Football

Shaquille O'Neal threw the biggest and craziest pre-Super Bowl party in Las Vegas, turning the event into his annual "Shaq Fun House" -- with a major performance by none other than Lil Wayne!

The retired NBA legend kicked off the Friday night soiree at XS nightclub on the Vegas strip with hordes of people packing the venue to bear witness to Shaq's master skills as a disc jockey followed by Wayne's energetic show.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ ... Shaq, who also goes by the name DJ Diesel, revved up the record player and spun some tunes, getting into the groove with the crowd.

Wearing some major bling around his neck, Shaq kept the house music going for a while until Diplo took over the DJ duties before it was time to bring out the hip hop icon ... AKA Wayne.

After Wayne took to the stage, he rapped like there was no tomorrow, getting the crowd all worked up into a frenzy.

Wayne performed some of his biggest hits, such as "6 Foot 7 Foot" and "John." And the audience just loved it, recording the whole gig with their cell phone cameras.

There was one touching moment when Shaq got emotional while talking about the recent unveiling of late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant's new statue.

Damar Hamlin is pulling for the team that booted the Buffalo Bills from the playoffs on Sunday ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the Kansas City Chiefs will win their second-straight Super Bowl.

But, don't get it twisted -- #3 says he's rocking with Bills Mafia for life ... and he'll be right off that bandwagon after a brief three-hour run.

25-year-old Hamlin weighed in on this weekend's matchup with Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 this week ... and he gave us his exclusive take on who he'd like to see hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

It may be a bit surprising to hear ... considering the Chiefs have had the Bills' number in the postseason since 2020.

But, the safety explained Patrick Mahomes is the main reason behind his allegiance ... as it's truly hard to see the two-time Super Bowl MVP not coming out on top against the San Francisco 49ers.

We talked to Hamlin about much more than the Big Game -- he also chopped it up about his incredible return to the football field after nearly losing his life during "Monday Night Football" in Jan. 2023, his appreciation for NBA superstar LeBron James, and his newest partnership with the Don't Quit nutrition brand.

Las Vegas is the center of the sports universe as it hosts the Super Bowl ... but it's not just football fans flocking to Sin City, 'cause TMZ Sports has learned countless beautiful ladies are in the desert to work the pole!!

Several gentlemen's clubs tell us women have been lined up outside their doors in hopes of getting a spot on their stages this weekend ... and many strip joints are increasing staff just to meet the demand.

In fact, Hustler -- one of the most popular strip clubs in Vegas -- expects it to be busier than the Las Vegas Grand Prix last November ... which was the first time the city hosted an F1 race in more than 40 years.

"This is an exciting time for Las Vegas, especially for businesses due to the economic impact of the Big Game," Hustler Club LV's general manager Brittany Rose said.

"We have seen out-of-town audition numbers in the hundreds leading up to the week of Super Bowl LVIII."

We're told there's also an influx of male entertainers for the Kings of Hustler Male Revue ... which is located on the 3rd floor of the strip club.

"Everyone is excited being that the club is just steps away from all the action at the stadium," Rose added.

Other clubs like Spearmint Rhino and Crazy Horse III are also expecting a record-breaking weekend ... with both saying they have no choice but to add more dancers each night.

"We will have double to triple the entertainers all week (about 300 entertainers nightly)," Nando Sostilio, owner of Crazy Horse 3, said.

"Since the teams have been announced, we have a ton of VIP reservations already input for football players, musical artists, and tech billionaires from Silicon Valley, and the reservations are continuing to pour in."

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports he believes the Pro Football Hall of Fame robbed Antonio Gates by bypassing him for the 2024 class ... but he's now offering some advice for the tight end to get through it.

Irvin said at the "A Night Out With Legends" party in Vegas that the ex-Chargers superstar can't get too down on himself after he didn't make the cut for the HOF's '24 class on Thursday ... explaining that if he does, he'll allow the committee to "steal" from him twice.

Instead, he recommended Gates put this behind him quickly ... so when he ultimately gets his gold jacket, he can enjoy it.

