NCAA

The "Bayou Barbie" is slated to return this week -- LSU Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey just announced Angel Reese will be back on the court this Thursday ... ending her mysterious 4-game absence.

Mulkey made the revelation during her press conference ahead of the Tigers' key matchup against 9th-ranked Virginia Tech ... telling reporters, "She will play tomorrow."

It's unclear whether Reese will start or come off the bench.

What also remains fuzzy is why exactly Reese wasn't playing in the first place ... as Mulkey has been consistently tight-lipped about the details surrounding her absence.

Reese's time away started when the 6-foot-3 forward was benched in the 2nd half of LSU's win against Kent State on Nov. 14 ... and she missed the next few games, including the Cayman Islands Classic tournament.

Rumors were circulating around social media that it may have been her grades, while Outkick reported she was suspended for an "attitude adjustment." Neither rumor has been confirmed.

"That’s what coaches do. Sometimes y'all know about it and sometimes you don't," Mulkey said of the situation last week. "Sometimes you want to know more than you're entitled to know."

Think your Thanksgiving weekend travels were bad? Odds are they weren't nearly as awful as the ones the Nicholls State football team just had to endure.

According to reps for the school, the entire squad -- plus a bunch of staff members -- were stranded at a tiny airport in Illinois for nearly 24 hours with limited food and water ... all this after it lost its FCS playoff game.

The 6-5 Colonels were in Carbondale, Ill. on Saturday for the first round of the FCS postseason ... and after they got blown out by Southern Illinois, 35-0, they headed to Veterans Airport in Marion to catch a ride home.

The problem, according to Colonels athletic director Jonathan Terrell, is due to various unforeseen circumstances ... everyone had to lay out on the airport floor for around 22 hours as they waited for a pilot and a plane.

Terrell was critical on X of the NCAA, which handled the team's travel plans.

"Student athlete welfare matters, NCAA," Terrell wrote. "Seven hours in an airport, no transportation, no food and out of water!!!!"

Fortunately for the team, Terrell said SIU and Southland Sports Commissioner Chris Grant were able to get them more water and food throughout Sunday.

Former USC Trojans defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is wasting no time getting out of town -- TMZ Sports has learned the coach is parting ways with his $4.45 million Palos Verdes pad just two weeks after getting fired.

Grinch's soon-to-be former home -- located in the Malaga Cove neighborhood -- has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a gourmet chef's kitchen and a patio with an incredible ocean view.

The place was built in 1961 but was completely remodeled just last year ... with new hardwood floors, Dutch and French doors, a gas fireplace, stainless steel appliances and a custom beverage center.

The backyard is perfect for hosting gatherings ... with a ton of space for outdoor activities.

The pics of the home show some of Grinch's framed jerseys from his former coaching gigs with Washington State and Missouri ... but we take it those ain't coming with the sale.

Worth noting -- the place is just a 5-minute drive from Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley's $17 million mansion ... so that might explain why Grinch is in a rush to move on, considering he's the one who fired him.

La ex estrella de la NFL NaVorro Bowman hizo algunas compras mucho antes de que empiece la temporada navideña de este año. El ex jugador visitó una tienda Prada en el área de DC a principios de este mes y gastó una pequeña fortuna.

TMZ Sports ha indagado que el ex jugador de San Francisco hizo una parada en la tienda de lujo ubicada en Tysons Galleria en McLean, el 12 de noviembre y compró un montón de artículos.

Nos dicen que el jugador de 35 años, que se retiró en 2019, compró un abrigo, camisas, zapatos, así como algunas gafas y otros artículos.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que Bowman gastó mucho más de $10.000 en su visita.

Por supuesto, Bowman se lo puede permitir, el cuatro veces All-Pro supuestamente ganó $44 MILLONES durante su carrera en la NFL.

Ex-NFL star NaVorro Bowman got at least some of his shopping in well before the holiday season kicked off this year ... hitting up a Prada in the D.C. area earlier this month -- and dropping a small fortune!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the former San Francisco 49ers linebacker pulled up to the luxury store at Tysons Galleria in McLean, Va. back on Nov. 12 -- and copped a bunch of items.

We're told the 35-year-old, who retired in 2019, purchased a coat, shirts, shoes as well as some glasses and other miscellaneous items.

Our sources say Bowman spent well over $10,000 on the trip.

Of course, Bowman can afford it -- the four-time All-Pro reportedly made $44 MILLION during his NFL career.

Deion Sanders just made a shocking -- and hilarious -- admission ... revealing Tuesday he had absolutely no clue where Mount Rushmore was located.

