New England Patriots

Ya can't say Matt Damon ain't ride or die ... Boston to the heart ... and blindly passionate for all things Patriots, but that love might finally crush him -- in fantasy football.

No shocker ... Damon's stuck with his Pats and Tom Brady through the whole Deflategate mess -- but when we got him in downtown L.A. Monday night ... we wondered if he'd waiver when it comes to drafting a fantasy QB this year.

Keep in mind, TB's most likely serving a 4-game suspension before he sees any playing time.

Check out Matt's response. Billy Joel is ringing in our heads for some reason.

Leave it to the NY Jets fans to throw salt in the Patriots wounds -- trolling the team by flying a "CHEATERS" banner over the New England practice today.

The sign, created by Jets Fan Media, read ... "Cheaters Look Up."

Don't worry, Pats Nation is already firing back on the Jets Fan Media twitter page -- one guy wrote back, "The only banner Jets fans will see for a long time."

Count Mike Epps among the people piling on to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's terrible week ... 'cause the movie star tells TMZ Sports the NFL will be far LESS SHADY now that the Pats have been punished.

Epps was out in NYC promoting his (and LeBron's) new show "Survivor's Remorse" when we asked the die hard Colts fan how he felt about the NFL upholding Tom Brady's suspension.

FYI -- the Colts got SMASHED in the AFC title game last year ... the contest that sparked Deflategate.

Check out the clip -- Epps is locked and loaded with his jabs ... coming up with a brand new nickname for Brady while hitting Belichick with an old standard.

Tom Brady took a shot at Samsung while defending himself in the Deflategate scandal -- claiming he didn't randomly destroy his cell phone ... but junked it because it was broken .. in exchange for an iPhone!

After the NFL issued a statement claiming Brady was more than suspicious when he 86'd his phone on the same day he was supposed to meet with investigators, TB finally fired back.

"I also disagree with yesterdays narrative surrounding my cellphone. I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances."

"To try and reconcile the record and fully cooperate with the investigation after I was disciplined in May, we turned over detailed pages of cell phone records and all of the emails that Mr. Wells requested."

"We even contacted the phone company to see if there was any possible way we could retrieve any/all of the actual text messages from my old phone. In short, we exhausted every possibility to give the NFL everything we could and offered to go thru the identity for every text and phone call during the relevant time."

"Regardless, the NFL knows that Mr. Wells already had ALL relevant communications with Patriots personnel that either Mr. Wells saw or that I was questioned about in my appeal hearing. There is no 'smoking gun' and this controversy is manufactured to distract from the fact they have zero evidence of wrongdoing."

Tom Brady told the NFL he could not submit his cell phone as evidence in the Deflategate investigation because he destroyed it ... this according to the NFL.

Donald Trump just got some praise from a very powerful man -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft ... who hailed Donald as a financial wizard ... even if he turned down a chance to buy the Pats in the '80s.

There are reports Trump had a shot to buy New England in 1988 for somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million ... but passed 'cause he didn't think it was worth it.

Kraft bought the team in '94 for $172 mil -- and now they're reportedly valued at $2.6 BILLION!!

So, when Kraft was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood last night, we asked about the Trump story -- to which he replied, "Donald Trump's a very good investor. I wouldn't question anything he does."

We thought we could sense some sarcasm in the statement -- but it turns out, Kraft and Trump have been good friends for 20 years ... so, maybe a serious compliment?

Ex-New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes has pled GUILTY in his hit and run case stemming from a June crash in his Maybach ... but he won't do one single minute behind bars.

Instead, Spikes has been ordered to pay more than $2k in fines and his driver's license has been suspended for one year.

As we previously reported, cops found Brandon's expensive Maybach on the side of the interstate in Foxboro, Mass. on June 7. At first, Spikes said he hit a deer, but was lying. Instead, he smashed into the back of an SUV -- leaving 3 people with minor injuries, including a 12-year-old girl.

Spikes was initially charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, negligent driving, speeding and failure to stay in his lane.

But he struck a plea deal, and got probation for one year. His driver's license was suspended and he's been ordered to complete a safe driving course.

While his superstar QB was fighting the NFL to drop the Deflategate suspension, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was chillin' in Greece ... looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

TMZ Sports obtained pics of Bill hangin' out with his GF, Linda Holliday, on the Greek isle of Santorini this week ... doing some shopping, eating and hanging out at a local bar.

We're told the couple spent a lot of time in Oia -- known for being incredibly beautiful ... and one of the most relaxing places on the planet.

Rob Gronkowski is a championship football player ... sometimes we forget, because it seems all he does is dance.

Gronk let loose at The Underground in Chi Town Friday night, sharing DJ honors with DJ Dante as he sang and danced with family and friends.

