TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sorry, LSU fans ... Shaq's son, Shareef O'Neal, has verbally committed to play college hoops for the Arizona Wildcats ... his AAU team announced Wednesday.

The 6'8" junior is a 5-star recruit out of Crossroads H.S. in California ... and had interest from other powerhouses like UCLA, Kentucky, Georgetown as well as his dad's alma mater.

Shareef is one of the country's top young talents and told us late last year he's confident he can have a better NBA career than his Hall of Famer dad.

Watch the highlights ... kid's got talent.

Tom Brady says he will NOT join his New England Patriots teammates at the White House on Wednesday ... citing "personal family matters."

Brady just issued a statement, saying, "In light of some recent developments, I am unable to attend today's ceremony, as I am attending to some personal family matters."

He explained, "I am so happy and excited that our team is being honored at the White House today. Our team has accomplished something very special that we are all proud of and will be for years to come. Thank you to the president for hosting this honorary celebration and for supporting our team for as long as I can remember."

"Hopefully, if we accomplish the goal of winning a championship in the future years, we will back on the South Lawn again soon. Have a great day!"

Brady and President Trump are longtime close friends. We'll guess they'll find another time to hang.

Aaron Hernandez may not have died as the result of suicide ... it could be murder orchestrated within the prison walls -- so claims the lawyer who represented him.

We've learned attorney Jose Baez -- who just got a not guilty verdict for Aaron last week in the double murder case -- has launched an investigation on behalf of Hernandez' family and they are not buying the suicide story.

We're told Baez believes this could be a murder either by inmates or the folks who run the prison.

Baez says the family is "devastated" and does not believe Aaron was in a frame of mind to take his life.

Baez told TMZ Sports just last week Aaron was in a good place and optimistic the separate murder conviction would be overturned.

Aaron Hernandez killed himself in his Massachusetts prison cell late Tuesday night using a bed sheet, this according to prison officials.

The 27-yr-old ex-NFL star had just been acquitted in a double murder case on Friday and his lawyer Jose Baez had told TMZ Sports he believed Hernandez had a real shot at getting a previous murder conviction overturned.

But Wednesday morning, officials at the maximum security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Massachusetts found Aaron dead in his cell.

"Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window," a rep for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a statement.

"Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items."

Officials say Hernandez was discovered at 3:05 AM on Wednesday morning, and they tried to save his life. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 AM.

A prison official told local news there does not appear to be a suicide note at the scene.

Aaron is survived by his 4-year-old daughter.

FYI, the Souza-Baranowski CC is considered one of the most high tech maximum security prisons in the country with hundreds of security cameras installed all over the facility.

Officials say they're investigating -- we're guessing there will be TONS of security footage to go through.

Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd. He had also been on trial for killing Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado near a Boston nightclub in 2012 but was found not guilty of murder in that case.

Guns, gangs, violence ... the warning signs were well-documented before Aaron Hernandez became a violent killer.

Aaron Hernandez was placed on suicide watch at a Massachusetts prison in 2015 in the hours after he was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd.

The New England Patriots are still expected to visit President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday ... despite the prison suicide of former Pats player Aaron Hernandez.

The Patriots had been scheduled to visit 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after winning the Super Bowl -- Hernandez was obviously not a part of the championship team, but people are wondering if the news of his death will be too much of a distraction to go through with the visit.

How's this for optimism ... Dana White says the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight is now "probably going to happen" ... and he's focused on getting a deal done ASAP.

It doesn't look like Carmelo Anthony's ever going to win a ring in New York, but now he's ditched his wedding ring too.

The NY Knicks star followed suit with his now estranged wife, La La ... and hit the city streets Tuesday sans wedding band. La La ditched her ring more than a week ago when she moved out of their home.

TMZ broke the story ... Melo and La La are separated and there's next to zero chance of reconciliation. As we told you, a dancer claims she got knocked up by the NBA superstar.

No ring, but he was wearing a smile today ... for what that's worth.

Brooke Hogan's missing dog, Molly, is out wandering the streets looking for her owner ... at least that's why Brooke thinks she bolted 24 hours ago.

Brooke tells us she left her 11-year-old Pomeranian in the care of a friend for the first time while she went out of town, and left some very specific instructions that weren't followed.

