New England Patriots

Tebowing has a brand new meaning -- unemployed NFL star -- 'cause Tim Tebow has been dropped by the New England Patriots.

Tebow -- who signed a 2-year contract with the Patriots back in June -- was cut from the roster Saturday morning ... after failing to impress head coach Bill Belichick, according to ESPN.

The news comes just a little over 4 months after Tebow was fired from the New York Jets.

Since Tebow has been in the NFL less than 4 years, he could become a free agent and sign with another team ... begging the question, will another team even want him?

So we gotta ask...

Here's Tom Brady casually paddling away in a kayak over the weekend ... and GIVING ALL OF BOSTON A FRIGGIN' HEART ATTACK!!!

Before you accuse us of sensationalizing the situation, consider this fact -- back in 2009, Brady had to be RESCUED from the Charles River after falling out of his Kayak while goofing around with some friends.

After the rescue, Brady thanked the woman who fished him out of the water ... telling her, "You saved my life."

Despite the risks -- and with NFL opening day less than 2 weeks away -- Brady got back into the Charles River with his wife Gisele and son Ben on Saturday.

Fortunately, everyone emerged from the water healthy and happy.

Meanwhile, it's the Jets who seem to be drowning these days ...

11:03 AM PT -- The prosecutor just announced the indictment returned against Hernandez on multiple charges, including murder, carrying a firearm, possession of a firearm, possession of a high-capacity firearm or feeding device, and 2 counts of possession of ammunition.

As he sat down, Hernandez mouthed the words "I love you" to family members in court.

Another hearing has been set for next Friday.

NFL star Aaron Hernandez has just been indicted on a 1st degree murder charge in the death of 27-year-old semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd -- and he's due in court any moment to face his stark new reality.

Hernandez was originally expected in court today for a probable cause hearing -- where prosecutors would have presented evidence that a) a crime was committed, and b) that Hernandez committed the crime.

But a grand jury has already returned an indictment, meaning prosecutors won't have to present additional evidence to justify a trial.

Translation: the probable cause hearing is now pretty much a formality ... but we may still hear from Hernandez' lawyer.

Another HUGE blow for the New England Patriots (and female football fans worldwide) -- 'cause Tom Brady suffered a brutal knee injury during a team scrimmage today ... and it looks bad. Real bad.

Brady -- who was wearing a red "keep your damn hands off me" jersey at the time -- had dropped back to pass when the pocket collapsed on him.... and it appears a lineman fell on his knee.

Brady dropped like a sack of potatoes ... clutching his left knee -- the same knee he destroyed on opening day back in 2008.

Brady was eventually helped off the field and is currently undergoing evaluation.

Paging Tim Tebow ...

3:20 PM PT An MRI on Brady's knee was negative ... according to ESPN.

Are you an ex-NFL player? Do you also like to murder people (allegedly)? Then you'd make the PERFECT guest star on "The League" ... so says Paul Scheer, who plays Andre on the show.

It's sorta become a badge of honor for NFL stars (past and present) to score a cameo on the FX series ... just ask Terrell Suggs, Adrian Peterson, Chad Johnson, Deion Sanders, Maurice Jones-Drew and J.J. Watt.

Scheer says the next guy he wants to bring on board is Aaron Hernandez -- but not to act -- he's got a job in mind that requires AH's unique alleged skill set.

Aaron Hernandez is jonesin' for the Internet ... according to a new letter he wrote to a fan.

TMZ has obtained a second letter Hernandez recently wrote behind bars, thanking a fan for a Facebook support page she started ... a page he can't read because jail is an Internet-free zone.

He wrote, "Thanks for the site and sry [sic] I can't check site [sic] there is no internet in jail lol."

Correct ... Hernandez wrote out the word "lol" in pen.

Also, FYI, Hernandez is now aware that his jail letters are making headlines. We spoke to the sheriff at the jail who tells us, Hernandez has been warned to be careful with his letters because TMZ keeps publishing them.

Aaron Hernandez wrote a pen pal a letter from inside his jail cell, declaring his innocence, saying his murder charges are God's plan, and vowing to return to the NFL ... and TMZ has a copy.

