NCAA

No one seems to know the location of Zion Williamson's infamous blown-out Nike sneaker -- not Zion, not Duke, not even Nike ... and it's a huge problem considering it's worth around $250,000!!!

Of course, Zion exploded his left PG 2.5 PE sneaker during the Feb. 20 game against North Carolina -- injuring his knee in the process. Thankfully, he's better now.

But, what happened next? Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has said Nike reps came out to Durham and inspected the shoe in hopes of identifying the problem. But, it's unclear who has the shoe now.

So, when we spotted Zion and his Duke teammates in Washington, D.C. the other day, we asked the 18-year-old straight up ... who's got the shoe?

Zion smiled and told us, "Uh, ask coach about 'em."

So, we did! We hit up the Duke athletic dept., and a rep told us they have no idea where the shoes ended up.

Next call was to Nike -- maybe they have the shoe, right?

A Nike spokesperson told us ... “We’re thrilled to see Zion returning to the court. After working closely with the Duke Basketball team to examine the issue, we are confident this was an isolated incident. We continue to work with Duke, and all of our partner programs, to ensure we are providing the best product for their athletes.”

When we again asked who currently possessed the busted sneaker, Nike told us ... "I don't have any more information [on the location of the shoe]."

WHY HAS THIS BECOME SUCH A MYSTERY?!!

Our next call was to Ken Goldin from Goldin Auctions -- one of the leading sellers of sports memorabilia in the world. He just sold some of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's prized mementos for almost $3 MILLION!

Ken told us the shoes are INSANELY collectible -- and could fetch more than $250,000 on the open market!!

In fact, Ken believes the blown out shoe plus the matching intact sneaker are "the most famous pair of sneakers in the world, period. End of story."

Georgia stud WR Mecole Hardman can be Antonio Brown's replacement in Pittsburgh, so says the NFL draft prospect himself ... who tells TMZ Sports, "I can be that guy!"

Of course, the Steelers just lost A.B. after an offseason full of drama ... and now they've got a glaring hole at wideout heading into next month's NFL draft.

Enter Hardman -- a superstar with the Bulldogs -- who says he'd have no problem if Pittsburgh picked him to be A.B.'s replacement!

And, why?? Well, outside of realizing his NFL dreams ... he tells us he grew up a HUGE Steelers fan!!!

"My daddy was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, so he had put me on them when Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and all them were there. Big Ben was just getting there, so like, I've been rocking with the Steelers for a minute."

Mecole's expected to go anywhere from the second round to the fifth round in April's draft ... but he fits the profile of a guy Pittsburgh could seriously consider.

The 21-year-old ran a 4.33 at the combine ... and crushed it with 7 TDs for the Bulldogs last season.

Charles Barkley has never been shy sharing his opinions -- especially about LaVar Ball -- and he's blasting the Big Baller dad once again ... claiming he is stealing Lonzo's spotlight.

We got Chuck outside CBS Studios in NYC Friday night ... and he was riding high following his alma mater Auburn's win over North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

He was signing autographs (but ONLY one each) and reveling in the victory -- including winning a bet with Stephen Colbert -- when we asked about the Ball family issues with Big Baller Brand.

Barkley tells us ... "[Lonzo's] dad is really unfortunate ... this whole thing has been about him from the beginning. You shouldn't try to piggyback on your kids, man. That ain't cool at all."

Charles adds it's Lonzo's time and LaVar needs to let him shine ... and go out and sign with a much better shoe company.

As we reported ... Lonzo's ditched the BBB, or at least his tattoo promoting it, but his dad claims the brand is still alive -- it just got bit by a snake.

How are Zion Williamson and the Duke Blue Devils getting ready for the biggest game of their season??

FILET MIGNON, BABY!!!!

TMZ Sports has learned Duke hoops hit up Mastro's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night to fuel up on delicious meats before their monster tilt with Virginia Tech on Friday.

We're told the entire squad was there -- from Coach K and his wife to Zion to even the ball boys -- and they grubbed on steaks ... and, of course, the legendary butter cake!!!

We're told, in all, there were about 40 people in the Blue Devil party -- and even Barack Obama's best buddy, Reggie Love, showed up!!

Unclear who picked up the tab for the meal -- but it surely wasn't cheap ... Mastro's is known as one of the finest restaurants in the country, costin' about $50 per steak.

