TMZ Sports - Page 50

If you owned a major sports agency, wouldn't you travel to wherever the hell the #1 player in the country was at??

That's what Jay-Z did on Tuesday night -- flying out to Pittsburgh to watch the Pitt Panthers take on Zion Williamson and Duke at the Petersen Events Center.

For the record, it's not like this was some marquee matchup -- Duke is the #2 team in the country and Pitt isn't ranked.

So, why would Jay -- as busy as he is -- leave Beyonce and the kids to see a college hoops game?

Seems pretty obvious he's making a run at Zion -- like every other major sports agent on the planet.

Zion is expected to be the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- and it would be a huge score for Roc Nation which already has stars like Kevin Durant, Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley on the roster.

In typical Zion fashion, he balled out in front of Hov -- dropping 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the 79 to 64 victory.

Also, Zion's teammate, R.J. Barrett -- who's also projected to be a Top 3 pick -- did well, posting 26 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Duke's #3 guy Cam Reddish had a decent stat line -- 15-6-4.

Jay had been planning the trip for weeks, according to Pitt coach Jeff Capel who told reporters, "His people reached out to me a few weeks ago about them wanting to come ... people from Roc Nation."

"Our athletic department and our ticketing people did an amazing job accommodating that. It’s great to have the greatest rapper ever in the arena.”

Guessing Jay can charge this trip to the company account -- like he's always said ... he's a not a businessman, he's a business, man.

Jermaine Dupri says super producer Jazze Pha is WRONG -- he never signed on to participate in the Super Bowl halftime show ... but it has nothing to do with Colin Kaepernick.

Pha is a producing legend in ATL and he's super plugged in -- so, when he told us Dupri was involved in the show, it sounded legit.

But, Dupri says Pha's just wrong -- and when we started questioning Jermaine he told us point blank, "You think I'm saying no because it's a secret? No means no."

Dupri says he's not boycotting the NFL over Kaepernick -- he says the NFL simply never called when they were putting the show together and he REFUSES to be considered an afterthought.

"It should have been a decision that they made at the beginning. I'm not something that you call later on in life."

So, Dupri is out -- but Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi from Outkast and Gladys Knight are all in to perform on Feb. 3.

Two exhilarating championship games won't change Dave Chappelle's NFL stance ... because he's tuned out the league -- and the reason is Colin Kaepernick.

Chappelle's been off the NFL since the whole Kap drama began, but when we got him leaving Delilah in West Hollywood, we decided to ask if the lure of another Tom Brady Super Bowl appearance could get him back.

Nope. Dave looked at our camera guy and said, "I don't even follow football. Can Colin Kaepernick kneel yet? Let me know."

Of course, the Super Bowl is going down Feb. 3 and the halftime show has become a huge point of controversy among celebs ... particularly Common, who has said he wishes Travis Scott wouldn't perform in the halftime show over the way the league has treated CK.

Other stars, including Gladys Knight, see it differently -- in fact, Gladys will be singing the national anthem at the game because she feels it's an opportunity to bring the country together.

5:40 PM PT -- Sipes' attorney -- Colin Jones, a partner at the Wilshire Law Firm -- tells TMZ, "We gave the defendant's months to settle this claim without litigation, but when they failed to be accountable for their actions, we were left with no choice but to file suit to seek justice for our client."

Drake, Odell Beckham Jr. and Kourtney Kardashian's ex are being sued by a guy who claims he was viciously beaten by a gang of thugs and Drake and Beckham were behind it.

Bennett Sipes claims in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, he was at Delilah nightclub in WeHo when there was a confrontation inside between himself and the defendants. When he attempted to leave the VIP area, he says Drake gave the "throat slash" hand gesture.

As he was attempting to enter the restroom, he says he was attacked by Younes Bendjima, Kourtney Kardashian's ex, along with members of Drake and Beckham's entourage.

The video shows the brutal fight. Sipes says he continues to incur medical bills and suffers "extreme mental anguish and physical pain."

As TMZ first reported, a source at the club told us Sipes "talked smack" as he approached the group.

Sipes filed a police report, but changed his mind and dropped it ... at least criminally.

Roy Halladay was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the MLB announced Tuesday -- a little more than 1 year after he tragically died in a plane accident.

The ex-Phillies and Blue Jays ace -- who won the Cy Young twice and was selected to the All-Star Game eight times -- made it in with 85.4 percent of the vote (you need 75% to get in).

