Football

Ex-NFL player Sergio Brown was spotted in Tulum on Sunday ... dancing and partying his face off -- this despite an ongoing police investigation into the death of his mother.

Brown -- wearing red Nike swim trunks -- didn't seem to have a care in the world as he swayed shirtless with patrons on the dance floor at a popular club in the Mexican city.

One witness tells TMZ Sports ... the former Indianapolis Colts defensive back was at the venue for several hours -- chatting it up with people and buying alcohol for others, before bolting.

The scene is eyebrow-raising, to say the least ... considering cops in Maywood, Ill. have been searching for Brown after his mom, 73-year-old Myrtle Brown, was found dead near a creek on Sept. 16. Both she and Sergio were reported missing just hours prior.

Officials later ruled Myrtle's death a homicide ... saying she sustained injuries in an assault. Cops have not released information regarding potential suspects.

There had been speculation that the 35-year-old had left Illinois and traveled to Mexico ... after an Instagram account apparently belonging to the ex-football player posted a video of him in the country rambling about "fake news."

It's unclear where the investigation into Myrtle's death now stands ... we reached out to the Maywood Police Dept. multiple times on Monday but have yet to hear back.

Vikings star Byron Murphy says he's got a plan to get inside Travis Kelce's head this week ... and it includes Taylor Swift trash talk!!

The Minnesota cornerback told ESPN he's going to use some Swift quips when Kelce and the Chiefs come into town on Sunday in order to rile up the K.C. star tight end.

"I'm going to say something to him to get him going," Murphy said on Monday.

The 25-year-old, though, was otherwise complimentary of the "Love Story" singer ... saying he actually hopes she's in attendance for the big game.

"We're locked in, but that would be something," he admitted. "I've been watching her since I was a kid. That would be cool for sure."

But, if she does show, Murphy reiterated he's going to try to make things extremely difficult for her new beau on the field.

"We're going to try to get our hands on him in front of her," Murphy said.

It's not yet clear if Swift has plans to hit U.S. Bank Stadium to watch Kelce play ... although it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility, considering she traveled to Kansas City last week to catch his game before heading out to New Jersey on Sunday night to see him play against the Jets.

1:48 PM PT -- NBC just released updated ratings and says the game actually peaked at 29 million viewers and averaged 27 mil. The new numbers include people who watched on NBC network, as well as streaming numbers for Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms.

So ... the Chiefs vs. Jets, Taylor Swift's Version, is now NBC Sports' biggest-ever streaming audience for a regular season Sunday Night Football contest.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are seemingly still going strong ... but the number of folks tuning in for updates as Taylor cheers on TK dipped as Taylor went back for seconds.

The TV ratings are in ... Sunday night's telecast of NBC's Sunday Night Football saw 20.31 million viewers for a matchup between Travis' Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets.

The overall figure was the biggest on TV last night, but it's 4 million less than last Sunday's Chiefs game, which drew 24.32 million ... the first time Taylor cheered on Travis from a suite.

Of course, last week's Chiefs game was on a different network, FOX instead of this week's NBC, and in a different time slot ... 4:25 PM ET kickoff instead of this week's 8:20 PM ET start.

There was a lot more hype around Taylor and Travis heading into the Chief-Jets game, though, and even more star power in the second week.

NBC constantly panned to Taylor during the broadcast ... she was in a suite with Sophie Turner, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Hugh Jackman and Sabrina Carpenter ... just to name a few.

Taylor's new bestie, Brittany Mahomes, also joined Taylor in the suite ... ditto for Travis' mother, Donna, who got a big hug from Taylor.

Before the game, Travis was spotted leaving Taylor's NYC apartment before heading over to New Jersey for his game ... but they left MetLife Stadium separately, unlike last week in Kansas City when they drove off in a convertible.

Travis and the Chiefs are on CBS next Sunday ... for a 4:25 PM ET kickoff on the road against the Minnesota Vikings -- and it will be interesting if Taylor shows up for her third game in a row, and how the final TV ratings shake out.

Stay tuned ...

Do you think Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will last long term? Vote below.

Former New England Patriots Pro Bowl tight end Russ Francis, along with another man, were killed Sunday when the small plane they were flying in crashed in Lake Placid.

Francis was 70 years old.

The crash, according to police, occurred a few minutes after 4 PM near Lake Placid Airport in New York.

The plane was a Cessna 177 Cardinal ... a light, single-engine aircraft that was first introduced in the late '60s. The Cessna "experienced an emergency after takeoff" and "attempted to return to the airport but failed to make the runway," according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA).

