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Ja Morant is making one thing clear -- the gun he flashed in a Colorado strip club was NOT his -- but as far as whose weapon it was, the NBA star is remaining tight-lipped.

The Grizzlies guard sat down for a one-on-one interview with ESPN's Jalen Rose on Wednesday -- shortly after his 8-game suspension was announced -- and he was asked straight-up who owned the gun he showed off on Instagram Live on March 4.

"The gun wasn't mine," Morant said. "It's not who I am. I don't condone any type of violence, but I take full responsibility for my actions."

"I made a bad mistake and I can see the image I painted over myself with my recent mistakes," he added. "But, in the future, I will show everybody who Ja really is, what I'm about and change this narrative."

Morant -- who hasn't played for the Grizzlies since March 3 -- said he's been in a good mental place following the incident ... and he spent his time away from the game speaking with therapists, getting reiki treatment and working on anxiety breathing to help deal with stress.

Morant added he realized he needed help when he made the video ... and his daughter inspired him to open up about his issues with professionals.

The All-Star also discussed his meeting with Adam Silver ... and he said it was a productive conversation, as the commish voiced support for him.

Morant says he still takes pride in being a role model ... saying, "I realize I have a lot of kids who look up to me. Even probably some adults, a lot of fans."

Move over OBJ ... Eli Manning has a new favorite acronym -- MBJ, as in Michael B. Jordan!!!

The New York legend welcomed the movie star to MetLife Stadium in a new episode of "The Eli Manning Show" this week ... and Jordan -- a die hard Big Blue fan -- wanted to live out his childhood dream by becoming a Giant for a day.

The award-winning actor linked up with Manning and former center, Shaun O'Hara at the facility ... and Eli wanted to give Jordan the full NYG experience.

So, Manning had Jordan -- who was in full pads and helmet -- ran a couple of routes right on the field ... and then they took a shot at recreating Odell Beckham Jr's most iconic catch.

Of course, that's when OBJ maneuvered his body to catch Eli's pass with only three fingers, despite the pass interference, against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014.

MBJ almost pulled it off, with the luxury of having no defense on his back ... but we gotta give him credit for the acrobatic leap -- it was impressive!!!

"That was pretty good," Manning yelled after the catch. "The guy's an actor that's an athlete. MBJ! MBJ! MBJ! Touchdown dance!"

Side note -- MBJ has experience as an athlete in multiple roles ... he acted in the "Friday Night Lights" TV series, as well as his starring role in the "Creed" franchise.

He also played as a young baseball player in, "Hardball" and made an appearance in "Space Jam: A New Legacy" with LeBron James.

A local Arizona shop owner interrupted an ESPN shoot this week to mock Native American performers -- while yelling, "MAGA country" -- and the whole racist tirade is on video.

Cody Blackbird -- who's of Cherokee/Dakota descent, and was one of the Native American performers hired by ESPN for the Super Bowl promo -- tells TMZ a dude named Gilbert Ortega started taunting the dancers from the front of his jewelry shop Tuesday in downtown Scottsdale.

We're told Ortega was mimicking their movements and chants -- in a demeaning way -- and that prompted some in the group to come over and confront him while filming.

TMZ obtained some footage of the confrontation, and it shows Ortega was out there to provoke and posture ... calling the Native Americans "f**king Indians," invoking MAGA and telling them to go back to Gallup, NM, which is home to a well-known reservation.

Ortega even came out for a tense face-to-face with the group at one point ... on a dare to say what he was saying to their faces. So, yeah ... he was looking for trouble and trying to get under the performers' skin. Unfortunately, he succeeded.

Luckily, there was no violence ... Ortega was whisked away by a friend, and the whole thing fizzled out after he went back into his establishment -- a business, BTW, that ironically sells Native American items.

Some members of the Native American group were upset enough to contact cops to complain. The Scottsdale Police Dept. tells us they're investigating the incident as "possible disorderly conduct" ... and, as of now, they don't see anything that rises to the level of a hate crime. That's subject to change based on the investigation.

Michael Irvin will no longer be one of the faces of NFL Network's Super Bowl coverage this week -- the former Dallas Cowboys star who's turned into a huge TV personality has been pulled from shows following an incident he had with a woman in Arizona on Sunday night.

Irvin told the Dallas Morning News the encounter happened at a hotel in Glendale -- the site of this weekend's SB LVII -- after he had returned to the property following a night out on the town.

