Football

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are doing their best to make sure Florida recovers following the devastation of Hurricane Ian ... by donating $1 million to help relief efforts.

The Glazer family made the announcement on Thursday ... saying the massive contribution will be issued to organizations in the areas that were hit the hardest during this week's storm.

"The destruction suffered in Southwest Florida and the damage inflicted throughout our state will be felt for some time," Buccaneers co-owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz said.

"It will take entire communities resiliently working together for an extended period, and our family is committed to aiding in the recovery."

Kassewitz added ... "Our thoughts and prayers are with the countless people affected, the heroic first responders and all of those helping to keep others safe."

Tom Brady -- who evacuated his family ahead of the storm -- will also pitch in by donating to the Florida Disaster Fund ... and hopes his fellow NFL players will do the same.

"Happy were able to head home for Sunday night, but so many people in Florida won’t be able to do the same," Brady said.

"Our neighbors support us endlessly, it’s time to return the favor."

The Buccaneers vs. Chiefs game will still be played on Sunday at the Raymond James Stadium.

Myles Garrett's days of driving like Jeff Gordon appear to be over following his terrifying car crash earlier this week ... the Cleveland Browns star just said Monday's wreck was a serious "wake-up call" for him to drive safer.

Garrett spoke with media members at the Browns' facility on Friday for the first time since the accident -- and he explained he now knows he needs to slow down when he's behind the wheel.

"I think this will be definitely a wake-up call for me," said Garrett, who's been cited for speeding several times since being drafted by Cleveland in 2017.

"Just trying to be smart overall with driving. Don't take it for granted ... You know, just take my time."

He added, "This was definitely a call to me to be more safe with my driving and pay attention to my speed and my surroundings."

Garrett was hit with a citation for failure to control his car following Monday's accident, after he told authorities on the scene he was traveling 65 MPH in a 45 MPH zone.

But, he and his 23-year-old passenger fortunately escaped the wreck relatively unscathed. Garrett suffered just a shoulder sprain and a bicep strain in the crash -- and on Friday he said he's been feeling much better now.

In fact, the defensive end says there's a chance he plays against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

"The Dolphins did not take care of you. The fact they put you out there, frankly, If I were [Tua], I would not go back and play for the Dolphins, because this was not just a failure of the medical team, this was a failure of the coaching staff, and failure of ownership."

That's Chris Nowinski, one of the world's foremost experts on traumatic brain injuries, very much NOT mincing his words when it comes to the future of 24-year-old Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa.

And, whether it's in a Dolphins jersey or any of the other 31 teams, Nowinski believes Tua shouldn't see the field for a single snap the rest of the season.

"My advice would be, having been through it and knowing so many dead athlete stories where there was suicide or some aspect of CTE or some traumatic brain injury, do not go back this season."

Of course, the second-year signal caller was on the receiving end of an incredibly scary hit Thursday night ... as the Fins played the Bengals in Cincinnati.

After being slammed to the ground, Tagovailoa appeared to immediately lose consciousness ... and it was clear something was wrong.

Tua was placed on a stretcher and left the stadium in an ambulance, where he was taken to a local Cincy hospital for treatment.

To make matters worse, the game was only five days after Tagovailoa seemingly suffered a head injury against the Bills (Chris says he showed five signs of a potential concussion), but was allowed to return to the game.

As for his current condition, Tua was released from the hospital and was able to fly back to Miami, per reports ... where he's said to be resting at home in good spirits.

But, Chris says this is anything but a story with a happy ending ... 'cause there's real risk of long-term impact, and that's why Nowinski says Tua shouldn't play again this season.

If you're at all familiar with traumatic brain injuries and CTE, you've likely heard of Nowinski. The former WWE wrestler had his career cut short after sustaining a head injury ... and he recognized the sports world misunderstood the injury.

Chris went on to earn his Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience, and he co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the Boston University CTE Center ... where his work has been celebrated across the world.

Nowinski also had strong words for first-year Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel ... who told media after the game ... "the best news we can give is that everything is checked out that he didn't have anything more serious than a concussion."

"This is a statement of no faith in the coach," Chris flatly said.

"Really what he should be saying is it's nothing more serious than a traumatic brain injury that caused decerebrate posturing which is very rare, and a sign of a very serious injury."

There's much more. Nowinski also explains Tua's hand placement following the scary injury, and lays out the long-term effects with which he may now be forced to live.

U.S. Women's National Team legend Abby Wambach is distancing herself from a health company supported by Brett Favre ... after finding out the business has been accused of being involved in the massive Mississippi welfare funds scandal.

ESPN reports Wambach -- a member of the sports advisory board for Odyssey Health -- had her mentions on the company's website scrubbed Thursday afternoon ... after hearing that a lawsuit filed by the state of Mississippi alleged $2.1 million intended for welfare recipients was directed to the health company instead.

