TMZ Sports - Page 50

Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports ... he's bummed out after getting the news that he's out at "The NFL Today" pregame show at CBS ... but says, "I'm grateful I had ten great years."

CBS announced the move today ... Shannon and Dan Marino will not return to the show next season. Instead, Tony Gonzalez will join the cast.

"Things happen," Sharpe says ... "They made the best decision for them and now I have to make the best decision for me."

Sharpe is adamant he has "no hard feelings" toward CBS -- adding, "They've been great to me."

As for Tony G -- Sharpe says they're friends and he wishes Tony the best of luck.

"I know Tony wanted to do this so I'm happy for him and his family."

So, what's next for Shannon? He's still trying to evaluate his options, but it's clear you haven't heard the last from the Hall of Fame tight end.

They've played for popes, presidents and even Whoopi Goldberg ... but this weekend, the Harlem Globetrotters got to pull out some of their best tricks for Britney Spears' kids.

Sean and Jayden James -- who look A LOT like their dad Kevin Federline these days -- got to meet some of the players before their big game at Staples Center in L.A.

We're told Britney wasn't at the game -- but her father was ... so the kids got some quality time with grandpa.

As for the game itself, the Globetrotters took on the Washington Generals ... and won.

Stupid Generals ... they just can't pull it together!!!!

BTW -- sweet Doug Martin jersey!

Danica Patrick's nipple is officially off the Internet ... TMZ Sports has learned the people at Sports Illustrated have finally removed a pic of the driver's exposed breast from its swimsuit website.

As we previously reported, several pics from a 2008 photo shoot were recently put on S.I.'s Swim Daily website as part of a "Throwback Thursday" gallery. One of the pics was a topless "selfie" in which Danica's nipple was fully visible.

There were questions as to whether the pic was posted by accident or if it was an intentional "artsy" thing -- but now that it's been removed from the gallery, it seems pretty clear ... it was never supposed to be there in the first place.

Send out the coroner ... because Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick completely murdered the Katy Perry song "Roar" last night ... and it's absolutely HILARIOUS!!

The NFL superstars co-hosted the "Hall of Game Awards" on Cartoon Network ... and at the beginning of the show, they had some goofy banter about who should have been the MAIN host of the event.

That's when Cam grabs the mic and busts out his best tone-def version of the pop song ... and Colin followed suit.

The best part ... Colin screws up some of the lyrics and the kids actually BOO.

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White was arrested in Atlanta this morning ... and it's all because the guy was rollin' around town with tinted windows.

Law enforcement tells TMZ Sports ... cops pulled over White's Audi A8 for speeding around 3:16 AM ... and during the stop, they noticed a warrant out for Roddy's arrest.

Turns out ... in February 2013, White was cited for having non-transparent tinting on his car window -- and he was required to appear in court the following month.

But officials say White blew off his court date -- so a judge issued a warrant.

The 32-year-old was arrested and hauled to a nearby station -- where he was booked and posed for a smiling mug shot.

Law enforcement tells us Roddy was very cooperative and couldn't have been nicer during the situation.

Danica Patrick's nipple pops up on a Sports Illustrated website -- just as NASCAR legends are ripping her as nothing more than a marketing queen. Will the nip slip help her win over critics ... or hurt her?

Plus, Richie Incognito ain't exactly hiding after the scathing Wells report -- we got him out partying at an L.A. nightclub. He's definitely fronting like he's unapologetic for his actions. Has he been vindicated in the public?

Shaquille O'Neal hit up a famous college bar at LSU last night ... and watched some of the college kids kick each other in the balls ... GOOD TIMES!!!

Shaq rolled into Reggie's in Baton Rouge -- one of the storied bars in Tigerland (the nickname for the bar scene right off campus).

At some point in the evening, Shaq observed some bar patrons making a bet with each other -- one side lost -- and the penalty was a foot to the groin.

So, being the responsible journalist that he is, Shaq recorded the moment of truth ... and posted it to his Instagram page.

Lamar Odom has just signed a deal to play pro basketball in Spain ... but there are serious signs the whole thing is just a cheap Spanish publicity stunt.

Fact: Lamar just signed a deal with a team called Laboral Kutxa Vitoria.

Fact: Laboral Kutxa Vitoria is ranked 9th out of 18th in its league ... and LAST in its Euroleague group.

Fact: Lamar only signed a 2-month deal, which will take him through the end of the season.

Smells fishy ...

Here's the deal ... the team wants Lamar because they hope he sells tickets since they suck and a playoff run is super unlikely.

But Lamar thinks this could be his road back to the NBA -- despite the fact he's essentially been shut out of the league due to his history of substance abuse and bad decision-making.

Example #1 -- It was just a few months ago a wasted Lamar made a rap video with a friend in which he bragged about cheating on his wife Khloe Kardashian.

Example #2 -- Even after he was arrested for DUI and struggling with sobriety, Lamar was hitting up bars and nightclubs in L.A.

