Football

It's finally officially over for Jason Garrett in Dallas ... the Cowboys have finally fired the head coach in a move EVERYONE saw coming from a mile away.

There were rumblings about Garrett's termination for weeks -- especially after the Cowboys went 8-8 this season and failed to make the playoffs.

And, even though the team was reportedly interviewing high profile candidates like Mike McCarthy and Marvin Lewis to take over, the team hadn't officially relieved Garrett of his duties ... until now.

Moments ago, FOX Sports' Jay Glazer said the team had finally sacked Garrett ... clearing the way to make a hiring move.

Garrett was 85-67 during his 10-year run with the team ... and only made the playoffs 3 times despite having some seriously talented players.

It's become the battle cry for the Baltimore Ravens -- "BIG TRUSS!!!" -- and someone has already filed for the trademark ... but it wasn't Mark Ingram!

Remember, it was the Ravens star running back who brought the phrase to prominence following a Nov. 17 victory over the Houston Texans.

During the post-game press conference, Ingram was introducing Lamar Jackson and called him the MVP frontrunner, challenging anyone who says otherwise to "come see me"

"I'm bout that! Big Truss!! Woo Woo! Lamar Jackson! In the Flesh!"

In fact, Ingram has already tapped an apparel company to sell "Big Truss" shirts and other merch ... it's on sale now!

But, the issue for Ingram ... someone else already went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and filed to own the trademark -- a Nevada-based fan named Lance Roehl.

Roehl has also been selling "Big Truss" merch -- and tells TMZ Sports he hopes to work with Ingram and the Ravens in some sort of capacity.

He insists he isn't a squatter who's holding the phrase hostage -- however, if he gets his application approved he could (in theory) go after Ingram for selling "Big Truss" merch without permission.

As for his legal claim, it generally takes about 3 months for the USPTO to approve the trademark application and usually the first to apply with a substantive claim gets it.

As of this post, neither Ingram or the Ravens have filed an application of their own.

So, what does it mean??? Most likely, Roehl will get approval and either Ingram and the Ravens will probably cut a check to buy it outright or work out a licensing deal.

In the meantime, Ingram and the Ravens are gearing up for the AFC Divisional Round playoff game which goes down on January 11 ... so, they've got bigger fish to fry.

#45 just can't get enough of Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence ... 'cause President Donald Trump will be checking out the big College Football Playoff championship game!!!

POTUS -- who witnessed Burrow's Heisman campaign firsthand during the LSU and Alabama game this season -- is expected to hit up the huge match-up between the 2 undefeated teams, according to The New Orleans Advocate.

We know what you're thinking ... and yeah, we're assuming security will be SUPER TIGHT considering the recent developments with Iran. Hell, it better be.

As for the game, it's gonna be AWESOME -- with both #1 LSU and #3 Clemson entering the Jan 13th game undefeated.

Trump has kept a close eye on LSU so far in the CFP ... with Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron saying he got a personal call from the president after trampling all over Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl.

"I was very honored to get a call from President Trump," Coach O told reporters.

"He was very pleasant to talk to. Very complimentary of our football team, our coaching staff. Complimentary of the way the state of Louisiana has rallied around us. Was complimentary of the way we played all year and wished us good luck in the game."

Burrow also previously talked about what it's like to play in front of the Prez ... saying, "Doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican, President at the game is pretty cool."

Ohio State defensive end Chase Young -- one of the top college football players in 2019 -- has officially declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Of course, back in December, the superstar told TMZ Sports "the plan" was to return to Ohio State for his senior year.

Hey, like we said at the time ... plans change. We get it. Go be a millionaire!!

After our clip about his future intentions made headlines, Young clarified his comments, saying, "That moment was just a real spontaneous moment, caught me off-guard,"

Now, the 20-year-old made his next move official in an announcement on Twitter Friday ... saying, "After an amazing three years at Ohio State, it's time for me to begin the next chapter."

"I am extremely grateful to everyone who helped me make it to this point. I give thanks and praise to God for blessing me with the ability to play football and the opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself."

