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Alex Collins, a running back who played five seasons in the National Football League, is dead.

The Baltimore Ravens, one of Alex's former NFL teams, announced his death Monday ... it's unclear when he died, ditto for the cause of death.

Alex had his two best NFL seasons with the Ravens in 2017 and 2018, and the team is remembering him "for the light and love he brought to so many people in his life."

The Ravens say Alex was "quick to greet everyone with a smile, a genuinely kind person who carried a special joy and passion wherever he went."

The Seattle Seahawks, the team that selected Alex in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Arkansas, says the franchise is "absolutely heartbroken" by his death.

Alex had two stints with the Seahawks ... he played with Seattle as a rookie in 2016 and then returned to the club for the 2020 and 2021 NFL seasons.

Overall, Alex played in 50 NFL games ... racking up 1,997 rushing yards, 467 receiving yards and 19 total touchdowns.

Alex was out of pro football altogether in 2022 before signing this year with the Memphis Showboats of the United States Football League, ending the season on injured reserve.

He was 28.

Ezekiel Elliott's got a new home and a new number ... the former Dallas Cowboys star said Monday he's signing with New England -- and he'll wear No. 15 when he gets there!!

Elliott announced the move on his X page just minutes ago ... writing, "One Five, all the way live ! @Patriots."

Adam Schefter reports Zeke's getting a 1-year deal with his new team that could be worth up to $6 million.

The tailback had been one of the best runners in the league after Dallas took him with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft -- leading the NFL in rushing yards twice and earning three Pro Bowl selections.

His production, though, waned over the past couple years ... and following Tony Pollard's emergence as a lead back in the 2022 season -- the Cowboys parted ways with Elliott this past offseason.

But the 28-year-old seems very open to the new start -- he even revealed Monday he's going back to the short hairdo he rocked during his rookie year in Dallas for the occasion.

Rodion Amirov -- the Toronto Maple Leafs 2020 first-round draft pick --- died Monday after courageously battling a brain tumor, his agent announced.

He was just 21 years old.

"It is we great sadness that we announce the passing of Rodion Amirov. Two years ago, Rodion was diagnosed with a brain tumour. From the moment he received the news, he refused to speak in the negative, determined to enjoy every day, facing it with the same positive attitude he showed during his hockey career," agent Daniel Milstein wrote.

Amirov was diagnosed with the tumor in February 2022 after undergoing treatment for an unrelated injury in Russia. Rodion, a left winger, spent his entire career with the Maple Leafs on loan in his native Russia ... before halting his career permanently.

Toronto signed Rodion to a three-year entry-level contract after he was selected 15th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan also released a statement addressing the terrible news.

"The entire Maple Leafs organization is devastated by this tragic loss. Over the duration of his courageous battle, Rodion’s positivity inspired everyone around him, and he made lasting impressions with our team and fans in his brief visits to Toronto."

Shanahan continued ... "It’s incredibly sad to see a young man with so much promise taken from us so soon. We offer our deepest condolences to Rodion’s family and friends as we mourn this loss together.”

Playing on loan in the Kontinental Hockey League for Salavat Yulaev Ufa -- his hometown club -- Rodion scored one goal during the 2021-2022 season and 10 across his six-year professional career.

Rodion also played for Russia internationally and won a silver medal at the World U18 Championships.

"We will always remember his courage, his desire, his will, his smile, all of the great things about him."

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of waiting for Elon Musk to get ready to rumble, so he's moving on -- so says the Facebook founder himself.

The techie billionaire announced Sunday he was throwing in the towel on the planning process, saying it was clear to him that EM wasn't serious about duking it out ... evidenced, at least in Mark's eyes, in all the excuses Elon has offered to postpone this thing.

MZ writes, "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead."

The backyard thing is new news -- and pretty eyebrow-raising if true. Mark adds, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

Mark has kinda been teasing this move for a while now ... consistently refuting Elon's characterization of things, and alleging that the Twitter honcho was stonewalling on purpose.

In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Mark said he wasn't holding his breath for Elon -- and despite EM trying to hype up the fight just this past week (by mentioning the prospect of Italy as a venue), it sounds like Mark's throwing cold water on the whole thing ... calling BS.

