NFL

Former Albany defensive lineman AJ Simon, who was hoping to get picked in the upcoming NFL Draft, has died at only 25 years old.

The university announced the tragic news on social media on Wednesday, writing ... "The UAlbany football program was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former student-athlete Amitral "AJ" Simon this morning."

"AJ was a tremendous young man and even better teammate throughout his time at UAlbany. he was a role model both on and off the field, serving as a pillar to this program over the last two years."

O.J. Simpson ha sido oficialmente cremado y parece que solo estuvo presente un selecto grupo de personas, incluyendo su abogado, ahora convertido en albacea de su patrimonio.

Malcolm LaVergne confirma a TMZ que el cuerpo de su cliente por muchos años fue incinerado el miércoles en una instalación llamada Palm Mortuary en Las Vegas y dice que estuvo presente, al igual que algunos otros, aunque no quiso decir exactamente quiénes.

Nos dicen que la cremación se llevó a cabo esta mañana alrededor de las 10 AM. LaVergne dijo a AP que no había planes inmediatos para hacer un memorial público.

O.J. Simpson has officially been cremated -- and it sounds like there were only a select few people around to bear witness ... including his attorney-turned-executor of his estate.

Malcolm LaVergne confirms to TMZ that his longtime client's body was burned to ashes Wednesday at a facility called Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas ... and he says he was present, as were some others, although he wouldn't say exactly who.

We're told the cremation went down this morning around 10 AM. LaVergne told AP there were no immediate plans for a public memorial.

The live taping of a 'New Heights' show at the Univ. of Cincinnati last week came at a steep cost for Jason Kelce ... who says he actually lost his Super Bowl ring during all the hoopla.

The former Philadelphia Eagles center said on this week's pod he believes the championship bling made its disappearance at some point during a chili tub scavenger hunt that he and his little brother, Travis, were overseeing.

Jason says as part of the game, contestants had to sift through the slop in some inflatable pools for a sock that had his actual SB LII jewelry inside of it.

It's official ... Travis Kelce will be adding game show host to his already impressive resume -- the NFL superstar just confirmed he has been tapped to be the frontman of the new "Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?" program.

Prime Video announced Tuesday the show will be a spin-off of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" ... and Kelce said in a statement he's pumped to be the mic man for it.

"I grew up loving game shows," Taylor Swift's boo said, "and I'm excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with 'Are you Smarter than a Celebrity?'"

It's safe to say Patrick Mahomes approves of his best buddy's relationship with Taylor Swift ... he gushed over Travis Kelce's boo during a recent interview, praising the pop star for being "down to earth."

The Chiefs quarterback spoke about the "Bad Blood" crooner during a lengthy chat with TIME for its Most Influential People of 2023 issue ... and he had nothing but kind things to say about her.

He said of all the celebrities he's met, she's "probably" the most chill out of all of them. He then raved about her tireless work ethic ... before saying he's also been impressed by the way she's trying to become a football expert.

Es seguro decir que Patrick Mahomes aprueba completamente la relación de su mejor amigo con Taylor Swift, ya que le lanzó un montón de flores a la novia de Travis Kelce en una entrevista reciente, elogiando a la estrella del pop por "tener los pies en la tierra".

El quarterback de los Chiefs habló sobre la cantante de "Bad Blood" durante una larga conversación con TIME para su edición de las personas más influyentes de 2023, y no tenía nada más que cosas buenas que decir sobre ella.

Dijo que de todas las celebridades que ha conocido ella es "probablemente" la más relajada de todas. Luego alabó su incansable ética de trabajo, antes de decir que también ha quedado impresionado por la forma en que está tratando de convertirse en una experta en fútbol.

Two people who say they were injured in the car crash that Rashee Rice was involved in last month are now suing the NFL star ... asking that he fork over more than $10 MILLION for his role in the wreck.

Edvard Petrovskiy and Irina Gromova filed the lawsuit in Dallas County last week -- less than a month after they say Rice's reckless actions caused them injuries in a massive pileup on a Texas highway.

Petrovskiy and Gromova say on March 30, Rice was in a Lamborghini Urus, racing his friend Theodore Knox -- who was in a Corvette -- when the two lost control and barreled into other innocent drivers on the roadway.

Rob Gronkowski got Red Sox fans fired up for their Patriots' Day game in the most Gronk way possible -- by spiking the ceremonial first pitch straight into the ground!

The New England Patriots legend took the mound at Fenway Park just before Boston took on the Guardians in the annual holiday tilt ... and instead of firing a fastball to his catcher, he decided to bring out his touchdown celebration instead.

Check out the footage, Gronk hurled the baseball into the dirt so hard, it made a loud thud -- and the crowd couldn't have loved it more!!

Even some of the Sox players were spotted cheering it on!!

Gronk then gave his catcher a leaping side bump ... before he settled in to watch the game.

