TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tom Brady says he "loved" Jimmy Garoppolo -- and absolutely did NOT strongarm the Patriots into trading him to the 49ers because he felt Jimmy was a threat.

TB12 went off about the allegations during an interview with WEEI's "Kirk & Callahan" -- essentially calling BS on the ESPN article that described a major rift in the Patriots organization.

When asked specifically if his fitness guru/business associate, Alex Guerrero, refused to treat Garoppolo and even locked him out of Brady's training facility, Tom responded, "It is so far from the truth that I know."

He also shot down several other points from the article -- including having a fractured relationship with Bill Belichick and being pissed over not winning a team award.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr says it's a damn shame LaVar Ball has gotten as big as the Kardashians ... and he's taking aim at everyone who's let that happen.

"Somewhere, I guess in Lithuania, LaVar Ball is laughing at all of us," Kerr told reporters before the Warriors game on Monday.

"People are eating out of his hands for no apparent reason, other than he's become like the Kardashian of the NBA or something."

Steve added that everything LaVar spouts -- including saying the Lakers don't wanna play for his former assistant, Luke Walton -- is "complete nonsense" ... and ain't worthy of media coverage.

Guessing LaVar's gonna have something to say about this ... remember, he told TMZ Sports he HATES when the Balls are compared to the Kardashian clan.

'Bama QB Tua Tagovailoa is an overnight celebrity -- and the proof? He's already getting love from one of the hottest singers in the world, 5th Harmony's Dinah Jane.

After his National Championship heroics, Dinah reached out to Tua -- who's Polynesian just like she is -- to tweet some love in the QB's direction.

"Wow!!!! The turnover was crazy to watch 😱😱 had everybody’s jaw dropped! congrats @Tuaamann_ way to come through with the win man !!! Love seeing polys on the rise ✊🏽 leggooo xx"

Not a bad way to start your Tuesday morning!

He's also getting love from stars like UFC champ Max Holloway and ex-'Bama running back Mark Ingram.

Get used to it pal.

Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough is adamant he did NOT fire an F-bomb directed toward President Trump before the college football national championship.

Instead, Scarbrough claims he said, "F**k Georgia."

And if you listen to the video ... sounds like he's telling the truth.

A Sporting News reporter inside the tunnel at Mercerdes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta released the video and claimed Bo said, "F**k Trump."

With Trump in attendance at the game, it made sense.

But Bo claims the reporter simply misheard him -- saying, "If y’all really listen I said Georgia smh about y’all people in this world."

How did Nick Saban celebrate his 6th National Championship? PARTY IN THE BAMA LOCKER ROOM!

The man who launched the legend of Tua Tagovailoa rallied up his team in following the 26-23 victory over Georgia on Monday and led a spirited rendition of the Bama fight song.

It's a pretty awesome sight ... even if Saban's been through it before.

For some reason, Terrell Owens was with the team and soaked up the awesome moments. See -- he finally knows what it's like to be in a winning locker room!

It wasn't just Alabama that came up big Monday night ... Drake won a HUGE bet with rap superstar Quavo -- we're talking STACKS ON STACKS ON STACKS!

Here's the situation ... Drake was at a college football national championship party with 2 Chainz -- but all eyes were on 6God because he made a huge bet with Quavo, who's a big Georgia guy.

When Bama won the game, Drake went nuts -- calling Quavo on the phone to rub it in.

"I need all my chips, Quavo!! I need my chips with the Huncho Jack DIP my boy!"

He threw around stacks of $100 bills to brag. Meanwhile, Quavo was at the game (he was on the sideline!). No word on the exact amount, but let's get serious ... it's more about bragging rights than money -- both these dudes are loaded.

Hollywood can forgive Tonya Harding if they want ... but Johnny Weir says that's NEVER gonna happen with him and the rest of the figure skating community.

We spoke with Weir the day after Harding got a shout-out at the Golden Globes ... and he told us why the inspiration for "I, Tonya" doesn't deserve a pass.

"She did a horrible, horrible thing," Johnny told TMZ Sports. "She's a pariah in our sport and she shouldn't be forgiven for basically, possibly having the opportunity of ruining somebody's life."

Of course, Weir's referring to the 1994 scandal where Harding's ex-husband hired a goon to attack rival Nancy Kerrigan before the Olympics.

Harding was subsequently blacklisted from ice skating -- and Weir says it should stay that way.

On a lighter note, Johnny told us Team USA looks great this year -- and name-dropped the one American skater we all gotta watch at the Games!

Tonya Harding kneecapped Piers Morgan, or at least her interview with him ... abruptly cutting it short when he called her out for acting like she was the victim, and not Nancy Kerrigan.

Tonya was on "Good Morning Britain," and clearly expecting a softball convo about "I, Tonya." But after she gushed, "My movie is going to help so many people" .... Piers had enough, and the trainwreck began.

He very directly stated Nancy was the only one who had a dream, along with her kneecap, shattered -- and it totally caught Tonya off guard.

7:15 PM PT -- Alabama RB Bo Scarbrough definitely wasn't in Trump's corner Monday night. He was heard yelling, "F*** Trump," before kickoff.

