TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Southern Illinois University basketball team was forced to think on their sins after getting crushed by Illinois State last night ... 'cause they had to take refuge in a CHURCH after their bus broke down in the snow, TMZ Sports has learned.

The team bus got stuck on I-57 on its way back to Carbondale, Ill. ... after attempting to make the 248 mi trip back home in a blizzard.

We're told the team tried to tough it out and sleep on the bus for the night ... but the freezing cold temperatures made it impossible to get any rest.

Luckily, a tow truck was finally able to drag them to a local church ... after the team spent 6 HOURS waiting on the bus.

The SIU players were forced to snuggle up on the floor between the pews in the church house ... which was already packed to the brim with stranded travelers.

All this came after a historically bad loss to Illinois State ... where the 4-11 Salukis put up a measly 17 second half points (just two short of the school record low).

The big-breasted bombshell who partied it up with Johnny Manziel last night is smoking hot for a reason -- TMZ Sports has learned, she sells marijuana for a living.

Model Lauren Hanley recently posted a photo from her day job on Instagram, showing off some fat nugs from The Root Cellar, a weed dispensary located in Sherman Oaks ... and she really seems to like the work, writing, "Come visit me at work! Best collective in Los Angeles!"

Our weed sources tell us Lauren's only been in the pot game for roughly a month ... but she's already become one of the dispensary's best employees.

As we reported, Lauren got down with Manziel last night at an FSU event in Hollywood and left with him and another girl in a car.

#Nofilter

Flo Rida wanted his youth football team to take on the Snoop Dogg All-Stars so bad ... he flew his entire squad out to L.A. yesterday for the first annual "Flo Rida Youth Snooper Bowl," TMZ Sports has learned.

The pee-wee football battle went down at L.A. Southwest College ... after Flo shelled out to fly his group of +75 kids -- plus coaches and staff -- from Florida to L.A..

We're told both teams ended up winning trophies in different age groups ... and after the event, Flo took his kids for a tour of the city before heading home.

We're told the rappers also put together a tribute for Trayvon Martin.

In the end, we're told it was a great experience and both Snoop and Flo considered it a rousing success.

Ultimately, Flo's team stayed in L.A. for 3 days. We're told next year it will be Snoop's turn to fly his team to Miami

Football -- gotta love it.

Robert Griffin III's recovery seems to be going well ... 'cause the Washington Redskins QB is stomping around the beaches of Hawaii with his smokin' hot wife.

Since his team didn't make the NFL playoffs, RG3 and his wife Rebecca jetted to the islands for a little R&R ... even playing a little grab-ass on the sand.

Of course, Robert was benched toward the end of the season to avoid re-injuring his already tender left knee.

Ex-UFC fighter Tito Ortiz was arrested for DUI in L.A. this morning after crashing his Porsche on the 405 Freeway ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the 38-year-old crashed his 2012 Porsche Panamera into a concrete median around 4AM.

Cops performed field sobriety tests on Tito ... and we're told he blew a .12 on the breathalyzer ... more than .08 legal limit in California.

We're told Tito had two passengers in his car at the time of the crash.

Earlier in the evening, Tito was partying at a BCS Football party at the Playboy Mansion.

Ortiz was hauled to a nearby station where he was booked and bond was set at $15k.

Tito was released on his own recognizance at 8:14 AM.

With the BCS National Championship game tonight in L.A., Florida State QB Jameis Winston prepared his body with a solid pregame meal ... a DELICIOUS In N Out burger!!

Famous Jameis and the rest of the Seminoles spent most of their Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where they posed for photos, signed autographs and hung out with fans.

They also ATE like crazy ... 'cause the In-N-Out truck was on the premises handing out Double Doubles to everyone on the team.

Sources at the stadium tell TMZ Sports Jameis was very cool to everyone ... couldn't have been nicer ... and took a bag of chips to go along with his burger.

An MMA fighter from New Mexico is being hailed as a hero after fighting off 4 men who tried to break into his home ... killing one of the bad guys in the process.

According to police, the 4 men went looking for 27-year-old lightweight Joe Torrez on New Year's Day after an altercation on New Year's Eve.

When the men arrived to Joe's home, Torrez was inside with his fiancee, son and his fiancee’s sister.

According to cops, the guys tried to force their way inside the home ... so Torrez unleashed the fury.

Cops say ... someone in the house called 911 and when authorities arrived, they found one of the men suffering from multiple stab wounds to the torso and blunt force trauma to the head. The man died at the scene.

Another one of the bad guys was transported to a nearby hospital with "severe facial injuries."

The other 2 men arrested a short time later and all 3 survivors are facing a whole bunch of charges including aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated battery and criminal damage to property.

FYI -- Torrez is a 155-pound lightweight fighter with a record of one win and five losses.

Evander Holyfield told a housemate on "UK Celebrity Big Brother" that being gay is no different than being handicapped ... because a doctor can fix both ... and was immediately SCOLDED like a child by "BB" producers.

Holyfield made the comments Sunday -- during his first week in the BB house -- when reality star Luisa Zissman asked him if there were any gay boxers in the sport.

Holyfield -- a deeply religious Christian --cited the bible and said homosexuality is NOT a choice ... but rather something like a "handicap" ... something doctors can fix.

Zissman respectfully disagreed with Evander ... and it seemed the two were ready to move on with their lives ... when Evander was taken to a private room, where producers RIPPED him for expressing his beliefs.

In fact, "BB" producers called Evander's comments "inappropriate" because they "aren't the views that are held by a large section of society."

Holyfield says he understood that his comments could be considered offensive ... but never apologizes.

