TMZ Sports - Page 50

6:50 PM PT -- Sources connected to Geno tell us he was sitting on a Virgin America flight listening to music on his headphones when they announced it was time to shut off electronics.

Geno claims he didn't hear the announcement, and the flight attendant came over and physically unplugged his headphones. We're told Geno got upset, screamed at the flight attendant, who screamed back -- then Geno stood up ... refused to sit down, and claims he called cops.

But Virgin also called the police, who escorted Geno off the flight. Alec Baldwin would be proud.

5:45 PM PT -- Looks like Geno might be lying ... 'cause the LAX Airport Police tell TMZ Sports ... Geno WAS asked to deplane his flight because of a "verbal dispute."

We're told Geno complied ... and was questioned and released by officers without further incident.

NY Jets quarterback Geno Smith tells TMZ Sports ... he was NOT escorted off a plane by police at LAX ... despite multiple witnesses and photos that seem to tell a different story.

Multiple people at LAX began posting on social networks that Geno was involved in a verbal confrontation near a Virgin America gate at LAX on Friday ... and it got so intense, cops were called to the scene.

In fact, a photo has surfaced showing Geno speaking with cops at the terminal.

But we found Geno INSIDE the terminal, and he told us the allegations are total BS ... saying, "Don't believe that man."

Geno says he doesn't know how the rumors started ... saying he just wants to go home.

Geno Smith allegedly escorted off plane by LAX cops: https://t.co/0qJNTlfafh

Not everyone's thrilled with Kobe Bryant's impromptu college visit in Boston last night ... in fact, Sinbad's downright upset -- telling TMZ Sports it's a huge INSULT to the schools in L.A.

Sinbad -- who lives in Los Angeles for decades -- pointed out that Kobe could've sat in on classes at UCLA or USC during his 18-year stint with the Lakers ... and didn't have to fly all the way across the country to learn about marketing.

Gilbert Arenas has been ordered by a judge to go BACK TO 5TH GRADE ... and it's all because the former NBA star struck a plea deal stemming from an illegal fireworks arrest, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... Arenas was busted in L.A. on June 27th when officials say he was transporting more than 100 pounds of dangerous fireworks in a speeding vehicle.

Now, we've learned the 32-year-old struck a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor possession of dangerous fireworks without a permit ... and in exchange he was sentenced to 24 months probation, a $10,000 fine and 10 hours of community service.

But the 10 hours have to be spent teaching 5th graders about fireworks safety ... so they don't wind up in jail for pulling a Gilbert when they grow up.

Kobe Bryant surprised a classroom full of students at Boston College last night when he walked into a marketing class and sat in for the full 2-hour course ... but the professor tells us he had NO IDEA the NBA star was planning on stopping by.

Kobe -- who's in Boston to watch his Lakers take on the Celtics -- walked into Professor Nick Nugent's international marketing class at 6:30pm ... and stayed the entire time.

"Kobe stayed for the whole 2 hours and never once did I see him check his phone," Prof. Nugent said ... "He even asked a question in class! It was about cross-border trade."

Prof. Nugent says ... after the class ended, he checked his email and found two unread messages from Kobe's assistant saying the NBA star was interested in attending.

Nugent says even though he never gave Kobe official permission, he wasn't the least bit upset with Bryant.

Danica Patrick's been an Indy star, and now NASCAR ... yet somehow she doesn't know how to change a tire?? That's what she told us -- shocking for someone deep in auto sports ... or just a chick thing?

Plus, Aaron Hernandez fans are mailing stacks of nude selfies to him -- but we found out jailers are confiscating the sexy pics. Fair to cell-block the ex-NFL star ... who's innocent till proven guilty, mind you?

It's Dwyane Wade's 32nd birthday ... and a full-blown battle for the NBA star's affection has broken out on social media between the two most special people in his life -- Gabrielle Union and LeBron James.

Gabrielle expressed her love for Wade by posting a couple of artsy photos of the couple together -- one where she's draped all over the guy -- along with the caption, "Happy Birthday @dwyanewade ... #lovelightpeace."

It's sweet ... but she might've been OUTDONE by LeBron ... who posted a 9 PHOTO COLLAGE along with a 131 WORD essay about his love for his teammate.

The statement reads ...

