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Tiger Woods took yet another big step this weekend toward competing in this week's Masters -- hitting the course on Sunday for hours ... and looking VERY pleased with his results.

The Masters posted footage of the golf superstar while he was out at Augusta -- showing Woods taking a bunch of swings and smiling big as he took yet another practice spin around the course.

Woods has still not officially committed to playing in the prestigious event -- a tournament he's won five times in his career -- but it's clear, things appear to be trending toward him returning this week.

In other videos of Tiger at the course on Sunday, he didn't seem to have any issues swinging or walking around on his surgically repaired leg.

Woods has a press conference set for Tuesday morning at Augusta -- one in which many believe he'll formally announce his comeback.

Tiger did release a statement Sunday prior to hitting the course for his practice work -- saying it will be "a game-time decision on whether I compete."

As we reported, Woods has only played in one event since he mangled his leg in a February 2021 car crash ... looking good at the PNC Championship with his son Charlie Woods.

The Grammys are on a roll -- but what you don't see on TV is exactly what you can see right here ... Hollywood's biggest artists and musicians hobnobbing behind the scenes.

The stars were out in force Sunday in Sin City, where the award show was being held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena ... and where A-listers flocked to attend the ceremony in person. Of course, once they were in the building -- everyone couldn't help but chit chat and mingle.

As you can see some of the famous faces on hand included Justin and Hailey Bieber, Lady Gaga, Chris Stapleton, Billie Eilish, Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Barker and Kourtney K, Carrie Underwood, Jack Harlow, Lil Nas X, BTS, Halsey and many more.

Everyone seems to be in a really good mood ... which is exactly how last Sunday's Academy Awards were looking -- that is, until things went south after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock.

Some folks have already taken digs at Will -- but so far, it appears to be smooth sailing. Of course, you gotta imagine just about all who are there want to avoid a similar fate and maintain a good vibe.

If alien life is out there in this great, big universe, we're doing our best to reach it with a new message -- and this time, it's got some algebra attached. Just in case they're big on math.

NASA is partnering with some of the country's top scientific minds in hopes of broadcasting a new radio message via a high-tech telescope -- very similar to what we did in 1974 from a telescope in Puerto Rico (then called the "Arecibo").

Not to get all math-y on ya, but that message to the stars only included binary code, plus some images of our Solar System and DNA sequences. This time, we're calling it the Beacon in the Galaxy message -- and we're kicking things up a notch by transmitting math equations.

There will be other graphical information communicating some basic principles and features of our world ... including cosmic landmarks that could help aliens find Earth in the Milky Way.

Sounds neat, of course, especially if some E.T.s actually pick up our signal and respond -- but this sort of reaching out actually spurred a warning from the late, great Stephen Hawking ... who once said we should refrain from chatting, and to do more listening instead.

The reason -- he said not all potential alien life might come in peace, and if they're able to receive what we send, they can presumably come down here and do major damage with way more advanced tech than we have.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shared a message with the Grammy crowd ... urging everyone in attendance and at home to continue to support his country in their battle with Russia.

Zelensky -- who spoke in English via a pre-taped segment -- intro'd John Legend, who performed "Free" with 3 Ukrainian entertainers. Zelensky took the time to remind everyone of the devastation ... listing the countries hit hardest by Russian forces.

He also pushed a message of freedom, what his people are fighting for, and asked that everyone continue to talk about the devastation.

His strongest message, perhaps, "Support us in any way you can. Any. But not silence. And then peace will come."

Johnny Knoxville just pulled off the unthinkable -- the "Jackass" star defeated WWE superstar Sami Zayn in their "anything goes match" at WrestleMania 38 ... with shocking help from his friend Wee Man.

The famous stunt performer just wrestled in his first WWE match -- against bitter rival Sami -- and not only did he hold his own, but he walked away with the W, too.

The former intercontinental champ, Zayn, dominated Johnny for most of the match -- but the tables turned when Knoxville got some much needed help from Chris Pontius AKA "Party Boy" and fan-favorite Wee Man.

Knoxville, who's known for being the KING of pranks, had some special props and traps set up underneath the ring just for Sami.

