TMZ Sports - Page 50

Miami Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson was subjected to racist venom during his final at-bat during Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies ... being called the n-word by a fan.

Brinson was at the plate at the top of the 9th with the Rockies ahead of the Marlins by quite a bit, and with one out logged ... he stepped up to take a hack. After taking a second ball, somebody in the stands started unabashedly hurling the slur as loud as they could.

The man's words were picked up by a mic ... and you can clearly hear him saying it over and over again, seemingly in Brinson's direction -- as the guy turned around to look himself.

It's unclear if the fan was found and punished for the reprehensible language ... as neither the Rockies nor Coors Field seem to have addressed the situation just yet. Beat reporters and broadcasters who were watching/covering the game, however, have spoken out.

All of them are calling for the same thing ... for the fan to be ID'd and banned for life for using such language. As the Marlins play-by-play man Paul Severino put it ... "The level of hate that was displayed has no place in this world. Unfortunately, it's still far too prevalent. We need to be better. And soon. Awful." The sentiment was similar among the others, too.

Brinson, for his part, had been playing pretty well this series -- getting 2 hits Sunday and 3 on Saturday ... so he was giving the Rockies problems. Still, for someone to stoop to this ... it's despicable.

One other weird thing ... the MLB App isn't allowing one to watch the Rockies/Marlins game at the moment -- even though it's already over. It might still be getting archived at the moment, but it's also possible the league is scrubbing/censoring today's game in light of what happened.

Bobby Bowden -- one of the greatest college football coaches ever -- died early Sunday morning at the age of 91 years old.

Bowden -- Florida State University's head coach from 1976 to 2009 -- was one of the most acclaimed football coaches of all-time. He won 2 National Championships ('93 & '99) and 377 games -- 2nd most all-time -- during his 40 years as a college football coach.

Bobby spent 34 seasons as FSU's head coach ... and was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006.

Terry Bowden, Bobby's son, confirmed the news to the AP ... issuing the following statement about the passing of his dad.

"My father passed away peacefully early this morning with all six of his children and my mother here by his side."

"I couldn't have asked for a better personal mentor than my father. He was a wonderful husband and father, who relied on his strong Christian faith to provide the foundation for his life."

Terry continued ... "I also was fortunate to be raised by a football coach who had a reputation for coaching the right way his entire career. He was admired by everyone who played for him or coached against him."

FSU issued a statement on social media, writing ... "Today we lost a legend but you never lose a legacy. Rest In Peace Coach Bowden"

Bowden is known for his HOF coaching career ... but he also played ball back in the day. BB was a part of Alabama's football team as a freshman in 1948 ... before transferring to Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham.

Bobby -- who was born in Birmingham -- was a successful college quarterback.

It was just last month that Terry announced Bobby was battling a terminal illness. He later said that sickness was pancreatic cancer.

Deion Sanders, a 2x All-American under Bowden, reacted to his former coach passing, writing ... "God bless the Bowden Family, Friends & Loved ones. My Prayers are with u. I've lost 1 of the best coaches I've ever had."

Some of the top football coaches in the country also weighed in on Bobby's death ... including Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and Dabo Swinney.

On Twitter, Meyer wrote ... "Today, we lost a legend. Bobby was a great friend and mentor to me, and his impact transcended the coaching profession in so many ways. Sending love to Ann and the entire Bowden family. Rest In Peace Coach Bowden."

A public funeral service will be held for coach Saturday on FSU's campus.

Robert Easter Jr. -- a former boxing champ -- is now a wanted man in Ohio for allegedly punching a woman and knocking her out cold.

According to reports, the ex-IBF lightweight titleholder is being sought by authorities in Toledo after a warrant was issued for his arrest this past weekend -- this after a woman went to police and alleged he'd slugged her in the side of the face with a closed fist.

The alleged attack happened very early Saturday morning -- the woman claims to have been rendered unconscious, and cops say they saw a busted lip and chipped tooth ... enough evidence for them, it seems, to have called for Easter's arrest on a simple assault charge.

It doesn't appear he's in custody quite yet -- and no other details have emerged about the alleged altercation.

The Saints won't have to wait long to replace Drew Brees with another Hall of Fame QB ... 'cause will Will Blackmon tells TMZ Sports Aaron Rodgers is heading to New Orleans next season.

"Next year," Blackmon said, "Aaron Rodgers will be a New Orleans Saint."

Blackmon's prediction is a bold one ... but it's not necessarily uninformed -- you'll recall, the former NFL defensive back was teammates with Aaron in Green Bay from 2006 through 2009.

And, Will tells us he still has a good relationship with Aaron ... and it wouldn't surprise him if the Green Bay signal-caller ended up under center for Sean Payton in 2022, given all of the drama Rodgers has gone through with the Packers this offseason.

