Football

Props to Patrick Mahomes -- who, along with his foundation, split the $100,000 cost to turn Arrowhead Stadium into a polling place.

Mahomes said he brought up the idea to Chiefs' president Mark Donovan -- but one of the issues they faced was funding the cost of additional voting machines.

So, Mahomes (along with his 15 and the Mahomies foundation) and the Chiefs reportedly agreed to split the $100,000 cost to turn Arrowhead into a voting location.

"I thought it was very important, not only just to get as many people out to vote as possible, but also to use a place as Arrowhead where we have a lot of fun, show a lot of love and unity with people are coming together, and use it as a place where we can come together to vote and use our voice," Mahomes said Tuesday to Jim Trotter on the "Huddle & Flow" podcast.

"I thought Arrowhead was the perfect place for it, and the Chiefs were all aboard with it and some other guys on the team, we all just made our efforts strong and really got it to be a central point for everybody to go vote."

The good news ... Arrowhead got a pretty decent turnout -- with multiple Chiefs players and head coach Andy Reid stopping by to cast their votes.

Tommy Tuberville -- the former college football coach -- is now a U.S. Senator (elect) after winning a seat in Alabama in a landslide.

The 66-year-old ran as a Republican -- and on Tuesday, he defeated Senator Doug Jones by a HUGE margin, flipping the seat back to red.

"Alabama, welcome back to the Republican U.S. Senate," Tuberville told his supporters during his victory speech.

"Tonight the liberals of California, New York and Washington D.C. learned the hard way that Alabama's Senate seat cannot be bought."

"If you allow me to quote my opponent's many campaign ads, they can all go to hell and get a job as far as I'm concerned."

Jones had won the seat in 2017 in a special election following sexual misconduct allegations against Roy Moore.

As for Tuberville, he earned Donald Trump's endorsement after defeating Jeff Sessions in the primary ... despite never previously holding public office.

"[Tuberville] will be a GREAT Senator for the incredible people of Alabama," Trump tweeted back in July ... "Doug Jones is a terrible Senator who is just a Super Liberal puppet for Schumer & Pelosi. Represents Alabama poorly."

Before turning to politics, Tuberville was a pretty successful college football coach -- going 85 and 40 in 9 seasons at Auburn (1999 to 2008).

Before that, Tuberville coached at Ole Miss from '95 to '98.

During his 21 years as a coach, Tuberville also spent time at Texas Tech and Cincinnati.

After declaring victory, Tuberville addressed his supporters:

"I promise I'm going to do everything for you and your family -- for your kids and grandkids -- so that they can have the opportunity of the American dream for years to come."

The victory speech was actually interrupted by a congratulatory phone call from Vice President Mike Pence ... and Tuberville was fired up about it.

Dallas Cowboys QB Andy Dalton has been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list -- meaning he will NOT play this weekend ... but no one is saying if he formally tested positive for the virus.

As the Cowboys pointed out on its official team website, players can be placed on the COVID list without testing positive.

"If a player has been exposed to individuals who have tested positive, or even has experienced some of the common symptoms, will land them on the reserve list."

We've reached out to the team for clarification -- but so far, no comment on Dalton's health status.

Dalton has been out since suffering a serious head injury during the Oct. 25 matchup against the Washington Football Team.

Cowboys rookie QB Ben DiNucci -- a 2020 7th-round pick -- started for Dallas last week against the Eagles, but it was a mess. Ben only completed 21 of 40 pass attempts for 180 yards.

Dallas fans were hoping Dalton would be healthy enough to take over the reins for the Steelers game this weekend -- but now, that ain't happening.

The Cowboys say Dalton will likely be out for another 14 days.

Of course, the team does have newly signed Cooper Rush on its practice squad ... and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday the 'Boys could go with him rather than DiNucci on Sunday.

Either way ... the Steelers are absolutely BALLIN' this season and have arguably the toughest defense in the NFL.

So, yeah ... good luck!

NY Giants receiver Golden Tate's wife just went NUCLEAR on the G-Men ... saying it's "excruciating" to watch him go without targets this season.

Elise Tate -- who has been married to the NFL vet for 3 years -- unleashed an all-time Instagram rant after the Giants' 25-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ... saying the team sucks because they're not throwing Tate the ball.

"Getting so many texts throughout the game GT WIDE OPEN WIDE OPEN WIDE OPEN. I KNOWWWWW," Tate posted to her 55k followers.

"I mean yeah given ONE chance in the fourth quarter of course he comes down with the ball! He's @showtimetate !!"

FYI -- Tate had 2 receptions for 31 yards and a TD in the loss ... and reportedly shouted "throw me the ball" into the camera after the late-game score.

Elise clearly wanted to see GT get more opportunities, saying, "SO UNDER UTILIZED. AS HIS WIFE I CANNOT EVEN WATCH WITH ONE EYE OPEN!!!!

