TMZ Sports - Page 50

Rod Stewart doesn't deny he broke a fan's nose with a soccer ball at a concert ... but he says the guy should've had his eyes on the ball.

Rod's being sued for nailing a guy in the face with an errant long ball during a 2012 show in Vegas ... and when we got him leaving Bouchon in Bev Hills, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had some solid soccer-related pointers for his accuser.

The half-Scot, half-Brit Stewart is a hardcore fan of the Celtic in the Scottish League -- even giving a shout out to his favorite team in "You're In My Heart" ... which fortunately means he knows just how far he can go without getting himself red carded.

Swagginess must be a genetic trait ... 'cause Nick Young's 2-year-old son just locked up his first gig as a FASHION MODEL -- and he's already killin' it ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Swaggy Jr. -- aka Nick Young Jr. -- is now an official model for a high-end children's clothing line called Roubleau ... and he just knocked out his very first photo shoot.

We spoke with the designer Janae Roubleau who tell us she's friends with Jr.'s mom -- and thought the kid would be the perfect model for the brand.

And get this -- Roubleau says it's clear NY2 has a serious gift for the modeling thing: "It's scary sometimes for a two-year-old to stand in front of a lot of people with bright lights in front of a white background ... but he was a natural."

We're told Swaggy2 already has his next gig lined up -- striking poses in a few months when Roubleau rolls out the new styles for next season.

Bill Simmons has been suspended by ESPN -- after ripping into NFL commish Roger Goodell on his podcast and then DARING the network to punish him for it.

Simmons basically put his bosses on blast -- after trashing Goodell and then saying, "I really hope somebody calls me or emails me and says I’m in trouble for anything I say about Roger Goodell, because if one person says that to me, I’m going public. You leave me alone. The commissioner’s a liar and I get to talk about that on my podcast. Thank you.”

Apparently not.

Because moments ago, ESPN announced Simmons will be suspended for THREE WEEKS ... and issued the following explanation:

"Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN’s journalistic standards. We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria. Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks."

Jameis Winston's rape accuser did NOT attempt to extort the Heisman Trophy winner according to her attorney ... who says it was actually Winston who first reached out to discuss a pay off.

TMZ broke the story ... Winston's attorney David Cornwell sent a letter informing Florida State University that the woman's lawyer had demanded $7 million dollars to cease all legal action against Winston and FSU.

Now, the accuser's attorneys claim Cornwell left out a few things. In a statement they say Cornwell "reached out to our client's former counsel Patricia Carroll to discuss paying off our client."

The attorneys also claim Cornwell told Carroll "your client likes to (expletive) football players."

In the statement, there's no denial of the $7 million figure. They describe the attempted settlement talks as "immediately unproductive."

Tony Stewart is off the hook criminally in the death of Kevin Ward Jr. -- but Ward's family is threatening to drag the NASCAR superstar into court with a civil lawsuit.

Ward's family members say they are infuriated because they believe Stewart "intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car towards him, causing the tragedy."

As TMZ Sports first reported, the Ontario County Grand Jury in New York decided not to charge Stewart after reviewing evidence from accident reconstruction experts.

Here's something you never see ... Kerry Washington -- out in public -- WITH HER HUSBAND (her real-life husband, not Tony Goldwyn).

Kerry and former NFL superstar Nnamdi Asomugha were spotted leaving the Ritz Carlton hotel in NYC last night -- right after a nanny rushed their baby Isabelle into a waiting SUV.

The couple made sure to keep the baby's face covered -- just as they have since she was born back in April.

NASCAR star Tony Stewart will NOT face criminal charges in the death of Kevin Ward Jr. ... and in a shocking revelation, we now know Ward was high on weed at the time of his death.

TMZ Sports broke the story...the Ontario County Grand Jury in New York decided not to charge Stewart, after reviewing evidence from several accident reconstruction experts.

On the night of his death, Ward Jr. had gotten out of his car and was aggressively marching toward Stewart's car -- when he was struck. Now we know drug tests on the body produced proof Ward was under the influence of marijuana.

There was talk that Stewart was angry with Ward Jr. and may have intentionally veered his car into him -- but apparently the grand jury feels it was nothing more than a freak accident.

We're told the enhanced video showed Stewart did not make any sudden or suspicious moves on the track before his car collided with Ward.

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports it's been hard for him to go to work as an NFL analyst on Sundays ... because, "It's getting to the point where I'm missing church more than I'm looking forward to games."

Irvin is an analyst for the NFL Network's "NFL Gameday Morning" -- but the Hall of Famer tells us he's deeply conflicted about continuing to give his Sundays to the NFL instead of Jesus Christ.

"I texted my bishop T.D. Jakes the other day ... I said, 'Man, it's getting to the point where I'm missing church more than I'm looking forward to games on Sunday."

Irvin added, "That's been hard for me to go to work ... I miss that man."