"I can see Aaron Rodgers being a New Orleans Saint next year," Blackmon said.

Of course, Jameis Winston is N.O.'s starter this year ... but Blackmon doesn't appear to be sure the former #1 overall draft pick will do enough to prove he should get a second year in that role.

Blackmon says cutting down the interceptions -- particularly with a depleted wide receiver group in New Orleans -- might be just too difficult for Jameis ... opening the door for a run at Rodgers.

What do the greatest cornerback of all time and a trash talkin' receiver have in common???

SMART CARS!!!

TMZ Sports has learned that ex-NFL stars Deion Sanders and Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson just copped these custom-made SMART rides from Alex Vegas's Auto Firm in FL.

We're told Deion (well, Coach Sanders) decided to get a SMART vehicle when he saw Ocho cruisin' around in one ... and they're both pretty dope!

Check out Primetime's whip -- the glossy black with dark tints featuring his jersey number '21' on the grill and Prime on the trunk.

His nickname is even on the car tires!!

Johnson went with the matte black -- with his nickname 'Ochocinco' on the tires, too!

Even though they're small, these electric cars are filled with cool stuff -- including auto parking, automatic emergency braking and wireless charging docks.

And, they're pretty fast ... that's according to Ochocinco who was doing some spinnin' moves in his new whip Friday --- challenging anyone to see him on the streets.

"Doing doughnuts in the city in luxury," Ocho said on Instagram.

"900 horses under the hood, any of you Donk riders, Hell Cats, Trackhawk or Challengers want smoke bet whatever & I’ll pull up."

Tichina Arnold says she split from her husband at the beginning of 2016 following his sex tape scandal with another woman ... but she's just now pulling the trigger on officially ending her marriage.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... "The Neighborhood" and "Martin" star filed for divorce from Rico Hines this week, citing the usual irreconcilable differences.

What's unusual, however, is the timing of this divorce -- Tichina lists the separation date as January 12, 2016 ... about 3-and-a-half years after they wed in 2012.

If you don't recall ... the actress announced she was divorcing Rico back then, and memorably claimed it was due to discovering he made a sex tape with another woman.

Hines is a longtime basketball coach, currently on the staff of the Sacramento Kings.

Carolina Panthers receiver Robby Anderson is commemorating his journey from going undrafted to being a 6-year vet ... by getting an awesome ring decked out in diamonds!!

The 28-year-old ex-Temple standout was passed up by literally every team in the league in 2016 ... but made the most of his opportunity when the New York Jets took a chance on him.

He went on to sign a 2-year, $20 MILLION deal with Carolina in 2020 ... posting career highs in receptions (95) and yards (1,096) last season.

Now, Anderson is treating himself to a meaningful keepsake in honor of his success ... hitting up Gabriel The Jeweler to cop an INCREDIBLE ring with 16 carats of VVS diamonds!!

The piece is truly special -- Anderson's nickname, "The Chosen One," is etched on top ... with a set of prayer hands and a cross (made of emerald cut diamonds) on each side.

There's also a special message engraved on the inside of the ring ... reading, "All Glory To God."

No word on how much Anderson actually dropped for the awesome ice ... but we're told a piece like this is worth around $40k!!

Barack Obama's attitude toward his mega birthday bash -- which still looks pretty mega at this point -- seems to pretty much be ... forrrrrreeeeeget about it.

The ex-Prez was seen playing a round of golf Saturday on Martha's Vineyard with pals, not too far from where he'll be holding his big shindig later tonight -- which is still expected to host scores of people ... this in spite of him claiming to have scaled it back.

The apparent contradiction to his announced plans doesn't seem to be bothering BO one bit, though -- 'cause the dude was all smiles on the links.

Check out these pics of 44 fore-ing it up in grey, and taking some big swings on the fairway -- he looks about as polished as ever ... even when he shanks one, which he didn't appear to do a whole lot of here. Looks like he was mindful of blisters, too ... wearing bandages on his gloveless hand.

These are the same good-time vibes we saw at last night's leadup to the party -- where a crap ton of people (upwards of 300, we're told) came out for a pre-game of sorts ... laughing it up at a house Barry seems to have rented for the festivities. This, in addition to the giant tent he has on standby for the night of, we might add.

After a raucous night of fun, it would seem Barack had energy and then some for a game.

As we've reported ... people on the island are pissed over the multi-night gatherings for a number of reasons -- not the least of which include roads being blocked off for locals.

O.J. Simpson has some cajones on him -- saying with a seemingly straight face that he won't return to Los Angeles out of fear of running into the actual person who murdered his ex-wife.

