NY Giants

Not everyone has given up on Michael Sam -- in fact, he's got a pretty powerful supporter, NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch who tells TMZ Sports he really hopes the guy makes an NFL squad.

Tisch was out in L.A. having dinner at Craig's when he told us he still believes the first openly gay man to be drafted into the NFL has the skill and the talent to compete at the highest level.

But at what point should Sam hang up the cleats and pursue another career? Tisch talks about that too.

STOP BODY-SHAMING JAMEIS WINSTON ... he's got a perfect QB physique ... so says one of the most famous heavyset NFL quarterbacks of all time ... former NY Giants QB Jared Lorenzen.

Of course, Winston has been under fire from people who say he looks too fat, doughy, soft and out-of-shape to be a successful NFL QB ... especially after he went topless at his Pro Day this week (see pic above).

But Lorenzen -- aka "The Hefty Lefty" & "The Pillsbury Throwboy" -- says Winston needs to ignore the haters and focus on winning football games.

"He's not JaMarcus Russell. He's not fat by any means. He's just a big dude," Jared says. "He's got a great body to play quarterback. The little skinny guys don't make it. They can't take a hit."

"Look at RG3 ... small guy. Now he can't even run."

BTW -- when Lorenzen played for the Giants from 2004 to 2007 he usually hovered around 300 pounds.

"I was probably a little bit on the extreme side ... but I never missed a game due to injury in my career going all the way back to when I was young. Most big guys don't. They can take a pounding."

As for Jameis, Jared says the guy's potential is off the charts -- "He's only 21 and he doesn't even have his grown man body yet. He's gonna get bigger and faster."

BONUS -- Here's footage of Jared playing for the Northern Kentucky River Monsters last year. He's big ... but the dude can still ball.

MSNBC thought it had the very first interview with NY Giants tight end Larry Donnell ... who was on board the Delta flight that skidded off the runway in NY earlier today.

They were wrong.

Instead, they had an impostor ... who pulled a Baba Booey-inspired prank that culminated with the prankster yelling, "F**k her right in the p***y" while he was live on the air.

As we previously reported, the FHRITP pranks have been driving media outlets CRAZY for months ... with some reporters getting physical in an effort to prevent hooligans from shouting the phrase during live shots.

NY Giants tight end Larry Donnell was aboard the Delta airlines flight that skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport moments ago ... and says he KNEW he shoulda stayed home this morning.

Not one of the 149 passengers on board suffered any serious injuries when the plane was coming in for a landing and skidded off the runway. It eventually crashed into a snow bank and came to a stop.

When Donnell got off the plane, he did what most people would do ... took a pic ... and posted the caption, "Look at this s**t! Knew I shoulda stayed my ass at home."

Donnel released a statement after the ordeal, saying, "I’m blessed to be safe and sound after our plane skidded off the runway at LaGuardia airport today. I feel fine physically and hopefully all the other passengers did not have any significant injuries."

Looks like Jamies Winston and Marcus Mariota, better invest in a good pair of headphones ...

That's 'cause Giants punter Steve Weatherford tells TMZ Sports they'll need them in the locker room, where NFL rookies have absolutely NO SAY in what music bumps.

Weatherford was out in NYC (looking impeccable as always) when we asked him about the sonic dynamic of an NFL locker room ... basically what gets played and by who.

Check out the clip -- Steve says NOTHING gets played by the young guys. He goes on to say that if you want some jam time in the locker room you better have major time logged in the league.

Think an NFL owner wants to see one of his players fight in an MMA match? HELL NO ... so says NY Giants honcho Steve Tisch who says there's NO WAY he'd let one of his stars get into the octagon.

Of course, the topic came up thanks to New England Pats star Chandler Jones ... who says he wants to fight his big bro, UFC champ Jon Jones, in a 1-round charity match.

But Tisch says ... if Jones was one of the G-Men, he'd shut those plans down in a New York minute.

"I think the risk is too high," Tisch says ... "That wouldn't make me happy."

In fact, Tisch says he's always worried that when his players engage in off-the-field activities, he fears Murphy's Law ... that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Translation -- don't plan on seeing Victor Cruz go skydiving anytime soon.

This is a GREAT moment caught on video ...

