Football

"Burrowhead" is dead in the Bengals' locker room ... at least, that's according to Cincinnati star kicker Evan McPherson, who tells TMZ Sports the jab was a one-time thing that the team is definitely not using as a rallying cry heading into the big game against the Chiefs.

Cincy defensive back Mike Hilton coined the term following the Bengals' playoff victory over the Bills last weekend ... using it as a way to describe Joe Burrow's recent dominance over Patrick Mahomes, K.C. and Arrowhead Stadium.

Hilton was celebrating, and a hot mic captured him yelling, "We'll see ya'll in Burrowhead!" in this week's AFC Championship Game.

K.C. players have appeared to use it as motivation and bulletin board material ... but McPherson explained it's not a jab the Bengals are saying regularly -- if at all anymore.

"I think that was just something Mike Hilton said," McPherson told us.

"I haven't heard 'Burrowhead' in the locker room. I just seen it on the videos. So I think it was just kind of one of those media things."

To be fair, Burrow has been dominant when playing the Chiefs -- and in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead last year, he played well, winning in overtime. McPherson, though, told us he and the guys are staying as humble as possible, not gloating about it all at practices and workouts.

"Obviously, it seems like Joe and the Bengals, as of late, have the Chiefs' number," McPherson said. "As a team, we're really taught to take it one game at a time and separate all those."

Fantastic update from Chris "Swaggy" Baker -- the ex-NFL player is up and walking around the hospital ... one week after suffering a "serious" stroke.

The former Washington defensive lineman posted video of his status just minutes ago ... showing him taking steps as he makes his way through the facility's hallway.

As we previously reported, the former Washington defensive lineman said he was lucky to be alive after experiencing a medical emergency last Friday ... with his mother revealing he was responding as if the stroke was minor, and was expected to make a full recovery -- calling his improvement a "miracle."

A number of fellow former NFL players were thrilled by Baker's update ... with Robert Griffin III, Carlos Dunlap, Glenn Dorsey and Bashaud Breeland showing love in the comment section.

Olympic medalist Kellie Wells Brinkley added ... "Yessir!!!!!!!!! Keep going bro! We are behind you!"

Earlier this week, Baker sent a message to his fans ... saying, "Tell Your love ones you love em" ... claiming "my life almost ended 2days ago."

"I can't believe I had a stroke but God not done with me yet."

The mayor of Cincinnati just trolled Patrick Mahomes ahead of the Chiefs' playoff game against the Bengals ... insisting Joe Burrow has the K.C. star quarterback's number completely.

Mayor Aftab Pureval threw the shade in a video posted to his social media page Friday ... just two days before the Bengals-Chiefs AFC championship game -- poking fun at the Kansas City signal-caller.

In the clip, the mayor jokingly says officials asked Burrow to take a paternity test to determine if he's Mahomes' dad ... since the Cincy QB is 3-0 in his career against Patrick.

Pureval then reminisced about the Bengals' 27-24 AFC title game victory last season ... and proclaimed Jan 29, 2023 as "They Gotta Play Us Day" in Cincinnati.

Of course, the mayor has all the reasons to gloat ... the Bengals have found both regular-season and postseason success against Mahomes and the Chiefs -- and are considered by many to be the favorite on Sunday.

Tom Brady has a lot more free time this off-season, and the 7x Super Bowl winner is putting it to good use ... spending an afternoon with his 10-year-old daughter, Vivian, while she took horse riding lessons!

It's the first off-season since Brady and Gisele Bündchen divorced, and with his ex-wife spending a lot of time in Costa Rica with jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente ... Tom took Vivian to a stable in Miami on Wednesday.

Brady, clearly, is a very proud dad, and was seen photographing Vivian as she rode her horse.

At one point, a brunette woman approached Tom, and seemingly asked for a photograph ... and Brady obliged. The two also had a friendly chat.

While Tom is in relaxation mode, there's a ton of speculation about his future and whether he'll play football next year ... but Brady's made it clear he hasn't made up his mind, and for the time being, just wants to spend time with his kids.

Of course, Brady's Tampa Bay Bucs squad lost to the Cowboys in the playoffs a couple of weeks back, ending Tom's 23rd NFL season.

What's interesting ... there's lots of speculation Gisele and Valente are dating. In fact, two were also spotted riding horses in Costa Rica on January 18. Though, they've continued to claim JV is nothing more than their martial arts instructor.