One of the highlights of the match came when Chris emerged out of nowhere -- Sami looked like he had seen a ghost -- stripped down to his speedos ... and started dancing on Zayn in true party boy fashion.

Zayn disposed of Party Boy -- but Wee Man was there to save the day. The feisty stuntman blindsided Sami when he appeared from underneath the ring ... unleashing a flurry of punches on the pro wrestler.

Knox and Wee Man would join forces back in the ring, where it became a 2-on-1 handicap match (unofficially) ... and Wee Man stole the show when he body slammed Zayn in the middle of the ring at AT&T Stadium.

The crowd absolutely ate it up ... going wild at the impressive feat of strength from the stuntman -- giving Knoxville the upper hand for the first time in the match.

Johnny had one more trick up his sleeve before he put Sami out of his misery. The comedic genius unveiled a life-size mouse trap, put Sami on it, then actually trapped Zayn on it ... as he pinned him 1,2,3.

There's a quizzical piece of Beatles memorabilia hitting the market ... and these handwritten lyrics from Paul McCartney are worth way more than silver.

The working lyric sheet for the Beatles' 1969 hit, "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," is going up for sale ... and the folks at Moments in Time are putting the price tag at a whopping $450,000.

Paul wrote the first page of lyrics on a sheet of paper with letterhead for Apple Corps Limited, the multimedia corporation Beatles members founded way back in 1968 in London.

There are three pages total, and the other two were written by Mal Evans ... the band's former road manager and personal assistant.

The "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" lyrics are a hell of a treasure ... they were last put on the open market back in 2006, selling for $192,000. Now, a private collector is looking to unload them for more than double the price.

The track is Paul's first song on the Beatles' famous "Abbey Road" album ... Paul wrote the lyrics after the band's trip to India in 1968, and he initially wanted to record it for the 'White Album.'

Ja Morant just had one of the best jewelry shopping sprees ever -- he copped a bunch of expensive diamonds ... and then shot tequila with Gunna!!!

The fun time all went down at the Icebox jewelry store in Atlanta last week ... when the NBA star came to the famous showroom to get some of his old pieces cleaned up and to shop for more.

TMZ Sports has learned ... as the 22-year-old was browsing items -- they brought out Don Julio 1942, and everyone had a shot.

Later, "Drip Too Hard" rapper Gunna entered the shop -- and he, too, got in on the drinking!

The interaction between the guys was awesome -- they chatted it up about jewelry and admired some of the pieces in the store.

Eventually, we're told Morant copped several items -- a 14MM Miami Cuban bracelet, three other diamond bracelets and two diamond rings.

He also got a leather Icebox travel case to carry all his new bling ... and we're told his overall shopping spree bill came out to over $55K!

Kodak Black is strapped for time these days -- booking gigs here, there and everywhere -- but at least he's got a sweet new watch for his travels ... and it's worth its weight in gold.

The rapper recently had a ridiculously pricey timepiece delivered to him in Miami -- a Richard Mille RM 030, completely iced-out with diamonds and valued at about $300k!!!

As you'd expect at that price ... the watch is a custom design courtesy of celeb jeweler Gavriel from NYC Luxury, and he's sure proud of a job well done. He posed with Kodak, and the watch, when he dropped it off.

Kodak liked it too ... the dude was rocking it all weekend while at the Ultra Music Festival -- and was even happy to show it off to his buddies.

The rapper's definitely getting back into the swing of things since getting released from prison last year -- thanks to then-Prez Donald Trump -- when he had his sentence commuted. As we've reported, he's kept fairly busy in a variety of ways.

Not only has he been charitable, but he's also getting hired for jobs around the globe. And, unfortunately, he seems to have found some trouble in the year-plus since walking out a free man ... sometimes through no fault of his own (that wild shooting comes to mind).

Before this cool stoop girl stepped into becoming a SAG award-winning actress and a talented Latina singer, she was just another city-born gal casually running around New York City.

This cute kid was inspired to make it onto the big screen ever since she watched Whitney Houston in "The Bodyguard" at just 7 years old. And, although she started out as a model and singer, she's best known for her role in a Netflix prison series.

You can find her posting lots of bikini shots on her Insta, and she recently had twin babies.

The Grammys are underway and their MC, Trevor Noah, was on a roll in avoiding just about every controversy in the biz in his opening remarks ... except Will Smith, of course.

