St. Louis Rams

It's a homecoming for the St. Louis Rams -- NFL owners just approved the franchise returning to Los Angeles, and the vote wasn't even close.

The owners met in Houston on Tuesday to decided which teams if any would be moving. The Rams, Raiders, and Chargers all applied to make the jump to L.A.

The vote was 30-2 in favor of the Rams getting the nod. The Chargers were a sort of runner-up ... they got first option to go to L.A. later, and would share the stadium the Rams are building in Inglewood ... next to the Fabulous Forum where the Lakers used to play.

Raiders, Rams and Chargers fans up in arms about their teams trying to bolt to Los Angeles are looking at this the wrong way ... according to former NFL star Eric Davis.

Davis won a Super Bowl with the 49ers, so he's up on Bay Area fans -- and we asked if Oakland's Raider Nation might jump to the other team in town if the Silver and Black head south again. It's the question millions of fans in St. Louis (who've also been through this before) and San Diego are asking themselves right now.

Well, check out ED's answer ... it might calm nerves in all 3 cities. In a nutshell -- rep your team, not your city.

3 NFL teams are suddenly like waiters on the Sunset Strip ... trying to get a break in Hollywood -- the Chargers, Rams and Raiders all filed docs with the league to move to Los Angeles.

St. Louis Rams WR Stedman Bailey is making tremendous progress after being shot twice in the head last month -- walking and talking again and "getting back to himself" ... his agent tells TMZ Sports.

We spoke with Tony Fleming ... who tells us Bailey is out of the ICU -- but is still hospitalized ... recovering in a special physical therapy facility in Florida.

"He is getting his strength back and just taking it one day at a time. He is scheduled to be released out of the hospital on the 23rd."

Fleming tells us the 25-year-old has been extremely grateful for the support of his team ever since the Nov. 25th shooting.

"The Rams are great. They have been talking to the doctors like once every few days staying on top of it."

Fleming also says several team officials have come to visit.

Sick moment for the St. Louis Rams Sunday -- 'cause after they beat the Lions, JAY Z met the team in the locker room to celebrate.

Sooo why?

For one, Todd Gurley is repped by Roc Nation Sports ... and also, who's gonna turn away Jay Z?

But the best moment -- as the team was bringing it in for the post-game huddle, they called over Jay to lead the chant.

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey says he's recovering VERY WELL after being shot in the head -- and says he's determined to get back in the NFL.

Bailey was shot in front of his family's home in Florida last Tuesday -- and underwent an emergency operation in the hours following the attack.

Now, the 25-year-old has issued a statement saying, "My recovery has been nothing short of a miracle (a work of GOD) and I can only give GOD the praise, glory and honor for which he is doing in my life at this time."

The concrete was spattered with blood outside the Miami Gardens home where St. Louis Rams WR Stedman Bailey was shot Tuesday night ... after a drive-by shooting left him and another man hospitalized.

A neighbor who says he spoke with police claims he was told officers counted 33 shell casings at the scene.

Bailey and another man were sitting in a car outside Bailey's family home when a car rolled up and opened fire at 8:45 PM ... striking Bailey twice in the head. The other driver was hit multiple times, reportedly while trying to shield two children in the car from the gunfire.

According to cops, the victims drove themselves to a nearby hospital for treatment. Bailey is listed in critical but stable condition and is set to undergo surgery early Wednesday morning.

Bailey's neighbor says the NFL player has a good reputation in the area and was not known for being involved in dangerous activity -- "he's a good guy."

Junior Seau's sister says she doesn't want to see Wes Welker end up suffering from CTE like her brother -- and is advising the wide receiver to seriously reconsider his NFL comeback.

Welker has been out of football since last year -- and it seemed like his NFL career was over ... especially with his storied concussion history.

But now that he's signed with the Rams, Annette Seau tells TMZ Sports she's "fearful for him."

"Everyday he is out there taking these big hits on the field he is shortening his life," Seau says ... "I know how much the game means to these men ... but I am very fearful for him."

Seau says she wishes Welker nothing but the best -- but knows all too well the dangers of repeated head trauma. Junior took his own life in 2012 after suffering from CTE, which the family believes was caused by the hits he took during his NFL career.

"Junior would have came back and played longer if he was given the opportunity, so I know how Wes feels. I know how much the game means to these men."

The Mayor of Ferguson tells TMZ Sports the St. Louis Rams could play a HUGE role in helping the city heal in the wake of the recent civil unrest ... and it all starts with a playground.

Here's the deal ... each year the Rams provide money and manpower to build a brand new state-of-the-art jungle gym for one lucky community in the area.

