slater and Jamie O'Brien.

He's an absolute STUD in the water -- winning the World Surf League's world championship in 2000. He was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Garcia also became the 2nd pro surfer in history to win more than $1 million in prize money -- which is a HUGE accomplishment.

Outside of the water, Sunny had some issues over the years -- he served time in prison in 2007 in a tax evasion case.

Years later, Garcia said the takeaway from that experience was "never trust your CPA ... don't trust anybody for that matter."

Garcia has talked about how much he loved his family and how one of his biggest fears would be to lose them.

He's also a religious guy who attends church "every once in a while."

Garcia has also pushed hard for people to come and surf in Hawaii over the years -- but he's big on people having respect for the Hawaiian culture.

"Come, enjoy and be respectful, yeah -- if you can be that then we welcome you with open arms. But, if you're gonna come and piss in my backyard, you might get a slap in the head."