Despite missing a few games due to suspension in 2019, Young was a Heisman Trophy finalist and led the country with 16.5 sacks. He is projected to be the 2nd overall pick to the Washington Redskins in the draft in April.

"To me, Alabama was the best team but they aren't gonna be playing in the championship."

That's legendary college football coach Lou Holtz telling TMZ Sports he believes the BEST team in the country will NOT be playing on Jan. 13 ... and it all comes down to luck.

Unclear why Holtz believes The Tide got unlucky during the 2019 season, but it seems pretty clear he thinks they're the most talented squad.

Bama finished the season with an 11-2 record ... losing to LSU and Auburn.

When they played LSU, star QB Tua Tagovailoa was playing with a banged-up ankle, but the team as a whole simply got outplayed.

As for the Auburn game, Tua had suffered a season-ending hip injury before that game ... and Bama was playing with their #2 QB Mac Jones. They lost 48-45.

Bama went on to crush Michigan in the Citrus Bowl in a 35-16 shellacking.

So, is Holtz saying a healthy Tua gets Bama to the Natty? Maybe ... since Bama played in the National Championship game last season and won the title with Tua the year before.

There's more ... Holtz also talks about why he thinks Joe Burrow will go #1 in the NFL Draft and reflects on why his former Notre Dame star WR Rocket Ismail could be considered the greatest college football player he's ever seen.

It's gone from REALLY bad to MUCH MUCH WORSE for ex-NFL QB Trevone Boykin -- who's now facing shocking new criminal charges even though he's been locked up since November.

As we previously reported, the former TCU superstar has been in SERIOUS trouble with the law after he allegedly broke his girlfriend's jaw in an altercation in March 2018.

Boykin was out on bond while he was fighting the case in court ... but he was thrown back in jail in November after cops say he failed to charge his electronic monitoring device.

But, while the 2015 2nd Team All-American has been in custody ... investigators have been working on other cases involving the 26-year-old, which have now resulted in MORE criminal charges.

Here's a brief summary of what Boykin is now accused of:

Isaac Bruce is a Hall of Fame finalist ... again ... making the Final 15 for modern-era players and it just so happens we spoke with the WR recently about why he belongs in Canton.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame just released the 2020 Finalist list ... which includes stars like Troy Polamalu, Edgerrin James, Zach Thomas, John Lynch, Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, LeRoy Butler, Steve Atwater, Richard Seymour, Bryant Young, Alan Faneca, Tony Boselli, Steve Hutchinson and Sam Mills.

As for Bruce, the ex-Rams superstar was a finalist in 2019 as well ... but didn't make the final HoF cut.

We just spoke with Isaac in October and he was candid about how badly he wants to be enshrined ... telling us he thinks his numbers are as competitive as any WR who ever played.

FYI, Bruce has a 16-YEAR career in the pros ... with 1,024 receptions (13th all-time), 15,208 receiving yards (5th all-time) and 91 TDs (12th all-time).

NOT BAD AT ALL!

Ex-Bengals head coach Sam Wyche -- who led Cincinnati to the Super Bowl in 1989 -- has died at age 74, the team announced Thursday.

Wyche -- who also played QB for the Bengals back in the day -- was battling melanoma and reportedly went into hospice in Pickens, South Carolina on December 30.

"Sam was a wonderful guy," Bengals president Mike Brown said in a statement. "We got to know him as both a player and a coach. As our coach, he had great success and took us to the Super Bowl."

"He was friends with everyone here, both during his tenure as head coach and afterwards. We not only liked him, we admired him as a man."

"He had a great generosity of spirit and lived his life trying to help others."

Of course, Wyche also famously gave a powerful speech to Bengals fans throwing debris on the field back in 1989 ... saying, "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati."

Wyche played professionally from 1968-76 ... and went on to coach the Bengals from 1984-1991. He's the second-winningest coach in franchise history.

The Oregon Ducks were smellin' roses -- AND cigar smoke -- after the team's huge 1-point win over Wisconsin on Wednesday ... whippin' out the stogies for an epic locker room celly!!