Irvin says he spoke with the woman for roughly 45 seconds in the lobby -- and described it all as an almost entirely non-physical interaction.

The woman, though, according to the DMN, launched a complaint about Irvin's actions -- leading to the NFLN pulling him from their coverage on Tuesday.

Irvin says he's been left "perplexed" by it all -- explaining to the outlet it was such an innocuous conversation, he hardly even remembered it.

"When I got back after going out … I came into the lobby, and I talked to somebody," Irvin said. "I talked to this girl. I don't know her, and I talked to her for about 45 seconds."

"We shook hands. Then, I left. … That’s all I know."

He added, "I don’t really recall that conversation, to tell you the truth. We were out drinking. It was just a friendly conversation. ‘What’s up?’ I don’t even know. … I am totally perplexed."

An NFL Network exec confirmed to TMZ Sports Irvin will not be a part of the station's SB coverage this week. But, it remains unclear what the woman alleges Irvin said or did during their meetup -- as Irvin adamantly denied any wrongdoing.

"What law did I break?" Irvin said according to the Dallas Morning News. "There was definitely nothing physical. … That’s honestly all that happened. Nobody was in my room. It was a 45-second conversation in the lobby, a handshake and we left. … I don’t know. I don’t know what this is, and it’s running me crazy."

John Mayer is revealing his secret to getting pumped up before Dead and Company concerts ... saying Hall of Famer Bill Walton, showers him in compliments!!!

The 45-year-old musician opened up on his relationship with the former big man during Walton's "Throw It Down" alternative NBA broadcast on Monday ... explaining how the die hard Grateful Dead fan gets him ready to hit the stage before shows.

"When Bill gives you advice, he looks you dead in the eye and everything stops," Mayer said.

"He speaks with this cadence -- 'Go out there. Give it your absolute all. Don’t be shy. They are here to watch you play. Go play to the greatest of your ability ... and some of the greatest compliments I’ve ever been given are from Bill Walton."

Of course, Mayer plays guitar and sings for the GD spinoff band -- so Walton has seen him perform countless times. He even took the stage with the band in 2015.

In fact, Mayer says Walton -- who stands at 6'11" -- is easily recognizable in the crowd ... referring to the guy as "air traffic control" for the fans in attendance.

Bill explains his reasoning for holding his hands up in the sky during shows ... saying he spent 4.5 years immobile with a deteriorating spine, and now that he's able to move -- he's making the best of it.

A cocaine scandal that rocked the foundation of ESPN five years ago ultimately led to a HUGE windfall for the UFC ... this according to Dana White.

The boss of the fighting org. spelled out the wild tale in an interview with Grant Cardone this month ... insisting it was all "a true story."

White explained that back in 2017, the UFC's deal with Fox was running out ... and when they had initially turned to ESPN about consummating a new pact -- the org. wasn't interested.

"You ever hear of John Skipper?" White asked Cardone during the sit-down chat. "John Skipper ran ESPN. Now, I think he runs DAZN. Runs ESPN, beloved, looks like the squarest dude on the planet."

"Older guy," White continued. "Hates UFC. Hates it. Hates UFC. Big soccer guy. For whatever reason, different people like different things. And I'm not s***ing on John Skipper. But this is a fact, this happened and this is a true story."

White says Skipper essentially blocked talks on a deal from ever going through ... but suddenly, out of nowhere, the ESPN prez announced his resignation.

At the time, Skipper said it was due to a struggle with "a substance addiction." He later revealed in a 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he had been a user of cocaine, and that "someone from whom I bought cocaine attempted to extort me."

"They threatened me, and I understood immediately that threat put me and my family at risk, and this exposure would put my professional life at risk as well," Skipper said. "I foreclosed that possibility by disclosing the details to my family, and then when I discussed it with Bob, he and I agreed that I had placed the company in an untenable position and as a result, I should resign."

White said that decision paved the way for a massive ESPN-UFC agreement ... that's now taken his company to new heights.

"John Skipper's cocaine dealer is gonna rat him out," White said. "So he has to tell Disney 'My cocaine dealer is gonna go public' or whatever, so he has to step down from ESPN, right at the time we're trying to make a new TV deal."

"Who do they put in as the new president?" White continued. "Jimmy Pitaro, who ran Yahoo! Sports for years. I've known him a long time. He's a great dude, and he loves the UFC. Now you got him, you got a guy named Kevin Mayer, who is really close to [Endeavor CEO] Ari [Emanuel], and we ended up doing the ESPN deal when our deal was up."

