TMZ Sports - Page 50

"It's not factual! It's just innuendo."

MLB super-agent Scott Boras is RIPPING all the conspiracy theorists who say his client, Astros star Jose Altuve, used a buzzer to cheat ... calling the rumors nothing more than "suspicion."

"There is nothing to any form of electronic dynamic," Boras said strongly at LAX on Friday. "The Commissioner's office studied it. Everyone knows it."

If you missed it ... a clip of Altuve from Game 7 of the 2019 ALCS went viral this month after the Astros were busted by the MLB for running an illegal sign-stealing operation.

Some thought the clip -- which shows Altuve telling his teammates to NOT remove his jersey after a game-winning home run -- proved Jose was hiding some sort of device that helped him get tipped-off to upcoming pitches.

But, Boras smashed that whole theory Friday ... saying, "No one in the game has ever contended that anyone is doing such a thing and that's just innuendo and suspicion."

For the MLB's part ... it's backed Boras' claims, saying it investigated the buzzer-cheating allegations and found NO evidence that it occurred.

LeBron James wasn't able to do his trademark pregame chalk toss before facing off against the Nets ... and Kenny "The Jet" Smith says this is a case of SABOTAGE!!!

The King was upset before tip-off on Thursday when he approached the scorers table and realized he wouldn't be able to do his iconic ritual. Naturally, the moment went viral.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Jet about the mishap ... and he says the lack of powder was no coincidence -- it's home-court advantage!!

"I remember when we used to play, they would always do things to make you uncomfortable, the opposing team," Smith said at LAX.

"That's what the home-court advantage is."

Smith says LeBron better hit up Costco and get that powder in bulk ... 'cause the Nets' snub might start a trend.

"Ya gotta carry your own powder ... I'm surprised no other team has thought of it."

Smith says it was 1,000% on purpose ... but it didn't really make a difference -- Bron Bron had a triple-double with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists AND the Lakers won, 128-113.

THIS IS SAVAGE!!!!

Cops in Southlake, Texas just shaded the hell out of the Houston Astros for their cheating scandal in a new speeding PSA ad ... and the video is HILARIOUS!!!

The clip starts out with a cop and his radar gun looking pleasantly surprised that everyone is following the set speed limit.

You can see in the vid, car by car drives by ... and all of them are hitting 30 MPH on the dot.

But then, the camera pans over to a fireman behind a bush holding a trash can ... and that's where the 'Stros shade comes in.

The fireman -- who's wearing an Astros jersey -- is letting drivers know there's a speed trap up ahead by hitting the top of his metal receptacle ... and it's laugh out loud funny!!!

Of course, the 'Stros were just busted by the MLB earlier this month after league commish Rob Manfred said they illegally filmed opponents' signs and relayed them to batters by banging on dugout trash bins.

The cops captioned their vid, "We don't care what it takes for you to slow down and follow the speed limit. Drive astro-nomically safe today in Southlake."

BUUURNNNNN!!!

Antonio Brown is turning himself in ... TMZ Sports has learned the NFL star just arrived at a Florida jail after police issued a warrant for his arrest earlier this week.

We broke the story, Brown allegedly threw rocks at a moving company truck and then attacked the driver over a dispute stemming from payment for a scheduled delivery at his Hollywood, Fla. home.

More trouble for Kareem Hunt ... the Cleveland Browns running back was pulled over Tuesday for speeding in Ohio -- and cops say they found weed in his car.

Cops initially pulled over the 24-year-old around noon when they saw him speeding in Rocky River, OH ... just outside of Cleveland.

During the stop, the officer smelled weed coming from Hunt's car and conducted a search that turned up "small amounts of marijuana" in a backpack on the back seat.

The weed was seized as evidence -- but he was NOT cited for the pot. Hunt WAS cited for speeding and sent on his way.

Hunt was NOT formally arrested -- no mug shot. But, he was placed in a cop car during the search.

Of course, Hunt is on thin ice with the Browns due to his violent history -- which includes roughing up a woman at an Ohio hotel ... and other allegations of violence against men during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs.

We reached out to Hunt's rep for comment -- so far, no word back.

Hunt signed a 1-year contract with the Browns after he was cut by the Chiefs -- which means he becomes a restricted free agent after the current season wraps up.

Tom Brady is congratulating Eli Manning on his 16-year NFL career ... by wishing the N.Y. Giants quarterback NEVER won a Super Bowl!!!

Of course, Manning's 2 rings came at the expense of Brady's Patriots in dramatic fashion -- remember David Tyree?? Mario Manningham?? Yeah. Still hurts for New England fans.

Now that Eli is calling it a career, Brady gave his old foe a congratulatory tweet ... and threw in a friendly jab.

"Congratulations on your retirement, and a great career Eli! Not going to lie though, I wish you hadn’t won any Super Bowls."

Haaaa ... good one, TB12. Although, can you imagine if Manning DIDN'T win those 2 Super Bowls?? Brady would have 8 freakin' rings.