Odyssey Health is a drug company developing a nasal spray to treat concussions ... and Favre is reportedly its biggest investor. Kurt Warner, Mark Rypien, David Ross and Steve Mariucci are also members of the org.'s sports advisory board.

Wambach explained her decision to walk away in an email Thursday to ESPN ... saying, "Minutes after learning this new information, I initiated the process to immediately and fully divest myself from any involvement -- financial and otherwise -- with Prevacus/Odyssey Health Inc."

"A process that I insisted be complete by end of day today."

Wambach added she "genuinely believed this company was being transparent about a product that could spare the next generation of athletes from the severe impact of concussion injuries that I endured as a professional athlete."

"I am profoundly angry, disappointed, and saddened by what I learned today."

Wambach's decision to fully divest from the drug company comes on the heels of more troubling allegations for Favre ... whose charity, Favre 4 Hope, is under fire for donating money meant for children and cancer patients to USM's athletic foundation between 2018-2020.

Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar -- who was picked in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft -- has died ... after an apparent rock climbing accident in California.

He was just 31 years old.

Officials say they received a report of two injured rock climbers at Tahquitz Rock in Idyllwild at around 12:25 PM on Wednesday. When they made it to the scene, they say they found that both victims had died. Escobar was ID'ed as one of the hikers -- a 33-year-old woman, Chelsea Walsh, was ID'ed as the other.

Further details surrounding the causes of death were not immediately available. Authorities did say they were investigating it all.

Escobar was a star for San Diego State from 2010 to 2013 ... before he was drafted by the Cowboys. He went on to play four seasons in Dallas -- piling up eight touchdowns.

He later saw time with the Chiefs, Browns, Ravens and Dolphins -- and eventually wrapped up his football career in 2019 in the Alliance of American Football league.

In retirement, Escobar -- a father of two -- had become a firefighter with the Long Beach Fire Department.

The Cowboys, Aztecs and the LBFD all paid homage to Escobar and his family on Thursday night.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gavin's family," SDSU football head coach Brady Hoke said in a statement. "I know his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Josey and Charlotte, were everything to him. Gavin was a great man, father, son and teammate, and will be deeply missed by all."

Terrifying moment during "Thursday Night Football" ... Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was rushed to the hospital after suffering what appeared to be a significant head injury.

The 24-year-old signal-caller was injured in the second quarter of Miami's game against the Bengals ... when he was wrapped up by a defender and thrown to the turf.

Tagovailoa's head slammed off the ground hard -- and he immediately seemed to lose consciousness.

Trainers and team personnel raced to tend to him ... before they eventually strapped him to a backboard and transported him to a nearby hospital in Cincinnati.

The Dolphins say he, thankfully, "is conscious and has movement in all his extremities."

Tagovailoa had exited last week's game against the Bills after sustaining an injury on a similar play -- though he and the team told media members afterward he only suffered a back injury.

Story developing ...

The man who was arrested for throwing a bottle at Jimmy Haslam during the Browns' loss to the Jets earlier this month had several questions for cops following the incident, including, "Am I going to jail for a while?!?" ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

Jeffrey Miller was put into the back of a squad car at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sept. 18 after he had been accused of hurling a water bottle at the Cleveland owner during the fourth quarter of the game ... and while officers were handling him, he asked a few things.

First, Miller -- a 51-year-old who lives in Ohio -- said, "Can I call my wife and tell her I'm not coming home?"

He later asked, "I'm being arrested for throwing a water bottle?!?"

In the video, you can hear officers say he was actually being taken into custody for "assault, failure to comply ... and disorderly conduct."

As we reported, cops say they ID'ed Miller as the bottle thrower on surveillance video after Haslam had been seen being hit by the object while he was making his way into a stadium tunnel.

In police documents, officers say Miller failed to stop when authorities initially attempted to detain him. They say when they eventually got him to a police room in the stadium, Miller stated, "It never hit the field."

The Browns have said they are planning to ban the fan from home games going forward.

"Fan, player and staff safety is the top priority in our building and behavior that puts others in danger will not be tolerated," the Browns said in a statement two days following the incident.

New police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows Myles Garrett admitted to an officer that he was going around 20 MPH over the speed limit before he crashed his Porsche on Monday.

In the Ohio State Highway Patrol body cam footage, Garrett can be seen in an ambulance moments after the accident in Sharon Township, Medina County ... when an officer began questioning him about the wreck.

The two talked for several minutes about what the Cleveland Browns superstar remembered from the crash ... before the cop eventually asked, "What was your speed approximately?"

Garrett replied, "I think I got up to, like, 65."

The speed limit in the area was 45.