Consider Tony Benford the anti-Conor McGregor ... 'cause he's here to take part, not to take over ... telling TMZ Sports no matter how well LSU does in the tournament, it's still Will Wade's team.

Of course ... The Notorious famously said "we're not here just to take part, we're here to take over" at UFC Fight Night 46 back in July 2014.

The Tigers' interim head coach sees things the exact opposite ... telling us the suspended coach deserves all the cred if Benford leads the Purple and Gold deep into the tournament.

Wade was suspended indefinitely before the NCAA Tournament ... after Yahoo Sports reported that wiretapped conversations revealed Wade discussed making a "strong-ass" offer to a recruit.

Benford -- who couldn't have been nicer -- says the Tigers are looking forward to ruining a bunch of brackets against Michigan State later Friday ... and are enjoying every step of the journey.

But, say LSU wreaks havoc and makes it all the way to the Final Four ... that means Benford should take over, right??

Limas Sweed -- a former University of Texas football star -- says he's suffering from serious brain disorders as a result of hits from his college football career ... and now he's suing the NCAA.

Sweed was a STUD wide receiver for the Longhorns from 2003 to 2007 -- when he and Vince Young led the team to some epic victories, including that legendary 2005 Rose Bowl win over USC.

After his college career, Sweed was selected by the Steelers in the 2nd round of the '08 NFL Draft -- but his pro career never panned out.

Now, the 34-year-old says he's suffering from all sorts of brain-related disorders and he's pointing the finger at the NCAA for not doing enough to protect the players.

In his suit, Sweed says ... "While playing at Texas, [Sweed] suffered from numerous concussions, as well as countless sub-concussive hits as part of routine practice and gameplay."

Sweed says when he took a large blow to the head, he would be sent back into the game (or practice) after an "inadequate amount of time."

As a result of repeated damage he took, Sweed now claims he suffers from depression, headaches, memory loss, mood swings, emotional instability, motor impairment and more.

Sweed claims his pain is a "direct and proximate result of [the NCAA's] negligence."

He's suing for more than $5 MILLION ... citing fraud, negligence and breach of contract.

Sweed was a monster at UT ... he put up 1,915 receiving yards and 20 receiving TDs in his 4 years there -- all while helping Vince Young and the Longhorns win the 2005 National Championship.

Gigantic college basketball star Tacko Fall just got a huge mentor (literally) ... because ex-NBA great Shawn Bradley says he wants to talk to the 7'6" youngster to help him get ready for the league.

Bradley knows what it's like to be the big man on campus ... he's 7'6" himself and was a superstar in college at BYU before going on to have a 12-year NBA career.

Fall's UCF squad ALMOST beat Duke in the tourney this past weekend, and in doing so the enormous senior made a lot of people believe he has a real shot at being a 1st-round draft pick.

We got Bradley out at LAX and he told our guy that while he hasn't been able to see too much of Fall's game, he'd love to help him fill in any gaps.

"Tell him to call me if you see him. I'll give him some advice."

Might wanna call him, Tacko ... Bradley made close to $50 million during his NBA career, and that was 20 years ago, before the contracts got as stupid silly as they are now.

Shawn did share with us one piece of advice he'd share with Fall.

"Don't try to become something that they're trying to make you."

Think Zion and Duke will coast all the way to the title game without a hitch??? Here's Shaq to make you second-guess your bracket picks ... 'cause he says LSU CAN beat the Blue Devils -- despite the Will Wade scandal.

The Tigers head coach was suspended indefinitely before the Big Dance ... after Yahoo Sports recently reported that wiretapped conversations revealed Wade discussed making a "strong-ass" offer to a recruit.

Shaq clearly ain't sweating the investigation possibly making an impact on LSU's run at a title ... simply saying, "Not a distraction."

The Big Aristotle is probably right ... 'cause the Tigers looked pretty good against Yale on Thursday ... and all they have to do is win 1 more game to match up with the Devils (assuming Duke handles their opponents, of course).

But, with guys like Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish -- 3 projected lottery picks in the NBA Draft in June -- LSU's going to have their hands full ... scandal or no scandal.

Cal football coach Justin Wilcox is throwing his full support behind a school investigation into claims that members of his team "ruthlessly" sexually harassed a student intern.

"We take these allegations extremely seriously," the coach told reporters Friday ... "It's not something that we would tolerate at our university or in our football program and it's something that is really tough to hear."

