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Newly released text messages from Zach Smith's ex-wife appear to show the ex-Ohio State assistant coach apologizing for strangling her during a trip to the Dominican Republic in 2015.

Courtney Smith released the messages to college football reporter Brett McMurphy -- who says the conversation was referencing a trip to Punta Cana in March 2015.

"Think back to the cheating the lies and picking me up by my neck and strangling me in Punta Cana and at our place in April," Courtney texted to Zach ... "The abuse got worse bc u couldnt stand me catching u in ur lies."

Zach replied, "I know!" and "I'm so so sorry!"

Fired Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith just broke his silence on his alleged domestic violence ... saying he NEVER beat his ex-wife.

Zach went on 105.7 The Zone to tell his side of the story ... and says while he was in a "volatile" and "toxic" relationship, he "never committed domestic abuse against her."

As for the photos Zach's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, released showing bruises on her body from the alleged abuse ... Zach said he may have caused them while "defensively restraining her" when situations "got out of hand" ... but insists he never struck her.

Smith also says PLENTY of people at Ohio State knew of the accusations back in 2015 ... saying it was OSU athletic director Gene Smith himself that actually informed him of the claims.

Smith went on to say he doesn't believe he deserved to be fired last month ... and thinks he was only terminated so the team wouldn't have to answer questions about him and the incident.

No one is more plugged in to the NBA scene than Matt Barnes -- so, naturally, he's got all the inside scoop on the Draymond Green vs. Tristan Thompson incident and he's finally talking about it.

Barnes appeared on "Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney" on AM 570 LA Sports and told the guys he's already spoken with his ex-Warriors teammate, Draymond, about the altercation and says the media got it all wrong.

"He was never actually hit and he actually tried to make peace through people that wanted him to squash it," Barnes says.

It had been reported that Tristan sucker punched Draymond when they met up at an ESPYs after-party at Delilah nightclub ... but Barnes says that's simply not true.

TMZ Sports had spoken to multiple witnesses who told us the guys actually made peace afterward and are on much better terms now.

Dana White says it's 100% on ... Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is set for Oct. 6 at UFC 229 in Las Vegas!!!

It'll undoubtedly be the biggest fight of the year for the UFC -- Conor's first fight back in the Octagon since his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

The last time Conor fought for the UFC was back in 2016 when he avenged his loss against Nate Diaz.

Urban Meyer admits he knew about the 2015 Zach Smith domestic violence incident -- but lied to the media when asked about it on BIG10 Media Day last month.

But the catch ... Meyer says he followed proper protocol behind the scenes and elevated the incident to "proper channels."

The Ohio State football coach spelled it out in a statement saying ...

"Here is the truth: While at the University of Florida, and now at The Ohio State University, I have always followed proper reporting protocols and procedures when I have learned of an incident involving a student-athlete, coach or member of our staff by elevating the issues to the proper channels. And, I did so regarding the Zach Smith incident in 2015."

"I take that responsibility very seriously and any suggestions to the contrary is simply false."

He added, "My words, whether in a reply to a reporter's question or in addressing a personnel issue, must be clear, compassionate and most of all, completely accurate. Unfortunately, at Big Ten Media Days on July 24th, I failed on may of these fronts."

"My intention was not to say anything inaccurate or misleading. However, I was not adequately prepared to discuss these sensitive personnel issues with the media, and I apologize for the way I handled those questions."

As we previously reported, Zach Smith was fired as the WR coach at Ohio State last month when domestic violence allegations went public.

Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo seems to be on the same page as Donald Trump -- wearing a hat to training camp with the message, "Make Football Violent Again."

Not only is it a take off Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan -- but it's also one of Donald's key gripes against the league.

Remember, just last year POTUS said refs are "ruining the game" by penalizing players for making "beautiful tackles."

But, back to Sendejo -- one of the league's hardest hitters -- who happened to wear the hat on the heels of the Ravens-Bears preseason opener ... where several guys were hit with flags for seemingly innocuous tackles.

Remember ... Sendejo was suspended one game in 2017 for hitting Ravens wideout Mike Wallace in the head with his shoulder while trying to make a hard tackle ... and he wasn't happy about that then.

Now ... the league is promising to crack down even harder on hits to the head -- and Andrew is making his thoughts on that matter loud and clear.

Birthday boy Tom Brady got roughed up at Patriots practice on Friday ... but it wasn't a 300-lb. lineman pouncing on him -- it was his gorgeous wife, Gisele!!

TB12's 41st birthday turned into an all-out party in Foxborough ... complete with a massive #12 cake, cards, balloon Brady and cutout goat ... but the best present had to be Gisele and their kids' surprise appearance towards the end of drills.

Brady looks completely caught off-guard about the adorable attack ... which eventually turns into kissing and slight butt-tapping.

L.A. Chargers rookie safety Derwin James is finally talking about the night he was robbed at gunpoint in Hollywood -- saying, "I wouldn't wish that upon anybody."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the 22-year-old (a 1st round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft) was leaving an Italian restaurant on June 23 when he was approached by two men who demanded his jewelry.

The assailants snatched a chain from Derwin's neck and stole his Rolex -- and then slashed the tires on his Rolls-Royce before fleeing the scene.

