TMZ Sports - Page 50

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley had a messed up New Year's Eve -- he and his wife were escorted out of a bar during an NYE scuffle ... with Todd reportedly injuring his hip in the process.

The Pittsburgh Police Dept. have confirmed cops were called to the Tequila Cowboy restaurant just after midnight "for a minor scuffle involving Haley's wife."

"The scuffle was quickly ended. Todd Haley was not involved nor injured. Todd and Christine Haley were escorted out. No injuries. No charges."

But the drama continued OUTSIDE the bar, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport who says Todd was shoved to the ground in a 2nd altercation.

The Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed Todd was injured -- but expect him to return to work this week.

So far, no arrests have been made.

Haley's not the first Steelers coach to be involved in a bar fight -- last January, Joey Porter was arrested outside of a Pittsburgh bar after getting into it with a bouncer. He eventually pled guilty to disorderly conduct.

Former boxing champ Vinny Paz -- the inspiration for the Miles Teller movie "Bleed for This" -- says he's the real victim in a VERY violent incident in Rhode Island.

Here's what we know ... cops responded to a home in Providence early Tuesday morning -- where witnesses claimed the 55-year-old pummeled another man during a dispute over money.

Witnesses told police Paz had accused the other man of stealing $16,000 from him -- and that's what started the attack.

Paz, however, is calling BS on the allegations -- tweeting, "I'm the victim." He didn't go into any further detail.

The other man was hurt pretty bad though ... cops say he was hospitalized with broken teeth, a black eye and bite wounds.

Cops told the AP they're still looking to speak with Vinny directly to get his side of the story.

Paz was 50-10 as a pro boxer -- but he's most famously known for bouncing back after a bad car accident in the early '90s left him with a broken neck.

Jon Gruden becoming the next Raiders coach ain't a done deal yet ... but if and when it happens, Raiders legend Charles Woodson says he might be open to joining his staff.

We got Woodson at LAX ... and despite him doing analyst work for ESPN, he told TMZ Sports there's no chance he'd replace Gruden on "Monday Night Football."

But, he left the door open to coaching alongside him -- "Never say never."

It'd be a hell of a reunion -- Woodson was a Pro Bowler all 4 years Chucky coached the Silver and Black (1998-2001), and also played opposite him in Super Bowl 37 (aka the "Gruden Bowl").

So, if Gruden gets the gig ... coach should probably hit up Charles.

No, LaVar Ball did NOT found the NBA -- despite some Google search results -- and now the company admits they "dropped the ball" when creating an online bio for the Big Baller.

Backstory ... if ya searched for "NBA founder" on Google on Tuesday morning, the results kicked back a photo of Lonzo's dad. Kinda funny.

The gaffe was reported across the sports news landscape -- and some people were wondering if it was an intentional "Easter Egg" thing, like Google's been known to do from time to time.

Fun Fact: Type in "Super Mario Bros" in the search bar and when you see the "?" box, click on it -- and you get a coin and 200 points! Keep clicking, you'll eventually get a 1 UP!

But, alas, Google says no Easter Eggs with LaVar ... telling TMZ Sports it was a simple mistake.

"Clearly we dropped the ball. Our team worked to address this issue quickly and within hours of being notified, we were able to fix the issue."

Former NFL star John Abraham is BLASTING Baker Mayfield for going full Johnny Manziel in Oklahoma's double-OT heartbreaker to Georgia ... saying the QB lost the game by showboating.

"You had a chance to be a champion ... and you wasted energy running around and you got beat," Abraham told TMZ Sports in the ATL. "It's real cute until you lose."

After the Rose Bowl, a Georgia LB yelled at Baker to "humble yourself" ... and John couldn't agree more, warning the Heisman winner to clean up his act before he gets to the NFL.

"It don't ride like that in the pros. You jump around like that and we lose ... people don't wanna be around you like that."

Abraham would know -- he played 15 years in the NFL and was a 5-time Pro Bowler.

It's go time ... 16-year-old LaMelo Ball has announced he's leaving for Lithuania today to begin his new career as a pro basketball player!

Guessing his 19-year-old brother, LiAngelo, will join him on the flight -- they're both expected to make their debut for Prienu Vytautas on January 9.

Unclear if their father LaVar Ball will join them on the flight -- or stay in the U.S. to run the Big Baller Brand.

10:10 AM PT -- Andy Dalton posted a video update Tuesday morning, saying they've raised OVER $100K ... and are gunning for $150K now.

Think Andy Dalton's popular in Bills Country??

Since his miracle TD pass that punched Buffalo's ticket to the postseason, Bills Mafia has given OVER $57K to his charity -- in just 24 hours since the 1st donation!

FYI, Dalton's 49-yard toss completed a shocking upset over the Ravens on Sunday ... and effectively ended Buffalo's 17-YEAR playoff drought.

Pretty soon after the game, donations to the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation -- which supports sick and physically challenged kids across Cincy -- came pouring in.

"To all the Bills fans that are donating to my foundation, thank you ... we can't thank y'all enough," Dalton tweeted.

Another round in the Dana White vs. Bob Arum mega-feud ... this time, it's the legendary boxing promoter throwing major shade at White for his plans to get into boxing in 2018.

Arum tells TMZ Sports he welcomes the UFC honcho into the boxing community ... but then he fires this shot ...

"By coming in the business, he is really admitting that boxing is the more popular sport. And in order to keep his company alive, he has to go into the boxing business."

Of course, White hates Arum's guts -- and has been ripping him apart for years ... previously calling Bob the "biggest dirtbag in all of sports." So, no love lost here.