Paige Cornelius -- a former student at Cal -- claims she was "endlessly" and "ruthlessly" sexually harassed by members of the Golden Bears' squad during her time as a team intern.

She even accuses one coach of sexually assaulting her, saying he forcibly touched and kissed her during an after-hours office visit.

It's all in a lengthy social media post penned by the ex-Cal student ... in which she claims Wilcox and athletic director Jim Knowlton did nothing even after she reached out with the allegations.

"Your mental and physical health do not matter when a revenue sport is involved. Shoutout to Jim Knowlton, Justin Wilcox, the Cal Athletics Administrative office for teaching me this lesson."

In her claims ... Cornelius says coaches and players would constantly make her feel uncomfortable on the field -- and in one incident, a coach told her during practice, "I will get you fired if you do not have sex with me.”

She also says one coach followed her home after a practice and told her at her front door she "would look amazing in a bikini."

Cornelius says as a result of her time with the team, she's now dealing with post-traumatic stress syndrome and anxiety and has medically withdrawn from the school.

It appears Paige is preparing to file a lawsuit against the program ... writing in a separate social media post, "If you have been sexually harassed by any cal athletics coach or player ... dm me."

"My legal team wants to have the best case possible."

Who likes watching mediocre college basketball?? Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan!!!!

Judge Kagan was front and center at McDonough Arena at Georgetown University on Wednesday to watch her alma mater Harvard take on the Hoyas in the NIT basketball tournament.

Kagan's Crimson were the underdogs going into the game with a #6 seed -- facing a #3 seed in Georgetown, which also happens to feature college basketball star Mac McClung.

Oh, and the head coach at Georgetown is NBA legend Patrick Ewing. G.U. was a 6.5 point favorite going into the game.

So, why would Kagan choose a game where her team was facing almost certain destruction?

Because Harvard WON -- shocking the world to overcome the Hoyas in a 71-68 victory!! Maybe it was Kagan's Crimson blazer that inspired the team!

Harvard now moves on to face North Carolina State in the next round of the NIT tournament on Sunday in Raleigh.

The problem for Harvard now ... NC State is really good and JUST missed out on making the NCAA tournament, which people actually care about.

Kwame Brown is callin' BS on the NBA's one-and-done rule ... telling TMZ Sports, "To tell a young man he can go shoot a gun but he can't go earn a living, that, to me, doesn't make any sense."

Of course, the infamous NBA rule is back making headlines this year after Zion Williamson made it emphatically clear in just a few weeks at Duke he was ready for the pros.

But, the league still has its draft rule in place -- saying players need to spend a year in college before they can play for one of its 30 teams -- and thus, Zion remains a Blue Devil.

Enter 37-year-old Brown -- who went straight from high school to being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft when he was selected by the Washington Wizards.

Brown thinks the 1-and-done rule is just ridiculous -- telling us there's simply no place for it in today's society.

"Free enterprise," Kwame says ... "Go and get that money."

As for Brown ... we had to ask if he regrets not going to college straight outta high school given his NBA career didn't flourish the way he expected it to -- and his answer was a big, fat HELL NO!!!

"Factor out the numbers, I know economics," Kwame tells us ... "I own four companies!"

12:46 PM PT -- The Carolina Panthers have released a statement about Taylor Hearn, saying ... "We are aware of the video, and have been in contact with Taylor and the league about the incident. We will have no further comment at this time."

Carolina Panthers guard Taylor Hearn had a rough night in Augusta, Georgia ... getting knocked out cold in a brutal street fight captured on video.

Here's the deal … Hearn -- 6’4”, 315 lbs. -- was outside of a bar Thursday night when he got into it with a couple of guys on the street.

Clearly, the massive Hearn thought he’d be able to bully these guys around, due to his giant size and NFL strength, but he learned very quickly he was wrong. After some verbal insults and tussling, one of the guys on the street cracked Hearn with a straight right to the face that dropped the lineman like a sack of potatoes.

Hearn eventually gets up and appears to be okay ... even starting to fight again. Witnesses tell TMZ Sports cops arrived at the scene a short time later ... but Hearn was not arrested. In fact, we’re told no one was arrested.

Hearn -- who’s 23 years old -- was a lineman at Clemson and won the 2016 National Championship at the university (he started all 15 games that season) before signing with the Panthers in 2018. Hearn played in 4 games ... protecting Cam Newton.

We reached out to Hearn’s rep ... so far, no word back.

