TMZ Sports - Page 50

WORST CRIMINALS EVER???

Two LSU frat bros and a female companion were arrested this week after cops say they broke into Tiger Stadium and whipped a suped-up golf cart all over the football field, causing a ton of damage!

And, the worst part ... they probably would've gotten away with it -- but cops say one of the guys returned to the field a few weeks later AND DID IT AGAIN!!!

The main suspect is 19-year-old Clayton Fleetwood -- who allegedly snuck into the stadium with a buddy just after midnight on January 21 and got behind the wheel of a red Kawasaki Mule, a fast-moving utility vehicle.

Officials say Fleetwood and his pal, Thomas English, proceeded to drive the Mule all over the grass -- causing at least $8,000 in damage to the grounds, which had just been upgraded with a new drainage system.

Cops say they shot footage of the joy ride, which eventually made its way to social media. NOT SMART!

They eventually left the stadium ... but cops say Fleetwood returned on Feb. 8 with another pal -- 20-year-old Catherine Nowery -- and once again, Fleetwood grabbed a Mule and tore up the field.

Officials say surveillance video shows the two "talking, kissing, and drinking what appear to be alcoholic beverages."

Cops received anonymous tips about the suspects and officials were able to track all 3 perps down ... matching school ID photos to the surveillance video.

Also, the President of Delta Chi called school officials and confirmed the two men in the viral video were members of his frat.

Eventually, all 3 people were arrested and hit with a bunch of criminal charges.

Fleetwood is facing felony burglary, misdemeanor trespass and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle. Jackson is facing felony burglary and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle. Nowery is facing misdemeanor criminal trespass and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Suspended Yankees star pitcher Domingo German was involved in a car crash in the Dominican Republic on Thursday ... NY manager Aaron Boone confirmed.

The right-hander was NOT, however, injured ... Boone says.

"Germán is fine," the Yanks head man told reporters at NY's spring camp. "He was in the car, in the back seat on the driver's side. He's been to the complex in the D.R., he's been checked over, and he's fine.”

German has been training in the DR away from his Yanks teammates in Florida, because he's still in the middle of an 81-game suspension he was hit with for violating the MLB's domestic violence policy last year.

It's unclear if others were injured in the accident -- Yankees officials have still not released a formal statement on the matter.

Tim Tebow ... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Heisman Trophy winner turned Mets farmhand had a chance to be a hero in NY's spring training game Friday ... but instead, he tripped over his own shoes!!

The sad scene all went down in the Mets-Cardinals exhibition game ... where Tebow's squad was up 3-2 in the top of the ninth inning.

With two outs left in the game, Tim could've closed everything down by catching a lazy pop fly to left field -- but he fell to the ground before he could make the grab!!

The vid is pretty depressing ... Tim takes a solid route to the ball, camps underneath it, but then gets his feet tangled in his shoelaces and goes crashing to the grass.

SO CLOSE!!!

The ball landed just a few feet from him ... allowing the game-tying runner to advance to second base.

To make matters worse, Tebow -- the No. 9 hitter for the day -- was 0-for-2 on the afternoon with 2 strikeouts. YIKES!!!

Fortunately for the ex-NFL QB, the Mets were able to get the next batter to fly out to right to end the game ... but social media is already ROASTING poor Timmy for the effort!!

Of course, it hasn't been all bad news bears for Tebow this spring ... he just hit his first home run of camp earlier this week, but clearly, this ain't going to help make the Mets' opening day roster.

Barry Sanders has entered the great Garth Brooks jersey scandal of 2020 ... hilariously asking the country singer if he wants to team up and run America together!!

Of course, some Garth fans lost their damn minds this week when he wore a Sanders #20 jersey at the Detroit stop on his stadium tour ... thinking the wardrobe choice was in support of Democratic nominee Bernie Sanders and not the Hall of Fame running back.

One fan wrote ... "Good grief. Can’t you just do what you get paid to do ???? Why why why does it have to involve politics !!! 🤢 So sad. We don’t pay good money for anything other than to watch you perform. 😡 Thought you were different."

The confusion is absolutely hilarious ... and it just got even better, 'cause Barry has chimed in with a zinger for the ages.

"Hey @garthbrooks, want to be my VP? #Number20for2020" Sanders tweeted.

The Detroit Lions even got involved too ... making Sanders' first official campaign graphic.

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

David Ayres -- the Zamboni driver who came in as an emergency goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL game last week -- is getting his own, official trading card!!!

A spokesperson for Upper Deck tells TMZ Sports there was a SERIOUS demand for Ayres cardboard after he helped secure a win for the Canes when their top two goalies went down on Feb. 22.

So, we're told the card co. went to work ... and not only locked up an individual deal with the 42-year-old -- but made him his own, dope card quickly!!

The card features a shot of David in his gear standing in goal ... and on the back bio, it spells out exactly how Ayres turned from Zamboni driver to NHL player!!

"After giving up two quick goals," the card reads, "he stood tall and saved the next eight shots he faced, helping Carolina prevail 6-3 and earning a win in his surprise NHL debut."

Upper Deck officials say the card will be available in packs this week.

