TMZ Sports - Page 50

Oakland Raiders stud Erik Harris -- a former D2 walk-on who BALLED OUT on Thursday -- just gave an awesome pump-up speech to everyone who's doubting themselves, saying, "Keep pushing forward!"

Harris' story is amazing ... the dude turned himself from an undrafted free agent in 2012 into the star of "Thursday Night Football" this week -- and when we asked him about the whole journey, he said it's been pretty epic.

The 29-year-old tells us he was about to give up his dream of playing pro football a few years ago ... but he decided to spend $80 on a Canadian Football League tryout, and it changed his life.

"It was special," Harris said of his time in the CFL. "It was special. Definitely part of who I am."

Harris was able to latch on in the NFL after his time in Canada ... and for the past two years, he's been a regular in Jon Gruden's Oakland lineup.

And, finally, on 'TNF' -- he showed the country all the fruits of his labor ... intercepting the hell out of Philip Rivers THREE TIMES (one was called back because of penalty).

So, when we asked the guy to give a message to all those who are currently in the shoes he wore back in 2012 ... he delivered an epic pump-up speech about never giving up.

"Believe in yourself," Harris said. "Find that confidence within yourself and keep pushing forward because if you continue to have that focus on that vision, then things will come true."

Nyjah Huston -- the #1 skateboarder in the world -- made an amazing wish come true for an 11-year-old shredder ... throwing the kid a private skate party and the pics are AWESOME!!!

The reigning Street League Skateboarding champ got word that a brave 11-year-old named Jaydon -- who's been battling a severe kidney disorder -- has been dreaming of skating with his hero, Nyjah.

In fact, we're told Jaydon -- who lives in Florida -- is a hardcore skate fanatic who watches skate videos of Nyjah almost every day!

So, the good people at the Make-A-Wish Foundation put the two in touch -- and Nyjah hooked up one of the coolest 1-on-1 skate sessions EVER!

Nyjah invited Jaydon to the famous The Berrics indoor skatepark in Los Angeles -- owned by pro skaters Steve Berra and Eric Koston -- where Huston personally hooked the kid up with dope shoes and gave him pointers on how to hit the ramps and grind rails.

AND, THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

Huston and Make-A-Wish also brought in a taco guy -- because Jaydon loves tacos -- and they mowed down all the food their stomachs could hold!

When the day was over, Jaydon didn't only leave with a super memorable experience ... Huston sent him packing with a boatload of signed gifts and Nike merch.

LeBron James says Deion Sanders would be the PERFECT hire for the Florida State head coaching gig ... saying, "it would be so dope" to get Prime Time on the sidelines.

Of course, FSU just paid Willie Taggart around $18 million to NOT coach their team after starting 9-12 in his first 2 seasons ... and there have been rumblings Deion could be his replacement.

Enter King James ... who's calling for the Seminoles to pull the trigger and pick up Prime to be the next head coach at Florida State.

"Man it would be so dope and just seems PERFECT for Prime Time @DeionSanders to be the HC of FSU! I mean right??"

"One thing about it he would get in any household on the planet to talk with a kid/parent/s. #ItsTimeforPrime"

FYI -- Bron is an Ohio State guy through and through ... but also grew up a Dallas Cowboys backer, which could be one of the reasons he's so high on Prime.

Sanders has spoken out about people like Miami legend Uncle Luke calling for him to take the gig ... and it doesn't sound like he's against it.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda just found a virtual pot of gold buried in a Dallas storage locker -- because it's filled with trinkets from "The Dude Perfect Show."

Rene -- who runs the Bargain Hunters Thrift Store featured on the reality show -- tells TMZ ... he and two buddies, Jeremy Hales and Justin Grimes, dropped $2,770 on a storage unit this week in Texas, and when they got inside they realized it used to belong to the super-popular YouTube stars.

"Dude Perfect" has a massive following -- 47.1 million subscribers -- so you've probably seen their insane sports trick shot videos, or recognize them from their Super Bowl commercial.

It's quite a haul for Rene ... the storage locker is filled with "Dude Perfect" props dating back to their first season -- trophies, a massive baseball mitt, the famous panda costume and more.

