Football

There will be no more blue-and-gold cleats for DeSean Jackson -- the former L.A. Rams wideout is a Raider now ... and he just copped some dope skull-and-crossbone spikes to celebrate the move!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the receiver hit up his go-to artist, Joe Castro, just days after he was released by the Rams and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Castro tells us the 34-year-old wanted a "new team, new cleats" theme involving skulls for his first game as a Raider on Sunday -- and the shoe expert delivered.

The kicks feature a silver-and-black image of a skull rockin' a black patch over its right eye with two swords crossed behind it -- just like the Raiders' logo.

On the other side of the white Under Armour cleats is another scary skull figure in front of two intense blades.

The shoes also feature faded grey skeleton heads scattered around.

Castro -- who's made custom cleats for DJack for several years -- says it only took him a couple of hours to make.

Jackson had requested his release from the Rams after only catching 8 passes for 221 yards and 1 touchdown in 7 games this season.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is going to bat for Bo Davis after he aggressively cussed players out over a bad loss this weekend ... praising the d-line coach's passion as a positive moment.

As we previously reported, Davis was heard calling players "motherf***ers" on the team bus after losing 30-7 loss to Iowa State on Saturday ... going in on the athletes for seemingly not taking the beating seriously.

The clip has been polarizing -- some say Davis crossed a line, while others defend the coach for giving a damn deep in an underwhelming season.

Sark made his stance clear with reporters on Thursday ... defending his staffer and also criticizing the player who leaked the audio.

"I think one thing that jumped out to me when I first saw the video was, one, you could hear the passion in Bo's voice," Sark said. "We really believe in the staff that we hired and what we came here to do."

"I think you could feel the passion and the want to get it done. I think that Bo exemplifies that."

As for the player seemingly trying to expose the coach's behavior in a negative light, Sark claims that does not reflect the entire reaction from the team.

Odell Beckham Jr. has said goodbye to Cleveland and is now close to saying hello to Los Angeles ... 'cause the star receiver is reportedly about to sign with the Rams.

Just a couple days after the Browns waived the wideout -- Beckham is now finalizing a deal to play with Matt Stafford and Sean McVay, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday.

Of course, L.A.'s receiver room is already loaded ... Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods are perhaps the best duo in the league -- and their backups, including Van Jefferson, ain't slouches either.

But, L.A. hasn't been afraid to sign and/or trade for veteran depth at any point in the last few seasons regardless of its current roster -- so the move to ink Odell makes sense.

OBJ hasn't been a surefire superstar in years -- he battled injuries and, at times, poor QB play in Cleveland -- but seems like a good bet McVay, an offensive genius, will be able to feature him in Hollywood.

As for what number OBJ will wear when he finally gets on the squad ... for the first time in his career, it could be something different than #13.

John Richardson clearly has both the clutch gene AND the celebration gene ... 'cause after the NIU kicker booted a game-winning field goal Wednesday -- he lost his mind on the field!!

The hilarious scene all went down at the end of the Huskies' game against Ball State ... when Richardson was called upon to help NIU win with just seconds remaining in the nail-biting contest.

The Huskies found themselves trailing the Cards, 29-27, with just 3 seconds left -- but Richardson nailed a 32-yard field goal as time expired to secure the victory.

And, the dude partied HARD to celebrate it all!!!

Richardson was so hyped by his kick, he ran to the opposing team's sideline ... forcing his teammates to run after him so they could be included in the fun.

Once Richardson regained his composure ... he ran back onto the field -- with his teammates still in pursuit of him -- and could be seen pointing to his left arm as if to say he had "ice in his veins."

Was it over the top? Probably, but John certainly earned the right to do it ... he connected on all three of his field goal attempts during the game and was successful on all of his three PATs as well.

Cam Newton could be going home -- the former MVP is reportedly set to meet with the Carolina Panthers on Thursday ... as the injury-laden team looks for serious quarterback help.

The 32-year-old has been out of the job since getting cut by the New England Patriots in September ... but recently had chats with the Seattle Seahawks after being let go.

Newton -- who led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2016 -- could be returning to his old stomping grounds as the team searches to replace Sam Darnold, who just went down with a shoulder injury.