The video also shows Garrett complained of pain all over his upper body -- before he told EMTs that his hand was "burning." He also told the medical personnel he thought his eye was swelling and bruising.

Garrett had a conversation with the medical technicians about whether he actually needed to go to the hospital -- but they encouraged him to do it.

The video also showed several people recognized the football player at the scene -- and at one point, an officer told the 26-year-old pass rusher, "Hopefully you're not out too long. We need ya!"

Garrett -- who was diagnosed with a shoulder sprain and a bicep strain -- was ultimately hit with a citation for failure to control his car.

More troubling allegations surrounding Brett Favre ... the NFL legend's charity -- whose mission is to help underserved and disabled children and breast cancer patients -- reportedly gifted donated funds to his alma maters' athletic department.

Favre's charity, Favre 4 Hope, donated more than $130,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi Athletic Foundation between 2018-2020, according to The Athletic ... money meant for children and cancer patients.

The outlet reports tax records show Favre's charity gave the USM foundation $60,000 in 2018 and $46,817 in 2019. In 2020, the foundation received $26,715 from Brett's charity.

Other organizations received money, according to The Athletic, but those amounts were typically under $10K.

The donations all came while Favre allegedly tried to obtain $5 million from Mississippi's welfare fund, meant for the state's most vulnerable, to build Univ. of Southern Miss. a new multi-million volleyball facility.

Favre's daughter was a volleyball player at the university at the time.

Favre's attorney, Bud Holmes, issued ESPN a statement Wednesday night, saying, "He has been very generous to Southern Miss since he played ball there."

"Those particular things [the donations in question] I don't know, but I know he has always given back, something most athletes don't do."

Favre -- who is being sued by the state of Mississippi over the alleged funds -- claims he didn't know where the money originated ... though texts appear to show the HOF'er was worried about being caught.

Cops have issued Myles Garrett a citation over his car crash on Monday -- saying the Cleveland Browns star appeared to be speeding before he wrecked his Porsche.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Garrett seemed to be using an "unsafe speed for the type of roadway being traveled" just before the accident in Sharon Township, Medina County.

Officers issued him a citation for failure to control his car.

According to a crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Ohio State Highway Patrol officers arrived on the scene of the accident at around 3:13 PM -- and said a witness told them Garrett "came over the hill flyin', went airborne, took the fire hydrant out and rolled three times."

Officers say they then made contact with Garrett -- who had a laceration on his right hand. They say Garrett complained of pain in his wrist/hand, right bicep, and left shoulder. They also say he told them the left side of his face was hurting.

Garrett told officers, according to the docs, that he wasn't sure how he ended up wrecking the vehicle.

"I don't know if something came," cops say Garrett told them, "I moved out the way of that."

Officers noted in the docs Garrett had been traveling 65 MPH in a 45 zone.

Cops reiterated on Thursday that they don't believe alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash. They also said distracted driving was not suspected.

Officers also revealed Thursday that Garrett's passenger was a 23-year-old woman who was not seriously injured.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski says there's still a chance Myles Garrett could play on Sunday against the Falcons ... this despite the Cleveland star being involved in a wild rollover crash on Monday.

Of course, there's still a very good chance Garrett could sit out the game ... but Stefanski told reporters Wednesday, "I'm not ruling anybody out on Wednesday."

"We'll kind of do what we always do," Stefanski said, "which is take in information every single day."

Garrett suffered a shoulder sprain and a bicep strain when he flipped his Porsche 911 Turbo S in Sharon Township, Ohio a few hours after Cleveland's workout on Monday. Police video showed he was also bleeding from his right hand.

But Stefanski said he's spoken to the 26-year-old defensive end recently, and "he's doing OK." The coach expected the pass rusher to return to the Browns facility on Thursday.

"I'm grateful that he's OK," Stefanski said. "We'll see him in here tomorrow."

Police say they are still investigating the cause of the accident. Sources close to Garrett, though, told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero -- he crashed the car while trying to avoid an animal in the roadway.

Cops do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved.

Jared Goff is officially closing the book on Los Angeles ... 'cause the Detroit Lions quarterback just sold his California home for $6.4 million -- a discount from his original ask!

The 5,369-square-foot home sits on 1.42 acres in Hidden Hills (home to the Kardashians) -- 30 miles west of downtown L.A. -- comes with 4 bedrooms, 4 baths, a large kitchen with wine cellar, game room, and a 3-car garage.

The backyard has breathtaking mountain views ... and there's a custom pool and spa, fire pit, barbeque area, and a private mini-golf course.

There's also a 1,075-square-foot guest house that Goff used as an entertainment room.

The 27-year-old signal-caller bought the home in 2018 for a little over $4 million while suiting up for the L.A. Rams ... but when Goff was traded to the Lions in March 2021, the QB put the house on market.