It was a cool would-be event while it lasted, we suppose ... and time will tell if Mark pulling the plug like this will force Elon to actually commit -- but if he doesn't, it might be over.

Mark Zuckerberg is refuting Elon Musk's Friday morning claims ... saying no details of their potential fight have been finalized at all -- adding that he still wants Dana White involved in the process.

The Meta boss unloaded his side of the story on Threads on Friday afternoon -- just a couple hours after Musk told his 156 million X followers that a bunch of the particulars of the future billionaire brawl were now set in stone.

In one of his tweets ... Musk said the tilt will go down at "an epic location" in Italy. In another, he said all of the action will be live-streamed on X and Meta.

He also said White and the UFC are now out of the planning process, insisting, "The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations."

Zuckerberg, though, made it clear he hasn't agreed to any of those stipulations just yet ... writing in posts on his social media app, "please assume anything [Musk] says has not been agreed on."

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," he added. "When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

Zuck then said he's still training like a mad man for the potential bout -- showing off a photo of him working in his backyard Octagon.

The two businessmen initially began the process of setting up a fight way back in June ... when Musk floated the idea of a cage match following the revelation Zuck's Threads was in the works.

William Friedkin, the famed filmmaker who directed "The Exorcist," has died.

The news was confirmed Monday by his wife, Sherry Lansing, who says he passed in L.A. -- but the exact details of his death have yet to be revealed. It's a big hit to the film community -- as Friedkin was an influential force behind some of the 20th century's most iconic movies.

While he might best be remembered for his work on the 1973 horror flick -- which, by all accounts, changed the genre forever -- WF had several other notable credits to his name ... including the Oscar-winning "French Connection," which he also directed.

Other films he helmed included ... "The Brink's Job," "Sorcerer," "Cruising," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Rampage," "Deal of the Century," "The Guardian," "Blue Chips," "12 Angry Men," "Rules of Engagement," "The Hunted," "Killer Joe" and lots of others.

He also directed a handful of episodes for memorable TV shows ... like "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone," "Rebel Highway," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "CSI" and more.

Friedkin was a diverse director ... dabbling in all types of flicks, from horror to drama, and even comedy. While some of his work is more well-known than others, he was respected in all regards -- and certainly carved out his own corner in pop culture.

The last time we saw him, he was out here in L.A. signing autographs and talking "Get Out."

Friedkin was 87.

RIP

Tragic news out of Liberty University ... freshman offensive lineman Tajh Boyd died over the weekend, the school announced. He was only 19.

"We thank God for bringing Tajh into our Liberty Athletics community and we will always remember him as a Flame. Tajh will be missed dearly," Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw and head coach Jamey Chadwell wrote in a statement.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Tajh's family, his teammates and friends, our football coaching staff, as well as our entire athletics department and the greater Liberty University community."

6'4", 300 lb. "Big Baby" was a three-star recruit at Oscar F. Smith High School in Virginia -- a school he helped lead to two state championships. Tajh chose Liberty over the likes of Duke, Maryland, and Virginia Tech.

Boyd joined the team in January ... and was gearing up for the start of Liberty's season the first week of September against Bowling Green.

Away from the football field, Tajh was an Interdisciplinary Studies major at Liberty and hoped to become a computer science engineer.

As you'd expect, his teammates were crushed by the news.

Fellow offensive lineman X'zauvea Gadlin Tweeted ... “It’s gone be a while before this feels real. But imma see you again. Rest easy Lil Brother.”

Boyd is survived by his mother Tanzania, and his father Dawntay.

Noah Gragson's getting taken out of the driver's seat after liking a meme that mocked George Floyd -- and he's owning up to the fact that he screwed the pooch.

The race car driver -- who competes professionally for NASAR's Cup Series -- was suspended indefinitely Saturday by his stock car team, Legacy Motor Club, which announced he was being benched just a day before the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway ... in which Gragson was supposed to participate.

That ain't happening now -- Josh Berry is now taking his place. LMC denounced Gragson's social media activity by saying his actions "do not represent the values of our team."