ESPN and UFC ended up agreeing to a 5-year, $1.5 billion deal.

The show REALLY must go on -- and Daniel Cormier proved that on Tuesday ... staying calm, cool and collected when an earthquake hit while he was shooting a TV segment!!

DC had been filming his "DC & RC" ESPN show with Ryan Clark -- when he suddenly and abruptly stopped his train of thought to tell Clark he was experiencing an earthquake!

"Oh, my God, Ryan, there's an earthquake," the UFC legend said. "There's an actual earthquake going on right now. My whole office is shaking right now."

"Shut the hell up," Clark responded in disbelief. "Are you good," the ex-NFL defensive back asked 43-year-old Cormier.

Of course, what Cormier felt was an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 that hit the Bay Area late Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. geological survey.

Cormier informed Clark he was okay ... saying, "I'm good, I'm good. It's not a big one. It's just like a little one. Every now and then, you kind of get the rockies."

Although RC and DC weren't together, the two Louisiana natives shared a connection at that moment since they were both not used to experiencing earthquakes.

"It's so weird for someone from Louisiana where the Earth never shakes," said Cormier.

After it was all said and done, Clark commended Cormier for not panicking during the quake ... writing, "Broooooooo….@dc_mma really had a 5.1 earthquake while filming, and my dog didn’t budge."

Paul Pierce continues to be the butt of the joke after his viral raunchy twerking party last year -- his friends trolled him by getting a birthday cake with a picture from the infamous Instagram Live session ... and it's hilarious!!

Pierce, who celebrated his 45th birthday last Thursday, posted a picture of the cake on Twitter ... which poked fun at his NSFW gathering that led to his exit from ESPN.

On the cake is a pic of Paul -- who looks mesmerized -- pictured next to a scantily clad woman with the words, "Monica come through," and "Happy Birthday Habibi."

"My boys got me this cake fa my bday they play to much," Pierce said on Twitter ... seemingly accepting the friendly jab.

Remember ... the former Celtics superstar posted a video on Instagram showing him having a good time as scantily-clad women twerked on the floor behind him.

Pierce was fired from his ESPN job just days later.

Paul didn't seem too phased by his firing at the time ... posting a video of him smiling and laughing, saying, "Big Things coming soon stay tuned make sure u smile."

Shoutout to Paul for being a good sport about it all.

Famous NBA commentator Mike Breen's home in Long Island was completely destroyed in a massive fire over the weekend ... and officials tell TMZ Sports the blaze is under investigation.

The incident happened on Sunday at 4:03 AM when the Manhasset-Lakeville F.D. received calls from Breen's neighbors ... as well as an alert by the residential automatic fire alarm.

When MLFD arrived on the scene, they "encountered a fully involved house fire."

You can see in a video -- captured by MLFD -- the home was engulfed in flames and the roof of the garage was collapsing in the inferno.

"Numerous hand lines, as well as 2 ladder pipes and a deck gun, were used to battle the fire," officials said.

You can also see a car in the driveway during the clip ... but an MLFD spokesman tells us no one was in the residence and there were no injuries.

We're told the fire is currently under investigation.

Breen is in his 30th season as an NBA broadcaster and is currently the play-by-play commentator for NBA on ABC and lead announcer for the Knicks on MSG Network.

He is famously known for yelling "BANG!" after major shots during games and has been the lead play-by-play announcer for the NBA Finals since 2006.

The 61-year-old has also announced Olympic games, NFL games, and college basketball.

Breen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 and received the Curt Gowdy Media Award that's given to the best basketball writers and broadcasters.

John "Bad Dude" Stearns -- a beloved New York Mets catcher and four-time All-Star -- has sadly died at 71 years old.

Former Mets exec Randye Ringler announced the news on his social media page ... saying Stearns -- who played for NY from 1975 to 1984 -- passed away on Thursday.

"May he be setting up to catch Tom Seaver in Baseball Heaven and Resting in Peace," Ringler said. "He left us all with so many wonderful memories."

A cause of death was not revealed ... but Stearns had been battling prostate cancer.

"No one played the game with more spirit or determination than John Stearns," Mets president Sandy Alderson said Friday morning. "He literally willed himself to attend Old Timers' Day last month so he could visit friends and old teammates."

