New England Patriots

Aaron Hernandez pled not guilty to witness intimidation -- denying that he shot his friend in the face to keep him from testifying in a double murder investigation.

According to the district attorney's office, Hernandez intimidated his friend Alexander Bradley -- who allegedly witnessed the tight-end shoot and kill Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu in 2012 over a spilled drink.

Hernandez has pled not guilty to the murder charges.

The Suffolk County DA believes Hernandez was paranoid about cops watching him after the murders ... and shot Bradley while driving home from a club in Florida.

Bradley survived, but lost an eye in the shooting.

FYI ... looks like Hernandez got some new prison ink too... a star on his neck included with the word "lifetime."

Interesting choice -- given his life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd.

Robert Kraft has the perfect distraction from all that Deflategate "rhetoric and dialogue" -- a night out in Hollywood with his 34-year-old girlfriend.

The Patriots owner hit up Craig's in West Hollywood, and immediately got peppered with questions about the NFL's punishment of his team and his QB. The only thing Bob really wanted to talk about was his dinner ... but he happily signed a bunch of autographs.

More importantly ... Kraft had his smoke show ex-model gf Ricki Noel Lander with him. She's gotta help take the sting outta losing a million bucks and 2 draft picks.

More trouble for convicted murderer Aaron Hernandez -- the ex-NFL star was reportedly busted by prison officials this week for being a lookout (poorly, it appears) in a violent prison fight.

The fight was gang-related, says CNN ... which reports Hernandez agreed to help out an inmate who went into another prisoner's cell and attacked him.

Shocking, considering Hernandez is currently locked up at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center -- one of the most high-tech maximum security prisons in the country.

Then again, he's already got a life sentence ... so what does he care?!

It's not the first time Hernandez has been involved in a fight behind bars -- TMZ Sports broke the story Hernandez fought an inmate at Bristol County Jail back in 2014.

Aaron Hernandez claims he should NOT have been convicted of 1st degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd -- claiming the killing was not "cruel" enough to warrant such a harsh charge.

Hernandez's lawyers filed new court docs challenging the verdict in the Lloyd case ... in which they spell out why Aaron should have, at most, been convicted of 2ND degree murder instead.

Here's why ...

Team Hernandez says 1st degree murder requires either premeditation or extreme cruelty. Aaron's lawyers say the ex-NFL star was NOT convicted on premeditation so they're attacking the "cruelty" angle.

In the docs, AH's lawyers state ... since Lloyd was shot 6 times and died "rapidly," there's no evidence of suffering. Furthermore, they say no witnesses heard Lloyd yell or scream.

There's more ... AH's lawyers say to prove cruelty, you must also show the killer "took pleasure" or was indifferent about killing. Team Hernandez says there was no evidence to show Hernandez "took pleasure in any suffering experienced by Lloyd."

Long story short ... AH's team believes Lloyd's murder was a run of the mill gun death -- nothing more or less cruel than any other.

Did you know ... "Blackish" star Anthony Anderson is friends with NFL legend Marcus Allen?

It's true ... and yesterday at LAX, the guys had a pretty hilarious explanation for the whole Deflategate situation -- it all comes down to pee!

The whole video is pretty hilarious ... with Anderson crackin' jokes just to get Marcus to laugh.

The judge in the Aaron Hernandez murder case ... the first one ... has officially thrown out the perjury charge against Aaron's fiancee Shayanna Jenkins after she provided testimony that led to the conviction of the ex-NFL star.

Jenkins had struck a deal with prosecutors before she got on the stand -- she would talk and in exchange they would toss out a previous perjury charge.

The perjury charge stemmed from comments Jenkins made to the grand jury in 2013 regarding a gun in her home ... that may have been the weapon used to murder Odin Lloyd. If convicted, she faced up to 20 years behind bars.

Prosecutors say Jenkins' testimony at the trial -- that she helped Aaron dispose of a mystery box after Odin's death -- helped them win the case.

The operating theory is that the box contained the murder weapon.

The New England Patriots just released a SCATHING new statement blasting the Wells Report ... once again insisting that Tom Brady did nothing wrong.

In the docs, the team makes its argument using strong scientific evidence ... and one fun fact about male urination ... a Pee Fact, if you will.

Here's the long and short of it ...

One of the key parts of the Wells Report is pointing out that Patriots locker room staffer Jim McNally went to a bathroom with game balls before the AFC Championship game. The insinuation is that McNally deflated the balls while inside the crapper.

Here's the Patriots retort:

"The report does not address whether one minute and 40 (seconds) is consistent with the time that it takes a gentleman to enter a bathroom, relieve himself, wash his hands, and leave. In fact, it is."

So, there you have it ... according to the Pats ... it takes a dude 100 seconds to drain the lizard, wash up and leave the bathroom.

And that's exactly what the Patriots believe happened.

Odell Beckham Jr. just made the biggest catch of the NFL off-season ... snatching the "Madden 16" cover right out of the hands of fellow finalist Rob Gronkowski.

Beckham Jr. and Gronk beat out a bunch of other NFL studs ... like the Cardinals' Patrick Peterson and Steelers wideout Antonio Brown ... to become the last two dudes standing on Madden island.

Fan votes determined the final winner, and Odell took it home with a super narrow 52.5% of the votes -- but arguably Gronk is the real winner here.

There's a little thing known as the Madden curse ... and the Giants star is now susceptible to the same fate suffered by Garrison Hearst, Peyton Hillis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, and bunch more.

Even last year's cover guy -- Richard Sherman ... jacked up his elbow and lost the Super Bowl.

Ummm ... congrats, Odell?