Irvin, of course, would know a thing or two about the situation ... after all, it took him three years to finally get into Canton despite being one of the most prolific receivers of all time.

"I didn't get in on the first ballot," the former Dallas Cowboys receiver said. "But, I promise you I got in on the third ballot and when I got there, and I got to that podium, straight joy was waiting on me. It didn't even matter that I didn't go in on the first ballot, once I got there, I just saw joy."

Irvin tells us he's got plans to relay the message to Gates himself ... saying, "that's my guy."

Talk about charm-ing ... Braxton Berrios and girlfriend Alix Earle turned their super cute pet names for each other into shiny bling, copping two diamond-filled panda bear pendants!

TMZ Sports has learned the Miami Dolphins receiver recently hit up Sean Salci for matching necklaces for him and his TikTok star GF, whom he started dating in 2023.

"My boyfriend just got me the best present I've ever gotten in my life," Earle said on social media.

"We call each other panda and he got us matching panda diamond necklaces!"

We're told each piece contains solid, 14-karat yellow gold with 5 carats of VVS1 F diamonds. Top notch.

"The eyes, nose, and mouth all have custom-sized and shaped diamonds to really enhance the panda look we were going for," Salci said. "It was extremely important to keep the all-diamond look while maximizing the panda face concept."

We're not sure if Berrios rocked the piece to the NFL Honors show in Las Vegas on Thursday, but another athlete did wear a Salci piece to the event ... New York Giants QB Tommy DeVito.

We're told the 25-year-old quarterback copped a custom cross and necklace ... and you can clearly see the massive chain on DeVito's neck while on the red carpet and on television during the show, even prompting Keegan-Michael Key to make a "Goodfellas" joke.

Salci -- who also happens to be Tommy's marketing guy (he makes the jewelry through his family-owned jewelry business) -- told us DeVito's iced-out piece contains a total of 55 carats of diamonds.

It's unclear how much dough Berriors and DeVito dropped on the pieces.

Berrios signed a $3.5 million contract with the Dolphins last March and DeVito -- who went undrafted in 2023 -- signed a bunch of endorsement deals since becoming a star last year in Daniel Jones' absence.

Before the world's greatest athletes get padded up and hit the grass of Allegiant Stadium to battle out in this year's highly anticipated Super LVIII in Las Vegas ... the hottest players on the Chiefs and 49ers showed off their bulked-up bods on social media, so get in the game and see if you can tackle who's behind the ballin' bod.

Showin' skin for the win ... Big-shot quarterback Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes took off his pads and posed for a shirtless shot, and in a position you've never seen 'em in before ... while San Fransisco's Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk and Christian McCaffrey showed off their game day-ready physiques!

Put your game face on and test your skills on these peak physical forms off the field!

New Hollywood bromance alert ... Glen Powell and Johnny Manziel are apparently buddies, because they partied their faces off together in the desert.

TMZ obtained video of Glen and Johnny hanging out last night at Casa Amigos Tacos and Tequila in Scottsdale, where Johnny Football had a VIP section.

Folks who were there say Johnny was already in the club when Glen showed up and joined the group.

We're told this wasn't a coincidence ... Johnny and Glen clearly planned to hang out, and their group of about a dozen were mostly hot chicks.

As you can see, Glen is chatting up a woman in one of the videos ... and we're told they stayed close throughout the night.

Johnny meanwhile, was talking to several different ladies ... and we're told there was no drama and everyone seemed to be in good spirits, with JM and GP partying for at least a few hours.

Glen was in town to play golf in Wednesday's Pro-Am at the WM Phoenix Open ... Johnny wasn't golfing, but he's never turned down a good time.

It's an interesting pairing ... Johnny won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M and Glen studied at the University of Texas at Austin before heading to Hollywood. The schools are big rivals, but it's more of a big brother-little brother type deal.