This year, Rams legend Aeneas Williams -- a community leader in Ferguson -- is lobbying for the team to choose his city ... claiming it could be the catalyst for positive change the area so desperately needs.

We spoke with Mayor James Knowles who says, "To have the Rams take an interest, for them to potentially come build this for us, it's not just some construction group. It's our local football team. It would mean so much."

He adds, "It would have a huge psychological and emotional impact."

The Mayor says he likes the city's chances of being selected by the NFL team -- and praises Williams for leading the charge.

The man who beat out Michael Sam for a spot on the St. Louis Rams tells TMZ Sports ... Sam "definitely" has NFL talent and strongly believes he should be on a roster.

We spoke with defensive end Ethan Westbrooks ... who ultimately won a roster spot over Sam during training camp. Sam's competition with Ethan was one of the featured storylines in Sam's OWN Network documentary.

"We both had an opportunity to show who can help the team more and show we belong," Westbrooks says ... "I was just more of a fit for the current direction the team wanted to go in."

Westbrooks says Sam was a "great teammate" during camp -- and they continued their friendship even after Sam was cut.

Which is why Ethan says he got so upset with several Twitter cowards who made homophobic comments to him about Sam on Twitter during camp.

"It got to a point I had to delete the app from my phone and just focus on the game."

As for Sam's future, Westbrooks tells us ... "The NFL is hard man. I wish him the best and hope nothing but the best for him."

St. Louis Rams safety Rodney McLeod tell TMZ Sports the majority of the Rams had no idea 5 players were planning on doing the "Hands Up" tribute before Sunday's game ... but says he respects 'em for doing it.

"Nobody knew about it," McLeod says ... noting that it seemed like something the wide receivers worked out the plan amongst themselves in the moments before they ran out of the tunnel.

"It speaks to the character of those guys to stand up and do that in front of the country."

So how did the tribute go over in the locker room? "No tension at all," McLeod says ... "[the other players on the team] realized [the wide receivers] didn't mean any harm."

McLeod says the team has remained tight in the days following the incident -- "It's one of the strongest locker rooms I have ever been in. Our whole team is tight. Our locker room is even tighter."

Al Sharpton says he "respects and admires" the St. Louis Rams players who did the "Hands Up" tribute to Mike Brown before Sunday's game ... and is calling on ALL ATHLETES to follow their lead.

"I think that they have a right to do it and it was much appreciated," Sharpton told us.

Of course, the Rams have come under fire from the St. Louis Police Officers Association -- which demanded an apology ... saying the players ignored "mountains of evidence" in the case and offended cops around the country.

Sorry St. Louis ... the Rams BELONG in Los Angeles -- so says Rams legend Eric Dickerson, who tells TMZ Sports he thinks it would be "fantastic" if his old squad packs up and heads west.

Of course, Dickerson played for the L.A. Rams from 1983 to '87 -- 7 years before they left for St. Louis -- but the NFL Hall of Famer says the Blue and Gold is an L.A. team at heart.

But he feels just as strong about the Raiders -- telling us that team needs to STAY IN OAKLAND!

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" star Terry Crews tells TMZ Sports ... back when he used to play for the L.A. Rams, the Raiders fans hated his team so much, they THREATENED his wife and family.

Crews -- a former NFL linebacker -- played for the Rams back in 1991 ... back before the Raiders ditched L.A. and moved back to Oakland.

And last night in L.A., Crews told us some of the more insane fans of the Silver and Black took the rivalry so seriously, they threatened his wife and family.

It's pretty crazy stuff -- but Terry tells us it's not the Raiders fans that people need to worry about these days ... there's ANOTHER team in the Bay Area that's even scarier.

Question: What's black and white and red all over?
Answer: St. Louis Rams punter Johnny Hekker doing his Michael Jackson impression.

Hekker and linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar co-hosted the team's first ever Ram-Oke event at the 4 Seasons hotel in St. Louis Monday night -- benefiting their Kick Cancer initiative (nice work, fellas).

But the highlight of the event had to be when the gang dialed up Michael Jackson's "Thriller" -- and Hekker busted out the zombie dance.

Michael Sam is getting support from one of the biggest pop stars in the world -- Harry Styles ... who rocked the football player's jersey during a One Direction concert in St. Louis yesterday.

Harry threw on a #96 St. Louis Rams jersey with Sam's name across the back during the a performance at Edward Jones Dome ... where the Rams play.

It's an interesting move for Styles -- whose bandmate Liam Payne came under fire for his support for the "Duck Dynasty" guys after the reality stars came out against gay marriage.