TMZ Sports - Page 50

6:15 PM -- Bucs general manager Jason Licht tells TMZ Sports the team's aware of the incident and says JPP was NOT cited. Licht adds there was a passenger in the car, whose condition is unclear.

Licht went on to say, "Our immediate concern is for the safety and well being of Jason and his passenger. We have been in contact with Jason and will be getting him further evaluated by our medical staff in the near future."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Jason Pierre-Paul was involved in a single car accident in Florida early Thursday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

JPP crashed his SUV around 5 AM in Broward County ... and emergency personnel rushed to the scene to take him to the hospital.

The 30-year-old is not accused of any wrongdoing and he was NOT speeding -- we're told it was merely an accident.

Sources close to the Super Bowl champ tell us he was released from the hospital and is doing fine.

Pierre-Paul is in the middle of a 4-year, $62 million deal with the Bucs, and as a key member of the defense, we're assuming the team is monitoring the situation.

This isn't the first time JPP has had an off-field incident -- he infamously had a fireworks accident in 2015, and later returned to the field to perform at a high level.

Tom Brady says there are TWO good reasons he's not the highest paid player in the NFL ...

1) He'd rather have the Patriots use the cash to pay other good players

2) HIS WIFE'S ALREADY SUPER RICH!!!

It's true ... TB12 explained the whole thing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" when Jimmy pointed out that Brady (who's won more Super Bowls than any other QB ever) is the 18th highest paid QB in the NFL.

Don't worry, he ain't exactly poor -- Brady is slated to make $15 million in 2019.

But, Tom broke it down this way ...

"I think the thing I've always felt for me in my life, winning has been a priority. And, my wife [Gisele] makes a lot of money."

Brady continued ... "I'm a little smarter than you think. Actually, it's a salary cap. You can only spend so much and the more that one guy gets is less for others. And, for a competitive advantage standpoint, I like to get a lot of good players around me."

He's not kidding about Gisele ... she's made a FORTUNE over the years as the highest paid model on the planet.

According to Forbes, the Brazilian raked in $42 million in 2013 alone -- though that number has gone way down over the years.

She reportedly only made $10 mil in 2018.

HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE ON THAT MEASLY SALARY?!!?

Nobody's droppin' into Tilted Towers in the Red Sox locker room these days ... 'cause the team has decided to quit playing Fortnite until they start winning again!!!

TMZ Sports has learned there's no official ban on the ultra-popular video game ... it's just become an unspoken rule in the clubhouse that the Sox ain't playin' it until the L's stop piling up.

Of course, Boston's been off to a sluggish start after winning 108 games and the World Series last year ... going just 14-17 in the season's first month.

But, seems they've found a solution to their woes -- put down the controllers ... and start picking up some W's!!!

Star pitcher Nathan Eovaldi spoke with WEEI about the situation, saying, "Maybe if we were doing a little better maybe we would be doing it. But you can’t be losing and playing Fortnite in the clubhouse."

It's a pretty big deal for the guys in Beantown ... the Sox were one of the strongest proponents of the game last year, hittin' popular Fortnite dance moves all over the diamond.

But, don't bet on the game's banishment taking too long ... the Red Sox have won six of their last 10 -- and Mookie Betts is just starting to heat up!!!

NBA star D'Angelo Russell was busted for marijuana at a New York City airport Wednesday night ... after TSA found weed stashed in his checked bag.

DLo's luggage was searched before his flight to Louisville took off from LaGuardia airport around 7 PM ... when a suspicious can of Arizona Iced Tea flagged the system.

As it turns out, it wasn't just an ordinary can of tea -- it was one of those "cans" that actually has a secret compartment people use to hide their drugs (y'all stoners know what we're talking about).

We're told there was more weed found in a grinder inside the fake can as well.

Law enforcement sources tell us Russell initially tried to say the weed belonged to his brother, but he was alone and in possession of the bag.

