TMZ Sports - Page 50

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Miguel Castro says he's lucky to be alive today ... he says he was robbed at gunpoint and would have been shot during the attack if the weapon hadn't jammed.

The 25-year-old said Tuesday he was on his way to train in the Dominican Republic when he was jumped and robbed by two men.

Castro claims the guys took his chain ... and then attempted to shoot him -- but says the gun locked up on the criminals.

"I'm alive by the mercy of God," Castro said on social media ... "They took my chain and they wanted to kill me. It's unbelievable."

Castro's reps say he's shaken up but fine ... and Miguel added crimes in his hometown have to stop ASAP.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias said in a statement Tuesday, "We are in contact with Miguel Castro regarding today's incident in La Romana, DR and we are very thankful that he is safe."

How do the directors of "Uncut Gems" feel about fans pointing out a real-life TV mix-up that made it into the final cut of their movie?! THEY'RE FLATTERED!

Here's the deal ... there's a key scene in the Adam Sandler flick where his character (Howard Ratner) tells his wife to flip on ESPN to watch the Boston Celtics game.

Sandler's wife changes the channel -- but the game ain't on ESPN, it's clearly a TNT broadcast. THE HORROR!!!

Sounds stupid, but media outlets have written stories about the goof. Fans have pointed it out on social media. It's really blown up!

So, when we saw the movie's co-directors -- Benny and Josh Safdie -- we asked how they felt about getting called out in public.

"I love it," Josh told us outside Tao in L.A. ... "I think it just means that people hold the movie up to high standards because they expect reality."

Benny added, "If people are paying attention, I guess that's all it's about."

"We’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show -- the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal."

That's Tom Brady trying to sugarcoat one of the most disappointing seasons in recent Patriots memory -- saying the bond with his teammates is helping to make up for the lack of a Super Bowl ring.

TB12 just penned a sappy end-of-the-season letter to his teammates and fans ... thanking everyone for supporting him over "the past two decades."

Don't worry, it doesn't read like a goodbye note ... but it doesn't read like an "I'm Definitely Coming Back" note either.

Here's the message in full ...

"I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades."

"Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that’s not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!!"

"I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way."

"Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we’ve been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won’t show - the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about."

"In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again."

"And that’s right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove."

The rappers are already lining up to work with Antonio Brown after the NFL superstar released his first-ever music video ... with O.T. Genasis saying he wants to get in the studio with AB!!!

As we previously reported, the All-Pro receiver just dropped his rap single "Whole Lotta Money" ... which is about ... well, you know.

TMZ Sports spoke with the "Big Shot" rapper at LAX to get a critique on the track ... and while he doesn't hate it, O.T. says there's some major room for improvement.

"It's not bad," O.T. tells us. "He needs a little bit of tweakin' on his verses at least."

O.T. added ... "It's dope, the cadence is dope."

How dope is it??? Dope enough for the guy behind the insanely huge hit, "CoCo" to actually willingly hit the studio with AB as long as he keeps working on his craft.

We asked O.T. to give us a rating out of 10 ... to which he says "4.5" BUT "with a possibility of an 8."

O.T. gets real for a second and says it's gonna be tough for AB to be taken seriously because people will view him as a football player, but admits there's one athlete who was able to pull off a straight-up banger.

And, just like AB ... the song is about money.

Lamar Jackson put on an MVP caliber season in 2019 and NOBODY saw it coming ... that is, nobody except Larry David, who says he personally called the Jets and told them to draft the QB in 2018!!

And, guess what then-GM Mike Maccagnan did after David gave his two cents??? HE LAUGHED.

Of course, the "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" mastermind is a HUUUUGE Jets fan ... and joined "The Michael Kay Show" on Tuesday to talk all things New York sports.

That's when David pointed out his beloved 7-9 Jets might have had a better season if the team had taken his call seriously.

"I did call Mike Maccagnan before the 2018 draft and I recommended that he draft Lamar Jackson. I have a witness," David said ... and Maccagnan's reaction has gotta put a bad taste in NY fans' mouths.

"He kinda gave me the most condescending ... he laughed at me. But, who can blame him?"

David admits he's guilty of calling the team in the past -- he also recommended the Jets draft Reggie Bush in 2006. They didn't.

As for Jackson, he led the Baltimore Ravens to the top playoff seed in the AFC and posted incredible numbers -- passing for 3,127 yards and 36 TDs ... and rushing for 1,206 yards and 7 TDs. Some would say that's "pretty, pretty, pretty good."

Terrell Owens says now that the Dallas Cowboys have fired Jason Garrett ... they only need to do 1 more thing to get back to Super Bowl glory -- DITCH DAK FOR TOM BRADY!!!

TO made the shocking statement on the "Joe, Lo & Dibs" show on 95.7 The Game on Tuesday ... claiming Jerry Jones is just one TB12 away from getting Dallas its 6th ring.

"They have a quarterback that's a free agent in Tom Brady. That's the next move."

Owens says he has a rationale behind his wild thinking ... saying the fact that Prescott STILL doesn't have a contract speaks volumes to the way Jerry Jones feels about the QB.