There was definitely no love in this tennis match ... as 2 female pros got in an intense shove-off after the final point on Thursday ... and it was all over an aggressive handshake!!!

The match was between Canadian player Katherine Sebov (white shorts) and American Alycia Parks (pink shorts) in the round of 16 of the ITF W60 tournament in Las Vegas.

Sebov won the match in straight sets, but things got physical after Parks claims Sebov squeezed her hand too hard at the net following the match ... and made it clear she didn't like it one bit.

Parks -- who was already heated and had thrown her racket after the final point -- went after Sebov following the shake and that's when all hell broke loose ... with the 2 players shoving each other!!!

The line judge had to interfere ... and Parks' dad jumped a fence (hilarious BTW) to get on the court to help break it up.

Things finally cooled down ... and Parks addressed it with reporters after the match, saying, "She squeezed my hand very hard."

Another pro, Sachia Vickery, also backed Parks' claim, saying, "I was there she def squeezed her hand at the net. I hope they don’t try to spin this."

"The ref clearly says he saw it . Won’t be shocked if nothing is done about it tho"

Terry Bradshaw doubts Antonio Brown will ever see another snap in the NFL ... telling TMZ Sports straight-up, "I wouldn't sign him."

"He's erratic," Bradshaw told us in NYC ... "His behavior makes me nervous. I don't know what's wrong with him. It makes no sense."

AB added another chapter to one of the most bizarre NFL stories ever on Thursday ... quitting the league in a profanity-laced social media rant, before eventually backtracking.

Bradshaw agrees the 31-year-old WR is crazy talented, but the off-the-field issues could be too big of a hurdle for him to overcome.

"Ya gotta deal with a lot of stuff. Are you willing to do that?"

Bradshaw says if he were running an NFL team, "I'd have to sit him down and I gotta make sure he's okay."

Brown has already been cut by TWO teams this season -- the Raiders and the Patriots -- and he cussed out the NFL on Thursday, saying the league treats black players unfairly.

The Seattle Seahawks reportedly looked into signing Brown recently but opted to sign Josh Gordon instead ... ultimately deciding Brown was not worth the trouble.

Brown is also being investigated by the NFL over allegations he raped his former trainer at his home in 2018. AB has denied the allegations and said the accuser's lawsuit is nothing more than a cash grab.

The best player in college football might never play a down in the NCAA again ... Ohio State's superstar pass rusher Chase Young has been suspended indefinitely.

Young -- a junior who leads the country in sacks with 13.5 and is the projected No. 1 overall pick in next spring's NFL draft -- is accused of committing an NCAA violation back in 2018.

Unclear what Young allegedly did to spur the probe ... but the school confirmed in a statement the 20-year-old will miss at least the Maryland game this weekend.

"Ohio State’s Chase Young will not play in this Saturday’s game between the Buckeyes and the Maryland Terrapins due to a possible NCAA issue from 2018 that the Department of Athletics is looking into," the Buckeyes said.

Young is one of the five most touted college football prospects of this last decade ... comparable to past No. 1 overall picks Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney.

The 6'5", 265-pounder is just one sack away from Ohio State's single-season record -- a hell of an accomplishment considering NFL stars Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa just had careers there.

As for how the investigation will affect his draft stock ... it undoubtedly won't -- scouts have been drooling over the DE all year, with ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper saying this month, "He, right now, is the No. 1 player in the draft."

"I don’t see that changing between now and April."

Shaq ... WE SAW WHAT YOU DID!!!

Charles Barkley was TRYING to do his usual thing of making fun of the larger female population in San Antonio during Thursday's "Inside the NBA" ... but it was Shaq who had the last laugh.

While Barkley was doing his best impression of big people stuffing their faces with churros, O'Neal realized the motion resembled oral sex ... and decided to mess with Chuck.

"Do it slower, Chuck! Do it slower," Shaq said while cracking up!

By the way, it doesn't seem like Charles ever caught on to what Shaq was doing -- which made it even funnier.

But, Kenny "The Jet" Smith saw what was happening -- and finally grabbed Barkley's arm so he couldn't do it again.

Conor McGregor has fought his way out of ANOTHER sticky situation -- reportedly proving he's NOT the father in a dispute of a 2-year-old "love child."