This whole situation reminds us why we revolted against England ... so we could have the freedom to express our religious and other beliefs ... no matter how offensive.

As bad as Evander is .. the show is being RIDICULOUS. Didn't they they learn anything from the A&E/"Duck Dynasty" debacle??

The fearless, flying-punch throwing Alabama woman who attacked a group of Oklahoma fans at the Sugar Bowl has broken her silence ... saying she was NOT drunk when she went airborne and WOULD DO IT AGAIN!!

The woman, Michelle Pritchett -- a photographer and married mother of 3 -- spoke with Yellow Hammer News after footage of her attack went viral ... saying she only got violent after the OU fans began taunting her 16-year-old son.

"What I did was probably not the thing to do. But they were taunting us. They began by going after me. But then they crossed the line and started taunting my 16-year-old son.”

Pritchett says the OU group also called her a "stupid b*tch."

"I’m embarrassed," Pritchett admitted ... "I love The Tide and I apologize to all the players and to Coach Saban and to the entire fan base. I’m sorry."

But despite the fact that she seemed wasted out of her mind ... Michelle insists booze was not a factor saying, "I wasn’t intoxicated ... I want people to know that. I’d had a couple of drinks, but I was not intoxicated.”

Dwyane Wade's baby mama drama is NOT a joke in the Miami Heat locker room ... with team sources telling TMZ Sports his teammate refuse to make light of the situation out of respect for the All-Star.

Of course, Wade's personal life has become a huge story ... after he acknowledged he knocked up a woman who's not Gabrielle Union back in February. Wade claims they were on a break at the time, though judging from Gabby's Instagram page, it seems they were very much together.

Now, our Miami Heat sources tell us ... there's an unspoken pact between the players to leave the topic out of locker room convos -- "It's quiet as a mouse when it comes to the D-Wade situation."

As one source put it ... the players have way too much respect for Wade "to make fun of that at all."

The San Francisco 49ers got surprise visit from wrestling legend Ric Flair tonight ... but what's more shocking, one of the players gave him props for flying into the "sh*thole" that is Green Bay!!!

With the 49ers set to play the Packers Sunday in a Wild Card game, The Nature Boy gave a pump up speech to the squad at the team meeting the night before ... even belting out his signature "WOOOO!!"

But after the visit, lineman Anthony Davis gave the Pack some last minute bulletin board material when he ripped the city ... tweeting, "Nature Boy Ric Flair flew into this sh*t hole to show us some love."

In all fairness to Davis, the weather in Green Bay is BEYOND FREEZING ... but "sh*t hole?"

As for Ric, unclear what his connection is to the team ... since he was born in Tennessee and lives in North Carolina. But when the topic of marriage came up, he did drop one nugget:

If Andrew Luck wasn't an NFL quarterback, he coulda been one helluva monk ... at least judging by his hair.

While 24-year-old Luck led his Colts to one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history on Saturday, defeating the Chiefs 45-44, he gave the world a peek under the helmet ... and it seems he's got a lot more in common with LeBron James than just being a #1 draft pick.

Hey, bald is beautiful ... especially when you're in the playoffs.

Johnny Manziel's Texas A&M teammates aren't even a little bit mad that their QB immediately skipped town to party with Drake just one day after their Bowl victory ... in fact, a rep for the school tells us Johnny put in some serious team celebration time BEFORE he left.

As we previously reported, Johnny -- who most likely played his last college game on Dec. 31 -- jetted to Miami to hang with his pal Drake on Jan. 1 ... saying he needed a little "vaca."

But Texas A&M Associate Athletic Director of Media Relations Alan Cannon tells TMZ Sports ... the team isn't bitter at Johnny for leaving so quickly, because they spent lots of quality time together the night of the victory.

"Johnny came back to the hotel on the team bus and celebrated with his teammates and the fans that had gathered in the lobby."

Cannon adds, "This whole team supports Johnny. He is very much a part of the team -- a key part."

Anderson Silva will NOT retire from the UFC after suffering a gruesome leg injury last week ... so says Spider's longtime manager, who tells TMZ Sports "Trust me, he will be back."

We spoke with Jorge Guimaraes ... who says the 38-year-old is in great spirits after undergoing surgery on the leg that Chris Weidman cracked in half at UFC 168.

"He had his second X-ray [Thursday] and everything looks great. It was a clean break so the nerves are okay. He’s already started physical therapy and he’s moving his toes."

Jorge says Silva is extremely confident he'll return to the octogon after he recovers -- despite rumors he's considering hanging up his trunks for good.

Tom Brady's son got a rude awakening on where he stands in the family pecking order today ... when his parents kicked him out of his comfy stroller ... in place of the family dog.

Tom and Gisele bundled up to brave the aftermath of the Boston snow storm today ... and took a family stroll with their son Benjamin and pit-bull Lua.

But it seems like Lua -- despite her custom winter doggie jacket -- got some cold paws on the walk ... and his 4-year-old son got booted from his all-terrain stroller in favor of the pooch.

NBA star James Harden claims the guy suing him for an alleged attack outside of an L.A. nightclub DESERVED to get socked in the face, because he was acting like an aggressive a-hole ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

We broke the story ... the Houston Rockets player is being sued by a Lakers fan who claims JH socked him in the face back in November after he ran up to Harden's SUV and yelled, "Kobe owns your ass."

But James just filed new docs in L.A. County Superior Court, responding to the lawsuit, in which he says ... IF, and only if, he punched the fan, it's because the guy posed a threat to James and the people who were with him that night..

James also says he was justified in his actions, citing the "doctrine of self-defense."

James is asking the judge to throw out the case ASAP and wants the fan to pay his legal costs.