Roy passed away in November 2017 after he crashed his ICON A5 light-sport aircraft 10 miles west of St. Petersburg, shocking the entire baseball world. He was 40.

Halladay's widow, Brandy, issued a statement saying ... "Being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame is every boy's dream. To stand on that stage in Cooperstown and deliver your acceptance speech in front of baseball's most enthusiastic fans is something that every baseball player aspires to achieve, and Roy was no exception."

"But that was not Roy's goal. It was not his goal to have those three letters after his signature. His goal was to be successful every single day of his 16-year career. Tonight's announcement is the end result of that effort."

"If only Roy were here to personally express his gratitude for this honor, what an even more amazing day this would be. I would like to extend special thanks to the baseball writers for the overwhelming percentage of votes that Roy received in his first year on the ballot. It means so much to me, Braden and Ryan."

Halladay is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time ... compiling a 203-105 record, a 3.38 ERA and 2,117 strikeouts in his 16-year career.

A former Kent State running back says he's suffering from long-term brain injuries due to his college football career ... and he's pointing the finger at the NCAA.

The man behind the lawsuit is Jerry Flowers -- a former high school superstar in Georgia who played for Kent State in 2005 ... racking up 304 yards and 3 TDs during his freshman year.

Flowers says he sustained "numerous concussions" during his college football career and now he's suffering from "several symptoms indicative of long-term brain and neurocognitive injuries."

In his lawsuit, filed in federal court in Indiana, Flowers claims the NCAA actively concealed data about the effects of concussions on long-term health.

He also claims the NCAA did not warn players that their helmets did not protect against concussions, "despite the fact an athlete would naturally think of his or her helmet as protective."

Thinking about suing the NFL over the blown call in the Saints-Rams game Sunday??

Anthony Barr says don't do it ... 'cause that's dumb -- and people just need to MOVE ON!!!

"Sorry," the Vikings star tells TMZ Sports ... "Take your L and keep pushing. It happens. It's unfortunate, but it's the world we live in. It's not perfect."

One Saints fan clearly disagrees ... a guy actually filed a lawsuit Tuesday suing Roger Goodell and the NFL for not taking action over the non-P.I. call in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

But, Barr -- who says he certainly understands the pain -- tells us court action is taking things way too far ... and says everyone in NOLA just needs to let it go.

"You can't replay a game after the results are in."

Jackie Robinson's contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers -- one of the most important documents of all time -- is hitting the auction block and it's expected to fetch MILLIONS ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 1947 contract -- which made Robinson the first black player to sign with an MLB team -- will be sold along with Jackie's 1945 contract with the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers minor league team.

Bidding on the items, hosted by Goldin Auctions, began on Monday ... starting bid was $5 MILLION.

We spoke with Ken Goldin who tells us he's had the items appraised by a rare documents expert who valued the pair at $36 million. Goldin says 10% of the final sale price will be donated to the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

The contracts have been on the auction block before -- most recently in 2017 -- but it did not hit the $15 million reserve, so it went back to the consignor.

Now, the seller is giving the sale another shot ... with a lower reserve.

Jackie's 1947 contract with the Dodgers specifies the team will pay him $5,000 for the '47 season.

The contract states Robinson will "keep himself in first class physical condition" and will "obey the club's training rules."

Robinson also agreed to pledge himself to "the American public and to the Club to conform to high standards of personal conduct, fair play and good sportsmanship."

The contract was signed by Robinson and Dodgers president Branch Rickey on April 11, 1947 ... along with National League president Ford Frick.

Of course, Robinson went on to break the color barrier and crushed the league during his rookie season -- winning N.L. Rookie of the Year honors. The Dodgers went to the World Series that year but lost to the Yankees.

As for Robinson's minor league contract ... it stipulates he was paid $600 per month during the season.

According to the inflation calculator, $600 back in 1945 is worth about $8,374 now.

Robinson passed away in 1972 at the age of 53.

10:50 AM PT -- Acreage's founder and CEO, Kevin P. Murphy, tells TMZ ... the Super Bowl spot was going to be a PSA, not an ad for his company. He says the message was going to be a positive one, emphasizing the benefits of cannabis with testimonials about how it has saved lives ... including the child suffering constant seizures and a man addicted to opiates.

Murphy says his company was set to spend more than $5 mil on the PSA ... but to no avail.

7:40 AM PT -- Sources connected to the network tell TMZ, CBS does not accept any cannabis-related advertising. The sources add they are not aware of any broadcasters who will air such ads.