The second passenger who died alongside Francis was Richard McSpadden, a Senior Vice President for the AOPA. McSpadden was a very accomplished pilot, commanding the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds during his military career.

It's unclear if Francis, also a pilot, or McSpadden were flying at the time of the crash.

On the football field, Francis was one of the best at his position.

Russ was drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots after starring at Oregon. He played 13 total seasons with the Pats and San Francisco 49ers, making 3 Pro Bowls and 2 All-Pro teams. Francis played in 167 games, catching 393 balls for 5,262 yards and 40 yards.

The Patriots released a statement on Francis' death.

"On behalf of the entire New England Patriots organization, we extend our sincerest sympathies to the family of Russ Francis, who tragically passed away yesterday," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft in a prepared statement.

A Las Vegas Raiders fan had a really rough Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles ... his team not only lost to the Chargers -- he was socked in the face by a huge haymaker while attending the game.

The Howie Long supporter was decked after he got into a spat with a Justin Herbert fan during the Raiders vs. Bolts tilt at SoFi Stadium ... and the wild fight was all captured on video.

You can see the fracas appeared to start when the Long supporter got into the face of the man in the powder blue jersey.

Apparently not liking the guy in his grill, the Herbert supporter got up and seemed to headbutt the Long fan ... before uncorking a massive right hand that caught the guy flush in the face.

The blow sent the Raiders fan straight to the ground ... but when he got up, he was hit by another couple punches. Eventually, the Herbert fan pushed the guy down several rows of stairs.

Thankfully, a man in a black Charles Woodson jersey stepped in to break up the fight before things escalated further.

It's unclear if either combatant was kicked out of the game over the melee.

There was no joyride underneath the stars for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift this time around for the budding couple ... the pop star and her new beau left MetLife Stadium separately after she watched him secure yet another win on the field.

Kelce bolted from the Chiefs' locker room area toward the team buses without Swift following Kansas City's 23-20 win. The "Love Story" singer, meanwhile, exited arm in arm with her pal Sophie Turner.

In a way, this exit further confirms their relationship. When they walked out of the stadium together last week and left in the same car, it was almost their coming out. This time around it was less showy ... almost like there was no reason to underscore what is now obvious.

After the game, Taylor hit up Zero Bond restaurant in NYC. It's unclear who she was with ... there are no shots of Travis, Sophie or any of her other buds who watched the game with her.

Taylor was all in again as she watched the Chiefs eke out a win, throwing up her hands and cheering. She was joined by Sophie, Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Sabrina Carpenter and others.

Taylor's new bff, Brittany Mahomes, and Travis' mom, Donna, were also in the suite.

Travis was spotted earlier in the day leaving Taylor's apartment before heading to the stadium.

Short story ... the Taylor Swift game was super entertaining.

Do you think Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will last long term? Vote below.

Taylor Swift is becoming quite the trendsetter for football game attire ... 'cause the denim shorts she wore at Travis Kelce's latest football game are already sold out online.

As you know, Taylor was in a celeb-packed box at MetLife Stadium Sunday night in New Jersey ... wearing a pair of logo-lettering denim shorts by fashion label AREA.

The jorts were being sold on Farfetch for a whopping $1,213 but were 50% off the night of the game -- but it's all sold out as of Monday morning.

Shouldn't come as a total shock ... millions had their eyes on Taylor during the Chiefs vs. Jets game, with NBC's 'SNF' leaning hard on her viral craze that went down just a week before, and cutting to her a lot throughout the game.

This isn't the only Swift/Kelce clothing choice to run out -- as we reported, a fashion line added "1989" to the name of the jacket Travis wore last week when he was spotted walking out with Taylor, a reference to one of her albums.

That one sold out incredibly fast, too ... so it looks like the 2 will be picking their outfits wisely from now on -- either that, or brands will be reaching out like crazy to get them to put on their threads!

Do you think Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will last long term? Vote below.

Brittany Mahomes hitting it off with Taylor Swift has seemingly rubbed Travis Kelce's ex-girlfriend the wrong way -- Kayla Nicole no longer follows her bestie on Instagram amid the tight end's budding relationship with the singer.

Patrick Mahomes' wife has been spending a lot of time with T-Swift over the past two weeks -- as we previously reported, the two initially connected at Kelce's party after the Chiefs' win over the Bears last week ... and grabbed dinner with Blake Lively and Sophie Turner in NYC days later.

