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The Arena Football League is just months away from relaunching, and now we know the locations the sixteen AFL organizations will call home -- a mix of preexisting markets and brand-new teams.

-Austin
-Boise
-California (will play in Bakersfield)
-Chicago
-Colorado (will play in Denver)
-Minnesota (will play in St. Paul)
-Louisiana (will play in Lake Charles)
-Ohio (will play in Cincinnati)
-Orlando
-Oregon (will play in Salem)
-Philadelphia
-St. Louis
-Tallahassee
-Tennessee (will play in Nashville)
-Washington (will play in Everett)
-West Texas (will play in Odessa)

“We are extremely proud to share the initial markets that will serve as the foundation of the new era of the Arena Football League,” AFL Commissioner Lee A. Hutton III said.

“Fans in each community will have the opportunity to come together and create new identities, new traditions, and new memories to help catapult our league to thrilling heights. We’ve been working diligently to put the league and the respective member teams in the best position to deliver a competitive and entertaining product on the field and we simply can’t wait to return to the original innovators of indoor football in 2024.”

The AFL was originally founded in 1987 as a four-team league ... the Pittsburgh Gladiators, Denver Dynamite, Washington Commandos, and Chicago Bruisers. The league expanded and was successful for years before shutting down several years back.

In February, the AFL announced they were coming back in 2024 ... with a 10-game season.

The league hasn't yet announced team names or ownership groups. If you remember back, the original AFL had several celeb owners, including Jon Bon Jovi.

Le'Veon Bell says NFL running backs are being treated like a bunch of ants when it comes to contract negotiations ... and unless they team up, they're going to continue to get squashed.

The ex-Pittsburgh Steelers star -- who famously sat out an entire season over his own contract dispute -- went on a Twitter rant to share his thoughts on the league's biggest stars like Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs failing to get long-term deals this offseason ... and he used an old Disney movie to explain his take.

Bell says anyone trying to understand what's going on should check out the 1998 flick, "A Bug's Life" ... which is a story of one ant, Flik, inspiring his colony to team up against a bunch of grasshoppers who have been taking advantage of them.

Bell says he's the real-life version of Flik, because he made the bold move to hold out during his career ... and he took all the heat in hopes of improving the market for his position.

"At the time, no one could see my vision or what I was standing for but all I was doing was just preparing to go against the grasshoppers/owners," Bell tweeted on Tuesday. "But as a lone inventive ant/RB, I obviously couldn’t beat the grasshoppers/owners alone .. ‼️"

Now that Barkley and Jacobs are in a similar situation, Bell thinks they could take back control by following his lead.

"In 2017 & 2018 I was the lone ant, I was Flik .. it was literally ONLY ME .. fast forward 6 years later, now you have multiple ants tryin join the fight against the grasshoppers …"

"Once Flik helped the other ants realize that there are more of US (ants) than it is of THEM (grasshoppers/owners) they finally defeated the grasshoppers ... ants are STRONG AS F*** together ‼️ very weak when they are individuals."

Even if more players start to hold out (there are rumors Barkley will), Le'Veon says there's only so much that can be done ... because after all, the running backs will always be ants.

Steph Curry's hot streak rolled right into Monday night ... 'cause just one day after he scored a huge win at a prestigious celeb golf tournament, he got an epic shout-out from Drake!!

The Golden State Warriors star was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for Drizzy's "It's All A Blur" tour some 24 hours after he nabbed the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe ... and the rapper actually paused his show to give the hooper love.

Drake called Curry his "brother" and complimented his looks ... before he told the sold-out crowd to "make some noise" for the four-time NBA champ.

Drake also shouted out Ayesha Curry and Sonya Curry -- who had VIP seats right alongside Steph at the concert.

The Currys all seemed to love it -- arena cams caught them grinning ear-to-ear -- before Drake started spittin' on the microphone once again.

The moment was just one of many big ones for Steph in the last few weeks ... he's had a hell of a summer so far -- first appearing on The Match in late June, then hitting a hole-in-one on Saturday ... before earning the ACC crown on Sunday.

Things are only looking up from here too ... Steph revealed Monday his Gentleman's Cut Bourbon is launching worldwide later this month as well.

James Worthy hasn't tuned into "Winning Time" but not because he's against a series on the Showtime Lakers ... on the contrary, the hoops legend says he wanted to be involved, but showrunners never reached out.

"I haven't watched it because I wasn't involved in it," Worthy recently told TMZ Sports.

"And I was hoping that they would come to us and get some really good interviews and some really good one-on-one sit-downs because we were willing to, like, share a lot of stuff. That decade was iconic. And I just wish we could have been involved."

"Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" is an HBO drama based on the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers squad. The show premiered in March 2022 and was renewed for another season which begins airing in August.

If you're wanting Lakers content, James, a 3x NBA champion, does have a suggestion that isn't "Winning Time ... Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers."

"I did the Hulu, the Legacy, which is the real deal. It's real footage with interviews of people who were there. So I understand satire, but I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't."

We also asked James if he's discussed the HBO series with any of his former teammates.

"We never talked about Winning Time because we weren't involved in it. We talked a lot about the Legacy. So if you really want to know the truth, go watch Legacy on Hulu. Go watch the Legacy on Hulu, get the real deal."

Brandon Miller's 📍 Cloud Nine ... 'cause the Charlotte Hornets rookie just met Paul George -- the man he considers the G.O.A.T. -- and the Clippers star offered to mentor the #2 overall pick throughout his NBA career!

"Use me, use me as much as you want," George told Miller. "Use me as a resource, bro. That's what I'm here for. I want to help you in every step that you need if you need."

The All-Star continued ... "Make that journey a lot smoother and easier for you."

The two finally linked up on George's podcast weeks after the former Crimson Tide hoops star revealed PG13 was the player he considered to be the greatest ever ... not LeBron James, Michael Jordan or anyone else.

Of course, fans roasted Miller for picking George over James and Jordan ... but it's clear BM couldn't care less as he sat down with the L.A. Clippers.

"It's exciting just him being in my presence," Miller said to PG's co-host. "It's definitely a great moment, been lookin' up to him for a long time."

Miller explained to George that he became his GOAT when he played on the Indiana Pacers and put Chris "Birdman" Anderson on a poster back in the day.

"Now I'm up here with him, now I get to compete against him I think is an even better experience."

Of course, George knows what it takes to be an NBA star ... he's been in the league for 13 seasons and is an 8-time All-Star, NBA's Most Improved Player, in addition to many other earned accolades.

Miller, were it not for Victor Wembanyama, would've been the top pick ... and many people believe he has Kevin Durant-like skills on the court. So, skies the limit ... and Paul's there to help.

Jordyn Woods and Kylie Jenner might be mending their relationship, but fans for both women aren't shy in voicing their opinions on the whole thing ... with some all for the rekindling and others totally against it.

The comment section on Jordyn's IG has become a very active chat room, where folks are expressing concerns over the model's rekindled friendship growing with Kylie. Kylie's comments are taking off too -- with a pretty mixed bag of reviews.

While some fans are supporting the move to be friends again, there's also a large portion who aren't ... in Jordyn's comment section, one user is bummed about her taste in pals, while another feels downright betrayed, commenting ... "Girl wtf was you doing out with Kylie after we fought vehemently for you." One fan even declared Jordyn's "better and happier" without Kylie by her side.

Kylie's comment section doesn't look much different than Jordyn's ... with fans offering up warnings on taking Jordyn back -- considering what happened the first time around.

While it's obviously not how either KJ or JW feels, the consensus among their fans is each is doing just fine after losing her former besties in the fallout of the Tristan Thompson drama.

TMZ broke the story ... Kylie and Jordyn had been hanging out for over a year, prior to their public sushi outing -- working on getting their friendship back to where it once was.

Wiz Khalifa is getting ready to throw that high cheese when he takes the mound at the Pirates game ... 'cause the rapper says he's planning on being "stoned af" for the ceremonial first pitch.

The Pittsburgh native -- who's in town for his "High School Reunion" tour -- will do the honors before his hometown team hosts the Cleveland Guardians on Monday ... and he's got a perfectly on-brand strategy in place ahead of his big moment at PNC Park.

"Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game," Wiz tweeted to his 36 million followers.

It may not just be ganja powering Wiz through the toss, though ... 'cause he also added, "Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy."

To prove he wasn't kidding (not like he needed to), Wiz also posted a picture of his supply ... showing two big jars of weed, as well as some mushrooms.

You could say Wiz is sorta paying homage to former pitcher Dock Ellis, who famously claimed to have thrown a no-hitter while high on LSD back in 1970!!

High or not, Wiz will still probably throw a better pitch than 50 Cent.

Saquon Barkley will enter the 2023 season without a long-term contract -- the superstar running back and New York Giants were unable to come up with a new deal before Monday's deadline ... and now, the former No. 2 overall pick is weighing in on the stalemate.

Both sides were working until the last minute in hopes of reaching an agreement ... but despite the Giants reportedly upping their offer (there are rumblings they were offering $13 million a year), they were left without a solution.

"It is what it is," Barkley tweeted shortly after the news broke ... which certainly doesn't sound like he's happy with the end result.