Usher tenía a un montón de celebridades en el teaser promocional de su show para el Super Bowl, incluyendo J Balvin, pero a pesar de la especulación de que el cantante estaría presente en el espectáculo, ahora sabemos lo contrario.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que el cantante colombiano no participará en el show de medio tiempo con Usher este domingo, a pesar de que mucha gente asumió que podría ser posible desde que apareció en el corto que Apple lanzó el jueves.

Nos dicen que resulta que Balvin está en Brasil en este momento y actuará en el Carnaval el domingo del Super Bowl, por lo que estará lejos de lo que pase en Las Vegas.

No solo está técnicamente reservado para la misma noche del Super Bowl, nuestras fuentes dicen que su atención también está en su próxima gira internacional "Que Bueno Volver a Verte", que comienza en abril en Alemania. Además de eso, nos dicen que está en medio de los ensayos para Coachella.

Ahora, si se preguntan por qué J Balvin apareció en la promoción de Apple, que también tenía a Ludacris, Lil Jon y Taraji P. Henson, tenemos una respuesta.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que la idea de la promo era destacar a los mayores colaboradores de Usher a lo largo de los años y Balvin es uno de ellos, pues tienen una canción juntos, "Dientes".

En términos de quién estará realmente en la actuación de Usher, es casi un hecho que Luda y Jon se unirán a él en algún momento, y como les contamos primero, es también seguro que Alicia Keys va a estar en el escenario con Usher.

También sabemos que se ha hablado de la posibilidad de que tenga como invitado especial a nada menos que Justin Bieber, pero no está claro si realmente va a hacerlo o no.

Travis Kelce's ex, Kayla Nicole, might have had a falling out with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes ... but there's clearly still plenty of love between her and Jackson Mahomes -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned they rubbed elbows in Vegas.

Eyewitnesses tell us ... Kelce's former flame -- who he dated for years before Taylor Swift -- and the Chiefs QB's younger bro came together at the Aria's High Limit Lounge around 10:15 PM Thursday, and they didn't leave each other's side for about an hour.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us this meetup wasn't planned -- it was more of a bump-into sitch, apparently -- although folks at the casino say it seemed coordinated, as we're told Kayla joined Jackson at the hotel's fancy bar after he'd been waiting around for a minute.

So, to some, it appeared Jackson might've been waiting for her.

Regardless, witnesses say Jackson and Kayla -- who became good friends during the years the model dated Kelce -- were warm toward each other while they talked, appearing jovial throughout their entire conversation ... which, we're told, was an engrossing one for both.

Of course, this is notable because Kayla has recently attempted to distance herself from Patrick and Brittany ... after the latter struck up a bond with Kelce's new bae, Tay Tay.

ICYMI ... Kayla unfollowed the famous couple online -- later explaining she did it to "protect" herself amid the tight end's new romance and his obvious continued bond with Patrick.

While Kayla seemingly shook off any connection to Mahomes/Kelce -- she's clearly still cool with Jackson, which makes sense based on what else we know.

Sources tell us there's no bad blood between any of the parties, and just because Brittany and Kayla's friendship fizzled after she and Trav ... there was never an expectation anyone else surrounding them would cut ties, including Jackson.

Trav, of course, has moved on ... and Kayla seems more than ready to do the same -- saying last month she's no longer interested in dating athletes, wanting a man with power instead.

On its face, her run-in with Jackson doesn't appear to have been romantic. But it is interesting Kayla is in Vegas at all right now ... suppose we'll see what happens.

Usher had a lot of celebs in his teaser promo ahead of his Super Bowl Halftime Show, including J Balvin -- but despite speculation he'll be in the mix ... we now know otherwise.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the Colombian singer will not be participating in the halftime show with Usher and co. come Sunday, even though a lot of people assumed that might be since he showed up in the short film that Apple dropped Thursday.

As it turns out ... we're told Balvin is actually in Brazil right now and will be performing at Carnival on Super Bowl Sunday -- so he'll be far away from the action going down in Vegas.

Not only is he technically booked on the same night of the SB ... our sources say his focus right now is on his upcoming international tour -- "Que Bueno Volver a Verte" -- that kicks off in April in Germany. Plus, we're told he's in the middle of rehearsing for Coachella too.

