NFL

One of the guys who snatched Derwin James' Rolex and gold chain at gunpoint last summer has just been sentenced to NINE YEARS in state prison for the crime ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Back in June 2018 ... officials say a man named Kevin Mitchell rolled up on 23-year-old James and his uncle after they ate at Bossa Nova restaurant on Sunset Blvd.

Officials say Mitchell and another man held the L.A. Chargers superstar defensive back and his uncle at gunpoint ... stealing James' pricey watch and chain.

Cops launched an investigation after the incident ... and found a breakthrough a few weeks later, when Mitchell allegedly tried to sell the watch at a pawn shop in the San Fernando Valley.

James confirmed Mitchell was one of the men who robbed him ... and the guy was arrested and hit with FIVE felonies for the crime.

But, Mitchell copped a plea deal with prosecutors this week -- court docs show he was convicted on charges of felony robbery and felony criminal threats and the 3 other charges were dropped.

According to court documents ... for the robbery charge, he was ordered to serve 9 YEARS in state prison as well as pay fines, fees and restitution.

As for the criminal threat charge -- he was ordered to serve 3 years in prison for that crime, but the judge ruled that will be a concurrent sentence to the nine-year one.

During training camp last summer, James spoke about the whole ordeal with reporters, saying, "I wouldn't wish that upon anybody."

"It happened. It was just one of those things that you never expect to happen to you, but it happened and I'm just happy to be out here playing football."

Former Ole Miss and University of Texas quarterback Jevan Snead has died at 32 ... after being found in an Austin apartment unresponsive late Saturday.

According to reports, authorities in Austin responded to a call to help unlock a car or apartment on Saturday and found Snead's body dead on site.

No other information has been made available as of yet, including whether or not Snead has any visible signs of trauma to his head or body. Officials have reportedly said there does not appear to be signs of foul play.

Jevan was one of the most highly recruited QB's in the nation when he signed with Texas in 2005, switching to the Longhorns after his original commitment, Florida, signed a guy named Tim Tebow.

Snead transferred to Ole Miss in 2007 and went on to have great years for the Rebels, finishing in the school's all-time top ten in passing yards.

Snead was not selected in the 2010 NFL Draft, but signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs. He was released 3 months later.

Both Ole Miss and Texas have reacted to the news on Twitter, posting tributes to Snead.

A Philadelphia man heroically saved a bunch of children from a burning building on Sunday ... and used his 15 minutes of fame to hilariously roast the hell outta Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor.

The man -- Hakim Laws -- says he was walking down the street in West Philly around 2 AM when he noticed flames coming out of a 2nd story apartment building window ... and sprang into action.

“I see a guy hanging out the window screaming that his kids were in there,” Laws told CBS 3 in Philly.

But, what the dude said after that has to be considered an all-time best local sports news quote ... with Laws taking a huge shot at the Philly WR when explaining his heroic actions.

“My man just started throwing babies out ... and we was catching them, unlike Agholor and all his mishaps.”

DAMN.

Of course, the man is referring to Agholor dropping a Week 2 TD as well as dropping a major 3rd-down pass and coughing up a fumble in Sunday's loss to the Lions (he did catch 2 TDs, though) ... and the dude ain't over it even after saving lives.

Here's Tom Brady doing his best DB impression ... the G.O.A.T. is backpedaling on his public support for Antonio Brown after the WR went after Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the weekend.

Tom -- who's fully backed AB on social media even after rape allegations -- went on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Monday morning and declined to throw his weight behind AB again.

"I do have a lot of personal feelings, none of which I really care to share," the QB said. "That is about it. It’s a difficult situation. That’s kind of how I feel."

Of course, Tom was singing a very different tune earlier this month ... he was reportedly "one million percent" in on the Pats signing Brown -- and even reportedly offered the guy a room in the Boston-area mansion he shares with Gisele.

Tom also let AB into his personal gym ... and after Brown was cut from the Pats on Friday -- he left heart emojis on AB's Instagram post.

So, what happened to 'cause Brady to change his public gears? Unclear exactly ... but it seems like a safe bet to assume it had something to do with Brown's weekend attack on Kraft.

In a Twitter rant Sunday morning, Brown brought up Kraft's famous solicitation case, writing, "Kraft got caught in the parlor AB speculations fired different strokes different folks clearly."

The New England owner obviously didn't love the move ... because ESPN's Adam Schefter reported there's no way AB is getting his guaranteed money from the Pats now.

