RIP

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett -- a third-round pick in 2011 NFL Draft -- has passed away. He was 35 years old.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... Mallett tragically drowned in Florida. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mallett was a star prospect out of Texas High in Texarkana ... where he was one of the top-ranked signal callers in his class. He went on to play at the collegiate level from 2007-10 for the Michigan Wolverines and Arkansas Razorbacks ... and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2010.

He was the offensive MVP of the Liberty Bowl in 2010 ... and was named All-SEC second team in 2009 and 2010.

Mallett was the 74th-overall pick to the New England Patriots in 2011, serving as a backup to Tom Brady for three seasons.

He was traded to the Houston Texans in 2014, where he would start two games before going down with a season-ending injury. He remained with Houston for six games the next season ... before being traded to the Baltimore Ravens.

Mallett played two more seasons with the Ravens ... taking his last NFL snap during the 2017 season.

The former standout took up coaching after his pro career ... joining White Hall High School's coaching staff in Arkansas.

The mystery of actor Julian Sands' disappearance has finally come to a close ... after officials confirm human remains discovered where Sands last went hiking are his.

A statement released Tuesday from the San Bernardino Co. Sheriff's Office read, "The identification process for the body located on Mt Baldy on 24 June, 2023, has been completed and was positively identified as 65-year-old Julian Sands of North Hollywood."

As we reported, it was Saturday when some hikers in the area discovered the human remains -- more than 5 months after Sands first went missing.

There's not yet a cause of death for Sands, but extreme weather rolled into the area when he went on his hiking trip.

Interestingly enough, rescuers had continued to search for Sands over the last few months, with efforts happening as recently as this month.

While some of Sands' relatives had already lost hope and said their goodbyes, others released a statement, saying they were, "deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian."

Most of Sands' success came in the '80s and '90s in films like "Warlock: The Armageddon" and "Arachnophobia."

He was 65.

NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson's wife's parents and 11-year-old nephew died following a fatal shooting at their Oklahoma home on Monday ... and according to law enforcement, the tragedy is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

Muskogee Police tell TMZ Sports -- Chandra Janway's parents, Jack and Terry Janway, and nephew, Dalton Janway, were found dead shortly after 9 PM ... after receiving a 911 call from a woman who reported someone with a gun before hanging up the phone.

Cops say Terry is considered the suspect ... but the motive is unknown and currently under investigation. It's not clear if she's the one who made the 911 call.

Cops tell us they found a body laying in the hallway after arriving at the scene ... and heard another gunshot come from inside the home.

Cops searched the house and found two more dead bodies. All three died from gunshot wounds, police say.

Johnson -- a 7-time NASCAR Cup champion -- married Chandra in 2004 ... and they have two daughters together, Genevieve and Lydia.

Jimmie is currently slated to compete in NASCAR's Chicago street race this weekend.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.

Vanessa Bryant was victorious in a lawsuit over one of the biggest investments Kobe Bryant ever made ... and in the process of winning, she exposed some pretty awful, racially-charged smack talk.

The background -- Kobe plunked down $6 million back in 2013 for a 10% interest in the sports drink company, BodyArmor. Several years later, the company sold to Coca-Cola for a whopping $5.6 BILLION. Kobe's investment reportedly netted him $400 million.

In 2019, six months before Kobe was killed in a tragic helicopter accident, the President of Kobe Inc., Molly Carter, claimed Kobe promised her 2% of his cut. Kobe called BS on her, saying he never made such a promise.

Molly sued, and Vanessa picked up the mantle and not only defended the case, she filed her own counterclaim, alleging Molly violated the duty of loyalty and the non-disparagement clause in her employment contract by trash-talking Kobe and his family.

As for the alleged trash-talking ... Vanessa claimed she referred to Kobe as an "asshole," a "douche nugget," and a "dick wad." She says Molly called her the "f***ing devil," "bitch" and PSYCHO," even mocking Vanessa's newborn as having "botox lips."

Vanessa says while Molly was working for the company, she was permitted to travel to an NBA All-Star game and on the jet she groused, there were "a lot of fancy-ass Black people" on the plane.

The case went to arbitration and Vanessa prevailed on both the lawsuit and her counterclaim and was awarded more than $1.5 mil in attorney's fees.

Pink's had a lot of gifts thrown onstage over the years, but something tells us this most recent item was one-of-a-kind ... as a fan tossed their mother's remains to the singer!!!