"He hasn't extended Dak's contract. So, that leads me to believe he truly doesn't believe in Dak. If he had, then I think he would have already got a contract extension."

Of course, Owens' recommendation to Jerry will probably never go down ... Dak seems destined for the franchise tag this offseason, while Tom would likely retire before leaving New England to play in Dallas.

Golf legend Greg Norman says the "stupidity of humanity" is partly to blame for the deadly fires in his home country of Australia ... and he's demanding change before things get worse.

The 64-year-old Hall of Famer believes climate change is real and must be taken seriously -- and says officials from all over the world need to start implementing global policies "to prevent this from happening again."

"We see change. It's taking place," Norman said on "TMZ Live" ... "I see it on my ranch in Colorado where the seasons are getting later. It used to snow in the early part of September, now we don't get any snow until the middle of October."

"We're seeing this change take place and the stupidity of humanity ... Are we to blame to some degree? Yes. We ARE to blame to some degree. Are we to blame 100%? No, but whatever that degree is, let's fix the problem."

"Let's make sure our generations and the generations following us don't have to go through all this."

Master P says his HS hoops star son, Hercy, is already getting looks from big-time Division 1 schools ... but tells TMZ Sports he wants the biggest name in college hoops to hit him up.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski!!!

Of course, Hercy's Minnehaha Academy just beat up on Zaire Wade and Bronny James' Sierra Canyon squad 78-58 in front of 17,000 fans on Saturday ... and the Junior contributed 9 points and 12 assists.

The game was nationally televised ... and after the exposure, P expects his son to get looks from huge programs -- and it's already happening!!!

"Arizona ... it's so many," Miller says. "Hopefully this summer they'll be on the radar."

P is clearly stoked for his son's progress as a sophomore in high school ... and hopes the biggest schools in the nation come knocking on his door.

Not only is Hercy a hooper, P tells us he's an A student as well!!

Miller also shouts out Hercy's teammate and top 10 recruit, Jalen Suggs, who just committed to Gonzaga ... saying the dude is already an NBA talent.

Fun fact ... Hercy and Suggs played together on the same AAU team in 5th grade ... and you know who the coach was???

Master P.

Katherine Webb says she gave up fame and her celebrity lifestyle to have kids with Houston Texans QB AJ McCarron ... and she says she'd "do it all again in a heartbeat."

Tuesday is the 7-year anniversary of when Webb exploded into the national spotlight after Brent Musberger famously fawned over her during the Alabama-Notre Dame National Championship Game broadcast.

The moment was as memorable as any from the game itself ... Musberger famously said of McCarron's then-GF, "Wow! I'm tellin' ya, you quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women! What a beautiful woman!"

Webb turned the viral moment into a pretty successful career ... scoring a spot in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue and appearances in commercials and reality TV shows.

But, in a series of social media posts Tuesday, Webb said she gave all of it up to marry McCarron and start a family with the NFL quarterback.

"I quit 'Hollywood' shortly after because I realized I genuinely hated being 'famous' and having my personal life out there so much," Webb said.

"I gave it all up to marry my forever love and have my boys and I would do it all again in a heartbeat."

Webb and AJ have been married since 2014 ... and their two boys are now 3 years old and 1 year old.

Michael Irvin says he's dressed in all black to "mourn" the death of Jason Garrett's run with the Dallas Cowboys ... though he admits Jerry Jones made the right decision to fire him.

Mike and Garrett go wayyy back -- like decades -- and Irvin says he still considers the ex-Cowboys coach to be a "very good friend."

But, when it comes to the Cowboys, Irvin -- who we talked to from the set of "Inside The NFL" -- says the team simply needs new leadership ... and he thinks Mike McCarthy could be the key to a Super Bowl.

In fact, Irvin compares the Cowboys to the Golden State Warriors.

"When [head coach] Mark Jackson left the Warriors, everything they needed to win championships was there. And, Steve Kerr came in and put in the right system that fit the talent, gave them the right leeways and brought the best out of everybody and they went on to start winning a lot of championships."

"I'm looking for Mike McCarthy to 'Kerr' the situation."

Super Bowl champ Jay Ajayi is taking his talents to video games ... 'cause the NFL running back is becoming a professional FIFA 20 player!!

The 26-year-old Pro Bowler and current free agent is staying competitive in a different sport by officially signing with the Philadelphia Union for the 2020 eMLS Cup campaign.

Ajayi addressed the move in a statement, saying, "Philadelphia will always hold a special place in my heart. I am blessed to be able to represent the city through e-sports and to be one of the first pro athletes to become a professional gamer."

"Representing the Philadelphia Union for eMLS combines two of my greatest passions outside of football, soccer and gaming. I’m a competitor, so you’re going to see me give my all for the Union at every eMLS event this year."

Tons of traditional mainstream athletes are becoming serious gamers -- with NBA stars like Gordon Hayward, Karl-Anthony Towns and De'Aaron Fox showing off REAL skills on the sticks.

And, with legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Alex Rodriguez and other guys INVESTING in Esports, you might see other pro stars making the jump, too!

