NFL

Two of Ray Rice's former teammates are voicing their support of the ruling -- saying they're happy Ray will get a second chance in the NFL.

Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith tweeted ... "Second chances are only as good as you make them....my boy will do the right things."

Ray Rice just won a HUGE victory ... his indefinite suspension has been overturned.

Short story ... a judge just ruled NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell abused his authority when he changed Rice's discipline from a 2-game suspension to an indefinite one.

The judge ruled Rice had told the truth when he was initially interviewed by Goodell and company and the Commish had no right to alter the punishment after TMZ posted the elevator video.

It could be something of a hollow victory ... Rice is now a man without a team, and his prospects of new NFL employment is iffy at best.

In decision, U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones explained ... "Rice did not mislead the Commissioner at the June 16th meeting, and therefore, that the imposition of a second suspension based on the same incident and the same known facts about the incident, was arbitrary."

"The Commissioner needed to be fair and consistent in his imposition of discipline. Moreover, any failure on the part of the League to understand the level of violence was not due to Rice's description of the event but to the inadequacy of words to convey the seriousness of domestic violence. That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely."

Rice issued a statement saying he's thankful.

NFL star Richard Sherman is officially in the app business -- dropping a brand new word game called "Letters of Boom."

Sherman describes the app as an "action-oriented word game" ... where players try to rearrange letters and spell words as fast as they can. Also, stuff blows up.

"I've always loved word games, but there has never been anything out there that felt hard-hitting or extreme for me," Sherman said.

Sherman -- who provided voice-work on the game -- says the app also comes with an updated dictionary that includes "slang" and "swagger" words like "picksix."

He's not the 1st NFL star to get involved with apps ... former Indianapolis Colts defensive back Brandon King developed a game called "Smashman" earlier this year where a QB runs for his life from a defense.

FYI -- King's game had 2,000 downloads in its first week.

Steve Young ... Jerry Rice ... Teri Hatcher -- they ALL have rings from Super Bowl XXIX -- even though one of them wasn't actually on the team.

The former "Lois & Clark" star WAS a cheerleader for the 49ers back in 1984 ... but in the video, she explains why she was allowed to enjoy the spoils of victory when the team beat the Chargers 10 years later.

FYI -- Teri just returned from NY where she gave a speech to the U.N. about eliminating domestic violence -- and encouraged people to wear orange ... the official color to unite women against D.V.

Richard Sherman slammed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over the massive fine he dropped on Marshawn Lynch for not talking to the media ... by accusing the league of being two-faced.

Seattle Seahawks Sherman and Doug Baldwin (hiding behind a cardboard cutout of himself) held a pretty shocking news conference today where they openly mocked the league policy forcing players to talk to reporters. The duo talked excessively, but only about things the league does NOT want them discussing.

They shouted out personal sponsors -- including Beats by Dre -- which the league banned players from wearing on gameday because of a deal with Bose. Then Sherman went nuclear, calling out the league for saying it's dedicated to "player safety" ... while making them play 2 games within 5 days.

A blatant shot at Thursday night games.

Aeneas Williams -- one of the best defensive players in NFL history -- is hitting the streets of Ferguson ... helping to repair the city one shattered window at a time.

The Hall-of-Famer -- who's also a pastor in St. Louis -- rounded up a crew of people and is boarding up some of the windows that were smashed during the melee last night.

"Love Never Fails! Love is an ACTION WORD! I SEE A LOT OF LOVE HERE IN FERGUSON," Williams tweeted.

"After all the finger pointing is done, my [question] is what are we going to do now? Answer LOVE."

10:45 AM PT -- TMZ Sports obtained the police report which shows cops were called to Smoot's residence around 11 AM.

Smoot's GF told police Smoot pushed her against the wall in their bathroom when she tried to grab the keys to his truck so she could drive it to work.

The GF says, "He scratched her on the knuckle and the stomach."

