TMZ Sports - Page 50

Junior Seau was living with a degenerative brain disease caused by the brutal shots to the head he took during his NFL career, this according to a new study ... and Seau's family believes the condition drove him to suicide.

The National Institutes of Health released the findings of the study scientists did on Seau's brain after he shot himself in the chest last year ... and concluded Junior suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease typically caused by multiple hits to the head.

Dr. Russell Lonser -- who led the study of Seau's brain -- told ABC News patients with CTE display symptoms "such as impulsivity, forgetfulness, depression, [and] sometimes suicidal ideation."

Several Seau family members are speaking out about the findings of the study -- Junior's ex-wife told ABC News, "He was a warrior and he loved the game ... but I know that he didn't love the end of his life."

When Junior's 23-year-old son Tyler was asked if his father's career was "worth it" -- he replied, "It's not worth it for me to not have a dad ... so to me, it's not worth it."

FYI -- Junior played 20 years in the NFL.

Kevin Garnett would've laid the smack down on Carmelo Anthony if things came to blows during their post-game standoff this week ... all because of KG's cartoonishly long arms ... so says Marlon Wayans.

Marlon was out in NYC yesterday when we asked about the Melo vs. KG beef -- and his answer ... is ... hilarious.

Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte's upcoming reality show sounded a little flat -- until we thought of a way to make it twice as funny! Not smarter ... but funnier.

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony has just been suspended for one game -- WITHOUT PAY -- for confronting Celtics player Kevin Garnett Monday night ... in an epic expletive-filled standoff.

TMZ posted the video ... showing 'Melo waiting for KG in the arena tunnel at Madison Square Garden ... after the two had been going at each other during the game.

'Melo had said KG insulted him on the court and said things that "crossed the line." There are reports that KG said Anthony's wife "tastes like Honey Nut Cheerios" ... but neither player has confirmed exactly what words were exchanged.

According to the NBA, Carmelo will serve his suspension on January 10th when the Knicks face the Pacers.

A rep for the league released a statement, saying, "There are no circumstances in which it is acceptable to confront an opponent after a game."

Kobe Bryant's wife just lost one-third of her real estate portfolio ... unloading one of the three Newport Beach mansions Kobe gave her right after they split back in 2011 ... TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... Vanessa Bryant listed the 6,000 sq. ft. Newport Beach property back in September for $3.75 million -- and she finally closed the deal this month for $3.22 million.

Kobe and Vanessa purchased the place back in 2003 for $2.65 million. Vanessa's mother Sofia was living in the home prior to the sale.

The house is one of three massive Newport Beach mansions Kobe gave Vanessa last year ... one month after she filed for divorce.

As for the status of Kobe and Vanessa's divorce -- the papers have not been withdrawn ... and one source tells us they're on and off so much it's hard to get a read.

Still, the two were acting pretty coupley in public as recently as New Year's -- maybe 2013 is the year of the comeback.

2:07 PM PT -- Katherine has released a statement to TMZ confirming she cancelled 8 interviews scheduled for today ... but says, "My decision to cancel the interviews was not made at A.J.'s request."

Katherine says she decided to pull out because she feared her relationship with A.J. will be viewed as a "celebrity status" thing ... instead of a real, legitimate connection ... and worries that the misconception could spell doom for the couple.

"I want it to be about me and him," Webb says ... adding, "He's a guy I can see myself having a real future with."

Katherine Webb has gone off the grid ... banning herself from speaking to ANY media outlets ... partly because her superstar QB boyfriend A.J. McCarron is upset that he's been overshadowed by Webb's hotness.

Of course, Webb -- Miss Alabama USA 2012 -- shot to instant fame Monday night, when ESPN announcer Brent Musburger pointed her out in the crowd and RAVED about how insanely attractive she is.

Since the game, Webb's gained more than 100k Twitter followers and has been getting hit up by media outlets from around the country -- including the "Today" show and various entertainment news shows.

But sources close to Webb tell us ... McCarron made it clear to her -- he's not happy that the media is ignoring his accomplishments on the field. We're told Webb is taking her relationship seriously and thinks the publicity could torpedo things with A.J.

In fact, we're told one major media outlet showed up to Webb's front door this morning looking to speak with Katherine ... but she turned them down. We're told she also backed out of several interviews that were already scheduled.

Sources connected to the situation tell TMZ ... Donald Trump -- who owns the Miss USA competition -- got word of Webb's self-imposed media blackout ... and decided to get involved.

We're told Trump talked her into appearing on the "Today" show -- but she won't budge when it comes to doing any other PR.

Sources close to A.J. tell us ... the QB has made it clear to friends he wants to keep his private life private. One source tells us A.J. isn't jealous of Katherine, but wants to keep the spotlight on his team and their accomplishments.

What do a 'Bachelor' contestant and a Lewis College volleyball player have in common? They both inspired very colorful commentary ... from us. Perhaps unfortunately.