Jason Kelce says Travis Kelce had every right to pound a beer at their "graduation" ceremony last week ... 'cause it was all for a good cause, and for their podcast.

The recently-retired Eagles center responded to someone online over the weekend who kinda criticized Travis' frat boy routine from last at the University of Cincinnati ... where he walked across the stage after receiving a fake diploma, only to pound a cold one right after.

It was all a hokey bit that Travis and Jason were doing with the university as part of a "New Heights" episode ... and it was meant to highlight the fact they never walked back in the day.

Aaron Rodgers' surgically repaired Achilles is already looking game ready ... as it seemed to hold up extremely well during a grueling workout in Santa Monica over the weekend.

The New York Jets quarterback hit up a popular staircase in the city on Friday afternoon with a couple members of the USC football team ... and he sure looked like a guy who had two healthy legs underneath him.

The 40-year-old went up and down the stairs over and over again -- with pace every time -- and the exercise was such a grind, it actually seemed he was on the verge of upchucking.

But, at no point did it appear his Achilles was bothering him ... an obviously great sign for the Jets.

As you know by now, the 10-time Pro Bowler had to miss the entirety of the 2023-24 season ... after he blew out the tendon just a few minutes into NY's opener on Sept. 11.

Clearly, though, it's healed up nicely.

The Jets will get an up-close look at it all themselves starting on Monday -- as Rodgers showed up to the team's voluntary offseason program in NY minutes ago with a smile on his face.

El jugador de los Miami Dolphins de la NFL, Raheem Mostert, se sincera sobre su decisión de perseguir touchdowns en lugar de grandes olas... diciéndole a TMZ Sports que dejó atrás sus sueños de ser profesional del surf para seguir su educación universitaria.

Para aquellos que no lo sepan, el líder en anotaciones por acarreo de la NFL la temporada pasada, era una bestia en la tabla de surf... incluso tuvo una oferta de patrocinio de Billabong en su adolescencia.

Esta semana hablamos con Mostert en el aeropuerto de Los Ángeles sobre su primer amor... y nos dijo que, aunque echa de menos el deporte, sabe que tomó la decisión correcta al centrarse en el fútbol.

Miami Dolphins star Raheem Mostert is opening up on his decision to chase touchdowns over big waves ... telling TMZ Sports he left his pro surfing dreams behind to pursue a college education!!

For those who don't know, the NFL's rushing-scoring leader last season was a beast on the board back in the day ... in fact, he even had a sponsorship offer from Billabong when he was in his mid-teens.

We caught up with Mostert at LAX this week about his first love ... and he said while he misses the sport, he knows he made the right decision by putting his focus on football.

Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce aparecieron por sorpresa en Coachella el sábado por la noche… acogidos por el backstage, mostraron su apoyo a los colaboradores de Tay.

La pareja fue vista detrás del escenario, abrazándose y bailando mientras tocaba la banda de su amigo Jack Antonoff, Bleachers.

Taylor también mostró apoyo a su colaboradora en “Karma”, Ice Spice, durante su set.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce made a surprise appearance at Coachella Saturday night ... getting cozy backstage while showing support for Tay's Collaborators.

The couple was spotted backstage hugging and dancing while friend Jack Antonoff's band Bleachers performed.

Traylor also showed support for Tay's "Karma" collaborator Ice Spice during her Coachella performance.

If the Miami Dolphins looked like they were frozen in their playoff game against the Chiefs last season -- it's 'cause they kind of were ... at least, that's according to Terron Armstead, who tells TMZ Sports it was unbearably frigid in Kansas City that day.

Tua Tagovailoa's protector broke it all down for us during a lengthy chat about life and football this week ... explaining he had never experienced anything like that January 13 night at Arrowhead Stadium.

"Cold is not the word I would use to describe it," he said.

Officially, it was -4 degrees ... but Terron said it felt more like "negative 99." Reportedly, it was the fourth coldest game in NFL history -- although Armstead couldn't imagine how there were days that were possibly worse.

"I'm from Illinois," the Miami offensive lineman said, "so I've worked with snow, I've played in the snow. This was a historic day, in the wrong way."

"It was bad," he added. "It was bad."

Armstead isn't speaking in hyperbole ... some fans reportedly got frostbite so bad while in attendance, they actually had to undergo amputations.

Somehow, Armstead played in the game without any sleeves on (he told us he'll never wear them again after once giving up a sack in them), but he said there's no way they would've even mattered -- because it was simply that cold.

The Fins, as you know by now, ended up never getting over the temps ... and were blown out, 26-7.

Armstead said he laments the way the regular season ended ... because if they had just won a few more games down the stretch -- including the season-finale against the Bills -- they wouldn't have even been in that game in the first place.

But, he said he's excited for this upcoming year ... telling us he truly believes they're "close" to breaking through and becoming real-deal, Super Bowl contenders.