26-year-old Terri Murray had accused Conor of knocking her up back in 2017 -- just weeks before Conor's GF Dee Devlin gave birth to their son Conor Jr.

Murray claims she and Conor slept together at his hotel during the '17 Grand National in Liverpool. There is a photo circulating of Conor partying with Murray around that time.

But, according to Conor's rep, the UFC superstar has taken a DNA test which proves once and for all ... (switch to Maury Povich voice) ... HE'S NOT THE FATHER!!!

"To conclusively end any and all erroneous media reports, Conor McGregor took a DNA test recently which confirmed to all parties that he is not the father of the child in Liverpool," Conor's spokesperson said in a statement.

The Irish Independent claims they have seen the results showing a "zero percent probability" McGregor is the daddy.

Well, here it is. 14 years ago today, we pushed a button and TMZ.com went live and has been on a wild ride ever since.

We have broken thousands of stories over the years, many of which we can proudly say have changed the political and social climate. Our Ray Rice story had profound implications on the way the NFL and others deal with domestic violence. Our Donald Sterling story changed basketball for the better.

Some of the stories we've posted have been jaw-dropping. Those of us who worked at TMZ back in June 2009 were thunderstruck when we realized Michael Jackson was dead, and our investigation into doctors who enabled the singer was super disturbing.

Check out just a few of the stories we've broken that have made national and in many cases world news.

Sometimes you just know. When we got the Beyonce/Jay-Z elevator video back in May 2014, we knew it would generate crazy interest. What caused Solange to attack Jay, and how do you deconstruct Bey's reaction? Bey and Jay eventually righted the ship, and now all's well.

Click here to read more!

Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice got in trouble for attacking his girlfriend, but the public had no idea how serious it was until we got video of Ray viciously knocking out his fiancee in an elevator. The story hit like an atomic bomb. Prosecutors gave Rice a slap on the wrist, and the NFL gave him a measly 2-game suspension, which it later increased after a torrent of public criticism. The story triggered big changes in the way the NFL and other sports deal with domestic violence.

Click here to read more!

Michael Jackson long had trouble with drugs but kept a lot of it hidden from public view. On June 25, 2009, we got a tip he went into cardiac arrest and made about a hundred calls and eventually determined he was dead. After we broke the death story, the L.A. Times posted a story that Jackson was in a coma. The rest of the media had to then choose ... who to believe.

The man officials believe kidnapped the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris has been arrested -- and you can see in the mug shot, the dude's eye is swollen shut.

Cops had been on the hunt for 30-year-old Ibraheem Yazeed -- who was spotted at a Chevron station in Auburn, Alabama on Oct. 23, the last time anyone saw 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard.

Now, officials say ... Yazeed was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Escambia County (western Florida) early Friday morning after a brief foot pursuit. He was booked at 2:32 AM.

You can see the suspect's left eye is jacked up bad -- he was hospitalized after being arrested.

Officials believe Yazeed is a bad dude -- he's awaiting trial in an unrelated kidnapping, robbery and attempted murder in Montgomery involving a 77-year-old man.

Aniah's stepmother, Yashiba Blanchard, issued a statement after Yazeed's arrest -- saying, "I  am relieved that we can finally obtain some answers and locate our daughter."

"I am prayerful that the Lord touches this young man’s heart so he will be honest and truthful and tell the authorities where our daughter is located."

Chance The Rapper proved why he's not Chance The Hooper on Wednesday ... throwin' up air balls and brick shots on the court after the Clippers game ... and it's all on video!!!

The 26-year-old "Hot Shower" rapper had a courtside seat alongside superagent Rich Paul for the Clips' match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks ... and after the final buzzer, he was allowed onto the court to shoot around.

Look, we're not gonna sugarcoat it -- Lil Chano SUCKED ... missing 11 straight shots, including what may have been either a bad dunk attempt or a lame layup. Either way, it was bad.

He did finally sink a 3-pointer ... and did hook up his pal with an assist. But, it was so bad, people that stuck around after the game were clowning him. One guy shouted, "You suck!"

But, it's all good though ... Chance is one of the most successful artists in the game right now and already has 3 Grammys in his career ... so don't feel too bad for the guy.

