Merril Hoge says a doctor's bad call didn't just end his NFL career ... it nearly ended his life ... and he can't help but think about his own NFL health scare when looking at the Jalen Hurts controversy.
The former Steelers running back and ESPN personality joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the Philadelphia Eagles and their star QB, who was ruled out for the season due to blood clots.
Merril, who retired from the NFL in 1994, says he got some terrible medical advice when he was playing ... revealed just how badly things went wrong when he suffered a concussion on Monday Night Football with the Chicago Bears.
He says a team doctor cleared him to play just five days after the injury ... without ever examining him in person. Instead, he claims the doctor asked him one question over the phone: "How do you feel?"
The lead detective in the O.J. Simpson murder case is throwing cold water on a new bombshell claim that O.J. had help covering his tracks ... and he's not mincing words.
Retired LAPD detective Tom Lange joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday, and we asked how much stock he puts in the theory that Joseph "Joey" Ippolito helped O.J. dispose of evidence after the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
His answer? "Pretty close to zero."
Tom admits the allegations make for an interesting story, but he says there's one glaring problem -- there's no actual evidence.
A former Six Flags Over Georgia operator says it's possible to push a restraint on a ride like Goliath open ... though it would take a tremendous amount of force.
Brycen Whatley -- a former employee at the theme park near Atlanta and a roller coaster enthusiast -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss how Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem might have been ejected from Goliath before falling to his death.
Brycen first ran through the safety measures on Goliath ... explaining the ride can't even move unless pin-and-gear arm restraints are pulled down three notches -- locking a person into place.
Luis Moncada -- who costarred with RJ Mitte in "Breaking Bad" and saw him shortly before he died -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... and he said his friend was recently dealing with heavy issues.
The actor -- who played Marco Salamanca in the original series and in its spin-off "Better Call Saul" -- discussed the balloon ride the pair went on earlier this month ... just days before RJ died by suicide.
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Luis says he reunited with RJ at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta ... and he took him on his first balloon ride -- during which he shot a video of RJ resting his head on his shoulder.
Kimberly Guilfoyle is a "grifter" who is all sizzle and no steak ... at least according to the Donald Trumpdonor who says she asked him to secretly pay off her six-figure American Express bill.
Former Kentucky congressional candidate Eric Deters joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday, and we asked him about this week's bombshell story in The Wall Street Journal ... and he told us Kimberly absolutely asked him to wire $100,000 to her AmEx account before her July 2025 confirmation hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Eric says he was throwing big money around the Trump world because Kimberly promised to help get Trump administration officials to extradite an Ohio doctor who fled to Pakistan after allegedly performing unnecessary spine surgeries on hundreds of unsuspecting victims and being charged with defrauding insurers.
