TMZ Sports - Page 50

Sad news ... Bill Belichick's mother, Jeannette, died Tuesday of natural causes -- multiple media outlets confirmed. She was 98 years old.

The Patriots legend was close with his mom ... and in an NFL Films documentary back in 2017, she famously said she knew Bill would get into coaching when he was just 2 years old.

Jeannette met Bill's father, Steve Belichick, in the 1940s when the two worked together at Hiram College in Ohio. They married in 1950 ... and had Bill in 1952.

The New England coach, who was raised by Jeannette and Steve in Annapolis, MD, has often credited his parents for his success -- which includes 6 Super Bowl titles with the Pats.

Bill has helped carry on his parents' legacy over the years ... he made a donation to Hiram College in 2015, 10 years after his father's passing -- which led to the school renaming parts of the campus after Jeannette and Steve.

Two of the couple's grandkids, Bill's sons Steve and Brian, now work with Bill on his New England staff.

RIP

Jerry Harris -- one of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docuseries "Cheer" -- has been arrested for child pornography.

Jerry was arrested Thursday morning in Illinois and is being hit with a charge of production of child pornography ... according to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick.

As we reported ... Harris was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex back in May 2019. However, according to the criminal complaint, we're told he's been arrested because he allegedly asked teens for photos, which they sent to him.

According to the feds … the parent of 2 male children, both 14, claims Harris had contacted both of the boys online and “repeatedly solicited child pornography images and videos.” Harris allegedly began contacting the boys in December 2018.

The minors provided law enforcement with multiple screenshots of communications with Harris via Snapchat and text messages, along with evidence of apparent FaceTime calls with Harris.

According to the complaint, Harris was 19 at the time and the boys were 13.

The feds allege Harris also attempted to solicit sex with the boys on multiple occasions, including at cheerleading events.

The criminal complaint says Harris was interviewed on September 14 and admitted to engaging in continuous social media conversations with the minors that were sexual in nature, attempting to entice them into performing sex acts with him in person, and to soliciting and receiving child pornography on Snapchat from at least between 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors.

On top of that, Jerry's 2 alleged victims have sued him ... claiming he groomed them into sending the nude photos -- and they also claim he demanded sexual acts.

Jerry is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago Thursday afternoon for the child porn charge.

Colin Kaepernick is still in very high demand -- at least when it comes to his jersey.

Nike offered up a special limited edition CK7 jersey on its website early Thursday morning -- and within seconds, they were sold out!!!

The jersey -- called The Icon 2.0 -- commemorates the 4 year anniversary of Colin's kneeling demonstration in the NFL.

If the jersey looks familiar, it's because LeBron James wore the "triple back" uni on his way to Game 5 of the Lakers' playoff series with the Houston Rockets last week.

The jersey retails for $150 a pop -- but minutes after they flew off of the Nike shelves, they were being offered up on resale sites like StockX and eBay for 3 times the original price!

In fact, one sold on StockX for $400 already -- several more are being offered up in the $400 to $500 range.

It seems like the type of sales blitz that went down for the special Colin Kaepernick Air Force 1 sneaks back in 2019.

Colin posted about the special Nike jersey -- saying, "Four years ago, I took a knee to protest against systemic racism and social injustice. It was that day that the number on my jersey would come to represent something greater than football, something greater than me."

"Since then, the number 7 jersey has become a symbol for advancing the liberation and well-being of Black & Brown communities. Thank you for staying True."

Kaepernick seems to be doing well off the field -- his Nike merch is in high demand and he's been ranked as the top free-agent QB in the Madden 2021 video game.

Cleveland Cavs star Kevin Love says talking about his mental health may have saved his life ... revealing he nearly died during a particularly dark battle with depression if not for some help from some close friends.

"If it hadn’t been for a couple of my closest friends, I don’t know if I would be here today telling my story," Love said in an article he wrote for "The Players Tribune."