Manning is having a press conference to officially hang it up on Friday ... so that's one less QB Brady has to worry about.

The New Orleans Saints are adamantly DENYING helping top Catholic church officials in N.O. cover up sex abuse crimes, despite allegations to the contrary ... this according to court docs.

Here's the deal ... more than 20 men are suing the Archdiocese of New Orleans for employing George F. Brignac, a schoolteacher and deacon who allegedly sexually abused several boys.

Despite allegedly knowing about the abuse, the church continued to employ him as a lay minister until 2018.

Several alleged victims are suing the church for keeping him around while knowing he was a danger to kids.

Now, attorneys for the accusers are going after the Saints -- claiming team executives used their official Saints email accounts to help advise the church on how to deal with the crisis.

In fact, the attorneys claim there are HUNDREDS of emails showing an attempted P.R. effort from the Saints and they want a judge to release them to the public, according to the AP, which broke the story.

The attorneys are pointing the finger at the top Saints people -- including owner Gayle Benson and Senior V.P. of Communications Greg Bensel ... suggesting they aided the Archdiocese of New Orleans in its "pattern and practice of concealing its crimes."

What is known is that Saints owner Gayle Benson is a major backer of her local Catholic archdiocese and she’s given millions to the church ... and, she’s buds with Archbishop Gregory Aymond. Gayle inherited the team when Tom Benson died in 2018.

"Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the Archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia," the attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in the court filing. "The Saints realize that if the documents at issue are made public, this professional sports organization also will be smearing itself."

According to the AP, the Saints have strongly denied the allegations in court filings.

The Saints had no immediate comment when we reached out Friday.

It's pretty simple -- you win the natty, they back up the Brinks trucks to your driveway ... and that's exactly what happened for LSU head coach Ed Orgeron!!

Coach O and the Tigers are still basking in their glory following the 42-25 win over Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game ... and as a result, LSU's beloved leader got a MAJOR pay raise.

How good of a raise?? O just agreed to a 6-year deal exceeding $42 MILLION.

It's not the lifetime contract Joe Burrow called for in his Heisman acceptance speech ... but THINK OF ALL THE CRAWFISH YOU CAN BUY WITH THAT KINDA MONEY!!!!

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward spoke about the decision, saying "Coach O has set a new standard at LSU."

"He has proven that he is not only a championship coach, but also a leader of a program committed to doing things the right way. He has represented our institution and our state with great pride, on and off the field of play."

"He is well-deserving of this new contract, which should make clear our commitment to Coach O and the direction of our football program."

O's initial salary when he got the gig was $3.5 million a year ... and he eventually got bumped up to $4 million earlier this year. Orgeron was tied for the 28th highest-paid coach in college ball.

Now, Orgeron will be one of the highest-paid football coaches in the NCAA ... right behind names like Dabo Swinney, Jimbo Fisher, Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh.

Looks like O won't have to do any local Hummer commercials anymore.

If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, don't expect to see Richard Sherman celebrating at the White House.

The NFL star was asked Thursday if he would go to D.C. to meet Donald Trump, as several championship teams have done in the past ... and Sherman essentially shot that down.

"I haven’t thought about it. We’ve got a long way between now and then, but I doubt it," Sherman told SF Chronicle's Scott Ostler.

As with most large groups of people these days, it's fair to assume not everyone on the team feels the same way Sherman does ... especially since his star teammate, Nick Bosa, is a proud Trump supporter.

First, the 49ers have to win the Super Bowl -- and the Kansas City Chiefs are obviously gonna try to not let that happen. That game goes down Sunday, Feb. 2.

The White House honor has become a VERY politically charged event now -- with star players from various sports boycotting including Chris Long, Torrey Smith, Mookie Betts, Alex Cora and the entire Golden State Warriors team.

See, President Obama ain't the only ex-Prez into hoop ... check out Bill Clinton at the Lakers game!!

#42 was sitting courtside at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday to watch the Nets get smashed by the L.A. Lakers ... and judging by the smile on his face, Bill loved it!

After the game, Clinton went on to the floor and chopped it up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis ... and yeah, that's Michael Strahan right behind 'em!

In fact, 73-year-old Clinton kicked it with a ton of stars at the game -- including Matt Barnes, Dwight Howard, Marv Albert and more.

It doesn't appear Hillary was at the game -- unclear what she was doing instead.

The Lakers are still in 1st place in the NBA's Western Conference ... winning 8 out of their last 10.

Rick Fox is backing his former teammate Kobe Bryant on WNBA stars playing in the NBA ... tellin' TMZ Sports women can DEFINITELY ball out in the men's league!!!

"Skills are skills," Fox says. "I mean, you try some of these WNBA ladies and they'll give you the business, fam!"

The Black Mamba said earlier this week there are some WNBA players who can compete with the guys in the Association ... specifically naming Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Elena Delle Donne.