She also claims Smoot "grabbed her shorts and ripped them."

The responding officer noted that the GF has "minor marks to the knuckle and stomach. Her shorts were ripped in the crouch [sic] area."

We spoke to the GF who tells us, "He came through the door after me and ripped my boxer shorts."

The GF says she ran outside the home and tried knocking on neighbor's doors -- but no one answered. Eventually she claims she got back in her house and called cops and hid in a closet until police arrived.

After the cops arrived, the GF says she went to Smoot's truck and found a half-empty box of condoms ... and believes that's why he was trying to keep her out of the car.

We spoke with a rep for Smoot who told us the ex-NFL has no comment and wants the legal process to run its course.

Former NFL star Fred Smoot was arrested in Washington D.C. Sunday for domestic violence after allegedly beating up his girlfriend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 35-year-old cornerback -- who finished his career with the Washington Redskins -- was arrested for misdemeanor simple assault.

The alleged victim has posted photos on social media showing cuts to her upper lip and bruises to her arm she says she sustained from multiple incidents. She also claims to have requested a restraining order against Smoot.

Law enforcement tells TMZ Sports ... Smoot was arraigned this morning and was released on $2,500 bond.

Story developing ...

Torrey Smith is on a mission to make his son the next Gerber Baby ... entering the 7-month-old into the official Gerber competition -- and he's already got celebrity support.

The Baltimore Ravens wide receiver and his wife Chanel entered little Torrey Jeremiah (aka TJ) into the Gerber "Be Our Baby" photo search ... where TJ will battle it out with tykes from across the country.

The competition closes on December 14 ... and the winner gets $5,000!

Chanel says it's not about the money for them -- "I just want TJ in a Gerber commercial 😂😂 that little face belongs somewhere!"

She adds, "If TJ wins we plan to give half of the money to a children's charity and the other half would go to TJs college fund."

New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. says he's been BOMBARDED with praise since that one-handed miracle grab ... but the best moment involved a tweet from LeBron James.

OBJ was at Steiner Sports in NYC last night when revealed that LeBron is his all-time favorite athlete ... and when King James tweeted about the catch on Sunday, it blew his mind.

FYI -- here's the tweet LeBron posted after Beckham's catch: "Man I just witnessed the greatest catch ever possibly by Odell Beckham Jr! WOW!!!!"

Imagine your hero writing that about you. Pretty cool, right?!

Still, Odell is modest about the 3-fingered catch, saying the greatest snag ever made still belongs to ANOTHER NY Giants wide receiver.

The man who claims he was attacked by Johnny Manziel and his "entourage" last week says he's still in pain from the alleged hotel beatdown ... and says he's got pics to prove it.

TMZ Sports spoke with Chris Gonos ... who claims his left elbow was jacked up by Johnny's crew during a fight at The 9 hotel in Cleveland late Friday night.

Gonos says the picture shows severe swelling and a nasty bruise -- but claims he also suffered a swollen lip and and injuries to his eye.

Gonos says he's not sure who hit him -- but he's confident the assailant was part of Johnny's crew.

Police are investigating the incident ... but so far, no arrests have been made.

As for Johnny, he tells a very different story ... saying he was "accosted by a very aggressive man and his associates" at the hotel that night.

Adrian Peterson believes there's a slight chance the grand jury in Ferguson will change its mind and indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Mike Brown ... problem is, he's flat-out wrong.

In the wake of the decision in Ferguson, AP went to Twitter to express his dismay over situation ... writing, "The GRAND JURY DECIDED NOT TO INDICT ME TOO! But that changed a week LATER! MAYBE, BUT NOT LIKELY N THIS CASE #PUTyourTrustNGODnotINtheWORLD!"

AP is obviously referring to his child abuse case ... insisting he was under the impression the grand jury was leaning toward NOT pursuing charges against him for beating his son with a switch ... only to change its mind and indict at the last minute.