It's the Super Bowl ... not the Smoke-a-Bowl -- that's the message CBS gave to a marijuana company that wanted to run a pro-weed ad during the big game.

The company behind the ad is Acreage Holdings -- which has a license to grow and distribute marijuana in several states.

In fact, former Speaker of the House John Boehner is on the board -- and has been promoting the company heavily for months. Boehner is a huge proponent of medical marijuana.

Acreage claims it submitted a proposal to CBS to air a commercial during the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 -- but they were rejected after seeing a rough outline of the spot, according to Bloomberg.com.

We've learned Acreage already produced the ad and among the message points -- there's a story about a woman who lived in Oklahoma whose son suffers from Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy.

The woman had to move to Colorado with her son because she couldn't get medical marijuana in OKC due to the laws at the time, despite the fact doctors recommended weed to help him out.

The message is that not allowing medical marijuana is not just bad politics, but it's cruel to people who need it since there's medical proof that it alleviates pain and suffering.

FYI, medical pot is now legal in more than 30 states -- but it's still outlawed federally ... which may have factored into CBS's decision to put the kibosh on the ad.

Acreage president George Allen told Bloomberg the ad was meant to "create an advocacy campaign for constituents who are being lost in the dialogue."

Allen says the company was serious about spending the money on a Super Bowl ad because "It’s hard to compete with the amount of attention something gets when it airs during the Super Bowl."

Ex-Minnesota Vikings receiver Cayleb Jones just cut a deal in court in his domestic violence case -- but he's still facing serious jail time ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 25-year-old was facing 3 pretty serious charges -- including felony theft by temporary control -- after he allegedly beat the crap out of his girlfriend at a Minnesota hotel back in August.

Officials say the 6'3", 209 pound WR roughed up his GF and when she tried to escape in an elevator to call 911 ... Jones intercepted her, stole her phone and fled before cops arrived.

Cayleb was in court Tuesday to face the charges ... but we're told he cut a deal -- and instead, only pled guilty to interference with an emergency call -- a gross misdemeanor.

In exchange, we're told his two other charges will be dismissed.

Cayleb -- who's already served 5 days of jail time -- still faces up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine when he returns to court for his sentencing hearing in April. It's unlikely he'll be ordered to serve more jail time unless the judge really wants to throw the book at him.

It's been a rough year for the WR -- as we previously reported, Cayleb tried to restrain his brother, Buffalo Bills WR Zay Jones, after he allegedly tried to jump from a 30th story window in an L.A. building last spring.

Greg Hardy is adamant the illegal knee he landed during his fight Saturday night was NOT intentional -- telling TMZ Sports it was a "rookie mistake" and he desperately wants a shot at redemption.

Hardy was disqualified from the Jan. 19 fight against Allen Crowder for throwing a powerful knee to Crowder's head while his opponent's knee was still on the canvas.

"I feel bad," Hardy told us ... "You never want to break the rules."

The ex-NFL star has only been fighting professionally for less than a year and says, "It was a rookie mistake and I'm a rookie."

Hardy says he's still trying to get a grasp on all of the MMA rules -- but wants the public to know his intention was NOT to take out Crowder with a cheap shot.

Now, Hardy says he would love another crack at Crowder -- and hopes to prove he's serious about becoming a top UFC fighter.

The good news for Hardy ... Greg says Dana White spoke with him after the fight and was incredibly supportive, even though Greg was in a "bad place" mentally.

Chick-fil-A is punting on the opportunity to score LOTS of potential cash by refusing to open up one very important location for Super Bowl Sunday.

Sources connected to the fast-food chain tell us the Chick-fil-A stand inside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium -- where Super Bowl LIII will be played in a couple weeks -- will, in fact, remain closed on Feb. 3 ... just like every other Sunday before it.

We're told that although the MBS location won't be open, Chick-fil-A is still one of the corporate sponsors for the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee ... and our sources say CfA is happy to be there in spirit and through its donation to JFK Park.

Much to the chagrin of foodies everywhere, Chick-fil-A notoriously closes up shop on Sundays to give employees a much-needed day off to be with family or go to church.

That's why folks were thrown for a loop back in 2017 when a location sprung up inside MBS, where the Falcons play on Sundays. The operator has said there's tons of other events happening at MBS throughout the year -- enough so, apparently, to make it worth their while.

Just to give you a sense of how much of a cash cow Chick-fil-A is ignoring for this upcoming game -- it could be in the ballpark of half a mil, more or less. Probably more, though.