The ceremony kicked off Sunday in Vegas with a performance by Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak -- after which, things went indoors at the MGM Grand Garden Arena ... where TN popped up again and start delving into his monologue seamlessly.

He intro'd all the big names who were in the building -- going through a list that included the likes of Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and more -- and said the night was going to be a smooth ride where they'd be singing, dancing and giving out awards.

Then came the dig ... "We're gonna be keeping people's names out of our mouths." That, he said, would help keep the night chill ... and the audience laughed it up as a result.

No name-dropping here, but it's obvious what Trevor was referring to ... that is, Will telling Chris Rock to keep Jada Pinkett's name out of his mouth during last weekend's Oscars ceremony -- this after smacking him across the face on stage, live on television.

It's interesting that Trevor went there -- albeit, lightly and not nearly as brutal as he could've been -- because the dude was seen embracing Will at an afterparty last week ... following a long chat they shared.

Seems like he struck a good balance between addressing it and sparing Will further humiliation. Dude's been getting both criticized and ridiculed in the wake of the hit.

Will Smith is still the talk of the town at the Grammys, including for LeVar Burton -- trotting out a comedian presenter ... who also had the moment as top of mind, literally.

The wacky moment went down Sunday ahead of the official broadcast, where they were still presenting the off-air awards -- such as Best Comedy Album. It was at that point in the pre-ceremony that Burton was on stage and invoked the Chris Rock slap ... not too subtly.

He said that he wanted to warn the audience that their next presenter was a comedian (Nate Bargatze) ... and that everyone should refrain from coming up and smacking him.

The audience was howling ... but not as much as when Bargatze himself actually walked out -- because he was decked out in a HUGE helmet, obviously in reference to the hit from last week. Yeah, they really leaned into the gag ... and NB had some jokes to go along with it.

The guy explained that he heard comics had to wear headgear like this from now on at award shows, especially during their "joke parts." Clearly, he's team Chris on this.

Considering the official show hasn't even started yet ... we might be in for a lot of Smith references. Like we said, it's still very much the topic of the day -- even after a full 6 days -- and for good reason too.

LeBron James might soon pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA's all-time scorer, but the dude still has a long way to go to be truly great as a role model ... so say KAJ.

The Lakers legend shared his pointed criticism at LBJ Sunday amid his presentation of a new trophy bearing his name ... which he bestowed upon Carmelo Anthony for his social justice work during the 2021-22 season.

It seems that after the ceremony, Kareem stuck around and talked to reporters ... who asked him how he felt about the idea of LeBron overtaking him as the points leader, which is likely to happen sometime next season -- barring any prolonged sitting out on LeBron's part.

Kareem said he had no problem with Bron taking the mantle, but where he (still) has issues is with LeBron's legacy as a whole -- including his off-the-court comments/antics/stances ... some of which Kareem said were "beneath him" in the grand scheme of things.

While he praised LeBron for some philanthropy work he's done -- including sending TONS of kids to college on his dime -- Kareem said there are still some things the King should be embarrassed about.

He's also quoted as saying this ... "Some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see." Kareem adds, "Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time."

Now, as for what exactly Kareem may be referring to -- it's no secret if you've been following along. Dude's been openly critical about LeBron's apparent vaccine hesitancy, not to mention his waffling on where he stands with COVID in general, a la that Spider-Man meme.

At the time, Kareem wrote an essay ... saying LeBron's joke was a blow to his legacy, asking he do better -- especially as a leader in the Black community. He's also opined about LeBron celebrating on the court (particularly in dancing), saying that's not G.O.A.T.-worthy.

It's Grammys Day, and while lots of musicians and artists are getting ready for the big show -- one guy seems more than willing to change the conversation on Twitter ... The Weeknd.

Indeed ... Abel has been VERY active on the bird app Sunday, responding to fans and teasing new video treatments for songs of his on his new album, "Dawn FM," including stills from what he shot for "Out of Time" ... which he says will drop Tuesday.

Now, Weeknd's been chirping up throughout the past few days -- much to his fans' amusement and delight, directly responding to their tweets with humor/wit -- but just hours before showtime ... it seems the dude is extra active, and even has himself trending.

