TMZ Sports - Page 50

Ezekiel Elliott was involved in an altercation with a HUGE celebrity DJ in Vegas early Monday morning -- with the DJ going off about the incident on video after the fact ... and it's intense.

But, sources connected to Zeke tell us ... the Cowboys star is adamant he wasn't the one in the wrong.

Here's what we know for sure ... Zeke and Dak Prescott were partying at Drai's After Hours at The Cromwell Hotel and Casino where DJ Franzen was hanging out.

DJ Franzen is a huge force in hip-hop -- he's tight with guys like Jay-Z, T.I. and Big Sean ... and Drake even gave him TWO shout-outs in TWO different songs ("The Motto" and "Elevate").

Sources connected to Franzen tell us ... he walked over to say hi and that's when Elliott and some of his crew got aggressive and things started to pop off.

One Franzen source tells us ... Dak walked over to the DJ and attempted to smooth things over -- but it was already too late ... Franzen felt disrespected and decided to go off on social media.

"Can you believe Ezekiel Elliott tried to pick a fight with me?!" Franzen said in an IG video first spotted by SportsGossip.com ... "Man, F*CK THE COWBOYS!!!"

"Get the f*ck up out of Vegas man," he added ... "You are never allowed in my section again, you little bitch."

He finished with this message -- "If y'all know Ezekiel Elliott, you tell em DJ Franzen said 'F*ck you ... you little bitch ass motherf*cker.'"

Our Zeke sources tell a different story ... claiming Franzen came over in an aggressive manner and was talking trash about the Cowboys.

One source put it this way, "He was trying to provoke Zeke."

Antonio Brown ... we mustache you a question -- what's up with the dental drapes, man??

The NFL superstar posted a selfie with his son, Auto, on Wednesday ... showing off a bright, new multi-colored dread look ... complete with a bleach blonde caterpillar above his upper lip.

Of course, A.B.'s no stranger to head-turning looks ... remember, he had the Nino Brown/Lego head 'do a few years ago ... and his fashion style is among the most unique in the league.

For a guy who dressed up as a hippo and sang "My Prerogative" in front of a bunch of people, we shouldn't be surprised.

Saints superstar Michael Thomas is STILL salty over the way his team's season ended ... posting a pic on social media Wednesday calling next week's Big Game, "Super Bowl LIE."

The entire city of New Orleans has been up in arms since the refs blew a potentially game-winning pass interference call at the end of the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.

In fact ... Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise tells TMZ Sports commissioner Roger Goodell should force the Rams to replay the Saints this weekend 'cause of the robbery.

Thomas clearly agrees ... 'cause he took to IG this week to post a meme that transformed the Super Bowl LIII logo into a "Super Bowl LIE" one.

Other Saints have been vocal about the controversial ending too ... tight end Ben Watson posted on his social media saying, "It’s not fair. I’m angry for a number of reasons. And we are all incredibly disappointed. But we will not be shaken!"

BlocBoy JB is following suit with a lot of other artists by filing his own suit against the creators of Fortnite for allegedly stealing a dance he popularized ... TMZ has learned.

BB JB just sued Epic Games -- the company behind Fortnite Battle Royale -- for allegedly ripping off his dance the "Shoot" and throwing it into their game with a different name ... the "Hype" dance.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, BlocBoy claims he's the creator of the dance, and that Epic Games didn't get permission to use it in Fortnite. Once again, he claims that while he hadn't registered a copyright on the dance when Fortnite used it ... he says he's in the process of locking it down now.

He's being repped by David L. Hecht and Sandy Lal.

Lots of other rappers and social media figures have filed similar suits -- including one Alfonso Ribeiro, who's got beef with the "Carlton" dance being used in the game, as well as Backpack Kid, who claims the game creators stole his move, "The Floss" -- and they all seem to have the same claim ... we popularized a dance, and therefore its ours.

Good luck, fellas.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft ain't mincing his words -- saying Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL ... period.

Of course, there were reports last week that Brady walked into the Patriots practice facility and declared himself the "baddest mother f*cker on the planet."

So, when we saw Kraft leaving John Jay College in New York we had to ask for his thoughts.

"We're lucky to have the greatest quarterback in history," Kraft said with a smirk on his face.

