NCAA

Univ. of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles has been charged with capital murder ... after authorities say he and another man were involved in the shooting death of a woman near campus on Sunday morning.

According to Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Jack Kennedy, the fatal shooting happened on The Strip ... a popular stretch of road near the school that's lined by bars and restaurants.

Kennedy said authorities were alerted to the shooting at around 1:45 AM ... after officers had responded to a vehicle at the Walk of Champions at Bryant Denny Stadium.

Kennedy, in a news conference Sunday night, told media members a 23-year-old woman, Jamea Harris, was dead in the car. The driver of the vehicle, Kennedy said, told officers their car had been hit by gunfire earlier in the night ... adding that they shot back in self-defense.

According to Kennedy, police reviewed surveillance video and interviewed multiple witnesses -- and identified Miles and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis, who's not affiliated with the Univ. of Alabama, as the suspects.

Both Miles and Davis were charged with capital murder ... and arrested Sunday evening.

Miles was seen sobbing outside of the Tuscaloosa County Jail following the arrest, telling someone at the scene, "I swear, I love you more than you imagine."

Kennedy said Miles and the alleged victims did not previously know each other ... explaining, "At this time, it appears that the only motive was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip."

Miles played in six games for the Crimson Tide this season, logging nine points and nine rebounds. On Saturday, just hours before the shooting, the school had ruled him out for the season due to an ankle injury.

By Sunday evening, his player profile page had been removed from the university's website.

"First and foremost, we extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the victim from last night’s incident," UA athletics said in a statement Sunday night. "We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles, and he is no longer a member of the Alabama men's basketball team. Athletics, in conjunction with the University, is fully cooperating with this investigation."

The school added in a statement of its own, "We are grieved by the incident that occurred near campus last night and extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends."

Devin Willock, a redshirt sophomore and offensive lineman for the University of Georgia died in a car crash early Sunday morning, along with a UGA staffer ... just hours after the team's national championship parade.

Willock was just 20 years old.

The recruiting staffer, 24-year-old Chandler LeCroy, was driving a 2021 Ford Expedition with Willock and two other passengers south of campus when the vehicle somehow left the road around 2:45 AM Eastern and collided with two poles and several trees, according to police.

Devin was pronounced dead on the scene. LeCroy was transported to the hospital, where she later died as a result of her injuries.

The two other passengers were injured ... one seriously.

"The entire Georgia family is devastated by the tragic loss of football student-athlete Devin Willock and football staff member Chandler LeCroy," the University of Georgia said in a statement.

"Devin and Chandler were two special people who meant so much to the University of Georgia, our football program, and our athletic department. We ask that everyone keep their families in your prayers during this very difficult time."

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart also released a statement ... "We are all heartbroken and devastated with the loss of Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy. Devin was an outstanding young man in every way. He was always smiling, was a great teammate, and was a joy to coach."

"Chandler was a valuable member of our football staff and brought an incredible attitude and energy every single day. We grieve with their families for this tragic loss and will support them in every way possible."

6'7", 335 lbs. Willock, from New Millford, NJ, played in all of Georgia's games this season, including two starts at right guard.

UGA had been celebrating their second consecutive national championship, which they won Monday night after defeating TCU, 65-7, in the title game.

LSU is taking steps to ensure Olivia Dunne and the rest of her gymnastics team aren't put in harm's way by crazed fans again ... vowing to beef up security for the social media star and the Tigers as they hit the road again for another meet on Friday.

LSU head coach Jay Clark told reporters Thursday they are now adding "security detail" when the team goes on the road ... after a large group of college-aged boys were seen at the Tigers' last meet in Salt Lake City creating a disturbing scene outside of the arena while waiting to catch a glimpse of Dunne.

"We will be working to create a perimeter around where we get on the bus, where we load," Clark said ... before adding, "I take our team's safety and security very seriously."

Dunne and the rest of her teammates, thankfully, were unharmed by the raucous Utah crowd ... though they reportedly had to move their team bus to avoid the sea of people.

At least one parent of a Utah athlete said the fans in the area were "so rude and disrespectful" ... explaining some of them actually told her daughter, "you are not Livvy but you will do, can we get a picture."

Dunne, who has over 6 million followers on social media, took to Twitter on Sunday night to discourage fans from repeating the scene ... writing on her page, "I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job."

LSU is slated to perform against Kentucky at Rupp Arena in Lexington on Friday evening. When asked if the Wildcats were doing anything to improve their security measures in anticipation of Dunne's arrival, a spokesperson told TMZ Sports, "Our policy is that we do not disclose details of security plans publicly."

Shaquille O'Neal's clearly a man of his word ... 'cause after he bet he'd eat a frog if TCU lost to Georgia in the national championship -- he settled his debt live on television on Thursday night!!!