"Despite his illness, he even managed to step into the batting cage to take a few swings. His nickname, 'Bad Dude' couldn’t have been more appropriate. A four-time All Star, John was one of the most complete catchers in Mets history. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family."

Stearns started his career in the show with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974 -- but only played one game before he was traded to the Mets.

He went on to become a fan favorite for the way he played behind the dish. In one of his most memorable moments as a catcher, he broke Pirates outfielder Dave Parkers' cheekbone after he tagged him to end a game in 1978.

Stearns' most famous moment, though, came in 1980 ... when he subdued a fan who ran onto the playing field. Stearns also gained notoriety for his involvement in a bench-clearing brawl weeks later.

After retirement, due to career-ending injuries, Stearns held several roles in the league including being a scout for the Mets, Brewers and Reds.

He also became an ESPN broadcaster in 1993.

Jack Harlow might be a big deal in hip-hop circles, but it doesn't seem he's nearly as impactful among the football crowd -- as seen in his now-viral appearance on ESPN.

The rapper was the special guest Saturday for "College GameDay" -- where analysts and pundits sit around talking shop about all the games going down for the day ... and who they got to win, etc. Jack was on the panel too ... but first, let's start with his performance.

JH was at Ohio State here -- who are playing Notre Dame today -- and as he was introduced on a tiny little stage while surrounded by students ... things fell flat fast.

He was doing his song, "First Class," for the kids ... but it became pretty clear that they just weren't into it. Take a look at the reaction from the crowd -- yes, some toward the front are a little hyped ... but most everyone else is just looking on, like deer staring into headlights.

Jack seemed to notice the lack of energy too -- at one point, he appeared to throw his hands up, as if to say ... WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!? It was very Ja-Rule-At-The-Bucks-Game.

Still, ever the professional ... Jack powered through, and word is he did damn near the whole song -- which is also getting mocked right now. Namely, the fact that nobody at ESPN thought to just pull the plug and move on. The jokes are flying in every direction over this.

That wasn't the only thing that left an impression, though ... Jack's actual football IQ was on display during his sit-down portion of the broadcast, and there too he's leaving 'CGD' viewers less than impressed ... but certainly entertained.

While Serena Williams continued to shock the world with her incredible play at the U.S. Open, TV announcers showed celebs who came out to support the G.O.A.T., including Dionne Warwick -- the only problem -- broadcasters mistook her for Gladys Knight.

And, it was just as cringe as it sounds.

Mary Carillo and Chanda Rubin were behind the mic for ESPN ... when during the third game of the first set, two women appeared on screen between points.

Chanda: Got some more stars ...
Mary: Gladys Knight ...
Chanda: Gladys Knight ...
Mary: Hello!

The problem ... it wasn't Knight, but 5-time Grammy Award winner and fellow legend, Dionne Warwick. In fairness, Gladys was in the building, too.

Shortly after the match, Chanda went to social media to explain what happened during the flub.

"Too bad I was initially looking at the court (where Auntie Gladys was in the stands) and not our program monitor that showed Ms. Dionne... mistake was immediately corrected.🤦🏽‍♀️," the former player-turned-broadcaster clarified.

It wasn't the first time a star has been mistaken for another celeb during this year's U.S. Open. During Serena's first-round match, a short video posted online went viral after the poster confused actress and advocate Laverne Cox for Beyonce.

On Wednesday, there were a ton of other stars in the building, too ... including Tiger Woods, Gigi & Bella Hadid, Spike Lee, Anna Wintour, Seal, La La Anthony and many more.

They were all in the building to watch Serena ... who after winning on Monday, went on to defeat #2 seed Anett Kontaveit. Williams now advances to the third round, where she'll face Ajla Tomljanović.

As for the flub, neither Dionne nor Gladys have addressed it.

Rex Ryan is putting his beloved feet to the test -- the ex-NFL coach is slated to compete on the newest season of "The Amazing Race" ... in hopes of winning a million bucks.

The former Bills and Jets coach will be teaming up with his partner, Tim Mann ... and the duo will be traveling around the world and competing in several challenges.

If you haven't seen the show, it's been on the air for 33 seasons ... so it might be too late to bring you up to speed. It's basically a scavenger hunt on steroids.

59-year-old Rex coached in the NFL for decades -- he won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens as a defensive line coach ... and led the New York Jets to back-to-back AFC championship games.

