Football

Tom Brady threw on the headset for the first time on Sunday ... providing some analysis during the UFL championship game -- and the dude already seems like a real natural!!

The G.O.A.T. joined Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt in the booth as the Birmingham Stallions handled the San Antonio Brahmas in St. Louis ... sharing his two cents on the action during the second quarter of the matchup.

It was TB12's first official appearance as a member of the Fox Sports crew -- as we previously reported, he is slated to call his first NFL game when the Cleveland Browns host the Dallas Cowboys in Week One of the 2024-25 season.

If Travis Kelce does get into broadcasting following his NFL career ... Eric Dickerson's expecting his run of dominance to continue in that profession, telling TMZ Sports the dude is "a great fit" for TV.

The Hall of Famer, of course, knows a thing or two about transitioning from the gridiron to the microphone -- he worked as a "Monday Night Football" sideline reporter back in 2000 and 2001 -- and he's convinced Kelce has what it takes to succeed.

"Travis has a great personality," the former Rams running back told us out at LAX this week. "He's a great player. He knows football extremely well. He's won a couple Super Bowls. I don't think you can lose with that."

Richard Pryor's former L.A. home -- the infamous spot where he set himself on fire in 1980 -- just sold for a cool $3,619,000.

The Northridge home was on the market for only 3 months by ex-NFL player turned Hollywood writer Rashard Mendenhall -- netting him a considerable profit, as he'd purchased it for $2.5M in 2017.

It wasn't exactly what Rashard had hoped for -- he initially listed the home at $4,236,000, a nod to his NFL career rushing total of 4,236 yards -- but it's still a pretty sweet deal.

Jeff Ross says Tom Brady really is the GOAT for letting millions of people have a laugh at his expense ... telling TMZ Sports the future Hall of Famer deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for being such a good sport during his roast last month.

We caught up with "The RoastMaster General" out at LAX this week ... and tried to ask who he'd love to target next, considering Netflix's "Roast Of Tom Brady" was such a massive success.

But, Ross explained it's going to be tough to get any celeb to step up to the plate after seeing what happened to Brady ... which led him to praise the guy for taking everything on the chin.

Bill Belichick has a new love interest in his life ... TMZ Sports has learned he's dating 23-year-old former competitive cheerleader Jordon Hudson.

Sources close to the situation tell us the two have been romantic for a while now -- becoming an item shortly after the ex-New England Patriots head coach called off his longtime relationship with Linda Holliday.

According to one of Hudson's former cheerleading teammates, Hudson first met the 72-year-old on a flight from the Boston area bound for Florida way back in 2021 ... and bonded over a philosophy project the student-athlete had been working on.

Uncross those fingers and exhale, 49ers fans ... Eric Dickerson says Christian McCaffrey will be just fine this season -- telling TMZ Sports there is no such thing as the "Madden Curse!!!"

Of course, plenty in San Francisco have been worried sick since Tuesday ... after the star running back was named the Madden NFL 25 cover athlete.

While disaster hasn't struck for the most recent players who've received the honor -- it happened so frequently in the past, it's become commonplace for fans to have concerns about it all -- and SF supporters haven't been much different this week.

Erik von Detten is sending love back to the Kelce brothers -- this after discovering their favorite Disney movie growing up was "Brink!" ... and as it turns out, he's a fan of theirs too.

The actor -- who played the lead in the classic Disney Channel flick -- tells TMZ he's honored by the recognition ... which he also says doesn't surprise him one bit, 'cause the 1998 classic was fantastic by his own standards.

Erik goes down memory lane with us -- reflecting on why he thinks "Brink!" still resonates with people today ... and why Travis and Jason Kelce might dig it so much from their childhood.

Travis Kelce just got his Super Bowl ring, but he's gunning for another award -- son of the year award -- 'cause the NFL superstar is reportedly looking to buy an Italian vineyard for his mom!

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end came up with the idea after a recent baecation with his girlfriend Taylor Swift in northern Italy's Lake Como.