There we were, talking with WWE legend Shawn Michaels, when a MASSIVE dude nervously began to shuffle into the frame.

With a giant grin on his face, the man tapped Shawn on the shoulder ... and then, like a kid meeting his hero, he explained that he's a NY Giants player ... and Shawn was one of his idols growing up.

It's awesome -- the player is defensive tackle Jay Bromley, a 3rd round pick from Syracuse who just completed his rookie season.

Michaels is clearly impressed ... and the two proceeded to bro out ... even after Shawn broke the news he's a Cowboys fan.

In yet another display of freakish athleticism, here's New York Giants superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. dunking like a boss ... while wearing a backpack.

The NFL star -- who was just named offensive Rookie of the Year -- put on an impromptu slam dunk clinic on an outdoor court earlier Tuesday ... and gave a shoutout to LeBron James while he was at it.

Fun Fact -- Beckham Jr. says soccer is his 2nd sport ... not hoops.

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.

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.

Oregon shmoregon ... That's how NY Giants star Prince Amukamara felt about Monday Night's big game telling TMZ Sports the only competition he cared about was from the thirsty chicks on ABC's "The Bachelor."

Prince was out in NYC Monday night -- not watching the big game -- when we asked who he thought might take it between the Bucks and Ducks.

Here's the thing ... Prince didn't care!! He was more into "The Bachelor" ... and the BRACKET he filled out for the show.

Yes, a "Bachelor Bracket" is a thing ... just like the Final Four where you pick the names of the women who you think will get a rose from Chris Soules and advance every week.

Hopefully, Prince didn't have Alissa, Jordan, Kimberly, Tandra or Tara going the distance.

Like you need ANOTHER reason to like Odell Beckham Jr.????

Well, here we go -- 'cause the NY Giants receiver says he turned down an amazing opportunity to join the U.S. National soccer program when he ws a kid ... because he'd miss his family too much.

Beckham Jr. -- who's also a hardcore sneakerhead -- was at the opening of the OG Sole sneaker shop in Jersey this weekend when he explained why he chose football ... instead of leaving his family and pursuing a career in soccer at 14-years-old.

In fact, OBJ also picked his college to stay close to his fam -- choosing LSU instead of any other program in the country ... just so he could stay local.

Things worked out.

Fun Fact -- Odell says he has more than ONE HUNDRED pairs of sneakers ... including a pair of the most sought after kicks in the shoe game.

NY Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (the guy who made that insane 1-handed catch) will beat your ass in just about EVERY sport ... and there's video to prove it.

The 22-year-old NFL phenom has been flexing his talents in everything from basketball (#dunkskills) ... soccer (#juggleskills) ... baseball (he can SWITCH HIT!) and even golf (#niceswing).

For the record, OBJ has been a freak athlete his entire life ... and was asked to try out for the U.S. Men's National Team when he was a teenager ... but turned it down to focus on football.

Victor Cruz won't let a busted right knee keep him from hitting the party scene ... 'cause the NY Giants star hit up a huge party in Miami Thursday night -- with his knee brace -- and we've got the pics.

Cruz -- sporting a medical brace under his sweatpants -- hit up a Crooks & Castles party presented by Hennessy V.S for Art Basel Thursday night.

Despite the fact he's recovering from a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his right knee that he suffered during a game back in October, Victor was seen laughing and having a great time at the party.

Meanwhile, back in NY ... Cruz's teammates -- who have lost 7 straight games -- are preparing to take on the Titans this weekend.

Cruz seems to be making good progress on the knee -- he looked pretty spry while walking through a NY mall a few weeks ago ... and told us he expects to be busting out his salsa again very soon.

Remember when NY Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said the coolest moment in his life was when his hero LeBron James tweeted about his legendary 1-handed catch???

Well, last night ... OBJ got a new "coolest moment" in life -- when he met LeBron in person and they took a picture together!

As we previously reported, Beckham Jr. had called James his "favorite athlete" and talked about how much it meant when LeBron gave him props for that sick grab against the Cowboys.

The two finally met in person at dinner Wednesday night -- and you can by the look on Odell's face ... dude was stoked!!

In fact, James even posted about it ... writing, "Giving the game to my young king @iam_objxiii tonight at dinner! Keep going homie and #StriveForGreatness #RWTW."

Pretty cool, right?