Love's battle with mental health issues is no secret -- he's talked about it for years. But, in the wake of Dak Prescott being criticized for talking about his own depression, seems obvious Kevin feels it's more important than ever to share his experiences.

In his article, Love gets candid about being "paralyzed with depression" while recovering from injuries during his time with the Timberwolves ... saying he barely left his apartment to hide his feelings from the outside world.

"The future started to feel meaningless," Love said ... "And when it gets to the point where you lose hope, that’s when the only thing you can think about is, 'How can I make this pain go away?'"

"I don’t think I have to say much more than that."

Love credits his closest friends for helping him through that dark time -- saying it was super important to feel like he could talk with other people about his struggles.

He emphasizes that it's important to know those battling mental health issues are not alone ... and encourages people in need to talk with others, seek medication and therapy if necessary.

"You would be amazed at how freeing it is just to talk to somebody, and tell them the truth about what you’re going through."

"If you’re struggling right now, I can’t tell you that this is going to be easy. But I can tell you that it does get better."

"And I can tell you that you are definitely not alone."

Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Maurkice Pouncey is expressing remorse over wearing a helmet tribute to a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by police ... saying he didn't know the whole story.

"I want to personally clarify what transpired this past Monday night in regard to having Antwon Rose's name on the back of my helmet," Pouncey says.

"I was given limited information on the situation regarding Antwon, and I was unaware of the whole story surrounding his death and what transpired during the trial following the tragedy."

Remember, on Monday the Steelers announced the entire team and coaching staff would honor Rose on helmets and sideline hats for the entire 2020 season.

Here's the explanation from the Steelers official team website:

"On the night of June 19, 2018, the car Antwon Rose Jr., who is black, was a passenger in was pulled over by the East Pittsburgh Police. While the driver was being handcuffed on suspicion of being involved in an incident that happened earlier that evening, a frightened Rose fled from the car. The cell phone video a bystander captured showed Rose running, and then you could hear gunshots and see as he was fatally shot in the back three times by a white East Pittsburgh Police Officer."

The "incident" that occurred earlier that evening was a drive-by shooting -- and the victim who was shot told cops Antwon was the trigger man.

The officer who shot and killed Antwon was later found not guilty of all criminal charges that were filed against him -- including 1st-degree murder.

Pouncey is clearly uncomfortable honoring a person who may have been involved in a drive-by shooting ... and says, "I should have done more research to fully understand what occurred in its entirety."

Moving forward, Pouncey says, "I will make my own decision about what to wear on the back of my helmet."

"Make no mistake, I am against racism and I believe the best thing I can do is to continue helping repair relationships between the police and their communities. System racism issues have occurred in our country for too long, and that needs to stop."

Pouncey's teammate Alejandro Villanueva made headlines this week when he decided NOT to honor Antwon -- instead writing the name of an Army Sgt. who was killed while serving in Iraq.

Villanueva is an Army Ranger and felt it was more appropriate for him to pay tribute to Alwyn Cashe, who died while rescuing soldiers from a burning vehicle that was rocked by an explosive device.

Bradley Beal's wife is standing up for her hubby -- saying it's COMPLETE BS he didn't make a 2019-20 All-NBA Team ... and she ain't holdin' back!!

"BRADLEY BEAL IS A F-ING ALL STAR AND ALL NBA!!!!!!!!!! Put some respect on his name," Kamiah Adams-Beal tweeted.

Here's the crux of her argument ... Beal finished the season as the NBA's 2nd leading scorer, averaging 30.5 points per game.

The only player with a higher scoring average this season was James Harden.

In fact, Beal is the only player in modern NBA history to average more than 30 PPG and NOT make an All-NBA team!!

The counter-argument is that Beal's Washington Wizards were pretty bad this year, finishing with a 25-47 record and missing the playoffs.

But, Kamiah says the team record shouldn't matter when it comes to All-NBA honors ... because "It’s an individual accolade. Therefore, the team wins, shouldn’t play a role."

She continued, "[Beal] has been undervalued and quite frankly DISRESPECTED far too long... them numbers don’t lie."