Pink was performing her headlining set at the British Summer Time Festival in London when the baggy full of ashes was thrown up onstage. Baffled, you see Pink pick up the item, ask, "Is this your mom?" followed by, "I don't know how I feel about this" before setting it down.

What's most funny about the whole thing, Pink barely misses a beat -- belting out her song "Just Like a Pill" through the whole ordeal.

Not much is clear about who threw the bag of ashes or what the reason was behind the move ... but you gotta assume the mom was a big Pink fan???

Nonetheless, the rest of the show went on without a hitch.

Actor Lew Palter, who played business magnate Isidor Straus in "Titanic," has died.

His daughter, Catherine, told the Hollywood Reporter ... Palter passed away in May after a bout with lung cancer.

Palter was best known for his role as Isidor Straus -- the co-owner of Macy's -- who perished with his wife, Ida, aboard the Titanic in the 1997 James Cameron movie.

In his most famous scene, Palter cuddles with Ida -- portrayed by Elsa Raven -- on the bed inside their cabin as the massive ship sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean after hitting an iceberg.

Interestingly enough, the real-life Straus was actually the great great grandfather of Stockton Rush's wife, Wendy. Stockton was one of the 5 who died in the Titan submersible.

Before "Titanic," Palter appeared in various hit TV shows, including "Columbo," "Kojak," "Charlie's Angels," "The Brady Bunch," and "Hill Street Blues."

Palter was 94.

Quavo and Offset stole the show at The BET Awards to honor Takeoff, and while the moment meant a lot for hip-hop, it doesn't mean fans should expect new Migos music any time soon.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ the former foes have actually been cordial behind the scenes for months. Obviously, Sunday night's performance was the first public display they'd worked things out ... but our sources say the reconciliation happened some time ago.

Of course, the next question fans want answered is what does the renewed friendship mean for Migos and the chances Quavo and Offset release new music together?

Our sources say as of now, there's not a plan in place to record anything as a duo -- the goal of the BET show was strictly to honor Takeoff, not a marketing ploy. In fact, it's still not even known if the two would ever use the Migos name again in releasing potential future projects.

What's more ... our sources say if Migos ever was revived, Quavo and Offset would never replace Takeoff with someone else.

TMZ broke the story, things were still nasty between Quavo and Offset during the Grammys in February when they got into it backstage ... but thankfully, that's now a thing of the past.

As we reported, the BET crowd erupted as Takeoff's verse from "Hotel Lobby" pumped through the speakers inside DTLA's Microsoft Theater before Quavo and Offset took over to perform the trio's signature breakout single, "Bad and Boujee."

Ray Lewis gave a powerful speech at his son's funeral on Saturday ... fondly remembering his child less than two weeks after the 28-year-old's tragic death.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer, wearing all white, spoke for several minutes at the service inside of the Calvary Orlando Church in Florida ... as dozens of mourners listened on intently.

"We will see you again," the ex-Baltimore Ravens star said to his child, Ray Lewis III, during his speech.

Lewis also spoke about how he'd watched his son over the last 28 years ... adding, "The referees thought I was crazy running up and down the sideline."

Lewis' good friend, Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin, was also in attendance ... and he said after the ceremony his "heart bleeds" for Ray and the Lewis family.

"NO FATHER should ever have to bury his son!" Irvin said on his social media page. "There is NOT anything, anyone can say to ease this depth of pain. Just know this MY BROTHER, we love you and God has you."

In his post, Irvin also shared a video from the funeral ... showing that a montage featuring clips and pictures of Ray and his son was displayed.

Following the ceremony, some of Lewis' family members and closest friends gathered at the repast at Lake Mary Preparatory School, where they posed for a smiling photo.

As we previously reported, Lewis III died on June 14 ... after cops say he accidentally overdosed.

Ray hadn't spoken publicly about the death until Saturday's service.

The wreckage from the Titanic submersible tragedy hasn't even settled yet, but some are jumping at the opportunity to get Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet back on screens ... including Netflix.

The streaming giant recently announced James Cameron's 3-hour epic is hitting their service starting July 1. Of course, it's not entirely clear if "Titanic" was already scheduled to be part of their new offerings ... or if this is in response to OceanGate.

If you look online ... people definitely have their opinions, and many believe Netflix added this as a last-minute play to capitalize on all the interest in the story -- and there's a lot.