Sorry, Joe Burrow ... Brad Pitt is definitely NOT in the Bengals' corner this weekend -- saying Thursday night he's still ridin' or dyin' with his hometown team!!!

The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star made the not-so-shocking football pick after finishing up filming some scenes for his new flick with George Clooney out in NYC ... saying, as expected, it's Kansas City or bust for him this year.

"Chiefs, baby!" he said of his Super Bowl selection as he got into his ride.

Of course, Brad's been a longtime supporter of the Chiefs ... while he was born in Oklahoma, he moved to Missouri at an early age and was raised just a few hours from Arrowhead Stadium.

In fact, he's been seen sporting K.C. gear multiple times over the years, even rockin' a Chiefs cap at an awards show back in 2020.

In order for Pitt's championship dream to come true, the Chiefs have got to get through Burrow and the Bengals this weekend -- before they'll take on the winner of the Eagles vs. 49ers in Super Bowl LVII.

No, the Eagles' MVP ain't their star quarterback ... it's actually their best offensive lineman -- so says ex-Philadelphia tight end Trey Burton, who tells TMZ Sports Jason Kelce is more deserving of the honor than Jalen Hurts.

Don't get it twisted ... Burton wasn't shading Jalen at all -- he called the guy "spectacular" this year -- he just thinks that highly of Philly's center.

"I've played on a couple teams," said the 31-year-old, who was a teammate of Kelce's for years in Philadelphia. "There hasn't been one guy that is comparable to Jason Kelce."

Burton said the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer does it all for the offense in Philly -- explaining to us Kelce calls out protection schemes in both the running game and the passing game.

"When you go to your battle you hope you have him standing next to you," Burton said. "And, you can look at him and everything's going to be all right. Just this calming presence that he has."

Hurts likely wouldn't disagree -- Kelce has been a big reason he's had a breakout year ... helping give the QB enough time to throw 22 touchdowns while rushing for 13 more.

Of course, Hurts -- not Kelce -- is up for the league's real MVP award this year ... alongside Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Jefferson and Josh Allen.

Tua Tagovailoa isn't retiring early ... his parents said this week he'll be back next year despite suffering multiple significant head injuries this past season.

Galu and Diane Tagovailoa cleared up the speculation on Wednesday during an interview at the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii ... saying the 24-year-old Miami Dolphins signal caller has zero plans to call it quits prematurely after experiencing several concussions while playing in 2022.

"He comes back," Galu said. "That's their guy. They love him, we love them and what they're doing and how they're helping him with his recovery and everything else trying to get him back."

Tua's health initially became a topic of concern early in the season, when he suffered back-to-back head injuries against the Bills and Bengals in a span of less than a week.

Some at the time believed the quarterback should've retired immediately, with famed neuropathologist Bennet Omalu telling TMZ Sports the damage might already be irreparable.

Tagovailoa ultimately came back and seemed to show no issues -- but on Christmas against the Packers, he suffered yet another concussion ... sparking the retirement debate again.

His folks though, said it just ain't happening -- saying they're confident he's healing properly ... and the Miami organization is taking care of him.

The Bills might be now outta the playoffs -- but the Damar Hamlin tributes are still pouring in ... this time, Eagles running back Miles Sanders rocked some spikes to honor the injured safety, and he loved 'em!!

The 25-year-old tailback showed off the feet heat on his Instagram page Thursday ... and the pair of tribute shoes are awesome.

One cleat features a portrait of Hamlin surrounded by a heart. The other has his No. 3 jersey number. There's also an ode to the famous "Did we win?" line he uttered to doctors in the days after he suffered his on-field medical emergency during the Jan. 2 Bengals-Bills game.

Both cleats have "Love For Damar" written on them as well -- with Hamlin's foundation, "Chasing M's," on the back.

Hamlin clearly loved the shout-out and the design, re-sharing Sanders' vid on his social media page while writing, "unreal."

Several NFL players have shown the 24-year-old love since he suffered the cardiac arrest ... including Tom Brady, who donated $10,000 to Hamlin's toy drive foundation that's currently at $9 million and counting.

A mural was also made by a local artist in Buffalo, and celeb jeweler Gabriel Jacobs gifted 80 gold #3 pendants to the Bills team.

Jessie Lemonier -- a former outside linebacker for the Detroit Lions -- has passed away, the team announced Thursday morning. He was only 25 years old.