The disgraced ex-NFL'er -- who was acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, but found liable in a civil suit shortly thereafter -- dished his thoughts on visiting the City of Angels anew in a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic ... and he says he doesn't entertain it for one very specific, ass-backward reason.

O.J. is quoted as saying ... "I have trouble with L.A.," going on to add, "People may think this is self-serving, but I might be sitting next to whoever did it. I really don’t know who did this."

That's pretty much what his hesitation boils down to -- that he might, perhaps, end up running into the "real" murderer ... and maybe get murdered himself. At least that's how it sounds on its face here. BTW, O.J. had more to say on the so-called one who got away.

He says, "I figured eventually somebody would confess to something, you know? I had one suspect I told my lawyers to look at. I still think he might be involved, but I can’t talk about it." O.J. also feels he lives a "good life" now in Vegas -- despite what people may think.

While O.J. was limited to just Nevada after getting parole, it appears the guy's been given a longer leash over time -- with reports saying he's gone to Florida of late to visit his kids, with permission from his P.O., of course. So, it does seem he could come to L.A. if he wanted.

You punch a horse ... you're outta the Olympics.

That's what happened to a modern pentathlon coach when she put hands on Saint Boy during the jumping competition.

Annika Schleu was having big problems controlling Saint Boy ... who appeared spooked. Her German coach, Kim Raisner, was trying to help Annika, but the horse wasn't cooperating.

The way the competition works ... the riders only have 20 minutes with the horse before the competition ... she apparently had never ridden Saint Boy before, and the horse wasn't having it. In fact, the rider before Annika also had big problems ... Saint Boy wouldn't trot on command and even bucked.

Enter Annika, who was the leader in the competition when she entered the arena in tears, clearly knowing the ride would be super difficult.

That's when Kim allegedly punched Saint Boy ... unclear if the point was to get the horse to obey commands or if it was just frustration. Nevertheless, officials disqualified her from the Games. BTW ... Kim competed in the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The race did not go well for Annika ... Saint Boy meandered around the course and refused a couple of jumps.

Annika used her whip to get the horse to comply, to no avail. Saint Boy cleared 4 hurdles but the 5th was a fail, which eventually took Annika from 1st to last.

For the third time in the last 14 months, Ezekiel Elliott is being sued over an alleged dog biting incident ... and this time, the accuser is looking for more than $1 MILLION in damages.

In the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Jennifer Gampper claims she's one of Elliott's neighbors and says on May 20, 2021, she was attacked by one of his dogs near his Frisco, Texas-area home.

Gampper claims that while the company Perfect Synthetic Grass (which she's also suing) was performing landscaping work at the residence ... Elliott's pooch escaped the house and attacked her.

In the suit, Gampper says she suffered severe and permanent injuries ... but doesn't get more specific.

Gampper is asking for monetary relief of over $1,000,000.

As for Elliott, his attorney, Frank Salzano tells us he's concerned about Gampper, but that doesn't mean he's at fault.

"Mr. Elliott and his representatives are aware of the lawsuit filed on July 30th, which stems from a previously reported incident from May 21st of this year.  As Mr. Elliott expressed at that time, he was - and remains concerned - for the party involved."

"However, as in most disputes, there are extenuating circumstances to this matter which will impact the legal proceedings which we are not at liberty to disclose.  As such, we have no further comment at this time."

You'll recall, cops actually investigated the incident ... and said two people were injured in the alleged attack, listing Gampper as one of the "victims" in a report.

Cops added that three of the running back's dogs escaped that day ... and said they ultimately ended up issuing Elliott 3 citations.

As for the dog that allegedly bit Gampper -- Zeke's Rottweiler, Ace -- a court official tells us it had a "dangerous dog hearing" after the incident, and was ultimately required to be removed from the city.

Of course, this is far from the first time Ace and the rest of Elliott's dogs have been accused of being violent.

Remember, back in June 2020, a pool cleaner alleged in a lawsuit that Ace bit her arm and dragged her ... before the 26-year-old's two bulldogs began attacking her legs.

Court records show that case has since been closed. We reached out to the accuser's attorney in that case for further details, but so far, no word back yet.

Elliott was also sued earlier this summer, in June, when a pet resort employee claimed Ace viciously bit him too on March 25, 2021. That case is still playing out in the court system.

Before these talented tots were competing at the Olympics, they were just a couple of kids enjoying their childhood!

As the closing ceremony approaches and the summer games wrap up, we're taking you on a trip down memory lane to a time way before these big-time athletes were competing for gold!

From swimmers and gymnasts, to the track and field athletes ... The list of Olympic sports seems endless, but there's always more to add. This year there was the edition of karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing.