On Thursday, James told the media ... "I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. It happened. It was just one of those things that you never expect to happen to you, but it happened and I'm just happy to be out here playing football."

Le'Veon Bell just dropped a brand new rap EP -- and it sounds an awful lot like he's referencing the LeSean McCoy violent robbery incident in one of the tracks.

Here are the lyrics to Bell's track, "The Table" ...

"We're not about to play around, if you play around get exposed ...

I got homies there to take you out if certain information gets disclosed ...

All these n***as acting shady, just please don't make me pull a Shady ...

We're not about to play around, if you play around get exposed ...

I got homies there to take you out if certain information gets disclosed ...

All these women want my baby, just please don't make me pull a Shady."

Of course, there could be a different meaning -- but, it sounds like he's referencing the allegations made by McCoy's ex-GF, Delicia Cordon, who claims LeSean sent a guy to violently steal his jewelry back after they broke up.

For his part, Shady hasn't been charged with a crime and has denied any involvement in the incident.

Tom Brady is turning the big 4-1 Friday ... and Patriots Nation is throwing the QB a massive birthday bash in New England complete with a giant cake, a balloon animal Tom Brady ... and a birthday song!

It all started when TB12 jogged out to the field --the crowd went crazy and then busted out the song. Brady smiled and waved at the fans.

Off the field, there was a giant #12 birthday cake and a giant #12 birthday card for fans to sign.

But, the best part ... was the life-size "Balloon Brady" ... which was put together REALLY WELL by a person with better than average lung capacity.

Brady also got some love from his wife, Gisele Bundchen -- who posted a love note to her hubby on social media ...

Joakim Noah returned to Chicago on Thursday for a VERY good reason -- the former Bulls star was leading a peace march down West Jackson Boulevard.

The 33-year-old -- who now plays for the NY Knicks -- was holding a flag with the word "Peace" on it, while wearing a shirt that said, "Rock Your Drop On the Block."

The march was organized through Joakim's Noah's Arc Foundation -- which provides programs for kids in need in Chicago. There's also a heavy emphasis on ending the gun violence epidemic in Chicago.

Noah reportedly took countless pictures and spoke with all sorts of fans to try and spread his message.

Brittney Griner is gonna try the marriage thing again -- the WNBA star just proposed to her longtime girlfriend with a fat ring ... and she said YES!!

The Phoenix Mercury center popped the question to Cherelle Watson -- the two met while they were students back at Baylor.

Hopefully, Griner's 2nd time on the alter will go better than her first -- a 28-day marriage to fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson that ended in violence.

As we previously reported, both Griner and Johnson were arrested for domestic violence in 2015 after an argument turned physical ... and they ended up in a full-on fight in their Arizona home.

Johnson got pregnant with twins during their relationship -- and when they split, the judge ordered Griner to pay child support to Johnson.

Johnson reportedly moved on and began dating a man. Griner began her relationship with Watson shortly after.

In a social media post to Watson, Griner wrote ... "My best friend, my lover, my partner in life. I love you."

Kane aka Glenn Jacobs has been voted mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

The WWE legend took home the county mayoral election today ... and will soon run a 450,000-plus population county.

Jacobs -- who announced he was running for the office last year -- narrowly won the primary election back in May (he only won by 23 votes) ... earning a spot in the general election.

That vote was close ... but this time around, Kane absolutely crushed the competition -- winning by more than 15 THOUSAND votes.

Colin Kaepernick's name will be added back to the soundtrack on Madden 19 ... according to a statement by the video game's developers.

According to EA, it was all an unfortunate misunderstanding. The company's taking the blame for Colin's name being scrubbed from YG's song "Big Bank" on the game.

EA says ... "We made an unfortunate mistake with our Madden NFL soundtrack. Members of our team misunderstood the fact that while we don’t have rights to include Colin Kaepernick in the game, this doesn’t affect soundtracks."

The company adds the edit never should have happened, and apologized to Kaep, the NFL, players and fans ... along with YG and Big Sean.

Ezekiel Elliott is being sued for $1 MILLION by the man who Zeke barreled into with his SUV last year.

According to court docs ... the Cowboys superstar was driving his GMC Yukon in Collin County, Texas, in January 2017 -- when he ran a red light and smashed into Ronnie Hill's BMW sedan.

The accident was described as "minor" by the Frisco PD and cops noted no injuries were sustained.

But now ... Hill is claiming he does in fact have injuries from the crash -- including "serious, life-altering" ones -- and is seeking over $1 mil in damages from Elliott.

Zeke's agent, Frank Salzano, tells TMZ Sports Elliott's inclusion in the lawsuit is only a formality ... and will all ultimately end up being handled by Zeke's insurance company.

Big Sean's pointing a finger at the NFL for editing his lyrics and removing Colin Kaepernick's name from the song "Big Bank" as it appears in Madden 19.

Sean called the move "disappointing and appalling" and put the blame squarely on the NFL and EA, the company behind Madden. He says they treated Kaep's name "like it was a curse word. When he's not a curse, he's a gift!"

He also wants to make it clear neither he, nor anyone on his team approved the edit.

As we reported, Sean name-checked Kaep on his verse of "Big Bank" ... a YG track featuring Sean, Nicki Minaj and 2 Chainz.