TMZ Sports - Page 50

Florida State wide receiver Warren Thompson claims he's been "lied to" about COVID exposure on the FSU football team ... this after another FSU WR tested positive on Wednesday.

Thompson -- a 6'3", 200-lb. sophomore -- put the team on blast in a lengthy IG post Thursday ... saying "the proper leadership does not exist" to address the COVID threat.

"During this entire week of camp I have been lied to multiple times about the conditions of other players' health as well as mine."

"It has been shown to myself and the rest, that our leadership is based off an 'I' mentality with them only worried about their own future rather than their own athletes."

Thompson's allegations come one day after his fellow WR D.J. Matthews confirmed on social media that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

Matthews is the 2nd Noles player to confirm a COVID case -- with lineman Andrew Boselli testing positive back in March.

We've reached out to FSU for comment -- no word back. But, FSU has not given out any info on the number of players infected since the pandemic began.

As for Thompson, he claims he's already been "ridiculed" for speaking up about his concerns ... but wanted to go public in hopes of resolving the issues before the season.

"The lies from our leaders have backed myself into a corner putting my overall well being in jeopardy," Thompson continued. "The neglect to respond to this issue is very concerning and why I’ve drawn attention to it."

Thompson makes it clear he WANTS to play for FSU this season and has done everything in his power to stay safe ... but he's demanding transparency from the school.

LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRRRRRONA!!!

Jake Paul's Calabasas mansion turned into packed boxing venue Wednesday night -- with dozens of people blowing off COVID safety measures to watch two people throw down.

First off, YES -- this is the same house that was raided by the FBI just last week.

Second, unclear if Jake was at the home during the boxing match -- but there are a TON of people crowding around the ring and it only seems like a few people are wearing masks.

You'll note the combatants, breathing super hard and sweating in arm's length of the spectators ... a major NO-NO considering we're still in the middle of a pandemic!!

This would never fly on UFC's Fight Island.

The scene was wild -- the fighters were going after each other full speed, without headgear and without refs.

What's interesting ... Jake and his ex-GF were spotted out in Calabasas earlier in the day wearing masks and being safe.

Weird he's not implementing the same safety measures in his own home.

As we previously reported, Jake is training for his own boxing match against ex-NBA star Nate Robinson on the undercard of the big Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight On November 28.

A Russian powerlifting champ fractured both his knees and snapped both his quads in an 800-plus-pound squat attempt gone horrifically wrong ... and the video is TERRIFYING.

The awful scene all went down when decorated weightlifter Alexander Sedykh stepped up to the bar at a World Raw Powerlifting Federation event near Moscow this past weekend.

Sedykh -- the event's champ just a year ago -- loaded up 400 KG (roughly 880 pounds) on the bar ... and when he went to squat it, things took an awful turn.

WARNING: THIS IS GRUESOME.

In the video, you can see Sedykh's legs wobble ... before they eventually give out with a loud cracking sound.

Immediately, Sedykh is in serious pain ... and after he was rushed to the hospital, he reportedly required hours of surgery to fix his broken legs and quadriceps muscles.

"The main thing is that I must lie motionless in bed for two months,” Sedykh reportedly said of the injuries. “Then I'll be taught how to walk again."

For the first time in team history, the Miami Dolphins will wear a special patch to honor an individual person -- the late, great Don Shula.

Coach Shula passed away back in May at 90 years old -- and the team has decided to honor his memory during the 2020 NFL season.

All players will wear a special patch on their uniforms with Shula's last name and the number 347 -- which represents his record number of wins as an NFL coach.

The team says, "This will be the first time in the Dolphins' 54 seasons that a patch will be worn to honor an individual."

The team will debut the patch at their season opener on Sept. 13 against the New England Patriots.

Shula is a bona fide NFL legend -- he broke George Haas' all-time wins record in 1993 before finally retiring in 1995.

He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

"Don Shula's lasting impact on the Miami Dolphins, NFL and South Florida community is immeasurable," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said.

"I think I'll be irritated forever."

L.A. Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly just RIPPED the Houston Astros ... calling the players "snitches" and "little bitches" over their cheating scandal in a scathing rant.

The reliever sounded off on his teammate, Ross Stripling's "Big Swing Podcast" ... making the comments shortly after he was suspended 8 games for his role in a near Astros-Dodgers brawl last month.