"Happy Bday to my running mate, homie, brother, and most of all straight up friend! The friendship we've created our rookie year at pre draft camp was pure and that's why we stuck together from that point on!

Obviously didn't know we would eventually become teammates and do the things we've done so far. I came to Miami for 2 reasons. To play with U and to win championships and I can't thank u enough for the sacrifice you've made since I arrived homie!

8:41 AM PT -- Kellen's rep issued a statement saying the whole thing was a misunderstanding because Kellen was NOT throwing a J.

"Kellen pulled over to a parking lot to smoke what he thought at the time was a legal substance. He changed his clothes in his vehicle as to not smell like smoke when he returned home."

The rep continued, "There was absolutely nothing inappropriate that took place and if there was police would have investigated further and charged Kellen which they did not. This will be the only time we will comment on this unfounded and ridiculous claim."

New York Jets tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was masturbating in a Target parking lot ... with TWO jars of vaseline in his car ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The 30-year-old former Pro Bowler was arrested on November 19th ... after cops in New Jersey received a tip about a man in a Target parking lot "pleasuring himself" in his vehicle.

According to the report, a 58-year-old white lady had pulled up next to Kellen's Cadillac Escalade around 5:30pm and noticed Kellen sitting in the driver's seat with the window open.

The woman says she tried to make small talk about the weather (it was really cold) and that's when she saw his erect penis ... and called the cops.

When cops arrived to the scene, they reportedly found two open containers of vaseline in the car ... along with synthetic marijuana labelled "Mr. Happy" -- and Kellen admitted he smokes the stuff to help him relax.

Cops asked Kellen what he was doing in the parking lot and he said he was looking for a Boston Market but got lost. Cops note that K's penis was not exposed when they arrived.

Kellen was eventually arrested and hauled to a nearby station.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Davone Bess was arrested at an airport in Florida this morning after allegedly going after a cop with hot coffee ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to the incident report obtained by TMZ Sports, the Broward County Sheriff's Dept. responded to passenger complaints about a black man at a TSA checkpoint "acting irrationally, dancing, singing with his pants repeatedly falling down."

When cops arrived to the scene, Bess continued to act in a bizarre manner and grabbed a cup of coffee -- that didn't belong to him -- from a nearby counter and squeezed it so hard, it splashed all over the cop.

According to the report, Bess then took a "fighting stance" ... so the cop took out his baton and struck Bess in the leg.

But the cop says the baton strike had "no effect" -- and Bess proceeded to take off his shirt and once again got into a fighting stance.

The cop called for backup ... and when help arrived, Bess complied and was taken into custody. He was arrested for simple assault on an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

The cop says Bess "appeared to be under the influence of unknown narcotic" and "appeared to be looking through me when I was talking to him."

Team USA figure skating champ Evan Lysacek tells TMZ Sports ... he's suffered AT LEAST 15 concussions in his career and says the sport should consider making helmets mandatory on ice before something terrible happens.

The Olympic gold medal winner was in L.A. on Thursday and was brutally honest about the dangers of figure skating.

"I've seen some gnarly falls like where a girl gets dropped out of mid-air and just like their teeth pop out ... and split chins, split cheek ... crazy stuff."

The 28-year-old says he believes he's suffered somewhere between 15 and 20 concussions ... explaining, "You know sometimes we fall at 20 miles an hour. Your neck just kinda snaps back."

According to the U.S. Department of Health, people who suffer repeated concussions "may have serious long-term problems, including chronic difficulty with concentration, memory, headache, and occasionally, physical skills, such as keeping one’s balance."

Floyd Mayweather's 61-year-old father THREW PUNCHES at the father of another famous boxer at a Vegas boxing gym ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

It all went down Wednesday ... when Floyd Sr. came face-to-face with Ruben Guerrero ... the father of interim WBC welterweight champion Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero.

We're told both men were at the gym to shoot some footage for a reality show ... when they got into a very real argument outside the training center ... and a fight broke out.

In the footage you can see Floyd Sr. throw some punches at Ruben's head -- unclear if they actually connected.

FYI -- Floyd's son BEAT Ruben's son in the ring when they fought last year.

Paul McCartney is REFUSING to give up his quest to score a free Nets t-shirt ... 'cause the Beatle followed the team to London for a second chance at grabbing a free souvenir.

