TMZ Sports - Page 50

The Raiders fan who got into it with Donald Penn after Sunday's game claims the NFL star is lying through his teeth -- saying it was Penn who first threatened violence ... and he's got the proof.

TMZ Sports spoke with 27-year-old Sal Chavarria ... who says he only waited for Penn after the game because Penn challenged him to a face-to-face confrontation after some Instagram smacktalk earlier in the season.

Sal admits he was heavily critical of Penn's play on social media -- and was shocked when Penn hit him up in his DM to insult him and challenged him to "say it to my face."

Sal says he did NOT throw a water bottle at Penn during Sunday's encounter, as Penn has alleged -- and claims he has several witnesses to back him up ... including security personnel.

As for Penn's claims that Sal was trying instigate a physical assault in order to shake Penn down for money, Sal says that's BS too ... he doesn't want a cent from the NFL star.

The good news ... Sal says he's such a big Raiders fan, he's open to burying the hatchet with Penn -- if the Raiders ask him to.

NFL legend Ronnie Lott -- along with several huge sports stars -- was evacuated from a hotel in Sonoma, CA minutes before it was engulfed in flames ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Lott, Byron Scott, Bret Saberhagen, Dan Jansen and more were all in town for the UCSF Medical Center Celebrity Golf Classic ... when the raging fires in Northern California began to spread in their direction.

The majority of the VIP guests were staying at the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa -- and when the flames began to get close, officials ordered the hotel to evacuate the guests.

We're told all of the celebrities made it out of the hotel -- including Lott who posed for a photo in the parking lot of the hotel with a friend, his wife, Karen (brunette) and ex-MLB star Saberhagen.

It's a good thing they got out when they did ... the hotel caught fire and burned down a short time later, a UCSF spokesperson confirmed to TMZ Sports.

A witness at the hotel tells us the situation escalated so quickly, one guest jumped out of the hotel window and suffered a broken arm trying to escape.

The tournament has been scrapped -- and some of the guests have already returned home ... including Byron Scott who arrived to LAX early Monday morning.

Marshawn Lynch is going TANK MODE for his new reality show ... strappin' into an army-grade Abrams to crumple cars for fun.

And that's just a sample of the wildness Marshawn gets into for his new reality series "No Script," which debuts this week on Facebook.

In a 1-minute trailer, Lynch also does donuts in a race car, tries indoor AND outdoor skydiving and even takes B.P. with a damn sledgehammer.

But we think the best part was his Battlefield Vegas cameo ... where Beast Mode rides shotgun while a tank commander straight-up bulldozes a sedan. (Bonus: Marshawn is munching on a toothbrush for some reason.)

Dental hygiene is important.

Ex-Lakers coach Byron Scott says the scumbags who raided his L.A. home did their homework -- and mapped out his daily routine so they could burglarize the place when no one was home.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... thieves broke into his Hermosa Beach pad more than a week ago and made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars in belongings ... including jewelry, guns and cash.

"I pray to God they catch em," Scott told us at LAX.

Scott says he's grateful no one was hurt -- and says at the end of the day, it's all replaceable ... "It's just stuff."

Jason Aldean turning down UFC 216 to do "Saturday Night Live" was a bad move -- so says DJ Clue, who tells TMZ Sports the country music star shoulda come through for the Vegas shooting survivors and first responders in Vegas.

"He should have represented ... and said 'f**k that money,'" Clue told us outside STORY in South Beach.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Dana White was PISSED when he saw Aldean perform on SNL -- after Jason turned down Dana's offer to sing the national anthem in front of hundreds of people connected to the tragedy.

Dana says Jason's reps told him he was too shaken up to play live -- and the fact that he did SNL on the same night makes him a "coward" that cares about his image more than the shooting victims.

Clue isn't coming at Jason that hard ... stressing that everyone's gotta stay together in times like this.

But would the hip-hop legend have made it out to Vegas? "ABSOLUTELY."