Brittany and Taylor appeared to be thick as thieves as they enjoyed the Chiefs' close win over the Jets from a VIP suite alongside Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and more Sunday night ... a clear indication that Mahomes approves of Kelce's new love interest.

Kayla -- who remained tight with Brittany long after her relationship with Travis ended in 2022 -- apparently doesn't like the idea of her friend cozying up with Swift ... 'cause the model and influencer recently unfollowed Mahomes on social media.

Of course, Kayla was super close with the Mahomeses for years -- she was even a bridesmaid for their wedding in March 2022.

Now, she's no longer keeping tabs on both Brittany AND Patrick on the platform ... and previous posts have been "un-liked" by Kayla's account.

Yeah, Damian Lillard and Antonio Brown might have some dope music, but Shaq tells TMZ Sports he's the G.O.A.T when it comes to athletes who rap ... and he's been that guy since the 1990s!

For those who don't remember, Shaq made four rap albums during his Hall of Fame NBA career, with the first one, "Shaq Diesel," coming out in 1993.

He hasn't stopped making music in retirement either ... the 51-year-old actually just jumped on a track with L.A.-based group Coyote -- and he tells us he's got much more on the way too.

"I got a couple of freestyles," O'Neal said. "It's all competition for me, so when I hear other people that say, 'I'm a better athlete-rapper than Shaq,' I gotta step up."

"Nothing personal. I just have to let these people know who paved the way."

Some of the athletes makin' waves in the rap game include Lillard, who's been considered by fans to be one of the best, lyrically, in any sport.

There's also Brown, who's made catchy tracks like "Put That Sh** On" ... as well as former NBA star Iman Shumpert.

But, while O'Neal (who we recently talked to about his huge upcoming charity event) was very complimentary of the guys' talents on the mic, he says he's still the greatest of all time.

"I put stuff out, they put stuff out and we let the people decide who the number one is," O'Neal said.

"I know who the number one is. I'ma always say myself is number one, but they got a lot of the guys out there that are coming."

The NFL got animated this weekend -- the shield teamed up with none other than Disney to broadcast a simultaneous version of a game that saw everybody reimagined as a toy.

Of course, we're referring to the Jags facing off against the Falcons in London ... the kickoff for which was super early. That doesn't mean Disney/ESPN wasn't ready with their big "Toy Story" skin, though -- as soon as the game started, their own cartoon stream was live.

It's exactly how it sounds ... basically, while the real game was playing out on everyone's TV, a different part of the screen was showing Disney's carbon copy universe -- where all the players were turned into toys and their on-field play was translating moment-for-moment.

The "Toy Story" stream wasn't on the main screen the entire time -- it sounds like they cut away to it during different parts of the match ... including replays/highlights, etc.

It was pretty cool to see, and the reactions online certainly reflected that ... as people were somewhat mesmerized by the technology -- not to mention all the other "Toy Story" characters being incorporated into the background and on the sidelines.

With that said, the new feature wasn't without its issues -- there were moments when the "Toy Story" would glitch up and/or not cut back to the main action in time ... and it PO'd some.

Still, it was way more good than bad ... and considering how much the "Toy Story" stuff got talked about, you can almost guarantee the NFL will try doing this again in the near future.

BTW, this isn't the first time the league has done something like this ... they've partnered with Nickelodeon in the past and had AR visuals superimposed over portions of the game -- including "slime" moments after touchdowns.

Kim Kardashian and Tom Brady shared a fun-filled moment while bidding on a very pricey piece of art -- and the two even got a bit flirty!!

According to eyewitnesses... Kim and Tom showed up to bid on a George Condo painting at the Reform Alliance Charity in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Saturday night.

We're told Kim kicked off the bidding at $500K, and then Tom put in a higher bid before they got into a full-on bidding war.

During their back and forth, the celebs giggled and kept looking at each other, and it was all "super fun and flirty," our sources tell us.

When the bid reached $2 million, the event hosts stepped in and decided both would receive their own George Condo painting.

But there was a caveat ... Kim and Tom each had to pay $2 million for their canvases, which for them is just chump change.

Tom Brady gave hundreds of kids a day to remember Saturday, by not only hitting up a sports trading card event but also getting in on the action!

Brady was the surprise guest at the Fanatics and Topps Hobby Rip Night in Linwood, New Jersey.

There were some big stars front and center, including Travis Scott, Kevin Hart, who hosted the event, and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin.

Fanatics is the biggest sports merchandizer in the game.

The Linwood store has a capacity of 100, but so many people showed hundreds more descended onto the parking lot.