Details surrounding Lemonier's death are not yet known.

The Lions broke the sad news with a statement, saying they're "shocked and saddened" by Lemonier's death.

"Jessie was a model teammate and wonderful young man who is gone far too soon," the team said on social media.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends during this difficult time."

Many paid their respects to the late Lions player in the comments ... including Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson who shared the post with praying hand emojis.

Lemonier was an undrafted free agent out of Liberty University ... where he became the third player in Flames history to record 10 or more sacks in a season.

The Los Angeles Chargers picked him up after the 2020 NFL Draft and Lemonier played in 6 games before he was waived in August 2021.

He then signed with the Lions' practice squad a month later and was promoted to the active roster. He appeared in 7 games and had 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Lemonier also had a short stint with the Arizona Cardinals.

It seems like Lemonier was positioning for a career in the United States Football League as he recently signed with the Houston Gamblers in December 2022.

He was traded to the USFL's defending champions Birmingham Stallions and their season was scheduled to start this April.

'Bachelor' alum, Hannah Ann Sluss won't have to stress about getting roses anymore ... 'cause the former contestant is engaged to NFL player Jake Funk -- and was spotted at a Cabo airport sporting the massive ring!!!

HAS shared the big news to her 900k+ TikTok followers on Wednesday ... showing her enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with the Indianapolis Colts running back.

Apparently, Hannah wasn't expecting a diamond ring for dessert ... as the model captioned the clip, "The surprise at the end he had for me 🥺."

You can see the emerald cut diamond on her finger and a projection on a mountain in the background reading "She said Yes."

As it turns out, Hannah Ann was already wearing the rock on Tuesday ... when the bride-to-be showed off the ring while waiting at the airport with her future hubby.

Of course, this isn't the first time Sluss was asked for her hand in marriage.

The 26-year-old was the winner in season 24 of "The Bachelor" in 2019 ... and got engaged to Peter Weber.

However, Weber called it off during the "After the Final Rose" special ... claiming he was in love with the runner-up Madison Prewett.

Safe to say it all worked out for Hannah Ann in the end.

The medical professionals who assisted in Damar Hamlin's recovery following his medical emergency are being honored in a big way ... with the Cincinnati mayor giving them a key to the city!!

Aftab Pureval's office announced the news Thursday ... saying city officials want to show their appreciation for the providers who cared for the Bills safety after his cardiac arrest.

We're told the ceremony will take place at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center ... where 24-year-old Hamlin spent a week with doctors as they tended to the NFL player.

Hamlin's physicians -- Dr. Knight and Dr. Pritts -- played an integral role in rehabilitating Damar so he could be released from the hospital.

At one point during his stay at UC Health Medical Center, Damar -- while still hooked up to a breathing machine -- famously asked the doctors who won the Monday Night Football game between the Bills and Bengals.

"You won. You won at the game of life," they told Hamlin.

Ultimately, doctors felt that Damar had made enough progress to be released from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at UC Health Medical Center ... allowing him to continue his recovery at home.

Micah Parsons is firing back at Twitter trolls ... saying the people who believe he was shading Dak Prescott in a tweet Wednesday need to "stop reaching."

Parsons initially raised eyebrows on the social media app after he quote tweeted a video of Bills GM Brandon Beane talking about roster building and taking advantage of quarterbacks who are still on rookie contracts.

"Besides mahomes, every team in the final 4 Qb is on a rookie deal and surrounded by talent!" the 23-year-old Dallas Cowboys star said. "Mhmm interesting take!"

Some thought the electric pass rusher was taking a shot at Dak with the tweet -- as the Cowboys QB is currently in the middle of a 4-year, $160 MILLION deal.

But, Micah said he wasn't going after #4 or his contract at all ... writing, "Listen we not gonna sit here like I'm talking about Dak 😂😂😂 Shid when I get paid ima want a big contract too ! Come on stop reaching ! 😂"

He added in a separate tweet, "Street law! Never count a man pockets!"

Prescott has enjoyed a ton of regular season success since signing the contract -- but he's struggled to turn the corner in the playoffs, getting eliminated in underwhelming fashion in consecutive seasons to SF.

Gisele Bundchen and her jiu-jitsu instructor are getting close once again -- this time, the two were seen riding horses in Costa Rica, in what's either an amazing just-friends date ... or further proof the two are now an item.