TMZ Sports has learned that Russell was cited for possession of marijuana (under 50 grams) ... and was allowed to leave. We're told the summons usually results in the defendant paying a fine.

The Brooklyn Nets released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying, "We have been made aware of the situation involving D’Angelo Russell and are in the process of gathering more information at this time."

It was a breakout season for Russell ... who averaged 21 points and 7 assists per game and made his 1st All-Star game.

Tyreek Hill is adamantly denying he's ever abused his 3-year-old son ... and says his fiancee is the one who's gotten physical with the boy in the past -- and he has text messages to prove it.

It's all in a letter reportedly sent to the NFL on Thursday by Hill's attorneys, who say Hill has NEVER "punched" his son and was in no way responsible for the boy's recent broken arm.

As we previously reported ... Hill's fiancee, Crystal Espinal, accused the Chiefs superstar of abusing their son in leaked audio tapes ... but Tyreek strongly denied those allegations.

Now, Hill's attorneys -- per ESPN -- are not only saying Tyreek's never beaten his son ... they're alleging it's actually Espinal who's harmed the child in the past.

Per the letter, Tyreek has text messages from Espinal that read:

Tyreek: "Crystal you know I didn't cause any bruising or harm to [our son]. But for some reason I still may be charged."

Espinal: "I know you didn't. I did. I hurt [our son]. I'm the one that did it. I was hurt and mad at you so I blamed you for everything."

Hill's attorneys in the letter also say the only times Hill has ever put his hands on his son are to either calm him down or to play with him.

The attorneys also say Tyreek's son is by no means "terrified" of the Kansas City superstar ... saying they have eyewitness accounts that "[their child]'s eyes light up when he sees" Tyreek.

The attorneys add that Tyreek is currently going through both family counseling and individual counseling ... and is "looking forward to having the opportunity" to speak with the NFL regarding the allegations.

Kenny Smith says he's praying for his good friend and ex-teammate, Danny Ainge ... and says his heart attack should send a message to retired players -- take care of your health!

The Boston Celtics GM was treated for a mild heart attack earlier this week in Milwaukee ... but is expected to make a full recovery.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet at LAX on Thursday ... and Smith says there's actually some positive that can come out of this situation.

"It's important for guys who are retired to keep a type of awareness of their body, and the health of their body, the way they do when they're playing. A lot of us don't," Smith tells us.

"So hopefully this could be messages to a lot of former players that are still out there now not playing anymore."

Smith and Ainge go way back ... they played together from 1988-1990 on the Sacramento Kings, and have been friends ever since.

9:40 AM PT -- CoCo's in trouble ... 'cause Conor's taken notice, saying he's totally down for a fight ... and even threw Mark Wahlberg into the mix as well!!!

"Challenge accepted Conan!" Conor tweeted. "I'll whoop you and Walhberg (sic) in the same night."

"Double shares for the Double Champ!"

If Conor McGregor REALLY wants a piece of the UFC, he's gonna have to get through Conan O'Brien first!!

CoCo was leaving UCLA on Wednesday after participating in a college signing day event with Michelle Obama when we brought up the fact he happens to be a minority owner of the UFC.

And, with Conor making so much noise about wanting an ownership stake in the company, we asked Conan if he would follow Mark Wahlberg's lead and offer to sell Conor a piece of his share.

"I will fight him for his [share]," Conan joked ... "If he can take me in the Octagon!"

O'Brien continued to tease ... saying he'd have to look at the paperwork before making any serious deal with Conor.

Look, he's obviously joking the whole way through -- but Conor wasn't kidding when he demanded ownership.

In fact, Conor still isn't signed on to take another fight in the Octagon after retiring via social media earlier this year.

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was treated after suffering a mild heart attack in Milwaukee on Tuesday ... and luckily, he's expected to make a full recovery.

The Celtics released a statement on Thursday ... saying the ex-NBAer received immediate medical attention and will be able to return to Boston, although it's unclear if he will be able to attend tomorrow night's Game 3 matchup in the Eastern Conference semis against the Bucks.