He most recently had an analyst job with ESPN ... appearing on "Sunday NFL Countdown."

40-year-old Mann is Ryan's friend of 6 years/golf buddy ... and is a probation officer.

This is AWESOME, baby!!!

Legendary college hoops announcer Dick Vitale is officially cancer free again, he announced Wednesday.

Vitale said in a series of tweets that he got the great news from his doctor following a myriad of tests this week.

"Dick u have gone from being in remission to being CANCER FREE,'" Vitale said of what his doctor told him. "Thank u to ALL of YOU that have sent me 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽"

Vitale previously beat cancer last year, but he was diagnosed with lymphoma a few months later. The 83-year-old was forced to step away from doing what he loves the most -- calling college basketball games -- while he fought it.

To complicate matters further, Vitale developed a throat condition that affected his vocal cords ... and the Hall of Famer required surgery to fix the issue.

But, Vitale made it clear Thursday the medical battles appear to now all be behind him -- and he's stoked.

"I only wish & pray that EVERYONE in the fight vs that vicious disease can receive the message I received last night from my oncologist DR Rick Brown who is the Director of Oncology at Sarasota Memorial Hospital," Vitale said.

"I will continue to follow the advice of Dr Brown & keep having a positive mental attitude with a strong faith & belief that good things will happen."

Despite Michael Irvin's best efforts to keep the peace -- bar patrons still got involved in a wild fistfight near the Hall of Famer in Texas on Monday ... and the crazy scene was all captured in a video obtained by TMZ Sports.

The altercation happened at around 10 p.m. at Knockout Sports Bar near Dallas -- shortly after Irvin had arrived in town from filming ESPN's "First Take" in New York City earlier in the day.

We're told the former Dallas Cowboys superstar was playing some pool with a friend near the bar area -- when a man wearing a teal T-shirt walked up to try to get a picture with The Playmaker.

Witnesses say the man who was playing with Irvin, though, told the guy to scram -- which set the dude in the teal off.

You can see in the video, the man seemed to have a huge problem with Irvin's friend ... but the ex-wide receiver eventually stepped in to get everyone to calm down.

The footage shows Irvin even hugged the guy in the teal in order to prevent a fracas. But, we're told the guy kept pressing -- and eventually, it led to an all-out brawl.

The man swung on Irvin's friend a few times, appearing to connect with his jaw repeatedly. Bouncers raced in, but the melee seemed to continue.

Finally, some of the combatants left the bar, restoring order to the scene.

It should be noted Irvin was NOT involved in the fight in any way -- he was on the other side of the restaurant having a conversation with a server. We're told he left the venue minutes after the scrap concluded.

We reached out to cops, but they said they were not called to the scene and are not investigating.

Eli Manning and Brady Quinn never duked it out on the football field -- but the two are squaring off in a different arena -- debating the best football movies of all time ... and let's just say their picks ain't exactly shocking!

The two former NFL QB's caught up on the second episode of season 2 of "Eli's Places" (premieres Wednesday on ESPN+) ... and went back and forth about football movies they hold near and dear to their hearts.

Quinn said "Any Given Sunday" (starring Al Pacino, Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz) is high on his list, but the 1999 classic "Rudy" (featuring Sean Astin and Ned Beatty) would be "way up there" ... as Brady gestured way above his head.

Of course, "Rudy" was based on the true story of the University of Notre Dame walk-on Rudy Ruettiger, an undersized player who wasn't exactly the best athlete, but had incredible heart and work ethic.

Brady starred at Notre Dame ... albeit long after Ruettiger was on the team.

BQ also rattled off two Adam Sandler movies ... "The Waterboy" and "The Longest Yard."

It's hard to argue with any of Quinn's selections ... Rudy is considered by many one of the best few sports films ever made. His other picks, particularly "The Longest Yard," had a bunch of big stars like Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, Nelly, Terry Crews, Michael Irvin, Bill Goldberg, Tracy Morgan, and Sandler.

But Eli, the two-time Super Bowl champ for the NY Giants, pushed back against Quinn's list ... saying the 1994 movie "Little Giants," starring Rick Moranis, was his fave.

Quinn didn't seem too impressed with Eli's pick ... saying Moranis gave a better performance in the iconic film, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

FYI, it's not just Eli with his own show ... there's a diverse group of stars including Vince Carter, Abby Wambach, Ronda Rousey and David Ortiz who have their own "Places" show.