TMZ Sports - Page 4

Parker Sutherland -- a college football standout at the University of Northern Iowa -- has died ... the school announced Saturday.

The college freshman passed away Saturday morning -- just 10 days before his birthday -- the school announced ... declining to provide a cause of death out of respect for the family.

UNI head coach Todd Stepsis said his heart goes out to the Sutherlands ... adding the young man "embodied everything we look for in a UNI Football Panther." He highlighted Parker's character, humility, toughness, and love of others.

3:20 PM PT -- Canada has released a statement in the aftermath of the incident ... stating in part, "Curling Canada fully supports fair play, respect and sportsmanship, values that are fundamental to our sport."

Marc Kennedy has also apologized for using the language he did during the tense moment.

Canadians might generally be known for their polite manners, but those apparently didn't travel with one curling competitor to Milan for the Winter Olympics ... because he threw some NSFW language at an opponent.

Marc Kennedy -- a four-time Olympian for The Great White North -- got into a shouting match with Sweden's Oskar Eriksson during a tense match Friday.

Eriksson claimed Kennedy -- the athlete throwing the rock in curling -- was touching it again after initially releasing it ... a violation of the rules.

The Canadian flew into a rage when the Swede called his integrity into question ... telling his opponent, "I haven't done it once. You can f*** off."

Travis Kelce's love was the key that opened Taylor Swift's thighs ... and he's looking to pass that on this Valentine's Day in the form of a virtual card!

See it for yourself -- the official X account for "New Heights" -- Travis and Jason Kelce's hit podcast -- shared a photo of a grinning Kelce from the podcast on a red background.

The card reads, "Wood you be my Valentine?" ... and features a prominent redwood tree in the upper left corner.

Love was in the air Super Bowl weekend, as Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton confirmed their relationship and Tom Brady and Alix Earle showed "romantic chemistry" ... but according to astrologer Richard James, don't bet on them ringing any wedding bells just yet.

Watch the video ... Richard breaks down for us why Kim's Libra sign and Lewis' Capricorn just won't last. Their visions for their futures don't mix.

Drew Brees earned his spot in the 2026 NFL Hall of Fame class ... and he tells TMZ Sports he believes it's only a matter of time before fellow quarterbacks Eli Manning and Philip Rivers join him in Canton.

We caught up with the New Orleans Saints legend at the Fanatics party during Super Bowl weekend ... fresh off the announcement he'll need fitted for a gold jacket.

Incredibly deserved, obviously ... but most of the chatter around the Hall this year was about Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, not making the cut ... and same for Manning, the only guy to beat Tom Brady twice in the Super Bowl, in his second year of eligibility.

"Varsity Blues" actor Eliel Swinton says he messaged his co-star James Van Der Beek before he died, telling TMZ Sports he had a gut feeling the actor's health was failing.

Swinton -- who acted alongside Van Der Beek in the 1999 hit football film -- told us he reached out to James a few weeks ago after noticing they hadn't communicated in some time, which concerned him given his cancer battle.

"I sent him a little note about maybe three weeks ago, maybe a month ago, on Instagram to him personally to say, 'Hey, man, I know you're sick. If I don't hear from you, it's okay. I'm here to help your family anyway I can with sports and stuff, but if I don't see you, brother, I will see you again upstairs. Love you,' and I didn't hear from him, so I realized it really got bad," Swinton said.

James Van Der Beek's costars and fans mourn his death, Cardi B goes in hard on ICE, Olympians go for gold in the sack, and Jill Zarin gets sacked for blasting Bad Bunny. So, we gotta ask ...

Blueface is cranking the heat way up ahead of his long-teased boxing showdown with Nick Young … promising nothing short of destruction when the gloves finally touch May 2 in Miami.

The rapper tells TMZ Sports he isn’t looking for a friendly exhibition with Swaggy P ... this is beef four years in the making.

“This ain’t basketball, man," Blueface said. "I’m finna dribble his f***ing head to the f***ing pavement. And then when he falls, I’m going to keep socking on him. I’ll take that DQ.”

