TMZ Sports - Page 50

Baker Mayfield is breaking down his decision to shave right before AND right after the Browns' devastating loss to the Broncos on Sunday ... saying he "didn't deserve" to wear a handlebar mustache.

Aside from Cleveland's awful performance, the most notable takeaway from Sunday was Baker's facial hair switcharoo -- shaving his beard to a handlebar look for the game, and then chopping it down to a porn 'stache for post-game interviews.

Baker explained his decision after practice on Wednesday ... saying he had been undefeated while wearing the handlebar look ... and after the Browns took their 6th L of the season, he felt he wasn't worthy.

"The quarterbacks had a 'Movember' mustache, and the original thought for me, do handlebars," Mayfield said.

"I was undefeated before Sunday with the handlebar mustache, so I shaved it off cause I didn’t deserve it."

Baker also weighed in on his stats being a LOT worse than in his rookie campaign ... and unlike last week's presser, he seemed calm in the pocket and admitted he's not playing great right now.

The 100-year-old, super rare, game-worn jersey rocked by one of the world's first basketball stars is on the auction block ... and it's expected to rake in a quarter of a million dollars!

The threads belonged to Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Lapchick ... a star on the New York Original Celtics in the 1920s (no relation to the Boston Celtics, who didn't even exist until 1946).

Lapchick -- a 6'5" big man known for his athleticism and agility -- is regarded as one of the best centers of his generation.

In 1923, JL joined the famed Original Celtics -- the 2nd incarnation of the New York Celtics -- who were disbanded during World War 1.

Lapchick's Celtics barnstormed around the country -- beating up on local teams -- until 1926 ... when they joined the American Basketball League (ABL) and won 2 straight titles.

The Reach Sporting Goods jersey that Lapchick donned during this time -- which he originally gifted to director Harry Glynn (and held by Glynn's family since) -- is on the block at SCP Auctions ... and the site tells us they expect it to pull in major money.

Lapchick wasn't only a stud hooper ... he was also a damn good coach. After his playing days, he was the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1947-1956. He also coached St. John's University to 4 NIT championships during 2 stints in Queens, NY ... between 1936-1947 and 1956-1965.

Here's Mike Tyson giving a few pointers to UFC superstar Francis Ngannou on how to fight Tyson Fury ... and the video is awesome!

So, why is this happening???

Remember, Fury has been teasing a move over to MMA -- he's apparently dead serious -- and he even called out Ngannou as a potential opponent.

"Who’s the heavyweight champion of the world in the UFC? The American-Croatian, Stipe Miocic. I’ll fight him in a heartbeat, no problem. Or, Francis Ngannou," Fury said.

"Any of the heavyweights they’ve got, I’m not afraid of any of them. I’m the Gypsy King. I’m a boxer, but I’m one badass motherf**ker."

So, when Ngannou met up with Mike Tyson to appear on his 'Hotboxin' podcast recently -- Mike decided to run the heavyweight fighter through a few moves to help him out.

Ya gotta watch the footage ... 53-year-old Tyson sticks, moves and sticks again -- the guy clearly still has explosive power and skill. Even the footwork is still super impressive.

Will Ngannou get a chance to unleash his new moves on Fury? UFC honcho Dana White told us it's "possible" Fury could step in the Octagon ... but unlikely.

Texas Longhorns star Andrew Jones picked up right where he left off nearly 2 years ago ... balling out in his first game with significant minutes since battling leukemia.

The 21-year-old was leading the team in points when he was diagnosed with cancer in January 2018. He underwent several rounds of treatment ... and was adamant he would return to the hardwood.

Jones briefly made 2 appearances last season, but proved he was officially BACK in Tuesday night's season opener against Northern Colorado ... dropping 20 points in 29 minutes in UT's win.

Not only was it a great performance ... it was Jones' CAREER HIGH!!!

The story is incredible ... but Jones said after the game he wasn't letting the big moment affect his play.

"I didn't know what to expect. It was a great feeling to be back out there," Jones said. "I didn't have any jitters. I wasn't nervous.''

Horns coach Shaka Smart also spoke about Andrew's strength after the game, saying "I'm happy for Andrew. I'm happy for his family."

"Sometimes in life, when you are dealt a tough hand, it's really about how you respond. He was the best offensive player on the floor. He played with great energy. He played with an aggressive, confident and loose mindset.''

