TMZ Sports - Page 50

Auburn legend Pat Dye -- one of the greatest college football coaches ever -- is hospitalized in Georgia after testing positive for coronavirus.

80-year-old Dye is a College Football Hall of Famer who's credited with making Auburn a powerhouse in the '80s ... winning 4 SEC titles and racking up a 99-39-4 record from '81 to '92.

Dye famously coached Bo Jackson during his Heisman Trophy season in 1985.

But now, he's battling serious health issues -- including kidney problems -- according to an email sent to members of his sister's church.

"Please join us in praying for and lifting up Jayne Snell's brother, Pat Dye," the email said.

"Jayne says he is very weak, and is experiencing loss of appetite and some confusion."

"Please help us lift Pat up in prayer so that God may help him. Pat is loved by many people far and wide and there is no better reminder of this love than constant prayer for him and his family."

Aldon Smith says he's not worried about rust in his NFL comeback -- telling TMZ Sports he feels young, healthy and "blessed by God."

The 30-year-old pass-rusher was reinstated by the NFL after 5 years out of pro football due to several off-the-field issues including arrests stemming from substance abuse.

But, Smith -- a former 1st All-Pro -- says he's now clean and sober and focused on football. In fact, he's been busting his ass in L.A. with Jay Glazer and recently signed a 1-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

Some people would be concerned about readjusting to the speed of the NFL after 5 years off ... but Aldon says he's not sweating it at all.

"God has blessed me with talent," Smith tells us ... " And, one of the talents is my natural gift to play ball, to be an athlete."

"So, I still feel young. I don’t have the mileage on my body. I still feel great when I go to the gym. I still feel young and fresh. So, if anything, I’m looking forward to what I’m going to be able to do out there."

When asked if he thinks he has another 19.5 sack season in him -- the same numbers he posted back in 2012 -- Smith was confident about that, too!

"I’m an overall better person [than I was back then]," Smith says.

"I got 20 sacks ... 19.5 ... I say 20 because it was 20. But, I was able to play at a high level with a lot of other things going on in my life.  With how life is for me now, I’m just looking forward to seeing what I can do."

Luke Hill -- one of the top recruits in Oregon's 2020 football class -- was arrested this week ... after he allegedly attempted to murder his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend.

FYI, 18-year-old Hill is of the one best high school cornerbacks in the country. He signed his National Letter of Intent with Oregon months ago ... but the school says they parted ways in the spring. They have not explained why they parted ways, but they're probably glad they did now, based on the allegations.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops say they responded to a call of a shooting in Prince George's County, Md. -- near where Hill played his high school ball -- at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday.

While on the scene ... cops say the victim told them he was playing basketball when a white car with window tint pulled up and fired on him.

Fortunately, cops say the victim told them nobody was injured by the gunshots ... and went on to say his girlfriend had received menacing messages from Hill -- whom she had had a prior relationship with -- just an hour or so before the incident.

According to the docs, the victim explained Hill had messaged his GF about their relationship and had stated he was "trying to find out where the victim lives."

Cops say when they went to Hill's home after they wrapped up investigating at the victim's ... they saw Hill pull up in a white vehicle that matched the victim's description -- and after they detained him, they obtained a warrant to search the house.

That's when officers say they recovered three firearms from Hill's residence ... including a Glock 22 handgun that was located in a hidden compartment in Hill's bedroom, behind Univ. of Oregon football recruiting letters.

Officers say the caliber of fired shell casings they recovered at the victim's residence matched the gun in Hill's room ... and they arrested the football player shortly after.

In Hill's mug shot, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see the guy wasn't exactly a happy camper.

Prosecutors have since hit the 5'11", 175-pound defensive back with EIGHT charges ... including felony first-degree attempted murder and felony assault.

The Univ. of Oregon has told multiple media outlets Wednesday it had parted ways with the football player earlier this spring prior to the arrest... despite receiving his National Letter of Intent earlier in the recruiting cycle.

Dallas Cowboys player Aldon Smith -- who hasn't stepped foot on an NFL field since 2015 -- has been officially reinstated in the NFL, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 30-year-old former All-Pro defensive end -- who battled substance and legal issues throughout his career -- is finally getting another chance at a comeback.

Smith met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last Thursday ... with the decision becoming official on Wednesday.

As we previously reported ... Smtih has been sober and training non-stop at Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym in West Hollywood in hopes of a return.

Smith signed a 1-year deal worth up to $4 million with the Cowboys in April ... but was still waiting to get an update on his status with the league.

California beach junkies are PISSED volleyball nets still haven't been returned to beaches ... and now, they're begging Gov. Gavin Newsom to put the sport back on the sand ASAP.

An online petition is making its way through CA social media communities this week ... with more than 3,000 people already on board to try to get government officials to put back the nets.