Brooke says she got the bad news while she was mid-flight and hurried home. She's back in Van Nuys, CA now ... searching for Molly. So far, no dice.

We're told Molly was last seen by a neighbor around 3 PM Monday, a few blocks from the dog sitter's home. As for a tracking chip ... Brooke explained why Molly doesn't have one.

Brooke's offering a "very nice reward" to anyone who helps get Molly home safely.

Good news for Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Josh Huff -- he just struck a deal with prosecutors in his gun case and will stay out of jail .... if he keeps his nose clean.

As we previously reported, the 25-year-old ex-Oregon star was pulled over in NJ back in Nov. for speeding -- but during the stop, cops say they found an unloaded gun, hollow point bullets and weed.

He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and was facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

But TMZ Sports has learned Huff accepted a conditional plea -- in which he essentially gets 6 months probation and, if he stays out of trouble, the charge will be wiped from his record.

If he screws up, Huff agrees to plead guilty and could face the maximum punishment.

Jennifer Lopez and A-Rod didn't pick just any luxury villa in the Dominican Republic to get cozy -- no, they picked one just down the road from Marc Anthony. Ballsy?

The couple's currently staying in an oceanside villa at Casa de Campo -- an exclusive gated community J Lo's ex-husband, Marc, also calls home. He owns a crib down there, but J Lo and Alex are just there ahead of her DR concert.

The 6 bedroom property sits on the beach with sweet Caribbean views, and the interior ain't too shabby either. We're told it normally goes for $10k/night, and it's easy to see why. They looked pretty chill on the covered patio over the weekend.

As we reported, J Lo and Marc rehearsed together while A-Rod watched, and everyone's so cool with the sitch ... we're told A-Rod's "very interested" in buying in the community.

Scottie Pippen and Larsa have finally made a decision on the state of their marriage -- and will move forward with the divorce ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The good news ... the NBA legend and the former 'Real Housewives' star are on really good terms and have vowed to remain friends after the split.

We broke the story ... Scottie filed divorce docs back in October after 19 years of marriage. The two have 4 kids together.

But the two spent months trying to work things out and just last week they traveled to Universal Orlando Resort as a family.

In the end, the two sides decided it's just not working and the best move is to split. We're told both Scottie and Larsa have vowed to remain friends and co-parent their kids.

Of course, the couple had issues in the past -- but, as one source put it, "Couples argue. It never got physical."

The good news ... both should do well on the dating scene. Especially Larsa. See proof below.

12:50 PM PT -- Adidas issued its mea culpa, saying: "We are incredibly sorry. Clearly, there was no thought given to the insensitive email subject line we sent Tuesday. We deeply apologize for our mistake."

How did nobody screen this?!?!?

Adidas is under fire Tuesday after sending out a mass email with the subject line: "Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!"

C'mon people ... really?!

The email opened into an advertisement urging runners to buy Boston Marathon gear like shirts and jackets ... but people are pissed at the lack of sensitivity after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Three people were killed and hundreds were injured in the attack.

So far, no comment from Adidas ... but someone has some serious 'splainin to do.

La La Anthony is making a big statement in NYC -- going out without her wedding ring ... after separating from her husband, Carmelo Anthony.

Sources connected to La La tell us she hasn't worn the ring in more than a week -- since she moved out from the home she shared with the NBA star.

We broke the story, La La ain't happy with Melo after a woman came forward claiming to be 6 months pregnant with his kid.

So far, no divorce papers have been filed but sources tell us it's just a matter of time at this point.

The University of Tennessee football program is NOT freaking out over video of one of its players beating up a top high school prospect ... because the footage is 2 years old, team sources tell us.

The video has gone viral Tuesday showing incoming freshman lineman Trey Smith pummeling Ole Miss recruit Tony Gray.

Our Vols sources tell us the team was very familiar with the video and determined it was shot almost 2 years ago at an Under Armour football camp when Trey was 15 years old.

We're told the video was brought up by multiple schools during the recruiting process -- but Tennessee ultimately decided Trey is not a bad guy.

As one Tennessee source put it, "Ask anyone in the state, they will tell you he's an unbelievable kid. They'll tell you who he really is. Not the video."

We reached out to Ole Miss to try and get Tony's side of the story. So far, no word back.

Interesting point ... both guys now follow each other on Twitter.