As for Ajayi, he's not giving up his NFL career just yet -- he briefly played with the Philadelphia Eagles at the beginning of the 2019 season before getting cut.

Lori Loughlin's defense in her looming college admissions trial hasn't been talked about much in the media, but make no mistake about it -- she has a defense, starting with the fact the so-called incriminating photos of her daughters on a rowing machine NEVER made their way to USC.

Prosecutors have made a huge deal of the fact Olivia Jade and Isabella were photographed on a rowing machine ... saying it's proof Lori and husband Mossimo Giannulli defrauded the University.

Sources connected to USC tell TMZ, the photos were never submitted as part of the girls' admission package. As we reported, the mastermind of the scandal -- Rick Singer -- told Lori and Mossimo to get the pics taken so it would appear they had experience on a crew team.

At its core ... Lori and Mossimo's defense is they relied on Singer -- who helped "10s of thousands" other clients -- to get their daughters into USC. They gave him $500,000 -- some parents paid less and some more -- and assumed the money would end up in the hands of the University. In other words, it wasn't a bribe -- so their defense will go.

Joe Johnson says he's been living in the gym and staying in shape in case an NBA team comes calling ... telling TMZ Sports he'll be ready to go if a squad needs him for the playoffs.

38-year-old Iso Joe made a hyped return to the Association in October when the Detroit Pistons scooped him up from the BIG3 ... but got cut a few days before the season.

Joe tells us there are no hard feelings with how it went down in Motor City, saying his body wasn't right at the time.

"I was banged up with a lot of injuries, didn't get a chance to really rest," Joe tells us. "So, it kinda hurt me. Which is why I got waived. But, I'm cool with it."

Now, Joe says his body is at "100" and his agent is keeping tabs on teams' interest as the season reaches that time of the year ... but makes it clear he's not gonna beg to get signed.

"I don't think I have to plug myself for that. I think my resume pretty much speaks for itself."

FYI -- Joe is a 7-time All-Star, former All-NBA third teamer and went on to be the BIG3 MVP last year.

"Like I said, if an opportunity comes about and it's worth it and a team is serious, of course I'll jump on that opportunity."

Jamal Lewis says he's giving the slight edge to his 2000 Ravens team in a hypothetical matchup against this year's Baltimore squad -- and it's all 'cause of Ray Lewis!

We got the ex-Ravens RB out at LAX on Monday and we just had to ask ... who would win in a tilt -- his 2000 Baltimore Super Bowl team, or this season's squad?

Of course, the '00 Ravens are considered one of the greatest of all-time ... with their defense STACKED with legends.

But, this year's Ravens team is also considered one of the best ever -- mostly because of Lamar Jackson's insane running ability.

So, who would win? Lewis says he's pretty sure it'd be a stalemate ... but then appeared to give his old team the advantage.

"We did have Ray Lewis," Jamal said with a laugh, "So, we might be able to stop Lamar."

Of course, the hypothetical matchup will only be a thing if the Ravens can finish off this year. They get the Tennessee Titans on Saturday and will likely have to play the KC Chiefs for a spot in the Super Bowl the following week.

Call this the Giants' 13th loss this season ... the Carolina Panthers just hired Big Blue's reported top candidate, Matt Rhule, to be their next head coach.

Rhule -- Baylor's head man since 2016 -- had been rumored to be the Giants' top choice since they canned Pat Shurmur last week.

It made sense ... the 44-year-old was born in NYC, and was previously an assistant O-line coach for the Giants in 2012 and was seen as a guy who could make an offense with Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley hum.

In fact, the G-men and all of their top brass were reportedly set to have a massive meeting with the guy Tuesday.

But, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, Panthers owner David Tepper spent the entire day with Rhule in Waco, Texas on Monday and clearly made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

It's a bummer for the Giants, whose candidate list is slowly shrinking after Ron Rivera (Redskins), Mike McCarthy (Cowboys) and Rhule all went elsewhere.

NY is still in the mix for NFL assistant coaches like Chiefs' Eric Bieniemy, Patriots' Josh McDaniels and Ravens' Don Martindale. The team could also take a look at fired Cowboys coach Jason Garrett.

As for the Panthers ... it seems they're more than happy with their new hire -- Rhule famously turned Baylor from a 1-11 team in 2017 to 11-3 in 2019.

Former 'Bachelor' contestant Jade Roper Tolbert won $1 MILLION in a DraftKings fantasy football event this weekend ... but the victory has triggered an investigation after it appears she may have cheated.

Roper -- who appeared on season 19 of 'Bachelor' and season 2 of "Bachelor in Paradise" -- was participating in DK's Millionaire Maker daily fantasy contest, which involved selecting a lineup of players from the 4 NFL Wild Card games.

Roper submitted 150 entries -- the maximum allowed -- and one of her lineups ended up winning the $1 MILLION top prize. She even bragged about it on social media!

The problem ... fantasy football experts have pointed out an interesting wrinkle -- that her lineups seemed to be coordinated with her husband's 150 entries to maximize their chances of winning.