As we previously reported, most Calif. counties -- including Los Angeles -- took down the courts back in March to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

But, just a few days ago, Newsom and California mayors announced some sports activities could resume ... putting golf and tennis back on the acceptable list.

In the petition, Californians argue volleyball should be included as well ... saying, "Similar to tennis, outdoor volleyball is a non-contact sport and can be played with doubles teams."

The petition continued, "This means there are only two people on each side of the net with plenty of space to spread out. The only shared equipment between players is the ball."

It's unclear if and when Newsom will relent to putting the nets back ... but the governor did say on Monday he's targeting a June 1 return for pro sports in the state.

So, if it's safe enough for LeBron at Staples ... is it safe enough for the beach bums in Santa Monica?!?!

Paul Pierce says there's NO WAY LeBron James deserves to be considered one of the 5 best players in NBA history ... and he's got a pretty ironic reason for the snub.

The Boston Celtics legend dropped the scorching hot take on ESPN Monday, saying the King never established a winning culture on his own ... and therefore, shouldn't be mentioned among the best in the game.

"I go back and I ask myself, 'What has LeBron did to build up any organization from the ground-up?'"

"Look at the names I said -- Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Magic (Johnson), (Michael) Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe (Bryant), (Larry) Bird ... these guys are all top 10 players who either helped build up their organizations or continued the tradition."

Pierce explained his case against LBJ ... saying, "He went and put together a team in Miami. He came back to Cleveland to put that team together. Then he went to the Lakers, where a tradition has already been made and that's still to be continued ... so, that's my argument."

Jay Williams tried to talk some sense into Pierce ... saying, "You don't need to make an organization great in order to be one of the greatest of all time."

But, The Truth wasn't hearing any of it ... saying his Top 5 is MJ, Kareem, Russell, Magic and Kobe.

Of course, Pierce's take is a bit hypocritical ... considering his only championship came when he teamed up with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to form the first "super team" in 2007 -- but then again, no one's putting Pierce in their top lists.

On top of the take, Pierce has thrown some major shade at Bron's Lakers back in 2019 ... telling TMZ Sports "LeBron is doing very well out here -- with his production company."

So ... is Pierce just bitter ... or is he really speaking his Truth??

MIKE TYSON IS ABSOLUTELY SHREDDED NOW!!!

The legendary boxer flaunted his bod in a topless workout vid Wednesday for the Chinese social media site Weibo ... and the 53-year-old is jacked!!!

Iron Mike showed off a set of six-pack abs, some chiseled pecs and some pumped-up biceps ... and, good lord!!!

Oh, and by the way, he also flashed his scary punching speed and power!!

The video is another clear attempt to gas up an upcoming charity fight that Mike's trying to set up (possibly with Evander Holyfield) ... but the body he's showing off is seriously wild.

What's even more impressive about this video is that Tyson had gained a significant amount of weight a few years back -- and just last year Tyson revealed he had stopped working out altogether.

So, the fact he could bounce back into this kind of shape while in his 50s -- it's pretty damn incredible.

Good luck to whoever agrees to that charity fight!!

An anonymous NFL player says he was sexually assaulted on a United Airlines plane and claims flight attendants didn't do much to stop it -- and now, he's suing.

The player -- using the alias "John Doe 1" in the new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports -- says on Feb. 10, 2020 ... a woman "sexually harassed, assaulted, abused, and violated" him during a flight.

The unidentified footballer says the trip -- a cross-country, red-eye ride from LAX to New Jersey -- was a complete nightmare ... and it was all made worse by United staffers.

In the suit, the man says he took his place in a middle seat ... and when a woman sat in the window seat next to him -- he claims he was immediately harassed over the safety mask he was wearing.

The football player says he told her it was because of the growing coronavirus pandemic ... but claims the woman hit and elbowed him and demanded he move seats nonetheless.

The man says he and his friend, identified as "John Doe 2" in the suit, observed the woman taking pills -- and believed her to be under the influence.

In the suit, the NFL player claims Doe 2 got up to tell flight attendants about the woman harassing Doe 1 ... but says they did nothing about it.

The NFL player claims the woman then sexually assaulted him ... groping and massaging his knees and thighs. He claims Doe 2 got up again to inform flight attendants, but says they still did nothing.

In the suit, the NFLer claims the woman began to "intensify" her sexual assault, "grabbing and groping his quads and then stroking her hand across his lap towards the inside of his leg near his genitals."

He claims he immediately got up and pleaded with a flight attendant to get the woman to stop ... but he says the United employee did nothing more than issue a verbal warning to the woman.

The NFL player then says the woman grabbed his penis and ripped off his face mask -- causing him to jump away and run toward flight attendants.

While he was up, Doe 2 says the woman slid over into the middle seat and began sexually assaulting him as well.