Justin Herbert and co. partied like crazy after the 28-27 Rose Bowl thriller ... and some of the guys came prepared with some fine cigars.

Players like Dru Mathis and Samuelu Poutasi captured the awesome moment after the game ... when their teammates took glorious puffs that would make Rick Ross jealous.

As for the game, Herbert led the way with 3 TDs and looked like a damn stud. So, yeah, he deserves to celebrate.

Worth noting -- some of the dudes on this team aren't 21, so they better enjoy the stogies while they can before that new Tobacco 21 law goes into effect later this year!!

Best boyfriend EVER?!?!?

Deshaun Watson took some time off from preparing for the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday to celebrate his smokin' hot model GF's birthday ... and we gotta say, dude is MVP caliber on AND off the field!!

The Houston Texans superstar hit up a fancy dinner with Jilly Anais -- a legendary Instagram model -- and he brought diamonds and a custom Louis Vuitton box for the occasion.

Seems Jilly, who turned 24 this week, loved the gifts ... 'cause she couldn't stop showin' them off -- and the two even exchanged L-bombs afterward! AWWWW!!!

Of course, it's a massive week for Watson ... the 24-year-old QB is set to play in his second-ever NFL playoff game this weekend -- so Jilly MUST be pretty special to the guy!

And, if ya watch the clips ... it ain't hard to get a read on that -- 'cause pics of Watson and Jilly were laid out all over the birthday table!!

As for the rest of the party ... backup QB AJ McCarron's wife, Katherine Webb, was there -- and she posted video of Watson and Jilly kissing, saying "We love you!"

You're looking at Terrelle Pryor -- BALLING OUT OF HIS MIND -- just 4 weeks after he was stabbed in the chest and nearly bled to death!!!

LOOK AT THIS!!! Dude recovers faster than Wolverine!!!!

The 30-year-old NFL wideout -- who says he flatlined TWICE after the Nov. 30 incident -- hit up Jeanette High School in Pennsylvania on Tuesday for some pick-up hoops ... and good god.

He was dribbling, shooting, jumping, moving ... it's unreal.

As we previously reported, Pryor lost 3.5 liters of blood and was within "minutes" of dying after he was stabbed in his Pittsburgh-area apartment during a scuffle with his girlfriend, Shalaya Briston.

Pryor's attorney says the knife plunged "very deep" into Terrelle's body above his left pec and JUST missed a major artery ... but still hit a big vain.

It took 30 staples to close the wound -- but T.P. clearly feels fine now.

What's interesting ... before the stabbing, Pryor was still very actively trying to get on an NFL roster (he was cut by the Jaguars in August).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have launched an investigation into allegations defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches abandoned his Cane Corso on the side of a busy road, where it sat for 36 hours.

An animal rescue group found the dog on December 8, whose name is Jitterbug -- sitting on a Florida road tired, hungry and alone. The dog was also missing some teeth.

Turns out Nunez-Roches is also a dog breeder. In case you're unfamiliar, Cane Corso's are a form of pit bull.

The animal rescue group took Jitterbug to a shelter and an official there says they contacted Nunez-Roches to say they had his dog. The official said, "He had responded back that he would pick her up on Sunday, which I thought was odd because they played Detroit on Sunday and they had a 4:25 game, so how would he get back in time to pick her up at 7? Was football more important?" He never picked up his dog.

The dog remains in the shelter and she's been pre-adopted.

"Look at Urban Meyer. He was going to spend time with his family, went to this game instead."

That's a comment an ESPN anchor made on-air during a highlight package of Ohio State's game against Clemson on Saturday ... and it had Urban Meyer's wife FURIOUS!!!

Of course, Meyer said he was stepping down from OSU's head coaching role last season to spend more time with his fam after health issues ... but when he was spotted on the Buckeyes' sideline during their huge Fiesta Bowl game over the weekend, it raised some eyebrows.

So much so, "SportsCenter" host John Anderson made a flippant joke about it all ... and Meyer's family quickly rushed to blast the network for the remark.

"I am DEEPLY offended by this off-hand rude/ignorant comment by someone who knows NOTHING about our family," Urban's wife, Shelley, said.

