TMZ Sports - Page 50

He lashed out at Adrian Peterson ... but when it comes to Ray Rice, Cris Carter tells TMZ Sports he's rooting for the NFL star to get his life back together.

Carter was on his way to the White House when he told us he stands by his emotional statements on Peterson -- saying he still strongly believes the Vikings should keep him off the field.

But when we asked about Rice, the NFL Hall of Famer told us he hopes the former Ravens running back can redeem himself ... and strongly believes he'll be able to get his life back together.

As for why Carter is at the White House -- he's set to speak on a panel about his battle with substance abuse and recovery.

10:25 AM PT -- Jameis just issued a public apology to his coaches, school and teammates ... calling his actions "selfish."

He added, "That’s not how you do things around here."

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has been suspended for 1 HALF of FSU's game versus Clemson this weekend for screaming "F*** her right in the p***y" right in the middle of campus yesterday.

Several students tweeted about the incident Tuesday -- saying the Heisman Trophy winner stood up on a table and screamed it from the top of his lungs ... while people around him cracked up.

Of course, the phrase has become an Internet sensation in the past few months ... with hecklers often screaming it behind news reporters who are in the middle of live news shots.

It's just the latest in a string of problems for Winston -- who was convicted of stealing crab legs earlier this year ... and last year, had the cops called on him for allegedly stealing soda from a Burger King.

Didn't take long for the Minnesota Vikings to scrub all signs of the Radisson after the hotel suspended its relationship with the NFL team ... because the logo is noticeably absent on the team banner at today's news conference.

The team is setting up to address the media -- and swapped out the backdrop, which used to prominently display the Radisson logo to one that just has the Vikings emblem on it.

The Radisson has suspended its relationship with the team after its logo appeared behind team reps earlier in the week when they announced they would be REINSTATING Peterson.

After intense public backlash, the team eventually reversed course ... but the damage was already done.

Team owner Zygi Wilf just said, "We made a mistake."

It was only a matter of time ... but Nike has announced it has suspended its endorsement contract with Adrian Peterson.

The Swoosh just issued a statement saying, "Nike in no way condones child abuse or domestic violence of any kind and has shared our concerns with the NFL."

"We have suspended our contract with Adrian Peterson."

The timing is interesting ... considering AP left his house in Minnesota Tuesday covered head-to-toe in Nike gear.

It's almost like when Nike saw AP repping the brand in public, it seemed to be the final straw.

Dwyane Wade's back in the watch game -- dropping a brand new $20k timepiece with Hublot ... and it's made with real alligator.

It's called the Classic Fusion Dwyane Wade -- designed with Miami Heat colors -- and it includes 18 karat gold parts, sapphire and an alligator strap.

The watch it Wade's second design with the company -- they released one back in 2011.

Wade isn't the first superstar to release a watch with Hublot -- Jay Z partnered up with 'em last year and released a version of his own.

Lolo Jones says she felt broken, unlovable and embarrassed after she was eliminated from "Dancing with the Stars" Tuesday night ... and penned an emotional letter saying she's sick of being a loser.

The former Olympian unloaded on Facebook right after she got the boot from the ballroom ... saying, "When I was dancing last night and messed up I had flashbacks of the three Olympics and that people constantly tease me about. I thought oh no here it comes again. People are going to ridicule me. I'm so tired of feeling embarrassed."

"I joined the other competitors upstairs and I couldn't force a smile on my face. I felt like vomiting and in between the other dances I went in a back room and fought back tears. I felt so broken. So unlovable. Embarssed."

Jones -- who's been RIPPED in the public over her lackluster performances at the Olympics over the years -- added, "I really wanted to stay on the show and have the layers of hurt wash away by showing the public how hard I work. I wanted to come away a victor for once. I wanted to do so good performing in public that the haters would stop teasing me."

"But that is my way of thinking. Not Gods. Instead I need to trust God that he would heal my heart. That I would not work so hard for the world to validate and redeem me but know that God already conquered that for me on the cross."

She concluded ... "My time was brief but the lesson is lasting. Thank you everyone who wrote me kind messages. You were helping me not fall into darkness."

Indiana Pacers superstar Paul George is one step closer to JUSTICE -- after cops say they busted the man who BURGLARIZED his home back in April, taking $15k worth of important stuff.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan PD arrested 43-year-old Michael Lewis -- and claim they were led to the suspect through evidence recovered at the scene of the crime.

As we previously reported, George claimed someone broke into his home on April 28 and stole his platinum All-Star ring, a pair of Air Jordan 4 'Toro' shoes and more.

Cops say they do NOT believe George was specifically targeted -- "detectives believe it was a random act."

What do Blake Griffin and Michael Richards have in common? They both tested their comedy chops at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Safe to say, one went better than the other ...

The L.A. Clippers superstar appeared at the legendary Sunset Strip comedy club to perform at open mic night ... and decided to read some of his "Slam Dunk Poetry."

Griffin's been reciting some of his work -- inspired by snap-off warm-up pants, mouthpieces and bobblehead dolls -- as part of an ad campaign for Vizio.

Now, it seems he's taken his show on the road. And so far, people seem to be diggin' it.

At the very least ... his comedy club debut went better than Kramer.

Boxing champ Andre Berto is coming out swinging HARD at Victor Ortiz ... telling TMZ Sports V.O. is INSANE for asking Floyd Mayweather for a rematch -- because Floyd would KILL HIM.