It's damn time the Washington Redskins changed its racist name ... at least if the team ever plans to move inside D.C. city limits -- so says District mayor Vincent Gray.

Now that the Redskins are winning again, there's been a lot of talk about bringing the team back to D.C. -- instead of leaving them in nearby FedEx Field, located in Maryland.

But Mayor Gray has some conditions before the Redskins move a muscle -- claiming, “I think that if they get serious with the team coming back to Washington, there’s no doubt there’s going to have to be a discussion about [changing the team name]."

Gray added, “I think it has become a lightning rod, and I would love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made. There’s a precedent for this, and I think there needs to be a dispassionate discussion about this, and do the right thing.”

If your New Year's resolution was to date a smokin' hot ski champ -- who's won Olympic and World Cup gold medals -- then you're in luck ... LINDSEY VONN IS OFFICIALLY SINGLE AGAIN!

TMZ has learned ... a judge has signed off on the 28-year-old's divorce from her former coach Thomas Vonn. The couple married in 2007 ... and have no children together.

It's unclear how the couple split up their assets -- but we know Lindsey gets to keep the Park City, Utah home she bought for $1.1 million back in 2006 (prior to tying the knot).

It was rumored that Lindsey had rebounded with Tim Tebow ... but the rumors were bogus.

We reached out to Vonn for comment -- so far, no word back.

Katherine Webb -- the GF of Alabama star QB A.J. McCarron -- says ESPN had no reason to issue an apology for Brent Musburger's televised swooning during the BCS Championship game ... because the comments were nothing but flattering.

Webb appeared on "Today" moments ago and stood up for the 73-year-old --saying, “I think the media has been really unfair to [Musburger]."

She added, "If he would’ve said something along the line that we were hot or sexy or made any derogatory statements like that, I think that would’ve been a little bit different, but the fact that he said that we were beautiful and gorgeous, I don’t see why any woman wouldn’t be flattered by that."

TMZ has obtained exclusive VIDEO of the postgame screaming match between Kevin Garnett and Carmelo Anthony following Monday night's Celtics vs. Knicks game ... and it's clear both guys were ready to fight.

The incident went down in front of the Celtics team bus inside Madison Square Garden -- just a short time after things got physical between the two NBA superstars on the court.

In the video, both men can be seen yelling and approaching each other aggressively as security scrambles to keep them apart.

It's unclear exactly what the guys were saying to each other -- but we definitely heard someone use the n-word a couple of times.

Eventually, security was able to separate the big men ... and KG boarded the team bus.

After the game, Anthony told reporters it all started when Garnett spewed some trash talk during the game that "crossed a line."

"There’s certain things that you just don’t say to men, another man,” Anthony said.

Brent Musburger's best call of the BCS Championship was pointing out smoking hot Katherine Webb in the crowd. Although he probably coulda played it a little cooler -- ok, a lot cooler!

Jets nightmare QB Mark Sanchez better clean up his act if he wants his jersey to stay on Rex Ryan's arm -- so says the head coach, who claimed he'll ink a NEW number onto his infamous tattoo ... if Mark doesn't start playing better.

Rex was questioned about the tat during a news conference today -- and Rex joked, "Obviously, if Sanchez doesn’t play better, that number’s changing. That’s a given."

As we reported, Rex unveiled the bizarre tattoo while on vacation in the Bahamas last week -- a tat of what appears to be his naked wife wearing ONLY a Mark Sanchez jersey.

During the news conference, Rex insisted the tat's just a coincidence -- claiming he got the ink job long before Sanchez came to the Jets.

Rex said, "It’s funny. It’s actually a tattoo I’ve had for like three years ... I’ve been married for 25 years, and through my eyes, my wife’s the most beautiful woman in the world. So that’s what it is."

After hearing about Musburger's barrage of compliments (he encouraged kids to learn how to play QB so they could also score chicks like Webb) ... Katherine tells us, "I laughed hysterically. I was flattered ... and slightly embarrassed ... but I thought it was the funniest thing ever. I never expected that."

She adds, "I've been reading on Twitter that Musburger had backlash that he's 'Creepy' ... if I were to see him I would say, 'I don’t think you're creepy at all!'"

Webb tells us the exposure has been great for her social media presence -- "I had 2,300 followers on Twitter yesterday ... in the past 24 hours, I have gained over 125,000."

The Los Angeles Lakers STINK ... THEY SUCK ... NOT GOOD ... this according to someone who would know, Denver Nuggets star Ty Lawson.

Just a few hours after Ty and the Nuggets beat up the Lake Show in L.A. last night, Lawson celebrated in Hollywood ... and talked some serious trash about the purple and gold.

"We bust they ass," Lawson said ... adding, "I told Kobe, we gonna bust they ass and they gonna deal with it ... Easy work!"