We have verified with law enforcement the

is the real deal. You can read it yourself ... among the highlights:

-- "The world just makes things out of false accusations ... and it will all die down, especially when they say NOT GUILTY"

-- "All the people who turned on me will feel like crap."

-- "God put me in this situation for a reason."

-- "Can't wait to sign [autographs] again when I'm playing again an [sic] prove all the haters WRONG."

As for the fan who received the letter, Karl ... he just called in to "TMZ Live" and told us he wrote Hernandez first.

Karl says he sent the letter because he was in the same jail 15 years ago, and wanted to reach out to Hernandez to give him some encouragement.

Karl also says he would like to visit Aaron in jail -- if Aaron will let him.

FYI, Hernandez -- who's been accused of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd -- has been denied bail and will remain behind bars until his trial.

11:37 AM PT -- Aaron's attorney is objecting to the additional release of information regarding the case to the media, saying it's having a negative impact on Aaron's right to a fair trial. The judge wasn't convinced.

11:30 AM PT -- During the beginning of the hearing, Aaron looked at his family in court and mouthed the words "I love you." The parents of Aaron's alleged victim Odin Lloyd were also present in court. It got emotional.

11:11 AM PT -- Prosecutors have requested a continuance, asking for more time to present evidence to a grand jury. Aaron's lawyer objected, asking for the case to be dismissed because prosecutors were dragging their feet, but the judge sided with the prosecution. Aaron is due back in court for another probable cause hearing on August 22.

11:05 AM PT -- Aaron is in the courtroom, but he's not wearing a jumpsuit this time ... he's in a normal suit. No tie though!

NFL star and murder suspect Aaron Hernandez is due back in court today ... the first step before he faces a grand jury on charges he murdered 27-year-old semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

It's called a probable cause hearing, which is where prosecutors are supposed to establish two things: 1) that a crime has been committed, and 2) that Hernandez committed the crime.

The probable cause hearing is meant to give prosecutors a chance to show that there's enough evidence to bring the case before a grand jury for a formal indictment, at which point a pretrial date will be set.

As we reported, Hernandez has been denied bail and will remain behind bars until he's acquitted ... or the case is dismissed.

It's possible prosecutors will file for a continuance today -- meaning they won't have to present all their evidence in court ... and they'll go straight to the grand jury stage. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11AM PST/2PM EST.

Ex-New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez CONFESSED that he fired the shots that killed Odin Lloyd ... this according to a police document that cites a witness ... who cites another witness.

OK, so it's a confession that's 3 degrees removed from Aaron Hernandez ... but cops in Miramar, Florida believed the tip was good enough to bring to a judge in an effort to get a search warrant connected with the investigation.

First, some background -- prosecutors in the murder case believe Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace were with Hernandez when Lloyd was murdered. Both Ortiz and Wallace are currently in custody.

Now, according to documents filed by the Miramar Police Dept., Ortiz told investigators ... that Wallace, told him ... that Hernandez told him that he shot Lloyd.

You follow that?

It's double hearsay, to say the least ... but with life sentences on the line, it might not be the last time these guys (allegedly) point the finger at each other.

For his part, Hernandez insists he's not guilty.

The New England Patriots swapped out more than 2,500 Aaron Hernandez jerseys for free in Foxboro this weekend ... but TMZ has learned Tom Brady was NOT the most requested replacement. In fact, you'll never guess who was #1.

A rep for the Pats tells us ... the team happily shelled out roughly $250,000 to make sure any fan who had a Hernandez jersey could get a free replacement featuring a Pats player who's not currently facing murder charges.

We're told ... of the 2,500ish people who showed up to the stadium for the swap event, 30% of the fans were kids requesting new youth jerseys.

So, who was the most requested?? The honor goes to 5-time Pro Bowler VINCE WILFORK -- a 325-pound BEAST of a defensive tackle!!

Don't worry, Brady came in 2nd ... and we have a theory as to why -- everyone in Boston already has a Brady jersey.

Hundreds of New England Patriots fans lined up outside the Patriots Pro Shop today to exchange their Aaron Hernandez jerseys, and one thing was clear ... they wanted NO part of the accused murderer.