"We were ALL together this bowl trip-urbans job was limited to a couple hours the 26th/27th and more on the 28th (not that it’s anyone’s biz)-still WAY less than coaching."

Meyer's oldest daughter, Nicki -- whose husband is an assistant on OSU's staff -- also blasted Anderson and ESPN ... saying Urban's trip to the Fiesta Bowl WAS a family function

"How is this type of commentary even acceptable? The entire family including grandkids went to support my husband and the buckeyes. We had the best week in AZ," Nicki said.

"@ESPN have some class. This is bad. I’d @ this guy but don’t know who it is. Pass it along friends."

LSU's offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger lost his daughter-in-law in a plane crash this weekend just hours before his team was set to take the field for a football game.

Carley McCord -- who was also a New Orleans-based sports reporter -- was among five people killed in Lafayette, LA Saturday morning as the private aircraft slammed into a parking lot and burst into flames in what's said to have been an emergency landing after takeoff.

The plane was heading to Atlanta for the Peach Bowl, where Ensminger and the Tigers are facing the Oklahoma Sooners. McCord's husband, Steven Ensminger Jr., confirmed to AP she was one of the people killed. Only one passenger has reportedly survived.

Witnesses on the ground captured footage of the fiery wreck, and it looks like the plane landed in the lot of a Post Office, which was near a Walmart. Per local reports, the plane skidded and hit a nearby vehicle before stopping in a field. The driver of that car has reportedly died, and another bystander was transported to a hospital in critical condition.

Residents in the immediate area also reportedly lost power due to the crash. First responders were quick on the scene, which had been filled with smoke as well as onlookers.

As for McCord, she's reported to have been a staple in the NOLA sports scene -- and was even an in-game host for Saints and Pelicans broadcasts. She'd done freelance sideline work for several different stations, including Cox Sports Television, ESPN3 and WDSU-TV.

Her father-in-law is expected to coach despite the tragedy -- he's on the field at the moment. The team hasn't released a statement as of yet ... kickoff is just a few minutes away.

McCord was 30.

New York Giants legend Ottis Anderson belongs in the Hall of Fame ... so says the ex-running back himself, who tells TMZ Sports, "One day they'll figure it out."

"If you check my credentials, I think I earned the right to be considered [a Hall of Famer]," Anderson says.

Ottis sneakily has a solid case for the honor ... the 62-year-old rushed for 10,273 yards and 81 TDs in his 14-year career, and he added 3,062 receiving yards as well.

Plus, the dude IS a two-time Super Bowl champion ... something plenty of Hall of Fame tailbacks can't say themselves right now.

"Put me in," Ottis says ... "One day they'll figure it out and, until then, we'll just keep on enjoying what I accomplished as a 14-year vet."

As for the current Giants, Ottis clearly doesn't love what they're up to these days, saying, "We suck right now" -- but he says he is optimistic about the future.

Eastern Michigan University quarterback Mike Glass III accidentally socked a referee -- sending him crashing to the floor -- before being thrown out of the football game.

EMU and Univ. of Pittsburgh were playing in the Quick Lane Bowl Thursday night in Detroit when a scuffle broke out late in the 4th quarter. Glass smacked Pitt LB Cam Bright in the face mask … before unloading a strike intended for another Pitt player that hit a ref in the face.

The referee immediately went down … while the other officials attempted to restore order.

Glass -- who was 28-50 for 311 yards and 2 TDs and an interception -- was hit with 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and ejected from the game.

Glass' Michigan squad lost the game to Pittsburgh, 34-30 … ending their season.

After the game, EMU head coach Chris Creighton told reporters Glass was "in tears in the locker room" ... devastated by what unfolded on the field.

"I love him 100 percent. And thank God he is highly competitive, but absolutely zero excuse for what happened, and [Mike] knows it," the coach said.

Glass, EMU's senior captain, took to Twitter to apologize for his actions … saying, “I let God and my family down!”

As for the official -- who appears to be okay -- the incident sparked a heated internet discussion … did the ref flop or was he KO'd??