When we got Fox leaving Wally's in L.A. on Wednesday ... he told us he couldn't agree more, saying, "Skills have nothing to do with your sex or your race."

In fact, Fox says he's seen some pro women bust NBA players on the court before with his own two eyes!!!

"I can think of a couple women that have held their own in pick-up games and competed well," Fox tells us. "So, it's not a new thing."

As for how some of the women are feeling about a possible jump to the men's league ... we got Delle Donne at Reagan Airport on Thursday -- and she told us she's flattered by the comments, but she's got no plans to try out for the NBA just yet.

Jake Paul's pulling out all the stops for his big return to the ring ... and the footage from his training sesh with boxing legend "Sugar" Shane Mosley is INTENSE.

Of course, Paul's fighting fellow YouTube superstar AnEsonGib during a Super Bowl week extravaganza ... and JP's been training like an animal at Mosley's gym in Big Bear.

The footage -- part of DAZN's 40 Days doc -- is pretty impressive ... and despite Paul wanting to avenge his brother's loss and take on KSI, it's clear he's laser-focused for the January 30 fight.

KSI's played a huge role in making this fight happen ... continuously bating Jake until he accepted the match.

“I don’t like Jake and I think the whole world doesn’t like Jake,” KSI says.

“If he does manage to get past the Big Gibber then yes, I will fight Jake. 100%. But, that’s not going to happen, I don’t think he’s ready for Gib at all and that’s going to show on Jan. 30. I think Gib wins this hands down and that will be the end of the Paul brothers.”

AFC teams ain't going to like this ...

Chiefs legend Willie Roaf says the conference is going to have to deal with Patrick Mahomes for AT LEAST the next decade ... telling TMZ Sports the QB is going to be a star for the next 10-12 years!!

"Mahomes is like [Tom] Brady," Roaf says.

Of course, Roaf's prediction is horrible news for everyone not in Chiefs Kingdom ... because Mahomes is doing things in his second year as a starter that most QBs NEVER do.

The guy already has an MVP, he's heading to his first Super Bowl next week ... AND he's thrown 76 TDs to just 18 interceptions in his 31 career starts.

"He's one of the first in the locker room, he's the last to leave, he's a perfectionist and he wants to be the best," Roaf says of Mahomes.

"They got blessed with having him and that kid can play for another 10, 12 years at this level if he takes care of himself."

Talk about the ultimate flex ... Giancarlo Stanton showed off ALL of his muscles in front of smokin' hot model Adriana Lima -- BY BENCH PRESSING HER!!!

The video of the Yankees superstar in the gym is insane ... he laid down on his back, grabbed Lima by the legs and the armpit -- and benched her AT LEAST 4 times!!!

It's unclear why a normal barbell and plates weren't enough for the outfielder ... but Lima sure seemed to dig it -- the supermodel was smiling the whole time!!

Of course, the feat ain't exactly tough for Stanton ... he's known as the strongest guy in the league -- so benchin' a former Victoria's Secret model was clearly NBD.

But, just to prove the guy could still lift some serious weights ... he showed off his skills with a hammer and a tire -- and yeah, dude's got the muscles!!

It's Draya Michele's birthday!!! But instead of receiving gifts, she's giving her fans an amazing, thoughtful present.

Draya decided to celebrate her 35th year by posting an INCREDIBLY smoking hot snap on her IG ... rockin' a barely-there g-string while holding a lucky bundle of balloons.

"The best gifts are experiences," Michele said in the caption, while adding "Big Birthday Energy."

Of course, Draya -- who was previously engaged to Dallas Cowboys player Orlando Scandrick -- made it VERY clear to TMZ Sports she's "single as f**k" last week ... but is expecting great things in 2020.

We briefly spoke with Draya out celebrating her big day with her girlfriends on Hollywood Boulevard Wednesday night ... and quite understandably, the cameras were flashing like crazy.

Michele told us her recent dinner with Corey Coleman was strictly platonic ... and lucky for the fellas, she's hoping to speed date her way through the year.

Shoutsout to the lucky bastards who get that chance.

TMZ Sports has obtained the 911 call made during Antonio Brown's alleged altercation with a moving company driver ... and the alleged victim claims the NFL star was high, and making threats.

We broke the story ... AB is accused of throwing rocks at a moving truck outside of his Hollywood, Fla. home and assaulting the driver over a payment dispute.

In the call, the driver -- who has a thick accent -- claims AB smoked in front of him and was under the influence at the time of the incident.

"The guy is high, he smoked, he threatened me. He's trying to fight, he throws stones at my truck," the caller claims.

"I'm trying to make delivery to the gentleman. I called him and told him he has to pay the balance for us to unload ... The guy refused to pay in the proper form."

The call -- which lasted for roughly 30 minutes -- paints a wild scene outside of Brown's mansion.

The caller says Brown and the NFL star's friends fought him when he initially arrived because they didn't want to pay his drop-off fee ... and he said while he was driving away some 50 yards up the street to get away from them, Brown hurled rocks at his truck.