As for Gragson himself, he's apologized ... writing, "I am disappointed in myself for my lack of attention and actions on social media. I understand the severity of this situation. I love and appreciate everyone. I try to treat everyone equally no matter who they are. I messed up plain and simple."

It's unclear when NG hit the like button for this Instagram meme, but it was pretty offensive. The image shows the live-action version of Sebastian the crab from 'The Little Mermaid,' with Floyd's face superimposed. A caption reads, "Under Da Knee, Under Da Knee."

Cardi B is in the clear after throwing a microphone at a fan ... because the criminal battery investigation has been dropped.

Cardi's lawyers, Drew Findling, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ, "This afternoon we were notified by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept., that as a result of their investigation, there will be NO charges against Cardi. On behalf of Cardi, we appreciate the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept's diligent and prompt resolution of this matter."

As you know, Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub last Saturday when she asked the crowd to splash water on her to cool her down in the burning Vegas heat ... but when someone threw a cup with an unknown liquid and ice, she hurled the mic at the person. It ricocheted and hit another person, who filed a police report.

Cardi was then listed as a battery suspect but the case has gone nowhere. It was never ever referred to the D.A. The cops concluded Cardi did not commit a criminal offense.

We learned an audio production company that owns the mic decided to auction off the piece, with the money going to charities like the Wounded Warrior Project and Friendship Circle Las Vegas, which helps teens and young adults with special needs. FYI, the bids have hit $100,000.

Former President Donald Trump just pulled up for his latest indictment ... in which prosecutors say he tried to overthrow the 2020 election, leading to the January 6 riots.

Trump sat in the back of a black SUV Thursday in D.C. as it rolled up to the courthouse. It's tough to see him because of the vehicle's tint ... but he appeared to give a wave. BTW -- you'll be able to see him better if you hold your screen at a distance.

As we reported, DT's facing 4 new counts -- conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights (to vote).

Special Counsel Jack Smith spoke about Trump's latest indictment when it was unsealed on Tuesday ... saying Trump's involvement in the January 6 riots is a big part of their case. He was sounding pretty certain the feds have built a solid case against the former Prez.

You may recall, while President Trump was impeached for inciting the riots, he was acquitted when his case reached the Senate floor.

Trump took to Truth Social Tuesday -- before his new indictment went public -- to get ahead of the noise ... calling Smith "Deranged," saying the indictment is BS, and calling himself "your favorite President" in true Trump fashion.

Trump's already facing 2 other criminal cases ... one in NY state court about his alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before he was elected, and another in federal court in Florida about his alleged efforts to conceal classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House.

His triple indictment doesn't seem to be slowing down his campaign for the 2024 election ... and we learned Trump could lose in court -- even get locked up in prison -- and still serve if elected. Imagine that.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, are waving the white flag -- sans maple leaf -- putting an end to 18 years of marriage.

The now estranged first couple posted joint statements Wednesday, saying, "After many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate."

They add, "We remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build."

According to a statement from Justin's office, given to CBC, they've already "signed a legal separation agreement." His office added the family is going on vacation starting next week, and despite the split, they will still all be together on the trip.

Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers is being accused of betting on multiple school sporting events -- including a 2021 football game -- and now, his NCAA eligibility is in jeopardy.

The allegations are laid out in a criminal complaint obtained by the Des Moines Register ... which claims a DraftKings account controlled by Dekkers executed more than 350 wagers totaling "over $2,799."

26 of those wagers, according to the complaint, were related to Iowa State sporting events ... and one was the Cyclones' home matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2021, in which Dekkers' team won 24-21.

Dekkers -- who started under center for the Cyclones in 2022 -- did not play in the game ... as he was the backup at the time.

The outlet reports the Story County Attorney's Office is charging Dekkers with tampering with records related to the Iowa division of criminal investigation's probe into sports gambling.

It's a major issue for Dekkers -- the NCAA has strict rules against players betting on their own team and school ... and it could result in a permanent ban.

Dekkers threw for more than 3,000 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season ... with the Cyclones going 1-8.

Donald Trump has another criminal case on his hands -- another grand jury has indicted him, this time for attempting to undermine the 2020 election with his actions on, before and after January 6, 2021.