President Trump was met with a LOT of noise at the college football National Championship game on Monday ... and from what we heard on the broadcast, it sounded mostly positive. There were some boos, too.

Trump waved to the crowd and had a big smile on his face at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta -- flanked by military personnel. He stayed on the field through the National Anthem.

Remember, both Alabama and Georgia were Trump states in the 2016 election.

One other thing ... Kendrick Lamar is set to perform for the halftime show. It'll be interesting to see if the rapper -- who's a huge Trump critic -- says anything to ruffle feathers.

Wiz Khalifa, T.I. and Josh Smith have some shiny new hardware after an award ceremony where the nominees have way more impact on the public than your average Golden Globe winner.

The rappers and former NBA star attended the Developing Options Awards Banquet ... a Southern California event rolled out by its foundation's CEO, Eugene "Big U" Henley.

Wiz took home the "Epic Man of the Year Award" for his multiple donations -- totaling up to $100k -- to drive the foundation. T.I. scored the "University Iron Man" award for donating to Crenshaw High School's new football field.

Smith got the "Baller-Shot Caller" award for hooking up Snoop Dogg's youth football league and Crenshaw High's football team with new uniforms.

Nipsey Hussle ("Business Cluster Leadership") spearheaded educational classes and, along with rapper Trinidad James ("First Class"), spent thousands of dollars on clothes and shoes to outfit more than 400 inner city kids.

Congrats!!!

The college football National Championship looks Hollywood friendly -- 'cause there's a few celebs at the game ... and we don't just mean Donald Trump and Kendrick Lamar.

Some other big names at the big game in Atlanta include Quavo, Samuel L. Jackson, Ric Flair and Zac Brown -- who sang the national anthem with his band.

A few notable athletes were there Monday night as well -- Terrell Owens, Matt Stafford of the Detroit Lions, Derrick Henry of the Titans and Thomas Davis Sr. of the Panthers ... just to name a few.

LeBron James ain't havin' none of that racist H&M clothing ad featuring a black kid in a sweatshirt that reads, "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle" ... telling the clothing company, "U got us all wrong!"

After stars like Diddy and The Weeknd blasted the company for the insanely racially-insensitive ad -- King James weighed in with the most positive (yet condemning) statement yet.

"@hm u got us all wrong! And we ain't going for it! Straight up!"

"Enough about y'all and more of what I see when I look at this photo. I see a Young King!! The ruler of the world, an untouchable Force that can never be denied!"

"We as African Americans will always have to break barriers, prove people wrong and work even harder to prove we belong but guess what, that's what we love because the benefits at the end of the road are so beautiful!! #LiveLaughLove❤️ #LoveMyPeople"

Johnny Manziel's agent says the QB is actively negotiating a contract to play with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- and he's giving them a Jan. 31 deadline ... or he's moving on.

"Johnny wants to let Hamilton fans know where things stand and that he has been working hard in preparation for his comeback," Johnny's agent Erik Burkhardt said in a statement.

Burkhardt says Johnny is hopeful they can work out a "fair deal" with the Canadian Football League team -- and by that he means a contract "on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success."

Johnny likes the execs in the Hamilton front office -- and seems excited to play for coach June Jones ... but Burkhardt says the clock is ticking.

"If we cannot reach a deal with Hamilton by this date [Jan. 31], we will turn our focus to several other professional options readily available to us."

Stay tuned ...

Shaun Alexander doesn't seem too worried about his former squad after the Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time in 6 seasons ... telling TMZ Sports, "It just happens with age. Life happens."

Alexander would know ... he crushed it for the Hawks from 2000 to 2007, leading the team to Super Bowl XL to cap off the 2005 season.

"We went on a nice run when I was there," Alexander said ... "About 5 years in a row. They've kinda done it again."

The Carolina Panthers are officially for sale now that their season is over ... and Steph Curry says he's willing to do "whatever it takes" to be one of the team's new owners.

After TMZ Sports caught up with the NBA superstar on Friday and asked about joining Diddy in pursuing the Panthers ... Steph doubled down on his serious interest to reporters at Warriors practice on Monday.

"It's a pretty interesting opportunity. I've had conversations with many people about the right way to go about it and different approaches I can personally take."

Steph says he's already had talks with Diddy about the "different opportunities and options" they can pursue together ... but it definitely sounds like Curry is serious about being involved.

12:00 PM PT -- Cops say Courtney's disappearance was caused by a bad reaction to medications, according to The Daily Beast.

"She has ongoing confusion and memory problems Monday afternoon, does not know where she spent Sunday evening, and has bumps and bruises."

Sports reporter Courtney Roland has been found in Texas -- and is now being hospitalized after being reported missing early Sunday morning.

The search for Roland went viral after the woman's friend said she got a text from Courtney saying she believed she was being followed by a suspicious man who tailed her out of a Walgreens.

Tons of famous people helped spread the word ... from Dana White to Peter King.

Now, the Houston PD has confirmed Roland was found ... saying, "A passerby called us about 8:15am, stating Ms. Roland was under an overpass at the 610 West Loop at Richmond."

"Our officers arrived, confirmed it was her and arranged she be checked at an area hospital."

"She appears unharmed."