Paul Bissonnette is taking a slap shot at the NHL’s grueling schedule ... saying the league might be pushing players too far -- and he’s got a plan to fix it.

Biz tells TMZ Sports he’s not holding his breath waiting for league bosses to agree ... but he’s still throwing the idea out there.

“I don’t think they’re going to listen to me," he told us before the Super Bowl at SI The Party. "We just talk for conversation, but I think it would be cool if they would consider in years where they’re doing best on best to just draw it back a little bit.”

Raising Cane's founder Todd Graves has made a fortune off chicken fingers ... so would he ever put his money toward owning an NFL team??

The businessman -- who is worth around $22 BILLION -- tells TMZ Sports it's certainly possible ... after all, he loves everything about the sport.

"For me, I love football -- I love the fanfare of it," Graves said at Travis and Jason Kelce's "New Heights" podcast party during Super Bowl week. "I love the fact that coaches and teams have to put together this amazing play calling, amazing teams, the athletes are incredible -- so I love all that."

Mike Tyson vs. Floyd Mayweather still doesn't have a date, but don't get it twisted ... Iron Mike says the fight is still goin' down!

"Yeah, it's happening," Tyson told Babcock on Friday, reiterating ... "S***, yeah, it's happening!"

Of course, TMZ Sports broke the news in September 2024, that the two historic boxers would be meeting in the squared circle ... after years of not exactly having a warm and fuzzy relationship.

Mike says he wasn't going to pass up the chance to put hands on Floyd.

Love is in the air ... and in honor of Valentine's Day, we are ranking the 14 best IRL (In Real Life) couples of professional wrestling!

Relationship storylines have been vital to the sport for decades, and now we are going to determine which couples have been the most influential to the sport.

Click the gallery above to check out the entire list and see who we ranked as number 1!

3:39 PM PT -- We talked to Jamal Lewis about the pardon ... and the story is crazy!

The retired NFL star told Michael J. Babcock he had NO IDEA clemency was an option, so he actually missed the phone call when it came in from Alice Johnson.

Check out the interview with Jamal!

Donald Trump is throwing a lifeline to some former gridiron stars ... signing off on pardons for a handful of ex-NFL players who dominated on the field, but also got tangled up in legal trouble.

The Commander-in-Chief granted clemency on Thursday to five former football standouts, wiping away criminal convictions tied to drug crimes, fraud and other offenses ... framing the move as a shot at redemption long after their playing days ended.

"As football reminds us, excellence is built on grit, grace, and the courage to rise again. So is our nation," White House "pardon czar" Alice Marie Johnson posted to X while thanking Trump for his "continued commitment to second chances."

Frankie Muniz is opening up about a chilling and deeply personal memory with Dale Earnhardt -- revealing the NASCAR legend’s final words to him before the 2001 Daytona 500 shaped the way he’s lived ever since.

The "Malcolm in the Middle" star tells Babcock on TMZ Sports that he only had a brief interaction with Earnhardt before the race that ended in a fatal crash … but it left a lifelong mark.

“Going back into those moments made me realize the things he did say to me in the short time I got to talk to him right before the start of that race,” Muniz recalled. “It impacted every single thing I did as a person.”

Muniz -- the Grand Marshal for the 500 in '01 -- reflected on the upcoming anniversary for a new FS1 documentary, "We've Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later."

Cari Champion LOVED Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show ... so much so she's publicly shooting her shot at the superstar musician!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with Champion and Jemele Hill after they launched their "Flagrant and Funny" sports podcast with iHeartMedia last month ... and we asked who, out of all the stars, they wanted to join them for a conversation.

As Champion smiled, Hill joked that Cari would obviously appreciate the opportunity to chat with her "husband," Bad Bunny, ASAP ... which is when we gave CC the floor to send a message to Benito.

Maxim Naumov's Olympic debut has come and gone ... and while he won't be leaving Milan with any hardware, he says he's proud of himself for making "the dreams that my family and I had into a reality."

Naumov spoke with a reporter after his final run in the free skating competition on Friday ... and while he acknowledged some mistakes in his routine, the 24-year-old was happy he left it all out on the ice.

"Truly, with no regrets," Naumov said.