NFL

Pacman Jones says he's lucky to be alive -- after power lines fell down Thursday in the middle of the highway near the Bengals practice facility causing multiple cars to crash ... including his.

"I’m driving, these power lines just fall down out of nowhere bruh, in the middle of the highway. Almost got killed," the Cincinnati Bengals star said on video from the scene.

"I’m just so happy I’m alright man. If I wouldn’t have came across man I might be dead."

Jones showed damage to his black Dodge Durango -- but says he's not worried about that ... he's happy he wasn't hurt.

Former Patriots star Willie McGinest has some real talk for O.J. Simpson after he got drunkenly booted from a Vegas hotel ... SIT DOWN, SON!

"He should just sit his ass down somewhere. Stay out the way," Willie told TMZ Sports.

FYI, the Juice got way too loose Wednesday night at the Cosmo -- getting escorted out by hotel security before being slapped with a permanent ban.

McGinest says it should be an easy formula for his fellow USC football alum to follow ...

Ezekiel Elliott's 6-game suspension is back on ... after the NFL superstar's motion for an emergency injunction pending appeal was denied by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

A 3-judge panel determined Zeke's legal team didn't meet the requisite standard ... which means he'll officially begin serving his suspension against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.

The NFL Players Association can still appeal (again) to the full 2nd Circuit Court ... which would be heard on an expedited schedule.

Jim Brown ain't ready to give up on the Cleveland Browns just yet ... 'cause the NFL legend tells TMZ Sports he "absolutely" believes the Brownies can get at least one win this season.

We spoke with the Hall of Famer outside Il Pastaio in Bev. Hills about the 0-8 Browns ... and while it might seem impossible to Cleveland fans, J.B. has faith the team will turn things around.

While Brown didn't have much to say about the team fumbling on the potential AJ McCarron trade ... he assured us "the Browns are doing the best they can."

Greg Hardy's got a message for Dana White on the heels of his 32-second KO debut -- "keep an eye on me" ... "'cause you're gonna want me in the UFC eventually."

"I'm here to prove whatever I need to prove," Hardy told TMZ Sports.

"I'm trying to work on being the best me that I can be -- being the best athlete, being the best complete fighter, being the best person."

Pretty good pitch for the embattled ex-NFL star -- who Dana says is gonna have to conduct himself like a pro in and out of the cage before he gets a UFC opportunity.

Hardy told us he's up for the task -- and already has a timeline set for his next fight!!

Colin Kaepernick dug his own football grave ... so says Warren Moon, who tells TMZ Sports he doesn't think teams will go near Kaep after he filed a grievance against NFL owners.

We spoke with the Hall of Famer and Houston legend about Kaep's status with the league ... and he questioned whether the controversial QB actually wanted to play this season.

"If he was gonna file a lawsuit, he maybe should've waited 'til this season was over if he did want to play this year," Moon says, "because it was almost like, does he really wanna play if he's gonna go and sue the league and then also try to get signed by a football team ... the 2 just don't seem to mix."

We also asked about Bob McNair referring to players as "inmates" ... and from his experience with the Texans owner, Moon believes his comments were misunderstood.

The ex-girlfriend of NFL referee Carl Johnson has been arrested after cops say she LIED in a police report in which she accused Johnson of domestic violence.

As we previously reported, Johnson's ex-GF had gone to cops accusing Carl of engaging in a pattern of domestic violence beginning in Dec. 2016. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office opened an investigation into Johnson.

But now, LPSO Lt. Brennan Matherne tells TMZ Sports ... it's the GF who's in trouble now.

"The investigation is ongoing, but I can confirm we have filed charges against Sandra Brooks for Domestic Abuse Battery, Defamation, Criminal Mischief – Filing a False Police Report, and Filing a False Petition for a Protective Order."

"She turned herself in yesterday afternoon and was released after posting $2,500 bond."

Brooks is a former police officer.

We spoke with Brooks who is adamant she is telling the truth -- and claims she's the VICTIM in the case.

Johnson has also maintained his innocence from the very beginning.

TMZ Sports has obtained police footage of NFL star Junior Galette being run down by cops -- and then tased -- following an alleged fight in Mississippi back in April ... and the footage is insane.

It all went down on April 8 ... when a Biloxi PD officer saw the Redskins linebacker fighting with another man and instructed them both to freeze. The cop claims Galette ignored instructions and bolted.

You can see the cop -- who identifies himself as a "big white guy" -- sprinting after Galette while shouting, "Stop motherf*cker! I'm gonna taze your ass!!"

Galette continues to run so the cop pulled out his taser and fired -- striking Junior on the first shot and putting the 250 pounder on the ground. The cop is obviously impressed with his own speed.

"I may be a big white guy, but you know what? I told you to stop."

Once he's down, Galette insisted he did nothing wrong ...but the cop disagrees.

Cop: "You’re swingin’ and hittin’ this guy right in front of me. I tell you to stop."

Junior: "He hit me sir."

Cop: "Y'all both hittin’ each other. I tell you to stop and then you take off running. If you’re gonna run from me when I tell you to stop after I see you hit him, I’m gonna chase after you and I’m gonna tase you."