Newton played 9 seasons for the Panthers ... throwing for more than 29,000 yards, 182 touchdowns ... adding 4,800 yards on the ground with 58 TDs.

But, his lone season with the Pats wasn't nearly as successful ... starting 15 games and going 7-8 under Bill Belichick.

A Newton reunion could bring some energy to a 4-5 Panthers squad ... and given he's now vaccinated, the team wouldn't have to worry nearly as much about health and safety protocols.

Cam's old coach, Ron Rivera, is now with the Washington Football Team ... but if he hits it off with Matt Rhule, Panthers fans might need to dust off those #1 jerseys!!

Dalvin Cook is innocent until proven guilty ... and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe says people need to remember that as the Minnesota Vikings running back faces serious allegations of domestic violence made by his ex-girlfriend.

As we previously reported, the 26-year-old is accused of assaulting and threatening to kill his ex, U.S. Army veteran Gracelyn Trimble, in 2020 ... but he claims he's actually the victim.

TMZ Sports spoke with Sharpe about the situation, and he says the masses have to reserve judgment until Cook goes through the legal process ... but they won't.

"Man, this is really tough because my heart goes out to all abused," Sharpe tells us. "But, I mean, now we just don't even get a chance to prove innocence or nothing. We just automatically assume."

"Everybody says, 'I hear that.' We should have our day in court and we should have this. But, that's not what we do. We automatically rush to judgment."

Sharpe adds he hopes the allegations made against Cook aren't true.

"I'm just not trying to convict people in the court of the public opinion without them having their due process," he added.

As for Cook, he told reporters "the truth will come out" and he fully intends to play on Sunday ... but Sharpe would be surprised if that happens.

TMZ Sports has obtained multiple 911 calls made moments after Henry Ruggs allegedly caused a fatal car crash ... with one witness telling an operator she believed a person was trapped in the burning truck.

A female caller who said she lives near the scene of the accident claimed she was in bed when she heard the crash, and when she looked at the crash site, all she saw were flames.

"It's almost all gone," she said of the fire-engulfed vehicle, continuing, "and I think someone is in it."

The woman is clearly panicked ... and pleading with the 911 operator to get help to the scene.

The woman also said she heard what she described as "kids just yelling for help."

But, she said the flames were so high "you can't get near it."

In the second call, a man, who heard, but didn't see the crash, told authorities, "I want to say the [Corvette] was probably speeding. I mean, I heard loud revving, loud noises, and then a big collision."

The man horrifyingly said he also thought he heard yelping coming from a dog inside of the burning vehicle.

Of course, in addition to 23-year-old Tina Tintor dying in the wreck, her golden retriever, Max, also perished.

The second caller also speculated that he suspected Ruggs and his GF were under the influence ... though he didn't elaborate why he suspected they were impaired.

As we previously reported, 22-year-old Ruggs was hit with 5 charges including 4 felonies for his role in the crash.

The Minnesota Vikings are still allowing Dalvin Cook to practice with the team ... this despite new allegations that he roughed up his ex-GF during a violent Nov. 2020 incident.

Vikes head coach Mike Zimmer just revealed the news ... saying Cook will work out with the team Wednesday.

Zimmer added that, as of now, the star running back is slated to be available to play in Minnesota's game against the Chargers on Sunday as planned too.

Of course, it's a surprising announcement ... considering Cook's ex, Gracelyn Trimble, has accused the football player of being violent with her on multiple occasions since 2018.

In a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Tremble says Cook got physical with her throughout their relationship -- including a Nov. 19, 2020 incident in which she claims he left her a bloody mess.

During the alleged confrontation ... Trimble says Cook hit her repeatedly and even at one point aimed a gun at her head and told her she was going to die.

For his part, Cook -- through his representatives -- has denied the allegations ... and claimed he was actually the victim in the situation, adding that Trimble was attempting to extort him.

The NFL has said it's investigating it all ... explaining in a statement this week, "The matter will be reviewed under the personal conduct policy. We will continue to monitor developments but there's no change to [Cook's] status."

Good news from Deion Sanders -- the Jackson State football coach just gave an update on his current status after suffering complications from foot surgery ... and he's out of the hospital!!