Brady was all in, trading cards with fans and the kids went nuts. Fact is ... Brady owns tons of football cards.

Taylor Swift's gearing up to root on Travis Kelce for the second week in a row, but not before grabbing dinner with some famous gal pals ... stepping out with Sophie Turner, Brittany Mahomes, and Blake Lively.

Taylor and crew hit Italian hotspot Emilio's Ballato in NYC Saturday night -- arriving with Blake and later joined by Sophie and Mahomes ... who she recently got acquainted with last weekend following Kansas City's win at home.

Of course, Taylor's been spending a lot of time with Sophie as of late, noticeably taking her side in a battle with Joe Jonas as they fight for custody and issues surrounding their divorce.

Blake's a longtime friend of Taylor, but Mahomes is certainly a new addition to the girl squad.

TMZ broke the story ... Taylor and Brittany hit it off at Travis Kelce's afterparty in KC last weekend, chatting a bunch and at one time taking a shot together. We were also first to obtain a photo of Taylor and Travis looking rather comfortable at the bash ... as she wrapped her arms around the NFL superstar.

Travis and his Kansas City Chiefs are set to take on The New York Jets Sunday night, and sources tell us Taylor will be in attendance.

Before Dion Lewis was hauled off to jail last week, he allegedly called cops "p***ies" and threatened to spit on an officer -- this according to new court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, Seminole Police Dept. officers say they were called out to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa in Florida at around 2 PM on Sept. 18 after venue security claimed Lewis was being "unruly."

Cops say the former New England Patriots running back was told he had to leave the property ... and was escorted out to valet where authorities said they allowed him to either cab it or Uber it away from the premises without further repercussions.

But, according to the docs, "Lewis became belligerent in front of other casino patrons, calling officers 'p***ies,' and advising he was not leaving property because he did nothing wrong."

He then allegedly said he'd spit in a sergeant's face "if he touched him."

Lewis was taken to a nearby jail a short time later ... and ultimately charged with misdemeanor trespassing.

His attorney submitted a not guilty plea on the former tailback's behalf earlier this week. He's now due back in court next month.

Antes de que Dion Lewis fuera llevado a la cárcel la semana pasada, supuestamente insultó a los policías y amenazó con escupir a uno de ellos, de acuerdo a nuevos documentos judiciales obtenidos por TMZ Sports.

En los documentos, los oficiales del Departamento de Policía de Seminole dicen que fueron llamados al Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa en Florida alrededor de las 2 PM el 18 de septiembre, después de que la seguridad del lugar afirmara que Lewis estaba siendo "revoltoso".

La policía dice que al ex New England Patriots se le dijo que tenía que irse de la propiedad y fue escoltado por el encargado de los estacionamientos, cuando las autoridades dicen que se le permitió pedir un Uber o un taxi afuera de las instalaciones, sin más repercusiones.

Pero según los documentos, "Lewis se volvió beligerante frente a otros clientes del casino, llamando a los oficiales 'p***ies', y advirtiendo que no iba a salir de la propiedad porque no hizo nada malo".

Luego, supuestamente, dijo que iba a escupirle en la cara a un sargento "si lo tocaba".

Lewis fue llevado a una cárcel cercana poco tiempo después, y en última instancia, acusado de un delito menor de allanamiento de morada.

Su abogado presentó una declaración de inocencia en nombre del exjugador a principios de esta semana. Deberá volver a los tribunales el próximo mes.

James Harrison says he's not a Hall of Famer, and Ryan Clark fears the Steelers legend might be right ... but he tells TMZ Sports he's hoping like hell his old teammate ends up being wrong.

Harrison admitted last week he doesn't believe his numbers are good enough to one day get a bust in Canton ... and when we spoke with Clark this week, he said he shares the same concerns as the guy he played with from 2006-2012.

"I would say he's borderline," Clark said of the ex-Pittsburgh pass rusher. "I don't know if he gets in."

Clark tells us ... he's unsure if Harrison sustained a level of excellence for long enough to sway voters -- though he did note the guy's Super Bowl wins and Defensive Player of the Year award might ultimately be enough.

"My bias says he deserves it, but I understand how it works," Clark said ... before adding, "I hope he gets in."

Harrison played in the NFL from 2002 to 2017, but he was only a full-time starter for about seven years. He logged 84.5 sacks in his career ... as well as 811 combined tackles.

The totals were good enough to earn him a place in Pittsburgh's Hall of Honor this season ... and, clearly, Clark is hoping it'll one day get him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame too.