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Don't feel bad, Matt James ... CC Sabathia also hit a guy with an errant tee shot on the course in Arizona on Wednesday -- drilling a Yankees fan in the leg just hours before the 'Bachelor' star hit a photog in the thigh.

CC's unfortunate drive happened on the 18th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am ... when a witness tells us the former Yankees superstar pushed his shot so far to the right on the par-4, it struck a man in the leg.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows the collision was so powerful ... it actually caused the guy to bleed.

Thankfully, we're told the fan ended up being OK -- and, watch the clip, CC was super nice and apologetic about it all.

Sabathia can be heard chatting it up with the man, who actually said he was a big Yankees and CC fan.

Sabathia ended up signing a golf ball as an apology souvenir ... before he headed off to finish out his round.

In case you were wondering, Sabathia is normally a fairly decent golfer -- reportedly with a handicap in the teens.

There's clearly residual underlying beef between DaBaby and DaniLeigh's brother ... evidenced in an all-out brawl between the two at a CA bowling alley -- and now cops are on the case.

Check out the video, obtained by TMZ ... you see DaBaby and Brandon Bills exchange words. Then, DaBaby seems to throw the first punch. The 2 men go at it, and things spill into the bowling lanes as DaBaby's crew gets involved.

It's hard for anyone to stay on their feet during the fight because of the slippery surface, but Brandon Bills is clearly outnumbered and takes an L.

Law enforcement sources say they're now investigating DaBaby for assault with a deadly weapon. We're told it's an ADW case because Bills was kicked in the head while he was already on the ground.

DaBaby and DaniLeigh have a daughter together -- born in July -- and while things haven't been rosy between them ... recently they seemed to lower the temp so they could co-parent.

However, things clearly aren't OK between DaBaby and Brandon, and after the fight, we're told BB stuck around -- shirtless with blood on his face. We're told he refused medical treatment, and DaBaby left before cops arrived.

It was back in November when DaBaby and Dani got in a blowout fight in North Carolina -- she was arrested on 2 counts of assault.

We got Brandon Bills out in L.A. shortly after that incident and he told us if he and DaBaby got in the ring, it'd be a guaranteed first-round knockout.

Dave Chappelle's raging at local politicians -- who he calls "clowns" -- in his Ohio hometown over a proposed housing development, and after threatening to nix his own biz there ... he's won a small victory.

The Yellow Springs Village Council voted this week to approve a 53-acre residential housing plan. That vote came after a Monday evening council meeting where the public was invited to comment and Dave came in with guns blazing.

He told the council, in no uncertain terms, he did NOT want them to move forward with the project, and he said he'd pull his own business venture -- a planned restaurant/comedy club called the Firehouse Eatery -- out of Yellow Springs.

Dave said he isn’t bluffing, and hurled some choice insults while he was at it.

So, although the council approved the development, it rejected a part of the plan that included affordable housing. There are reports Dave opposed that specific part of the development, but his rep Carla Sims tells TMZ ... "Dave Chappelle didn't kill affordable housing. Concerned residents and a responding Village Council 'killed' a half-baked plan which never actually offered affordable housing."

She flat out says Dave is not opposed to affordable housing, but he is against the "poorly vetted, cookie-cutter, sprawl-style development deal." She also claims the proposed residential development was only reserving 3 out of 143 lots for "future" affordable housing.

The real issue for Dave -- who frequently speaks out at village discussions -- is he, and many other locals, don't want their rural village to turn into a bustling suburb.

Two NBA superstars finally got their wish in one trade -- James Harden has been shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons.

The blockbuster deal is currently being finalized, according to Shams Charania ... and will reportedly include Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks heading to Brooklyn.

The trade officially ends Simmons' stand-off with the Sixers -- he hasn't played a minute of basketball this season ... saying he was not mentally prepared to compete.

More recently, Harden reportedly hated his time in BK ... and was hoping to get traded to a new franchise.

It's crushing for Sixers coach Doc Rivers, who told us back in the summer he wanted Simmons back this season.

The move rocks the Eastern Conference -- the Sixers are currently 5th in the standings with a 32-22 record ... and the Nets are sitting in 8th with a 29-25 record.

Well, this is shocking ... Betty White was beloved by so many people, but some of her 'Golden Girls' castmates are not among them.

Joel Thurm, the casting director for the hit show, opened up on "The Originals" podcast and revealed this ... "Literally Bea Arthur, who I cast in something else later on, just said, 'Oh, she's a f***ing c***," adding, "I heard it with my own ears."

He went on to say another castmate, Rue McClanahan also referred to Betty using the c-word.

As for why there was such tension on the set, Thurm gave a few examples. He says Estelle Getty began losing her memory and needed help remembering her lines ... "And she would write the lines on her hand." Thurm says, "Betty White would make fun of her in front of the live audience ... That may seem like a minor transgression, but it really does get to you ... I have no idea how Estelle Getty felt, but I know the other 2 did not like [Betty] at all."

There have been stories about Bea disliking Betty, but lots of folks in the media said it was jealousy on Bea's part -- because Betty snagged a Best Actress Emmy -- and because Betty joked with "The Golden Girls" audience between scenes, while Bea was focused on her lines.