10:40 AM PT -- We just got Jay Leno out in NYC and asked him about the scandal ... Leno certainly didn't hold back, calling the whole thing "the definition of white privilege."

The 50 people who were indicted for allegedly paying bribe money to get their kids into college may just be the tip of the iceberg, and scores of very nervous and very rich parents are calling around L.A. trying to get recon.

Sources familiar with the case tell TMZ, FBI agents have seized numerous cell phones and other evidence they believe will lead them to other parents, college employees and others who might have participated in admissions bribery.

We know a number of wealthy parents from some of the most exclusive private schools in L.A. were calling around Tuesday, asking if Rick Singer, the ringleader who just copped a plea, kept lists of clients. As one source put it, "These parents are sweating bullets."

On a different front, sources at USC familiar with the scandal tell us the University has known about the investigation for around 2 months, but they did not investigate ... because they didn't want to undermine the feds. Our sources say they've dealt with the U.S. Attorney's Office before, and they know if they conducted a simultaneous investigation it could tip off witnesses and targets, and result in the destruction of evidence.

As for what USC will do with the students whose parents got them into the school via bribery, well-connected sources tell us the students will not all be evaluated the same way. We're told if the students knew they were admitted because of bribes, they will be expelled. If they were in the dark, the University will evaluate all of the circumstances and the decisions will be student-specific.

And, one final thing, as for USC ... we know officials are furious at the parents who engaged in bribery. They say it has tarnished the school, the students and the athletic programs.

Shawn Oakman is wasting no time proving he's serious about the NFL ... putting in some serious work in the gym just days after proclaiming his dream of playing in the league.

Oakman was found NOT GUILTY in his rape case last month ... and has since vowed to work his ass off and show teams he deserves a shot to play in the NFL.

Of course, Oakman was a projected 1st-round draft pick while playing at Baylor, but went untouched in the 2016 NFL Draft after he was arrested and charged with raping a woman at his apartment.

The 6'9" defensive end posted a recent sweat sesh for his followers over the weekend ... and it's clear he's trying to let people know he's serious about getting to the league.

"I want to play football at the highest level and just really finally get my chance,” Oakman told KWTX last week.

"I think God will set the right path for me but I don't feel like I have to beg for anything, it's not a begging matter. I don't want anybody to hand me anything. I want to earn it and everything I get."

Cops now say Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim WAS speeding before he struck and killed a man on a NY highway last month ... but believe his speed was not a factor in the fatal crash.

According to officials ... Boeheim was going 66 mph in a 55 mph zone just 5 seconds before he hit Jorge Jimenez in Syracuse, NY around 11 PM on Feb. 20.

Jorge was taken to the hospital and later died from the injuries he suffered.

Investigators say 74-year-old Boeheim attempted to hit the brakes before slamming into Jimenez -- but couldn't avoid the collision ... only slowing to 54 mph at the moment of impact.

But, even if Boeheim was driving the speed limit, he wouldn't have been able to avoid Jimenez, cops say ... citing 2 main factors for the crash, including poor decision-making by the victim.

1) Jimenez was in a previous crash and his unlit Dodge Charger was blocking 2 lanes of traffic on a night with poor visibility due to extreme darkness.

2) Jimenez was walking on the highway after his crash in dark clothing for a prolonged period of time after being aware of oncoming vehicles on the road.

Prosecutors say they COULD have hit Boeheim with a speeding charge -- but decided not to move forward because, ultimately, this was a "tragic accident."

Boeheim has coached in every Syracuse game since the accident ... but the team has gone just 1-3 in that time frame.

Shawn Oakman is hoping NFL teams were paying attention when he was found NOT GUILTY in his rape case ... because the ex-college football star hopes to get a real shot to play pro football.

Oakman was a projected 1st-round draft pick while playing at Baylor -- where he set the school record for career sacks. But, no team wanted to touch him in the 2016 NFL Draft after he was arrested and charged with raping a woman at his apartment.

The 6'9", 265-pounder has been keeping himself in shape and playing semi-pro ball while his case was active ... but now that he was found not guilty last week, he's hoping he can make the jump to the NFL.

"I want to play football at the highest level and just really finally get my chance,” Oakman told KWTX.

"I think God will set the right path for me but I don't feel like I have to beg for anything, it's not a begging matter. I don't want anybody to hand me anything. I want to earn it and everything I get."

Oakman says he's grateful for the support he's received since the trial ... and plans to return to his old stomping grounds.