TMZ Sports - Page 50

With USC set to hire Steve Sarkisian as the next head football coach, TMZ Sports has learned at least ONE of the school's top high school recruits APPROVES and will stay committed to the Men of Troy.

TMZ Sports spoke with Malik Dorton -- one of the top high school defensive ends in the country who had recently announced his plans to accept a scholarship to USC.

... but that's when Lane Kiffin was in charge.

After Kiffin was fired and Ed Orgeron took over -- Malik says he was still pumped, since Orgeron was one of the main guys who recruited him.

Now, with Washington Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian reportedly taking the head coaching gig for the 2014 season, Malik says he feels it's a good fit -- and he still plans to play for the cardinal and gold next year.

As most of you celebrated the long weekend on the comfort of your couch ... the NFL's finest were celebrating on the field -- from fist pumps to head bashing ... even a friendly slap to the face.

He may have left college early, but NBA star Anthony Davis is still lugging a backpack around town -- only his is WAAYYYY more expensive than your crappy Jansport.

20-year-old Davis was leaving the Trump Soho hotel in NYC the other day when we noticed a $1,500 (before tax) Gucci bag strapped to his back.

Technically, it's called the GG imprime interlocking G leather backpack -- and while there are several variations, Anthony opted for the one with the Gucci logo plastered all over it.

For the record, Davis can definitely afford it -- he's in the middle of a 3-year $16 million contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.

THIS. IS. AWESOME.

Green Bay Packers legend Paul Hornung -- an NFL Hall of Famer -- says he's got NO SYMPATHY for the players who are gonna have to brave the cold during the SB in NYC ... telling TMZ Sports, "I hope it snows and rains like a bitch."

Hornung -- who famously played in the 1965 NFL Championship game in Green Bay (26 degrees, wind chill 16) -- was at LAX this weekend and REVELED in the fact that the new school guys are gonna have to play in old school weather.

"Let 'em play in that weather once," Paul said ... "then they'll figure it out."

Paul also told us who he thinks has the best shot at making the Super Bowl this year -- and, spoiler alert, it ain't his old team.

It's 29 degrees in Fargo ... 34 in Detroit ... but it was scraping the 80s in Hawaii this weekend -- where UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste scorched the beach in a very tiny bikini.

The 28-year-old was seen playing around in the ocean ... and showing off a giant diamond ring on her finger.

The pics seem to back up the recent report by our friends at Terez Owens -- that Arianny just got engaged to her longtime BF.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress needs to keep his vicious pitbull on a short leash ... at least according to his neighbor, who claims the dog violently attacked her earlier this year ... and now she's suing.

Gina Stasinos and her husband filed the lawsuit against Burress, claiming she was walking near his Totowa, NJ mansion back in May when his pitbull got loose and attacked her.

Gina claims she suffered serious and permanent injuries to her head, body, and limbs during the attack ... causing her severe pain and mental anguish, and costing her a ton in medical expenses. She's suing for unspecified damages.

And this is sad ... the husband is suing alongside her, claiming the attack caused him to lose out on the "services" and "companionship" of his wife ... wink wink, nudge nudge.

L.A. Clippers superstar Chris Paul says the driver in the Paul Walker crash was a friend of his -- and says he will "always be grateful for the friendship."

As we previously reported, the man driving the Porsche that crashed in Valencia, CA yesterday was Roger Rodas -- who worked with Paul to create a charity organization and helped him launch his car shop.

Moments ago, CP3 went to Instagram to pay tribute to both men -- writing, "Prayers to the families of my friends Roger Rodas and Paul Walker ... I'm forever grateful for the friendship and you will never be forgotten!"

It's unclear how CP3 and Roger knew each other.

Awkward moment during a huge Premier League matchup today ... when a cologne commercial featuring the late Paul Walker ran during the live broadcast of the game -- leaving several fans wondering, WTF?

Walker's commercial for Cool Water by Davidoff ran during the U.K. broadcast of the Chelsea vs. Southampton match moments ago. Walker had been a spokesperson/model for the brand for a while.

But the timing of today's commercial couldn't be worse ... considering it hasn't even been a full 24 hours since Walker passed away in a fiery car crash in Southern California.

Immediately after the spot ran, several fans went to Twitter to vent, with people writing things like:

-- "Just saw the #davidoff advert with Paul Walker in it. This is such bad taste! What were they thinking? RIP Paul Walker"

-- "REALLY? They just showed the Paul Walker Davidoff advert during half time. MAJOR PR blunder."

Another person wrote, "Davidoff cool water advert came on before with Paul Walker and I cried a little :("

It's been going on in pro locker rooms for DECADES, so why not just legalize PEDs already???? So says Jose Canseco.

