TMZ Sports - Page 50

Tough loss last night ... but here's something that might cheer up SD Chargers WR Keenan Allen -- his brand new fancy GRILL -- complete with 14k gold and roughly 300 DIAMONDS!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Avo at A Image Jewelry -- who's made grills for stars like Chris Brown and Kid Ink -- and he says KA recently hit him up requesting a special set for the 2015 season.

The result?! A sick gold base peppered in 3 karats worth of diamonds -- and we're told the whole thing runs in the $10,000 range!

Allen is a huge fan of mouth jewelry -- and has been seen out in some of his other A Image pieces (see below) ... but the new one is next level stuff.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy HATES Hope Solo -- and is now blasting his former "Dancing with the Stars" partner as a "sh**ty person" and a liar who made his life a living hell.

Maksim and Hope were partners on the show back in 2011 -- and left on horrible terms ... with Solo later making claims in her book that M.C. slapped her in the face during rehearsals.

But moments ago, Maksim fired back on "Allegedly" -- a podcast hosted by Theo Von and Matthew Cole Weiss -- in which he denies the allegations and rips into the Team USA soccer star.

"She's just a sh**ty person," Maksim says. "You can have a sh**ty life growing up ... but if you're a bad person, there's no excuse for that."

Check out the clip -- Chmerkovskiy was asked to play a round of "F, Marry, Kill" ... and spoiler alert, Hope ain't gettin' a diamond ring from Maks anytime soon.

USC athletic director Pat Haden says he spent 2 hours trying to call Steve Sarkisian yesterday to personally inform him he was fired ... but Sark never answered his phone ... so he went public instead.

Haden just spoke to the media ... and said once the decision had been made to get rid of Sark, he called, texted and even reached out to Sark's sister to get the coach on the phone -- but nothing worked.

Haden then issued a press release -- so, the assumption is Sark found out he got the ax at the same time everyone else did. Haden says he has still not spoken with Sark.

During the news conference, Haden also explained why he didn't fire Sark after he showed up drunk to a USC event back in August.

Haden says the two had a private conversation where Haden laid out his expectations for him as a coach -- because he truly believed Sark deserved a second chance.

Haden says Sark blew it over the weekend -- when he showed up to the USC football facility in bad shape.

USC is standing behind Pat Haden -- with the president of the university saying he will NOT be firing the athletic director's ass in the wake of the Steve Sarkisian drama.

Haden's been in the crosshairs of several critics this week -- who think he should lose his job for not getting rid of Sarkisian back in August after the football coach showed up wasted to a school event.

But President Max Nikias has issued a strong statement essentially saying Haden's job is safe.

"As president of USC I am very, very fortunate to have Pat Haden as our Athletic Director -- as is the entire Trojan Family. He is a man of true character and integrity, he cares deeply for our student athletes, and he always makes their well-being his highest priority."

"Pat Haden has been doing an outstanding job in leading Trojan Athletics in the past five years and I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my unwavering support for him."

Steve Spurrier says he's "resigning" as the head coach at the University of South Carolina because the team sucks ... and he thinks it's his fault ... and he wants to "get out of the way."

Spurrier just explained himself at a news conference -- saying he thinks the new coach Shawn Elliott will be able to breathe life back into the program.

He also says he's a "recruiting liability" because he's old -- 70 -- and it's hard to convince high school players that he'll be around for 5 more years.

Spurrier says this year's team isn't as good as he thought they would be -- but says things could be different under new leadership.

Spurrier also says he's not retiring, he's resigning ... and may coach high school football in the future.

It's not just recruits USC needs to worry about losing -- the parents of several current players, including starters, have told us they are "re-evaluating" whether or not to stay at SC next season following the Steve Sarkisian saga.

Everyone we spoke with expressed disappointment in the USC football program -- with one parent telling us, "We feel let down by the coaching staff."

Here are some of the stronger quotes:

"My son turned down several schools to come play for Coach Sarkisian. He told us [our son] would learn how to become a responsible young man but his actions haven't been a good example. After this season, we will be re-evaluating whether or not to come back to the school."

Another parent told us, "I am just very disappointed in the whole program. I thought this would be a great fit for my son but I can see things much clearer now ... and it's not. I don't know if it's going to get any better."

"My son's high school team was more disciplined than the USC football program."

SC's athletic director Pat Haden fired Sarkisian on Monday -- and we're told the coaching hunt is already in full swing. One SC source tells us the school is looking for a "big name coach ... maybe someone from the NFL."

Boxing superstar Amir Khan has a pretty insulting message for Floyd Mayweather -- Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.

The 28-year-old champ is seriously pissed off at Floyd -- and Manny Pacquiao -- calling them both out for refusing to fight him in the ring ... and comparing Mayweather to poultry in the process.