Indeed ... many are accusing Netflix of doing this way too soon. Despite all the jokes and mockery that's been aimed at the victims of the submersible, it would seem there's still a fair amount of people who feel like their memory should be honored -- at least for now.

BTW, "Titanic" isn't the only deep-sea project they're airing in July -- there's a new doc they're also promoting called "The Deepest Breath" ... and that too is getting a double take.

Now, while many suspect Netflix did this as a way to jump on the submarine saga ... some reports have suggested the licensing deal for "Titanic" was already set -- and that it was actually known it would be part of their July slate even before the sub went missing.

If that is, indeed, true ... another question being posed -- would it be appropriate to yank 'Titanic' for sensitivity purposes??? Something tells us Netflix isn't primed to do that.

As you know -- 5 people onboard the Titan submersible died after authorities said the vessel imploded underwater ... and much sooner than everyone initially thought. There's been a lot of scrutiny about the safety concerns in the lead-up to this ill-fated dive.

The irony of "Titanic" resurfacing for at-home viewing is the fact that its director has been so outspoken about the Titan's voyage ... sounding off and suggesting hubris was afoot.

The teenager who died aboard the Titanic submersible had high hopes for his future -- including breaking a world record ... which he seemed primed to do.

19-year-old Suleman Dawood -- one of the five passengers who perished in OceanGate's Titan sub last week -- had been on record as wanting to set a new benchmark ... namely, solving a Rubik's Cube thousands of feet below the ocean's surface and being the one to have done it at the deepest depth, around 12,000-plus feet under the sea.

A video that his family shot -- which is now making the rounds -- shows him cracking the toy puzzle relatively quickly ... at about 19 seconds. For the Titanic voyage, he wanted to do that in the sub.

Reports say his father even brought a camera to capture the moment, so it was definitely on his mind.

Of course, his family was incredibly proud of him ... and the guy had a lot of life to live.

His mother, Christine Dawood, recently did an interview with the BBC ... and it's heartbreaking. She says she was nearby when they initially went missing last Sunday and spent torturous days hoping against hope.

Sadder than that ... Christine says it should've been her on the sub instead of her son. She explains that the plan was for her to go with her husband, Shahzada, but she gave up her spot to her son at the last minute because he apparently really wanted to go.

In hindsight, Christine says she regrets that ... and goes on to say she misses her family.

Christine also says she and her still-living daughter have vowed to learn to solve the Rubik's Cube in honor of Suleman.

Alex Graham -- a pro hockey player in England -- tragically died over the weekend ... his team, the Sheffield Steelers, announced. He was just 20 years old.

Graham's org. revealed the sad news in a statement on Monday -- saying it's "devastated" over the passing.

Further details surrounding his death, however, were not released.

"Everyone at the club is heartbroken by the news," team officials said, "and wish to pass on our thoughts and condolences to Alex’s family, friends and teammates."

"It would be appreciated if Alex's family could be provided time and space to take in the enormity of this tragic situation in the days ahead."

Graham first debuted for the Steelers back in 2019 ... and had just signed his first pro contract with the team in May. He was considered by many to be one of the franchise's future stars.

Graham had also played for Great Britain's Under-18s and Under-20s teams ... and in a statement Monday, Ice Hockey UK officials also mourned his passing.

"The news has come as a huge shock to everyone in UK ice hockey, including all of his team-mates," the organization said. "This is a difficult time for so many people and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this devastating news."

The Migos reunited at the 2023 BET Awards Sunday night ... but the trio was now a duo, and they honored their late bandmate, Takeoff, with an emotional performance that brought the house down.

Quavo and Offset surprised everyone when they hit the stage an hour into the event at the Microsoft Theater in L.A. to pay tribute to Takeoff, who, as you know, was fatally shot at a bowling alley last November. The alleged killer, Patrick Xavier Clark, was indicted last month for Takeoff's murder.

Decked out in all-black leather, the two Migos kicked things off by diving into "Hotel Lobby," a song produced by Quavo and Takeoff, as the crowd went wild.

Special effects sent the show to the outer limits with a spaceship appearing on a large screen, which eventually took off as flames shot up from the stage. A massive image of Takeoff then morphed onto the screen behind Quavo and Offset while they were singing and dancing.

The pair then cranked out the Migos biggest hit, "Bad and Boujee," which rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and was nominated for best rap performance at the 2018 Grammys.