As for Brown, he continued to attack a lot of people on social media ... going after his ex-teammate, Ben Roethlisberger, and TV personality Shannon Sharpe.

Just when you thought Bill Belichick couldn't be a bigger jerk to the media, here's the New England Patriots coach giving a death stare to a reporter who dared to ask about Antonio Brown.

The reporter ain't some scrub ... she's respected journalist Dana Jacobson -- whose resume includes everything from CBS News to CBS Sports to ESPN. She's a pro.

On Sunday, her assignment was to get a quick interview with Belichick before the Pats took on the NY Jets ... and she asked an obvious and appropriate question about Antonio Brown, who just got cut days before the game.

"I think I'd be remiss if I didn't ask what was the final straw with Antonio Brown?"

Belichick responded with a classic deflection, "Yeah, we're focused on the Jets today."

Dana thanks Bill for the interview, but he doesn't thank her back -- instead staring through her with a furious, silent anger you can feel through the screen.

Antonio Brown says he's quitting the NFL because the league is corrupt and has screwed him out of millions of dollars.

Brown just tweeted up a storm, saying, among other things, "Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up!"

What he's saying ... the Patriots signed him to a $15 mil deal with a $9 mil guaranteed signing bonus. But, here's the catch. The $9 mil was reportedly spread out over the season, and he was cut after just one week, and he's not gonna see most of that cash.

But, Brown went further and took aim at the Patriots' owner, Robert Kraft, firing this shot ... "Kraft got caught in the parlor AB speculations fired different strokes folks clearly." In other words, he's saying there's a double standard for him and the NFL bigwigs. Brown saying Kraft was charged with a crime and he was not, and the NFL hasn't punished Kraft.

He's also pissed because the NFL is investigating, and while that probe continues, he's poison to every team in the league.

Warren Moon has a message for Donovan McNabb ... you WILL be a Hall of Famer -- so stop campaigning for it!!!

D-Mac stirred up the football world just a few months ago when he told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airing weeknights on FS1) that he belongs in Canton.

Moon saw the interview ... and wishes McNabb had been a little more neutral on his stance -- saying there's ZERO need for D-Mac to plead his case.

"I think he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame," Moon told the guys. "If you look at his numbers and what he did over the course of his career -- he went to four NFC championship games, he went to a Super Bowl."

But, Warren added, "I just think when you start campaigning for this, it's not a good look."

McNabb was just named one of 122 finalists for the 2020 Hall of Fame ... and he immediately took to Twitter saying, "Let's make sure we go out and vote. 'Fly Eagles Fly.'"

Moon thinks that's just unnecessary, saying, "I wish he would have never made any comments about it."

Donald Penn's got a new home in the NFL ... and now he's trying to get rid of his old home in L.A. ... 'cause the Washington Redskins lineman is selling his $5.2 million mansion!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 36-year-old Pro Bowl tackle is parting ways with his 8-bedroom, 11-bath Encino pad ... which comes with a private home theater and a freakin' walk-in shoe closet!!

If that ain't enough, the 11,000-square foot place also has a game room, private gym and a sauna ... as well as 2 private guest suites.

Oh, yeah ... AND it's got a pool!!

Penn was an undrafted free agent out of Utah State ... but grinded his way to a 13-year career with the Vikings and Raiders ... and made more than $60 MILLION along the way.

So, why did he have a home in L.A.? Penn was born and raised in SoCal ... and was a star standout at St. Bernard HS.

Ex-Patriots receiver Malcolm Mitchell says he's turning to poetry to help his mental health after retiring from football ... saying the art form is "soothing."

Mitchell signed a 4-year deal in New England back in 2016 and helped the team win a Super Bowl that season. But, the 27-year-old battled injuries every year after that, and eventually retired last March.

Now, he's telling TMZ Sports he's become a writer ... and poetry has helped him transition from being a violent football player to an artist.

"It's soothing," Mitchell says. "I was talking to a reporter the other day about the mental health aspect of retiring from something you've been doing your whole life."

"Like, imagine if you couldn't do this anymore? You'd be stuck, right?"

Mitchell is currently finding HUGE success in the writing world ... he helped author the popular children's book "The Magician's Hat" -- and he's got a picture book on the way too.

But, he says poetry has become a real passion for him ... telling us, "Introducing that in a creative way is something that entices me."

