TMZ Sports - Page 50

Junior Seau's family has filed a lawsuit against the NFL over brain injuries the Chargers legend sustained during his career -- injuries they claim caused him to kill himself.

The family filed the wrongful death lawsuit today in San Diego, claiming the league willfully hid the truth about the dangers of repetitive blows to the head ... such as those regularly sustained by professional football players.

According to the lawsuit, Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from those hits -- a condition that his family claims drove him to suicide.

The Seau family is also suing NFL helmet manufacturer Riddell -- calling the helmets dangerous and claiming the company was "negligent in their design."

Seau died last May after shooting himself in the chest. He was 43.

The Seau lawsuit is just one of a reported 175 lawsuits filed against the NFL by players and their families over head injuries sustained during their careers.

After filing the lawsuit, the family released a statement, saying, "We know this lawsuit will not bring back Junior. But it will send a message that the NFL needs to care for its former players, acknowledge its decades of deception on the issue of head injuries and player safety, and make the game safer for future generations."

The NFL hasn't responded to the lawsuit -- but after it was revealed Seau had CTE, the league released a statement, saying, "The NFL ... is committed to supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety of athletes at all levels."

Matt Damon is in NFL denial ... 'cause the guy honestly believes the New England Patriots would NEVER have been defeated by the Baltimore Ravens if they weren't riddled with injuries.

Problem is ... the Pats weren't as injured as Damon made them out to be.

Matt -- a Boston-native -- had just arrived at LAX last night when someone asked why his team folded in the AFC Championship this past Sunday.

"Lotta injuries," Damon said ... "They couldn't beat us full strength."

Obviously, the Pats were missing Rob Gronkowski going into Sunday's game ... but that's really their only big-time guy who was sidelined with an injury (forearm).

A couple of important Pats players were hurt DURING the matchup -- including CB Aqib Talib and RB Stevan Ridley ... but hey, that's part of the game, right?

But when Damon was asked who he's rooting for in the Super Bowl -- the Ravens or the 49ers -- he still refused to acknowledge defeat ... saying, "I'm going for a healthy New England team, that's the best team in the country."

ANYONE in Manti Te'o's situation would have done the same thing he did -- and would lie to the media to protect their reputation after being hoaxed ... at least that's what Manti said to Katie Couric.

ABC is finally releasing clips of the big sit-down interview he did for Katie's new talk show -- in which the Notre Dame football star says he perpetuated the lie after he found out he was duped because he didn't know how else to act.

He then asks Katie ... "What would you do?" ... as if there was no other option.

Ndamukong Suh should NEVER have signed up to compete on "Celebrity Diving" ... this according to several of Suh's Detroit Lions teammates who tell TMZ the decision is shockingly irresponsible.

We broke the story ... Suh -- who's in the middle of a 5-year $68 MILLION contract with the Lions -- recently joined the cast of the ABC reality show ... and will be required to launch his 6'4", 307-pound body off a high diving board.

TMZ spoke to a BUNCH of Suh's teammates ... who all feel (very strongly) that he's making a huge mistake.

One source tells us ... "We need him on the field and if he gets hurt during the off-season doing wild stunts ... it would be bad and it ain't worth it. He is too valuable to the team."

Another source expressed similar concerns -- "if he gets a busted ear drum or an infection, it could have serious effects on his off-season training."

Several of Suh's teammates also told us they were surprised the organization would allow him to participate in the first place ... since there is a real serious risk he could hurt himself.

Wes Welker's wife should NEVER have said a peep about Ray Lewis ... this according to another famous (ex-)wife of the sporting world ... Linda Hogan ... who tells TMZ, it's never okay for an athlete's lady to be such a sore loser in public.

In case you missed it ... Wes' wife -- Anna Burns Welker -- went off on Lewis via Facebook after the Ravens dashed the Pats' Super Bowl chances. She later apologized ... but not before the personal jabs were already delivered.

Now Linda -- a former athlete's wife herself (kind of) -- is dishing out some jabs of her own ... calling Anna's outburst "way uncool."