Earlier in the day, Kraft had teamed up with Jay-Z, Meek Mill and 76ers owner Michael Rubin for an event to launch the Reform Alliance, which is focused on overhauling the probation and parole system in America. The goal is to free 1 million people over the next 5 years.

And, since he's become tight with Meek, we asked if the Pats would be playing Mill's hit, "Dreams and Nightmares," if they win the Super Bowl this year ... to which it sounds like he says, "Of course."

The issue with that ... "Dreams and Nightmares" was essentially the theme song for the Philadelphia Eagles last season (when they beat the Pats in the Super Bowl).

Rep. Steve Scalise -- the House Minority Whip -- says the NFL NEEDS to replay the Saints-Rams NFC Championship Game ... telling TMZ Sports they gotta to do it THIS Saturday!!!

We got the Louisiana congressman out in D.C. when he said the NFL blew the ending of the Saints game so badly ... Roger Goodell needs to re-kickoff the matchup this weekend.

"Frankly, they should play a makeup game. If the Saints played the Rams on Saturday, I think it'd be the highest-watched sports event all year."

Of course, Steve's beef with the game stems from the obvious missed pass interference call late in the 4th quarter of Sunday's thriller.

Scalise tells us he expects the NFL to right that issue in time for next season ... saying the league has too much technology for that to happen again.

Henry Cejudo is SO crazy about Nikki Bella ... he's telling TMZ Sports he'd straight-up kick John Cena's ass in a ladder match to win her love!!!!

Before the backstory ... let's look at the tale of the tape:

Ok, here's the deal ... we spoke with the UFC superstar just days after his huge victory over T.J. Dillashaw ... when he confirmed he's got the BIGGEST crush on one half of the WWE's famous tag-team duo.

Earlier this week, Cejudo told ESPN's Ariel Helwani he developed a thing for Bella after meeting her on the flight to NYC for the Dillashaw fight. She made a video saying she was interested ...

Now, Cejudo tells us he's so infatuated with Nikki ... if it came down to wrestling with her ex-BF in the squared circle -- he'd do it ... AND COME OUT VICTORIOUS!!!

"Is that even a question? Do you smell what The Messenger is cooking?!" Cejudo tells us.

"I'm talking about a ladder match. I'll be the first one to get off that damn ring. And then, I'll be waiting for Bella right at the corner, man!"

Of course, Nikki doesn't seem like she'd mind that one bit ... she took to Twitter on Tuesday to respond to Henry's advances, saying she wants to have a "celebratory wine" with him soon!!!

Translation ... it's GREAT to be Henry Cejudo these days!!!

Jay-Z, Meek Mill and a coalition of powerful voices have formed a new organization that they say will "fight different" for criminal justice reform ... and they've got $50 mil between all of them to get it started.

The rappers joined forces with the likes of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, Nets co-owner Clara Wu Tsai, Van Jones and others to launch Reform Alliance Wednesday, which they say will fight to get at least a million people out of jail over the next five years with a focus on probation and parole.

Meek kicked things off by recounting his harrowing story of being jailed for 5 months on a petty probation violation, and says there are countless people caught up in the system who are voiceless ... for whom he now wants to speak and fight.

He did an interview on The Breakfast Club last month, and outlined the parameters of what his support would look like.

The group announced Van would lead the effort as the CEO, and he gave a poignant speech saying Reform Alliance would amplify the social activists who've been pushing for this reform for decades now. He made clear that RA was not a bank, that it wasn't just going to hire a bunch of lawyers for people and that it wouldn't be reinventing the wheel of criminal justice reform.

On the contrary, Van says the org aims to change fundamental laws that are unjust and ass-backward, which incarcerate men and women for absurd lengths of time ... and cost taxpayers millions of dollars unnecessarily.

Jay also spoke on why he joined the board, saying that the issue of criminal justice reform affects everybody in one way or another. He also highlighted what a complete family unit can achieve even under the hardest conditions when education is at the forefront.

As you know, Meek has become a symbol for criminal justice reform following his 2-4 year prison sentence for probation violations in 2017, and he's been championing the cause ever since his hard-fought release on bail.

The movement's already been effective ... President Trump signed the First Step Act into law, earning huge praise from CNN's Van Jones.

Lindsey Vonn ain't throwing in the towel just yet ... but she's close ... saying she's still holding out hope she won't have to retire from skiing after suffering another major knee injury.