Antonio Brown is back home after a turbulent past few weeks and an effective firing from the New England Patriots -- and he doesn't look too happy about it

The embattled wide receiver was seen exiting his private jet Saturday as he touched down in Miami -- where he owns a home. As he walked the runway, AB had an incredibly pained look on his face ... which is understandable after everything that's happened.

BTW, he was wearing Supreme gear here up top -- not Nike, which just dropped him this past week amid the mounting allegations. He also carried a Louis Vuitton briefcase.

While he looked pretty down in the dumps when he got back to Miami, AB was trying to put on a brave paid face before leaving the airport in New England ... posting a photo of himself sitting on top of a Rolls-Royce with the caption, "The Journey #Iknowimspecial #Whytheyplaying." Looks like he snuck in some Nike after all in his footwear.

As we reported ... Antonio was released by the Patriots Friday after a whirlwind of bad news for him, including a lawsuit alleging rape and sexual assault ... a Sports Illustrated story detailing more alleged sexual and behavioral misconduct ... as well as a reported attempt to contact one of his accusers with menacing texts.

Despite one good outing, it looks like the Pats had seen enough ... cutting him loose before Sunday's game against the Jets. AB's an unrestricted free agent now, and the NFL is still investigating the claims against him, not having come to a conclusion yet.

A brutal injury to Ben Roethlisberger's throwing elbow will NOT end his career ... so says Plaxico Burress, who spoke with his ex-teammate and tells TMZ Sports, "He will be back next year."

Big Ben blew out his arm during the Steelers game against the Seahawks on Sunday ... and at 37 years old -- some are wondering if that's the last game we'll ever see the guy play.

But, Plaxico -- who was a Steeler with Roethlisberger in 2004 -- says he talked to Ben this week ... and came away from their conversation encouraged the QB will be back just fine.

"We share a special relationship," the ex-receiver says. "I know that this won't be his last hurrah. He's not built like that. He's going to come back healthy and ready to play."

As for Burress' message to Ben, he says he told the QB straight-up, "Stay strong."

We also spoke with Plaxico about the other QBs in Ben's famous 2004 NFL Draft class ... and you've gotta hear his thoughts on Philip Rivers.

HINT: Plaxico LOVES the Chargers star!!!

By the way, if you're wondering what Burress is up to these days -- he says he'll be competing with Michael Jordan soon ... in the tequila business!!!

The New England Patriots have just parted ways with Antonio Brown after a new NFL investigation into concerning text messages.

"Thank you for the opportunity @Patriots #GoWinIt," Brown posted on Twitter ... adding, "The marathon continues."

He also posted a photo with Tom Brady on Instagram, "Love ya champ. That was fun!"

Brown was only an official member of the Pats for 11 days.

The Patriots issued a statement saying, "The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown. We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time."

The writing was certainly on the wall ... Patriots head coach Bill Belichick shut down a press conference Friday morning because he was sick of answering questions about the WR.

As we previously reported, the Patriots signed Brown on Sept. 7 -- hours after he was cut by the Oakland Raiders following multiple issues with Raiders executives.

Brown didn't sign his contract with the Pats until Sept. 9. His deal was a 1-year contract worth up to $15 mil with a $9 million signing bonus.

Days after Brown signed his deal with the Pats, a woman named Britney Taylor filed a lawsuit against AB accusing him of forcible rape in 2018, along with 2 allegations of sexual assault in 2017.

Brown has denied all wrongdoing and vowed to explore his own legal options. Brown was not arrested or charged with a crime in that case. Taylor never went to police.

Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated published a report containing allegations from a 2nd woman who accused Brown of sexual misconduct.

Brown later sent that woman menacing text messages in which Brown directs associates to look into the accuser's family. He also sent a pic of the accuser's children.

The NFL was contacted by the woman's attorney and immediately launched an investigation.

Despite the investigation, Belichick suggested the team was planning on using Brown on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

Brown played 24 snaps for the Patriots in his debut with the team against the Dolphins last weekend. He saw 8 passes from Tom Brady, catching four of them for 56 yards and a TD. He also had one rushing attempt for 5 yards.

AB has been a superstar in his career on the field, he's logged at least 100 catches and 1,200 receiving yards in each of the last six seasons.

In his 10-year career, Brown's scored 75 receiving touchdowns ... putting him in a tie for 34th all-time in NFL history.

As for the Raiders, Oakland cut bait with Brown after a string of bizarre behavior including a weird injury in a cryotherapy chamber and issues with his helmet.