According to Linda, Anna can say whatever she wants behind closed doors ... but "in a public situation, [athletes' wives] don't really have a place to make an opinion."

Sheryl Crow TOTALLY WUSSED OUT during her big highly-anticipated sit-down interview about the Lance Armstrong scandal ... because she didn't answer a single meaningful question.

Crow sat for the interview with Entertainment Tonight in order to address rumors she knew about Lance's illicit use of performance-enhancing drugs for years -- but the problem ... she didn't address anything.

Sheryl gave non-committal answers the whole time, saying she only caught "bits and pieces" of Lance's interview with Oprah -- yeah right -- and then made general comments about Lance's confession, like, "The truth shall set you free."

But when it came to the one question everyone wanted to know the answer to -- whether she kept Lance's doping a secret for all these years -- Sheryl told ET she did not want to comment, saying the story was about Lance ... not her.

Tennis legend Andre Agassi is so badass he barely needs sleeves -- so who better to help us crack the ancient mystery ... why the hell do female tennis players grunt so much?

Jets head coach Rex Ryan capped off his train wreck of a season with ANOTHER major accident last week in Pennsylvania -- this time involving his red Mustang and two other cars ... after Rex reportedly ran a red light.

Rex was driving along a road in Bethlehem, PA around 6PM last Monday when he allegedly ran the light and rammed another car -- which then crashed into a third vehicle ... this according to Deadspin.com.

According to the report, Rex denied to police that he was speeding ... but did NOT deny running the red light.

Police described the damage to all three vehicles as "moderate." There were no injuries. So far, no word if Rex was cited in connection with the accident.

It's unclear why Rex was driving around Bethlehem last week -- but there's talk he was in town to meet with the Jets brand new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg (previously of the Eagles).

Hours after the San Francisco 49ers destroyed the Atlanta Falcons and punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, the squad celebrated at a nightclub in San Jose ... and TMZ has the pics.

Tons of 49ers players -- including star QB Colin Kaepernick and former star QB Alex Smith -- rolled into Motif nightclub late Sunday night ... fresh from their 28-24 victory in ATL.

Sources inside the club tell TMZ ... the DJ announced each player as he walked in the door ... and the crowd went absolutely insane.

We're told the guys were pretty tame -- no crazy, insane drunk people. Sources say some of the guys WERE drinking (some bottles of Moet and Cristal were ordered) ... but the night was more of a "sipping and toasting" event ... not a "let's get effed up" kind of a thing.

One source tells us ... most of the clubgoers swarmed Kaepernick ... and it got so crazy, that he went upstairs to a private area to escape the crowd.

Sheryl Crow has made it clear ... she ain't sayin' SQUAT about Lance Armstrong ... even though it's likely she knows all sorts of KEY INFO about her ex-fiance's cheatin' ways.

Sheryl went out in Hollywood last night -- dining out at Craig's -- but when it was time to leave, she went WAY out of her way to duck the army of photogs and reporters waiting for her.

When Sheryl finally got into her waiting car, she covered her face ... and didn't say a word when asked about Lance.

Sheryl's believed to have some important information that could affect the Armstrong scandal ... since she was engaged to Lance while he was cheating, blood doping, etc. to win a couple of Tour de France titles.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo got a visit from a world famous psychiatrist last night ... a guy who's worked with everyone from Michael Jackson to Paris Hilton ... TMZ has learned.

The shrink to the stars is Dr. Charles Sophy -- a high-ranking official with the Los Angeles Dept. of Children and Family Services.

Sophy was involved in the Michael Jackson child molestation case, the Paris Hilton jail saga (when she was suffering from panic attacks) and counseled Taylor Armstrong during her split with her husband.

But last night, Sophy appeared at the Tuiasosopo family home in Palmdale, CA ... and though he wouldn't say why he was there, it's obvious his visit is connected to the drama surrounding the Manti Te'o hoax.

When we asked Dr. Sophy if his visit was in connection to a TV show -- the doc told us, "You know I can't discuss anything."

Alabama's all-star QB AJ McCarron is no longer leading the charge against his hot GF's meteoric rise to fame -- in fact, we're told AJ now fully supports Katherine Webb's burgeoning Hollywood career.