Prime acknowledged his geography deficiency as he was reflecting on his Colorado team's performance this year with a gaggle of media members.

While trying to explain how he felt about his 4-7 Buffaloes squad ... he said he has sky-high expectations -- similar to the height of a famous mountain that he thought was situated in SoCal.

"What's those little four heads that's in California?" he asked reporters. "What they call those? The people's faces engraved?"

When the room filled Sanders in that it was Mt. Rushmore -- and that it was, in fact, located in South Dakota, Coach Prime couldn't help but laugh.

"It's in where?" he said. "I thought it was in L.A. all this time! Wow, my geography."

To his credit, after chuckling for a few moments, Sanders thanked the crowd for "educating me."

LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey is remaining tight-lipped on Angel Reese ... refusing to go into detail on the star player's current absence from the team.

The Bayou Barbie was MIA once again for the Tigers' 106-47 win over Texas Southern on Monday ... and during postgame availability with the media, Mulkey was not in the mood to explain why #10 wasn't on the court.

"Angel was not in uniform tonight. Angel is a part of this basketball team," Mulkey said. "And Angel will be back sooner than later. I'm not going to answer any more than that."

There has been a ton of speculation surrounding Reese's absence ... with fans noticing she was visibly upset during the Tigers' season-opening loss to Colorado.

The drama continued when Reese was sidelined for the second half of LSU's win over Kent State last week due to a "coach's decision" ... and she hasn't suited up since.

Of course, some folks believe it might be school related after Flau'jae Johnson's mom, Kia Brooks, claimed Reese had a "2.0 or less GPA" on social media last week ... but Mulkey made it clear she was not going to spill the beans on the current "locker room issues."

"Sometimes you want to know more than you're entitled to know. I'm going to protect my players. Always," Mulkey said ... comparing her athletes to family members.

Forget Ohio State vs. Michigan ... Donald Trump's got his eyes on attending a different college football game this weekend -- reportedly gearing up to take in South Carolina vs. Clemson on Saturday.

The former POTUS will be in attendance for kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. ... according to multiple reports.

Unclear exactly why he chose the Palmetto Bowl over the huge Buckeyes vs. Wolverines matchup -- or any other big college football game Saturday, for that matter -- although South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said Tuesday he'd welcome No. 45 at the stadium with arms wide open.

Of course, Trump does have a bit of ties to both programs ... South Carolina, after all, voted for him in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections -- while Clemson visited his White House for its two national championship celebrations in 2016 and 2018.

You'll recall ... one of the Tigers' visits to 1600 Penn. caused a little bit of a stir -- after Trump served the team a grip of fast food. Although the team's QB at the time, Trevor Lawrence, said he loved it.

The South Carolina trip will be Trump's second appearance at a sporting event this month -- he also attended UFC 295 in New York ... where he appeared to be flipped off by Bill Burr's wife.

Bronny James got to warm up with his USC teammates for the first time this season before their game on Sunday night ... and LeBron James said afterward his son is "almost" ready for a full return to the court.

The younger James got in some jump shots and dribbling work as fans filled the Galen Center just prior to the Trojans' tilt with Brown ... his first legitimate pregame action with his team since he suffered cardiac arrest during a workout in July.

The 19-year-old looked great ... showing no signs of issues -- this despite needing surgery to fix a congenital heart defect just a few months ago.

Following the USC game, Bronny headed over to Crypto.com Arena to watch LeBron play against the Rockets ... and after Dad took care of business vs. Houston -- he gushed about all the progress Bronny has made since his medical emergency.

"Today's game was the first game he got an opportunity to warm up with his team," LeBron said with a smile. "He's almost there."

LeBron added that seeing Bronny courtside gave him a little extra juice in the Lakers' 105-104 win over the Rockets.

Trojans head coach Andy Enfield, meanwhile, said Sunday night it was "great" seeing Bronny warm up ... though there's still no set timetable for a return to action.

Jim Harbaugh is waving the white flag in his fight against the Big Ten -- the Michigan head football coach has agreed to accept his three-game suspension as a result of the program's sign-stealing scandal.

U of M released a statement on the matter Thursday afternoon ... saying all sides resolved their pending litigation, with the conference closing its investigation.

"Coach Harbaugh, with the University's support, decided to accept this sanction to return the focus to our student-athletes and their performance on the field," the school said.

"The Conference has confirmed that it is not aware of any information suggesting Coach Harbaugh's involvement in the allegations."

Harbaugh's punishment means he will now miss Michigan's game against Maryland -- plus its massive rivalry with Ohio State ... which has a lot riding on it, as both schools are ranked in the top four.