The Giants placed the $10 million non-exclusive franchise tag on Barkley shortly after signing quarterback Daniel Jones to an extension in March ... but there's a chance he could now sit out the entire upcoming season.

In fact, Barkley has reportedly already decided to sit out training camp ... which would not result in fines, as he has not signed his tender.

It wouldn't be the first time a player of Barkley's caliber has missed a whole season due to failed negotiations -- Le'Veon Bell skipped all of the 2018 season as a result of his own dispute.

Francis Ngannou says Tyson Fury will rue the day he underestimates the former UFC heavyweight champ!

"[Tyson] has said a lot of things. He better just get ready for October 28th because if he's not taking this seriously, I think he might get surprised and get some regrets for his life," 36-year-old Ngannou told TMZ Sports just days after his highly anticipated boxing match with the Gypsy King was announced.

Fury, by nearly everyone's account, is the best present-day heavyweight boxer ... but Ngannou isn't content with cashing a big check just to lose his boxing debut.

"I'm going there to box. I'm going to walk into this fight as a boxer. And I'm impressed to see how people are counting me out of this and it also gets me excited. You know, one more thing that they keep doubting on me. And as usual, I might keep proving them wrong."

Despite Francis' confidence, Tyson doesn't seem too concerned, sending a message to Ngannou over social media, taking a shot at his opponent.

"Ngannou, you're getting it, you big dosser. You big stiff dosser, you're getting knocked out. You're getting knocked out, friend!"

We also talked to the former UFC star about how he plans to prepare for the bout ... and Francis is thinking about bringing in two of the greatest heavyweights of all time.

"I think getting some advice or some training from Mike Tyson would be good. I also think of somebody like Lennox Lewis, which could be good."

Francis continued ... "I love his boxing style, very basic, but very sharp, efficient, you know, want to all those stuff like classic, but very good, I love stuff like that. So yes, one of those guys, we are reaching definitely reaching out."

FYI, Fury is a heavy favorite -- to the tune of -1250 (risk $1,250 to win $100) -- but Ngannou is unbothered.

Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods have been spending time together and working on mending their relationship for over a year ... a friendship we're told Khloe Kardashian never put any restrictions on following the drama with Tristan Thompson.

Sources close to the pair tell TMZ ... the 2 have been hanging out privately for a while, and this weekend's sighting just marked the first time they've been spotted out and about by the public since their rekindling.

You'll recall, the 2 were best friends since 2012, but everything fell apart in 2019 when Jordyn kissed Khloe's ex-BF and baby daddy, Tristan Thompson. BTW, Jordyn admitted Tristan kissed her, but shot down the idea that there was any romance between the two.

Despite the messy fallout, we're told Khloe never held her little sis back from being friends with Jordyn -- the unfriending was Kylie's call. Sources say there were more issues with the friendship than just the Tristan drama at the time, so everything kinda collapsed all at once.

We're told everyone's moved on from that saga, though ... Kylie and Jordyn were best friends back in the day, and they're now working to hopefully get back to BFF status again.

Ohio State freshman receiver Carnell Tate's mother was tragically killed in a shooting on Sunday. She was just 40 years old.

Law enforcement says the fatal incident happened around 2 AM in the Garfield Park neighborhood in Chicago ... where a woman was shot multiple times in an alleged drive-by.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital ... where she, unfortunately, succumbed to her injuries. She was later identified as Ashley Griggs, Tate's mother.

Four others, aged 38 to 42, were also injured in the shooting. Reports say they are in fair condition.

Chicago PD says one of the injured victims claimed the shooter was "traveling in a vehicle at the time of the shooting."

Tate -- a Chicago native -- moved to Florida to play at IMG Academy, where he averaged 20.3 yards during his senior year in 2022. He was 247Sports' 22nd-ranked player in the country.

The 4-star prospect committed to OSU that December ... and is considered one of the best incoming freshman receivers.

Ashley was excited about Tate's upcoming season -- in fact, one of Griggs' last posts was about his No. 17 Buckeyes jersey going up for sale online.

MLB legend Johnny Bench is sharing his regret after making an antisemitic comment about late Cincinnati Reds general manager Gabe Paul over the weekend ... admitting his words were "insensitive."

Several former Reds stars were in attendance to honor Paul's enshrinement in the franchise Hall of Fame on Saturday ... and at one point, Pete Rose made a comment about the Jewish executive's involvement in his first professional deal.

"When I got out of high school in 1960, Gabe Paul signed me to a contract for 400 bucks a month," Rose said ... to which Paul's daughter, Jennie replied, "That cheap ... never mind."

That's when Bench made his controversial comment ... adding, "He was Jewish."

Most of the crowd laughed at Bench's jab ... but the 2-time World Series champ later apologized for the comment.

