TMZ Sports - Page 50

10:40 AM -- Fournette was driving his 2017 Maybach at the time of the crash and the bumper was wrecked.

But get this ... he signed the busted bumper and GAVE IT to first responders ... this according to WJXT4's Vic Micolucci.

Close call for Jacksonville Jaguars superstar Leonard Fournette -- who was rear-ended on a Florida interstate ... but he's OKAY!!!!

It all went down Tuesday morning ... a rep for the Jags says Fournette was "involved in a minor car accident today when his car was rear ended."

"Leonard is okay and was able to drive home."

The rookie running back -- who was a big factor in the Jags' playoff win over the Steelers this past Sunday -- was traveling on I-295, about a 10 minute drive from the EverBank Field.

And.... exhale.

Here's some Super Bowl real talk, courtesy of Steelers legend, Pro Football Hall of Famer and SB40 champ Jerome Bettis -- who we got outside Poppy in L.A.

Fact -- Tom Brady and the Patriots are heavy favorites to win it all.

Also fact -- There's 1 team in the field that's got the goods to pull off an upset ... but "it's gonna take a big effort," according to The Bus.

Think Stefon Diggs' game-winning touchdown grab was nice?? Ya ain't seen nothin' yet ... so says his old college coach.

TMZ Sports spoke with Randy Edsall -- who coached Diggs during his 3 seasons at Maryland -- and he wasn't one bit surprised by Stefon's late-game heroics ... noting he's been making insane plays for years.

"He was a tremendous, tremendous competitor. The bigger the moment or the bigger the opportunity, the more you knew he was gonna make something happen."

Edsall praises Diggs' "swag" and "bravado" ... and says that confidence rubbed off on his teammates. But, coach makes it clear this is just the beginning for Stefon.

"I don't think he's reached his full potential ... I think he can be a great one, and I think as long as he continues to stay humble and stays hungry, the sky is still the limit for him."

Blake Bortles is no joke ... despite what Jadeveon Clowney thinks -- so says Broncos DB Bradley Roby who thinks the Jaguars QB has a real shot to beat the Patriots.

He's just gonna have to outsmart one of the greatest minds in the history of professional football to do it ... Bill Belichick.

Roby picked off Bortles for a TD when they squared off last year (as he was quick to remind us!) -- and says Belichick will be just as prepared when they square off on Sunday.

Still, Roby thinks Bortles has a real shot to establish himself as an elite QB if he can outduel Tom Brady ... but it ain't gonna be easy.

A 22-year-old Philadelphia Eagles fan was arrested Saturday for allegedly attacking a police officer -- and his HORSE -- after being thrown out of the Eagles game.

Cops say Taylor Hendricks got the boot from the Eagles vs. Falcons game for being drunk and not having a ticket -- and on his way out of the stadium, he went berserk on a mounted police officer.

Hendricks allegedly punched the police horse in the face REPEATEDLY -- and then attacked the human officer.

He was eventually arrested for aggravated assault, illegally taunting a police horse, simple assault and defiant trespass. He was booked at a nearby station and bailed out the next morning.

Hendricks is due back in court on Jan. 30 -- and according to FOX 29, prosecutors could add animal cruelty charges to his list of problems.

Despite tempers flaring and a locker room standoff, Houston Rockets player Eric Gordon says the incident with the Clippers is simply, "No biggie."

Yeah, right.

Gordon hit up Catch in West Hollywood after the heated battle with the Clippers in which several Rockets players -- including Chris Paul -- reportedly tried to fight Clips players in the tunnel and locker room area after the game.

Gordon told TMZ Sports he doesn't expect any suspensions and really played the whole thing down as no big deal.

One of the Rockets players reportedly involved in storming the locker room was Gerald Green -- who was also at dinner with Gordon after the game. He looked calmer, but still upset.

Nearby ... Clippers star DeAndre Jordan hit Poppy alone -- but he wasn't his usual talkative self for obvious reasons.

UFC star Francis Ngannou says it's "bullsh*t" Stipe Miocic is complaining about not being promoted enough before UFC 220 ... and he's putting the heavyweight champ on notice.

"The UFC not gonna fight for him," Ngannou told TMZ Sports. "The fight day we gonna be 1-on-1 in the Octagon and we will see the truth."

FYI, Francis has taken the MMA world by storm -- BRUTALLY knocking out 5 dudes in his last 6 fights -- leading Stipe to believe the UFC wants Ngannou to take his belt.

Francis clearly thinks the champ's priorities are crap ... saying Miocic should be focused on not ending up like Alistair Overeem.

Amen.

Tennis superstar Victoria Azarenka is one step closer to resuming her pro career -- after getting a huge win in her custody case that should clear the path for her to travel with her baby again.

As we previously reported, Azarenka -- who's a citizen of Belarus -- went to war with her baby daddy Billy McKeague in 2017 after he filed paternity papers in L.A., where Azarenka trains.

The filing resulted in the judge forbidding either parent to take the child out of California until an agreement was reached.

The problem ... Azarenka (the former #1 ranked player) competes all over the world -- but she refused to leave her 1-year-old child behind. As a result, she pulled out of the US Open, the Australian Open and the ASB Classic in Auckland.

Azarenka argued the case belongs in Belarus -- where she was previously awarded primary custody by a Belarusian court.

Now, TMZ Sports has learned the California judge has ruled in Azarenka's favor -- agreeing the case doesn't belong in CA or anywhere in the U.S.

