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Michael Jordan did NOT want to sign with Nike back in the day. Not even close.

He WANTED to sign with ADIDAS IN 1984 ... but they didn't want to make him a priority.

TALK ABOUT A BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE!!!

MJ explained the whole thing in episode 5 of "The Last Dance" ... admitting his mom FORCED him get on a plane and take a pitch meeting with the Swoosh just to hear what they had to say.

"My mother said, 'You're gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you're gonna go listen,'" Jordan said ... "She made me get on that plane and go listen."

At the time, MJ thought Nikes just weren't a top-flight shoe. He was more into the Adidas.

But, when a very young MJ met with Adidas, they made it clear he would NOT be pushed as their premiere athlete and they weren't open to giving him his own shoe.

Converse -- the other top sneaker company at the time -- had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird on their roster and also didn't see him as their top guy.

So, Jordan took the Nike meeting -- and the rest is history.

"Go into that meeting not wanting to be there, and Nike made this big pitch," Jordan said ... "My father said, 'You'd have to be a fool not taking this deal. This is the best deal.'"

Nike was working on their "Air" technology -- which they built into MJ's shoe and called "Air Jordan."

Also, Nike hired Spike Lee to direct the Air Jordan commercials -- and they were AWESOME.

In fact, Nike only expected $3 million in sales in the first 4 years ... but it sold $126 million in the first year alone!!!

Jordans ultimately became the most popular shoe in the world and made Michael hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.

David Thibodeau, a real-life survivor of the Waco siege, wants to thank Netflix for getting people talking about the tragedy again, and says now's the time to reveal some untold stories about it.

Thibodeau, who's played by actor Rory Culkin in the series, "Waco" tells TMZ ... he's incredibly grateful Netflix not only revived the show last month, but made it a huge hit.

ICYMI ... "Waco" originally aired in January 2018 on the fledgling Paramount Network. It got off to a strong start in the rating game but quickly faded.

Once it got on Netflix, though, it's remained in the platform's top 10. In short, the 2-year-old show -- about a 27-year-old siege -- is back in pop culture.

Thibodeau says Netflix's next step should be to order a docuseries on the 1993 catastrophe. As one of the few surviving members of the Branch Davidians ... he wants to speak out for the people he lost.

If you're under 35 ... the Waco siege was a 51-day standoff between Branch Davidians leader David Koresh and the FBI ... which believed the religious sect was illegally stockpiling weapons.

Thibodeau was among the group holed up in Koresh's compound and 1 of only 9 survivors, which inspired him to write the 1999 memoir "A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story."

The show was partly based on his book, and he was a consultant on it as well as an actor. He's down to consult again if a Waco docuseries gets the green light.

Two cops smashed Darren McFadden's car windows and later pointed both a gun AND taser at the ex-NFL RB during his 2019 arrest ... and the intense standoff was all captured on new police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

The former Dallas Cowboys star was found asleep at the wheel of a Whataburger drive-thru in McKinney, Texas on January 21, 2019 ... and you can see in the video, cops did everything they could to wake him up.

One of the officers beats on the windows of McFadden's 2019 GMC Yukon repeatedly with his fist and flashlight ... before he eventually decided to rock the car back and forth.

But, the motion caused McFadden's foot to slip off the brake and onto the gas pedal ... and that's when things took a scary turn.

McFadden's ride nosedived into the side of the fast-food restaurant ... and in an effort to get Darren to wake up and stop the car, officers smashed the hell out of his windows.

Eventually, the officers were able to bust through and get the car to stop ... but that's when 32-year-old McFadden became combative -- and fought the cops.

In the video, you can see Darren got in a big-time struggle with THREE different officers ... before they eventually pointed both a gun and a taser at him to stop him from advancing.

Thankfully, before the taser or gun was fired ... McFadden gave up and was taken to the ground and handcuffed.

The former NFL player eventually got jail time over the incident after prosecutors hit him with charges of resisting arrest and DWI with a BAC of greater than or equal to .15.

As we previously reported, McFadden agreed to a deal in February 2020 in which he pleaded guilty to drunk driving in exchange for having the resisting arrest charge dismissed.