Betty actually addressed the issue back in 2011, saying, "Bea had a reserve. She was not fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious."

The Super Bowl halftime show is being protected at all costs ... with organizers blaring rock music outside SoFi Stadium during rehearsals to keep the highly-anticipated performance under wraps.

Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Eminem have been perfecting their 12-minute set with the big game just days away ... and TMZ Sports has learned anyone within earshot isn't hearing any of it, thanks to a pretty clever plan.

We're told the stadium has been playing music like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bon Jovi over the speakers to cover up the actual tunes that will be performed on Sunday ... in hopes of keeping everything top secret.

Of course, there are several residential neighborhoods right outside SoFi ... and if it weren't for the decoy music, there's a great chance some secrets would start to leak.

One downside -- we're told some folks living close to the stadium aren't too pleased with hearing "Livin' On A Prayer" while tucking their kids into bed ... as the rehearsals have been going on late into the night.

Fans have been hoping for even the smallest of tidbits about the show ... but it sure seems tougher than ever to get anything before the show.

There is one thing we know about the performance -- MJB has been teasing how epic it is ... saying the whole set gave her goosebumps.

Rihanna wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on her pregnancy, so she flaunted her baby bump during a night out in Santa Monica.

Rihanna likes what she likes, which is why she hit up her favorite restaurant, Giorgio Baldi, and wow ... check out the outfit. This was clearly intentional ... as she opens her leopard-spotted jacket for all to see!

As you know... Rihanna's pregnant with her first child, with BF A$AP Rocky.

They have been out a lot recently, notably in NYC the day they revealed she's pregnant ... and the pose -- again -- is awesome.

The baby's sex is still a mystery ... well, maybe not to them. Rihanna's dad, Ronald Fenty, says he'd like a baby girl -- mostly because he's already got a couple grandsons.

Bob Saget did not die of a heart attack or a stroke -- which authorities believed was the case -- we've learned the cause of death was more shocking and tragic.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... after checking into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Orlando on January 9, he hit his head on something. We're told authorities don't know what object he hit -- possibly the headboard -- but there was an obvious bruise on the back of his head.

Authorities believe Bob did not know the severity of the injury and got under the covers and went to sleep. We're told he never woke up and died from a brain bleed.

We're also told the toxicology report has come back and there were no narcotics or alcohol in his system.

TMZ broke the story ... Bob had just finished a gig at a comedy club in Jacksonville, Florida and then drove to the Ritz in Orlando ... arriving there just after 2 AM. His body was discovered in the room by hotel security at 4 PM.

UPDATE:  We just got a statement from Bob's family ... "Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities' investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us. The authorities have determined that Bob passed away from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved."

Rings, Hobbits, wizards, elves and even that creepy Gollum dude ... all things 'Lord of the Rings" are hitting the open market, but you're probably gonna have to outbid Jeff Bezos to get it.

Here's the deal ... The Saul Zaentz Company currently owns rights to the universe and characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien -- or almost all of 'em, anyway -- and has since 1976, but it's now reportedly ready to sell for at least $2 BILLION!!!

This might sound a little confusing, because as you know Warner Bros. (through ownership of New Line Cinema) made Peter Jackson's enormously profitable 'Rings' trilogy from the early 2000s, and 3 'Hobbit' films in the 2010s.

More currently ... Amazon is getting ready to roll out its "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" series on Prime.

So, here's how that all shakes out -- SZC has been battling WB over its share of profits from the 6 films, and reportedly believes it's reclaimed the movie rights because WB hasn't developed any new projects since 2014's 'Battle of the Five Armies.' So, lawyers will have to settle that part of the deal.

Amazon bought its rights back in 2017 due to a loophole in SZC's ownership that allows for the sale of TV rights, as long as the series is longer than 8 episodes.

That means Amazon will be highly motivated to purchase everything else in the 'Rings' franchise to capitalize on what it hopes is a new blockbuster series on its streaming service.

Let's face it ... $2 billion is a drop in the bucket for the world's 2nd richest man.

A Frontier flight headed to Orlando had to make an emergency landing, after things got absolutely crazy in the air.

The flight had taken off Wednesday night from NYC ... at some point, a male passenger started flipping out. An eyewitness tells TMZ ... the man accused the lady behind him of sticking him with a needle and trying to steal his DNA. He then threatened to smack everybody on the plane ... as he kept spinning conspiracy theories.

As the man yelled threats, some of the other passengers jumped him and tried restraining him. That was clearly enough for the pilot, who headed for the nearest runway, landing at the airport in Raleigh, North Carolina.

John Mayer's live show came to a screeching halt Wednesday night after he noticed a fan went unconscious.

The singer was performing at the SiriusXM and Pandora "Small Stage Series" at the Hollywood Palladium ... Heidi Klum and actress Vanessa Hudgens were both front and center and the show was rolling along just great ... that is, until Mayer noticed a fan in the crowd was in clear distress. John abruptly stopped the show.

"Give me a thumbs up if they're alert," he asked the crowd. It was interesting ... the crowd cheered John for showing concern.