San Jose Sharks superstar Evander Kane SUCKS at gambling -- the hockey star blew $500,000 at a Vegas casino during the NHL playoffs and never paid back the casino, a new lawsuit claims.

Kane allegedly hit up the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino around April 15, 2019 ... when the Sharks were playing the Vegas Golden Knights in the 1st round of the NHL playoffs.

According to the lawsuit, the 28-year-old decided to try his hand gambling during the road trip ... and took out several markers (essentially loans from the casino for gambling) totaling $500,000.

The order of the markers is telling ...

Kane started out with a $40,000 marker ... and when he lost that, he took out $20,000 more.

As time went on, the amount of money Kane took increased ... 2 installments of $80,000 followed by 2 installments of $100,000.

In the end, the casino claims Kane is in the hole to the tune of $500,000 -- and "refuses" to pay them back.

Now, the Cosmo wants their money PLUS damages, attorney fees, court costs and more.

Turns out, being a pro tennis player helps keep Caroline Wozniacki in INSANE shape!!!

Check out the 29-year-old showing off her shredded bod while rocking a bikini on an L.A. rooftop this week.

Wozniacki has been super busy this year -- when the former #1 ranked player in the world isn't playing tennis, she's been taking classes at Harvard Business School as part of a program that helps athletes build a second career outside of sports.

Caroline is enrolled in the course with her husband, ex-NBA star David Lee, figure skater Ashley Wagner, Knicks guard Reggie Bullock and more.

There are rumblings Wozniacki -- who had a rough 2019 season -- could retire soon, partly due to her battle with rheumatoid arthritis. But, her brother, Patrick, recently announced she will be playing in at least 2 major tournaments in 2020.

"Right now, in January, she plans to compete at a WTA tournament in Auckland and then the Australian Open," Patrick told TV2 in Denmark.

"So she'll play in 2020, and that's always nice. But I don't know what else is on the program."

Alex Rodriguez says the Mets are going to be SUPER HAPPY with their new manager, Carlos Beltran ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the guy is "a baseball savant."

"The Mets are going to love him," A-Rod says.

New York has stumbled the last few years with Mickey Callaway and Terry Collins running the dugout ... but Rodriguez seems convinced 42-year-old Beltran will turn things around next year.

Of course, A-Rod is a bit biased -- dude played with Carlos for a few years with the Yankees earlier this decade -- but he swears the ex-outfielder will kill it with the Mets.

"Love Carlos," Rodriguez says. "Great hire. Great person. New Yorker. His wife, Jessica, lives right here in the city. And, he's a baseball savant. I think the Mets are going to love him."

As for Beltran having NO managing experience heading into the gig ... Rodriguez says he has zero concerns about growing pains, telling us, "He'll do great, he'll do great."

By the way, Rodriguez has some new beginnings going on this week too ... he was out in NYC promoting his new show, "Back In The Game," which debuts Wednesday night.

LeBron James just wasn't in the mood on Tuesday ... shutting down a heckler with 7 simple words -- "Your lady embarrassed to be with you!"

Bron and the Lakers were in Chicago playing the Bulls at the United Center when someone in the stands began running their mouth about LeBron and Anthony Davis.

At first, LeBron tried to ignore the guy ... but then, Bron just shot back at the dude, grabbed his towel and moved on. Pretty hilarious!!!

But, the hecklers, as a group, weren't fazed -- one guy continued to scream at Anthony Davis ... and it got so annoying, security had to step in to try and shut the guy up.

Ultimately, the Lakers let their play do the talking ... L.A. beat Chicago 118 to 112, with LeBron dropping 30 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

His lady is surely not embarrassed to be with him.

Alex Collins had a massive jug of weed and a gun on the floorboards of his crashed Corvette ... and police video obtained by TMZ Sports shows cops making the shocking find and arresting the NFL RB for it.

Collins skidded off the road at around 4:30 a.m. near the Baltimore Ravens' practice facility in Owings Mills, Maryland when he was a member of the team back in March 2019.

In video we obtained ... you can see a cop pulling up to the scene shortly after the crash -- and it's pretty wild.

Collins' pricey ride -- which looks like the Batmobile -- is rammed against some trees and stuck in a snowy ditch ... and Collins appears to be asleep when the officer opens the passenger door.

