NY Giants

3:22 PM PT -- Beckham Jr. vehemently denies the allegations, and issued the following statement through his attorney, Daniel Davillier:

"Ishmael Temple has expressly acknowledged in his own lawsuit that Odell Beckham, Jr. never once touched him; and yet, Mr. Beckham is being sued for an alleged altercation that definitively did not involve him at all."

In the statement, Beckham's legal team also claims Mr. Temple arrived at the party drunk, belligerent and made threats to several attendees ... at which point he was repeatedly asked to leave. They claim he was repeatedly asked to leave, and got into a fight -- but NOT with Odell -- and was then escorted off the premises.

They point out, Temple himself says Odell wasn't involved in the physical altercation -- but they claim he demanded money from Odell.

Davillier added, “This guy claims somebody assaulted him to near death, but there’s no police report, no hospital record, no evidence of an actual injury, and he asserts that Odell is responsible. This is clearly a frivolous lawsuit. We’ll see him in court.”

Odell Beckham Jr. is being sued by a guy who claims all he did was go to Beckham's house and he got the crap beaten out of him.

Ishmael Temple claims in a new lawsuit he's been friends with Beckham. Temple claims he was invited to Beckham's home in January. He says he was shaking hands with people inside the home and went for the hand of Beckham's hired muscle, Charles Puryear, when the bodyguard pulled out a gun and pointed it toward him, saying, "I bet you've never gotten shot before."

Temple says he then pulled Beckham aside to tell him what happened and says Beckham just laughed it off and told him to relax. He says 20 minutes later, when he was ready to leave, another guy punched him in the back of the head and Puryear joined in, stomping Temple.

Temple says he blacked out and woke up to kicks to his face and Beckham did not order security to stop.

He says the beating stemmed from an incident the week before, when he says Beckham's security verbally assaulted him when he sought to retrieve his phone from Beckham's house. He thinks security resents him because, "as a Hollywood social event organizer, [he] knew many of the female ladies present at Beckham's residence."

Temple says he was beaten to a pulp ... his 2 front teeth got chipped and his lip was busted. He says his earring got ripped out of his ear and his knee got messed up.

Temple says he's spent $18k just to fix his teeth.

And there's more ... Temple, an event organizer, says he's been blacklisted as a result of the fight.

If the NY Giants don't want to get audited, they'll keep Eli Manning because a prominent NY politician is totally pro-#10 ... saying he can lead the G-Men back to the Super Bowl.

We talked to NY Senator Chuck Schumer and asked what the Giants should do with that 2nd overall pick -- and like any good politician, he had a plan.

"Yes, they gotta keep Eli and draft a line," Schumer said ..." I like the guy they got from the Patriots, but they need more offensive line."

"If they get a good offensive line, they're gonna be a Super Bowl contender."

Of course we pressed him like DJ Envy talking to Desus & Mero, but Schumer made it clear he's against picking a signal caller in this QB-heavy draft.

"Keep Eli."

LaDainian Tomlinson says Saquon Barkley is basically L.T. 2.0 -- but tells TMZ Sports that ain't enough for him to go #1 in the NFL draft.

We asked LaDainian about all the Saquon comparisons people have been making when we got the Chargers legend at LAX ... and he couldn't agree more.

"He’s a little bit bigger than I am -- but they’re awesome comparisons," L.T. said.

"The lateral movement, quickness, the power, he can catch the ball ... all that stuff."

But even with all that talent, L.T. told us there's a good reason the Browns won't take him with the first overall pick ... and he says that's GREAT news for the Giants at #2.

Derrick Ward's wife wants out ... filing court docs to separate from the ex-NFL running back after allegations he's been brutalizing her over the past year.

As we previously reported, Ward's wife Naomi got a restraining order against the former NY Giants running back last month claiming he's been physically abusive in front of their children -- shoving her, punching walls and breaking things.