Shaq initially made the wager with his "NBA On TNT" co-host Ernie Johnson last week ... saying if UGA managed to pull out the victory over the Horned Frogs on Monday, he'd scarf down a plate of toad.

The Dawgs ended up smacking TCU 65-7 ... and when it came time to pay up on the bet on Thursday's show, Shaq didn't shy away.

Ernie brought out a plate of what appeared to be multiple fried frog legs, and the NBA legend stuffed his mouth with them one by one as a nation of basketball fans looked on.

Shaq took bite after bite after bite -- while Ernie gloated with a Georgia helmet strapped to his head.

"I'm a man of my word," O'Neal said as he chomped away on the dish. "I'm a man of my word, Ernie."

Shaq had some fun with the guys on the set while finishing off the legs -- sticking a piece of the meal in his teeth while adding, "I just want to let ya'll know these frog legs are good!"

Former Alabama running back Ahmaad Galloway -- who rushed for 17 touchdowns in his Crimson Tide career -- has died ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

He was just 42 years old.

According to principal Susan Reid at Compton-Drew Middle School in St. Louis, where Galloway was teaching eighth grade English, Galloway was found dead on Monday.

Reid tells us the former tailback, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 2003, failed to show up to work ... prompting concerned school leaders to ask for a welfare check at his home.

Reid said when officials entered Galloway's apartment, they discovered he was deceased. A cause of death is not yet known.

Reid said Galloway was a beloved instructor at the school ... and had just attended a students' basketball game on Saturday, showing no signs of trouble.

"He was an excellent teacher," Reid said. "He bonded with his students, particularly those who were interested in athletics."

Galloway played for the Tide from 1999 to 2002, running for 1,830 yards. Following his selection in the '03 NFL Draft, he bounced around the league ... but never logged an official stat in a game.

Popeyes meme kid Dieunerst Collin's dreams are finally coming true ... the internet-sensation-turned-college-athlete just inked an NIL deal with the popular fast food chain!!

Popeyes tells TMZ Sports ... the chicken joint is officially partnering with Collin after it was brought to its attention that he was the kid in the viral Vine video from back in the day.

As part of the newly-cemented business relationship, Collin will be featured on a billboard near his hometown in New Jersey.

As we previously reported, 18-year-old Dieunerst publicly campaigned to join forces with Popeyes, writing on social media, "@popeyes I JUST WANNA TALK BUISNESS."

The current Lake Erie College offensive lineman asked people on social media to help him secure the deal ... and it actually worked out for him!!

"A lot can happen with the power of the internet behind you!" Collin said. "I can’t believe I can say I’m officially sponsored by Popeyes."

"Thank you to everyone who helped spread the good word!"

Collin's NIL deal with Popeyes is the latest good news for the 6'1", 330-pound football player ... he won a state championship with his high school, East Orange Campus, in NJ in 2021.

Fresh off Georgia's blowout national championship win, the Bulldogs already have a new enemy -- PETA -- 'cause the animal rights org. is calling for the victors to officially retire their live mascot, Uga.

TMZ Sports has learned, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals fired off a letter to University of Georgia president, Jere Morehead this week ... asking the school to replace its iconic English bulldog, Uga X, with a human at sporting events.

The org. claims Uga's presence at games increases demand for breathing-impaired breeds like pugs, bulldogs and boxers ... and they want Georgia to lead by example.

PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman released a statement on the matter ... saying, "As the back-to-back national champion, can’t UGA find it in its heart to honestly examine the impact of its promotion of deformed dogs and call time on its outdated, live-animal mascot program?"

"PETA is calling on Jere Morehead to be a peach and replace poor Uga with a human mascot who can support the team in a winning way."

Of course, Georgia has used live mascots since the 1950s ... starting with Uga I. The current mascot, Uga X, did not make the trip to Los Angeles for Monday's game due to the five plus hour flight.

Former USC star Charles White -- the 1979 Heisman Trophy winner -- died on Wednesday, the Trojans announced. He was 64 years old.

According to the school, White passed away in Newport Beach, Calif. after battling cancer.

"He was the toughest player I've ever coached," White's former head coach John Robinson said in a statement following the news of the former running back's death. "He was really unusual in that regard."

SC athletic director Mike Bohn added in a statement of his own that White was "one of the all-time great Trojans."

"He will always be remembered by the Trojan Family for the history he made on the football field and the legacy he left at Troy," Bohn said.

White got to SC's campus in 1976 -- and went on to have one of the most legendary college football careers ever. He totaled 6,245 rushing yards -- still a school record -- and earned unanimous selections to two All-American teams.

In addition to the '79 Heisman Trophy, White also won the Walter Camp and Maxwell awards that same season.

White, who also helped USC win a national title and three Rose Bowls, went on to be picked by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft. He spent five seasons with the team, before finishing his pro career with the Rams.