Vonn pulled out of the World Cup super-G run at Cortina in Italy on Sunday due to pain in her knee -- the latest in a spectacular career riddled with injuries.

Now, the 34-year-old Vonn -- the greatest female downhill skier ever -- is opening up about the reality she might have to hang up her skis for good.

"After a lot of physical therapy and time to clearly think things through, we have come to some conclusions about my knee," Vonn said on Wednesday.

"First, we discovered the reason I had so much pain and muscle shut down in Cortina was due to an impact injury to my peroneal nerve."

Vonn says the pain got worse each day and by Sunday "my lower leg was in a lot of pain and my muscles had completely shut down."

"Now that we know the problem the next issue is fixing it. So far we haven’t found a solution and as a result I will not be able to compete in tomorrow’s downhill training run. However, since this is a new 'injury' per say, I remain hopeful that we can fix it."

"I’m taking things day by day and we will see what happens."

6:48 AM PT -- Officials tell TMZ Sports ... Williams was initially pulled over for going 80 in a 50 on the Crescent City Connection Bridge.

During the stop, cops suspected he was intoxicated and tried to administer a breath test but Williams refused ... so he was arrested.

We're told he was booked for driving while intoxicated, speeding, improper lane usage and failure to use a turn signal.

A bad week just got worse for New Orleans Saints cornerback P.J. Williams -- who was arrested early Wednesday morning when cops say he was driving drunk in the Big Easy.

The 25-year-old -- a key player on the Saints defense -- was booked for drunk driving and careless driving at 1:10 AM, according to The Advocate.

After posing for a mug shot, Williams was released roughly 3 hours after his arrest. We're working on the details.

It's not the first time Williams has been arrested for drunk driving -- he was popped for DUI in Florida back in 2015 but the case was thrown out because police dash cam video failed to capture key moments from that arrest.

Williams was a stud back in college where he helped Florida State win the national championship playing with Jameis Winston back in 2013.

He later entered the NFL Draft in 2015 where he was selected by the Saints in the 3rd round.

Since turning pro, he's been a pretty solid player -- even picking off Kirk Cousins for a Pick 6 in the Week 8 battle this season against the Minnesota Vikings.

Williams played in 15 games in 2018 for the Saints -- posting 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 sack.

He started in the NFC championship game against the L.A. Rams last weekend -- and had 8 tackles and broke up 1 pass in the 26 to 23 loss.

If you owned a major sports agency, wouldn't you travel to wherever the hell the #1 player in the country was at??

That's what Jay-Z did on Tuesday night -- flying out to Pittsburgh to watch the Pitt Panthers take on Zion Williamson and Duke at the Petersen Events Center.

For the record, it's not like this was some marquee matchup -- Duke is the #2 team in the country and Pitt isn't ranked.

So, why would Jay -- as busy as he is -- leave Beyonce and the kids to see a college hoops game?

Seems pretty obvious he's making a run at Zion -- like every other major sports agent on the planet.

Zion is expected to be the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- and it would be a huge score for Roc Nation which already has stars like Kevin Durant, Saquon Barkley and Todd Gurley on the roster.

In typical Zion fashion, he balled out in front of Hov -- dropping 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the 79 to 64 victory.

Also, Zion's teammate, R.J. Barrett -- who's also projected to be a Top 3 pick -- did well, posting 26 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Duke's #3 guy Cam Reddish had a decent stat line -- 15-6-4.

Jay had been planning the trip for weeks, according to Pitt coach Jeff Capel who told reporters, "His people reached out to me a few weeks ago about them wanting to come ... people from Roc Nation."

"Our athletic department and our ticketing people did an amazing job accommodating that. It’s great to have the greatest rapper ever in the arena.”

Guessing Jay can charge this trip to the company account -- like he's always said ... he's a not a businessman, he's a business, man.

Jermaine Dupri says super producer Jazze Pha is WRONG -- he never signed on to participate in the Super Bowl halftime show ... but it has nothing to do with Colin Kaepernick.

Pha is a producing legend in ATL and he's super plugged in -- so, when he told us Dupri was involved in the show, it sounded legit.

But, Dupri says Pha's just wrong -- and when we started questioning Jermaine he told us point blank, "You think I'm saying no because it's a secret? No means no."