Jose and his GF Leila Knight were out in L.A. last night when we asked about NBA owner Mark Cuban -- who's funding a study to see if HGH can actually help athletes recover from injuries.

Canseco says he believes there's already studies that prove HGH can help more than it can hurt -- and that's why he wants MLB to green light players using the hormone already.

I think HGH should be legalized and allowed," Jose said ... "and PEDs too."

Jose also told us why a Nevada State Highway Patrol Officer actually APOLOGIZED to him during a recent stop involving goats in diapers. Check out the clip.

Ohio State and Michigan's rivalry game just erupted in a huge fist fight that got three players tossed ... and ended with one of them flipping off the Big House.

The brawl broke out at the end of a play, and three players (one Wolverine, two Buckeyes) threw punches and got themselves ejected from the biggest game of the year for both teams.

But the craziest part of the melee went down on the sidelines -- OSU offensive lineman Marcus Hall threw a tantrum after getting thrown out of the game ... and while he was on camera, threw up double middle fingers to the 110,000 fans in Michigan Stadium.

ABC is airing the game, but probably won't get in trouble. In the past, the FCC has been lenient with inadvertent profanity during live sporting events.

Funny little coincidence in Steve Nash's legal battle with his ex-wife ... TMZ Sports has learned, she had retained the legal power of the NFL's most buff referee, Ed Hochuli.

As you know, Steve and his ex-wife Alejandra had been battling it out over child custody and where their kids should live -- Phoenix or L.A. -- and back in 2011, Alejandra hired Hochuli's firm Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. to help her.

If you didn't know, Hochuli -- one of the most recognizably jacked refs in the NFL -- is also a renowned attorney at the Phoenix law firm, where he's worked since the '80s.

We're told Hochuli didn't personally handle Alejandra's case -- just his cronies -- but it's still pretty funny.

Okay, maybe it's just us.

Lindsey Vonn might not be ready for the Olympics ... but she's definitely ready to fly down a mountain at around 60mph -- she gave her damaged knee a serious stress test today on the mountain.

Vonn got up on skis at Vail ... and posted an Instagram pic of herself with the caption, "Trained SG today in @vailmtn & felt great!"

SG is short for the Super G course -- she took bronze in the event in 2010 -- and basically means ... she was going REALLY FAST on the hill today.

Pretty miraculous ... considering LV had to be carried off the mountain just 10 days ago when she aggravated her surgically repaired right knee during a training session.

Question is -- will she ready for Sochi? Lindsey added, "Taking it step by step and so far so good! #IWILL"

David Beckham claims he was the victim of a bizarre hazing ritual as a young professional soccer player ... in which he had to touch himself sexually in front of his male teammates.

It happened in 1991 -- when Beckham was just 16 -- and he says he had to stare at a photo of a famous Welsh soccer player named Clayton Blackmore and (more or less) masturbate in front of his teammates.

He said, "Everyone had an initiation that you had to go through on the youth team, that was one of the most uncomfortable ones."

He added, "I was embarrassed when I was saying it on camera let alone talking about it more. But it’s something that we all had to go through. It was definitely something I wouldn’t like to go through again!"

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd has been fined $50,000 by the NBA ... after telling one of his players to "hit him" and intentionally spilling a drink on the court this week.

The NBA announced the fine last night.

Video of the "hit me" fiasco was all over the Internet immediately after Wednesday's game against the Lakers -- cameras caught Kidd mouthing the words to Nets player Tyshawn Taylor ... right before Taylor bumps into Kidd and knocks over his drink.

Kidd pulled off the maneuver with 8.2 seconds left on the clock -- and used the mess-clean-up time to arrange a last minute play.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Seneca Wallace -- who was injured in his first start for the team -- will be undergoing a surgical procedure to fix his groin ... but insists his injury is NOT a career-ender.

TMZ Sports spoke with Wallace who tells us he's simply bummed out about suffering the injury in his first drive during the Nov. 10 game against the Eagles.

Wallace will undergo a procedure to repair his abductor tendon -- and the surgery will most likely take place next week.

Seneca says he'll be sidelined for 4 weeks. The Packers have already put him on the IR list, which means his season is over ... but Seneca says he plans to return to the NFL next year.

"I would love to stay in Green Bay ... but I'll explore all of my options in the off-season."

Wallace says the Packers have been incredibly supportive since he joined the squad -- and have been nothing but classy since the injury.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers star Hines Ward has no shortage of birds ... but he tells TMZ Sports, he's never been lucky enough to join John Madden for his famous Thanksgiving meat-a-palooza.

Of course, we're talking about Madden's "turducken" -- a chicken, stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey ... which the football announcer famously eats on Thanksgiving.

Madden first made turduckens famous back in 1997, when he brought one on the air during a Thanksgiving Day football game broadcast. In subsequent years, Madden used to give out turducken to the winners of the Thanksgiving game.