Kelly explained to Stripling how he thought his ban was BS ... and then went absolutely IN on the Astros for the way he believes they passed off blame in their 2017 cheating scandal.

Kelly says the players wrongly let bench coach Alex Cora and GM Jeff Luhnow -- who were both fired after MLB's investigation -- take the fall for the sign-stealing scheme ... saying, "all they do is go snitch like a little bitch, and they don't have to get fined, they don't have to lose games."

Kelly added, "When you take someone's livelihood ... to save your own ass, that's what I don't like. Cheating? They cheated. Everyone knows they're cheaters."

"They know they're cheaters. It's over. That's been there, done that. But now, they mess it up by ruining other people's lives, so they f*cked it up twice."

Kelly -- who wasn't on the 2017 Dodgers team that lost to the Astros in the World Series but did play under Cora in 2018 with the Red Sox -- says Houston players' actions were "one of the worst things that you could probably do."

"They're not respectable men to me," Kelly said.

As for his role in the infamous Astros-Dodgers game last month ... Kelly says he has no idea why baseball banned him -- insisting when he threw at Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, it wasn't intentional.

In fact, Kelly blamed the Astros for all of the ensuing commotion ... saying he was the one who properly socially distanced and followed CDC guidelines amid the chaos.

"They walked out of their dugout, walked toward us," Kelly said. "Carlos Correa f*cking spit at our team."

First Deion Sanders ... then Charles Barkley?

Maybe!

Barstool Sports prez Dave Portnoy says Sir Chuck is the next big star he's hoping to sign, after inking Prime Time earlier this week.

"Charles Barely is like the best to ever do it," Portnoy told us in NYC ... "He's a guy, who one of the few, he just slings it on TNT and does a great job."

"That's a guy that comes up on top of my list that I would wanna get."

As we previously reported, Deion Sanders ended his 14-year run at NFL Network to join Dave's gang -- he'll be doing podcasts and video projects.

Portnoy says the move is sending a strong message to the rest of the sports media world.

"I think what it says to the rest to the world is ya know, you really can't f**k with us! We're on our way up!"

"I mean to put it bluntly. We can compete with anybody for talent and we're kind of a force to be reckoned with."

We also asked if bringing on Deion could help Barstool repair the relationship with NFL commish Roger Goodell.

And, to put it mildly, don't hold your breath.

Michael Jordan's super fancy Mercedes Benz S600 Lorinser -- owned by MJ in the mid-'90s -- just hit the auction block and is expected to rake in $100k!!

"His Airness" -- known for his ridiculously fast and luxurious car collection -- had the whip back in the day ... when the '96 Benz was registered to Jordan and his then-wife, Juanita.

MJ unloaded the MB years ago ... but the car was recently acquired by the Beverly Hills Car Club who decided to sell it.

The S600 was just listed on eBay ... and the starting bid is only $23 (get it?!).

But, it's gonna take a lot more than a crisp Jackson to buy this car ... 'cause BHCC tells us they expect it'll bring in around $100 grand.

The car has 157,000 miles on it, and doesn't exactly have all the bells and whistles of a current Mercedes (it's got power windows, heated seats, and AC!) ... but, it was owned by Jordan.

And, the value of MJ items has exploded since the airing of ESPN's docuseries, "The Last Dance" ... with everything from signed checks, Little League baseballs and Bulls uniforms selling for crazy amounts of cash.

The coolest part? The metallic navy blue S600 actually made a cameo on the show ... with Michael behind the wheel.

A bunch of autographed Joe Haden Steelers jerseys were shipped to Adam 'Pacman' Jones' house on Wednesday ... and the ex-NFLer reacted by lighting the whole batch ON FIRE.

Yeah, this is wild.

The 36-year-old documented the whole thing in a bizarre Instagram video on Wednesday ... saying, "I'ma show you how gangsta I am, whoever sent these punk ass Haden Pittsburgh jerseys, all these bitches about to get fired up."

For the record, we don't know if there's a beef between Pacman and Joe Haden ... but it sure seems like Pacman isn't a fan.

Joe Haden just posted a response video -- informing Pacman he had nothing to do with the jersey shipment!

Haden says he’s always had respect for Pacman and seems to be just as confused as the rest of us!

It's unclear who sent the jerseys, but Joe Haden's wife, Sarah, made it clear her husband had nothing to do with it.