Finally, the NFL player claims United flight attendants came over and moved the woman to another row without passengers.

The NFL player says both he and Doe 2 were given $150 vouchers for their troubles ... but they're now suing and seeking damages for negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and more.

We reached out to the player's attorney in the case -- who would not confirm the NFLer's identity.

The attorney, though, did issue a statement, saying, "Those who report assaults should not be ignored, but believed, their claims investigated and appropriate action taken where warranted."

We reached out to United for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

WHAT A GREAT STORY!!

A kid in Georgia chased down a FedEx truck and begged the driver to send his favorite skateboard to his favorite skater Tony Hawk.

The problem? The FedEx driver has no idea where Tony Hawk lives!

So, the driver made a TikTok video hoping the universe would conspire to help connect this kid to his hero ... and what happened next is AWESOME!!!

The kid's name is Cooper -- and he's such a TH fan, he scribbled the skate legend's name on his own board.

When Tony saw the video, he not only sent Cooper a very cool video message back -- but already made plans to ship Coop his own Tony Hawk-used board to have forever!!

The videos are great, they might even make you tear up a bit (in a good way)!

Hello, kids. This is what it's like to get DUNKED ON HARD by an actual NBA player!

Here's Spurs star Dejounte Murray just dishing out some punishment to some of his young neighbors in San Antonio ... and the video is awesome!!

Of course, this was all in good fun -- and the kids LOVED IT!

But man, the dunk show was FEROCIOUS!!

Off the wall dunks?? Yep. Reverse dunks? Mmmhmmm. In your face banger dunks? ABSOLUTELY!

Murray says he knows the local kids had been wanting to play for months ... and they finally built up the courage to ask, so he delivered.

"I Guess For The Past 2 Months These Kids Been Scared To Come To My Door To Ask Me To Play With Them And Today They Finally Wasn’t Scared To Ask And We Got To Play And Become Friends," Murray said.

"I Swear This What Makes My JOB The Best Because I Get To Connect With People All Around The World!!"

Murray even posed for pics with the kids and their families afterward.

23-year-old Murray -- who signed a 4-year, $64 million extension -- missed the entire 2018-19 season after tearing his ACL ... but he's got insane potential.

Ben Roethlisberger's being put on blast for getting a haircut in public during the COVID-19 pandemic ... with PA Governor Tom Wolf calling out the QB for not following the state's shutdown measures.

Of course, Big Ben was excited to show off his new, trimmed look in a hype video on Monday ... which symbolized the Steelers QB finally being back to 100% after an elbow injury.

The video showed a mask-less Ben in a Sewickley barbershop getting his hair and beard trimmed up over the weekend ... which is a big no-no, considering hair salons in Allegheny County haven't gotten the green light to reopen yet.

When asked if Ben's visit will spark an investigation into the barbershop ... Wolf explained he's not happy about the situation.

"My concern is just a general concern," Wolf said on Tuesday. "Anybody who puts himself or herself into harm’s way is something that I think we have to try to avoid."

"When you go to something like a barbershop and you’re not protected, I don’t care who you are, the chances of that virus actually wreaking havoc on your life increases."

"I don’t personally think any Pennsylvanian ought to take that chance. I certainly don’t want to take that chance myself."

Ben had been growing his hair out ever since he went down with the injury in September ... vowing to keep the caveman look until he was officially back.

Move over, Eric Dickerson ... another NFL legend is blasting his former team's uniforms -- this time Boomer Esiason says the Bengals jerseys suck, and he's demanding a change ASAP!!

"The one thing I will say -- going into next year -- the Bengals are going to have to redo their uniforms," Esiason said on his "Boomer and Gio" show this month. "They are just horrific. I don't like them."

Boomer -- who played for Cincy from 1984 to 1992 -- says he's held the opinion for a LONG time ... revealing he's believed the Bengals' unis have been awful for more than a decade!!

"They've just got too much stuff going on," Boomer said. "Too much orange. Too many things happening on that uniform. They need to like -- I want to say tone it down."

"It's hard to tone down tiger stripes, but you can. And, I just think that the jerseys over the last couple, 15 years just have not been all that great looking."

Esiason's solution? He says keep the "iconic" helmet -- and then just tamp everything down ... similar to the way Oklahoma State has used a black-and-orange scheme over the years.

By the way, if the jersey rant sounds familiar ... it's because just a few days ago, Dickerson laid into the Rams' new 2020 helmets for looking like "two bananas."

Other teams, like the Patriots, Falcons, Buccaneers and Colts, have redone their uniforms this offseason as well with mixed reviews ... with most NFL fans hating the redesigns.

Do you believe in workarounds?!

Al Michaels says when it comes to calling NFL games during the COVID-19 pandemic, he stands firmly AGAINST working from a remote location.