"I wanted the Floyd Mayweather fight," Khan told Boxing News ... "Floyd in a way he chickened out, he didn’t give me the fight. Three years he was saying he was going to give me the fight, then he didn’t give me the fight."

When the Mayweather fight fell through, Khan turned his attention to Pacquiao -- but that deal fell apart earlier this month, with Khan claiming Pacman was dragging his feet.

Turns out, Travis Browne was telling the truth ... the UFC star really is in a full blown relationship with Ronda Rousey -- so says Ronda herself.

After Browne went public about it yesterday ... saying Ronda is his woman and he's her man ... Ronda issued a confirmation to ESPN saying, "It's true that Travis and I are in a relationship."

Ronda explained, "I don't talk about my personal life much. That's why it's called 'personal life" ... but added, "I've really enjoyed the time we have spent together and getting to know one another. And that's all I'm going to say about it."

Josh Gordon has been hittin' the weights ... hard ... killing himself to get ready for his NFL comeback in 2016 -- and judging by the footage of his workouts, dude looks ready to go.

The Cleveland Browns wide receiver was suspended for the 2015 season for violating the substance abuse rules -- but he's vowed to make a comeback and it looks like he's taking things seriously.

Gordon's agent Drew Rosenhaus previously told us the 24-year-old is keeping his nose clean and "doing all the things he has to do to get ready. We fully anticipate him being back for the 2016 season."

A wise Batman villain once said, "Never rub another man's rhubarb" -- which is why the marine who asked out Ronda Rousey is concerned that their date to his Marine Corps Ball could be called off.

Michael Irvin says T.O.'s initials have a brand new meaning ... Too Old ... 'cause he thinks the former NFL great is a little too long in the tooth to help the injury ravaged Dallas Cowboys.

Of course, 41-year-old Terrell has been ADAMANT he can still hang in the league ... and recently had his agent hit up the Cowboys to start a dialogue about filling in for Dez Bryant who's out with an injury.

So, we asked The Playmaker about the situation at LAX ... and spoiler alert, Terrell is NOT gonna like his answer.

BTW, check out this clip of Owens putting his skills on display recently -- dude still looks pretty spry to us.

See, people still like Roger Goodell ... especially in New York, where the NFL commissioner snapped selfies with fans at the big Giants vs. 49ers game.

We spoke with Torrey O'Brien -- who was sitting near Goodell's box last night when he called Roger over and asked for a pic. Goodell obliged ... and according to Torrey, he couldn't have been nicer.

"Totally nice guy ... very nice to everyone. He shook hands with people and signed autographs."

The Texas Highway Patrol trooper who pulled over a Dallas Cowboys running back -- and then took a picture with him -- will face disciplinary actions for the incident ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The photo has been all over the Internet -- a trooper posing with backup running back Christine Michael in front of the player's pulled over Bentley ... causing many people to wonder, WTF?!

We spoke to a rep for the Texas Highway Patrol who tells us ... Michael's car was initially pulled over at noon on Sunday because it appeared the Bentley had illegal tint on the front windshield.

The trooper did not issue a citation -- but asked for a pic and then let Michael go on his way.

Sergeant Lonny Haschel tells TMZ Sports ... "The trooper’s actions have been reviewed by DPS and are not consistent with department procedure."

"Corrective action, in the form of a procedural review, will be taken. In conversations with his chain of command, the trooper realized his error in judgement and was apologetic for the incident."

2:09 PM PT -- USC players tell us they were notified that Sarkisian was fired via text message from the coaching staff.

Steve Sarkisian is out as the head football coach at USC.

Here's the official statement from Athletic Director Pat Haden:

"After careful consideration of what is in the best interest of the university and our student-athletes, I have made the decision to terminate Steve Sarkisian, effective immediately."

"I want to thank Clay Helton for stepping into the interim head coach role, and I want to add how proud I am of our coaching staff and players and the way they are responding to this difficult situation."

"Through all of this we remain concerned for Steve and hope that it will give him the opportunity to focus on his personal well being."

Pete Carroll says the the situation surrounding his coaching protege Steve Sarkisian "breaks his heart" but he remains ultra-confident that his former assistant will get things back on track.

Carroll opened up about Sark on his weekly ESPN radio program "The Pete Carroll Show" and said he's reached out to the USC coach and believes he can conquer his demons.

"It breaks my heart to see how this has gone. He recognizes it, and he's going to do something about it."

Pete says Sark has a tough road ahead -- but believes he'll prevail in the end.

The rumors are true ... Ronda Rousey is in a relationship with UFC fighter Travis Browne -- the same guy who was accused of beating up his wife -- and then CLEARED after a UFC investigation.

Browne just went on "The MMA Hour Live" and said he started talking with Ronda over the summer and their relationship blossomed.

"I'll say now that we are together," Browne said ... "She's my woman and I am her man."