"Real Classy," Sarah commented to Pacman ... "You obviously don’t know his character. He would NEVER send this."

Regardless, Pacman proved he was a man of his word ... pouring gasoline on the Haden threads and setting the batch on fire -- one by one.

"I don't know who had the nerve to do some s**t like this, but they all finna get burnt," Jones said in the video.

"F**k you too, Joe Haden and whatever you stand for, bitch as n***a."

Jake Paul says he knows exactly why the FBI raided his home and, for now at least, he doesn't seem too concerned -- but he is making some changes to his inner circle.

The YouTube star posted a vid imploring his fans to ignore rumors about him being in serious legal trouble after the feds showed up in force at his Calabasas crib. Jake says it's only an "investigation" related to his trespassing case in Arizona.

Remember, he was cited a couple months ago during looting that went down at a Scottsdale mall. However, Jake did point a finger at someone close to him in the video ... which he's since deleted.

Watch what he says about someone close to him "doing malicious things." He's hinting he caught a now former friend talking crap about him after the raid, but says he's handled the situation.

Truth is, JP did look pretty unworried about the case Wednesday as he took his Golden Retriever for a stroll around his neighborhood. The duo was joined by Jake's ex-GF -- and fake wife -- Tana Mongeau.

The 2 were playing it COVID safe with their masks on, but it looks like the pooch kept his face covering around his neck ... in favor of a mouthful of the leash.

We're told Jake seemed to be in good spirits following last week's intense scene ... and even greeted the photogs and chatted them up about his upcoming boxing match.

As we told you ... Jake's not backing out of his boxing match with NBA star Nate Robinson despite the mysterious FBI investigation surrounding him, and has been focused on training to take his mind off the ordeal.

Disturbing scene in Maryland over the weekend ... some scumbags vandalized a high school football field with racist language -- and now, cops say they're on the hunt for the culprits.

The graffiti was sprayed near the 50-yard line at Calvert High School's football stadium in Prince Frederick, MD. ... with the several racist messages including, "F**k n*****s."

Community leaders said in a Facebook post a 15-year-old Black student discovered the vandalism early Sunday morning ... and believe it "may possibly be a response to a picture" of the school's football coach supporting the H.S.'s new Black principal.

Cops say they believe the vandalism was done sometime Saturday night ... with school officials adding other parts of the campus were also broken into and tagged as part of the same incident.

After the graffiti was cleared up, the school spelled out a different message on the field -- "No Hate Here."

"We are sad and angry that these racist messages occurred on school grounds," superintendent Dr. Daniel D. Curry said in a statement. "This racist language hurts the school system and the Calvert County community."

"Calvert County Public Schools promotes an anti-racist environment and denounces hate and discrimination."

Both cops and school officials say they have no leads on suspects at this time ... with a school spokesperson telling TMZ Sports there are no cameras that overlook the football field.

We all knew this was coming -- Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been slapped with a 1 game suspension ... after the MVP candidate headbutted a player mid-game on Tuesday.

The Greek Freak was ejected following a scuffle with Washington Wizards center Moe Wagner in the 2nd quarter ... after the center hit Giannis with a hard foul.

Antetokounmpo immediately got into it with Wagner after the play ... and went after him with a good ole Zinedine Zidane-esque headbutt.

The NBA announced Giannis' punishment on Wednesday ... saying he will miss the next Bucks game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

"Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has been suspended one game without pay for headbutting Washington Wizards center Moritz Wagner during a stoppage in play," the league said in the official statement.

"The incident, for which Antetokounmpo was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected, occurred with 8:50 remaining in the second quarter of the Bucks’ 126-113 win over the Wizards on Aug. 11 at Visa Athletic Center on the campus of ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando."

Legendary Indianapolis Colts coach Howard Mudd -- the man responsible for getting O-linemen to block for Peyton Manning for YEARS -- died Wednesday, team owner Jim Irsay announced.

He was 78 years old.

According to Mudd's family members ... the famous NFL coach was involved in a serious accident on July 29 -- and succumbed to injuries Wednesday.

"Right after the accident he fought so hard against all odds to communicate to us that he loves us and that he knows we love him," Mudd's family said in a statement.

"[On Tuesday], it became clear that he was ready and that we needed to surround him with love and fight for his right to comfort and peace."