There was no private skatepark for Justin Bieber in Venice Tuesday ... so he took his board to the super popular Venice Skate Park ... and he kinda held his own.

Bieber tried his best to hang with the regulars, and while he did nail a trick or two ... he failed over and over again ... just like every skateboarder does.

Then again, when he finally did land a trick -- Justin immediately went back to d-bag mode. You gotta see his shirtless celebration.

Say what you will about Chris Brown -- the dude's got skills on the basketball court ... dunking, dribbling and dancing outta control at a celeb hoops game this weekend and everyone was impressed.

Brown was one of the headliners at the Power 106 All-Star Celebrity Basketball Game in L.A. -- and from the moment he stepped on the court, he showed real flashes of talent.

He broke out a series of impressive street ball moves ... including the "Shamgod" ... the "Euro-step" and a nasty crossover.

In the end, Brown dropped more than 25 points ... and wrapped things up with the Nae Nae.

Good news for LeBron James' rap career -- it could be getting some help from Drake ... 'cause the hip hop superstar tells TMZ Sports he's down to collaborate with The King.

Drake was leaving the L.A. premiere of LeBron's new TV show "Survivor's Remorse" (Bron's one of the producers) ... when we asked if he'd ever team up with James, who recently released his very first rap single.

Drizzy didn't exactly say "no" ... and seemed pretty open to bringing James onto a track.

BTW -- it seems LeBron is really taking this Hollywood thing seriously ... the guy rocked a TURTLENECK under his suit Tuesday night ... despite the fact it was 70 DEGREES IN L.A.!!!

Jameis Winston's lawyer has fired off a letter to Florida State University ... claiming the woman who accused his client of rape demanded $7 MILLION to buy her silence.

David Cornwell, the lawyer for the Heisman Trophy winner, sent a letter to FSU, saying Winston will fully cooperate with the University's ongoing investigation into the handling of the rape charges. The alleged victim claims the University engaged in sexual discrimination by sweeping her claims under the rug to protect its prized athlete.

According to the letter -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- the alleged victim's lawyer, Patricia Carroll, demanded $7 MIL to settle her client's claims against FSU and Winston, telling Cornwell, "If we settle, you will never hear from my client or me again -- in the press or anywhere."

Cornwell says he rejected her offer and 4 days later she went to the media.

Cornwell also says Carroll claimed her client's sexual encounter had to be rape, because she would never sleep with a "black boy." Fact is ... the alleged victim's boyfriend at the time was black. The criminal case fell apart, partly because the alleged victim had semen from 2 different men on her shorts.

Les Moonves isn't fretting over the blow back he got by pulling the plug on a segment featuring Rihanna for the opening of Thursday night football ... because he scored where it counts.

The CBS Prez crowed over ratings for both Thursday and Sunday night football as he left Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood Tuesday.

As for Rihanna ... the most powerful man in Hollywood said she's the one who exercised power by telling the network to go f itself.

UFC fighter Joe Riggs might be part mutant -- 'cause check out how well his gunshot wounds healed up in just THREE SHORT MONTHS!!

As we previously reported, Riggs was cleaning his pistol back in July when it accidentally fired -- sending a bullet ripping through his hand and thigh. It was bloody ... and could've been career-ending.

But as you can see in the pics, everything seemed to heal nicely -- and Joe just announced that he's booked his very first UFC fight since the incident.

The fight is set for Dec. 13th -- and Riggs is all set to take on Ben Saunders ... who, to our knowledge, has zero gunshot wounds.

We included the original bloody gunshot pictures below ... but be warned, they're pretty gnarly.

Paulina Gretzky is pregnant ... sorry fellas.

The daughter of The Great One broke the news on Instagram ... saying, "[Dustin Johnson] and I are so excited to finally share with you all our amazing news ... we're having a baby!!"

Paulina has been dating PGA star Dustin Johnson since 2011 -- and he finally popped the question back in August '13 ... though it's unclear when they plan to actually tie the knot.

As for the fetus, Gretsky didn't say when the kid's due -- but she's already sportin' a bump!

Team USA soccer star Hope Solo says the scumbag who hacked and leaked her private photos online has gone "beyond the bounds of human decency"-- claiming her right to privacy was completely violated.

Solo is part of a group of celebrities whose private emails and text messages were exposed to the world in an event called "The Fappening" -- but Hope tells TMZ Sports she's trying to put a stop to it, ASAP.

"It is extremely sad and unfortunate that the rights of so many women were violated by the unauthorized release of private photographs," Solo tell us.

"This act goes beyond the bounds of human decency and, as such, I stand united with all the women affected and am exploring every option to protect my privacy."

Solo also issued a statement addressing the domestic violence charges she's facing -- stemming from an incident back in June where she allegedly attacked her 17-year-old nephew.

"While I understand the public desires more information regarding the allegations against me, I continue to maintain my innocence against these charges."