New England Patriots

Matt Damon says Tom Brady is deadlier WITH a fully-inflated football -- and says if he woulda had a pumped up pigskin from the start of the AFC Championship, the Pats woulda hung 200 on Indy!!!

Damon was running around L.A. Friday -- proudly sporting his Patriots hat -- when he told the photogs Deflate-Gate is just a distraction from Brady's real DOMINANCE.

"Didn't you see when he got his real footballs back and he got 4 straight touchdowns ... I'm telling you we woulda won that game 200-0 if he had his regular footballs the whole time."

We'll see on Sunday.

Newsflash -- Marshawn Lynch has a FUNNY side ... and here's the hilarious video that proves it.

The Seattle Seahawks running back teamed up with the enemy (Rob Gronkowski) for a hilarious video game battle on "Conan" ... which quickly turned into a comedy session

The segment is pretty hilarious ... with Lynch crackin' drug jokes ... Gronk making a boner pill joke ... and overall hilarity ensuing.

Unclear when the guys found time to shoot the bit -- which is set to air Thursday on TBS -- but it seems like the two NFL superstars really hit it off.

#RealityShowSpinoff? #Please #BeastMeetsGronk #LethalWeapon5? #ImJustHereSoIDontGetFined

Several high-powered law enforcement agencies want everyone to know -- they're all working TOGETHER to protect the Super Bowl.

The NFL just issued a statement saying reps from the following agencies are on board:

-- Department of Homeland Security
-- Immigration and Customs Enforcement
-- FBI
-- United States Secret Service
-- Phoenix PD
-- Glendale PD

The entire gang is scheduled to brief the media on the security plans around 12 PM PT.

He's been called the "King of Trash Talk" ... and now UFC superstar Nick Diaz is spitting his venom right at New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick ... saying the guy is completely "full of s**t."

In a new promo spot for UFC 183, Diaz goes in on Coach B ... mocking his Deflate-Gate news conference ... and claiming that Bill's "been selling bulls**t this whole time."

#Amazing.

Rob Gronkowski just read a passage from the erotic novel he inspired ... "A Gronking to Remember" ... and it's ... it's so Gronk.

The line -- "In front of the entire country, Gronk’s spike impacts right between my buttcheeks."

Definitely the best thing that happened at Super Bowl media day in Arizona Tuesday.

Of course, the novel (written by Lacey Noonan) made headlines when it was made available on Amazon.com.

And if you're still thirsty for more ... here's Gilbert Gottfried sharing a bit more. Enjoy.

Eli Manning claims he doesn't give a crap about the pressure in his footballs -- and says the fact that Tom Brady obsesses over it seems incredibly strange to him ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 2-time Super Bowl champ was a guest speaker at a private function at the New York Athletic Club last week when he was asked for his opinion on Deflate-Gate.

"I never worried really much about the inflation," Manning said ... "I thought it was kind of strange that [Tom] Brady knew he liked his ball at 12.5 pounds of pressure in the ball."

"That's the minimum number you can have ... seems kind of strange to me."

But get this, Manning says he's not convinced the pressure in the ball "is that big of a deal" ... and claims the Brady scandal is the first he's ever heard of an issue with inflation.

Manning -- who seems to be the bane of New England's existence when it comes to Super Bowls -- also told the crowd what he thinks could be the key to another Seattle victory.

Do you like mystery novels? Do you like mystery novels that have secret jail messages from Aaron Hernandez to other inmates hidden inside them? Then you might be in luck ...

We broke the story ... Hernandez was investigated for trying to sneak notes to other inmates at Bristol County Jail in 2013 by allegedly penning messages inside jail library books ... which the other inmates would then check out. It's pretty Shawshankian stuff.

Now, one of the books that Aaron allegedly used to pass the notes has hit eBay -- asking price? $2,000. The seller is keeping the contents of the note secret as part of the sales appeal.

The seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells TMZ Sports he got the book from a guy who managed to sneak it out of the clink. More Shawshankian stuff.

And get this ... the book is "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" by Walter Mosley ... a crime novel about the fictional Easy Rawlins ... a man who faced murder charges in a previous Mosley story.

In the books (spoiler alert), Rawlins was able to prove his innocence and beat the rap.

Wonder if Hernandez chose this particular book hoping life imitates art ... or if it just happened to be the only writing he could grab.

The NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker room attendant who might be the cuplrit behind the deflated football scandal ... this according to a new report.

According to Jay Glazer and FOX Sports, surveillance video allegedly shows the attendant taking footballs from the official's locker room and going into another room at Gillette Stadium before bringing them to the field.

The attendant in question has already been interviewed by the league, according to Glazer. The NFL is trying to determine if any wrongdoing occurred.

T.O.'s callin' B.S. on T.B.

It's clear, the "Celebrity Apprentice" ain't buyin' Tom Brady's excuse that he had no idea his footballs were under-inflated during the AFC Championship game earlier this month.

Terrell Owens -- who played 15 seasons in the NFL -- told us it's "obvious" when the ball isn't pumped up to the league standard ... especially for a guy who has as much experience as Brady.

Tom Brady had a message Thursday -- he doesn't screw around when it comes to his balls.

But we do ... which is why TMZ Sports proudly presents the Tom Brady Deflate-Gate Remix.

C'mon, you saw the news conference -- he was practically beggin' for someone to put this to a beat.

Enjoy!

So, Richard Sherman and a llama walk into a bar ...

Actually, it was a studio ... and one of them launched into a expletive-laced rant against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, in general -- kicking off Super Bowl smack talking season.

The whole thing is an ad for one of Sherman's sponsors -- but the Seattle Seahawks superstar might wanna take notes. The llama gets in a pretty good jab at Brady's favorite footwear.

Only thing missing? A shot at Brady's balls.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says he "had no knowledge" of the deflate-gate scandal until Monday morning ... and has "no explanation" for why the team's balls were under-inflated.

Belichick says the team has complied with the NFL investigation into the AFC Championship game -- in which the Pats were using under-inflated balls, which some say are easier to throw and catch.

Bill told the media, "I have no explanation for what happened."

Belichick explained that giving his team an advantage by tampering with the footballs has "never been a priority for me."

In fact, Bill says ... for years he has made his team practice with crappy footballs -- "the balls we practice with are as bad as they can be" -- and has never even thought about deflating the footballs to make it easier for his team.

"I've told you all I know about the subject from my perspective ... I don't have an explanation."

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.