TMZ Sports - Page 50

Former NFL star Freddie Mitchell -- who went by the nickname Fred-X during his time with the Philadelphia Eagles -- has just been sentenced to 37 MONTHS in prison for tax crimes, TMZSports has learned.

The 34-year-old had previously pled guilty to being part of a tax fraud scheme in which he cheated the federal government out of millions of dollars.

Mitchell was facing up to 10 years in prison -- but he struck a deal with prosecutors and got off with only 37 months. He's been ordered to surrender by December 6.

Mike Tyson is worried about Chris Brown ... he thinks the pop star is too violent ... and if he doesn't cut the crap, CB is going to pay a very serious price.

Tyson was a guest on the 95.5 PLJ Morning Show this morning ... when the gang asked if Mike, who's battled anger issues in the past, had any advice for Chris -- and Tyson delivered.

"I like and admire that little guy," Tyson said ... adding, "I'm just worried about him."

Tyson says he knows from experience that if Chris doesn't learn to control his rage issues, people will turn on him -- and "they're gonna put him somewhere where that's all they do is assault people."

We're guessing he means prison.

Maybe she's biased, maybe she means it ... but Tiger Woods' girlfriend Lindsey Vonn tells TMZ she thinks GOLF absolutely deserves to be re-included in the Summer Olympics.

FYI -- golf hasn't been an Olympic sport since 1904 (when Tug of War was still included in the Games) ... but it will make its return in 2016.

There's been some controversy, with critics saying the golfers won't really care -- they're more interested in a green jacket than a gold medal.

As for Tiger, he's said that he WILL compete in the 2016 Olympics ... if he qualifies.

Remember Psy? The "Gangnam Style" guy?

Turns out, he's REALLY good friends with L.A. Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu ... and it's all thanks to Magic Johnson (sorta).

Psy and Ryu -- both from South Korea -- met for the first time at Dodgers Stadium back in April, during a post-game media event organized by Magic's team.

According to Psy, who was leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills last night, the two hit it off ... and now, they're so close, they're INTERNATIONAL PHONE BUDDIES.

In fact, Ryu says they chat all the time ... and even called each other during the NLCS, while Psy was in Asia for his concert tour.

"I'm really happy and proud," Psy said.

World-record swimmer Diana Nyad is hanging up her goggles for good ... telling us she's officially retired from ocean swimming.

Nyad was high tailing out of LAX Sunday when we asked about her next potential long-distance swim ... and the 64-year old revealed she's done breaking records.

Diana has been dominating the swim world for decades -- and holds a ton of ocean swimming world records ... including her insane swim from Havana, Cuba to Florida a few months back.

Nyad says she'll make an exception to her new ocean rule for only thing.

If she was shy before, she sure as hell ain't now -- Tami Erin (who starred in the 1988 Pippi Longstocking movie) has gone full-on Vegas stripper after her sex tape hit the market ... and she's even making out with one of Tiger Woods' ex-mistresses.

The pics were snapped at a Halloween party she hosted over the weekend at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club -- surprise -- and the ex-mistress on the receiving end of her smooches is porn star Joslyn James ... aka Tiger mistress #11.

We're told Tami wasn't originally supposed to strip -- she was just hired to host the party -- but when she took the stage to thank the crowd ... she got into the stripping mood real quick ... people even tipped her. (No lap dances though.)

Houston Rockets star Chandler Parsons turned 25 years old the other day ... and he celebrated with his teammates ... but the party looked more like a scene from "Office Space" with really tall people.

Parsons and his co-workers -- Dwight Howard, Jeremy Lin, James Harden and more -- hit up Mr. People's in Houston over the weekend for a shindig sponsored by Buffalo David Bitton.

The party looked fancy ... with ice sculptures, champagne, gift bags and gourmet cake -- the works.

But when we clicked through the pics, we kinda got the impression that it was more of a work function than a rager bday party.

You know what we're talkin' about -- like when someone in your office has a birthday and you feel obligated to go to the party because you don't wanna be that guy who blows off the team. But when you go, you're really just plotting to sneak out so you can say you made an appearance. C'mon, you know you've all done it. That's kinda how everyone at this party looked.

Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANDLER!

Lamar Odom just fired back at the paparazzo who sued him for assault ... claiming the whole allegation is B.S.

Lamar claims the photog -- Stefan Saad "provoked [Lamar's] unlawful and wrongful conduct."

TMZ obtained the answer Lamar just filed -- courtesy of his lawyer, Shawn Holley -- and he says it would be unjust for Saad to get a penny from him.

The incident that triggered the lawsuit occurred on July 10, when Lamar confronted Saad who was questioning him about having an alleged affair. Lamar took the photog's equipment from his car and threw it into his own car. Lamar drove a few blocks and then tossed the equipment into the street.

Penn State University has agreed to to pay $59.7 million to 26 men who were sexually abused by former PSU assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

According to school officials, 23 of the victims have signed settlement deals ... and the other 3 men have agreed in principle.