"And I don’t wanna hear sh*t about 'tHe wIzARdS aReNt wInNiNg tHo' all nba is an INDIVIDUAL accolade. So miss me with the bullsh*t."

Kamiah continued, "The REAL know what it is!! Amazing season baby!! Keep grinding! Keep giving it your all! Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed!! I love you."

For his part, Beal responded to his wife on social media -- saying, "I love [Kamiah Adams]!! Ride or die."

So, who picks the All-NBA team? Certain sportswriters and broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada vote every year -- it's not players and coaches.

The All-NBA teams were announced Wednesday -- the 1st team included LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

2nd team features Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Nikola Jokic.

Donald Trump is an AMAZING golfer. Kim Jong-un loves Dennis Rodman. And, Tom Brady will recover from his poor Week 1 outing ... this according to sports fan Donald Trump!

The President just appeared on FOX Sports Radio's Outkick The Coverage Show hosted by Clay Travis ... and hit everything from college football to the NFL to the PGA.

First ... TRUMP ON GOLF.

POTUS claimed he's shot in the "low 70s" -- a score most pros strive for -- at the impossibly hard Winged Foot golf course in NY ... adding he's done it "quite a bit!"

Of course, the feat -- if true -- would make Donald nearly a scratch golfer ... Winged Foot is known as one of the toughest courses in America, and is expected to give guys like Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson fits this weekend at the PGA Tour's U.S. Open.

In fact, some believe scores in the low 70s might win the whole tournament!!!!

But, Trump insists he's gone that low at the venue several times ... telling Travis on Thursday, "I've been a member there a long time."

Donald has never been shy about boasting about his golf game ... but, remember, PLENTY of people have accused him of shaving strokes around the course.

Celebs like Samuel L. Jackson and Oscar De La Hoya have said he's a big-time cheat ... but, then again, others like John Daly have claimed the President plays straight-up.

Trump also talked about his relationship with Tiger, saying they still golf all the time -- "he's a really great guy."

Trump also says he just loves to be around golfers, because, "I just find golfers to be a very high-quality group of people."

TRUMP ON NORTH KOREA

Trump told Travis that Kim Jong-un is a big fan of Dennis Rodman and he's considered using the NBA legend as liaison ambassador between the U.S. and North Korea.

"I always said Dennis would be better than these stiffs they send over to try to know him," Trump said.

Trump added, "We should use [Dennis] over someone who graduated from Harvard."

TRUMP ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Trump is very proud of helping to resurrect the Big Ten's 2020 football season and says he's now going to focus on helping the Pac-12.

Trump noted the clock is ticking on the conference to save its fall season ... but said he's making a real effort to try to help.

TRUMP ON TOM BRADY

Trump says he watched Tom's Buccaneers lose to the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 -- but isn't losing faith in the QB.

"I did watch Tom. I like Tom a lot. I think he'll be fine -- I guess it was a break-in game."

Terrifying scene at Yankees Stadium on Wednesday ... an MLB ump was drilled in the face by a 99-MPH Gerrit Cole fastball -- and things did NOT look good for the guy for a while.

The unbelievable moment all went down in the 7th inning of New York's blowout win over the Toronto Blue Jays ... when Cole was looking to strike out Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

On a 3-2 count, Cole threw his trademark heater up in the zone to get the punch-out ... but it appeared his catcher, Kyle Higashioka, was expecting a breaking pitch.

The result? The ball screamed past Higashioka's glove and ended up cracking home plate ump John Tumpane right on the chin.

The video of the throw is scary ... you can hear Tumpane let out a huge yelp as the pitch struck his face -- with the ump then immediately crumpling to the ground.

The 37-year-old sat on the dirt for a few moments ... and got up trying to shake off the hard hit.

Eventually, trainers gave Tumpane the OK to get back in the game ... and Cole later apologized after the inning for the cross-up with his catcher.

Odell Beckham says he found a silver lining in the COVID pandemic ... quarantine forced him to slow down and take care of himself.