The house lights went on and Mayer told the crowd he was stepping off stage as a female was taken out in a wheelchair.

When he walked back on stage, he told the audience: "Anyone in the crowd who was worried, I'm told she waved goodbye, so she's OK. The system works. Thank you very much."

John is the latest performer to stop the show when an audience member had a medical emergency ... a sharp contrast to the Astroworld Festival, where the show when on for 40 minutes after people were dying in the crowd. Billie Eilish stopped her show briefly a few days back when a fan had trouble breathing, and then threw shade on Travis Scott.

LisaRaye McCoy has some stories to tell -- including why she's been to jail multiple times -- and she's not the least bit ashamed, because she says they paved the way to her success.

The actress got beyond real on the new podcast, "It's Tricky with Raquel Harper" ... acknowledging fans love her because she's so down to Earth, but she says there's a good reason for that.

LisaRaye told Raq she's been to jail for "a whole bunch of s**t," and she wasn't kidding. Watch the clip, 'cause she comes clean about pistol-whippings, getting into fights and even shooting people.

Now, LR's podcast sitdown wasn't all gangsta -- they also dug into the Rihanna x Ari Fletcher drama, Nicole Murphy, and her sister, Da Brat's, new baby.

Of course, LisaRaye had her Hollywood breakout role as Diamond in 1998's cult classic, "The Players Club." Lately, she's a host on the Fox Soul show, "Cocktails With Queens" ... and she stars in "A House Divided" on the ALLBLK streaming platform.

David Spade just got a lot richer -- not that he needs the loot -- because he flipped his longtime Beverly Hills mansion and cashed in at $19.5 mil ... TMZ has learned.

For context ... David plunked down $4 million for the 4 bedroom, 7 bathroom home back in 2001, and you know what's happened to the housing market since then. True, he made a bunch of renovations, but still ...

The house is located in the super-exclusive Trousdale Estates in Bev Hills. A ton of stars make Trousdale their home, including Elton John, Ringo Starr and Charlie Puth. Among those who once lived there but are no longer living ...  Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and President Nixon.

The house is 6,426-sq ft ...  with sweeping, jetliner views from downtown L.A. to the blue Pacific

There are a bunch of bells and whistles, including a tennis court and an entertainment lounge.

Outside of its impressive looks, the mansion has a cool pedigree ... Prince, Eddie Murphy and Warren Beatty all lived there ... no, not all at once.

D.S. listed the house last month with Stuart Vetterick of Hilton & Hyland for $20 million, so it sold for just a skosh under asking.

Matt James now owes a golf photographer far more than just a bunch of roses ... 'cause the former 'Bachelor' star nailed the dude with an errant tee shot at a Pro-Am event in Arizona on Wednesday, nearly hitting the guy in his family jewels!!!

The hilarious (and terrifying!) scene all went down at the Waste Management Phoenix Open Pro-Am ... when James stepped to the tee box barefoot at the world-famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale to try to win some money for charity.

Matt was gunning to be the closest to the pin on the par-3 ... but you can see in the video, he had trouble even getting the ball off the ground.

His first hack was terrible -- he got nothing but grass and dirt -- and then he shanked his second swing so badly, it went 15 yards to the right and drilled a camera guy right in the thigh.

James was super sorry for the miss ... he ran over immediately and gave the guy a hug and offered him the golf ball as an apology souvenir.

The man, meanwhile, said, thankfully, he was OK.

"We came within centimeters of causing some real damage," James said of the shot. "I'm going to try to find him. I'm going to sign this ball for him. And I'm going to take him out to dinner."

Added the photog, "He felt bad. I felt it ... Next year, I'm wearing a cup."

Might be necessary, 'cause James said he intends to come back in 2023 for redemption.

Kevin O’Leary is off the hook in a fraud lawsuit -- and his lawyers are saying he should never have been sued in the first place.

A judge just granted O'Leary's motion to toss the suit filed against him last year ... alleging he helped promote a massive scam that duped a bunch of people trying to start businesses.

20 entrepreneurs sued Kevin and others for allegedly encouraging them to use crowdfunding companies to kickstart their business ideas. The problem is they claim it was a total bunk, and they all ended up losing money.

Here’s the thing though ... Kev’s attorneys, Paul Sorrell and Andrew Brettler, tell us the reason the judge agreed to dismiss O'Leary from the case is because -- put simply -- the court didn't buy that O’Leary's general statements about crowdfunding were enough to hold him accountable when people pursued those paths.

In other words -- just because the crowdfunding plan didn't pan out, it's not Kevin's fault

In any case, all’s well that ends well for Mr. Wonderful ... who previously told us the suit was bogus, and that he’d defend himself in court.

Iowa born athlete Kurt Warner was thrust into the spotlight his very first year as a starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams as he led the offense on what was called "The Greatest Show On Turf" ... which culminated in their win over the Tennessee Titans (23-16) at Super Bowl XXXIV and even scored Warner the honor of being named Super Bowl MVP.

The Lombardi Trophy-winning offense was packed with high-profile platers including running Hall Of Famer Marshall Faulk and the clutch catching wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt.

Warner's success was so inspiring his story was made into a film in 2021 called 'American Underdog.'