Collins explains to the cop he had crashed earlier in the morning and was waiting for a tow ... but after Alex had some issues with expired tags, things got dicey for the 25-year-old.

The cop hits him with a ticket, but explains he smells a strong odor of marijuana from the car as well ... and asks him straight-up how much weed he has in the vehicle.

The running back claims he doesn't know ... saying it belonged to his buddy, Tykheem "TJ" Dunaway, who was a passenger in the car earlier but had walked home instead of sticking around.

TJ eventually showed back up to the scene ... and after the cop discovered the jug of weed and a firearm in the car -- he put Collins in cuffs and questioned TJ.

TJ told the cop the weed definitely belonged to Collins ... saying, "It's his. I didn't know it was in the car until it crashed because we were coming from a party."

Eventually, both dudes were arrested for possession of the weed ... while Collins was also booked for having a handgun in his vehicle.

Collins fought the case in court for months ... but in October, he agreed to a plea deal in which he pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges of possession of a handgun and possession of weed.

In exchange, Collins received probation and a fine ... and had his felony charges dropped.

Collins -- who was cut by the Ravens immediately after the arrest -- is still looking for a team this season ... despite being hit with a 3-game suspension by the NFL over the incident.

The city employee who saved a man from an oncoming train this past weekend will be honored as a "hometown hero" prior to the Raiders' 'TNF' game ... the team announced on Tuesday.

The story is incredible -- right after Oakland beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday, a train station near the stadium was packed with Raider fans ... and one man lost his balance and fell onto the tracks.

BART supervisor John O'Connor saw what happened and pulled the man from the tracks and back to safety without hesitation ... saving him from the zooming train.

O'Connor spoke about the incident afterward ... admitting "I thought the train was going to cut him in half, honestly."

Now, the Silver and Black are honoring O'Connor for his heroic actions before the Raiders play against the L.A. Chargers on Thursday.

"The team will host him in front of Raider Nation as this week’s 'Hometown Hero,'" the Raiders said on Tuesday.

TMZ Sports spoke with Raiders star Darren Waller, who says O'Connor's reaction was "legendary" ... and the hero deserves the biggest standing ovation of the night on Thursday.

Buffalo Bills rookie running back Devin Singletary says TWO legendary running backs have been giving him the secrets to success in the NFL ... and he's telling all to TMZ Sports.

After Devin balled out on Sunday -- 140 yards from scrimmage and a TD -- teammate Frank Gore brought over Adrian Peterson to give him some postgame love.

22-year-old Singletary -- a 3rd-round pick out of FAU -- says Peterson not only gave him career advice but offered to be a mentor. Devin tells us how the conversation went down, it's pretty cool.

In fact, we reached out to Peterson ... who told us he's made it his mission to help out young players to pass along the help he got when he first got to the league.

"I’m what [LaDainian Tomlinson] and Terrell Davis were to me," Peterson says, "The players I grew up watching and admiring."

But, the player who's clearly had the biggest impact on Singletary so far is his Bills teammate, Frank Gore ... who's taken the kid under his wing in a big way.

Singletary says Gore isn't only setting the BEST possible example when it comes to work ethic -- but has gone out of his way to help the rookie get better.

In other words, it ain't no Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers situation in Buffalo -- Gore is trying to set Devin up for longterm success.

Cam Newton's backup is showing love for the superstar QB after heading to injured reserve for the rest of the season ... with Kyle Allen praising Cam for being a great leader, despite his challenges.

The 30-year-old had been dealing with a nagging foot injury since the preseason ... and his 2019 campaign officially came to an end on Tuesday when the Panthers placed him on IR.

Allen -- who has done a solid job in 6 games without Newton -- showed major love for #1 following the news, saying "I watched this man do everything in his power to come back from his injury."

"I watched him lead and be a great teammate day in day out. Thank you for setting the example. We got you."

Newton clearly appreciated the statement and responded with a nice comment saying, "Here for you my killa!!"

Of course, there have been rumblings that Carolina could part ways ⁣with Cam after this season ... given he's due at least $18 million in 2020 if he's on the roster. If the Panthers cut Newton, they'd be able to free up a bunch of cap space.

Washington Nationals catcher Kurt Suzuki tells TMZ Sports he had a BLAST at the White House with President Trump ... even with that bizarre hug from POTUS!