He was eventually inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

John Metchie III is inching closer to playing football again ... Texans GM Nick Caserio says the young wide receiver, diagnosed with cancer last year, could be ready to go by week 1 next season!

Caserio joined SportsRadio 610 in Houston Wednesday morning ... where he provided an update on the 22 year old, 2nd-round draft pick, who missed his entire rookie season because of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL).

"I'd say there's a chance that he'll be ready for the start of the offseason program," Caserio said. "I think there are still some things that he has to complete or go through. Quite frankly, it's amazing what he's done to this point."

"He actually looks better now than he did when we drafted him in the spring," Caserio said. "He's improved his strength, he's improved his lower body strength. His attitude has been great, even though he's been dealing with a lot of things medically."

Metchie was diagnosed with APL -- a blood cancer characterized by a marked increase in a type of white blood cells known as promyelocytes -- last July, and spent last season fighting the disease. Fortunately, doctors said APL is the "most curable form of Leukemia."

The Texans selected Metchie in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft ... after he started for Nick Saban at Alabama. Metchie compiled over 2,000 yards and 14 touchdowns in his last two seasons with the Crimson Tide.

During the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" initiative earlier this season, the Texans wide receivers, led by veteran Brandin Cooks, paid homage to Metchie with custom cleats that read "Metchie Strong" in honor of his fight against cancer.

Clear out some space at UGA and start getting the bronze ready ... ex-Georgia star Nakobe Dean says following the Bulldogs' second national championship in as many years -- the school needs to erect a statue for Stetson Bennett on campus ASAP!!

The former Dawgs captain made the proclamation on the SoFi Stadium turf after Bennett and UGA blew out TCU to win the title in Los Angeles ... explaining the quarterback has now done everything necessary to receive the permanent honor in Athens.

"Nobody has done what he has done at Georgia," the ex-Georgia linebacker told 11Alive's Maria Martin. "Nobody has done what he has done in life. His whole story and everything -- he's just going to be a great story."

Bennett was nearly perfect in UGA's victory over the Horned Frogs ... completing 18 of his 25 passes for 304 yards and four TDs. He added 39 yards and two more TDs on the ground as well.

And, Dean, who played with Bennett and won a title with the 25-year-old last season, called it all awesome -- and a performance deserving of a campus fixture forever.

"I'ma be there when they reveal it!" he said.

The bad news for Dean? Bennett's time in Georgia is now over -- and the Philadelphia Eagles rookie linebacker might have to face off against the guy in NFL games next season.

The national championship game might have been a snoozer, but the party in Athens afterward certainly wasn't ... as UGA fans swarmed streets, climbed light poles and set fires in roadways to celebrate the big win over TCU!!

Thousands of people clad in black and red hit the streets near the Univ. of Georgia campus on Monday night to party after the Bulldogs whooped the Horned Frogs, 65-7, in Los Angeles ... and they created quite the scene.

Videos shot by people in the area showed there was standing room only on the roads ... and, at one point, someone set a massive blaze in a crosswalk for fans to play with.

You can see in footage from the scene, UGA fans gleefully jumped over the fire -- before one actually picked up the flames and held them over his head.

Elsewhere in the city, students and Dawgs supporters were seen climbing to the top of street lights, as hundreds cheered them on and chanted.

A spokesperson for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department tells TMZ sports ... there were "several arrests" made -- however, cops did not receive reports of property damage to cars, street signs or public art.

Meanwhile, back in L.A., UGA's players celebrated the big W at SoFi Stadium by smoking cigars on the field with none other than Quavo!

Remember the TerRio look-alike who went viral for giving the side-eye at Popeyes??? That kid from the famous meme is now a college football player -- and we're all officially old.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... Lake Erie College freshman offensive lineman Dieunerst Collin is, in fact, the little kid in the yellow shirt who became internet famous on now-defunct social media platform Vine back in the day.

As it turns out, the 6'1", 330-pounder went on to be a successful athlete since becoming a meme ... and won a state championship with East Orange Campus high school in New Jersey in 2021.

But Collin isn't shying away from his past -- in fact, he wants the fried chicken chain to hook him up with a Name, Image and Likeness deal!!

"@popeyes I JUST WANNA TALK BUISNESS," Collin said on social media this weekend.

According to Collin's bio on the team site, he's currently studying sports management and comedian studies ... and hopes to become a sports analyst.

Olivia Dunne -- an LSU gymnastics star and one of the most followed college athletes on social media -- is calling for respect from her supporters ... after a group of them were seen in a disturbing video parked outside one of her meets wildly screaming for her.

The gaggle of college-aged boys posted up at an exit of the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday just after the Tigers and Utah Utes battled on the floor ... and the sea of males could be seen in the footage not just chanting her name, but asking repeatedly where she was.