Brown also secretly recorded Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and posted the audio online.

The last straw seemed to be when Brown publicly called out Raiders general manager Mike Mayock after the team fined him for missing multiple team activities.

The question now ... will another team take a chance on Antonio Brown -- or is his NFL career finished?

Story developing ...

Bill Belichick has reached his boiling point in the Antonio Brown saga ... abruptly ending a press conference after reporters peppered him with Qs about his controversial superstar WR.

The New England Patriots coach faced the media on Friday -- just hours after the NFL opened an investigation into alleged texts Brown sent to a woman accusing him of sexual misconduct in 2017.

Of course, the media wanted answers ... but Belichick told reporters right off the bat he wouldn't be answering any questions about AB. He opened saying, "We take all situations with our team very seriously."

"There's some things we're looking into. But, I'm not going to have any comment on any of the off the field situations or questions on that."

Bill also suggested Brown would be active and playing on Sunday when the Patriots take on the NY Jets.

When Belichick tried to move past the Brown questions, the media stayed focused on the bigger story ... and Bill. Got. Pissed.

"I think I've already addressed this ... we're gonna get ready for the Jets here. Happy to answer any football questions. But, the rest of it ... I'm done with the rest of it."

When a reporter followed that up with another AB question ... Bill got fed up, interrupted him and left the podium.

"That's it. Yep, I'm good. Thank you."

Meanwhile, the NFL is still investigating Brown -- but it's theoretically possible league officials could take action on new text message development before Sunday.

The Ravens might not beat the Chiefs this weekend on the field ... but they'd WHOOP THAT ASS on the dance floor -- 'cause Baltimore's stars just showed all their moves, and they're insane!!!

Mark Ingram filmed the whole locker room party ... and it's the best few minutes of video you'll see all day.

The rug cutting begins with safety Tony Jefferson showing off some fancy footwork ... and then linebacker Matthew Judon and D-lineman Brandon Williams hop in the mix.

There's a tremendous rendition of the "Chicken Noodle Soup" dance ... and when the DJ switches tunes, there's even more greatness.

Hollywood Brown drops it low ... and Jefferson, who at some point took off his shirt for the party, shows off even crazier moves!!!

Seriously, it's all amazing.

The NFL is now investigating new troubling text messages Antonio Brown allegedly sent to a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct ... and the texts are damning.

The woman at the center of the investigation is the unnamed artist featured in a Sports Illustrated article published this week who said a naked AB inappropriately hit on her while she was painting a mural at his home in 2017.

The woman never went to authorities with her story ... but the description she gave to SI is a terrible look for the NFL star in the wake of a lawsuit filed another woman accusing him of rape.

The artist claims on Wednesday, Brown initiated a group text -- including her and some of his own associates -- trashing her for talking to SI and calling for his crew to begin digging into her background.

The most troubling text allegedly sent by Brown is this directive to his crew -- which was accompanied by a photo of her children.

"Those her kids and ig Eric she's awfully broke clearly."

Two other people included on the text chain respond, saying they will obey orders to gather info on the woman.

Clearly, the woman felt the texts were sent with the intention of scaring her -- so she went to the NFL to report the incident.

The NFL reportedly reached out to the woman on Thursday less than an hour after they were contacted. League investigators are reportedly scheduling a follow-up interview with the woman.

As for his NFL career, Brown is still active and expected to play for the New England Patriots on Sunday when they take on the NY Jets.

What do two fight legends talk about on the sidelines at an NFL game? FIGHTING!!

Check out Mike Tyson and UFC Hall of Famer "Sugar" Rashad Evans chopping it up right before the Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Tennessee Titans on Thursday ... clearly trading fight tips.

You can see Evans measuring Tyson -- and doing a half roll -- while asking Tyson to evaluate his moves.

Tyson coaches him up and gives him a few tips -- while playfully throwing some kicks in the mix, something he obviously couldn't do in the boxing ring.

40-year-old Evans was just inducted into the UFC HOF earlier this year -- but he's been hanging with Tyson a lot recently ... and you gotta wonder if there's another fight in his future.

What's interesting ... Tyson has said publicly he doesn't fight, train or lift weights any more because he's afraid of snapping back into that hyper-aggressive mindset that got him in trouble back in the day.

Instead, he smokes a ton of weed ... and honestly, he seems a lot more chill these days.