The 27-year-old Cleveland Browns wide receiver explained how he found "peace" during the lockdown ... unable to live out his usual life of partying, traveling and doing all the other rockstar stuff he does.

"It was crazy to say this in the weirdest way, it was the first time I had ever felt at such a peaceful place," Beckham said about the COVID quarantine to Maverick Carter during an interview for Uninterrupted.

"I just felt like it was a weight lifted off -- like I'm just chillin, getting my mind, my body, my soul right."

"So quarantine, as funny as this sounds, was probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

Back in May, just 2 months into the lockdown, Beckham posted a video showing his rehab progress following a surgery to repair a sports hernia.

At the time, Beckham said he was focusing on getting his body back to 100%.

"I've been playing for 23 years, so for me, I'm trying to put it all back together in seven months."

He also made a prediction for the 2020 NFL season -- "I would honestly say this is probably going to be one of my best seasons. Bigger, stronger, faster ... this is my time."

Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul?! Maybe ...

Sources close to Mayweather tell TMZ Sports the undefeated legend has been approached with an offer to fight the YouTube star sometime in 2020 ... but as of now, no one has signed on the dotted line.

We're told the fight was not pitched as a sanctioned bout -- but rather an exhibition.

Paul has been looking for a big name opponent ever since his last fight against KSI back in Nov. 2019.

Remember, Paul was in talks to fight Antonio Brown ... but things fizzled mainly due to issues in AB's personal life.

Now, there have been rumblings about 43-year-old Mayweather stepping in to take on 25-year-old Paul ... but we're told it's far from a done deal and right now Floyd is leaning toward "no."

We saw Logan at LAX on Wednesday and asked him about the situation -- and while he was mostly tight-lipped, it's clear he wants the fight to happen.

"You know I can't say sh*t right now," Paul says ... while noting his hands are still up to date.

Meanwhile, Logan's younger brother Jake Paul has a high-profile boxing match coming up soon ... he's taking on ex-NBA star Nate Robinson on the undercard of the big Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight in November.

Floyd hasn't fought professionally since beating up Conor McGregor back in 2017 ... though he has taken at least 1 exhibition fight since then, destroying Japanese fighter Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018.

Kanye West isn't easing up off his push for Black ownership in enterprise, or his gripes about not getting a chance to own the masters to his songs.

Ye was going off again early Wednesday about African-Americans, by and large, not getting their fair share of the pie -- instead, he says they're mostly used by companies run by whites. He again points to the NBA and the music biz as examples.

In his new Twitter rant, he says, "We sat back and watched Nick Cannon get canceled and we go to play ball in a bubble with black lives matter on our backs ... brothers let’s stand together for real ... there is no NBA or music industry without black people ... fair contracts matter ... ownership matters."

Insisting he's made "multi billions," Kanye says he's one of the few who can openly speak on this issue without repercussion -- the implication being he's rich enough to where he doesn't have to worry about a record label trying to muzzle him.

Speaking of that ... Ye brings the convo back to himself and his own fight for ownership of his master recordings, blasting Universal Music Group and alleging they won't even give him a chance to buy them outright -- because he feels they know he can probably afford them.

Of course, this is the same argument his nemesis, Taylor Swift, made not too long ago ... as one of Kanye's associates pointed out to him on Tuesday morning.

Ye and Taylor on the same page??? 2020 strikes again.

Former Ohio State football star Anthony Gonzalez is FIRED UP for the Big Ten's return to the gridiron ... telling TMZ Sports another year of the sport could change kids' lives!!

The ex-Buckeye -- who became a congressman after a successful NFL career -- told us out on Capitol Hill in D.C. on Wednesday he couldn't imagine where he would be today if something had canceled his last year of the sport.

"I'm thrilled for the players, honestly," Gonzalez said. "Look, my last year at Ohio State, honestly, it changed my life."

Gonzalez played three seasons at OSU from 2004 through 2006 ... and used a big final season on campus to become an eventual first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Gonzalez says without that last year ... he might not have had an awesome pro football career -- let alone be a congressman now.