And there's still hope for Chance ... remember Drake was clowned for those air balls at Kentucky a few years back -- but hired some specialists who fixed his shot and now he's pretty good!!!

Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Daniel Ross was arrested in Frisco, TX on Wednesday ... after cops allegedly found weed and a gun in his car.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the 26-year-old (who signed a 1-year deal with Dallas in the offseason) was pulled over by Frisco PD early Wednesday morning during a routine traffic stop ... and at some point, cops say they found the weed and the firearm.

We're working on getting more info about the incident.

Ross hasn't played a down of football this season -- he was placed on Injured Reserve back in August with a shoulder injury.

Ross had a brief stint in the Canadian Football League before bouncing around the NFL with the Texans, Lions and Chiefs in 2017 ... and finally settling down with the Cowboys.

The ex-Northeast Mississippi CC standout played in 13 games for Dallas in 2018 ... and has 19 career tackles and 2 sacks.

Story developing ...

Doc Rivers' contradicting comments on Kawhi Leonard's health status just cost the L.A. Clippers a big chunk of change ... 'cause the NBA has fined the team $50k.

The Klaw has been at the center of controversy after the NBA superstar missed 2 huge nationally televised games so far this season due to an apparent knee injury that some folks were skeptical about.

The NBA has a rule against healthy scratches during nationally televised games ... but the league agreed that Kawhi was hurt and allowed him to sit out the Clips' match-up with the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

So, when Rivers was asked about Leonard's health after the game, he said Kawhi was actually just fine and wanted some rest.

The league didn't like that one bit ... hitting the Clippers with a $50k fine on Thursday.

“The NBA has fined the Clippers $50,000 for statements, including by head coach Doc Rivers, that were inconsistent with Leonard's health status," the league said in a statement.

To be clear -- the Association is saying Leonard actually IS injured ... making it okay for him to sit out against the Bucks.

The reason Doc's comments were such a big issue is that "load management" has fans getting pissed -- game attendees pay big bucks to see the superstars like Kawhi hoop ... and players sitting out to get some rest doesn't sit well with the customers.

Forget 49ers-Seahawks ... Alabama vs. LSU is an even bigger matchup this weekend for some in Seattle's locker room -- 'cause D.J. Fluker says there's some hilarious wagers going on!!!

D.J. -- an OL who cut his teeth at 'Bama -- tells us he's going to make some bets with LSU alums Al Woods and Ethan Pocic this week that could have some seriously embarrassing ramifications.

"We talking about full-fledged LSU, full-fledged Alabama gear -- somebody's going to wear it," Fluker says. "I'm going to take a picture of it; hopefully we get to post it all on social media!"

Fluker tells us while that might seem hilarious on the outside ... he says to SEC diehards like himself, it's straight-up demoralizing!!!

The game kicks off on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT ... and some are hyping it up as one of the greatest regular-season matchups in the last DECADE!!!

As for who's going to win it ... Fluker's confidence level in the Tide is high -- but he admits things could get hairy if Tua Tagovailoa has to sit because of an ankle injury.

The NFL is finally hearing Antonio Brown's side of the story in his rape case ... the superstar receiver is set to meet with league investigators next week.

AB is accused of raping his former trainer, Britney Taylor, at his Florida home back in 2018 ... and after she filed a lawsuit against the 31-year-old over the incident, the NFL launched a probe into the matter.

It's been about two months since they kicked off the investigation ... and many around the league feel it's the reason AB has yet to sign with a new team since being cut by the Patriots in September.

But, Brown is finally ready to have the meeting with league officials ... and according to multiple reports, it could take place as soon as next Thursday.

Don't expect it to spell the end of Brown's time as a free agent, though ... NFL Network's, Ian Rapoport, says next week's meeting will likely be the first of several in the case.

"The league's investigation into civil allegations of sexual assault & rape is not expected to conclude any time soon," Rapoport said.

Brown has vehemently denied Taylor's allegations, saying through his attorney in September, "Any sexual interaction" between Taylor and Brown "was entirely consensual."

Antonio's been working out like a maniac despite the investigation ... but admitted on Twitter a few weeks ago that it's looking like he won't return to an NFL field until 2020.