Galette was eventually arrested for disorderly conduct and failure to comply. After he was put in the squad car and taken to the police station, the arresting officer can be heard doing some post-chase breakdown with his colleagues.

One of the cops keeps it real and says the officer who gave chase should chill 'cause Galette's a linebacker ... not exactly known for blazing breakaway speed.

Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Galette eventually struck a plea deal with prosecutors, though the details are unclear. However, we're told the case is effectively closed.

Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce says Dwayne Bowe's stripperpalooza ain't as crazy as we all think -- 'cause droppin' over $1K PER MINUTE at the club is pretty standard for his former teammate.

"It's the Dwayne Bowe show, baby," Kelce told us. "He shuts it down. That's what he do."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Bowe went HARD at VLive in Dallas on Saturday -- making it rain $25k in just 20 minutes!!

Some people think Dwayne went a little overboard -- but not Travis, who says D-Bo's the man for keeping it all the way real.

Big day for Pittsburgh Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster ... the 20-year-old is FINALLY licensed to drive a car.

For some reason, the NFL rookie never got around to getting his license when he was 16 ... and had been using a bike (which was recently stolen) to get back and forth to the Steelers training facility.

UNTIL NOW!!

JuJu hooked up with the Rogers School of Driving in Pittsburgh -- and trained up to get behind the wheel. He tweeted, "Your boy finally did it ... just got my license!"

Just make sure you get a car with an alarm system ... okay JuJu??

Oakland Raiders stud lineman Donald Penn says allegations that the offensive line plotted to injure QB Derek Carr over his stance on taking a knee are total and utter bullcrap.

Penn is firing back at Miko Grimes -- wife of Bucs star Brent Grimes -- who went on "The Breakfast Club" and claimed there was an internal dispute during Week 3 ... and the line let Carr have it in Week 4.

"The reason Derek Carr got injured is because the Raiders offensive line allowed him to get injured because he was against them protesting. They had a fight in the locker room before that Monday night game with the Redskins," Miko said.

She continued -- "That's the only all-black offensive line in the NFL is the Raiders. ... When the whole offensive line said they were going to kneel, he was like, 'No, you're not kneeling. This is America, you're going to stand for the flag' ... so when they came out to play, they basically had a plan."

Enter Penn -- the leader of Oakland's O-line -- who shot Grimes down hard.

"It’s crazy how people will make up lies and tell a story so false and untrue 2 get them some attention," Penn tweeted. "I hope it was worth it. All lies."

Colin Kaepernick to the Houston Texans is basically a done deal -- so says Shawne Merriman, who personally knows coach Bill O'Brien from their University of Maryland days.

We got Merriman leaving Poppy in L.A. -- and the ex-NFL star seemed convinced that his old buddy Bill (an ex-Terrapins asst.) is gonna pull the trigger on Kaepernick with Deshaun Watson sidelined.

"I know he's about that life. He'll do it," Merriman told TMZ Sports. "If he's still the same person ... 85-90 percent Colin will be in Houston."

While Chad Ochocino has officially slammed the door on an NFL comeback, Terrell Owens tells TMZ Sports he's still DEAD SERIOUS about playing in the league.

"I can help anybody," T.O. tells TMZ Sports ... saying his tweet to the NY Giants about filling in as a WR was no joke.

Owens had been competing on "Dancing with the Stars" for the past few months -- but says he would have left the show immediately if an NFL offer had come in.

BTW, did you watch T.O. on that show? Still looks pretty good ...

If there's a strip club record book, Dwayne Bowe is headin' for it ... 'cause the ex-NFL star dropped an insane $25k on strippers in just 20 MINUTES this weekend ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Bowe -- who led the league in receiving TDs in 2010 -- hit up VLive in Dallas with a couple friends on Saturday night ... and our sources say he made it rain for a brief, yet efficient, 20 minutes.

We're told 33-year-old Bowe and his crew hung around for a few hours and enjoyed themselves ... and even did some dancing of their own, while putting several women through nursing school.

Fun Fact -- Bowe made $9 million with the Browns in 2015, which translates to $1.8 million per catch that season.

He also reportedly made $54 MILLION during his NFL career.

Chad Johnson is sticking a fork in his NFL comeback ... telling TMZ Sports IT AIN'T HAPPENIN' ... 'cause he says his body's "too f**ked up" to play anymore.

The 39-year-old tweeted the N.Y. Giants for a tryout earlier this season after Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandon Marshall went down with season-ending injuries.

And after the way he balled out with legit NFL superstars during off-season training sessions, it seemed Ocho was serious about one last hurrah with the pros.

So, when we saw Chad on his way out of the Apple Store in L.A., we asked him straight-up how the comeback was coming along.

Spoiler: It's not.

But Chad explains why he needed to finance his new, expensive iPhone X and it's pretty hilarious.

Tony Gonzalez says Colin Kaepernick doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it back to the NFL -- not this season, and not ever.

"He's done," Tony told TMZ Sports. "I don't think he'll ever get a chance. Never again."'

Last week, Kaepernick's lawyer predicted the QB would get picked up ASAP -- but Gonzalez literally laughed at the idea ... saying Kaep's not "good enough for the headache."