The broadcasting legend was asked to weigh-in on how coronavirus safety measures could affect pro sports FOR ANNOUNCERS moving forward ... and Al didn't hold back.

"I would hate to think we would not be able to be in the stadium and announce the games from some other location,” the 75-year-old told the NY Post.

"That would not fly as far as I am concerned. You have to be able to feel it, even without fans."

Michaels also says he's not super worried about the disease -- confident he'll be safe if he follows protocols.

"I’m at the point that I’ve done this my whole life. I’m not a fearful person. I understand that we have to take precautions here."

As we previously reported, networks are kicking around ideas about how to preserve the excitement and energy from a normal NFL broadcast ... despite the fact, there will likely be no fans allowed at games when the league gets back in action.

As Joe Buck said, networks including FOX are seriously considering using fake crowd noise during NFL game broadcasts to try and replicate a "normal viewing experience."

We all thought it ... but now some confirmation -- Dennis Rodman intentionally went after Karl Malone during the 1998 NBA Playoffs to help push a pro wrestling storyline involving both NBA stars.

... this according to former WCW president Eric Bischoff.

Remember, Rodman famously slapped Malone on the ass during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Bulls vs. Jazz.

Of course, both NBA stars would clash at the WCW pay-per-view event, "Bash at the Beach," just a short time later ... begging the question, was the in-game altercation scripted beforehand?

The answer ... sort of.

Bischoff admits he encouraged Rodman to mix it up with Malone -- but not in any way that would affect the outcome of the game.

"Now, what I said to Dennis, not to Karl was, 'Hey Dennis, if anything were to happen off court while there's a timeout, while there's no gameplay ... so that the feud between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman is real, on a kind of a 360-degree basis, not just what happens on our TV show,' that wouldn't piss me off at all."

In other words, Bischoff says he didn't give a direct order -- but didn't talk Dennis out of it either.

Bischoff also tells TMZ Sports he made sure both his boss at Turner Sports and the NBA knew that the Rodman vs. Malone story "didn't interrupt the gameplay."

Bischoff says he LOVED how it all played out during the game -- "I chuckled like a little kid because it accomplished so much."

"As a wrestling producer, to be able to create a moment ... that played out on a platform so huge as the NBA playoffs was really satisfying."

So, how did the wrestling match turn out?

Rodman and Hollywood Hulk Hogan went on to defeat Malone and Diamond Dallas Page in a tag-team match.

The situation was featured on the ESPN docuseries, "Last Dance" -- which also touched on the time Rodman skipped out in a Bulls practice between Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals to appear live on WCW Nitro.

"I certainly didn't expect Dennis to skip practice and participate in Nitro," Bischoff says ... "That decision was all Dennis."

Horace Grant is going scorched-earth on Michael Jordan -- claiming 'Last Dance' was filled with "lies" to make MJ look good ... when in reality, Jordan is nothing but a "snitch."

Yeah, man, Horace is PISSED!!

Of course, Horace participated in the ESPN docuseries -- most memorably to deny he leaked sensitive information about MJ to Bulls reporter Sam Smith back in the day.

Bottom line -- it became abundantly clear the two men don't like each other ... and haven't gotten along in years despite winning 3 NBA championships together.

Fast-forward to Tuesday when Grant appeared on the "Kap and Co" radio show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago and was asked straight-up if he was the Sam Smith leak.

"It is a downright, outright, completely lie," Grant said ... "Lie, lie, lie."

"If MJ had a grudge with me, let's settle this like men ... Let's talk about it. Or we can settle it another way. But yet and still, he goes out and puts this lie out that I was the source behind [the Sam Smith book Jordan Rules]."

Grant strongly believes MJ still holds a grudge against him -- "And, I think he proved that during this so-called documentary."

"When if you say something about [Jordan], he's going to cut you off, he's going to try to destroy your character."

That's when Grant brought up Charles Barkley -- and how MJ cut off their decades-long friendship after Sir Chuck criticized his management of the Charlotte Bobcats on TV.

"Charles Barkley, they've been friends for over 20, 30 years ... and he said something about Michael's management with the Charlotte Bobcats or the Charlotte Hornets, and then they haven't spoken since then."

"And, my point is, he said that I was the snitch, but yet and still after 35 years he brings up his rookie year going into one of his teammates' rooms and seeing coke, and weed and women. My point is: Why the hell did he want to bring that up? What's that got to do with anything? I mean, if you want to call somebody a snitch, that's a damn snitch right there."

Grant then criticized the docuseries as a whole -- acknowledging it was entertaining but says 90% of it was "B.S."

"It wasn't real -- because a lot of things [Jordan] said to some of his teammates, that his teammates went back at him. But, all of that was kind of edited out of the documentary, if you want to call it a documentary."