TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tom Brady is congratulating Eli Manning on his 16-year NFL career ... by wishing the N.Y. Giants quarterback NEVER won a Super Bowl!!!

Of course, Manning's 2 rings came at the expense of Brady's Patriots in dramatic fashion -- remember David Tyree?? Mario Manningham?? Yeah. Still hurts for New England fans.

Now that Eli is calling it a career, Brady gave his old foe a congratulatory tweet ... and threw in a friendly jab.

"Congratulations on your retirement, and a great career Eli! Not going to lie though, I wish you hadn’t won any Super Bowls."

Haaaa ... good one, TB12. Although, can you imagine if Manning DIDN'T win those 2 Super Bowls?? Brady would have 8 freakin' rings.

Manning is having a press conference to officially hang it up on Friday ... so that's one less QB Brady has to worry about.

The New Orleans Saints are adamantly DENYING helping top Catholic church officials in N.O. cover up sex abuse crimes, despite allegations to the contrary ... this according to court docs.

Here's the deal ... more than 20 men are suing the Archdiocese of New Orleans for employing George F. Brignac, a schoolteacher and deacon who allegedly sexually abused several boys.

Despite allegedly knowing about the abuse, the church continued to employ him as a lay minister until 2018.

Several alleged victims are suing the church for keeping him around while knowing he was a danger to kids.

Now, attorneys for the accusers are going after the Saints -- claiming team executives used their official Saints email accounts to help advise the church on how to deal with the crisis.

In fact, the attorneys claim there are HUNDREDS of emails showing an attempted P.R. effort from the Saints and they want a judge to release them to the public, according to the AP, which broke the story.

The attorneys are pointing the finger at the top Saints people -- including owner Gayle Benson and Senior V.P. of Communications Greg Bensel ... suggesting they aided the Archdiocese of New Orleans in its "pattern and practice of concealing its crimes."

What is known is that Saints owner Gayle Benson is a major backer of her local Catholic archdiocese and she’s given millions to the church ... and, she’s buds with Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Gayle inherited the team when Tom Benson died in 2018.

"Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the Archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia," the attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in the court filing. "The Saints realize that if the documents at issue are made public, this professional sports organization also will be smearing itself."

According to the AP, the Saints have strongly denied the allegations in court filings.

The Saints had no immediate comment when we reached out Friday.

It's pretty simple -- you win the natty, they back up the Brinks trucks to your driveway ... and that's exactly what happened for LSU head coach Ed Orgeron!!

Coach O and the Tigers are still basking in their glory following the 42-25 win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game ... and as a result, LSU's beloved leader got a MAJOR pay raise.

How good of a raise?? O just agreed to a 6-year deal exceeding $42 MILLION.

It's not the lifetime contract Joe Burrow called for in his Heisman acceptance speech ... but THINK OF ALL THE CRAWFISH YOU CAN BUY WITH THAT KINDA MONEY!!!!

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward spoke about the decision, saying "Coach O has set a new standard at LSU."

"He has proven that he is not only a championship coach, but also a leader of a program committed to doing things the right way. He has represented our institution and our state with great pride, on and off the field of play."

"He is well-deserving of this new contract, which should make clear our commitment to Coach O and the direction of our football program."

O's initial salary when he got the gig was $3.5 million a year ... and he eventually got bumped up to $4 million earlier this year. Orgeron was tied for the 28th highest-paid coach in college ball.

Now, Orgeron will be one of the highest-paid football coaches in the NCAA ... right behind names like Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh.

Looks like O won't have to do any local Hummer commercials anymore.

If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, don't expect to see Richard Sherman celebrating at the White House.

The NFL star was asked Thursday if he would go to D.C. to meet Donald Trump, as several championship teams have done in the past ... and Sherman essentially shot that down.

"I haven’t thought about it. We’ve got a long way between now and then, but I doubt it," Sherman told SF Chronicle's Scott Ostler.

As with most large groups of people these days, it's fair to assume not everyone on the team feels the same way Sherman does ... especially since his star teammate, Nick Bosa, is a proud Trump supporter.

First, the 49ers have to win the Super Bowl -- and the Kansas City Chiefs are obviously gonna try to not let that happen. That game goes down Sunday, Feb. 2.

The White House honor has become a VERY politically charged event now -- with star players from various sports boycotting including Chris Long, Torrey Smith, Mookie Betts, Alex Cora and the entire Golden State Warriors team.

See, President Obama ain't the only ex-Prez into hoop ... check out Bill Clinton at the Lakers game!!

#42 was sitting courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday to watch the Nets get smashed by the L.A. Lakers ... and judging by the smile on his face, Bill loved it!

After the game, Clinton went on to the floor and chopped it up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ... and yeah, that's Michael Strahan right behind 'em!

In fact, 73-year-old Clinton kicked it with a ton of stars at the game -- including Matt Barnes, Dwight Howard, Marv Albert and more.

It doesn't appear Hillary was at the game -- unclear what she was doing instead.