Example #3 -- A delusional Odom insisted there was "great interest" from multiple NBA teams when in fact, no one wanted to touch the guy.

Kevin Durant says his personal chef is for pleasure ... not for business ... and now KD is suing his accountant claiming the guy tried to screw over the IRS by making it seem the cook was an essential part of his NBA career.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Durant is going after Joel Elliott -- claiming Elliott got him in some deep trouble with Uncle Sam over the years by trying to write off several business expenses that clearly weren't business related.

Case in point -- Durant's personal chef.

In his lawsuit, Durant says, "Fees paid to a personal chef would not be regarded by a reasonably prudent accountant as qualifying for a business expense deduction."

Durant says the personal chef deduction was just one of MANY irresponsible accounting moves by Elliott that landed KD in hot water with the IRS.

In fact, Durant says his tax returns from 2007 to 2011 are so messed up, he had to hire another firm to fix what Elliott screwed up.

KD says the whole ordeal has cost him more than $200k -- and he wants Elliott to pay.

Ray Allen is worth between $200 and $300 MILLION DOLLARS ... and even though it's "not smart" for the guy to play high-stakes blackjack, Ray can afford it ... so says Kenny "The Jet" Smith.

The "NBA on TNT" analyst was leaving LAX yesterday when we asked him about Allen's $10k-per-hand blackjack run in Vegas over the weekend ... a run that didn't turn out well for Ray.

"It's not smart, but it's like $100 to him," Kenny said ... "He's got enough money to probably fund the hotel."

Then, after estimating Ray's ENORMOUS net worth, Kenny dropped some serious wisdom:

"A guy who can play $10k-a-hand in blackjack, I'm not worried about him ... it's the guy who's got ten dollars and loses ... that's the guy I'm worried about."

#true.

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS ... 'cause 75-year-old Skip Bertman -- former LSU baseball coach -- has been ID'd as the mystery man who fought off three home invaders inside his Louisiana house ... cops say.

Oh, and all three suspects have now been arrested.

As we previously reported, the attempted burglary was thwarted early Saturday morning when they were violently confronted by a resident.

Now, cops say ... the suspects are all teenagers -- an 18-year-old and two 16-year-olds -- and Bertman brought the ruckus when he heard them inside the home.

According to officials, the teens entered the home through an unlocked bathroom window ... before running into Bertman -- who took on the punks and actually tried to DETAIN one of the men.

They eventually ran away like cowards (after grabbing some cash and some of Skip's championship rings) ... but cops located the suspects and took 'em all into custody. The 18-year-old was sent to a nearby prison and the 16-year-olds are in juvi.

He CRUSHED it at the NBA Celebrity All-Star game ... so it's no wonder Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says President Obama always takes him on his team during White House pick-up games.

If you missed the game ... Duncan was a STUD -- chalking up 20 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists during his MVP performance.

When he arrived back in D.C. on Monday, Duncan hadn't let the success get to his head -- and gave props to Kevin Hart (who initially won the award based on the fan vote, but gave it Duncan because he deserved it).

He also praised Obama as a "good teammate."

For the record, Duncan played college ball at Harvard before spending some time in a pro league in Australia.

Bottom line -- dude can ball.

So ... Danica Patrick's exposed nipple is hanging out on a Sports Illustrated website.

The racy pic of the NASCAR driver is featured in a "Throwback Thursday" photo gallery on S.I.'s "Swim Daily" website ... which features a "selfie" style photo shoot of Danica from 2008.

We called S.I. to find out if it was a mistake ... or one of those intentional "nipples are artsy" sort of things ... but so far, we haven't heard back.

WWE star Paul Heyman says he doesn't miss the iconic ponytail he chopped off his head last month ... telling TMZ Sports he finally realized his "power" didn't stem from his greasy lock of love.

A freshly-shorn Heyman was cruising Hollywood Friday night with supermodel Ellie Gonsalves ... when he explained how he came to grips with the self-scalping.

The wrestling villain -- who happens to be Brock Lesnar's business adviser in real life -- also told us why the ex-UFC champ won't be making any trips to L.A. in the near future.

Kenyon Martin doesn't just think those special sleeved NBA jerseys are ugly ... he thinks they're emasculating -- telling TMZ Sports they belong in the WNBA!

The New York Knicks star was leaving Greystone Manor this weekend ... when we asked how he felt about the sleeved unis NBA teams had to wear during the Christmas Day games.

"I think they're WNBA jerseys," Martin said.

"I had to go with it, it's the job, you got to wear the company uniform ... so, it is what it is."

He adds, "It's all about money at the end of the day ... do I agree with it? No. Do I understand it? Yeah."

File This Under: "Questionable Decision Making" ... but the Jamaican Bobsled Team competed over the weekend wearing helmets that looked like watermelons.

Of course, in the U.S. ... there's a well-known stereotype about black people and watermelon -- but in fact, it's not really a "thing" in Jamaica.

Still, a little weird to see a team consisting entirely of black people wearing helmets that look like watermelon.