Dupri says he's not boycotting the NFL over Kaepernick -- he says the NFL simply never called when they were putting the show together and he REFUSES to be considered an afterthought.

"It should have been a decision that they made at the beginning. I'm not something that you call later on in life."

So, Dupri is out -- but Maroon 5, Travis Scott, Big Boi from Outkast and Gladys Knight are all in to perform on Feb. 3.

Two exhilarating championship games won't change Dave Chappelle's NFL stance ... because he's tuned out the league -- and the reason is Colin Kaepernick.

Chappelle's been off the NFL since the whole Kap drama began, but when we got him leaving Delilah in West Hollywood, we decided to ask if the lure of another Tom Brady Super Bowl appearance could get him back.

Nope. Dave looked at our camera guy and said, "I don't even follow football. Can Colin Kaepernick kneel yet? Let me know."

Of course, the Super Bowl is going down Feb. 3 and the halftime show has become a huge point of controversy among celebs ... particularly Common, who has said he wishes Travis Scott wouldn't perform in the halftime show over the way the league has treated CK.

Other stars, including Gladys Knight, see it differently -- in fact, Gladys will be singing the national anthem at the game because she feels it's an opportunity to bring the country together.

5:40 PM PT -- Sipes' attorney -- Colin Jones, a partner at the Wilshire Law Firm -- tells TMZ, "We gave the defendant's months to settle this claim without litigation, but when they failed to be accountable for their actions, we were left with no choice but to file suit to seek justice for our client."

Drake, Odell Beckham Jr. and Kourtney Kardashian's ex are being sued by a guy who claims he was viciously beaten by a gang of thugs and Drake and Beckham were behind it.

Bennett Sipes claims in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, he was at Delilah nightclub in WeHo when there was a confrontation inside between himself and the defendants. When he attempted to leave the VIP area, he says Drake gave the "throat slash" hand gesture.

As he was attempting to enter the restroom, he says he was attacked by Younes Bendjima, Kourtney Kardashian's ex, along with members of Drake and Beckham's entourage.

The video shows the brutal fight. Sipes says he continues to incur medical bills and suffers "extreme mental anguish and physical pain."

As TMZ first reported, a source at the club told us Sipes "talked smack" as he approached the group.

Sipes filed a police report, but changed his mind and dropped it ... at least criminally.

Roy Halladay was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the MLB announced Tuesday -- a little more than 1 year after he tragically died in a plane accident.

The ex-Phillies and Blue Jays ace -- who won the Cy Young twice and was selected to the All-Star Game eight times -- made it in with 85.4 percent of the vote (you need 75% to get in).

Roy passed away in November 2017 after he crashed his ICON A5 light-sport aircraft 10 miles west of St. Petersburg, shocking the entire baseball world. He was 40.

Halladay's widow, Brandy, issued a statement saying ... "Being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame is every boy's dream. To stand on that stage in Cooperstown and deliver your acceptance speech in front of baseball's most enthusiastic fans is something that every baseball player aspires to achieve, and Roy was no exception."

"But that was not Roy's goal. It was not his goal to have those three letters after his signature. His goal was to be successful every single day of his 16-year career. Tonight's announcement is the end result of that effort."

"If only Roy were here to personally express his gratitude for this honor, what an even more amazing day this would be. I would like to extend special thanks to the baseball writers for the overwhelming percentage of votes that Roy received in his first year on the ballot. It means so much to me, Braden and Ryan."

Halladay is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time ... compiling a 203-105 record, a 3.38 ERA and 2,117 strikeouts in his 16-year career.

A former Kent State running back says he's suffering from long-term brain injuries due to his college football career ... and he's pointing the finger at the NCAA.

The man behind the lawsuit is Jerry Flowers -- a former high school superstar in Georgia who played for Kent State in 2005 ... racking up 304 yards and 3 TDs during his freshman year.

Flowers says he sustained "numerous concussions" during his college football career and now he's suffering from "several symptoms indicative of long-term brain and neurocognitive injuries."

In his lawsuit, filed in federal court in Indiana, Flowers claims the NCAA actively concealed data about the effects of concussions on long-term health.

He also claims the NCAA did not warn players that their helmets did not protect against concussions, "despite the fact an athlete would naturally think of his or her helmet as protective."