Now, we've learned Naomi filed for divorce on Feb. 5 in Los Angeles seeking to separate. The assumption is that she'll eventually move to end the marriage once and for all.

We've reached out to Ward for comment -- so far, no word back.

Jeff Hostetler knows what it's like for a backup QB to achieve Super Bowl glory ... and he's passing his wisdom to a guy who's in his exact same shoes -- Nick Foles.

Just like Foles ... Hoss was #2 on the depth chart when the 1990 Giants started the season -- but got the starting gig when Phil Simms got injured in Week 15.

Everyone counted the G-Men out ... saying a backup couldn't lead them to a win. Hoss proved 'em wrong, throwing for 222 yards and a TD.

Now, the 56-year-old is giving a bit of advice to the Eagles backup ... revealing what it's like for a backup to take over under center in the Big Game.

BTW -- the Giants were a 6.5-point underdog against the Bills, and the Patriots are 5-point favorites over the Eagles.

Eli Manning still has strong supporters on the Giants -- with rookie running back Wayne Gallman telling TMZ Sports he's "ride or die" with #10 ... despite having the #2 pick in the draft.

Gallman was one of the bright spots for the G-Men this season in their 3-13 season -- with the 4th round pick out of Clemson flashing some real promise toward the end of the season.

Now, with the team at a crossroad -- stick with Eli or draft a QB -- Gallman is ready to pick a side ... and he's rockin' with the guy who has 2 Super Bowl rings.

Now that he's retired from the NFL, "Dancing with the Stars" champ Rashad Jennings tells TMZ Sports he's trying to making a serious run in the dance world!

"I have not put up my shoes yet in the ballroom," Jennings said. "I'm actually gonna enter into a competition in March."

Pretty awesome ... especially considering Rashad -- who was at a gala for the Muscular Dystrophy Association -- had zero dance experience before we got him to shout out the reality show.

The pitch worked, he won Season 24 of 'DWTS' ... and now it looks like he could parlay that success into something big.

Shad's already teaching classes on his new passion -- dude knows what he's doing!

Here's Charles Oakley dishing out some tough love to Eli Apple ... telling the NY Giants cornerback 3 things he's gotta do after acting a damn fool (again).

1) "Man up."

2) "Play ball."

3) "Shut up."

The Knicks legend wasn't going easy on the young fella when we got him outside Michael's in NYC ... saying ballin' in the Big Apple ain't an excuse for his antics, and it's on Eli to clean up his own mess.

FYI, Apple got suspended after blowing up on his coaches at Giants practice on Wednesday ... and that's after his own teammate, Landon Collins, called him "a cancer."

Eli Apple's brother says it's the NY Giants cornerback's MOTHER who's the real cancer in his life -- and he's begging his bro to cut her out before she kills his career.

TMZ Sports spoke with Dane Blackson -- Eli's half-brother (they have the same mom) -- and he's very passionate that Annie Apple is "pulling the strings" in a very damaging way.

"I feel like when people say Eli's like a cancer ... I just think of mom when people say like words and use these types of adjectives."

"I feel like he never had a fair shot. I mean, a lot of this sh*t that you could be judging him on, there's really a master behind him pulling the strings. So, as far as Eli being the cancer, I don't really see Eli being the cancer more than I see mom being the cancer and him not being able to distance himself."

Annie Apple has had a major presence in Eli's life ever since he broke out as a star college player at Ohio State. She became a fan favorite for her outspoken opinions and fun personality at the NFL Draft and later got a job with ESPN.

But, Dane says she's gotta back off in a big way ... telling TMZ Sports no one in Eli's inner-circle likes their mother -- but they're all too scared to speak up.

N.Y. Giants star Landon Collins is apologizing for his recent comments referring to teammate Eli Apple as "a cancer" ... saying he met with Eli in person and cleared the air.

ICYMI ... Collins ripped into Apple during a radio interview with 98.7 ESPN New York on Tuesday ... saying there's one major problem in the Giants' secondary ... and that's Eli Apple.