The Lakers are still in 1st place in the NBA's Western Conference ... winning 8 out of their last 10.

Rick Fox is backing his former teammate Kobe Bryant on WNBA stars playing in the NBA ... tellin' TMZ Sports women can DEFINITELY ball out in the men's league!!!

"Skills are skills," Fox says. "I mean, you try some of these WNBA ladies and they'll give you the business, fam!"

The Black Mamba said earlier this week there are some WNBA players who can compete with the guys in the Association ... specifically naming Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

When we got Fox leaving Wally's in L.A. on Wednesday ... he told us he couldn't agree more, saying, "Skills have nothing to do with your sex or your race."

In fact, Fox says he's seen some pro women bust NBA players on the court before with his own two eyes!!!

"I can think of a couple women that have held their own in pick-up games and competed well," Fox tells us. "So, it's not a new thing."

As for how some of the women are feeling about a possible jump to the men's league ... we got Delle Donne at Reagan Airport on Thursday -- and she told us she's flattered by the comments, but she's got no plans to try out for the NBA just yet.

Jake Paul's pulling out all the stops for his big return to the ring ... and the footage from his training sesh with boxing legend "Sugar" Shane Mosley is INTENSE.

Of course, Paul's fighting fellow YouTube superstar AnEsonGib during a Super Bowl week extravaganza ... and JP's been training like an animal at Mosley's gym in Big Bear.

The footage -- part of DAZN's 40 Days doc -- is pretty impressive ... and despite Paul wanting to avenge his brother's loss and take on KSI, it's clear he's laser-focused for the January 30 fight.

KSI's played a huge role in making this fight happen ... continuously bating Jake until he accepted the match.

“I don’t like Jake and I think the whole world doesn’t like Jake,” KSI says.

“If he does manage to get past the Big Gibber then yes, I will fight Jake. 100%. But, that’s not going to happen, I don’t think he’s ready for Gib at all and that’s going to show on Jan. 30. I think Gib wins this hands down and that will be the end of the Paul brothers.”

AFC teams ain't going to like this ...

Chiefs legend Willie Roaf says the conference is going to have to deal with Patrick Mahomes for AT LEAST the next decade ... telling TMZ Sports the QB is going to be a star for the next 10-12 years!!

"Mahomes is like [Tom] Brady," Roaf says.

Of course, Roaf's prediction is horrible news for everyone not in Chiefs Kingdom ... because Mahomes is doing things in his second year as a starter that most QBs NEVER do.

The guy already has an MVP, he's heading to his first Super Bowl next week ... AND he's thrown 76 TDs to just 18 interceptions in his 31 career starts.

"He's one of the first in the locker room, he's the last to leave, he's a perfectionist and he wants to be the best," Roaf says of Mahomes.

"They got blessed with having him and that kid can play for another 10, 12 years at this level if he takes care of himself."

Talk about the ultimate flex ... Giancarlo Stanton showed off ALL of his muscles in front of smokin' hot model Adriana Lima -- BY BENCH PRESSING HER!!!

The video of the Yankees superstar in the gym is insane ... he laid down on his back, grabbed Lima by the legs and the armpit -- and benched her AT LEAST 4 times!!!

It's unclear why a normal barbell and plates weren't enough for the outfielder ... but Lima sure seemed to dig it -- the supermodel was smiling the whole time!!

Of course, the feat ain't exactly tough for Stanton ... he's known as the strongest guy in the league -- so benchin' a former Victoria's Secret model was clearly NBD.

But, just to prove the guy could still lift some serious weights ... he showed off his skills with a hammer and a tire -- and yeah, dude's got the muscles!!

It's Draya Michele's birthday!!! But instead of receiving gifts, she's giving her fans an amazing, thoughtful present.

Draya decided to celebrate her 35th year by posting an INCREDIBLY smoking hot snap on her IG ... rockin' a barely-there g-string while holding a lucky bundle of balloons.

"The best gifts are experiences," Michele said in the caption, while adding "Big Birthday Energy."

Of course, Draya -- who was previously engaged to Dallas Cowboys player Orlando Scandrick -- made it VERY clear to TMZ Sports she's "single as f**k" last week ... but is expecting great things in 2020.

We briefly spoke with Draya out celebrating her big day with her girlfriends on Hollywood Boulevard Wednesday night ... and quite understandably, the cameras were flashing like crazy.

Michele told us her recent dinner with Corey Coleman was strictly platonic ... and lucky for the fellas, she's hoping to speed date her way through the year.

Shoutsout to the lucky bastards who get that chance.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made during Antonio Brown's alleged altercation with a moving company driver ... and the alleged victim claims the NFL star was high, and making threats.

We broke the story ... AB is accused of throwing rocks at a moving truck outside of his Hollywood, Fla. home and assaulting the driver over a payment dispute.

In the call, the driver -- who has a thick accent -- claims AB smoked in front of him and was under the influence at the time of the incident.

"The guy is high, he smoked, he threatened me. He's trying to fight, he throws stones at my truck," the caller claims.