Now, if you're wondering why JB was even featured in the Apple promo to begin with -- which also had Ludacris, Lil Jon and Taraji P. Henson in there -- we have an answer.

Our sources say the point of the promo was to highlight Usher's biggest collaborators over the years -- and Balvin is one of those lately ... they have their song 'Dientes' together.

In terms of who will actually come out for Usher's performance ... it's almost a given that Luda and Jon will join him at some point -- and we first reported ... Alicia Keys is for sure going to be onstage with Ursher.

Another person we know has been spoken to about potentially coming on as a special guest in none other than Justin Bieber -- but it's unclear if he'll actually perform or not for now.

Alicia Keys será una de las invitadas especiales de Usher en el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl, según puede revelar TMZ, Hip Hop, ¡¡¡la última noticia de la muy esperada actuación!!!

Fuentes cercanas a la producción confirman que algunos testigos vieron a Alicia Keys ensayando con Usher al interior del Estadio Allegiant el jueves. Ahora que sabemos que estará en la mezcla, el primer invitado confirmado hasta ahora, por cierto, todas las señales apuntan a que van a cantar una gran canción juntos.

Por supuesto, estamos hablando de su mega dueto de 2004 "My Boo", el que sin duda será al menos una de las canciones interpretadas por ella.

La canción encabezó la lista Billboard Hot 100 durante 6 semanas y se convirtió en la banda sonora de los lentos en todo el mundo. Será interesante ver en qué momento se incluye este lento entre las demás canciones, pero va a tener un montón de tiempo para exprimirlo.

Recuerden, Usher negoció tener 15 minutos de actuación en lugar de los 13 minutos asignados originalmente porque al parecer es la única manera en la que sabe cómo actuar en escena. Teniendo en cuenta la cantidad de famosos colaboradores que ha tenido Usher en los últimos años tiene sentido que necesite tiempo extra.

Su comercial de Apple Music para promover el gran evento también contó con sus colaboradores de "Yeah!" Ludacris y Lil Jon. Casi todo el mundo asume que estos dos también serán invitados durante su actuación aunque, técnicamente, no han confirmado.

Como ustedes saben, Usher también ha estado hablando con Justin Bieber como un posible invitado sobre el escenario, aunque no hemos cerrado si Biebs estará presente o no.

Alicia Keys will be a featured guest at Usher's Super Bowl Halftime Show, TMZ Hip Hop can reveal ... the latest development in the highly anticipated performance!!!

Sources close to the production confirm eyewitness accounts that AK rehearsed with Usher inside Allegiant Stadium on Thursday. Now that we know she'll be in the mix -- the first confirmed guest of his BTW -- all signs pointing to them doing one big song together.

Of course, we're talking about their 2004 mega duet "My Boo" -- which will undoubtedly be at least one of the tracks she performs.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 weeks when it came out -- and became the soundtrack to high school slow dances worldwide. It'll be interesting to see where the slow jam is included in the track list ... but he'll have plenty of time to squeeze it in.

Remember ... Usher negotiated to have a 15-minute set as opposed to the originally allotted 13 minutes ... 'cause it's the only way he knows how to rock, it seems. Considering how many famous collaborators Usher has had over the years ... it makes sense he needs the extra time.

His Apple Music commercial to promote the big event also heavily featured his "Yeah!" collaborators Ludacris and Lil Jon. Most everyone assumes these two guys will also be special guests during his performance ... although, they technically haven't confirmed yet.

As you know ... Usher has also been talking to Justin Bieber as a potential guest onstage -- although we haven't locked down whether the Biebs will actually be in attendance or not.

Usher ha estado en conversaciones directas con Justin Bieber acerca de compartir el escenario durante el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl, TMZ ha averiguado.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que Usher se acercó a Bieber para hablar sobre esa posibilidad. Nos dicen que no había consejeros involucrados de ninguna de las partes y que hablaron directamente entre sí.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que no saben sobre el resultado de esas conversaciones, pero Usher definitivamente quiere que Bieber se una a él para lo que promete será el Super Bowl más visto de la historia.

