New England Patriots

Super Bowl XLIX isn't just the Seahawks vs. the Patriots ... it's Captain America vs Star-Lord ... because Chris Evans and Chris Pratt just laid down an EPIC bet on the big game in Arizona.

It all started Monday, the day after Evans' Patriots clinched a spot in the Super Bowl by deflating the Colts 45-7. He took to twitter to remind his fellow Marvel Super Hero that for the next two weeks they ain't buds.

"Well, well, well @prattprattpratt, looks like our teams are going into battle. For the next 2 weeks, you are not my friend, you are my enemy."

That's when Pratt -- a huge Seahawks fan -- laid down the gauntlet, proposing a bet whereby if the the Seahawks win, Evans has to fly to Seattle and visit a local children's hospital in full Captain America regalia, waving the 12th Man flag.

Well, Captain America never backs down from a fight ... and fired back, saying that if the Patriots win Star-Lord has to show up at his non-profit housing venture "Christopher's Haven," in a Tom Brady jersey.

C'mon ... this is pretty awesome.

Under-inflated footballs had NOTHING to do with the outcome of the Pats vs. Colts game ... so says Indy linebacker Erik Walden who tells TMZ Sports they got outplayed ... period.

"I don't think it made any difference," Walden says of the flatter pigskins ... "They whooped us. We got our asses whooped."

"It doesn't matter what was wrong with the balls ... they beat us by such a large margin."

Walden also says he doesn't think it's worth the NFL's time to punish the Pats -- saying, "You just got to give them credit for how they played."

"Hats off to [The Patriots]. They were the better team."

Deflated balls or not ... the New England Patriots kicked Indy's ass this weekend -- and the amount of air in the pigskin had NOTHING to do with it ... so says ex-NFL QB Rodney Peete.

Peete -- who played in the NFL for 16 years -- says the whole "Deflate-Gate" scandal is being blown way out of proportion ... because despite the pressure in the footballs, "you still gotta play the game."

Rodney also says slightly deflated balls don't give a QB an advantage -- "You still gotta make the throws."

C'mon, this is adorable ... even if you're a Colts fan.

With the New England Patriots gearing up to take on Indianapolis for the AFC championship later today, Tom Brady's kids are doing their part to cheer on their dad.

Tom's three children -- John, Benny and Vivian -- threw on their #12 jerseys and made a sign for Tom that read, "Go Patriots! Love you Daddy!"

Tom's wife Gisele also posted a note that read, "We are ready!!"

Sidenote -- look at the view from Brady's house. Ridiculous.

New England fans beware -- a trio of New Yorkers made thousands off Tom Brady and the Patriots by selling fake tickets to Sunday's AFC Championship game ... according to cops.

The alleged counterfeiters were busted by police in a Boston suburb on Thursday after a Patriots fan called cops suspecting he'd been ripped off by the sellers.

Police say the fan responded to a Craigslist ad for tickets, met the sellers at a Holiday Inn ... and forked over $900 for 4 tickets to the Pats-Colts showdown. It's unclear why he thought the tix were fakes.

Cops busted the suspects -- all from NY in their early to mid 20s -- and seized thousands of dollars in cash ... as well as more counterfeit tickets.

The New York/Boston rivalry just took an interesting turn -- with NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch telling us he's rooting for Tom Brady to beat the Colts this weekend ... and eventually hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Tisch was out at Craig's in L.A. last night -- when we asked if it's cool for NFL owners to root for another team after their own squad gets eliminated from the playoffs.

Steve says he's got some pretty good reasons for backing New England -- including the fact he's already beaten the Pats the last two times they faced 'em in the Big Game.

Ben Affleck says the Baltimore Ravens are the absolute WORST matchup for his beloved Patriots ... telling TMZ Sports he's got a healthy fear of Joe Flacco.

A pumped up Affleck (seriously, this dude is SWOLL) was leaving Tavern in Brentwood when he told us he wishes Brady and company were facing a weaker opponent this weekend (a shot at the Steelers perhaps?).

Check out the clip ... Affleck breaks down the NFL playoffs and even tells us the teams he fears the most.

But when push comes to shove, Ben says he believes in his boys ... though he wouldn't go as far as his BFF Matt Damon -- who predicted a Super Bowl victory earlier this week.

Stay tuned ...

Gronk scores touchdown. Gronk spikes football. Gronk makes married woman wanna cheat on her husband.

That's basically the plot for a brand new erotica novel called "A Gronking to Remember" ... an X-rated book (available on Amazon) penned by a woman with a serious obsession with the Patriots tight end.

The book is a 38-page fantasy by Lacey Noonan -- who drones on and on about how watching Rob Gronkowski play football sends "jiggling ribbons of electric jelly" through her body.

To complicate things, the main character says her husband isn't getting the job done in the bedroom -- leaving her "aching for a love pummeling" from #87.

Terrell Suggs ain't gonna like this video.

New England Patriots superfan Matt Damon just told us he fully expects his squad to dominate the Ravens next week (and everyone else in Tom Brady's path) ... on their way to ANOTHER Super Bowl title this year.