"That first-round pick ... he's a cancer," Collins said.

But Collins tweeted out Wednesday morning that he's extended an olive branch to Apple ... and has since apologized to the rest of his teammates.

"I never stop supporting my brother/teammate Eli and the rest of my teammates as we move forward. Just want him to know I'm always here for him."

Eli Manning is still LOVED by his NY Giants WRs ... just ask supermodel Chanel Iman, who says the QB is definitely invited to her upcoming wedding to Sterling Shepard.

Sterling proposed to Chanel earlier this month after roughly 11 months of dating -- and now the wedding planning begins!

We had to ask about the guest list ... and that's when Iman raved about Eli Manning -- saying she's a huge fan of the quarterback both on and off the field.

In fact, Chanel says the guy doesn't even need to get them a wedding gift ... but c'mon, she doesn't really mean that, right?!

4:20 PM PT -- It ain't just for looks ... Tim Lincecum is gearin' up for an MLB comeback -- so says the president of Driveline Baseball in Kent, Washington (where the photo was taken).

"Tim will throw for teams at a showcase in the near future," he tweeted.

Wanna know where Tim Lincecum's been for the past year??

Hitting the gym, bro ... and getting SHREDDED.

The former SF Giants superstar resurfaced in a photo from Rockies pitcher Adam Ottavino Monday night ... and it's clear Lincecum hasn't just been chillin' since getting dropped by the Angels last summer.

The 33-year-old's putting his new physique to use too ... windin' up the heater in what appears to be a baseball training facility.

No word on an official comeback -- but either way, lookin' good, Timmy! (We do miss the hair, though.)

Here's a video the NFL should show at the 2018 Rookie Symposium -- NY Giants WR Brandon Marshall being cussed at in NYC by a heckler ... and he handles it like a champ.

It all started when an NYPD officer approached Brandon's Rolls-Royce and started to write him a parking ticket. Like anyone, the WR wasn't happy about it.

A fan spotted the incident and started recording. He then asked Brandon for a selfie, but the NFL star wasn't in the mood (obviously) and declined.

The fan turned on Marshall and yelled at him, "That's why your team sucks, man. That's why your team sucks!"

He added, "What's y'all record?! F*cking bum!"

But, Marshall smartly kept his cool and walked away ... only saying one thing to the heckler, "Go to work." He left the situation without incident.

This had all the makings of a situation that could have gone very south ... and it didn't.

Don't stick a fork in Eli Manning just yet ... his brother, Cooper, says the NY Giants QB still has another Super Bowl run left in him.

Of course, the G-Men suffered another brutal loss this weekend -- losing 30-10 to the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium ... but Cooper says there's a legit explanation.

"They're a little understaffed," the 43-year-old "NFL on FOX" star told us at LAX.

Despite the team woes, Cooper says he expects Eli to start the rest of the season -- and clearly believes Eli is one of the elite QBs in the league.

MLB Iron Man Cal Ripken says the NY Giants ending Eli Manning's consecutive starts streak "saddened" him -- but it ain't the apocalypse fans are making it out to be.

We got Cal in D.C. ... and the Orioles legend told us that having to sit after 2,632 STRAIGHT GAMES really didn't even register -- 'cause all he cared about was playing baseball.

"I don’t look at it that way -- that you're extending a streak or ending a streak," Ripken told TMZ Sports. "It never was something that I thought of as beginning or ending."

Warren G is telling the NY Giants exactly what they need to do about the Eli Manning situation -- a situation that they totally screwed up -- telling TMZ Sports the Manning era should continue.

Here's a refresher ... the Giants benched their 2-time Super Bowl MVP for Geno Smith -- ending his consecutive games streak, losing the game, then firing their coach and GM. Nice.

It looks like Eli's job again, for now ... question is, for how long? Will the organization stick with him?