This guy says they've sold as many as 5,000 sandwiches in one night. Considering Super Bowl stadiums have hit 100,000-plus attendees in recent years ... that's a potential $409,000 Chick-fil-A is losing out on if everyone bought just one of their basic sandwiches.

Move over Jay Cutler and Kristin Cavallari ... there's a new king and queen of the bare-ass game -- Brooks Koepka and his smokin' hot model GF!!!

The PGA star and Jena Sims did their best Cutler-Cavallari impression in Maldives on Tuesday ... flashin' their asses for the camera in some tiny swimwear.

The caption? "Who wore it better??"

So far, Jena's leading the votes ... but it's close -- and yeah, easy to see why!!!

It's been a hell of an offseason for Koepka -- a two-time U.S. Open winner -- the dude's been hoppin' around with Sims in Vegas, Santa Monica, Abu Dhabi and now South Asia.

In fact ... it was a great REGULAR season for the guy too -- remember when Trump congratulated his "powerful mind" AND "powerful game" after winning the PGA Championship in August??

Bottom line ... it's GREAT to be Brooks.

Manny went for the handshake.

Floyd went for the dap.

The result was ... well, it was a mess.

Once again, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao came face-to-face at the Lakers game -- in what seems to be more shameless promotion for an upcoming rematch.

Floyd was sitting on the court at Staples Center in L.A. to watch the Lakers take on the Warriors (they lost) ... when Manny came up from behind to say "What's up."

The handshake greeting was a disaster -- but they got the point across.

The big problem ... Manny reportedly suffered an eye injury during his victory over Adrien Broner this past weekend -- which could throw a huge wrench in the rematch plans.

According to reports, Manny feared he suffered a detached retina in his left eye. Later, his manager said the eye was "fine" and he'll be okay.

Manny was wearing shades at the game -- so you can't see if the eye looks damaged on the surface.

As we previously reported, Manny and Floyd have been teasing a rematch for months ... and with both fighters looking pretty solid in their last fights, it seems a deal could be close.

The two originally fought back in 2015 -- with Floyd winning a unanimous decision in a pretty boring fight.

We recently spoke with Manny who told us he had a bad shoulder at the time -- and now that he's fully healed, he's confident he would whoop that ass.

No deal has been made at this point -- but we're guessing it's just a matter of time ... considering the money these guys could rake in.

There were other big stars at the Lakers game too -- including Halsey, Alexis Ren, Mahershala Ali, Jack Nicholson and LeBron James ... who was a spectator Monday night due to injury.

Get well soon!

Seems Ben Simmons is getting more serious about Kendall Jenner -- because he sat his girlfriend with his MOTHER at the 76ers game on Monday!

Check out Kendall rubbing elbows with Julie Simmons at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia -- where Ben and the 76ers beat up on the Houston Rockets in a 121 to 93 victory.

Ben's stat line wasn't spectacular -- only 9 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. And, he only hit 3 of 12 shots, which is bad for him (he usually shoots well over 50%).

But, who cares about individual stats when your team wins, right?

Plus, the most important question ... did Kendall and Mom get along?! Pretty well actually. The two were seen smiling and chatting. Good times.

It's not the first time they've kicked it together -- Kendall and Julie hung out at a game back in November 2018 and got along great then too.

Ben and Kendall have been dating on and off since May 2018. The next big question ... when does Julie get to come to L.A. to meet the rest of the Kardashians??

Cristiano Ronaldo was ordered to pay a $21 MILLION fine as punishment in his tax fraud case -- but the good news for the soccer superstar, he won't have to serve a 23-month prison sentence.

And, for a guy who reportedly earns around $90 MILLION per year, that's a pretty good deal for him!

The 33-year-old appeared in court in Spain on Tuesday morning smiling and holding hands with his girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez ... almost like he knew it was not a big deal.

And, the reason? CR7 had previously agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors ... so Tuesday's court date was just a formality to make it official.

CR7 had been accused of hiding around $16.7 MILLION income he made from his image rights in Spain between 2011 and 2014.

He was facing a 23-month prison sentence -- but hammered out a deal to pay the fine and move on with his life.

It also helps that in Spain, a 1st-time offender sentenced to less than 24 months in prison can serve probation instead of being locked up.

The fine is really no big deal for a guy like Ronaldo -- Forbes reports he pulls in around $93 mil from pro soccer and endorsement deals.

Of course, Ronaldo has other legal issues -- he's being sued in the United States by a woman who claims he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009.

Ronaldo has denied wrongdoing. Cops are still investigating.