"This morning he was surrounded in the room by his sons [Darren and Adam] who held his arms and prayed over him as he passed away."

Mudd is known as one of the league's greatest offensive line coaches ever ... he famously produced O-lines year after year in Indy that protected Manning during the Hall of Fame QB's prime.

Mudd ultimately coached for nearly 5 DECADES in the league ... and was a damn good O-lineman himself during his playing days in the 1960s.

"Rest in peace, Howard Mudd," Irsay said Wednesday. "Howard was a GREAT player during a shortened career and then became one of the game's all-time greatest offensive line coaches."

"He contributed to many different teams over 47 years in our league---but he will always be a Colt. #LoveYouHoward."

Dak Prescott spoke out Wednesday on the tragic passing of his older brother, Jace ... and the Dallas Cowboys QB said emotionally, "it's tough, obviously."

"He meant a lot to my family, meant a lot to me," the 27-year-old told reporters in his first news conference since Jace's passing. "He's part of the reason I am a quarterback."

"When I was a little kid, he's the reason that I first started throwing the football."

Jace -- one of Dak's two older brothers -- died suddenly at the age of 31 this past April. The family has not publicly revealed the cause of death.

Dak was clearly torn up over the loss. In fact, it took the QB nearly four months to open up about it all publicly ... telling reporters Wednesday he's now making it his life's mission to carry on his brother's legacy.

"It's been a tough year," Dak said. "It's been a tough year for me personally. It's been a tough year for my family. It's been a tough year for this country and this world, obviously. So, it's all been tough."

Dak says he leaned on his Cowboys teammates and his other family members to get him through it all ... adding, "I have a great family to count on, to lean on. Great supporters here, great teammates. Great coaches."

As we previously reported ... Dak and Jace were extremely close -- the two famously filmed a Campbell's Chunky Soup commercial together in 2019, where the QB praised Jace and his other brother for being a great support system.

Sean Payton was hit with all the hard questions during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday ... and like a true pro, he had the answers to EVERYTHING -- even a pesky stain!!!

"Let me ask you a question," the reporter began -- not knowing everyone in the call could hear him -- "I spilled mustard on my suit..."

And, before the reporter was able to finish his thought -- or realize he wasn't muted -- the New Orleans Saints coach came through with some sound advice!!

"Generally with mustard, I'd use warm water," Payton said.

"I wanna use warm water, I don't wanna wipe it, I want to blot it and I want to treat it twice."

Of course, the embarrassed reporter quickly apologized for the hilarious blunder -- apologizing for having his mic on -- but Payton continued helping with his problem.

"You can't put it in the dryer on hot or it's going to be stained. If none of those things are working, seek outside help."

Patrick Mahomes says he's personally spoken with NFL commish Roger Goodell about the Black Lives Matter movement ... adding he's "excited" about taking the next steps.

The Kansas City Chiefs QB appeared on FS1's "Undisputed" on Wednesday where he was asked if he feels the BLM movement's impact on the NFL.

"I feel like it's been positive," Mahomes said.

"I've got to talk to Goodell, I've talked to other guys around the league and obviously now it's about action."

He added, "It's about going out there and making the right steps that we can ... and make the community a better place."

Mahomes -- who teamed up with other NFL to deliver a powerful statement to the league back in June -- says they're already getting the ball rolling with voter registration initiatives.

"We did a voter registration with the team and the Chiefs and we're trying to get everybody registered to vote," Mahomes said.

Jerry Jones says the Cowboys might be backing off his "toe the line" national anthem kneeling policy ... with the Dallas owner telling media members Wednesday he's considering a new rule.

The 77-year-old, who has famously threatened to cut players if they kneel during the pregame song, now says he's going to have an open dialogue with his team over the policy.

Jerry told reporters he's currently trying to find a way that pleases both protesters and staunch flag supporters when it comes to the team's newest anthem kneeling rule.

"Somewhere in between there," Jones said, "as we get together with our team, as we discuss with the team, somewhere in between there is how we're going to handle it."

Jerry says he's been in contact with several powerful people over how the Cowboys should move forward with the policy ... saying both past and current U.S. presidents have shared their feelings with him on the matter.

"I have talked to literally double handfuls of very, very engaged people," Jones said. "I have had input from ex-presidents, I've had input from presidents."

"I've had input from a cross-section of our players, former players and I will continue to have input. This is a very serious matter."