PSU officials insist the settlement cash will not be funded by student tuition, taxpayer funds or donations. Instead, the school says the majority of the money will be paid out from insurance policies.

The President of the University released a statement saying, "We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State."

"We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State.”

Sandusky was found guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse over a 15 year period. He's currently locked up in prison, where he will surely die.

Gotta hand it to Johnny Manziel ... dude aims high -- the controversial QB says he'd love to party with Charlie Sheen! Most college kids would say the same thing ... but considering his track record, is it stupid for Johnny Football to say it?

Plus, Royce White went from NBA first-rounder to NBA bust in one year, and TMZ Sports uncovered part of his problem -- cussing out Houston Rockets team officials. Were his mental health issues just too much to handle?

And Detroit Lions star receiver Nate Burleson joined us to talk about the team's amazing comeback, and his big score -- FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR!! Yeah, he's pretty popular in the locker room now.

He suffered with the Lions for years, so now that they're finally winning ... Tim Allen isn't just bragging about his squad, he's talking SMACK about another NFC team.

Allen hit up the Casamigos Tequila party in Beverly Hills this weekend dressed up as Lions QB Matt Stafford (this was before Matt's fake-spike that killed the Cowboys).

But when the "Last Man Standing" star rolled up to the shindig in full uniform, one of the photogs joked, "Hey Tim, the Giants really need your help. They're doing really bad."

Tim's response -- "F**k the Giants."

Pretty funny ... but the best part -- NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch was at the SAME PARTY (though you'd barely recognize him). Check out the clips.

L.A. Dodgers pitcher Brian Wilson snapped over the weekend ... into a Slim Jim ... 'cause he dressed up as the Macho Man Randy Savage for a humongous celebrity-filled Halloween party in Bev Hills.

The place was packed with famous people -- like Larry David (who dressed up with another guy as Siamese twins), Hilary Duff & her NHL husband Mike Comrie, David Spade, Cindy Crawford and more.

Wilson eventually left the party with a super hot mystery chick.

The sausage party in stripes is coming to an end ... at least according to Terry Bradshaw, who tells TMZ the NFL is finally ready for a female officiating crew ... saying, "BRING 'EM ON!"

Bradshaw was leaving Mr. Chow in Bev Hills this weekend when we asked about the 4-women who made history on Thursday when they officiated a Division II college game in Alabama.

Bradshaw told us he was very impressed by the lady crew -- and when we asked about the females making the jump to the pros, he told us the league should welcome them with "open arms."

Bradshaw warned that some "purists" will bitch about having chicks on the field, but says, "As long as they know the game and the rules, which they will, they'll be fine."

Royce White -- the 16th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft -- cussed out a high ranking team official with the Houston Rockets during his short stint with the squad, days before he was suspended by the team in 2012 ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the Rockets tell TMZ ... White (who famously appeared on HBO's "Real Sports" to discuss his mental health issues) blew up on the team's top lawyer during a conversation in December 2012.

We're told the team had been trying to work out an arrangement with White -- to cater to his health situation -- but Royce refused to travel or play with the team, citing his anxiety disorder.

But after talks went nowhere, and White screamed at team honchos, the Rockets' General Manager Daryl Morey fired off an email letting White know they were sick of his crap.

"What is completely unacceptable to our franchise is your inexcusable cursing and calling our people liars, incompetent and worse," Morey wrote.

He added, "We expect that you will treat our people with respect, even if you disagree with our positions, and we also expect that you accept some responsibility for your actions, as the doctors want you to."

The letter concludes, "While the tone of this letter is not as pleasant as we have tried to be, you must realize your language and actions are to blame. We still will do every reasonable accommodation because we want this to work. We just need you to want to make this work, too."

The Rockets suspended White days after the email ... after he refused to report to the team's D-league squad.

The Rockets traded White to the 76ers in July. The 76ers dropped White from the squad on October 25.

We reached White ... who told us, "My refusal to attend team activities was a decision that was collectively made by people who I trust including my doctors. "

Shawne posted a pic earlier this week of some gnarly mat burn he got while training at the WWE's Performance Center in Florida ... leading many to believe he signed with the wrestling company.

But multiple sources tell us .. no deals were made, no paperwork has been signed ... Shawne was just messing around after WWE exec Triple H invited him down to check out the state of the art facilities.

We're told Shawne had a blast ... and the WWE people enjoyed having Shawne ... so, there's a possibility of the two juggarnauts working together in the future.

But for now, it's too early to tell if Shawne has a professional future in the squared circle.

Magic Johnson will NOT have to defend himself in court against a former employee who claims he bullied her over fresh snacks, because TMZ has learned the case has settled.

Magic was sued by Lanita Thomas, who claims she served as his personal flight attendant until she was fired for being 15 minutes late one day.

According to the suit, she was late because Magic insisted on a particular type of turkey meat on his sandwiches and she was held up at the counter. She also claimed he was "very particular that all snacks were fresh" ... especially when it came to liquorice.

Although the terms of the settlement are confidential, sources connected with the case tell TMZ ... Magic paid the woman for overtime, but she got no money for the alleged snack bullying.