NFL

Evander Kane did NOT gamble on hockey games ... so says the NHL, which announced Wednesday it has cleared the star after a probe into the allegations turned up "no evidence to support" the claims.

The league launched the investigation several weeks ago ... after Evander's estranged wife, Anna Kane, said the 30-year-old San Jose Sharks player had bet on games in his career.

In her claims, she accused Evander of "throwing games" in order to win cash.

The league, though, said it could not prove any of those allegations after a lengthy dive into the claims.

"The investigation uncovered no evidence to corroborate Ms. Kane's accusations that Mr. Kane bet or otherwise participated in gambling on NHL games, and no evidence to corroborate the allegations that Mr. Kane 'threw' games or did not put forward his best effort to help the Sharks win games," league officials said.

"To the contrary, the evidence raises doubts about the veracity of the allegations."

They continued, "While Mr. Kane denied the accusations, our findings are not based on these denials but instead on other evidence uncovered during the investigation."

The NHL said it probed deep into Kane's public and private history to make sure the hockey player committed no wrongdoing.

It should be noted, though, the league did say Anna "refused to participate in the investigation."

The NHL did say it will still investigate Wednesday's claims that Evander both physically and sexually abused Anna during their relationship -- allegations Evander has already vehemently denied.

Patrick Mahomes was clearly less than pleased to see his little brother pouring water on smack-talking Ravens fans ... telling reporters Wednesday, "Obviously it's something we don't necessarily want to do."

Jackson Mahomes was caught on camera dousing Baltimore supporters with a bottle of water following the Chiefs' loss at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.

The video -- which shows fans jabbing at Jackson after the game before he tossed the liquid all over them -- quickly went viral ... and Patrick said in his weekly meeting with media members that he wasn't thrilled with it all.

The Chiefs star, though, did seem to at least understand the impulsive act ... saying, "There was things said to him and [my fiancée] Brittany that you don't see kind of on the clip."

Still, Patrick is hoping Jackson learns from the situation and deals with it in a different manner going forward.

"He's been good at not trying to respond to that stuff," Patrick said. "He takes a lot and he's usually pretty good at it."

"He'll learn from it and just try to stay away from those people best he can."

Robert Griffin III is open to going back to where it all began -- the current free agent says he'd LOVE to make a big comeback with the Washington Football Team ... but he's not gonna beg.

Of course, RG3 was the #2 overall pick to Washington back in 2012 after a Heisman-winning season with the Baylor Bears ... but things didn't necessarily go according to plan, as the QB faced several injuries throughout his time with the team.

With the injury bug biting the WFT as well in 2021, RG3 -- who hasn't played since 2020 -- was asked if he'd pick up the phone if coach Ron Rivera came calling ... and he sounds more than willing to listen to what he's gotta say.

"Yeah, I mean it could [work out], to be honest," Griffin said to "The Adam Schefter Podcast" on Tuesday. "But, for me to go back to Washington ... that would have to be something that coach Ron Rivera and the team would be open to."

"You never say never, is what I would say," he added. "Would I be open to it? Yeah ... I would love to go back and be able to have that come full circle. But, am I begging for that or pleading for that? Nah ... But, if your guy goes down, make the call."

It just so happens WFT QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is out several weeks with a hip injury ... and Griffin says he's still got that competitive fire in him.

Tom Brady is so upset with all the ticky-tack fouls in the NFL these days ... he's officially dubbing the league as "softer" now.

The quarterback explained his stance on his 'Let's Go!' podcast with Jim Gray this week ... saying the way penalties are being called has changed the game completely, particularly for quarterbacks.

Brady says he believes guys like Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and other mobile signal-callers are thriving simply for the fact that defenders are more timid to hit now due to flag-happy refs.

"I think they're calling more penalties on defensive players for hitting, you know, for violent contact," Brady said. "There's a lot of plays and hits that are happening on quarterbacks now, that are flags for defensive players, that probably weren't that way 10 or 15 years ago."

"So I'd say the game is a little softer than it used to be."

Of course, this ain't the first time Tom has expressed some unhappiness with the league's direction this season ... just a few weeks ago he slammed the NFL for allowing defensive players to wear single-digit jersey numbers.