Still, Bob says he thinks Dana could be successful in the boxing business -- and gives him a real chance to make the Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder fight happen.

"If he puts up enough money, he certainly will land the fight," Arum said. "It's all a question of the money ... particularly in the heavyweight division."

You might remember -- Dana spoke with TMZ Sports last week, and told us Joshua was his #1 target ... and he's meeting with major players like Floyd Mayweather to help his cause.

Sushi doesn't seem like a great NYE hangover cure, but a ton of celebs like J Lo and A-Rod had their first 2018 dinners at Nobu.

The famous Malibu celeb hot spot was also top dinner choice for Drake, Kendall Jenner and her bf Blake Griffin.

J Lo and A-Rod have been getting ready for the New Year with some super intense workouts, so an In-N-Out burger probably wasn't in the cards anyway.

How tough is Holly Holm?? Her eye was essentially SWOLLEN SHUT after her fight with Cris Cyborg ... and she was still all smiles!

Don't get it twisted -- Holly put up a hell of a fight against Cyborg at UFC 219 ... but she got hit with some huge haymakers in their 25-minute title bout.

The result is what you see here -- a MASSIVE shiner, swelling all over her face and what looks like a broken pinky.

UFC octagon announcer Bruce Buffer shared this pic after the fight -- giving mad props to her for being a "warrior in victory and defeat."

True that.

Here's former USC quarterback Matt Leinart weighing in on current USC quarterback Sam Darnold -- keeping it all the way 100 about Sam's big decision on whether to enter the NFL Draft.

"I don't know if you wanna go to the Browns!"

True.

Leinart was at LAX after USC got smashed by Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl -- where he told us he's not too concerned about Sam's draft stock after the game.

"I don't think he played as bad as people think," Leinart said ... "He'll be alright. We'll see what he does. He may come back to school, who knows?!"

Leinart famously stayed in school to play his senior season -- and ended up getting drafted 10th overall in the 2006 draft.

Jennifer Lopez is a MACHINE!!!!!

Check out footage of J Lo and A-Rod during a couple's workout in L.A. the other day -- crushing burpees and medicine ball slams.

Notice anything? Like how Jennifer Lopez is faster, more explosive and more energetic than the WORLD CLASS ATHLETE STANDING NEXT TO HER!!

J LO!!!!!!!!

Of course, A-Rod's built more for power than speed ... but still, watching Jenny from the Block murder this workout is probably the motivation you need to actually get to the gym in 2018.

Danielle Bregoli's got big-time money now ... which means hiring big-time help to clear up big-time legal issues comes easier, too.

The 'Cash Me Outside' girl just hired attorney Doug Duncan ... the same guy that repped Tiger Woods in his DUI case. Doug joins Danielle's OG legal muscle, Scott Richardson, in her ongoing legal battles in Florida -- including a case where she allegedly stole her mom's purse and car.

The 14-year-old was slapped with a 5-year probation back in May after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including 2 counts of grand theft ... she was also hit with a curfew that included needing a parent with her after 5 PM.

Danielle and her attorneys were in court Thursday where we're told a judge agreed to modify Bregoli's curfew so that her management team be considered a guardian.

Sources close to Bregoli tell us the slightly lax new rules will allow Danielle to spend more time in the studio and expand her work travel, too.

We smell a tour.

The fate of the "Last Chance U" football star accused of murdering an 18-year-old man will be in the hands of a grand jury -- the murder case is moving forward in just a few weeks.

Isaiah Wright was a stud running back at East Mississippi Community College -- and came off as a really happy, sweet kid on the Netflix docu-series.

But in real life ... cops say he was involved in the stabbing death of 18-year-old Caleb Radford, who was attacked and killed in Blount County, Tennessee back in July.

Wright and his brother Camion were among 4 suspects arrested in the investigation. Officials dropped the case against Camion, but not Isaiah.

The 20-year-old is still locked up in Tennessee -- along with the 2 other suspects. Isaiah has been in custody since September.

Court officials tell TMZ Sports ... Isaiah's case will be heard in front of a Circuit Court Grand Jury on January 12. The jury will decide if there is enough evidence to indict him.

Attempts to reach a rep for Wright were unsuccessful.

Saints legend Jonathan Vilma just threw Drew Brees' name into the hat for next mayor of New Orleans ... and he's making a pretty damn good case.

We talked to Jonathan about Brees opening a special needs playground in NOLA ... and Jonathan went full campaign manager describing his longtime teammate's mayoral credentials.

"He definitely has a future as mayor of New Orleans," Vilma told TMZ Sports.

"Drew Brees was the best teammate I had. Words can't describe how competitive he is, was, still is, to what a great person he is."

"So every time I see something come out on him doing something off the field that's positive ... it's par for the course."

The question -- is Drew actually gonna do it??

We asked him earlier this year ... and he definitely didn't rule it out.

It's a new year, but the same concerning habits seem to continue dogging Lamar Odom, who was seen partying it up in the Dominican Republic to ring in 2018.

Lamar was spotted hitting up a local hot spot on the island nation called Club 59, where he hung out with some girls he met up with there ... one of whom eyewitnesses tell us he kissed at midnight. We're told he smooched the woman in black seen standing by him here.

The problem ... sources tell us Lamar was seen knockin' back beers and tequila shots -- which you can clearly see in these pics. We're told the green bottle he's got in hand is called Presidente, a Spanish beer featured in breweries around the Dominican Republic.

As you'll recall ... he collapsed at a club in L.A. last month. His rep said he was simply dehydrated, but eyewitnesses told us he'd been drinking that night too.