Shannon Sharpe's 'Milds and Yak' viral moment is getting so huge, the NFL Hall of Famer says he's down to create his own signature Black & Mild cigar!

FYI, social media blew up last week when Sharpe busted out a Black & Mild on FS1's "Undisputed" to celebrate his Broncos winning and Skip Bayless' Cowboys losing.

The moment was remixed by a DJ -- and the song has BLOWN UP! Shannon says he loves it.

So, what happens next? Shannon says he's no poser -- he wants some Hennessy and his own Black & Mild flavor.

And if those companies were smart, they'd hit him up right now!!!

Janet Jackson threw the hottest high school reunion Sunday night at the Hollywood Bowl, bringing back a ton of her OG backup dancers -- but she's not letting on if a Justin Timberlake reunion is in the cards.

We got Janet outside Lure Nightclub in Hollywood, where she held the after-party ... and asked if she and JT might reunite at Super Bowl LII. According to multiple reports, Justin's locked in for the halftime show -- so, you gotta wonder if they'll patch things up after 2004's infamous boob debacle.

If it's happening ... Janet can definitely keep a secret.

As for her backup dancers -- Miss Jackson gave them all some shine during the Bowl concert ... including Jenna Dewan Tatum, who originally debuted on Janet's 2001 "All for You" Tour.

They are a part of the Rhythm Nation ...

Miami Dolphins offensive line coach Chris Foerster has resigned -- less than 24 hours after video surfaced showing him blowing lines with a $20 bill.

"I am resigning from my position with the Miami Dolphins and accept full responsibility for my actions," Foerster said in a statement.

"I want to apologize to the organization and my sole focus is on getting the help that I need with the support of my family and medical professionals."

The Dolphins also issued a statement saying, "We were made aware of the video late last night and have no tolerance for this behavior."

"After speaking with Chris this morning, he accepted full responsibility and we accepted his resignation effective immediately."

"Although Chris is no longer with the organization, we will work with him to get the help he needs during this time."

Foerster was one of the highest paid assistant coaches in the NFL -- reportedly earning between $2.5 and $3 MILLION per year.

8:28 AM PT -- Dolphins head coach, Adam Gase, just addressed Foerster's resignation with the media ... saying, "it's not a good situation. It wasn't something that you expect."

"It's not fun, especially when you're close to somebody. But you gotta take the next step and move on, 'cause we're gonna play on Sunday."

Gase added he never saw signs of drug issues while working with Foerster.

"I go to a football game as I go to a movie or anything else ... for escapism. Not to hear somebody's political views." -- John O'Hurley on Mike Pence's decision to leave the Colts game.

The former "Seinfeld" actor didn't hold back when we asked about the Vice President walking out of the stadium Sunday to protest the players who took a knee during the anthem.

"Bravo," he told TMZ Sports on his way out of Craig's in L.A. He also gave Pence a big thumbs-up.

Donald Trump also praised Pence for the move -- tweeting, "I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen."

The Miami Dolphins are looking into a video of offensive line coach Chris Foerster blowing 3 lines of what appears to be cocaine.

The video was posted by Kijuana Nige -- a Vegas-based model who claims Foerster had sent her the video.

Nige claims, "He recorded himself and sent it to me professing his love."

Unclear when and where the video was shot, but while snorting the powder with a $20 bill, Foerster speaks to the camera and says, "Hey babe, miss you, thinking about you."

He also waxes poetically about how he wants to snort lines off the recipient's vagina.

So far, no comment from Foerster.

As for the NFL, a league spokesman told us, "we are looking into it."

Oakland Raiders lineman Donald Penn went off on a Raiders fan outside the stadium in Oakland on Sunday -- screaming at the guy, "I do block, bitch" ... and even dropping an n-bomb.

It all went down after the Raiders lost to the Ravens -- Penn gets out of his car and says to a man wearing a Raiders shirt, "All that f**king talk, you ain't gonna do shit n***a."