It's Odell Beckham's favorite time of the year!!! No, not football season ... it's Paris Fashion Week ... and the Browns' superstar made sure to look the part.

OBJ hit up the Virgil Abloh x Baccarat party on Thursday ... and the dude was draped in new Louis Vuitton from head-to-toe.

So, let's break it down -- on top, Odell was wearing the monogram reversible jacket, which comes with a hefty $5,250 price tag.

Of course, the swag didn't stop there -- naturally, Beckham paired the jacket with the monogram cargo pants with removable 3D pockets (thankfully, Odell decided to ditch the boxy pockets).

As for the trousers, they come with a $2,010 price tag.

To top it all off, OBJ had some pretty special pair of Jordan 1s -- the Pass The Torch Js, which were designed for Kawhi Leonard after winning the 2014 NBA Finals and run around $1-2k a pop nowadays.

Unbelievable moment for Senators star Bobby Ryan -- who returned to the ice in Ottawa on Thursday after taking 100 days off to get sober ... and he pulled off a HAT TRICK!!!

The 32-year-old had stepped away from the team on Nov. 20 to focus on battling alcoholism through the league's substance abuse program.

Tuesday marked 100 days of sobriety -- and Thursday night was Ryan's first game back at the Canadian Tire Centre ... where he was welcomed by adoring fans.

The energy in the place was insane -- many fans holding signs showing their support for Ryan, who was clearly touched by the love.

When the puck dropped, RYAN WENT OFF -- slapping 3 goals in a 5-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks!

After goal #3, the arena erupted in a standing ovation and a "BOB-BY!" chant -- you can see Bobby got choked up and had to wipe away tears from his eyes.

After the game, Ryan told reporters, "I knew Ottawa being the community that it is that the reception would be good. It just got harder to keep the emotions down throughout the game."

Ryan added, "It was incredible. They supported me and I got to contribute. You can't write that, the way that went. It was just an incredible evening, so thank you to all of them."

Some L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies shared photos of the scene where Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gigi, and 7 others lost their lives ... and the photos included remains from the gruesome aftermath ... TMZ has confirmed.

It's not clear who took the photos, but it was being talked about by first responders just 2 days after the crash, this according to the L.A. Times.

And, according to the report, at least one L.A. County Sheriff's official had the photos on his cell phone "in a setting that had nothing to do with the investigation."

The report does not say who took the photos and how many deputies and officials at the Sheriff's Dept. saw or shared the photos.

The Sheriff's Dept. contacted families of all of the victims Wednesday ... an official told The Times the reason for contacting them was not because of the allegation but rather because there was a media inquiry over the allegation.

The Sheriff's Department would only say, "The matter is being looked into."

Knock on wood if you think this is hilarious!!!

Jon Gruden commissioned an impromptu Jon Gruden impression from Frank Caliendo at an Aerosmith concert recently ... and the video is laugh-out-loud funny.

FYI -- Caliendo has been doing an insane JG impression for YEARS ... and even famously did the bit for Gruden's Raiders at their training camp this past summer.

So, when Gruden was sitting next to the comedian in an arena waiting for the show to begin ... he whipped out his phone and created 25 seconds of magic with the guy.

JG starts the video by saying, "Yes, I'm sitting here at the Aerosmith concert with my good friend, Jon Gruden. How's it going, Jonny?!"

That's when Caliendo takes it away ... SOUNDING EXACTLY LIKE JON!!!

Frank, though, cracks up throughout the whole impression ... and his explanation for why is hilarious.

"1. Gruden recorded this on his phone," Frank said. "2. He didn’t tell me he was going to do it- and that's why I'm laughing so much. 3. I asked him to send it to me so I could post it. 4. He did... so that should tell you how great he is."

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy says he's not worried ONE BIT about reports Tom Brady is looking to bail on NE ... saying, "There's a ZERO percent chance he's leaving!"

Of course, El Pres is a DIEHARD Patriots fan -- everybody knows that -- but he also knows Tom and a bunch of other important people in the Patriots organization. Dude's plugged in.

So, when we saw Portnoy on the streets of NYC we had to ask if he had any inside info on the Brady drama.

"Listen! Tom Brady is not going anywhere," Portnoy says ... "Anybody who says he's going anywhere is an idiot!!"

He added, "The Patriots offer [Brady] the best chance to win the Super Bowl. They're offering him the most money or close to it. He just wants to feel wanted which I don't blame him!"

"Mark my words, there's a ZERO-POINT-ZERO-POINT-ZERO percent chance he's leaving New England. Zero! it may be less than zero!"

This is pretty awesome ... fans at Thursday's LAFC game unveiled a HUGE tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant -- and started a stadium-wide, spine-tingling "Ko-Be" chant at the same time.

The tifo -- soccer's term for in-arena visual displays -- popped up shortly before LAFC's Concacaf Champions League match against Club Leon in Carson, CA.

And, you can see in video of it all ... it's massive -- and amazing.

Fans raised purple and white placards that spelled out the Nos. 8 and 24 ... while a banner with Kobe and Gigi's faces plus the words, "Kobe & GiGi Forever," raised behind the goal.