"I apologized to Jennie for taking away from her father the full attention he deserves," Bench said. "Gabe Paul earned his place in the Reds Hall of Fame, same as the others who stood on that stage, I am sorry that some of the focus is on my inappropriate remark instead of solely on Gabe's achievement."

A group of hero kids did their best Baywatch impression over the weekend, rescuing a "drowning" Shaquille O'Neal (don't worry, he was pretending!), and bringing the gigantic NBA legend to safety at a resort pool in Hawaii.

Don't worry -- Shaq's totally fine! But, he did have some fun in Honolulu over the weekend, where the Big Fella was in town to DJ at The Republik.

O'Neal had some downtime, so he hit up the pool ... where he was spotted by a group of kids. The 7'1 legend is a tough man to miss.

A fan named Daniel Chavez got the interaction on video ... showing Shaq playing with about ten kids in the pool, before pretending to drown so they could save the 7'1, 300+ pound behemoth.

Needless to say, all Shaq had to do was stand up.

Fans thought it was hilarious and adorable at the same time ... with one writing, "There is no better celebrity when it comes to interaction with everyday civilians better than Shaq."

"He genuinely loves his fans and people. He treats everyone the same no matter where he is or what he doing‼️"

Chavez also shared a video of DJ Diesel on the turn tables during what he does best (outside of hoops) at his sold-out event.

Ariana Grande and her husband Dalton Gomez have been separated since January, and they are heading toward divorce ... sources connected to the couple tell TMZ.

As we reported, Ariana was not wearing her wedding ring at Wimbledon over the weekend ... in fact, she's been ringless a lot these days.

We're told a few months back the 2 tried a reconciliation, but it failed.

One source with direct knowledge told TMZ, their relationship "is heading for divorce."

Ariana and Dalton have been thousands of miles apart since December, when she started filming "Wicked." Our sources say they were having problems even before that.

We're told they remain friends and still talk on the phone regularly, but, according to sources, the marriage is kaput.

It was early 2020 when we first saw the two of them making out at dinner at Bar Louie in Northridge, CA. At the time, no one really knew who Dalton was or how serious the couple's relationship had gotten.

The couple tied the knot in May 2021 in a very private ceremony at Ariana's home in Montecito.

Ex-NFL star Russell Okung just revealed he lost more than 50 pounds after going 40 days without food for a SECOND time ... and the results are nothing short of jaw-dropping.

The former sixth overall pick in the 2010 draft has completely transformed his life in retirement ... embarking on a mental and physical journey through long-term fasting.

Okung -- who weighed more than 300 pounds during his playing days with the Seahawks, Broncos, Chargers and Panthers -- went on his first fast earlier this year, in which he lost more than 100 pounds.

The former offensive lineman is now 192 pounds after completing his second round of fasting over the weekend ... but he makes it clear the challenge is not all about losing weight.

The 34-year-old explained his decision to go through with the process for a second time ... saying, "Ultimately, I was still transitioning out of the NFL, I had a lot of questions about the world."

"My entire worldview was completely shifting. There's still a lot of questions that I have. I don't want to say that they went away, but I do want to acknowledge that I have much more clarity, peace and acceptance that there are things that I cannot change," he added.

"There are things that I can change and I am really [interested] in bringing my entire self to every experience that I encounter. I'm very happy 'cause I feel rooted. I feel grounded. I know why I'm here."

Russell shared a video of his first meal on Sunday ... and he was overcome with emotion as he sipped juice.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Funny Cide, who became the 30th horse to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 2003, passed away on Sunday from complications of colic.

He was 23 years old.

Funny Cide emerged as a fan-favorite racehorse after defeating odd-on favorite Empire Maker at the 2003 Kentucky Derby ... and winning again at the Preakness Stakes.

The famed thoroughbred fell short of the Triple Crown ... finishing in third at the Belmont Stakes.

Funny Cide competed until 2008 ... winning 11 races overall and raking in more than $3.5 million in career earnings.

For the final 15 years of Funny Cide's life, he retired to Kentucky Horse Park ... where he was a member of its Hall of Champions.

Sackatoga Stable -- the ownership group for the "Gutsy gelding" -- shared the tragic news in a statement ... saying, "We are so grateful to Kentucky Horse Park for giving our guy a wonderful retirement. To say we will miss him, is an understatement."

Jose Santos Jr. -- son of Funny Cide's jockey, Jose Santos -- paid tribute to the legend ... writing, "By me, you will be remembered for the moments you gave our family. You are a family member to me."

"It hurts to know I’ve lost that, but I will never lose the memories you gave me, as well as the love I have for you ... Fly high champion"