Gronk's in the Windy City for the Nascar Xfinity Series Race at the Chicagoland Speedway. He's the Grand Marshall.

Boss respects Boss ... so says Rick Ross who tells TMZ Sports he's homies with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft ... and says the 74-year-old is a "super cool dude."

Ross says he and Kraft became friends when they "kicked it in the Hamptons" a few years ago ... and they've become better friends over time.

In fact, it's probably why Ross was invited to perform at the Pats Super Bowl party with the team back in February ... when he got Kraft to come onstage and DANCE with his crew.

#BFFs

Donald Trump is already droppin' the sports metaphors -- comparing China to the New England Patriots ... and claiming their leaders are like Tom Brady!!!

During his "I'm running for President" speech moments ago ... Trump took several shots at the Obama administration and other U.S. political leaders.

That's when he dropped the Brady shot -- saying China's leaders are like Tom Brady and the U.S. is like a high school football team ... "They are ripping us!"

He went on ... "Our leaders don't understand the game."

How close are the New England Patriots??? Well, they don't mind swappin' a little spit ... 'cause they chugged champagne together at an afterparty ... and TMZ Sports has the pics.

After raging at the Super Bowl ring celebration at Robert Kraft's house last night, a bunch of the guys kept the party train rollin' to Cure Lounge in Boston -- where they raged 'til 2AM.

Among the partiers ... Gronk, Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, LaGarrette Blount, Malcolm Butler and Jonas Gray.

But the most interesting part ... Tom Brady decided to tap out after the main party -- so his backup Jimmy Garoppolo represented for the QBs instead.

We're told the gang popped a $7,500 bottle of Belaire Rose -- Rick Ross' stuff -- and passed it around like blame in a Deflategate investigation.

Aaron Hernandez is throwing the most desperate Hail Mary ever ... trying to challenge his murder conviction by claiming one of the jurors may have had it out for him BEFORE the trial started.

Aaron's legal team just filed new court docs in an apparent effort to find a flaw in the Odin Lloyd murder case -- in the hopes Hernandez could get his murder conviction overturned.

Hernadez's main argument -- his lawyer says he received a tip from an anonymous woman AFTER the verdict ... saying she recognized one of the jurors whose ID was revealed on TV.

Aaron's lawyer says the woman also claimed she could prove the juror was familiar with the Lloyd murder and was "hoping" to be on the Hernandez jury.

If true, AH's lawyer claims it would mean the juror would have LIED during voir dire when asked if he/she had knowledge about the case.

The problem -- the lawyer doesn't know the mystery woman's identity ... since she called him from a blocked number and refused to give her full name because she was afraid.

Now, the judge will rule on whether or not the court should look into the matter further.

Tom Brady raided the family safe this morning ... busting out ALL FOUR of his Super Bowl rings to show off on social media -- while reminding everyone he's still married to a supermodel.

Check out the picture ... featuring rings from '01, '03, '04 and '14 ... along with Gisele's hand.

Brady included the message, "These four rings stand for ‪#‎Family‬, ‪#‎Team‬, ‪#‎Friends‬ and @Patriots fans. Without the support of each one, none of these would be possible."

"I am truly grateful and blessed. What an incredible journey."

As for the new Super Bowl ring -- it was made by Josten's ... weighs 4.85 carats, has 205 diamonds and includes the team motto, "Do your job."

Check out the pics.

Wanna see Tom Brady trying to dance to hip-hop music ... with Wiz Khalifa egging him on?

Great ... 'cause that happened at the New England Patriots Super Bowl ring ceremony last night.

Among the highlights ...

-- Tom Brady dancing to "Handsome and Wealthy" by Migos
-- Robert Kraft dancing to "6 God" by Drake
-- Rob Gronkowski gettin' low to "Trap Queen" while sweatin' through his shirt

The party all went down at Robert Kraft's home. Everyone left with fabulous parting gifts (205 diamonds).

NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes never hit a deer on a Massachusetts freeway this weekend -- instead, cops say he struck an SUV and fled ... and now he's been hit with criminal charges.

The story was bizarre from the start -- with officials discovering Brandon's expensive Maybach car on the side of the interstate in Foxboro early Sunday morning with no signs of Brandon.

The OnStar operator who responded to the crash said Brandon claimed he had struck a deer.

Cops smelled something fishy and investigated ... and now, they believe there was no deer ... instead, he smashed into the back of an SUV -- leaving 3 people with minor injuries, including a 12-year-old girl.

Officials say Spikes has been charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury crash, negligent driving, speeding and failure to stay in his lane.

Spikes was cut by the New England Patriots following the crash.