No harm, no foul -- Abe's obviously fired up about his new projects, but the timing of his more-than-usual tweet storm is somewhat curious ... considering his beef with the Recording Academy.

You'll recall ... he was pretty pissed about getting snubbed last year -- so much so that he vowed to never submit again, and so far ... he's stuck to his promise. "Dawn FM" isn't nominated as a result of Abel not putting it up for consideration ... even though it's by far one of the most popular records out this year. It's hit a billion streams on Spotify, and he remains a presence on the charts.

Despite Weeknd's absence from the show -- it would appear the spotlight is fully on him, at least for now ... and something tells us that's not by accident. He's very social media savvy.

It remains to be seen if TW will attend/submit for other music award shows later this year ... much like he did in 2021, where he cleaned up and stuck it to the Academy's voting body.

If he does ... we wouldn't be surprised if 'Dawn' kills it. Fact is -- it's a very good album, it's performing well and it probably sounds great in a live setting. Unfortunately, the Grammys will never get to experience that for themselves ... maybe even forever!

A hot air balloon ride turned into an utter nightmare and damn near a fatal experience for a group of folks who went down from the sky ... and held on for dear life.

Check out this insane video of a young man, Nicholas McCall, is up in a balloon with others out in Perris, CA, where everything seems to be swell from within their basket. He pans around and you can see they're above some a residential area with fields/open land nearby.

Sadly, things take a turn for the worse. His caption reads, "My hot air balloon experience was going great until the winds picked up." The clip then cuts to a freaky scene.

It shows the basket hurtling down toward the ground at a high rate of speed, at which point it makes contact and starts to be dragged across the earth -- with what sounds to be the guide screaming at everyone to hang on and to remain inside at all costs.

You can hear some whimpers from the other passengers, and amazingly ... this dude was able to continue recording, even capturing some different angles of the crash.

Channing Crowder thinks there's no way Ciara would leave a guy like Future to get with Russell Wilson -- at least not without some money motives behind the move ... yikes.

The ex-linebacker made the inflammatory comments on a recent episode of his podcast "The Pivot," where they were talking about the Broncos QB and his wife ... whom Crowder apparently feels is in the wrong relationship, invoking her ex of several years now.

We'll let CC speak for himself here, because he says a lot ... and much of it is pretty mean. He calls Russ a "square" and speculates Ciara is only with him for cash.

He also theorizes there's just no way Ciara would ditch someone like Future and get with Russ -- who's seen as his polar opposite -- unless there was something deeper fueling her ... because he thinks all women have a type, and believes Ciara's shown her cards.

On Sunday, Crowder doubled down on his "goofball" jabs -- posting an old photo of Russ at the NFL draft in 2012 next to his then-GF Ashton Meem, whom he mocked in the pod.

Of course, he got strong pushback from his fellow podcasters ... who tell him that women want peace, and that Ciara and Russ are perfectly happy together -- as they've been married since 2016 and have kids together.

Sooo, it seems the proof is in the pudding here ... namely, the fact they've stayed together this long proves Crowder's train of thought isn't actually supported by reality. Russ and Ciara have been couple goals for a very long time now -- and yet, this narrative persists.

Russ, meanwhile, appears to have responded to all the renewed chatter ... albeit cryptically.

He tweeted Sunday, "'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.' Galatians 5:22-23 NIV."

Mama June is about to double her number of grandkids and Honey Boo Boo is doubling her nieces and nephews ... because Lauryn "Pumpkin" Shannon is about to become a mother to twins.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Pumpkin is pregnant, and she's expecting a girl and a boy. We're told the due date is around June 18 ... so these would be a couple of Geminis, for those who care and/or believe.

Pumpkin and her husband, Joshua Efird, already have two kids at home ... 4-year-old daughter Ella Grace and baby boy Bentley Jameson, who has yet to celebrate his first birthday ... so the parents won't be getting much sleep any time soon.

Remember ... Pumpkin and Josh got hitched back in 2018 in Sin City ... so they're averaging one kid a year.

Pumpkin's about to have 4 kids and she's only 22. Elon Musk doesn't have to worry about a declining birth rate with this reality TV family.

We reached out to a rep for Pumpkin ... so far, no word back.