He also put himself firmly in the camp that criticized NFL officials this week for all of the excessive taunting penalties that were called on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers is letting his trolls HAVE IT today after he returned to MVP form against the Lions ... slamming his critics and calling their vitriol last week "absolute horses***."

"It's chicken s***," the Packers star said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday afternoon. "It's so ridiculous that people get a platform to do this and it's the same type of people."

Rodgers was lambasted by media members and even one of his former teammates, Jermichael Finley, after he was awful in Green Bay's opening game against the Saints.

Finley said Rodgers looked like he had lost his "hunger" to play ... and added to TMZ Sports that he believed the Packers should seriously consider benching the guy for backup Jordan Love.

While Rodgers didn't mention Jermichael by name in his rant Tuesday ... he made it clear after balling out on "Monday Night Football" that he heard ALL of the negative rhetoric thrown his way after the Week 1 loss -- and he didn't like it one bit.

"I was just surprised after Week 1 that there was such a story out there," Rodgers said. "What's crazy to me is to let one storyline, by a person who has no contact with me, who I have zero relationship, to that become some sort of narrative that's out there that now I somehow don't care about ball because of my Zen attitude in the offseason, that's the bulls*** I was talking about last night."

Rodgers did say he anticipates more ups and downs throughout the season ... but he's clearly hopeful the criticism is kept to a minimum as Green Bay goes through it all.

The Packers' big win over the Lions didn't come without a heavy price tag for Aaron Jones, who says he lost a pendant containing his dad's ashes on the field in the victory.

The Green Bay star -- who scored FOUR touchdowns in the Pack's 35-17 drubbing of Detroit -- told reporters after the game he believes he lost the necklace at some point during one of his endzone runs.

Jones, though, was far from torn up over losing his dad's ashes ... in fact, he seemed to be at peace with it -- saying if he was going to lose it, he's sure glad it was in a touchdown scamper at Lambeau Field.

"If there was any place to lose it, that's where my dad would have wanted me to lose it," the 26-year-old running back said. "I know he's smiling."

Jones got the pendant -- a small black locket in the shape of a football -- sometime in the past few months ... following the tragic death of his dad, Alvin Jones Sr., who passed away in April at 57 years old from COVID-19 complications.

Aaron and Alvin were VERY close ... and in an emotional press conference back in May, Aaron revealed he was dedicating the rest of his football career to his pops.

Aaron said Green Bay's grounds crew was helping him look for the jewelry after the game had ended ... though as of Tuesday morning, it still hadn't been found.

Aaron, though, reiterated to reporters he's sure his father would've been grinning ear-to-ear following his huge game regardless.

"Just go home and tell him, 'I did it, Dad,'" Jones said of what he would've told his father after the game if he were still alive. "Went out there and played at a high level and gave it my all."

It ain't Ja'Marr Chase, Trevor Lawrence or Kyle Pitts ... no, the best rookie in the NFL at this point is Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons -- so says Michael Irvin.

The Playmaker made the claim to TMZ Sports out in NYC on Monday -- just one day after Parsons terrorized the Chargers in Dallas' 20-17 win.

"Baddest boy out there, Micah Parsons!" Irvin said. "Bad boy. God Almighty, that man a bad boy!"

"Right now he is [the NFL's best rookie]!"

Of course, it ain't exactly a hot take ... Parsons -- the #12 pick in April's NFL draft -- has nine total tackles, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup in the first two games of the season so far.

He's also played both defensive end AND linebacker ... leading some experts to call the ex-Penn State star the Cowboys' best defensive player.

It's California love for L.A. Rams star DeSean Jackson this season -- 'cause the WR just copped a bunch of custom cleats reppin' legends from The Golden State, including Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and more.

TMZ Sports has learned the Rams receiver wanted a ton of options for feet heat this season ... so he hit up cleat artist Joe Castro.

DeSean's idea was to have each pair have its own LA theme ... and Castro delivered with four amazing pairs of spikes.

The first set is a nod to Kobe -- featuring a portrait of the Lakers legend on both cleats along with an inspirational Black Mamba quote.

The next pair features rap legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and Eazy-E ... with Castro telling us Jackson picked those specific rappers because they are all a "huge part of LA culture."

Jackson also got some cleats made with the skyline of downtown L.A. on them ... plus another pair featuring his motto, "One Of One."

Castro tells us out of all of them, the hip-hop set took the longest to prepare (12 hours) ... but he ain't done designing cleats for Jackson just yet.