Ainge has had health issues in the past -- he also suffered a mild heart attack in 2009.

The 60-year-old won 2 titles with the Celtics during his 14-year career before taking his talents to the front office. He's widely considered one of the best execs in the league ... and helped put together Boston's 2008 title-winning roster.

Tom Brady, Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel bro'd down over some sushi in Beverly Hills ... they're super rich and super famous ... so, question is, who footed the bill???

The power trio hit the town after shooting a bit for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Wednesday ... getting a table at Yazawa Japanese BBQ.

Of course, Brady's been all over La La Land this week ... he was spotted throwin' the pigskin with some UCLA players earlier in the day before joining the stars for dinner.

So ... who pays the tab?! Let's break it down:

Kimmel -- Jimmy just had Brady and Damon on his show ... so a few sushi rolls as a thank you for coming on his show ain't out of the question.

Damon -- the actor's a HUGE Pats and TB12 fan ... so a congrats on winning a 6th SUPER BOWL dinner is definitely not out of the question.

Then there's Brady ... the dude's made more than $212 MILLION in his career -- and that's just his football salary -- and uhh, we might have our winner.

Regardless of who whipped out the wallet ... that's one helluva power table.

LeBron James produces and acts in movies and TV -- he's on his way to Hollywood mogul status -- but now he's the one being offered a role ... by an up-and-coming R&B singer.

The dude with the voice is TOBi ... and a bunch of athletes from Todd Gurley to DeAndre Hopkins have been rockin' out to his music -- so when we saw him in NYC earlier this week, we asked about all the baller support.

"Man, it's crazy, man, cause these are people that we look up to in the sports world, and they love my music, and they're working out to it which is f**king dope. I love that."

TOBi says his favorite athletes are LeBron and Kawhi Leonard (he's from Toronto) ... so we asked if there might be a King James cameo in one of his videos.

It ain't out of the question ... LBJ appeared in the music vid for Ohio rapper Al Fatz's song, "Came Down," back in 2007.

TOBi says ... "You never know, that might happen. That just might happen. We're gonna get it poppin'!"

RIP to Yasiel Puig's bat ... the Cincinnati Reds slugger snapped his lumber over his knee like the Hulk on Wednesday ... and it looked incredibly easy.

Puig Your Friend is no friend to the wood -- the dude is known for destroying his bat after frustrating plate appearances... and he put his special talent on display during the 4th inning of the Reds vs. Mets game after striking out swinging.

If you're not impressed by this ... pick up a wooden bat and try to do it yourself and NOT be in a world of pain after. Actually, don't do that ... just trust us.

Puig's been known to break bats during his career ... so he was able to regroup and walk back to the dugout without so much of a limp.

Sorry, Tom Brady ... Rob Gronkowski looks like he's OFFICIALLY moved on from football -- and onto acting -- 'cause the retired Pats star killed it as a fake cop at the Billboard Music Awards!!

It all went down Wednesday night ... when Gronk kicked off the BBMA show as a "security guard" who was bouncing Kelly Clarkson.

The skit was pretty funny ... Gronk pretended to kick KC -- who he called a "seat filler" -- out of her spot to let Florida Georgia Line take her place.

When Clarkson eventually moved on to sing her opening number ... Gronk came back for more -- pretending to drag her off the stage!!

Gronk later presented an award to Cardi B with Terry Crews -- and even joked about his potential next career there ... saying he wanted to be a TV host just like TC!!!

Oh, and the guy had amazing seats -- proving Hollywood is totally down to accept him -- 'cause he was sitting in the second row just behind Taylor Swift!!!!!

Of course, Rob's no stranger to Hollywood ... he's had plenty of movie cameos, he's done skits for the WWE, and he even hosts the show "Crashletes" on Nickelodeon.

By the way, Rob also brought his smokin' hot GF, Camille Kostek, to the awards show ... which begs the question, could there be some wedding bells along with a future acting career soon???