Anthony says the fact that the Big Ten is now allowing its players to have the opportunity to follow down a similar path really brings a smile to his face.

"We've got a lot of kids who are going to get an opportunity to live out their dream," Gonzalez said.

The conference announced Wednesday it's officially targeting Oct. 24 for its opening weekend of games.

Daniel Cormier is figuring out life after his UFC fighting career ... revealing he's been in talks with WWE!!

The former heavyweight champ is famously a die-hard WWE fan who has been watching pro wrestling for decades ... so it seems a move to the squared circle would be a perfect fit with Cormier.

In fact, the UFC legend told Sports Illustrated the conversations have begun.

"We’ve been talking," Cormier told SI. "We’ve spoken to some of the people over there in very, very early conversations. WWE is a company I’ve watched and loved my entire life."

DC says his skills as a UFC commentator would transition perfectly with WWE.

"Put me at the commentary table," Cormier added. "Let me call the matches for six months and tell you how great these wrestlers are in the ring. I would love that, and I wouldn’t be faking it. WWE is something I’ve loved my entire life."

The feeling is mutual ... WWE honcho Triple H recently told us they're huge fans of Cormier "we'd love to do something with him if the time is right.

Triple H made a point to say that he would be respectful of DC's professional relationship with UFC and would work with Dana White to make sure everyone is on the same page.

"He doesn’t want to hit anybody!"

Tiki Barber just went OFF on Saquon Barkley ... ripping the New York Giants star for his poor pass blocking ability -- and wondering out loud if it's going to cost the RB playing time in the future.

Tiki -- speaking on his "Tiki + Tierney" show this week -- said after watching Barkley and the Giants over the last few seasons ... it's become clear to him Saquon doesn't want to pass protect.

And, according to the ex-NYG star, that's a HUGE problem.

"He might not be an every-down back," Barber said. "He cannot pass protect, and it is starting to become glaring."

It's pretty shocking commentary from Tiki ... given Barkley is considered the best player on the Giants' roster by far -- but Barber says if Saquon doesn't shape up, he could see his minutes cut.

"I learned this early on in my career, because I was a third-down back before I was a star running back," Barber said. "If you can’t block, you can’t be on the field on third down."

"You just can’t, because you know those are high blitz and dog downs."

For Barkley's part ... New York coaches might not mind he's not the best blocker in the world -- dude has 23 total touchdowns in 30 career games.

JLo and A-Rod are leaving Malibu, at least for now, because we've learned they just sold their beach house.

The house is right on the sand, smack dab in one of the best areas of the 'Bu. They sold the house for $6,775,000.

The house is 4,400 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. When they bought it in January 2019, they did some renovations. We believe they initially planned to live in the house, but they had a change of heart and decided to sell.

They bought the property for $6.6 mil so they pretty much broke even. It wasn't long after they bought it when we got photos of JLo outside the home with "Fixer Upper" star Joanna Gaines. Gaines was allegedly brought on to help renovate the home and get it ready to sell.

"Would you look at that? It's the first time Paul George has been on fire all night!"

One angry L.A. Clippers fan was SO heated over his team's epic collapse in the 2nd-round of the playoffs ... he took a flame to his own Paul George jersey!!

It's no secret -- losing to the Denver Nuggets is NOT what the Clips had in mind this season ... with many expecting Kawhi Leonard and PG13 to lead the team to its first title.

This fan decided he'd had enough of repping George on Tuesday night ... destroying his jersey and ripping the baller in the process.

FYI -- Playoff P had just 10 points and 4 rebounds in the loss.

This isn't the first time we've seen George jerseys set ablaze ... some angry Indiana Pacers fans did the act back in 2017 when their All-Star announced he would be leaving in free agency the following season.

This reaction is CLEARLY a bit of an overreaction ... but the frustration is understandable -- after all, Kawhi and George combined for 0 points in the 4th quarter as the Clips were eliminated from the playoffs.

But hey, there's always next year!!