Sources close to Katherine tell us, AJ has given Katherine the green light to go full Hollywood -- despite previously encouraging her not to make public appearances.

As we reported, Katherine has already signed up to do a new reality show called "Celebrity Diving" (about celebrities ... diving ... into water) and she's also slated to cover the Super Bowl for "Inside Edition."

We're told AJ fully supported both deals -- even though he previously expressed concerns that Webb might steal the spotlight from Alabama's success.

But now that Alabama's season is over, AJ has changed his tune -- and we're told Webb's hired a publicist and a manager to book her around town.

And with AJ heading back to college for another year of paycheck-free football (while risking injury), somebody has to wear the pants in that relationship ...

Great news for Brent Musburger ... 'cause Katherine Webb (the chick he ogled during the BCS championship game) has signed a deal to star in a new reality competition show ... which requires her to spend A LOT of time in a bathing suit.

TMZ has learned Miss Alabama USA 2012 -- aka the hot girlfriend of Alabama QB A.J. McCarron -- will be a contestant on the upcoming ABC show "Celebrity Diving."

We obtained pics of Katherine on the L.A. set today with some of her co-stars ... a cast that includes Detroit Lions badboy Ndamukong Suh, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nicole Eggert, Kendra Wilkinson, Louie Anderson, Drake Bell, Chuy from the E! Network, and Keshia Knight Pulliam.

Kinda shocking that Katherine joined the cast ... considering Webb did everything she could to duck the media after she was thrust into the spotlight during the BCS game earlier this month.

As we previously reported, Webb's BF was upset that she was getting more attention than his team -- so Katherine issued a self-imposed media ban on herself. She also told TMZ she wanted to move to Alabama so she could focus on her relationship with A.J..

But when the show came a callin', Katherine decided she spent enough time in celebrity exile.

Ndamukong Suh is also a pretty shocking addition to the cast -- considering he's in the middle of a huge contract and NFL coaches don't usually love it when a star player risks his health by jumping off a high dive.

Then again, Suh has an image problem -- people think he's a jerk -- and he could use the show to convince fans that he's not really the monster he appears to be on the field.

12:00 PM PT -- Anna just posted an apology ... "I apologize to Ray Lewis and his family for my comments. In no way did I mean for them to be mean or hurtful. I'm embarrassed for being a sore loser. I wish Ray and the Ravens good luck. Lesson learned!"

Wes Welker's wife hates Ray Lewis ... and not just because the Ravens beat the Patriots yesterday ... it's 'cause she thinks he's a terrible human being ... and she made her feelings known on Facebook.

After Sunday's AFC Championship game ... Anna Burns Welker went to her Facebook page and posted the following message:

"Proud of my husband and the Pats. By the way, if anyone is bored, please go to Ray Lewis' Wikipedia page. 6 kids 4 wives. Acquitted for murder. Paid a family off. Yay. What a hall of fame player! A true role model!"

The post has since been deleted.

FYI -- Lewis was charged with murder back in 2000 for his involvement in a fight that resulted in two deadly stabbings ... but the murder charge was dropped as part of a plea deal.

Oh yeah, the four wives thing ... Lewis has never been married -- but he does have six kids with four different women.

And you don't want to get on his bad side.

Fact is, Anna should've known better -- because last year after the Super Bowl, Tom Brady's wife Gisele Bundchen blasted Wes Welker for dropping a key pass ... and people trashed her for it.

After winning a grueling five-hour fourth round match at the Australian Open, tennis hunk Novak Djokovic celebrated by tearing off his shirt and exposing his lean ripped chest and abs on Sunday.

Love.

George Stephanopoulos is clearly not a basketball fan ... 'cause if he was, he might've known the old white-bearded African American man hangin' out at the Presidential Inauguration was NBA icon Bill Russell ... and not Morgan Freeman.

George was providing the play-by-play for ABC this morning ... when he started pointing out some of the famous people in the D.C. crowd ... and mixed up one legendary black guy for another.

George was quickly corrected by someone on the production -- and he apologized for the gaffe.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day everyone.