The ex-President's been hit with 4 new counts -- conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct and official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights (to vote).

Trump took to Truth Social to beat the feds to the punch, announcing he would be indicted before the feds could drop the bombshell. Trump wrote, "I hear that Deranged (Special Counsel) Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M."

He adds, "Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial Misconduct!"

Remember, Trump has two other criminal cases that are currently pending -- one pertains to his alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, and another is tied to his classified documents scandal post-presidency down in Florida.

In both instances, Trump has pleaded not guilty. Ya gotta assume, he'll do the same here.

Trump was impeached over his role in the Jan. 6 riot -- but was ultimately acquitted in Congress when the proceedings reached the Senate. He very memorably encouraged protesters that day to head on over to the Capitol, and was slow to tell them to stand down.

Interestingly, Trump's been full steam ahead on the campaign regardless of his legal woes -- he continues to hold rallies, including one this past weekend, as the 2024 election nears.

Trump has been summoned to appear in federal court Thursday in D.C. to face the new charges.

Suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann is making his first appearance in a New York court … this after he was accused of killing 3 sex workers and is the prime suspect in a fourth slaying.

The hulking Heuermann was in handcuffs as he was led by uniformed officers Tuesday into the Suffolk County courtroom to face a judge on 6 murder charges, three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree murder, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Heuermann remained mostly stone-faced as he entered the courtroom.

As we reported, Heuermann was arrested in July and indicted on charges he murdered three prostitutes -- Melissa Barthelemy in 2009 and Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello in 2010. He was also linked to the 2007 killing of a fourth woman, Maureen Brainard-Barne, but he hasn't been charged yet in that case.

Prosecutors say Heuermann stuffed their bodies into burlap sacks and dumped them near Gilgo Beach on Long Island.

For over a decade, the murders went unsolved, but then investigators caught a break in 2022 when they followed up on a lead from years ago, tying Heuermann to a pickup truck allegedly involved in the Costello homicide.

Investigators put Heuermann and his family under surveillance at their Massapequa Park home, rounding up discarded trash for DNA testing. Detectives got a match for Heuermann off a DNA sample found on a pizza crust in a Manhattan trash can. Testing also revealed Heuermann's hair follicle was discovered inside a burlap sack containing one of the victims.

Jennifer Hudson is sending some love Common's way ... saying he's quite the looker and, at least, strongly hinting all the speculation about them being an item is true.

We got Jennifer leaving Il Pastaio in Bev Hills Monday, and when we let her know the 2 of them make a damn cute couple, she didn't deny the love connection.

Here's the thing ... sources tell TMZ they've been together for months, but when we ask her to confirm, she's mostly mum about their relationship -- but check out the glowing compliment she gives the guy.

As we reported, Jennifer and Common first sparked dating rumors in February when they went to Nobu in Malibu together ... and they were spotted hanging out here and there in the months before.

We also got pics of them taking a stroll in a Chicago suburb in May -- total relationship vibes.

You'll recall, Common was dating Tiffany Haddish before Jennifer, but they split in 2021. While Common called the breakup "a mutual thing," Tiffany says that's BS -- saying he was drifting away before it ended.

Angus Cloud -- famous from "Euphoria" -- has died at his family's home in Oakland ... TMZ has learned.

The actor's family tells us ... "It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways."

They continue, "Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend. Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence."

And finally, AC's family says this ... "We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss."

The family isn't saying anything yet about the exact nature of his death, they seem to be suggesting it had something to do with his struggle to cope with his father's passing.

Angus was a rising star in Hollywood, and will perhaps best be remembered for his breakout role in the hit HBO series -- from 2019 to 2022 he starred as Fezco, the sometimes drug dealer/guardian angel for Zendaya's character, Rue Bennett.

His other credits include roles in movies like "The Line," "North Hollywood" ... to mention appearances and cameos in music videos from artists like Becky G, Karol G and Juice WRLD. He's got 2 projects that are due to come out.

The last time we talked to Angus was in March 2022, when he was staunchly defending his show against accusations that it glorified drug use. In his view, he felt like "Euphoria" only showed the brutal reality that teens and young adults are dealing with in modern-day America.

Angus was just 25.

RIP

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