TMZ Sports - Page 50

The college football National Championship looks Hollywood friendly -- 'cause there's a few celebs at the game ... and we don't just mean Donald Trump and Kendrick Lamar.

Some other big names at the big game in Atlanta include Quavo, Samuel L. Jackson, Ric Flair and Zac Brown -- who sang the national anthem with his band.

A few notable athletes were there Monday night as well -- Terrell Owens, Matt Stafford of the Detroit Lions, Derrick Henry of the Titans and Thomas Davis Sr. of the Panthers ... just to name a few.

LeBron James ain't havin' none of that racist H&M clothing ad featuring a black kid in a sweatshirt that reads, "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle" ... telling the clothing company, "U got us all wrong!"

After stars like Diddy and The Weeknd blasted the company for the insanely racially-insensitive ad -- King James weighed in with the most positive (yet condemning) statement yet.

"@hm u got us all wrong! And we ain't going for it! Straight up!"

"Enough about y'all and more of what I see when I look at this photo. I see a Young King!! The ruler of the world, an untouchable Force that can never be denied!"

"We as African Americans will always have to break barriers, prove people wrong and work even harder to prove we belong but guess what, that's what we love because the benefits at the end of the road are so beautiful!! #LiveLaughLove❤️ #LoveMyPeople"

Johnny Manziel's agent says the QB is actively negotiating a contract to play with the CFL's Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- and he's giving them a Jan. 31 deadline ... or he's moving on.

"Johnny wants to let Hamilton fans know where things stand and that he has been working hard in preparation for his comeback," Johnny's agent Erik Burkhardt said in a statement.

Burkhardt says Johnny is hopeful they can work out a "fair deal" with the Canadian Football League team -- and by that he means a contract "on par with what Hamilton has paid their QB in recent years, despite not having much on-field success."

Johnny likes the execs in the Hamilton front office -- and seems excited to play for coach June Jones ... but Burkhardt says the clock is ticking.

"If we cannot reach a deal with Hamilton by this date [Jan. 31], we will turn our focus to several other professional options readily available to us."

Stay tuned ...

Shaun Alexander doesn't seem too worried about his former squad after the Seahawks missed the playoffs for the first time in 6 seasons ... telling TMZ Sports, "It just happens with age. Life happens."

Alexander would know ... he crushed it for the Hawks from 2000 to 2007, leading the team to Super Bowl XL to cap off the 2005 season.

"We went on a nice run when I was there," Alexander said ... "About 5 years in a row. They've kinda done it again."

The Carolina Panthers are officially for sale now that their season is over ... and Steph Curry says he's willing to do "whatever it takes" to be one of the team's new owners.

After TMZ Sports caught up with the NBA superstar on Friday and asked about joining Diddy in pursuing the Panthers ... Steph doubled down on his serious interest to reporters at Warriors practice on Monday.

"It's a pretty interesting opportunity. I've had conversations with many people about the right way to go about it and different approaches I can personally take."

Steph says he's already had talks with Diddy about the "different opportunities and options" they can pursue together ... but it definitely sounds like Curry is serious about being involved.

12:00 PM PT -- Cops say Courtney's disappearance was caused by a bad reaction to medications, according to The Daily Beast.

"She has ongoing confusion and memory problems Monday afternoon, does not know where she spent Sunday evening, and has bumps and bruises."

Sports reporter Courtney Roland has been found in Texas -- and is now being hospitalized after being reported missing early Sunday morning.

The search for Roland went viral after the woman's friend said she got a text from Courtney saying she believed she was being followed by a suspicious man who tailed her out of a Walgreens.

Tons of famous people helped spread the word ... from Dana White to Peter King.

Now, the Houston PD has confirmed Roland was found ... saying, "A passerby called us about 8:15am, stating Ms. Roland was under an overpass at the 610 West Loop at Richmond."

"Our officers arrived, confirmed it was her and arranged she be checked at an area hospital."

"She appears unharmed."

A pair of former Georgia football stars are showing Donald Trump some Southern hospitality ahead of Georgia vs. 'Bama ... saying it's "an honor" to host 45, NOT a distraction.

We got QB Aaron Murray and punter Drew Butler outside of Sweetwater Brewery -- recording their Punt & Pass podcast -- before the big game ... and they told us why POTUS' appearance is all good with them.

"It's a great thing ... but at the end of the day (the players) know what they need to do. They gotta get the job done so they're gonna be focused," Murray told TMZ Sports.

Here's video proof that Drake's days of airballing 3's in front of the whole world are over ... with the hip-hop star looking pretty wet, draining some longballs during a pick-up game at his L.A. crib.

Drake embarrassed himself a couple years back warming up with Kentucky ... drawing nothing but air from deep before a game and becoming the laughingstock of hip-hop hoops.

To fix it, Drake hit up world famous hoops trainer Dribble2much -- tutor to NBA stars like DeMar DeRozan ... and sources tell us the two men have been working diligently on Drizzy's game for months.