"I'm trying to make delivery to the gentleman. I called him and told him he has to pay the balance for us to unload ... The guy refused to pay in the proper form."

The call -- which lasted for roughly 30 minutes -- paints a wild scene outside of Brown's mansion.

The caller says Brown and the NFL star's friends fought him when he initially arrived because they didn't want to pay his drop-off fee ... and he said while he was driving away some 50 yards up the street to get away from them, Brown hurled rocks at his truck.

Chandler Parsons is leaving the Atlanta Hawks and heading back to California for treatment ... after the NBA player claims he suffered serious and permanent injuries in a car accident with a drunk driver.

The 31-year-old was on his way home from practice around 2:00 PM on January 15 when a man -- who admitted to drinking and had alcohol in his car -- hit Parsons and caused a 3-car wreck.

The Hawks provided an update on Parsons' condition Thursday ... saying he will head back to his home in California for recovery.

"Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons remains in the first stage of the NBA’s concussion protocol and has not progressed to exertional challenges, such as light conditioning."

The team added ... "Additionally, Parsons continues to receive treatment for symptoms of whiplash and the associated cervical disc injury."

"After discussing with Parsons, his medical team and the doctors at Emory Sports Medicine, it was agreed by all parties that it would be best for Parsons’ recovery for him to return home to California and continue to recover and rehabilitate under the treatment of a team of doctors and therapists overseen by the Hawks and Emory Sports Medicine staff."

Gervonta Davis has nearly $250,000 worth of bling in his closet that he never properly paid for because he wrote a bogus check -- this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Shyne Jewelers in Philadelphia, Penn. claims they reached a deal with Davis last year to make him some sick ice ... but they say the boxing star ultimately ended up stiffing them.

According to court docs, the jewelers say Davis ordered a $130,000 green Richard Millie watch, a $60,000 custom pendant, a $30,000 Rolex and four $12,000 "GTD" pendants.

They also say Davis had another blue Richard Millie watch -- which he had previously bought from them -- repaired for $19,000.

But, they claim when it came time to pay up for the $250K bill ... Davis and his team paid with a counterfeit check.

The jewelers say this was no accident either ... saying, "Davis knew that the cashier's check was counterfeit and he acted intentionally and with malicious intent."

Now, the jewelers are asking for the jewelry to be returned or the $250,000 with interest ... plus damages.

We've reached out to Davis' camp for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Scary moment for tennis superstar Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open ... he hit a return shot right off a ball girl's face ... but he made up for it by kissing her owie!!

Rafa was in the middle of his 2nd round match with Federico Delbonis on Thursday, when he ripped a vicious return shot that ended up missing his target and going wide.

The shot hit the ball girl that was standing near the umpire's chair ... and Nadal rushed over to make sure she was okay.

After exchanging a few words, Nadal gave her an apology kiss on the cheek before returning to the match.

Nadal went on to win and move on to the 3rd round ... but admitted he was shook by the incident.

"For her, it was probably not a good moment,” Nadal said after the win ... "She is a super-brave girl."

Nadal added, "It was one of my most scary moments that I had on the tennis court, as the ball went straight onto her head."

The brave ball girl didn't leave empty-handed ... 'cause Nadal gave her his headband after the win!!

Usain Bolt is adding a lil' bolt to his family ... 'cause the fastest man ever just announced he's expecting a baby with longtime girlfriend Kasi Bennett.

33-year-old Bolt broke the big news on Instagram ... writing, "I just want to say a KING or QUEEN is about to be HERE."

Kasi added ... "Our golden child ❤️ Coming soon..."

It's unclear if the the little bundle of joy is a boy or girl.

The 8x Olympic gold medalist and Bennett -- 30 years old -- have been dating for about 5 years ... and haven't been shy about their desire to have kids.

'We just got really serious, we are taking it one step at a time. I definitely want a family, though. For me, over the years, I've waited because I want to make sure it's the right person," ... Bolt told People Magazine in 2016.

"I’ve always said I want three kids. The other day I hung out with my buddy who has three kids and it was crazy. I was like, 'Hmm do I really want 3 kids?' But yes, yes I do. I’m sure of it."

Vanessa Hudgens was the life of the party in the crowd at the Knicks vs. Lakers game ... cheering and snappin' pics while Kyle Kuzma played.

Hudgens hit up Madison Square Garden on Thursday for LA's matchup with New York .. one day after she was spotted at an intimate dinner with Kuz in Brooklyn.

The recently single actress made sure to check out her new man(?) at work ... cheering him on and drinkin' a beer as he scored 10 points and picked up 7 rebounds.

Other huge names in attendance include J. Cole, Spike Lee, Sterling Shepard, Howard Stern, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Jim Gaffigan ... so yeah, the big names came out of the woodwork to see LeBron James and Co. ('cause who's coming to see the 12-33 Knicks??)

Back to Hudgens -- no word on whether things are getting serious with the 24-year-old hooper ... but she has been getting a lot of Kuz in her life this week.