The Nets took on the Hawks at 02 Arena in London today ... where McCartney joined up with his daughter's family -- presumably to increase his odds of nabbing a fan giveaway.

In case you missed it ... Paul was visibly devastated at a Nets game in Brooklyn last month, when he failed to catch one of those t-shirts the cheerleaders toss into the crowd during timeouts.

No word on whether Paul caught anything tonight ... but the good news is he can always afford to keep trying.

As for Nets star Joe Johnson, he showed no signs of a hangover after dropping $10K at a London nightclub Monday night -- putting up 29 points on the Hawks in a 127-110 Nets win.

It wasn't just the castaways who kicked it on "Gilligan's Island," the Harlem Globetrotters were there too ... and one of the players tells TMZ Sports the entire team is mourning the death of The Professor.

We spoke to Sweet Lou Dunbar -- who was featured in the famous 1981 TV movie, "The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan's Island" -- and he tells us, "My heart bleeds for Russell Johnson."

The TV movie was epic -- with Sweet Lou (#41) and the Globetrotters teaming up with Gilligan and pals to take on a bunch of evil robots in an epic island basketball game.

Sweet Lou tells TMZ Sports he had a great time with the entire cast ... especially Johnson ... saying, "He was a great man. He was a lovable man. He'll really be missed."

R.I.P. Professor.

File this under: "Perks of Having Your Own Pit Crew" ... but Danica Patrick tells TMZ Sports she's never had to change her own tire. Ever.

The NASCAR driver was out in NYC today when our photog asked if she's the kinda gal who fixes her own flats ... or if she phones in to AAA for help.

10:50 AM PT -- The tidal wave of strippers could actually be BAD for some of the ballers on a budget ... so says Artie Lange.

The comedian -- and strip club connoisseur -- was outside Caroline's on Broadway in NYC when he told TMZ Sports ... the gals who work Super Bowl weekend are the best of the best ... the "Babe Ruths" of strippers and they know how to squeeze a dollar out of the tightest of wallets.

Listen to the man ... he knows what he's talkin' about.

Forget dollars, bring your RUBLES to the strip club if you're in NYC for the Super Bowl ... 'cause the most famous nudie bar in town is IMPORTING dancers from Russia to keep up with demand.

We spoke to several Big Apple strip joints ... and they all said the same thing -- you can't have enough women in the clubs that weekend, 'cause with all the ballers coming to town, it's going to be INSANE.

In fact, a rep for Scores -- Howard Stern's favorite joint -- tells us they're not just bringing in talent from across the country ... they're flying in a bunch of chicks from Russia who've BEGGED for the chance to shake their asses for the richest pervs in America.

And it's not just strippers .. we've also learned some of the biggest porn stars in the bang biz -- including Ash Hollywood, Tera Patrick and Brandi Aniston -- are also jetting to NYC to grind poles at the opening of the new Vivid Cabaret.

The Atlanta Falcons have a crappy offensive line ... plain and simple -- so says rapper and Falcons-superfan B.o.B.

The guy behind the hit "Nothin' on You" was at LaGuardia airport last night when he diagnosed the problems in the ATL ... telling TMZ Sports his team needs a serious upgrade in the fat guy department.

"We got receivers, the best ... we got somebody who can get 'em the ball too. We just need an O-line."

Matt Ryan was sacked 44 times in 2013 ...and finished the season as the 3rd most sacked QB in the league.

Jarvis Moss -- a former 1st round NFL Draft pick -- tried to EAT ALL OF THE WEED IN HIS CAR during a traffic stop in Florida ... but he was busted 'cause he couldn't chew fast enough, cops say.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, the former University of Florida star -- who went on to play for the Broncos and the Raiders -- was a passenger in a gold Buick that was pulled over on January 13 for swerving in traffic.

During the stop, cops say ... 29-year-old Jarvis, a passenger in the car, was "chewing intently, more than a person would that was chewing a piece of bubble gum."

The cops say they asked Moss to open his mouth and saw several "large pieces of cannabis in his mouth that he was attempting to chew and swallow."

The cops say the driver of the car was also trying to eat whatever weed they had in the car ... so they were both arrested for weed possession and tampering with evidence.