Test yourself to see just how well you know these Olympic athletes by scrolling through our gallery of Olympic kids!

Caeleb Dressel was winning in 2021 even before the Olympics ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the swimming superstar unloaded his quaint Florida home in June for $250K!!

Property records show Dressel listed the place in the leadup to his run in Tokyo ... and it sold just a couple weeks before he won gold 5 times over.

Unclear if Dressel ever lived in the pad ... but he appeared to land some good cash for it nonetheless.

The Gainesville-area home is unassuming -- particularly for an Olympics mega-star -- it's one story with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

It does sit on a 9,000 square foot lot and is connected to a big park through a back gate ... but seems likely Caeleb's now eyeing something a little bigger after his brilliant summer.

No word yet on the amount of cash Caeleb will rake in from his Olympics performance ... but coupling that money with the $250K from the house sale should be more than enough to get him a cozy mansion somewhere.

A perfect topper to a hell of a last few weeks if we say so ourselves.

Simone Biles faced incredible pressure at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ... and by overcoming the stressful situation, she'll now be a strong advocate for mental health, according to Dominique Dawes.

Dawes -- a gymnastics icon with 4 Olympic medals -- applauds the 24-year-old for stepping back when she needed to ... telling TMZ Sports Biles was doing "what was right for her mentally as well as for her physically."

"It didn’t matter about having to prove fans wrong or prove the federation wrong or whatever it is, and you know, listen to what those around her are telling her what she should do."

Of course, Biles withdrew from competition last week after dealing with a mental block and "twisties" ... which she explained is when your mind and body don't connect while performing.

Dawes continued ... "But yet, she at 24 was mature enough to know, hey this is not a healthy environment for me to participate in right now."

Biles did recover ... and won the bronze in the balance beam finals on Tuesday -- her 7th Olympic medal (which ties for the most by a female American gymnast).

"She gave herself the time that she needed," Dominique tells us, "and then was able to get back out there and shine and that’s exactly what she did."

Dawes says mental health issues have been more openly talked about in sports over the last few years ... and Biles is now carrying the torch.

"It started with Michael Phelps and Naomi Osaka and it will continue with Simone Biles."

"I know when she comes back to the States she’s going to be a strong advocate for mental health.

We also asked the gold medalist what advice she has for Biles now that the Olympics are over and done with.

"Just enjoy and bask in this moment, and really work on her healing."

Francis Ngannou says Derrick Lewis vs. Ciryl Gane is a great fight ... but what it's not?? A title fight, 'cause there's already an undisputed UFC heavyweight champ -- and it's him.

TMZ Sports talked to 34-year-old Ngannou on Friday ... ahead of tonight's interim heavyweight title fight between Lewis and Gane at UFC 265.

"It's just a contender fight. It's not an interim or whatever them guys are talking about. It's a contender fight. They're fighting for the #1 spot contender. It's not a title fight for me."

FYI, 36-year-old Lewis is the #2 ranked heavyweight ... and 31-year-old Gane #3.

So, not for an interim title in "The Predator's" mind ... but that doesn't mean Francis doesn't think it's a kickass matchup.

"I think it's a good fight. I like the fight. I like the styles. Opposite sides. It can be a fun fight."

Of course, "The Black Beast" has crazyyyy power (he's KO'd 20 MMA opponents) ...while Gane is an incredible athlete for a man his size, and has great fundamentals.

The winner will presumably face Ngannou sometime in the near future.

We asked Francis if he had a message for the rest of the division ... and he left us with this.

Kirk Cousins is getting cut -- not by the Minnesota Vikings, but his hometown hospital ... and it's all thanks to his stance against taking the COVID-19 vaccine.

Cousins is one of the most famous celebs out of Holland, Michigan ... becoming a high school superstar before taking his talents to Michigan State.

The 32-year-old signal-caller has served as a spokesperson for the Holland Hospital in the past ... but a spokesperson says they will be distancing themselves from Cousins for the time being.

"While we acknowledge that each person is entitled to their own viewpoints, those who speak on our behalf must support the messages that align with the hospital’s position on matters of vital importance to individual and community health," the statement said.

Remember, Cousins said he'll do everything in his power to stay healthy and safe during the NFL season ... that is, except getting the vaccination.

As a hospital, they saw no choice but to move on from Cousins, who is actively and openly refuting recommendations from leading medical experts and the CDC.

Holland Hospital was nice during the breakup, however, ... adding, "We are proud of our association with Kirk. He embodies many values we respect and share as a part of our work culture."

Worth noting -- while the NFL is implementing rules that push their players towards the vaccine, Cousin’s Vikings have among the lowest vaccination rate of any team in the league.