According to ESPN's Adam Shefter, more than 500 Hernandez jerseys were returned by 11:00 AM ET, which was just 90 minutes after the program opened.

TMZ spoke with a few people who waited in line to turn in their jerseys ... a few of whom had bought the jerseys for their kids and wanted to exchange the AH ones for players who were "a better role model."

eBay's profiting off "blood money" from Aaron Hernandez' alleged murder by allowing sellers to jack up jersey prices -- so say several New England sports memorabilia store owners ... and they REFUSE to do the same thing.

As you know, prices for Hernandez jerseys on eBay have soared in light of recent events -- with some jerseys reaching $1,500 or more -- but TMZ spoke with the owners of multiple New England sports memorabilia stores ... and not ONE of them plans to raise prices to meet demand.

The owner of Sportsworld USA in Saugus, MA, tells us, "We don't want to make money off this incident. It's what we consider blood money. We just want to get our money back."

The owner of Your Sports Memorabilia in Boston says, "I do not stand for what he allegedly did and wouldn't want to profit off an individual who was murdered ... Sports memorabilia is a dirty industry and this is one of the reasons why."

The owner of SureShot Promotions in Hanson, MA, says the store is even discounting some of the jerseys to get rid of them ASAP -- telling us, "It is a sad situation."

And for the record, the demand in memorabilia stores is just as crazy as it is online ... the owner of New England Pictures (Manchester, NH) says they sold more Hernandez jerseys the day his murder charge was announced than they did in the 6 months before.

Aaron Hernandez downed a ton of hard liquor, cussed out security guards ... and refused to leave when they confronted him ... in a Hermosa Beach, CA sports bar.

According to sources who were in Chelsea Pub & Lounge on April 19th ... the then New England Patriots star was drinking double Patron Silver shots all night in between glasses of Adios Motherf**kers -- a wonderful vodka, rum, tequila, and gin concoction.

We're told Hernandez repeatedly tried to walk outside the bar WITH his drink, and didn't understand why security wouldn't let him -- and began yelling and cursing at the bar staff.

When asked to leave ... Hernandez simply sat down (pictured above) and told security he wasn't leaving.

Aaron Hernandez' fiancée called cops on him just a few months ago when he punched a window in their house, and bled all over the place ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us the incident went down at their rented home in Hermosa Beach, CA ... where Aaron and some buddies were partying from 4 PM to 9 AM.

We're told when Hernandez and Shayanna Jenkins began arguing -- because she wanted to pull the plug on the party -- Hernandez put his fist through a window.

His hand was cut badly enough that there "was blood everywhere."

We're told Jenkins called police in a last ditch effort to break up the party.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops have been to the house multiple times -- and that Hernandez "had no regard" for anyone who complained about his all-night parties.

The word neighbors keep using to describe him is ... "nightmare."

Aaron Hernandez was involved in a domestic incident with his fiancée a year ago that sent cops racing to his rental home in a beachside community in L.A. ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us Hernandez was renting a place in Hermosa Beach in June, 2012, when a neighbor called police to report a domestic disturbance -- "fighting" -- between the ex-Patriots star and his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins inside his home.

We're told when police arrived, Jenkins said she was ok and didn't want to press charges so they left without making an arrest.

Law enforcement sources also tell us ... cops came to the house several other times after neighbors made noise complaints. One source says Hernandez "acted like an a**hole" when cops responded.

Our sources say Hernandez still has the rental home. Our law enforcement sources say so far ... cops have not obtained a warrant to search the apartment.

A "Blood" tattoo on your hand doesn't make you a Blood ... so says bona fide Blood member The Game, who tells TMZ Aaron Hernandez is definitely not a member of his beloved street gang.

Game was leaving Tru in Hollywood last night -- with TWO giant gold chains around his neck -- when we asked the rapper behind the hits, "It's Okay (One Blood)" and "Red Nation" how he felt about the former New England Patriots star's connection to the Bloods.

"Aaron Hernandez ain't no Blood man ... n**ga killed his sister's husband, what the f**k??"

Game says there is a way for Aaron to BECOME a Blood -- but it involves being "packed out" by the rapper and his crew.

... and if you wanna know what being "packed out" means, watch Game describe it in the clip.