Como saben, Usher fue mentor de Bieber cuando este tenía 13 años y lo ha guiado durante su carrera, junto con el manager Scooter Braun. Los 2 han sido cercanos desde entonces.

Justin se ha retirado de salir de gira. En 2022, detuvo su gira mundial "Justice" y la canceló oficialmente en marzo de 2023, después de ser diagnosticado con el síndrome de Ramsay Hunt. Ha actuado en eventos puntuales, incluida una actuación en el fin de semana de las estrellas de la NHL el pasado fin de semana en Toronto.

Sabemos que Usher estará acompañado por Lil Jon y Ludacris. Hay algunos rumores de que Alicia Keys también actuará.

O.J. Simpson is reportedly battling cancer -- but the man himself is somewhat pushing back that he's in poor health ... although, not necessarily denying the notion that he's been diagnosed.

The notorious ex-con -- who was famously acquitted in his double murder trial in the '90s, and who has maintained his innocence -- was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer ... according to Local 10 News.

The publication cites sources for their reporting ... and they go on to say O.J. has been receiving chemotherapy in the area. Unclear when exactly he was given the bad news.

One other bizarre element about this report is that Local 10 News says they're hearing O.J. has been going around and telling friends there are rumors about him going into hospice ... something he's apparently been denying to his closest pals.

Welp, O.J. doubled down on that denial Friday on the heels of this report coming out -- and while he is denying any notion of him being in hospice ... nobody seems to be claiming that.

Again, O.J.'s not saying he doesn't have cancer ... but he is trying to make it seem like everything is just fine and dandy in his world -- and that his focus is on the Super Bowl.

Here's the weird thing about all this ... O.J. appears to have already acknowledged that he has cancer and that he had done chemo. A video he posted in May 2023 -- where he rambles -- briefly touches on the fact that he "caught cancer," without specifying what type -- but in the clip, he also suggested he'd beaten it and that he was doing just fine now.

The ex-RB talked about dropping weight during chemo and how weed helped him get his appetite back -- but this video seems to have completely flown under the radar at the time.

Turns out Patrick Mahomes hasn't actually worn the same pair of nasty red drawers DURING nearly every NFL game of his career, just before kickoff ... according to his mother, Randi Mahomes.

Randi recently joined the "Got It From My Momma" podcast ... when the conversation turned to the infamous underwear Patrick recently revealed he wore for almost all of his career. Mom straightened the record.

“I asked Brittany, it’s not that he wears them in the game. He wears them from point A -- like leaves the house, gets to the game. I don’t think he actually wears them in the game,” Randi explained.

Of course, Patrick made the admission to a stunned Peyton and Eli on the Manningcast earlier this season, saying he'd worn the present from his wife Brittany Mahomes since his great rookie season.

"I love a good superstition, but couldn't you just do something like eat the same pregame meal? Did it have to be the red underwear?" Eli asked Patrick at the time.

Randi, like Manning, wasn't a fan of the tradition when she first heard about it, saying, “I was at work, I went into my co-worker's office like I can’t handle this.”

Mahomes and his Chiefs squad are slight underdogs against the 49ers ... we'll see if Patrick breaks tradition and wears them for the game on Super Sunday.

Usher has been in direct talks with Justin Bieber about sharing the stage during the Super Bowl Halftime show, TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Usher reached out to Bieber about performing. We're told there were no handlers involved on either side ... they talked directly to each other.

Our sources say they do not know the outcome of the talks, but Usher definitely wants Bieber to join him for what promises to be the most-watched Super Bowl in history.

As you know, Usher mentored Bieber when the latter was 13 years old and helped guide his career, along with manager Scooter Braun. The 2 have been close ever since.

Justin has pulled back from performing on tour. He stopped his "Justice" world tour in 2022 -- officially canceling the tour in March 2023 -- after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. He has performed at one-off events, including a performance at NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto this past weekend.

We know Usher will be joined by Lil Jon and Ludacris. There's some rumblings Alicia Keys will also perform.