But she's not out of the woods yet ... McKeague has 3 weeks to appeal the ruling. We're told Azarenka's camp is confident they will win that battle as well, based on the judge's strongly-worded 65-page opinion.

Listen up, Saints fans ... Willie Roaf is about to tell you why it's okay to stop sobbing after that terrible loss to Minnesota and actually cheer the hell up.

Obviously the Who Dat nation is down in the dumps right now after rookie safety Marcus Williams let Stefon Diggs scoot to the end zone and beat NO in the divisional round of the playoffs.

We talked to Roaf and asked him what he'd say to dejected Who Dats, and he told us it all has to do with the future.

"We got a great football team. We're young. You gotta lock Drew Brees up and they're right there for the next few years."

Roaf also had words for fans getting on Williams -- who's getting it so hard on social media he disabled his IG comments -- saying MW made a mistake, but he's still a beast.

"The kid had an outstanding football season. All those guys played probably better than we expected."

FYI -- Roaf is an entrepreneur now ... listen to him talk about his new business below, that is, if you can stop crying over the game long enough to listen.

Simone Biles says she was also sexually assaulted by Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar -- and is now ready to go public with her story.

The 20-year-old phenom -- who was a key member of the 2016 gold medal winning Olympics team -- issued a statement saying, "I too am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar."

"Please believe me when I say it was a lot harder to first speak those words out loud than it is now to put them on paper."

"There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now it is not my fault."

"This behavior is completely unacceptable, disgusting, and abusive, especially coming from someone whom I was TOLD to trust."

"As I continue to work through the pain, I kindly ask everyone to respect my privacy. This is a process, and one that I need more time to work through."

Biles is the latest athlete to come forward with allegations against Nassar -- joining stars like McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas. There are reportedly more than 100 victims.

Back in November, Nassar pled guilty to 7 counts of criminal sexual conduct. The sentencing phase of the case begins on Tuesday. He has already been sentenced to 60 years in prison for child porn.

Welcome to "Solid Profanity-Laced Advice for Marcus Williams" .... starring Asante Samuel.

Remember, Samuel dropped a possible Super Bowl winning interception in '08 -- only to bounce back STRONGER the following seasons, leading the NFC in picks in '09 and '10.

So, what pearls of wisdom is he dishing out to New Orleans Saints DB Marcus Williams -- who missed that key tackle on Stefon Diggs on Sunday???

There's a lot of good stuff in this video ... but the best line is this:

"If I was him, my mindset is ... 'That sh*t is over with. F*ck everybody that don't believe in me.'"

Danica Patrick has officially confirmed what TMZ already knew ... she's dating Aaron Rodgers!

After we posted a photo of the two out at dinner in Arizona, Danica spoke with the Associated Press and announced the new supercouple.

"Yes, Aaron and I are dating."

Patrick says the two met at the ESPYs back in 2012 -- and have apparently stayed friendly.

Danica says she's a longtime Chicago Bears fan -- but has always rooted for Aaron individually. She now says, "I am probably going to cheer for the whole team."

The Ball boys are back in a BIG way ... bustin' out for 60 POINTS combined in a blowout win for BC Vytautas in Lithuania.

LaMelo showed out from the jump -- getting up for a dunk and beating the first-half buzzer -- but the dopest play of the game had to be when he found big bro, LiAngelo, for a fastbreak oop in the 3rd.

Full disclosure -- Melo also missed an alley-oop to himself ... but who cares when you're a Big Baller?

Melo ended up with 31 -- 2 more points than Gelo -- and their squad's now 2-0 in their team's "Big Baller Brand Challenge" series exhibitions.

Not bad after being held scoreless in their 2nd pro game -- their first against legit pro competition.

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane says he only blew a .03 before he was arrested for DUI in Washington this weekend -- and is now questioning why he was taken into custody in the first place.

"A fail is a 0.08 right? I blew 0.03," Lane tweeted (and then deleted) ... "Why was still arrest? I'll leave it at that." He included an emoji of a dark-skinned person possibly alleging race was a factor.

He continued to engage with fans who wanted to know more.

One person asked why he agreed to take a breathalyzer at all -- he replied, "Either way you go you still to jail that makes you look guilty. I had nothing to hide so I did it."

Another person accused Lane of testing positive for weed. He replied, "Lol oh I took weed test now?"

As we previously reported, Lane was arrested for DUI early Sunday morning. Cops have still not released details about the incident.

"Three shithole dudes just living the dream."

That's how Team U.S.A. soccer stud Jozy Altidore captioned his Instagram pic with Usain Bolt and P.K. Subban this weekend in the wake of Donald Trump's comments.

The 3 superstars all have ties to the Caribbean -- Usain's obviously Jamaican, Jozy's parents are Haitian and P.K.'s parents are from the islands, too.

So, when they got together at Rockwell nightclub in Miami -- Jozy used the opportunity to send a message to President Trump.

Then they proceeded to party their faces off.

In response to Jozy's post, Rockwell said it was a "pleasure having three class acts join us.”

NHL superstar Connor McDavid is FINALLY legally allowed to drink in America ... and he celebrated by blowing it out at a Vegas nightclub -- with the guys from The Chainsmokers.

The Edmonton Oilers captain hit up XS Nightclub in the Encore hours after beating the Vegas Golden Knights in an overtime thriller ... and got the V.I.P. treatment with a massive welcoming party.

The better news for McDavid ... the Oilers don't play again until Saturday -- so he's got an entire week to celebrate (and recover) before going back to work.