You know the hug ... when Trump basically recreated that famous "Titanic" shot with the catcher while honoring the World Series champs earlier this week. Weird!

"We all had a good time," 36-year-old Suzuki said ... while revealing he had no idea Trump was going to hit him with the sneak embrace!

There was some controversy surrounding the trip -- a handful of Nationals players (including Sean Doolittle, Anthony Rendon, Joe Ross and Javy Guerra) refused to attend the White House ceremony as a way of protesting Trump.

And, since Suzuki rocked a red MAGA hat during the ceremony, we asked if there is now a divide among the players.

"I love all my teammates, brother," Suzuki told us ... noting that he had a great time with the teammates who joined him at 1600 Penn.

We asked Suzuki if he planned on wearing his MAGA again in the future and he told us, "I'll be wearing my Washington Nationals hat."

"It was more dancing and let's see how cool we can be, let's see how many friends we can be with the players ... MAN, F'*CK THAT!"

That's ex-Florida State star Travis Johnson -- a 1st-round pick in the '05 NFL Draft -- explaining why Willie Taggart DESERVED to be fired from FSU after only 21 games.

"I don't want you [to be] friends with my players! I don't wanna be friends with him. I'm supposed to uphold discipline. I'm supposed to uphold order!"

Yeah, 37-year-old Johnson -- who's still very involved and passionate about FSU football -- says he was excited FSU pulled the trigger on Taggart, but he didn't always want it to end this way.

"You know how hard it is for black coaches throughout college football and throughout the NFL, you want him to be successful," Travis said ... but after the way the Seminoles were losing games, Travis said, "I'm happy we got rid of him."

Now, Johnson says FSU has a chance to make a real splash on the college football scene by spending real money on a big-time coach ... and he likes Bob Stoops.

But, it's not just about bringing in the former Oklahoma head coach, Johnson says it's IMPERATIVE Bob brings in a staff of assistants that get the most out of the players.

Chargers owner Dean Spanos is LIVID over a report that says his team is exploring a full-time move to London ... telling media the article is "f**king bulls**t!"

"It's total f**king bulls**t, OK?" Spanos said Tuesday. "We're not going to London. We're not going anywhere. We're playing in Los Angeles. This is our home. This is where I'm planning to be for a long f**king time. Period."

The Athletic posted a story on Monday saying NFL sources told the outlet the league is considering the possibility of relocating the Chargers from L.A. to London full time.

But, Spanos called immediate BS on that in a no-cameras-allowed meeting with media Tuesday ... saying, "We plan to be in L.A. for a long f**king time. That was bulls**t, that story."

Of course, the Chargers famously moved from San Diego to L.A. back in 2017 ... but they haven't exactly been welcomed with a warm embrace by the city.

Their games are regularly packed with opposing fans ... and at one point earlier this season, Chargers players were mad at the way team officials handled playing an opponents' rallying song on the jumbotron mid-game.

Because of that ... The Athletic's report seemed to have some teeth -- but Spanos could not have shot it down harder in a heated rant.

In fact, the Chargers' Twitter account even backed its owner with a hilarious post ... throwing up the famous clip of Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf Of Wall Street" telling his employees "I'm not f**kin' leaving!"

Michael Vick is still riding STRONG with Baker Mayfield -- telling TMZ Sports he believes the Browns QB can still turn things around ... IF HE THROWS TO ODELL!!

"Baker's my dude," Vick says ... "Just keep pluggin'. All the outside noise, you're gonna get that. You gotta be mentally tough at the quarterback position."

Of course, Mayfield's come under fire lately because ... to put it simply ... the Browns are back to being the Browns, with a lackluster 2-6 record.

And, Baker's been getting crushed in the media for his stat line -- 7 TDs and 12 INTs -- having only thrown to Odell during Red Zone opportunities 3 TIMES this year!

"At the end of the day, he gotta throw the ball to Odell Beckham," Vick says.

FYI, Beckham was so frustrated with the situation in CLE, he reportedly said after the Broncos game, "I can’t get the ball to save my life."

But, it's clear in our video, Vick isn't turning on the QB -- he still thinks Baker is the key to the future in Cleveland.

"He's got a long career ahead of him. Gotta start winning more than losing."