The initial listing price of the home was $7.49 million. Jordan Cohen of Re/Max One represented Jared and the buyers.

New police video shows Myles Garrett appeared to be bleeding heavily from his right wrist following his car crash on Monday.

The footage -- captured on Medina County Sheriff's Office body cam and obtained by TMZ Sports -- reveals medical personnel was checking out the Cleveland Browns star just moments after the football player had crashed his Porsche 911 Turbo S in Ohio.

First responders can be heard in the clip asking about Garrett's bicep -- while also looking into other parts of his body.

The 26-year-old -- whose shirt was ripped and tattered -- seemed to be dazed and confused.

Eventually, medical personnel got Garrett to his feet -- and you can see in the video, blood was oozing from his wrist area.

Meanwhile, the video shows his female passenger on the ground being checked out by other first responders.

Cops say Garrett and the woman were ultimately transferred to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Garrett wrecked the car while trying to avoid an animal on the road.

Police say they do not suspect alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.

It's unclear if Garrett will be available for the Browns this weekend in wake of the accident.

Rihanna and her creative team are hard at work -- planning her Super Bowl Halftime Show and figuring out whether or not she'll be joined by guests -- with a list of nearly 50 possible names to hit the stage with her ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge of the plans tell us everyone Rihanna's collabed with over the years is fair game to possibly appear -- with stars like Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Calvin Harris, Pharrell, Jay-Z, Drake and more on Rihanna's resume.

We're told at this time, there have been no final decisions on who may join Rihanna, but she will absolutely have the final say. Our sources also tell us there's still a chance she does the whole thing solo and without a guest ... though it's likely she'll have at least one person, if shows in the past few years are any indicator.

As we reported, Rihanna and boyfriend A$AP Rocky were spotted hitting a New York City recording studio Monday night, so it's possible they're working on something together -- maybe even for the big game.

TMZ broke the story, Rihanna will be Super Bowl LVII's Halftime headliner. There were previous reports it was Taylor Swift, but we learned Swift isn't willing to take the SB stage until she's finished rerecording the rest of her old albums.

The man who informed police of the Myles Garrett car crash on Monday told dispatch that a woman had complained of a head injury at the scene ... new 911 audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.

The caller ID'ed himself as Frank from Porsche Emergency Center ... and he told police that he was on the phone to "report a car accident for one of our customers" in Medina, Ohio.

The caller was asked if there was anyone hurt in the accident -- and he said yes, telling them that "a lady" had sustained injuries to her head. He requested for both police and EMS to go out to the scene.

A second man also called 911 to report the crash ... telling dispatch he had seen "a bad accident over here."

"A girl left her car over here," the caller said, adding, "It's just one car. They lost control over here. They're both sitting outside."

The caller also told dispatch that the wreckage at the scene was gnarly.

"They flipped this thing, I do believe," he said. "They tore it up."

Cops say they eventually arrived at the scene at 2:58 PM ... and discovered a gray Porsche 911 Turbo S off the road that had significant damage to it.

Police say Garrett was ID'ed as the driver -- and he was transported to a nearby medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries. They say his female passenger was also taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Cops do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident. A spokesperson for the Ohio State Highway Patrol tells us, "A blood draw for the purposes of law enforcement was not conducted due to a lack of probable cause as signs of impairment were not observed by the investigating trooper."

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that Garrett crashed his car in an attempt to swerve out of the way of an animal on the road.

Tom Brady was a huge fan of Ken Dorsey's outburst on Sunday -- saying the Bills offensive coordinator's meltdown was as good as some of his most recent blowups!!

"I'm not the only adult in the entire league that's throwing temper tantrums," Brady said with a laugh on Monday. "Thank you, Ken, for taking me off the hook."

TB12 made the hilarious comments on his "Let's Go!" podcast on Monday -- just a day after Dorsey was seen on camera exploding on his tablet and headset in a freak-out in the booth following the Bills' 21-19 loss to the Dolphins.

Brady loved the fervor ... and seemed very pleased to now have company when it comes to tablet-throwing tantrums.

"That was a lot of anger in that," Brady said while speaking to Jim Gray. "It's impressive. I like the passion, Ken. Keep it up."

If you've missed it -- Brady has become a tablet-tossing connoisseur the past couple years ... losing his cool on the electronic device in a couple games.

Most recently, he was seen chunking the device in frustration during the Saints game earlier this month. Brady joked he was going to look into sending a cease and desist letter to Dorsey for trademark infringement.

In a serious moment on the pod, Tom ultimately empathized with Dorsey, attributing his outburst to the emotional tug of war that playing and coaching football has on a person.

"I know exactly what he was feeling," Brady said. "There's so much emotion. You feel like you're in a battle out there, and it's a physical battle. You got to get the emotion out."