Berto was out at Katsuya in Hollywood last night -- when he said Ortiz sounded "crazy" and "desperate" for calling out Floyd ... saying, "[Victor] needs to fight me again. I''l f**k his ass up."

Berto says if Ortiz can beat him -- "which he won't" -- then he deserves a shot at Mayweather.

FYI -- Ortiz DEFEATED Berto when they fought back in 2011 with Ortiz getting the unanimous decision.

Still, Berto is fired up ... saying, "I need to go ahead to whoop his ass before it's said and done."

The Minnesota Vikings have reversed their decision on Adrian Peterson and decided to bar him from all team activities until his child abuse case is resolved.

Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf announced they were placing Peterson on the NFL's exempt/commissioner's permission list, saying in a statement, "After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian."

The team had deactivated Peterson for last week's game following the allegations against their star running back, but on Monday announced their plans to play him this coming Sunday.

A superhero movie featuring NFL superstar Vernon Davis in the title role is a FINALIST for HBO's "Project Greenlight" show ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the San Francisco 49ers star played Captain Torpedo in a recently produced short film by French Mustache ... a comedy production company.

In the 2 minute and 4 second flick, Captain Torpedo finds himself in a tough situation ... being held captive by a deranged military guy with an inconsistent accent.

SPOILER ALERT: The Capt. takes a slug to the dome.

Turns out, the head producer behind the flick decided to enter the movie into the HBO competition -- famously started by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon -- and the movie made it all the way to the final 20.

FYI -- the previous round contained 200 movies!

If "Captain Torpedo" wins (based on voting on the official website with ends on 9/26), the filmmaker will get the chance to direct a real-life feature film.

It's huge for Davis -- considering the producers LOOOVE him and believe he can be a major Hollywood star one day. In fact, one of the producers tells us, "This is not the last we will see of Vernon Davis."

Stay tuned ...

Arian Foster is GOING OFF on Anheuser-Busch for daring to criticize the league's handling of the domestic violence crisis -- saying the beer giant is, "Selling poison on that high horse."

The Houston Texans running back's blood was clearly boiling when he read AB's statement ... which said it was "not yet satisfied with the league's handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our own company culture and moral code."

Foster's response -- "Lol ok, alcohol company."

"Selling poison on that high horse," he wrote ... adding, "Domestic violence and alcohol damn near synonymous."

Foster was challenged on Twitter, with someone saying, "Finally a BIG time company taking a public stance AGAINST and you rip them? Huh?"

His response? "You need a company to tell you dv is wrong?"

First the S.I. Swimsuit edition ... and now surf pro Anastasia Ashley has shredded her way into Maxim for a super hot bikini photo shoot in the middle of the desert.

Ashley -- who's pre-surf twerking routine went viral a few years ago -- shot the whole thing back in July in the middle of Littlerock, CA (population 1,400).

Here's our two-word interview with Ashley:

TMZ Sports: How was the weather?
Ashley: Literally MELTING!

Rihanna is livid at the NFL and CBS ... claiming the league and the network had no right to make it look like she was part of the Ravens/Steelers Thursday night pre-game show ... and had no right to single her out when it was scrapped.

Sources connected with Rihanna tell TMZ ... the singer was pissed when someone sent her the joint NFL/CBS press release last week, with the headline, "CBS & NFL Network 'Run This Town' for Thursday Night Football Open with Music Featuring Rihanna & Narration by Don Cheadle."

In fact Rihanna never did anything special for the game ... all CBS/NFL did was license a Jay Z song that featured Rihanna.

Rihanna's rep tells TMZ, "Due to the misuse and misrepresentation of Rihanna's name and participation in connection to CBS TNF, CBS was not allowed to license and utilize the song 'Run This Town.' Roc Nation made the decision to not grant the song’s usage."

Translation: Because her name was used to promote the show, she felt she then had the right to block the production.

Rihanna also made it clear on social media Tuesday ... she is also angry that CBS yanked the production and insinuated it was because she was the victim of domestic violence.

CBS's plan was to use the Jay Z song along with a voiceover by Don Cheadle that would be customized for each match up -- but CBS said today the song will NOT be used.

Former NFL superstar Darren Sharper has been locked up in an L.A. jail for 201 days ... and despite the fact he hasn't been convicted of a crime, he ain't gettin' out anytime soon.

Of course, Sharper is behind bars because he's accused of drugging and raping two women he met at a West Hollywood nightclub back in October 2013.

He's also been charged with raping two women Arizona -- after allegedly drugging them as well ... and he's being investigated for similar crimes in Louisiana and Nevada.

Arizona is seeking extradition to try him for the alleged crimes in Tempe, but prosecutors will have to wait until L.A. is done with him.

But that could be a while ... because Sharper was due to appear in court today for a preliminary hearing -- but it was postponed until October and a trial date has yet to be set. He's currently in an L.A. jail and -- because the Arizona judge has ordered him held without bail -- the cell door remains locked.

For his part, Sharper has pled not guilty to the crimes in L.A. and his lawyers have denied the allegations in the other cases.

Cleveland Browns superstar Josh Gordon plead guilty to driving while impaired in North Carolina this morning ... and if he stays out of trouble for 12 months, he'll stay out of jail.

As we previously reported, the WR was pulled over on July 5 in Raleigh after cops say he was speeding -- and during the stop, officers noticed he was boozed up (blew a .09).

Gordon was sentenced to a 60-day suspended sentence -- with 12 months unsupervised probation ... which means if he does anything stupid during the next year, like break the law, he'll have to serve the 60 days.