Coach Sanders recently had a setback during recovery from surgery he had on his dislocated toe -- an injury from his NFL days -- back in September.

The 54-year-old has been sharing updates in the weeks following the procedure ... even posting bloody and gnarly images.

Sanders was told to chill for 6 weeks, but he was out and about via a 3-wheel scooter and golf cart during team drills and games -- until he was sidelined again by medical professionals.

It seemed serious since he ended up back in the hospital and missed JSU Tigers' last three games due to complications ... but Coach Sanders just announced on Wednesday everything is good.

"As you know there have been some complications following my foot surgery, but it brings me such joy to tell you that I'm now out of the hospital and on my path that we started TOGETHER."

"I promise you I'm going to be smart and continue to adhere to my wonderful team of doctors' orders."

Sanders added, "Often times fast is looked upon as having speed, but fast in this instance is being fleet of thought."

Sanders also says he might make an appearance very soon -- in a better ride ... saying "Don't be surprised when you see me back on the field in a new whip 😎"

What can beat a custom-made Prime Time scooter and golf cart?!

A woman claiming to have dated Dalvin Cook throughout the past 3 years says the NFL star beat the hell out of her in Nov. 2020 ... leaving her a scratched, bruised and bloody mess.

But, the Minnesota Vikings running back is adamant he's actually the victim ... and the woman is now attempting to extort him.

U.S. Army veteran Gracelyn Trimble spelled out the troubling accusations in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports ... saying she met Cook on a beach in Florida in 2018 and began dating the football player a short time later.

Trimble, though, says in the docs that in March 2020 ... the relationship took a turn for the worse.

Trimble claims Cook had gotten her pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage -- and while in the hospital dealing with it all, she says Cook was cheating on her.

Trimble says that led to a "physically violent argument" between the two, where she claims Cook pushed her -- resulting in their break-up.

But, Trimble says less than 3 months later, they rekindled their romance and started living together in Florida ... and also shared space in Minnesota, where Cook was living during the Vikings' season.

Trimble, though, says in mid-November, the two got into an argument at the Mall of America, and when they returned home, Cook punched her and threw her to the ground.

Because of Cook's alleged history of violence, Trimble says she stored mace in his garage.

Shortly after the altercation, Trimble says she then learned Cook was again cheating on her ... so she decided to confront him, gather her things and end the relationship.

On Nov. 19, 2020, Trimble claims in the docs she entered Cook's home through the garage, grabbed the mace and headed inside to pack up her belongings.

Inside the home, Trimble claims she asked Cook for help packing up her belongings -- but he got mad, "grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open and start gushing blood."

Trimble claims she then attempted to defend herself by macing Cook, but he overpowered her, and the mace primarily got in her eyes.

After briefly going outside, Trimble says she went upstairs and attempted to take a shower in order to wash the mace out of her eyes -- but she claims she was again confronted by Cook ... saying the NFL star picked her up and slammed her on the floor. She claims she hit the corner of a bed in the room, which caused a deep gash on her arm.

Trimble claims Cook then pinned her to the ground and told her she was "going to die." She then claims Cook punched and choked her and then grabbed a gun and pointed it at her head "all while yelling death threats."

Trimble says in the docs Cook eventually put the gun down, but kept her pinned to the ground.

The woman says Cook let her up -- and she was able to get into the shower to try to wash the blood off of her. But, she says their violent altercation continued after she finished in the bathroom.

Trimble says she went downstairs where she and Cook began to argue again -- before she claims Dalvin began beating her with a broomstick.

"Despite having been a soldier in active combat," the documents read, "where she had missiles and bullets fired at her, Trimble feared for her life like she had never before."

Trimble claims the beating continued as she attempted to crawl away from Cook to get help, but she says Cook would not let her go.

Trimble claims despite begging Cook to call police or an ambulance, he held her against her will for hours -- before eventually taking her to the airport.

After returning to Florida, Trimble says she didn't initially go to the hospital because she wanted to protect Cook ... but on Nov. 25, she claims she realized her injuries were severe, so she went to the emergency room.

While there, she says she told doctors she was in an ATV accident ... and they diagnosed her with a concussion and "several deep cuts and bruising."