Soon after ... the entire stadium joined in a raucous "KO-BE" chant as well.

Team star Carlos Vela also wore a captain's armband that had Kobe's initials and jersey numbers on it.

The LAFC match was the team's first at home since Kobe, Gianna and 7 others were tragically killed in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26 in Calabasas, CA.

Will Smith's gotta share the spotlight now with Serena and Venus Williams -- or at least the young actors who are costarring with him as the tennis phenoms.

Will's been digging into the role of Richard Williams in "King Richard" all week in L.A., but on Thursday we got our first look at his onscreen daughters. Saniyya Sidney is playing Venus and Demi Singleton is Serena in the biopic.

Demi and Saniyya are playing young Serena and Venus -- in their teens, it seems -- but we still don't know who will be playing them as adults ... when they really dominated tennis.

The film, about how the Williams sisters' father raised and coached them to become superstar athletes, is slated to come out in November ... so, ya know the studio behind it is thinking it's gonna be Oscar worthy.

Dana White says he could "give a s**t" if MMA fans bail on UFC over his friendship with President Trump ... telling TMZ Sports, "That's your problem, not mine."

Just last week, the UFC boss flew with POTUS to Colorado for a campaign rally -- where White even took the mic and fired up the crowd before Trump spoke.

When we saw White outside of Mulberry Street pizza in Bev Hills on Thursday, he told us how the whole thing came together.

"I wasn't really campaigning, he called me and asked me if I wanted to go to Colorado," White said ... "he said, 'Wanna go to Colorado?' So, I said, 'Yeah.' So, we flew over to Colorado for the day and then back to Vegas."

So, what did they talk about on Air Force One?

"We were just hanging out and talking fights."

"I can't say it enough. This guy, when I say this guy I'm talking about President Trump ... is such a good friend and such a loyal amazing guy. He's a great guy, been a friend of mine for a long time."

As for backlash from UFC fans upset with White for supporting Trump, Dana made it clear he doesn't care if the friendship rubs people the wrong way.

"I could give a s**t. I don't give a s**t. If you don't like me because I'm friends with this guy, that's your problem, not mine."

There's more ... Dana is also very close friends with Tom Brady -- so we asked White if he knows anything about where TB12 could end up next season?!

The good news ... Dana and Tom spoke just hours before this clip!!

Wayne Gretzky says fighting in the NHL might not be around much longer ... and tells TMZ Sports he can see a scenario where it's officially banned from the league.

"You've cleaned it out of minor hockey, junior hockey, college hockey," The Great One says. "It's not really part of our game anymore."

Of course, the issue of fighting in the sport is being brought up again after an AHL player was hospitalized after he took a haymaker to the face in an on-ice tilt earlier this week.

When we ran into Gretzky in NYC on Thursday ... he told us despite the terrifying scene, fights are still going to happen in hockey every now and then.

But, he added the league appears to be getting closer and closer to seeing the scraps become extinct.

"There's less and less fights every year," Gretzky says. "Kids grow up now and nobody fights. In the old days, they used to fight at 15, 18, 20, but now they all grow up and nobody fights."

When we asked Gretzky -- who rarely ever threw down in his 20-year NHL career -- if he could see the league inputting a rule prohibiting the knuckle chucking, he told us, "You never know."

By the way, we also asked Wayne for his thoughts on Zamboni-driver-turned-backup-goalie, David Ayres ... and The Great One had some funny comments on the amazing story!

This is the BEST thing you'll see all day.

14-year-old New York Mets superfan Braeden got hooked up with a once in a lifetime experience at spring training in Port St. Lucie, FL this week ... meeting all the players, hanging in the clubhouse and on the field!

Not only did Braeden -- who is battling cystic fibrosis -- hang with guys like Michael Conforto, Jacob deGrom, Jeff McNeil and Tim Tebow ... he also got to take the lineup card to home plate (in full uniform) before the game against the Cardinals on Sunday.

Braeden and his fam got to enjoy the game from the first row, behind home plate ... but the best part of his trip happened when he randomly ran into his favorite player -- Pete Alonso -- at his hotel!!

We're told PA was more than happy to hang with Braeden, take pics and even autograph a ball for his big fan.

“He was so chill,” Braeden said about the encounter “He was just a nice guy.”

OUUUUUUUUUUUUUCHHHHH!!!

NFL tight end prospect Mitchell Wilcox just took a ball straight to the face in his combine workout ... and it looked like it hurt like HELL!!!

The former USF standout was going through the famous gauntlet drill Thursday ... when for some reason, he didn't put his hands up before the third pass was thrown.

You can see the clip ... the fastball hits him right in the dome -- and it's pretty clear the shot didn't feel great.

To Wilcox's credit, he was able to finish the drill and is still out there chugging along -- although the damage to his face AND his NFL future might already be done.

Aside from getting hit in the noggin in front of a bunch of scouts ... Wilcox ran a slow 4.88 40-yard dash time and stumbled through other parts of his workout as well.

It ain't exactly a great look for the 23-year-old -- but there is hope ... remember the last dude who embarrassed himself in front of a national audience at the combine?

Yeah, Chris Jones is a Super Bowl champ now!!!