"I think there's a lot of good competition there," Damon said at LAX this weekend ... "but I'm a big believer in the Patriots."

"Patriots are going all the way."

Damon said the same thing when the Ravens took on the Pats in the NFL Playoffs back in 2013 ... only to come up with some thin excuses after Baltimore pulled off the upset.

We will say this though ... check out the clip from 2013 and check out the clip from yesterday -- Matt always signs autographs, takes pics with fans and couldn't be a nicer guy.

Tom Brady is fired up for his alma mater to hire Jim Harbaugh -- claiming the move would be nothing short of "awesome."

Brady called in to WEEI in Boston today -- and when asked about the possibility that Harbaugh takes the head coaching job at the University of Michigan, Brady was all about it.

"If Michigan could get that type of coach, it would be incredible," the Patriots QB said.

"To have a great coach like that lead a program is awesome."

Patriots stud Rob Gronkowski isn't afraid to mix it up with football fans ... even when they're contestants on a reality show he's judging.

Gronk was a guest critic on this week's episode of "Top Chef: Boston" ... but not all the cooks were star struck ... 'cause chef George Pagonis tells TMZ Sports he got in Gronk's face and told him exactly how he felt about the Pats. Hint ... George is not a fan.

Chef P says, "I never really cared for any Boston teams. I've spent a lot of time in New York, and I'm a big Redskins fan."

Still, razzing Gronk when he controls your culinary fate doesn't seem wise. Pagans says ... "I couldn't let my team down and not speak up." He adds Gronk was totally cool with his verbal jabs.

Obviously, it didn't affect his judging because Chef Pagonis cooked the winning dish -- a pork and veal sausage.

Michael Vick still loves playing football video games, but NOT as himself -- instead he told us he prefers to "play with a passer" ... who goes by the name of Tom Brady!

Vick was in New York on Tuesday donating Nike sneakers to the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem. With Christmas right around the corner ... he revealed his favorite holiday memory is getting his first Nintendo.

And that's when the Madden issue ... or rather, the Brady issue comes up. Considering the NY Jets play Brady and the Pats this week -- his comment might piss of loyal Jets fans. But honestly ... Jets fans, players, and coaches have more to worry about.: 3 and 11, dude.

As for his future with Gang Green -- Vick says he's not sure about next season. Hey, someone's gotta backup Brady.

The New England Patriots are all business on the field, but they know how to have fun off it ... because a bunch of the team's stars rocked the mic at a karaoke event on Monday benefiting sick kids.

The "Open Mic Holiday Party" in Foxboro, Mass was hosted by safety Patrick Chung (who rocked out to Katy Perry's "Firework") with fellow Pats Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, and Devin McCourty in attendance.

Chung and the Pats raised $80,000 for "Chung Changing Lives" -- an organization that supports personal and academic development in kids -- and several other Boston area charities.

Pats owner Robert Kraft even made a cameo, and promised to perform an Elton John song next year.

Here's hoping he keeps his word.

Tom Brady says his days of raging around Hollywood with pop stars are OVER -- claiming he refused to hit the town with his teammates (and Justin Bieber) last night because he just wanted to SLEEP!!!

The 37-year-old QB called in to WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” on Tuesday -- and told the guys the days of partying on a Monday night "have come and gone in my life."

As you know ... Rob Gronkowski -- along with Jonas Gray (RB), Shane Vereen (RB), Akeem Ayers (LB) and Darius Fleming (LB) -- hung out with the L.A. Clippers last night ... with 25-year-old Gronk eventually hitting the Hollywood clubs.

"Those guys should go out and have fun," Brady said ... "They're young guys."

New England Patriots RB Stevan Ridley got a jump on the Xmas season -- dropping $20k on some sick bling for some of his favorite teammates ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Ridley -- along with Pats teammate Danny Amendola and former LSU teammate Ron Brooks -- recently hit up the Nialaya jewelry store in L.A. ... which happens to be owned by "Euros of Hollywood" star Jannik Olander.

We're told the guys picked out all sorts of rings, bracelets and necklaces ... but when the $20k bill came, Ridley picked up the tab.

Friends ... they're better when they're millionaires.

Check out the hardware ...

The New England Patriots have issued an apology for one of the biggest Twitter backfires EVER -- when the team celebrated it's 1 millionth follower ... by retweeting a user with a SUPER RACIST handle.

The NFL team decided to celebrate reaching the 1 million follower milestone by allowing creating custom webart for anyone who retweeted the team's original celebratory post.

The Patriots team account would then automatically tweet the custom art for ever single person who took part in the publicity stunt.

Problem is ... one of the users was using the Twitter handle "IHATEN**GERSS."

Long story short ... the Pats Twitter page retweeted the super racist jersey that had been auto-created to their 1 million followers ... and all hell broke loose.

The team eventually deleted the racist piece of art ... and issued an apology:

"We apologize for the regrettable tweet that went out from our account. Our filtering system failed & we will be more vigilant in the future."

[Insert Bill Belichick disapproving scowl here]