Castro says he still has 5 more pairs of cleats to make for the wide receiver!

Amari Cooper is one of the best route runners in the NFL ... and now the Dallas Cowboys star has a chain to prove it, copping an incredible diamond piece worth $300k!!!

The 27-year-old wideout recently created a new Instagram page that focuses on his fascinating route running ability ... called, you guessed it, "The Route Runner."

To celebrate the launch, AC hit up Gabriel The Jeweler -- go-to guy for some of the biggest sports stars in the world -- for a truly incredible chain.

We're told the pendant has 170 carats of VVS diamonds ... and the chain is just one of four Gabriel's ever done!

Put that all together, and the piece is valued at around $300k!!!

But, don't worry, Cooper is doing pretty well financially -- he is in the middle of a 5-year, $100 million deal.

As we previously reported, Cooper's gone to Gabriel in the past ... including an epic Cowboys jersey chain, as well as a piece repping his hometown!!!

Jermichael Finley says if he were coaching the Packers, Aaron Rodgers would be on a short leash ... telling TMZ Sports he'd bench the MVP by Week 4 if the QB's struggles continue.

"If you don't see it," Finley said, "let's go to [Jordan] Love."

It might sound crazy -- considering Rodgers is coming off one of his best seasons EVER -- but Finley says the way Aaron played this past weekend in a blowout loss to the Saints has him very concerned.

"Aaron Rodgers looks tired," said Finley, who earlier in the week also said Rodgers looked like he had lost his "hunger."

"I bet the guy probably don't want to play football anymore," Finley added.

Finley said he'd be willing to give Rodgers the first quarter of the season to show if he still has the MVP skillset left in him ... but he made it clear, if signs aren't pointing upward by then, he'd start Jordan Love.

"You've got one of the highest-paid backup quarterbacks sitting right behind Aaron Rodgers, so you might as well utilize him and get him going for the future," Finley said.

As for if he thinks Aaron can turn it around ... Finley tells us he's rooting for the QB, but he ain't exactly optimistic it'll happen.

"I don't think [the Packers] are going to have a good year this year," Finley said.

Colt Brennan died of an accidental drug overdose, TMZ Sports has learned ... after a toxicology report found the former NFL QB had ingested fentanyl and other dangerous substances prior to his death.

Brennan tragically died at the age of 37 in May 2021. The former University of Hawaii quarterback had been receiving treatment at a drug rehab facility in Southern California when he experienced a medical emergency. He was rushed to the hospital ... where he passed away.

Now, after completing an autopsy and tox screen, health officials tell us the death was accidental, caused by a lethal concoction of drugs (polydrug), including the dangerous and illicit substance, fentanyl.

In addition to the incredibly powerful opioid, officials also found methamphetamine, amphetamine and ethanol in his system.

It's unclear if any of the drugs were prescribed by doctors ... or if Colt took them on his own.

After starring at Hawaii, Colt was a 6th-round draft pick in 2008. He bounced around the league ... playing with Washington and Oakland, before playing ball with the CFL in Canada.

Brennan was from Newport Beach, California.

Michael Irvin says Aaron Rodgers' Week 1 struggles can be pinned on his offseason thoughts of quitting football ... telling TMZ Sports the QB's retirement talk played a role in his bad day against the Saints.

"This game is too hard," Irvin said at Dulles International Airport on Friday. "That's why you hear people say, if you're talking about or thinking about retiring, you're already retired."

"So," Irvin continued, "Aaron was was thinking about not playing. And it showed up, man."

The good news -- at least for Packers fans -- Irvin certainly seems to believe it's all reversible ... telling us, "I expect him to play much better."

"That's not something he would be doing all the time."

Rodgers had maybe the most interesting offseason of any player in the NFL -- he feuded so hard with the Packers over his contract and personnel decisions ... he legit pondered leaving the game despite having an MVP season in 2020.

In fact, Aaron stayed away from all of Green Bay's offseason practices and workouts while disgruntled -- and instead, traveled the globe with his fiancee, Shailene Woodley, and hosted "Jeopardy!"

Irvin clearly believes all of that played a big role in his 133-yard, 2-interception day against New Orleans ... but he still thinks Rodgers will rebound soon.

"You've got to hope that he is ready," Irvin said, "because there's nothing that you can say."