By any musical standard, it was a memorable moment and the first time Quavo and Offset appeared onstage together since Takeoff's death.

Question is ... will Quavo and Offset carry on the Migos torch as a duo?

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

MrBeast was almost one of the people who perished on the Titanic submersible -- but, lucky for him, he had the foresight to steer clear of the doomed trip under the sea.

The YouTube star made the revelation Sunday, taking to Twitter to write ... "I was invited earlier this month to ride the titanic submarine, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it." He also attached a screenshot of a text message he says he received.

It reads, "I'm going to the Titanic in a submarine late this month. The team would be stoked to have you along. I'm sure you're also welcome to join." Unclear who sent it -- but, on its face, this presumably came from one of the five passengers who were killed onboard.

There's been a lot of reflection in hindsight following the tragedy -- a lot of people are bringing up stories and examples of experts who tried sounding the alarm about some of the Titan's safety features ... with some, including James Cameron, insisting it wasn't up to snuff.

Titan completed successful missions -- including some to the Titanic -- before ... but many say it was just a matter of time before the thing ran into trouble. Obviously, that manifested.

Other notable individuals have come forward to say they, too, turned down opportunities to ride OceanGate's ill-fated submersible ... including financier Jay Bloom and actor Ross Kemp. Even more online have been mocking what they say was a disaster waiting to happen.

OceanGate has tried defending its operation in the wake of all this -- but it's a losing battle, it seems ... most everyone appears to be on the same page here ... this was a bad idea.

Julian Sands' tragic story may finally get some closure after all -- hikers discovered human remains in the same area where he went missing ... and they could very well be his.

The San Bernardino Sheriff's Dept. reported the remains were found on Saturday in Mount Baldy. Deputies responded to the scene and brought the victim's remains to the coroner's office for identification ... which will be revealed next week.

As we reported, Sands went missing in January after hiking alone in the mountainous area just north of Los Angeles. A full-scale search and rescue effort was undertaken but with no success ... even as recently as June.

In fact, it was just last week SBSD conducted its eighth organized search with a rescue team of about 80 volunteers. Hundreds of hours have been put into the search ... through the use of helicopters, drones, and other tactics. SBSD said they came up short yet again.

Sands' family recently made their first statement since the actor disappeared ... saying they were, "deeply grateful to the search teams and coordinators who have worked tirelessly to find Julian." Some of Sands' relatives have expressed they've already said their goodbyes.

Sands starred in popular films during the '80s and '90s -- including "Warlock", "Arachnophobia," "Gothic," "Boxing Helena," and more. He was 65 when he vanished.

Scammers looking to make a quick buck on the missing Titanic-bound submersible tried to crowdsource off the tragedy ... but GoFundMe is cracking down.

Here's the deal ... we did some digging and found several GoFundMe pages seeking donations for search and rescue efforts, and money for the missing passengers' families.

Problem is ... these GoFundMe pages are NOT legit ... and the platform is taking action, and scrubbing the pages in some cases.

A rep for GoFundMe tells TMZ ... their Trust & Safety team is monitoring the platform for fundraisers related to the OceanGate sub, and 5 fundraisers have already been removed.

The folks behind the bogus fundraisers appear to have lofty visions ... most of them set six-figure goals, with others seeking upwards of $2 million.

The Titanic submersible story has captivated the world, and you can count Adele as one of the many mesmerized. In fact, she's got Qs about it too -- for her audience, no less.

The singer was performing during her Vegas residency Friday night when, at one point, she paused her crooning to talk to the crowd ... namely, to ask them about OceanGate's Titan vessel -- and whether anyone there would want to go see the Titanic wreckage like they did.

Adele takes an impromptu poll for the Yeas and Nays ... and from the sound of it, more people definitely would not put themselves in that situation. Ditto for Adele, as it turns out.

It's pretty funny ... she also poses the hypothetical of getting on a rocket ship to space -- something that's happening a lot more lately among other billionaires -- and there, too, the audience didn't seem onboard. Adele's right there with them ... calling herself a "p***y."

Interestingly enough, Adele says she can understand why some would wanna take the big risk and head down thousands of feet to examine the famed sunken ship ... but for her, it's just too scary of a thought. After the thing imploded underwater, probably more so.

Here's the kicker ... Adele is actually pretty into the Titanic. She once had a Titanic-themed birthday party to ring in her 30th birthday -- complete with the fancy stairwell and everything.