"Same exact thing last game, one target in the first quarter -- of course -- an epic TD. HE NEEDS TO BW (sic) FED THE BALL. Period. Watch the film. He always comes down with the ball."

She didn't stop there.

"I'm lit. 11yrs in the NFL I've never said something like this online. but its excruciating to watch and killing his stats this year but you cant have yards on a few to no targets."

"Hes CRAZY making the most of what comes his way that's for sure though. Every time."

Elise went on to admit GT will "kill me" for speaking out and will make her delete the rant ... but as of the time this post was published, it's still live on her page.

Tate has 22 receptions for 226 yards and 2 TDs this season ... and Elise thinks QB Daniel Jones needs to look his way more often.

"HES HEALTHY! and every damn time he gets an opportunity it's a big play," Elise added. "Ain't no way this BS gonna hurt his stats this yr bc he doesn't get targets. FEED HIM THE BALL/"

The rant comes hours before the NFL's trade deadline ... and there are talks the Giants are trying to shop Tate.

The NFL ain't messing around with its sock policy -- hitting 2 star Pittsburgh Steelers players with $5k fines for showing too much leg during a game!

Steelers wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner were both flagged by the league for breaking the dress code -- which requires players to wear their socks all the way up to their pants.

The league sent a letter to both JuJu and Conner claiming they broke the sock rule during the Oct. 25 game against the Tenessee Titans.

"Specifically, your stockings failed to cover your lower leg," the letter said. Juju later posted the note to social media.

Both players can appeal the fine ... but $5k won't set them back TOO much, even though they're both still on their rookie deals.

Socks.

Besides the dress code fines, the Steelers are on fire this season -- they're currently 7-0 (the NFL's only unbeaten team) and looking like world-beaters.

23-year-old Juju's hauled in 39 passes for 346 yards and 3 TDs so far this season.

Raiders' star lineman Trent Brown has NOT been released from the hospital -- he's still being treated for a botched IV injection that occurred before Sunday's game.

Yeah, this is a big deal.

Brown was rushed to the hospital before the Raiders took on the Browns in Cleveland due a "mishap with his pre-game IV that caused air to enter his bloodstream," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Brown had missed the previous week's game due to a positive COVID test. Unclear if that's why Brown was receiving IV fluids on Sunday.

Air in the bloodstream is a serious and potentially lethal issue -- it's a condition called an air embolism and can "travel to your brain, heart, or lungs and cause a heart attack, stroke, or respiratory failure," according to Healthline.com.

So, again ... this is a very serious matter.

The team is optimistic about Brown's health -- but ProFootballTalk reported Monday morning that Brown is still in the hospital, where doctors are running more tests to make sure he's okay.

Brown's teammate, Derek Carr, said on Sunday the team was concerned about Brown -- and had prayed for a speedy recovery.

"We had no clue what was happening," the quarterback said. "All of a sudden, we come in, and they’re wheeling him out and I’m like, 'Bro, what is going on?'"

"It was crazy and so we prayed."

It's been a rough couple weeks for the Las Vegas offensive lineman ... he tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 21 -- and was forced to miss the Raiders' Week 7 game against the Buccaneers.

This is the NFL's 2nd notable medical mishap this season ... a Chargers doc accidentally punctured Tyrod Taylor's lung while trying to administer a pain-killing injection back in September.

The NFLPA has reportedly launched an investigation into the Brown incident.

Tom Brady beat the hell out of his helmet, smashing the thing as hard as he could into his team's bench Monday ... and then he made the Giants pay for it!

The G.O.A.T. had a classic TB12 meltdown on "Monday Night Football" ... getting so upset over a sack in the 1st half, he tried to end his helmet's life in a sideline tantrum.

The good news for the Bucs ... it clearly woke Brady up -- 'cause he went on to take down New York, 25-23.

Here's the deal ... Tom and Tampa really struggled to put away the lousy Giants in NY, trailing for most of the game -- and, at one point, things got so ugly ... Tom was visibly furious.

Brady took a sack in the 2nd quarter ... and then went to the sideline and slammed his helmet twice into the bench.

But, in true Brady fashion, he pulled the rabbit out of the hat, and scored 10 4th-quarter points to help put away the G-men.

The win was big for Tom's Bucs ... it moved them to an impressive 6-2 this year, and now, most have them as the Super Bowl favorite in the NFC.

It's a good thing Russell Wilson's rich ... 'cause the Seattle Seahawks QB says he spends around $1 MILLION every year just to take care of his body!

The 31-year-old broke it down recently on "The Bill Simmons Podcast" ... saying he's investing so much in his body so he can play in the NFL until he's 45-years-old!

"I probably spend $1 million if not more, a year, just on recovery," Wilson said.

Here's the breakdown ...

