NFL

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.

Sales of O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" book have exploded since the infamous star's death, with the publication skyrocketing to the top of the charts.

76-year-old O.J. died on Wednesday -- a day before the public found out -- when the Simpson family announced the news ... and reignited interest in the grizzly, 1994 double murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

According to Amazon.com, the world's largest bookseller, "If I Did It" sits in the number 1, 2, and 4 spots (different versions of the book -- audio, abridged, unabridged) in the entire Criminology section. It's also number 8 in the Murder/True Crime section.

3:10 PM PT -- Teddy Knox turned himself in to cops on Friday for his role in the Rashee Rice car crash ... just one day after the Chiefs star did the same.

Knox, like Rice, took a mug shot ... and it didn't exactly look thrilled in the pic.

SMU Mustangs cornerback Teddy Knox -- the other man facing several charges stemming from the Rashee Rice car crash -- has been suspended from the football team, the school announced Thursday.

Dallas PD announced they issued arrest warrants on Wednesday ... with Knox and Rice both facing one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and six counts of collision involving injury.

Rice admitted to driving the rented Lamborghini during the multi-vehicle accident ... and Knox is accused of driving the Corvette.

SMU addressed the legal update on Thursday ... confirming Knox is a member of the Mustang football team -- but not at the moment.

"Knox has been suspended from the team," the school said in a statement. "SMU takes these allegations seriously. Federal student privacy laws prevent the University from discussing details involving student disciplinary proceedings."

Knox was a four-star recruit out of The Woodlands High School in Texas ... and started his college career at Mississippi State before transferring to SMU.

He played in 11 games in 2023 ... earning four tackles.

As for Rice, his attorney, Royce West, said he will do whatever it takes to make things right with the victims of the accident.

Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella shared a disappointing setback amid her brain tumor battle ... revealing her next round of chemotherapy has been delayed.

The teen opened up in a YouTube video about her ongoing treatment ... explaining to her followers why she had to recently return to the hospital.

As Isabella put it ... a fever was to blame -- which is why she had to get an IV and have scans taken.

Caitlyn Jenner is refusing to apologize for her blunt statement regarding O.J. Simpson's death, and she's calling out those who say she's just like him ... due to a deadly car wreck.

The Olympian faced a barrage of negative comments after she celebrated O.J.'s passing ... writing "Good Riddance" in a curt statement on X. In response, many slammed Caitlyn -- and compared her to Simpson by calling her a killer for her involvement in a 2015 fatal car accident.

Caitlyn responded to the criticism Friday, defending she is nothing like the controversial NFL star -- who was found liable in a 1996 civil trial for the killing of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Caitlyn Jenner se niega a disculparse por su contundente declaración sobre la muerte de O.J. Simpson, y está criticando a los que dicen que es igual a él, debido a un trágico accidente vehicular en el que estuvo involucrada hace algunos años.

La atleta olímpica se enfrentó a un aluvión de comentarios negativos después de que comentara el fallecimiento de O.J., con el mensaje: "Good Riddance" / "Buen viaje" en X. En respuesta a ello, muchos criticaron a Caitlyn y la compararon con Simpson llamándola asesina por su participación en un fatal accidente automovilístico en 2015.

Caitlyn respondió a las críticas el viernes, defendiendo que no se parece en nada a la controvertida estrella de la NFL, quien fue declarado responsable en un juicio civil de 1996 por el asesinato de Nicole Brown Simpson y Ron Goldman.

Jared Goff's swimsuit model fiancée, Christen Harper, is celebrating her final days as an unmarried woman in fitting fashion ... soaking in the Mexico sun with other models in teeny bikinis!!!

The 30-year-old -- who got engaged to Goff back in June 2023 -- piled into a plane on Thursday morning with a grip of her closest friends ... and headed off to Cabo San Lucas to let loose one last time before her upcoming nuptials.

And, once they touched down, first order of business appeared to be to throw on some swimwear and catch some rays by a pool at a luxurious resort.

Of course, Harper -- who's been featured in Sports Illustrated several times -- was surrounded by other beautiful women who are no stranger to posing in barely-there attire ... including Katie Austin and Elizabeth Turner.

All of the girls seemed to be having a blast ... there were balloons, catered food -- and even temporary tattoos with Goff's mug on them!!

Harper and the ladies then threw on some dresses for a night on the town ... and it's expected they'll keep the party going throughout the weekend.

Harper and Goff first went public with their relationship way back in 2019 -- when TMZ Sports spotted them running errands at a Los Angeles-area Best Buy. They've since become inseparable -- even when the quarterback got traded from the Rams to the Detroit Lions.

O.J. Simpson estuvo rodeado de su familia en los últimos días y eso incluye a todos sus hijos, incluso los 2 más jóvenes que tuvo con Nicole Brown Simpson.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que todos los que vinieron a visitar a O.J. a su casa los días previos a su muerte tuvieron que firmar acuerdos de confidencialidad para resguardar su privacidad. Eso corrió para sus amigos, familiares e incluso para el personal médico que estaba en contacto con él mientras estaba bajo cuidados paliativos.

Nos dicen que el viernes, un profesional médico revisó a O.J. y notificó a sus cercanos que estaba empezando su transición... y fue entonces cuando todo el mundo acudió a verlo.