Trimble claims Cook profusely apologized after the incident, but they did not see each other for about a month until a death in Cook's family -- which she claims brought the couple back together.

But, Trimble says the relationship eventually broke down again -- and they called things off.

Cook's attorney, however, claimed in a statement to TMZ Sports on Tuesday that he's actually the victim ... and said shortly after the two began dating, she "became emotionally abusive, physically aggressive and confrontational, and repeatedly attempted to provoke" him.

Cook accused Trimble of damaging his car, assaulting him and attempting to "stop him from seeing other women" throughout their relationship.

We also talked to Dalvin's agent, Zac Hiller, who told us regarding the Nov. 19, 2020 incident that "[Trimble] showed up at [Dalvin's] house, illegally entered, punched him in the face, maced him, armed herself with a gun, and held him and his 2 house guests hostage."

Cook and his attorney claim they actually have video from the incident that they say shows she was the aggressor.

Cook's attorney added that any injuries Trimble suffered during the altercation were "the result of Sgt. Trimble's own unlawful conduct."

"We are confident a full disclosure of the facts will show Mr. Cook did nothing wrong," Cook's attorney said.

University of Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis unleashed a passionate and profane rant on a bus full of players after a game this past weekend ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

51-year-old Davis -- who has been a part of 3 national championship-winning programs -- was absolutely fed up after the Longhorns lost 30-7 to Iowa State on Saturday ... apparently reaming the athletes for not taking the beating seriously.

Here's the part that was posted on Twitter, although it's unclear how long the rant lasted:

"S***'s real!" Davis says on the video. "Some of you motherf***ers need to get in the transfer portal! You wanna go? Get in the motherf***er! This s*** ain't a game to me! If you think it's a game, get the f*** off of this bus!"

There's more -- "I got my ass kicked and you motherf***ers wanna laugh?!? S***'s f***in' real! You think it's a goddamn joke?!?"

"And, some of you motherf***ers do transfer out this motherf***er because I'm tired of this s***! This s***'s goddamn real! And, we wanna laugh and joke?!? F*** that!"

The video has social media torn -- some say it's over the top and inappropriate, and others say it shows an enthusiastic coach trying to rally his team together after a bad loss.

Quandre Diggs -- who played for the Longhorns from 2011-14 -- reacted on Twitter ... saying, "whoever recorded the video of Coach Bo need to be gone plain and simple" ... but did not comment on the context of the clip.

Aaron Rodgers made it clear Tuesday he's ready to turn the page following his controversial COVID vaccine comments last week ... saying, "I'm an athlete, not an activist."

Just four days after the Green Bay Packers star made waves with his 46-minute, vax rant on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... he rejoined the former NFL player to try to clear some things up.

Rodgers began his interview by offering a bit of an apology ... telling McAfee, "I made some comments that people might have felt were misleading. And to anybody who felt misled by those comments, I take full responsibility."

Rodgers then appeared to distance himself from being any sort of poster boy for the unvaccinated -- saying his research led him to do what he believes is right for himself, not necessarily for the masses.

"I made a decision that was in my best interest based on consulting with my doctors, and I understand that not everybody is going to understand that, necessarily," Rodgers said. "But I respect everybody's opinions."

Rodgers added that he's ready to move on to focusing solely on quarterbacking and not global health -- telling McAfee there's a chance he'll be under center for the Packers vs. the Seahawks on Sunday.

As we previously reported, Rodgers tested positive for the coronavirus last Wednesday -- and admitted to McAfee on Friday that he was not vaccinated.

Aaron claimed he was allergic to the Pfizer and Moderna shots -- and just straight up didn't want to take the Johnson & Johnson version.

Rodgers ended up missing the Packers' game against the Chiefs over it all -- but said Tuesday he's "feeling better."

As for Rogan, the podcaster praised Rodgers on his own show this week ... saying, "he’s a smart f***ing dude."

Monday Night Football shared an emotional story of how Steelers running back Najee Harris was so used to being homeless as a kid, he still slept on the floor in his Alabama dorm room because it was more comfortable than his bed.

Touching, right?? But as it turns out, it never happened -- so says Harris himself, who called fake news on the anecdote shortly after Pittsburgh's 29-27 win over the Chicago Bears.