-- Full-time trainer (who also works with Ciara).

-- Full-time physical therapist

-- Full-time masseuse

-- Two chefs!

Wilson says he's been investing in his body for about 5 or 6 years now -- and also has "all the toys" to keep him in peak physical condition.

"I've got two hyperbaric chambers. I've got a little bit of everything. I get in the hyperbaric four times a week, three times a week. I get treatment every day."

Russ also says he tries to workout EVERY DAY -- 365 days a year -- though he admits there might be 1 or 2 days he takes off,.

"The reality is Christmas -- depending on the circumstances, but usually I do because we usually have a game around then -- and Thanksgiving. I'm in between 363 and 365 amount of work that we do every day, something around the work I do."

"I'm trying to play until I'm 45, at least. For me, my mentality is that I'm going to leave it all on the field and do everything I can to take care of myself."

Horrible news out of Ole Miss ... where a freshman tight end was airlifted to a hospital after suffering a realty bad injury during Monday practice that left him motionless.

The player is DaMarcus Thomas -- an 18-year-old true freshman from Alabama, who was a 4-star recruit.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin initially told the media Thomas took a hit during practice and hasn't moved since. A helicopter was immediately called to the field to airlift him to a nearby hospital.

"He never moved and he hasn't," Kiffin said ... "There's no feeling in his entire body. We've informed the family."

Kiffin continued, "I don't know if I've seen anything as hard or like that, personally."

There are reports Thomas was "showing some movement" before being placed in the helicopter -- let's hope that's true.

Ole Miss football is 2-4 on the season -- and coming off a win over Vanderbilt this past weekend.

Tom Brady has a new celebrity roommate -- and it's Antonio Brown.

The Bucs QB invited AB to live with him at Derek Jeter's mansion in Tampa after the WR signed a 1-year deal with the team, according to NFL on FOX's Jay Glazer ... and Antonio accepted Tom's offer.

"He's actually been staying at Tom Brady's house," Glazer reports.

"And Tom has actually been helping him off the field as well -- lining him up with people to help him including people like Tony Robbins."

Remember, Tom had invited Antonio to live with him and Gisele during AB's short stint with the New England Patriots back in 2019 ... but it's unclear if he ever moved in before the Pats fired him.

And, while Brown was furious with New England for sending him packing -- he blasted owner Robert Kraft on the way out -- AB maintained a solid friendship with Brady.

Brown is about to finish up his 8-week NFL suspension stemming from a litany of allegations against him ... from rape to sexual misconduct, assaulting a moving truck driver, berating police officers, shaming the mother of his child, throwing furniture off a balcony and more.

For his part, Brown has denied the rape allegations and the sexual misconduct -- and told us earlier this year he was trying to turn his life around.

Even though Brady is living in a mansion the size of a hotel -- would you let someone facing those kind of allegations stay in your home?

Brown will NOT play in the Bucs vs. Giants game on "Monday Night Football" ... but the 32-year-old is expected to suit up with Brady next weekend when Tampa Bay takes on the Saints.

One of the players ejected from that insane Florida vs. Mizzou fight is speaking out ... issuing an apology AND a warning!

Florida Gators defensive lineman Zachary Carter was one of 3 players ejected from the game for the bench-clearing brawl right before halftime.

The Gators were pissed over a violent late-hit on their QB, Kyle Trask -- and Florida head coach Dan Mullen was so heated, he ran onto the field and began screaming at Mizzou players and staff.

One thing led to another ... and before long, it was complete chaos -- with pushing, shoving, punches. Nuts.

Officials and other coaches eventually broke things up. Florida ended up winning the game in a 41-to-17 rout.

Three players were ejected -- Florida DL Zachary Carter and LB Antwaun Powell. And, Missouri LB Tre Williams.

On Sunday, the schools issued a joint statement condemning the incident.

"We believe both programs will use this moment to learn from so that future incidents like this do not happen."

Now, Carter is also speaking out through social media -- posting a statement about the incident.

"I want to apologize for getting out of character before halftime! Do not disrespect my QB or my head coach! I'm riding for my squad anyway."

Cleveland Browns superstar Odell Beckham says he has a "ton of emotions flowing" through his head following his devastating season-ending injury ... calling the process "really f'n tough."

OBJ went down during the first drive of the Browns' match-up with the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday ... and it was later revealed he tore his ACL.

Now, the 27-year-old is opening up on the news ... saying he can't explain why or how it happened, but will trust the process.

"I just wanna thank you all for checkin on me," Odell said Friday. "this is tough really fkn tough, I really don't have many words right now definitely not the right ones at least."

He continued ... "I couldnt tell u why this happened, this one doesnt make much sense, its not for me to question, but i believe God truly has a plan and is using me for it."

"Ton of emotions flowing.. just takin some ME time, some time to heal."