Tom Brady's ex and Joaquim Valente were spotted on the animals back on Jan. 18 ... and the duo looked like they had a blast.

The couple(?) rode the horses for roughly two hours through the jungle -- and check out Gisele's grin, she sure seemed giddy while plodding through the afternoon with Valente.

Of course, there's been no official confirmation they're dating -- Gisele's camp initially claimed Valente had been tagging along on family vacays to train her and her kids -- but they've certainly appeared to be awfully coupley this month.

First, they were seen jogging while appearing to share AirPods ... and just days later -- riding horseback with none of Gisele's kids in sight.

No word yet on how Brady feels about it all ... but he hasn't been in the best mood this week.

On Monday, just seven days after the Buccaneers QB was bounced from the playoffs by the Dallas Cowboys, he snapped at his good friend Jim Gray on their podcast ... unleashing an F-bomb tirade about how he wasn't sure if he'd be retiring or not.

Ex-NFL defensive tackle Chris "Swaggy" Baker had a serious health scare ... revealing he suffered a stroke -- but thankfully, he appears to be doing better and on the road to recovery.

The 35-year-old former Washington star shared an update on his Instagram story ... saying, "Tell Your love ones you love em my life almost ended 2days ago."

"I can't believe I had a stroke but God not done with me yet."

Baker also shared video from a Hartford, CT hospital room ... showing him sitting up and talking to a nurse as he appears to be hooked up to IVs.

Baker's mother says he suffered the "serious" stroke on Friday ... but doctors stated he is responding as if it were minor, and he is expected to make a full recovery -- calling it a "miracle."

She added Baker required emergency surgery following the stroke.

Baker was a lovable figure during his nine seasons in the league ... and was never shy to show off his dance moves on and off the field.

In fact, TMZ Sports has covered plenty of instances of Baker boogying on the runway at charity events in the past.

The Connecticut native most notably played for Washington from 2011-16 ... and racked up 214 tackles and 12 sacks over the course of his career.

Guy Fieri and Tom Brady are friends ... so naturally, we asked the Food Network star if he had any insight into TB12's plans, and while Fieri didn't know if/where Brady plans to play football, he did have a suggestion.

COME TO THE RAIDERS!!!

TMZ Sports talked to Fieri -- a huge sports fan -- the day he announced he was throwing a MASSIVE Super Bowl party in Arizona on Super Sunday (more on that in a minute) ... here's what Guy said about Tom.

"I'm a Raider. You know me. I'm just standing over here, 'Hello! Feel free!'" ... as Guy waved his arms in the air, calling Brady to the dessert.

Wherever he plays, Fieri says he hopes we haven't seen the last the 7x Super Bowl champ.

"Tom, I'm just so impressed, he's such a great guy, such a great athlete, he's been through a lot, and I hope this is not the last snap we saw. I really do hope he's gonna come back. The guy's in amazing shape."

Back to Fieri's Super Bowl bash ... Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate. It's going down right next to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, where the big game will be played.

"You take the greatest sporting event we have," Fieri said, continuing ... "The Super Bowl is the big dance, so why not throw the big tailgate?"

Typically, tailgating at the Super Bowl doesn't happen ... but Guy's party isn't typical.

"We're gonna make it free. You're gonna get LOCASH and Diplo performing. You're gonna get great DDD restaurants that are gonna be there selling food. We're gonna have a VIP experience you can buy into where you'll get completely pampered, but we're gonna put on a party that recognizes and celebrates how great the Super Bowl is and it's literally right across the street from the Super Bowl."

As for the crowd he expects ... let's just say you should get your tickets soon.

Former Univ. of Florida quarterback recruit Marcus Stokes, who lost his Gators scholarship after rapping the n-word on video, has now landed a new scholarship offer -- this time from an HBCU.

Stokes revealed on Tuesday that Albany State Univ. -- a Historically Black College and University in Georgia -- sent the offer his way this week ... just over two months after he was embroiled in controversy.

You'll recall, the four-star recruit lost his future as a Gator in November after he posted a quick video of him singing the n-word on camera on his social media page. He apologized for it afterward, calling it "hurtful and offensive to many people" -- but his recruitment skidded to a halt.

Stokes said Tuesday he was "blessed" to receive the new college interest from Albany State -- adding in an additional tweet that he was going to "find my home" as National Signing Day kicks off next week.

According to 247Sports, Stokes is also receiving interest from Division II school West Florida -- and is planning a visit there this week.