At one point, after the camera panned down the line of yelling people, one of the men in the video said, "Please. Do you know where Livvy is? I'm serious."

According to the mother of Utes gymnast Jillian Hoffman, the scene away from the camera grew even more unnerving ... as Jennifer Hoffman said in a Facebook post several of the fans in the area were "so rude and disrespectful" to her daughter and teammates.

"They literally said to their faces," Jennifer wrote, "you are not Livvy but you will do, can we get a picture."

The reporter who shot the clip called the site "scary and disturbing and cringey." Another reporter on the scene said LSU actually had to move its team bus to avoid the crowd.

Livvy eventually sent a tweet on Sunday night asking her fans to be more "respectful" going forward.

"I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys," said Dunne, who has 6.7 million followers on TikTok, "but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job."

Dunne had interacted with some of the fans at the meet -- after they were seen inside of the stadium holding signs and chanting her name. She took selfies with them, and appeared to thank them for coming.

She faced criticism, though, for acknowledging the mob at the arena -- backlash that Dunne's mother said in a tweet on Sunday was completely inappropriate.

"It is not ok to blame any athlete/celebrity when fan behavior crosses the line," Katherine Dunne said. "In a sport where all the girls wear nothing but leotards stop suggesting that how Livvy dresses means she deserves this in any way. Stop shaming girls for the behavior of boys."

Livvy's popularity has exploded in the past year -- piling up millions of followers on all of her social media platforms, while securing NIL deals reportedly worth north of $2 million.

College football star KD Davis is celebrating the start of his NFL rookie season just a little early ... recently coppin' a diamond-filled shark pendant!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the senior linebacker at University of North Texas hit up Atlanta's "Scoobie Da Jeweler" in December to make a piece that resembled his love of the game.

"He's a shark at what he does," Scoobie told us on Friday, "relentless in his passion for football."

The final piece came out awesome ... you can see the massive pendant looks just like the villain from "Jaws" with its fangs and dark eyes.

We're told the new bling is filled with 35 carats of moissanite diamonds and .25 carats of sapphire for the blue eyes.

Scoobie -- who also made the Kobe and Gianna Bryant pendant for Lamar Odom last year -- tells us he educates players on each metal and stone, so they spend their money wisely.

"I always encourage them to think about general wealth," Scoobie said. "I don't want these players to be exploited into diamonds and be put in a crunch."

Davis led the Mean Green in tackles for three consecutive seasons and was top 10 in the nation with 71 solo tackles this year. He also had 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 1 interception this season.

Chris Beard is no longer the head coach of the Texas Longhorns basketball team -- the university just announced he has been fired from his position after his felony domestic violence arrest last month.

The team made the move official just minutes ago ... with athletic director Chris Del Conte saying, "This has been a difficult situation that we've been diligently working through. Today I informed Mr. Beard of our decision to terminate him effective immediately."

Del Conte acknowledged Rodney Terry for filling in as interim coach during Beard's suspension ... promoting him to acting head coach for the rest of the 2022-23 season.

"We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches and staff, who throughout this difficult time have continued to make us proud to be Longhorns," Del Conte added.

As we previously reported, Beard was arrested on December 12 ... after he was accused of strangling, throwing and biting his fiancée in their home. He was immediately suspended without pay.

The woman, Randi Trew, later apologized for her accusations ... saying Beard did not strangle her. She also did not refute Beard's claims that his actions were in self-defense.

"I do not believe Chris was trying to intentionally harm me in any way. It was never my intent to have him arrested or prosecuted," Trew said last month.

Beard -- a UT alum, who joined the program in 2021 -- went 34-14 in 48 games at Texas ... and is 176-74 overall.

Beard is still facing the criminal charge ... and has a court date later this month.

USC legend LenDale White was so furious after watching his alma mater lose to Tulane that he took to social media to unload on the team ... at one point calling the Trojans defense "a f***ing joke."

Lincoln Riley's offense looked good against the Green Wave in Monday morning's Cotton Bowl -- but the defense ultimately let the team down ... giving up a game-winning TD with just seconds left to lose the contest, 46-45.

White was HOT about it all immediately afterward on Twitter ... rippin' everyone on the Trojans' D -- and then Riley himself.

"Our defense and whoever's a part of it is a f***ing joke," the former SC tailback said. "That bend don't break Defense s*** you brought from OU ain’t gonna cut it..!!!!!!"

He added, "It’s a shame to be a Trojan right now."

White's barrage on his old team didn't stop there ... he also tweeted "Tulane whooped our ass" and retweeted a fan who wrote, "USC is a joke."

SC had a promising start to the season -- it went 11-1 and appeared headed for the College Football Playoff.

But, the Trojans' defense was bad in the 47-24 loss to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game, and then again on Monday.