Thursday's decision, however, doesn't mean Coach is out of the woods just yet -- the NCAA is still looking into the whole saga involving staffer Connor Stalions, who is accused of buying tickets to games to decipher the sideline signals of Michigan's future opponents.

The school stated it will continue to cooperate with that investigation.

Harbaugh will be able to coach during the week ... but he will be persona non grata on gameday for the next two matchups.

Paul Wight is returning to the ring Wednesday night ... something that might never have happened if not for former NBA star Xavier McDaniel, the first person to tell the Superstar formerly known as Big Show to go into professional wrestling!

Wight dropped by the TMZ offices on Tuesday and sat down with Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show -- ahead of AEW Dynamite's Like A Dragon Gaiden Street Fight match -- where the guys discussed the 7-footer's start in the sport to his in-ring comeback.

The Wight the Wrestler origin story is pretty crazy.

Paul was a center on the Wichita State basketball team in the early '90s, but wasn't exactly Shaquille O'Neal on the court.

Because of his play on the hardwood, McDaniel, a Shockers alum who'd become an NBA star after being drafted with the 4th overall pick in 1985, gave Wight some invaluable advice ... and perhaps paved the way for him to become a titan in the wrestling industry.

"X was always pestering me, and he kept telling me I should go into wrestling. I said 'Man, listen, I'm gonna play in the NBA. That's what I've trained for since I was a kid. This is what I do,'" Wight recounted telling McDaniel (this story starts around the 14-minute mark).

"[Xavier] says, 'Man, you're gonna be the only 7-foot dude who gets cut by the Japanese team. He goes, 'I'm telling you what you need to do. You need to go into pro wrestling and be Andre The Giant's son.' He says, 'Man, you look like Andre. That's what you need to do.'"

"Xavier McDaniel saw the vision on the wall long before it ever happened."

Shortly after, Paul linked up with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff ... and the rest is history.

Now, Wight's wrestling again at 51 years old (it's been a bit since he's performed in the Squared Circle, though he's been signed to AEW since '21) ... and he's teaming up with Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Chris Jericho to take on Hobbs, Konosuke Takeshita, Kyle Fletcher, and Brian Cage.

How much longer will he wrestle? Check out the full interview -- we asked him.

Johnny Manziel's rise to superstardom was nothing short of a movie ... and if Hollywood ever decides to actually turn his story into a real flick, the Heisman winner knows exactly who he wants to play him!!

Of course, Johnny's journey to becoming a household name as a college quarterback was filled with plenty of drama and excitement during his time at Texas A&M -- from partying and arrests to huge victories and hanging out with celebs like Justin Bieber and Drake, the guy couldn't keep out of the headlines if he tried.

Manziel's ups and downs were covered in a popular Netflix documentary ... and given that project's success, it wouldn't be surprising if a studio gives the green light on a feature film about Johnny down the line.

If that day comes, the former NFLer already has a guy in mind to take on the role -- Miles Teller.

"We've met a couple times in L.A. and stuff," Johnny told Broadcast Boys. "It's been talked about before. So, we'll go Miles Teller. It's safe to say."

While Teller is an accomplished actor, it's worth mentioning he's already about 15 years older than Johnny was when he tore it up in College Station ... but hey, it's Hollywood. Stranger things have happened.

College basketball and social media star Haley Cavinder has a new home -- she just announced she'll be suiting up for the TCU women's basketball team for her final year of eligibility after unretiring last month.

22-year-old Haley -- 1/2 of the popular Cavinder Twins -- made the move official on Monday ... sharing photo shoot shots of her wearing a Horned Frogs jersey and crown while sitting on a throne.

"The last rodeo #committed," Haley said.

Her sister clearly approves ... adding, "GO FROGSSS BABY" and "mom just bought purple cowboy boots after seeing this," in the comments.

Of course, the Cavinders are successful on and off the court -- they have NIL deals with companies like Betr Media and WWE ... and are among the most-profitable college athletes out there right now.

The former Miami WBB duo previously announced they would forego their final year of ball to expand their brand and business ventures ... but Haley later backtracked and said she would continue her career after taking time off.

She explained her decision to return in an interview with Forbes ... saying, "I think ending it with Hanna and announcing that we were done and not going to take our fifth year, I felt -- honestly, to be very transparent -- a lot of pressure."

"There was nothing filling the love for the game, and I just truly was like, I know I'm going to regret it down the road if I don't go back," Haley said.

The Frogs are getting a solid player -- Haley earned second-team All-ACC honors last season, averaging 12 points and four rebounds.

Former NFL cornerback D.J. Hayden -- who was a first-round pick in the 2013 draft -- was reportedly killed in a horrific car crash in Houston that claimed six lives.