There were reports that AP's case was "no-billed" by a grand jury and then taken to another grand jury, which decided to indict the NFL star ... but the Montgomery County D.A. eventually shot those reports down.

"The same grand jury was the one that reviewed all the evidence and the law in this particular case, and the one that issued the indictment,” the D.A. stated.

Check this out ... we just spoke with Odell Beckham Jr.'s high school coach Nelson Stewart about the insane 1-handed catch -- his quotes are fantastic.

-- "We tried to stop him from catching the ball with one hand in high school ... but then we said, 'This is stupid, he never drops the ball. Let's just let him.'"

-- "Now we have a problem with our players trying to catch the ball with one hand. They say, 'But you let him do it.' I say, 'You are not Odell Beckham!'"

-- "He said he wants to have his high school jersey hanging at the high school one day. We haven't given his number away since -- so I think he's on his way."

-- "His hands were bigger than anyone on our team. He literally never dropped a ball. He redefined everything you could do."

Fun Fact -- OBJ went to Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans ... where Eli and Peyton Manning played their prep ball.

Kansas City Chiefs star safety Eric Berry has been placed on the non-football injury list after doctors discovered a mass on the right side of his chest ... which they believe to be lymphoma.

Berry is expected to go to Emory University hospital for further evaluation.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said of the situation, "Right now, he needs to be a beast. He'll attack this."

Berry released a statement, saying, "I am truly thankful for all of the support from family, friends, coaches, teammates and the entire Chiefs kingdom. At first I was in shock with the diagnosis on Saturday and did not even want to miss a game, but I understand that right now I have to concentrate on a new opponent."

Johnny Manziel is painting a completely different picture of the alleged fight that he was involved in over the weekend ... instead claiming he was the victim of an aggressive fan.

Manziel who is being accused of taking part in the beatdown of a fan who claims he was just trying to shake his hand -- said through his agent on Monday that there was no "entourage" with Manziel on the night in question.

Instead, Manziel -- through his agent, Erik Burkhardt -- claims he and his roommate were returning from dinner with Johnny's mom when they were "accosted by a very aggressive man and his associates."

Manziel claims he let Browns management know about the incident "immediately."

The accuser, Chris Gonos, previously told TMZ Sports he was simply trying to shake Manziel's hand when Johnny Football's entourage jumped him.

Roc Boys were in the building last night ... when Jay Z hit up MetLife Stadium to watch his newest client, Dez Bryant, tear up the NY Giants ... and even made time to shmooze with Jerry Jones.

Of course, Jay's Roc Nation Sports just signed #88 ... and Dez couldn't be happier about it -- throwing up the Roc Nation sign after both of his touchdowns last night.

Dez is reportedly gunning for one of the biggest contracts in NFL history ... something over the $100 million mark ... and after last night's performance, ya gotta think Jay's more confident than ever that he'll get it.

Can't knock the hustle.

Note to all district attorneys*, hydrologists*, and physical therapists* ... TMZ Sports has pics of what 12 months of your salary ($75,000) looks like around the neck of NFL star DeSean Jackson.

DeSean -- whose Redskins are 3-7 -- decided to cheer himself up with a "Treat. Yo. Self" moment ... and hooked himself up with a monster chain from one of L.A.'s top jewelers.

How monster you ask? 2,200 diamonds, 22 inches and a HALF KILO of gold. Treat. Yo. Self.

The Dr. Frankenstein behind the bling is Ofer -- Ceo of NuO jewelry in L.A. He tells us DeSean wanted a Cuban link chain ... which is back in style these days thanks to stars like Jay Z and Usher.

He ordered one in pure gold, but when he got it back ... DJ decided it wasn't quite swaggy enough so he put in another work order with Ofer that involved more ice than the North Pole.

Ofer tells us Desean's customizations pushed the value of the chain to $75,000. Easily one of his most expensive pieces ever.

Treat. Yo. Self.