As we previously reported, Baker Mayfield came to OBJ's defense earlier this week when a reporter asked about critics saying the Browns are BETTER without the receiver ... calling it "completely insensitive."

Others throughout the league -- from teammate Jarvis Landry to Jamal Adams and more -- also showed support for OBJ in the days following the injury.

How far will one fan go to support his Philadelphia Eagles??

How about spending his LIFE SAVINGS to come up with the most badass at-home game day setup -- complete with a full bar!!

Die-hard fan Barry "The Hatchet" Vagnoni opened the doors to his incredible Eagles shrine in Reading, PA for the upcoming doc, "Maybe Next Year" ... which follows Philly fans during the 2017 Super Bowl run.

73-year-old Vagnoni says in the doc (set to release on Nov. 10) he got his inspiration to come up with the perfect viewing experience after watching the movie, "Field of Dreams" ... essentially saying if he builds an outlandish sanctuary, Eagles fans will come.

So, that's exactly what he did -- convincing his wife to spend their savings to make an addition to their home for friends and fam on game day -- and it's WILD.

The place is decked out from floor to roof in Eagles decor and can seat a BUNCH of people.

"The passion for the Eagles came from my dad -- he loved the Philadelphia Eagles," Barry tells us. "He wasn't over the top like I am. I've grown into a coo-coo."

Another COVID scare in the NFL -- this time, the Denver Broncos confirm a player has tested positive ... so Friday practice has been canceled.

The team has not released the identity of the player -- but notes he is already "at home in self-isolation along with two other players who were determined to be close contacts."

The Broncos note they have been following guidelines and working with the league and medical experts. But still, stuff happens.

"As a precaution, we have made the decision to postpone today’s practice and conduct virtual meetings in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Chargers."

"The team is scheduled to return to UC Health training Center for practice tomorrow."

The team adds, "The health and safety of the players, coaches and staff will continue to be of the highest priority."

Also worth noting, the Chargers have also canceled a practice this week due to a player testing positive.

Seems the NFL has had COVID issues every week since the season began — even stars like Cam Newton have been affected.

Revenge bod???

Not exactly ... but LSU football coach Ed Orgeron says now that he's single, he's been filling his spare time by running like crazy!

As we previously reported, Coach O and his longtime wife, Kelly, split back in February ... right after he led the Tigers to a National Championship.

Orgeron says he kinda had a "Forrest Gump" moment -- explaining that with the pandemic and his breakup, he just felt like running one day.

"During the COVID, we had a lot of time off -- and I'm single now so I have a lot of time," Coach O said on Barstool's "Pardon My Take" podcast.

"So, I decided to start running 2 hours a day on the weekends -- 2 hours on Friday, 2 hours on Saturday, 2 hours on Sunday ... in the sun at 12 o'clock."

The 59-year-old says he's lost 25 pounds so far (amazing!) -- and admits he feels a lot better these days.

Coach O also says he doesn't like running with headphones -- so, what does he think about when he's on a jog?

"Everything passes through my mind. I get clarity. I get ideas for work. I get ideas for recruiting … I think about my family, I think about other things. I enjoy it. It's been fun."

Coach O admits he gets heckled for his less-than-blazing pace -- but he just laughs it off.

"It's a slow man’s run. I've been ridiculed for that. But, you know what I told 'em? When you’re 59, you run like you walk!"

Dak Prescott can't throw another TD for the Cowboys this year ... but he's still helping in a big way -- prepping Dallas' rookie for a possible start with an embrace and advice!

Here's the deal ... the Cowboys' season has become such an injury-filled train wreck that 2020 7th-round pick Ben DiNucci (who played college ball; at James Madison Univ.) is now expected to be under center Sunday vs. the Eagles.

It ain't ideal ... DiNucci was drafted to be a developmental QB who wasn't supposed to see the field for YEARS -- so there's big-time worry in Big D.

But, Dak's making sure DiNucci ain't going into his first possible start underprepared ...

"Kind of just walked up to him and said, 'Hey, this isn't what you said my rookie year was going to be like,'" DiNucci said of his recent talks with Prescott.

"He laughed and gave me a hug and just said, 'We've talked about this. Go out there and do you. Take completions. Trust the guys around you. You'll be great. Don't overthink it. Football's football.'"

DiNucci seemed to take the advice to heart ... 'cause he added, "It's a game I've been playing since seventh grade. Not going to try to make it any more than it is."

"Going to have fun with it, bring a lot of energy, bring a lot of confidence and let my play speak for itself."

Dak's sidelined for at least the next 4 months after suffering a gruesome ankle injury earlier this month. His replacement, Andy Dalton, could miss the next couple games as well after he took a violent hit to the head last Sunday.

So, seems to be DiNucci's show for the foreseeable future ... and if he somehow shines -- better chalk up another game-changing assist for Prescott.