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Tim Walz has power with people from his past ... 'cause he's changed the mind of a former player he mentored decades ago when he was a Minnesota high school athletics coach.

Walz -- the current Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris' VP choice -- was the football coach at Mankato West High School in Mankato, MN, for several seasons in the '90s -- and he took a student named Dan Clement under his wing.

TMZ caught up with Dan on Wednesday and asked about his experiences with Walz as a teenager. Dan told us Walz had such an impact on his life that he went from an undecided vote to the Harris/Walz Democratic ticket in the upcoming presidential election.

Hulk Hogan can't be happy Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are doing a movie on what we're told is the "darkest period of his life," and if Ben and Matt cross the line, he's ready, willing and able to take legal action ... TMZ has learned.

B&M are producing a flick on the lawsuit the WWE legend filed and won against Gawker, after the site posted a sex tape video of Hogan and the wife of a friend. A racial epithet was captured on the vid. Hulk sued Gawker for invasion of privacy and in 2016 won a whopping $140 million verdict ... which eventually tanked Gawker.

Sources connected to Hulk tell TMZ he has no involvement whatsoever in the film project and is currently "indifferent" about it. HOWEVER, if the movie treads into territory that a jury already found was protected by his right to privacy, Hulk will not hesitate to pursue legal options ... which he's clearly done before.

Former NFL defensive lineman Brandon Mebane -- who helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII -- says he got screwed over in a deal to buy a Los Angeles mansion ... and now, he's suing to try to rectify things.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the 39-year-old ex-nose tackle filed the lawsuit in L.A. County this week -- some five years after he purchased a property in Encino for $4.85 million.

Mebane says as part of the agreement he made to snag the home from the builders -- which included Roi Edery and Ofir Grushkovski -- they would handle all of the repairs he found following inspection.

Kanye West's former chief of staff is taking Ye's dentist to task, claiming the doctor has been supplying Ye with nitrous oxide for recreational use ... but the dentist says the chief made up the allegations for attention.

Milo Yiannopoulos -- Ye's chief of staff for two years before departing the company earlier this year -- submitted an affidavit to the California Dental Board claiming Ye's dentist, Thomas P. Connelly, provided Kanye with nitrous oxide for recreational use.

Yiannopoulos claims Connelly provided the gas for cash ... taking in upwards of $50K every month, even when the gas led to distressing signs from Ye -- including addiction to the substance.

Kamala Harris has been drawing major musical acts to her campaign events ... and now she can add one more to the list -- DJ D-Nice.

The Harris for President Campaign tells TMZ ... DJ D-Nice will perform at Harris' rally this Saturday in Vegas. We're told both the VP and her Democratic running mate, Governor Tim Walz, will take the stage.

D-Nice will be serving up tunes and hyping the crowd during the event. There aren't many people better on the 1s and 2s ... you'll recall, D-Nice's "Club Quarantine" DJ sets on Instagram Live became a massive hit during the pandemic, sometimes drawing more than 100K people at a time.

Tim Walz's experience as a high school football coach and geography teacher is going to translate well to the Kamala Harris campaign ... so says one of his former students and players.

Nate Hood, who played football for Coach Walz and took one of his classes at Mankato West High School in southern Minnesota, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us how the Minnesota Governor's background will serve him well moving forward.

The way Nate remembers it ... Walz was a master motivator who knew how to bring out the best in kids -- in the classroom and on the playing field.

Blake Lively didn't have to break the bank for her Britney Spears tribute ... because TMZ found out how much she paid for a Versace dress the singer famously wore back in the day.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Blake spent a little more than $10,000 for Britney's iconic outfit from the 2002 Versace fashion show.

We're told Blake purchased the dress through Tab Vintage, a shop in Los Angeles specializing in vintage clothing. The store posted the dress on social media, but didn't include the price -- and when Blake inquired about the cost, she was surprised ... and just had to have the garment.

Brad Pitt has been "extremely concerned" for his estranged son Pax after the bike accident that nearly killed the 20-year-old, and he's been getting a steady flow of information about his recovery ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Brad tell TMZ ... he was shocked and emotional after learning about the accident. TMZ broke the story ... Pax was riding his e-bike without a helmet along an L.A. street on July 29, when he plowed into the back of a car idling at a red light.

Pax was unconscious ... it was so bad eyewitnesses thought he had died. Pax suffered a serious head injury with brain bleed, as well as a hip injury. Paramedics rushed Pax to an ICU unit, and he stayed in the ICU for a week before being released. He's now on the mend.