"Bra I ain’t sleep on no dam floor in college," Harris tweeted Monday night. "I slept on my bed."

Harris was also pissed the broadcast team mispronounced his name ... which also got the Twitter treatment.

"Y’all mess up my name and y’all say that stuff smh bet," he added.

There's belief Steve Levy might have gotten his Bama running backs mixed up -- according to a Bleacher Report article from 2018, fellow Crimson Tide football alum Josh Jacobs used to sleep on his dorm room floor.

Eli Manning's no J Lo and Shakira ... 'cause the New York Giants legend's infamous "double bird" salute on "Monday Night Football" resulted in 3 pissed-off viewers firing off complaints to the FCC.

Remember, EM goofed up on ESPN 2's "Manningcast" back in September while discussing how ruthless Philadelphia Eagles fans are ... claiming he would get flipped off by young fans, and giving visuals of how exactly that looked.

Manning later apologized ... but that didn't stop folks from writing in to the Federal Communications Commission about the salute, with one viewer calling it straight-up disgusting and calling for him to be punished.

"On ESPN 'Monday Night Football' Eli Manning used profane gestures that were despicable and unacceptable and fines should be levied," the viewer from West Chester, PA said in the complaint. "Young Americans should never be exposed to something like that, it was disgusting."

Another wrote ... "Mr. Manning's actions are offensive to me as a viewer. It was also offensive as a Philadelphia native and sports fan. There was young children watching that broadcast last evening."

"The FCC should take all appropriate enforcement actions against Mr. Manning and/or ESPN for Mr. Manning's conduct to hold them accountable to send the message that that type of behavior (even if he was re-telling a story) is not acceptable, including all appropriate fines."

A viewer from Tumwater, WA went as far as to demand Eli get banned from the airwaves.

To compare, 3 is nowhere near the 1,312 complaints that flooded in after Jennifer Lopez and Shakira's Super Bowl LIV halftime show ... with many complaining about the sexual nature of some of the dancing.

The 'Manningcast' has had a few other slipups in the past ... with Travis Kelce dropping an s-bomb and Marshawn Lynch letting the f-word slip.

A Tennessee Titans fan was hurled down several rows of stairs during a wild brawl at the Rams game Sunday night ... and the violent scene was all captured on video.

The fight broke out at some point during Tennessee's win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium ... when a Titans supporter appeared to get into it with L.A. fans in the stands.

It's unclear what started the altercation ... but you can see in the footage, after mixing it up with several men, the guy in the Titans jersey was punched in the face.

Another fan, meanwhile, then grabbed the guy by the head and threw him down the steps, face first.

While the Titans fan was down, a Rams fan was punched in the face and appeared to be knocked out too.

He was later stepped on by a different L.A. supporter.

Several of the combatants then fled. It's unclear if any arrests were made or if anybody was injured in the melee.

First, it was Kyrie Irving, now it's Aaron Rodgers in Howard Stern's crosshairs ... 'cause the radio legend is going OFF on the Packers QB, saying he should be kicked out of the NFL over his COVID-19 vaccine drama.

Rodgers has been under a barrage of scrutiny since testing positive for COVID-19 last week ... and revealing he was taking monoclonal antibodies and ivermectin after consulting with Joe Rogan didn't do him any favors in the public eye.

BTW -- Rodgers also said on "The Pat McAfee Show" he was allergic to the Moderna/Pfizer vaccines and had concerns with the Johnson & Johnson jab ... so he sought alternative treatment, which was not approved by the NFL.

Enter Stern, who is furious over the whole fiasco ... saying, "I would throw this guy out of the league so fast," he said Monday.

"This f***ing guy. They should throw him out of the league so fast."

Stern let his listeners know what he would do if he had things his way, while also bringing the Henry Ruggs DUI incident into the conversation.

"If I ran the NFL, if there was decency in this world, I would throw this guy out of the football league so fast. They should throw him out of the league so fast with the guy who crashed his car at 153 mph."

Stern is certainly no stranger to calling out athletes over their vaccine stance -- remember, he recently went off on Irving, saying, "In terms of idiots, he's got to be the top idiot in the country right now."