You can see the results for yourself. The dude from the north isn't just hitting shots, he's making dope passes too -- a total turnaround.

Legendary Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno says his old squad is gonna put a hurtin' on Alabama when they square off tonight ... and it ain't just cause he bleeds Red and Black.

We got Knowshon -- an 2-time all-SEC back for UGA -- out in ATL ... and asked him straight-up who the better team was, personal bias aside.

"Gotta go Dawgs, baby," Moreno told TMZ Sports. "They're gonna do it."

Here's NBA star DeAndre Jordan getting the bird from a hot chick he was out with Sunday night ... and it's all because he picked Georgia to beat 'Bama.

DeAndre fronted like a Dawgs diehard as he was leaving Madeo in West Hollywood ... but his lady friend -- a Tide fan -- let us know what was really going on.

Don't worry ... her and DJ had a good laugh about it before they rode off into the night.

The bombshell ESPN report detailing a rift between the top guys in the Patriots organization is a "non-story" designed to distract the team from another title ... so says Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy.

"Everyone's always trying to take down the king," Portnoy tells TMZ Sports.

FYI, Portnoy is a massive Pats fan -- but he's clearly not concerned about the alleged infighting.

He does however reveal the one guy who should go if push comes to shove between Brady, Belichick and Robert Kraft (Hint: It ain't Brady).

One more thing ... Portnoy is a hardcore pizza connoisseur (you've probably seen his Barstool Pizza Reviews) -- so we had to ask which pizza joint is the BEST in the Big Apple.

Here's Saints coach Sean Payton dancing like his life depended on it ... after his team's huge playoff win over the Panthers!

Saints star RB Alvin Kamara shot video of the team's locker room celebration ... where the coach decided to join the party -- and let loose to Yo Gotti's hit track, "Juice."

As for the dance itself -- it was pretty damn goofy -- but Kamara and the rest of the guys approved.

Ain’t the first time we’ve seen Payton bust a move -- remember that video we got of him bumpin' and gridin' with a hot blonde in the Bahamas??

#SWAG

No sulking for Todd Gurley -- because hours after his Rams were bounced from the NFL playoffs, the running back was bouncing to a Hollywood hot spot with some smokeshows in tow.

Gurley and some friends (including 2 hot ladies) rolled into Delilah in West Hollywood on Saturday evening ... following the 26-13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

Look, it's clear from the video it wasn't a celebratory outing ... Todd doesn't look super happy ... but what else is he gonna do, sit at home and be mad?

Props on a solid season.

The co-founder of the Boston University CTE Center believes Cam Newton suffered a concussion during Sunday's NFL playoff game ... and says Cam's excuse for going back in the game is a joke.

The Panthers QB was rocked in the 4th quarter of the Wild Card game against the Saints -- collapsing while jogging toward the sideline.

He was examined by medical personnel and was cleared to reenter the game. Newton later said he did NOT feel like he had a concussion, but suffered an eye injury from his helmet slipping down.

Sure.

Enter Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. -- one of the most famous and esteemed CTE experts in the world ... who also played college football and wrestled for the WWE.

"This 'Cam Newton's visor poked him in the eye' is the greatest storyline in the history of sports," Nowinski said.

"And I'm saying that as a former WWE wrestler. Watch the video, you don't collapse after that him because you need ice on your face. It's a #concussion."

The BBB is warning consumers about BBB -- the Better Business Bureau tells TMZ Sports the Big Baller Brand is a disaster ... and has earned the lowest possible rating, an F.

Ever since LaVar Ball launched the apparel company, the BBB has been inundated with complaints from customers who either didn't get their orders ... or got the wrong items.

If you're into keeping stats -- how's this: Big Baller has 41 negative reviews and ZERO positive ... with 33 formal complaints on file.

FYI, the Better Business Bureau is a 105-year-old non-profit organization that monitors businesses across the country to help protect consumers.

The BBB reached out to Big Baller Brand twice to help resolve their issues -- but no one at Big Baller ever called them back.

Blair Looney, CEO of Better Bus. Bureau Central CA, tells TMZ Sports consumers should be very careful when considering making a Big Baller purchase.

"This is very definitely substandard normal business practices for anybody."

"As a result of the repeat pattern of complaints, the volume of complaints, Big Baller now has an F rating with the BBB, which is the lowest rating possible in the BBB system."

Wanna know the difference between IndyCar and NASCAR?

Indycar studs Alex Rossi and Conor Daly broke it down for us ... telling TMZ Sports there are 2 fundamental differences beyond the types of cars they race.

1) NASCAR drivers make more money and 2) they get more chicks (because of #1).

But things are looking up for Conor and Alex -- 'cause they're one of the teams on the new season of "The Amazing Race"!

And they didn't get eliminated on the first show ... which is more than some people in our office can say!