Kelce is reportedly looking to place a bid of around 3.5 million ... and his advisors are currently in "negotiations with many owners and investors".

Taylor Swift wasn't letting more than 4,000 miles and a six-hour time difference stop her from missing the Kansas City Chiefs unveiling of their Super Bowl rings ... the pop superstar showed love for her man's team from all the way over in Liverpool!!

T-Swift was busy performing her 100th show on the "Eras" tour in England on Thursday ... so unfortunately, she couldn't be present when Travis Kelce and Co. celebrated their fourth Super Bowl ring in franchise history.

But she still found a way to get in on the fun ... hopping on social media to prove Chiefs Kingdom was on her mind over in Europe.

The Kansas City Chiefs' new diamond-clad Super Bowl ring is one of the biggest and gaudiest in the history of the NFL ... but unfortunately for the team, it also has a glaring error on it.

The mistake is on the inside band of the ring, where in order to celebrate the path that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce took to earn their third championship in the last five years, K.C. officials had each of their postseason victories inscribed.

Their wins over the Dolphins, Bills, Ravens and then the 49ers were all accurately portrayed. The problem, however, was next to Miami's AFC playoff seeding number.

Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs received their newest Super Bowl rings on Thursday night ... and the bling was so loaded with diamonds and rubies, the stars couldn't wait to show them off!!

The guys got the championship rings -- their third in the last five years -- at a special ceremony in KC ... and once they broke the jewelry out of a locked box, it wasn't hard to see all of the dudes were enamored by the pieces.

Each one features 529 diamonds and 38 rubies. The ice also has a top that opens up and holds an homage to the "Tom & Jerry" play that won Super Bowl LVIII. Every player and coach's last name is engraved on it as well.

Tom Brady was so strict with his diet during his playing days ... some of his cheat meals featured exactly ONE chicken wing!!!

... at least, that's according to Julian Edelman, who revealed this week that's how his former quarterback seriously got down at team dinners prior to Patriots game days.

The ex-New England wide receiver went in-depth on the topic with People ... saying he found out about Brady's weird eating quirk when the Pats would get the same food catered every night before games -- including chicken wings.

A popular couple in the NFL is dunzo -- TikToker Tianna Robillard and her Bengals lineman fiancé Cody Ford have called off their relationship after getting engaged just this past April.

Fans started to speculate something was amiss after both Ford and Robillard deleted each other off their respective Instagram accounts this week.

The speculation only grew after the influencer posted a TikTok featuring Sabrina Carpenter's new song, "Please Please Please" -- which contains the lyrics "Heartbreak is one thing, my ego's another I beg you, don't embarrass me, motherf*****."

Patrick Mahomes rocks a Kansas City Chiefs jersey on Sunday, but he's a Texas native at heart ... and that's why the 3x NFL MVP pulled up with his wife Brittany to cheer on the Dallas Mavericks for the pivotal third game vs. the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals!

The 3x Super Bowl champ was spotted courtside (where else?!) with Britt at American Airlines Center ... where the couple was all smiles for the cameras.

It's not the first playoff game the Mahomeses have attended ... they were also in the building for a Western Conference Finals tilt between the Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Tom Brady's getting a statue at Gillette Stadium ... Robert Kraft announced Wednesday night the Patriots are erecting a 12-foot bronze sculpture of the ex-quarterback this season!

The New England honcho revealed the big news at Brady's Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Foxborough ... when he told a packed house the former signal-caller will be the first player in franchise history to receive the honor.

Kraft also said Brady's No. 12 jersey will be retired -- the first Patriot since Bruce Armstrong in 2001 to garner that accolade.

University of Southern Mississippi cornerback Marcus "MJ" Daniels Jr. -- who also played for Ole Miss -- was tragically shot and killed in his car this week, police confirmed.

He was just 21 years old.

The Hattiesburg Police Department said the shooting happened Tuesday night near Highway 49 in Mississippi.