TMZ Sports - Page 8

Tony Romo had quite the head-scratching analysis of the Patriots defense on Sunday ... saying they're a bunch of dudes who are all "DTF."

"Details, toughness, and they finish."

Yeah ... that's not what "DTF" usually stands for.

It's almost certainly a pipe dream ... but if the UFC wants the biggest fight in the world for the White House event, it's Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou, according to the Predator himself!

TMZ Sports spoke to 39-year-old Ngannou -- in the midst of his online spat with Jake Paul -- and asked the former UFC heavyweight champ which bout he thought bigger at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Jones vs. Alex Pereira, or Jones vs. himself.

"You know the answer. You don't need me for that," Francis said with a smile, implying the answer was him.

President Donald Trump got a rough welcome at the Commanders stadium after flying in on Air Force One ... the crowd loudly booed him as soon as he popped up on the jumbotron.

Trump became the first sitting POTUS in nearly half a century to attend a regular season NFL game as the Detroit Lions visited the Commanders in Landover, Maryland Sunday ... but, that fun historical fact didn't impress fans.

A chorus of boos rang out when he was shown in the first half ... and later when the announcer introduced him by name at halftime and while he read an oath for military family members to recite during a game break. The reading was part of an enlistment ceremony no doubt tainted by the jeers.

Lenny Wilkens -- a Hall of Fame basketball player and coach -- has died ... the NBA confirmed in a statement Sunday.

Wilkens reportedly passed away while surrounded by loved ones ... though the family has not revealed a cause of death at this time.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Wilkens "one of the game's respected ambassadors" ... adding his on-court contributions were incredible -- yet paled in comparison to his influence on the community of Seattle.

Things are looking pretty icy in the Belichick family lately ... Bill's daughter-in-law, Jennifer Schmitt, appeared to steer clear of his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, at Saturday's UNC college football game.

While the 73-year-old head coach led his North Carolina Tar Heels to a 20-15 victory over Stanford, the two women reportedly kept their distance at Chapel Hill and were not photographed interacting with one another.

Check out the pics ... Jordon, 24, stood watching the game with crossed arms in the suite, wearing a white tank top and blue reptile miniskirt.

1:06 PM PT -- Luis Ortiz's attorney, Chris Georgalis, defended his client vigorously in a statement to ESPN ... denying claims that the pitcher improperly influenced games.

Georgalis claims any transactions between Ortiz and others in the Dominican Republic were for lawful activities -- before adding the indictment "lacks any alleged evidence that connects Luis to these alleged bettors."

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted in relation to a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games ... TMZ has learned.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ, their scheme allegedly worked like this ... the pitchers would agree in advance with their co-conspirators on what pitches they would throw in the games.

Prosecutors claim Clase and Ortiz's alleged co-conspirators would then use that information to place hundreds of "fraudulent bets" on those pitches, which won them at least $400,000.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue reportedly died Sunday morning in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, his death followed a battle with Parkinson's disease. Schefter reports the apparent cause of death was heart failure complicated by the disease.

Tagliabue, a lawyer from Georgetown University, became commissioner of the NFL in 1989 and reigned until September 1, 2006. Under his leadership, the league expanded not only in popularity but in sheer number of teams.

The Steelers are currently sitting pretty at the top of the AFC North with Aaron Rodgers under center -- a feat some didn't believe the 41-year-old quarterback could pull off ... but Jerome Bettis tells TMZ Sports he never doubted the player, only the body.

We caught up with the Pittsburgh legend this week at LAX ... and chopped it up about his former team lookin' pretty damn good so far this season, thanks to Rodgers' 17 touchdown passes.

Given Rodgers' underwhelming stint with the Jets last season, his resurgence has shocked plenty of fans ... but according to Bettis, you never count out a QB like him.

Cam Ward's first NFL season hasn't really gone his way ... but former Tennessee Titan Taylor Lewan hasn't lost faith in the signal-caller -- telling TMZ Sports if he is going to succeed, ownership needs to stabilize the team!!

We chopped it up with the nine-year NFL veteran amid the Titans' 1-8 season ... and he said the abysmal record doesn't fall solely on the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

"There's so many holes around this Titans team," he said. "And I'm not even trying to be rude, there's just big, gaping holes where you're not a competitive team this year."

Bryce Harper was allegedly threatened by a Major League Baseball official over the summer ... this according to a bombshell claim made by a big-time agent.

Here's the deal ... Allan Walsh -- a superagent who reps National Hockey League players -- made the allegations on his "Agent Provocateur" podcast which he hosts alongside podcaster Adam Wylde.

Walsh mentioned a widely reported incident over the summer ... when baseball insiders claimed MLB Commisioner Rob Manfred came into the Philadelphia Phillies locker room and attempted to talk to the players about a salary cap.

Sydney Sweeney's taking one last lap around the ring ... sharing a ton of pics from behind the scenes of "Christy" and thanking everyone involved.

The actress dropped the pics the day after the film's wide-release in theaters ... with one featuring standing in the ring toe to toe with the film's namesake, Christy Martin.

The two are wearing complimentary outfits -- Christy does love her pink, after all -- and, they're grinning ear-to-ear.

President Donald Trump reportedly wants to turn the Washington Commanders new home into "Trump Stadium" ... and, the White House isn't denying it!

Here's the deal ... an ESPN report dropped Saturday which claims 47 has expressed a desire to turn the Commanders' soon-to-be opened $3.7 billion stadium named after him.

We reached out to the White House -- and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be a "beautiful" name for the place ... claiming, "it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible."

Former NFL star Matt Kalil and his alleged two Coke cans have caught the attention of an adult entertainment site -- TMZ Sports is told an adult webcam site is ready to drop $300K for him to flex his blessings on its platform!!

CamSoda took interest in the 6'6" offensive tackle after Kalil's ex-wife, Haley, revealed on Marlon Garcia's live stream their 2022 divorce was sparked by their sex life. She explained his size was uncommon -- like "0.01% of the population."

The adult live-streaming platform told us it would be delighted for Kalil to showcase this rare gift on the site as the "Big Confidence" crusade ... and its offer letter includes a $300,000 payday.

If Sydney Sweeney's serious about getting in the ring for a good cause, she could have one of the greatest women's boxers EVER in her corner -- 'cause Claressa Shields tells TMZ Sports she's down to train the actress for a charity boxing match!!

We caught up with the undisputed heavyweight champion out in NYC this week .. and she said every woman should lace up the gloves and throw some hands at least once.

It would make sense four Sweeney ... considering she just played Christy Martin in a new movie, and trained her ass off for the role. She teased this week she could really take a charity bout.

Boxing star Chris Eubank Jr. says he's (still) open to fighting Jake Paul ... but tells TMZ Sports he doubts "El Gallo" would ever step into the ring with him, claiming the YouTuber-turned-boxer avoids real boxers!

We spoke with the 35-3 fighter after Paul pulled the plug on his big November 14th fight with Gervonta Davis, after the undefeated knockout artist was sued by a woman who claims he got physical with her.

So, with Jake looking for a new opponent (Nate Diaz and Francis Ngannou's names have been mentioned), we asked Eubank Jr. if he still had a desire to scrap with Paul ... a match-up he mentioned in the past.

Taylor Swift's trading Travis Kelce for another celeb dinner companion ... Sabrina Carpenter!!!

Taylor and Sabrina were spotted Friday night in New York City going out for a bite at The Corner Store.

The singers broke bread and shared some laughs during a fun night out on the town ... this after Taylor spent the last two nights going out to fancy places with her NFL star fiancé.