We asked Giants co-owner Steve Tisch last week about OBJ possibly getting the honor (?) -- he was less than thrilled.

If you're in the market for a Jimmy Garoppolo card, you shoulda bought it last week -- 'cause the Tom Brady backup's trading card is SKYROCKETING!

Ever since Brady was suspended ... Garoppolo's been a hot commodity, and not just for Bill Belichick. TMZ Sports found out his signed rookie card is worth more than 100 times what it was before Tom got nailed.

A rep for COMC -- a top online auction site -- tells us ... "His card was originally selling for $2.25, but as soon as Tom Brady's suspension was announced, Garoppolo's card skyrocketed to $278."

Put down your smartphone ... we already did the math, and that's a 12,256% increase. By comparison, the rep says a signed Brady card will set you back about $290.

Trading cards are nice and all, but Tom still has the 4 Super Bowl rings ... and Gisele.

No more sugarcoating it ... Tom Brady is a cheater ... period ... so says Seattle Seahawks badass Michael Bennett.

Bennett -- one of the best defensive ends in the NFL -- played against Brady in the game AFTER the Deflategate ... and though he admits Seattle got beat fair and square in the Super Bowl, MB says there's no question Tom broke the rules in the AFC Championship.

But after that, this clip gets HILARIOUS -- here are the CliffsNotes:

-- Advice for QB Russell Wilson now that he's dating Ciara?
("Watch out for Future")

-- Favorite Leonardo DiCaprio movie of all time?
("'What's Eating Gilbert Grape' ... the one where he played like he's retarded")

-- Which celeb he thinks he looks like?
("Denzel or Will Smith")

The New England Patriots are confident in their backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo ... but they think Tom Brady's suspension is "absolute bulls**t" ... so says one respected Pats player.

The player -- who wished to remain anonymous so he could be "completely honest" -- tells us bluntly, "Ted Wells is full of sh*t. Brady wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize our franchise."

He continued, "I am upset. The whole team is upset. Brady has held himself together ... but we know he's upset. This is some bulls**t."

"Every time we win, we're accused of doing something wrong. It's like the NFL wants to discredit us for winning. If we lost, this wouldn't be a discussion. Goodell has again failed in his decision making."

Charles Barkley says Tom Brady's 4 game suspension will DEFINITELY lower his fantasy football value ... but he doesn't care because "only losers play fantasy sports" anyway.

Sir Chuck was "living the dream" in NYC Tuesday when he sounded off on the whole Deflategate scandal -- saying he still loves Tom ... and explains why he'll still be considered one of the greatest QBs ever.

Tom Brady's agent just came out BLASTING the NFL -- saying the league has a storied history of BLOWING IT when it comes to meting out punishment ... which is why they're appealing Tom's 4-game suspension.

Don Yee -- who gives absolutely zero damns -- pulled no punches in a scathing statement attacking the NFL and the Wells Report.

"The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis. In my opinion, this outcome was pre-determined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever."

He continues, "There is no evidence that Tom directed footballs be set at pressures below the allowable limits."

"We will appeal, and if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells Report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic."

And this is where Yee really begins to spit venom -- "The NFL has a well-documented history of making poor disciplinary decisions that often are overturned when truly independent and neutral judges or arbitrators preside, and a former federal judge has found the commissioner has abused his discretion in the past, so this outcome does not surprise me."

No Brady? No problem ... because the New England Patriots are still FAVORED to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 ... according to multiple major Vegas sports books.

TMZ Sports spoke with honchos at multiple major sports books in Vegas who all told us the same thing -- the Pats were favored by 6.5 before the suspension ... and will be favored by 2-3 points now.

Tony Miller, the director of the race and sports book at the Golden Nugget, says ... "They're still the Patriots ... and they have a couple of months to get Jimmy Garoppolo ready."

Get this ... we're told most sports books took down the game after the Wells Report -- refusing to take bets because of the possibility of a suspension ... which could impact the line.

But now, we're told most, if not all, books will start taking action again as soon as today ... with the new odds.

If you just watch football for the hot dudes, don't worry about the whole Tom Brady suspension ... his backup is pretty damn handsome.

Here's Jimmy Garoppolo ... he's 23-years-old ... he's 6'2" ... 225 lbs ... and was 2nd string on the Patriots depth chart last year.

Barring any big trades or pickups ... seems the kid is gonna finally get his shot.

Tom Brady has been suspended the first 4 games of the 2015 NFL season for his role in Deflategate ... TWICE the suspension the league initially gave Ray Rice for beating a woman.

The NFL just issued a statement saying, "Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL."

"Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games."

The league also dropped the hammer on the New England Patriots -- hitting the team with a $1 MILLION fine ... and taking away their 1st round pick in the 2016 Draft and their 4th round pick in 2017.

The two locker room attendants who are believed to have deflated the balls have also been suspended indefinitely without pay.

In a letter to Brady, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent explained the league found "substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots’ employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge."

"Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence."

"Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football."

So far, no comment from Brady.

Magic Johnson just spoke out on the suspension -- saying. "The Commissioner came down hard & fair."

Eli Manning told Ralph Vacchiano of the NY Daily News ... "It is about integrity and you have to follow the rules. If someone’s breaking rules they’re going to get punished."

He added, " "In no way am I glad to see this happen."

Will Smith tweeted ... "Tom Brady suspended 4 games, Thats Interesting!!!!"

Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount -- "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! SMH 😡 #PATSNATION STAND UP!!!!!"

Donald Trump -- "They had no definitive proof against Tom Brady or #patriots. If Hillary doesn't have to produce Emails, why should Tom? Very unfair!"