Robert Kraft still has some very powerful allies during his Asian Spa case ... including Jay-Z and Meek Mill.

Of course, Kraft has been friendly with both rap superstars for a while -- but teamed up with them on Wednesday as part of a meeting for the REFORM Alliance, dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system.

CNN's Van Jones -- who's the CEO of REFORM -- was also on hand along with Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin.

During the meeting, the group discussed everything from reform policy goals to employment rates and crime rates.

Earlier this year, the group pledged $50 MILLION in hopes of achieving their goal of getting 1 MILLION people released over the next 5 years.

For Kraft, his appearance at the meeting is interesting considering his lawyers in Florida had been battling all day long to keep officials from releasing surveillance footage in his spa case.

The guys could have easily asked Kraft to keep his distance from the group during his legal case because it could be viewed as a distraction -- but clearly, they don't feel that way.

Kraft not only had a seat at the table, but posed for a pic with the group -- everyone had big smiles.

U.S. Olympic legend Michael Johnson -- one of the fastest humans of all time -- says he's fully recovered after suffering a crippling stroke in 2018 ... and even sprinting again!!!

51-year-old Johnson -- who won 4 gold medals in 3 Olympics -- tells TMZ Sports he suffered a stroke on the right side of his brain following a workout in Sept. 2018.

At the time, Johnson said he felt discomfort in his left leg, numbness in his left arm and quickly began to lose balance. So, he rushed to the emergency room to get checked out.

"By the time I got to the hospital, I couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't stand on my left side," Johnson says.

"But, fortunately, I got there quickly and was able to get treated by a team of specialists."

Johnson spent the next several months working his ass off in several rehabilitation programs including physical and occupational therapy ... and says he approached rehab like he was training for the Olympics.

"[Rehabilitating was] a little more difficult on the one hand because no one's standing there clapping there for me when I finish my workout now," Johnson said.

"But, at the same time, this is my livelihood that was at stake."

Ultimately, Johnson was able to get back to the high level of physical fitness he was at before the stroke -- and now he's on a mission to spread awareness along with the American Stroke Association.

Wayne Gretzky ain't exactly up in arms about the punch Brad Marchand threw at the back of an opposing player's head Tuesday night ... telling TMZ Sports, "We've all been punched."

Marchand's been under fire -- some people calling the Bruins star a cheap shot artist -- after socking Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Scott Harrington in the 3rd period of Game 3.

Harrington was on his knees outside the crease when Marchand took a shot at the defenseless player -- before skating away before the refs could see what happened.

Despite the fact the dirty play was captured on video, Marchand is not expected to be punished by the league.

We asked "The Great One" if he thinks Marchand should face league discipline.

"First of all, that's not my prerogative. That's up to the National Hockey League," Gretzky said.

"What we have now in the NHL, we have great refereeing and analyzing what's best for the game and I'm sure the NHL will take care of it properly."

When we pressed on if Wayne thought the punch was dirty, he explained ... "I didn't see the game. You have to see the whole game to understand what happened."

Our guy replied, "What did you think of the punch though, was it cheap?"

Gretzky laughed and said, "We've all been punched!"

We also talked to Wayne about the Tampa Bay Lightning being swept in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs after tying the record for the greatest regular season in league history.

Ice Cube sees big things in store for Lamar Odom ... telling TMZ sports he thinks L.O. will return to glory in the BIG3 league this season.

Hours before the 2019 BIG3 Draft kicks off in Las Vegas, Cube was raving about the huge stars he's locked up for the upcoming season -- most notably Lamar Odom.

As we previously reported ... Odom has been training his ass off in hopes of playing pro basketball again. We're told he's looking pretty good in the gym.

Now it's time to see if a BIG3 team still believes in Odom when the draft goes live at 7 PM PT.

"A lot of people counted him out, but not us," Cube said. "I think he's gonna be our comeback player of the year."

Cube is also excited about Royce White, a former first-round NBA Draft pick who ended up playing up overseas because of conflicts with NBA teams over the treatment of his mental illness.