Everson Griffen will miss the Vikings' game this weekend ... after he injured himself attempting to swerve out of the way of a deer in the road on Thursday.

Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer explained the situation to reporters Friday ... saying Griffen crashed his car while trying to avoid the animal.

Zimmer said the 33-year-old pass rusher was later diagnosed with a concussion ... and is now out of action indefinitely.

"Swerved to miss a deer," Zimmer told media members of the incident. "Got in a car accident."

We've reached out to law enforcement for more information on the wreck ... but so far, no word back yet.

Griffen -- who played for Minnesota from 2010 to 2019 -- re-signed with the Vikings just a few weeks ago ... and played in the team's opener against Cincinnati last Sunday.

Giants' Darius Slayton ain't the one to blame for missing a crucial wide-open touchdown pass during Thursday night's game, according to O.J. Simpson, who says it was Daniel Jones' fault.

If you missed it, the G-Men were trying to add to their 3 point lead with 6:25 left in the game against the Washington Football Team.

The Giants QB threw a would-be TD pass to a wide-open Slayton ... but it bounced off his fingers. A TD likely would've sealed the game (though, never underestimate the Giants finding a creative way to lose) ... but they didn't score, and ultimately lost (after more mistakes), 30-29.

Fans have been goin' at Slayton for droppin' the pass ... but, Simpson straight-up says they're blaming the wrong guy.

"I heard somebody say Slayton dropped that long pass in the 4th quarter, no! This was simple," Simpson said on Friday.

"Danny Dimes totally missed a guy who was as opened as any wide receiver has ever been open in the history of football."

Simpson also called out Jones for not calling an audible when WFT's safety came up to the hole after the defense read the running play for Saquon Barkley.

"The Giants still ran the ball to that hole," Simpson said about the 3rd quarter play.

"Even the announcer said Saquon had no chance of gaining yards. The defense knew what was coming. Why Danny Dimes didn't audible out of that play, I don't know."

Simpson says if he was Barkley, he would have went off on Jones.

Not that there was a lack of chewing out Jones on the sideline ... newly signed Giants WR Kenny Golladay was seen ripping DJ in the 2nd half.

After the game, Jones said KG was just "frustrated at the situation. We're all good."

With the Giants' loss (0-2) to the WFT (1-1), Simpson says he knows who will win the division ... and it ain't the Cowboys.

Did you know Patrick Mahomes is a great quarterback AND sick hype man?!?!

It's true -- 'cause the Kansas City Chiefs star took the stage at a Kane Brown show Thursday night ... and his antics had fans losing their minds!!!

Mahomes and his fiancee, Brittany Matthews, hit up the country concert in Kansas City for a date night one day before Patrick's 26th birthday ... and at one point during the evening, the signal-caller was pulled on stage.

And, it didn't take long for him to get the audience into the show ... because as soon as started pumping his arms, everyone went crazy!

The song choice, meanwhile, was perfect for Mahomes' entrance ... it was Brown and Chris Young's smash hit, "Famous Friends."

The lyrics? "When I go back home I've got some famous friends, yeah, I do."

Fitting, right?!

As for the rest of the night ... Mahomes and Matthews clearly seemed to enjoy it all, taking selfies and singing along to all the songs.

New York Giants star Nick Gates suffered a horrific leg injury Thursday night ... and it was so bad, he said afterward that he "snapped that s*** in half."

The offensive lineman -- who had just been named a Giants captain for the season -- was attempting to block for Daniel Jones in the first quarter of NY's loss to Washington, when his leg got rolled up on from behind.

In footage of the play, you can see a WFT defender landed right on the back of his leg ... causing it to completely break.

The injury was so bad ... NFL Network did not show a replay of the play.

Gates screamed out in pain for several moments, before trainers and doctors took him off the field and into the locker room on a cart.

Nick is expected to undergo surgery in the D.C. area Friday morning ... and will almost certainly miss the rest of the season.

The good news -- if there can be such a thing with this kind of injury -- Gates was upbeat after it all, with his agent, Jonathan Perzley, saying Nick "laughed on the phone and said 'I snapped that s*** in half.'"

"He will be back," Perzley added. "It would take a lot more than a broken bone to stop that man."

Gates also posted a statement on his social media, promising to return better than ever.

"Going to be a hell of a comeback!" he said.