He went on, "I do block, bitch. Be a f**king fan."

Penn then grabbed a security guard and told him to tend to the fans.

After the incident, Penn went to Twitter and wrote, "He threw a bottle at my car but I should of stayed in the car."

LaVar Ball is bringing in the best private tutors he can find to educate his 16-year-old son LaMelo Ball after pulling him out of high school ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with a rep for the Ball family who tells us LaMelo's homeschooling program will consist of "private tutors while LaVar trains him (in basketball) for the next two years to get better and stronger."

We asked if there were any areas of study LaMelo will focus on and got this response:

"Math and English are his stronger subjects so he can count his money and communicate when it's not right."

LaVar previously told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne he was going to bring Melo to the hood for pickup games to keep him in basketball shape ... but we're told he will also continue to play AAU games.

Where should boxers go to find groupies?

Any old McDonald's will do, boxing star Danny Garcia tells TMZ Sports -- 'cause ladies tryna quench their thirst ain't only at the club.

"You just walk down the street -- McDonald's ... buyin' a McGriddle! You can find 'em anywhere!!"

Danny's a 1-woman man ... but we're pretty sure not all his bros have coitus on deck after every fight. Garcia says NFL and NBA guys get waaay more groupie love.

So ... we got D.G. to drop some knowledge on where to look.

Dude's GF is smokin' hot -- so maybe he's right. Maybe.

Michael Irvin is PUMPED over Justin Timberlake potentially doing the Super Bowl LII halftime show ... as long as his nipplegate partner stays at home.

Irvin says he was blown away by JT's set at Jerry Jones' Hall of Fame party this year ... and thinks he'd be the perfect pickup for the Big Game.

"It was incredible, man. He did a hell of a job, A HELL OF A JOB," Mike told TMZ Sports.

But when we floated the idea of Janet Jackson joining Justin on stage, you could tell the Cowboys legend wasn't a fan -- "I don't think so."

FYI, Janet was still on the SB blacklist last we checked ... but it seems like JT's in the clear even though he's the one who, well ... ya know.

The real question -- is Irvin down with 'NSYNC?

1:00 PM PT -- Colin just tweeted about the misinformation over him being willing to stand for the national anthem with a quote from Winston Churchill. His girlfriend, Nessa, also tweeted an outright denial of the news.

11:48 PM PT -- Jason La Canfora is now saying reports about Colin standing for the anthem are NOT true ... adding he and the ex-QB only talked about wanting to play again. Multiple media outlets cited CBS and La Canfora for the original news ... but that story about Colin being willing to stand has now been removed from CBS' site. It appears Jason was only relaying earlier reporting about Colin standing in the future.

Colin Kaepernick is apparently over his National Anthem protest ... just as long as it means he can play professional football again.

Kaepernick reportedly told reporter Jason La Canfora that he would indeed stand for the National Anthem if he was signed to an NFL team this year.

La Canfora said Sunday that he'd sat down with Kaep and his GF Saturday night, and explained that Colin's primary goal right now is to be a pro QB ... as he's been living in NYC and training privately in Jersey.

La Canfora also says Colin spends a fair amount of time working with youth in Harlem ... as we've recently seen.

Still ... the alleged statement on standing is shocking if true -- especially in light of the recent national debate that President Trump himself has weighed in on and gotten tremendous backlash from the NFL.

Gotta wonder if this will change any NFL owners' minds about Kaep.

O.J. Simpson wasted no time quenching his thirst for blood ... but he watered it down with vodka.

Simpson was spotted grabbing takeout Saturday at Las Vegas' Wahoos Fish Taco restaurant around 4 PM, where patrons tell us during the wait he ordered himself a Bloody Mary.

Everyone in the restaurant stared, but no one asked for pics or a John Hancock.

The restaurant wouldn't say what was in the bag ... customer/restaurant privilege.

He'd be wise to stay away from the blood stuff this time of year. Or always ... either way.