The devastating accident happened at 2 AM on Saturday according to Houston Police Department's Assistant Chief Megan Howard and it involved an Acura SUV and a Chrysler 300 that ran a red light on Fannin Street.

"It appears to be going very fast, high velocity," Chief Howard said during the press conference. "At the scene, there were a total of four individuals pronounced deceased."

Chief Howard said another four were sent to the hospital ... sadly, two of them died later.

"We have a total of five males deceased, one female deceased," Chief Howard said.

According to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, one of the deceased is former NFL player Hayden who played for the Raiders, Lions, Jaguars, and Washington.

Prior to the NFL, Hayden played two seasons (2011, 2012) at the University of Houston ... and during his senior year, he had a near-fatal injury when the inferior vena cava in his heart was torn after a hit during practice.

He survived the incident and was drafted as the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

D.J. logged 328 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 4 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles in his nine-year career.

Another football player was also killed in the crash ... defensive back Zach McMillian who also played for the UH Cougars.

He was only 33.

7:55 PM PT -- Michigan and Jim Harbaugh aren't going down without a fight ... U of M has asked a court in Washtenaw County to grant a temporary restraining order that would block the Big Ten's suspension of the head coach.

The TRO would put Harbaugh's three-game regular season ban on hold until the matter could go before a judge.

While the restraining order hasn't yet been granted, the man who will ultimately decide what happens with Harbaugh -- whether he coaches in Saturday's pivotal football game against Penn State -- is a judge who happened to graduate from the University of Michigan in the 90s.

1:36 PM PT -- Univ. of Michigan officials just ripped the conference's ruling in a scathing statement ... writing, in part, "We are dismayed at the Commissioner's rush to judgment when there is an ongoing NCAA investigation -- one of in which we are fully cooperating."

"By taking this action at this hour," they added, "the Commissioner is personally inserting himself onto the sidelines and altering the level playing field that he is claiming to preserve. And, doing so on Veteran's Day -- a court holiday -- to try to thwart the University from seeking immediate judicial relief is hardly a profile in impartiality. To ensure fairness in the process, we intend to seek a court order, together with Coach Harbaugh, preventing this disciplinary action from taking effect."

The Big Ten has just suspended Jim Harbaugh for the rest of the regular season ... after it says the Michigan football team was involved in an intricate sign-stealing scheme that violated rules.

The conference announced Harbaugh will still be allowed to coach his team during weekdays while serving his suspension ... but on the Wolverines' three remaining gamedays this year, he must not be present.

Of course, it's a big deal for UM, considering two of those three contests are against No. 10 Penn State and No. 1 Ohio State.

Michigan, however, is reportedly expected to seek legal action now that could allow Harbaugh to still be able to coach his team during Saturday's game against the Nittany Lions.

The scandal surrounding Harbaugh and the Wolverines all began after team staffer Connor Stalions was accused of purchasing tickets to Big Ten games over the past three years with the intent of trying to decipher Michigan opponents' sideline signals.

In announcing its punishment for Harbaugh on Friday ... the Big Ten said it found at least some level of validity to the claims -- writing that Michigan gained "an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition" over it all.

This is not the first time Harbaugh has been in hot water this season ... he was also banned from the team's first three games over alleged transgressions during the COVID dead period.

Michigan is currently 9-0 despite all of the drama ... and ranked No. 3 in the nation.

El ex jugador de la NFL Matt Ulrich —ganador del Super Bowl con los Indianapolis Colts en 2006— ha muerto, anunció Jim Irsay el miércoles. Tenía 41 años.

Los detalles que rodean su muerte no han sido revelados por el momento.

Irsay compartió sus condolencias en X hace unos minuto, diciendo que a pesar de que el guardia ofensivo estuvo con el equipo por un corto tiempo, su presencia se sintió en toda la organización.

"Estoy desconsolado al enterarme del fallecimiento de Matt Ulrich", dijo Irsay en un sentido post. "Matt estuvo con nosotros solo dos temporadas, pero dejó su huella en muchos".

"Fue un gran tipo y he oído que era un gran padre... fue campeón del Super Bowl.  Mis oraciones para su familia. 🙏"

Ulrich fue un atleta estrella en Streamwood High School en Illinois. Recibió altos honores en fútbol y lanzamiento de peso antes de asistir a Northwestern.

Ulrich se unió a Indy en 2005, apareciendo en diez juegos en su carrera, ganándolo todo junto a Peyton Manning en el Super Bowl XLI.

Cuando se jubiló, fundó una empresa de fitness y también se aventuró al mundo de los negocios.