Miranda Kerr has bid adieu to her stunning Malibu bachelorette pad -- you know, the one she snapped up right after her split from Orlando Bloom a decade ago.

The place sold for $4,115,000 Tuesday ... a bit less than the $4.5M it was listed for in February. But hey, the supermodel still came out ahead, having bought it for almost $2.2M. Not a bad flip!

Of course, Miranda's asking price took into account all the custom upgrades she put into the place. Plus, it’s got a touch of Hollywood history -- James Whitmore, the acclaimed actor from "The Shawshank Redemption," owned it until his death in 2009.

Shakira was out on the town with a mystery man in Miami ... and clearly, the pics don't lie, 'cause she was seen having a good ol' time at dinner.

The Colombian singer was chillin' at Lido Bayside at The Standard Spa ... with the venue’s waterfront setting providing a picture-perfect backdrop for a date night. But for now, it’s still a mystery whether this handsome companion is a new romance or just a good pal.

All in all, it was great to see Shakira soaking up the low-key vibes with her new company ... especially since she revealed in a recent interview she wasn’t really focused on dating right now 'cause she’s swamped with other stuff.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann are desperate to sell their mansion ... 'cause they slashed the price again -- taking another quarter-million-dollar chunk off recently.

The embattled couple's Georgia home is still stuck on Zillow ... and, they took $250K off the price Wednesday -- two months after slicking $300K off asking. The house is now listed for $3.95 million.

We've followed the house price closely ... they lopped $500K off the price in December 2023, and then a cool mil in January -- so, the market for the impressive abode just ain't there. All told, they've dropped their asking price by more than $2 million since the first listing.

Belal Muhammad already has an idea who he may fight in his first bout as defending UFC champion ... telling TMZ Sports it could be all-time welterweight great, Kamaru Usman, or up-and-comer, Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Muhammad joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... where the guys talked about everything from what it felt like to finally achieve his dream, to who is on his shortlist for his first fight as the division's king.

"It's been epic," Belal said ... "for me to go down to enemy territory, his home soil in front of his people, that were booing me the whole week, to go out there and dominate them the way I dominated them, it felt so good!"

Polly Pocket's always been tiny but mighty ... but now her '90s-era pad is blowing up to life-sized proportions -- and yep, you totally have the opportunity to live large in a small world!

Airbnb is letting fans crash in Polly’s iconic compact in the aptly named Littleton, Massachusetts ... which will be like diving into a '90s fantasy -- pink, kitschy, and bursting with nostalgia.

Polly’s 35th birthday bash is the reason for this vintage extravaganza, which will have fans partying like it's 1989 ... the year the iconic toy debuted.

Cardi B is getting close to releasing a bunch of new music, and it looks like she has a couple names in mind for her upcoming album ... or at least a couple of singles.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, the rapper filed trademark applications for two phrases ... "Defamation of Character" and "Intrusive Thoughts" ... which she says she wants to use for music albums.

Cardi's trademark applications also state she wants the phrases for music videos and downloadable music files, plus potential other uses ... basically everything an artist would need to make money off their music.

While athletes in the Olympic Village are (allegedly) sifting through their food for worms, Peruvian surfer Lucca Mesinas says everything was smooth sailing over in Tahiti ... telling TMZ Sports he only had one complaint with their setup!!

We caught up with the Peruvian surfer at LAX this week ... not long after he competed in the surfing portion of the 2024 Games. Naturally, we had to ask all about the surfers' HQ on a luxurious cruise ship in the South Pacific ... and it sounds MUCH better than what the folks in Paris have been saying.

"We had good food, we had ping-pong, things to do over there," Mesinas said. "We were allowed to leave the boat anytime to go to surf. It was pretty fun anyway."

Britney Spears has yet to name the leading lady for her biopic ... but those close to the pop star are already making suggestions.

Felicia Culotta, Britney's former longtime assistant and confidante, tells TMZ ... she's so happy to hear the singer's best-selling memoir, "The Woman in Me," is being made into a movie. As she's a significant character in the tell-all, she already has a couple of casting ideas ... for Britney AND herself.

For starters, she thinks Emma Roberts would be a stellar choice for Brit. Emma is best known for her work in the "American Horror Story" franchise ... but was once a singing child star on Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous," which parallels Britney's own roots on "The Mickey Mouse Club."