McFadden was ordered to spend 4 days in jail, although he did receive credit for 1 day of time served. He was also forced to pay fines and fees ... and his driver's license was suspended for 90 days.

New York City-native Robert Maschio is best known for his role as the high-fiving, Speedo-sporting, Dr. Todd "The Todd" Quinlan  -- who rocks a "DOC" tattoo and sleeveless medical wares -- on the long-running comedy, "Scrubs."

Robert Maschio was staffed at Sacred Heart Hospital alongside a cool cast of actors including Zach Braff and Donald Faison as the bedside BFFs, J.D. and Turk, Sarah Chalke as the blonde babe, Dr. Elliot Reid, Judy Reyes as the hot nurse, Carla ... and of course, John C. McGinley as the abrasive wise-cracking, know-it-all, Dr. Perry Cox.

Maschio is now a real estate agent in Los Angeles' westside and available for cameo appearances.

DJ Khaled is NOT a single man -- which he had to remind one lovely lady who tried ambushing him with a live twerking session on Instagram ... which he quickly shut down.

The guy went live on Instagram over the weekend, and like several of his contemporaries have been doing lately -- especially Tory Lanez -- DJK invited some folks in the comments to hop on and join his sesh for a one-on-one chat. Things quickly turned risque, though.

After accepting one woman's request to chat, he almost immediately regretted it ... 'cause the chick was half-naked and VERY prepared to twerk for Khaled on camera. You gotta feel for the guy, 'cause he was desperately trying to tell her to chill, that he's got a family, that he loves his fans ... but to please STOP 'cause she was clearly embarrassing him.

That didn't deter the determined dancer -- she kept at it, and even started pouring water on herself. Khaled had had enough ... he ended the chat. He wrote of the interaction, "I have love for everyone please take it easy when I’m on fan luv ig luv. Again I have love for everyone please lets be respectful nothing but love BLESS UP!"

Tom Hardy is trying his best to look like the late Chicago kingpin, Al Capone -- but it's becoming clearer with every new shot and still photo that comes out ... they're not a match.

You might've heard about the new movie Tom's starring in called 'Capone,' in which he plays the titular character ... mostly portraying him in his twilight years when he was in failing health and supposedly losing his mind before he kicked the bucket. It's supposed to come out this year -- promotional material's been released and all. Looks decent enough.

The only problem ... Tom doesn't look much like Scarface himself, despite how much makeup they put on him, and how much hair they make him lose up top. The latest example of that is this test shot that was released -- showing Tom as really, really old AC.

He's made to appear like an elderly man -- and whether Capone might've looked anything like this in his final days or not (there aren't too many photos of him in the 1940s, when he died at age 48) ... it still feels a little hokey, assuming Tom appears like this in the film.

The pic also seems to further prove TH simply doesn't bear much of a resemblance to Capone at all -- which was made clear in the newest trailer for the flick. Some have pointed out that Hardy's Capone comes off as more of a monster movie character than a mobster. The face isn't round enough, the balding isn't quite right ... it's just not a great fit.

That's not to say Tom doesn't do a kick-ass job playing him -- which we're sure he does. And hey, not every biopic gets it down to a tee with the look ... it's usually more about the spirit of the person an actor is tasked with capturing, and Tom may very well do that here.

If you thought pirates were just out at sea being bad, you'd be wrong -- Washington state cops say there's piracy happening on their own porches ... by none other than nurses!!! Fake nurses, rather.

This story comes to you from Kennewick, Washington ... where the local police department released photos of two women dressed as nurses that they say are going around to local neighborhoods and STEALING packages off people's doorstep. In broad daylight, no less.

KPD says of the crimes ... "Officers are currently investigating a case of porch piracy and need your help. Both suspects have been reported as stealing packages delivered to Kennewick residences," going on to tell folks to contact 'em if anyone recognizes these gals.

They also make a point to say that they don't believe the perps are actually nurses -- even though they certainly look the part in their full scrubs, gloves and lanyard badges. The department takes a dig at them and gives a shout-out to real nurses, saying ... "The nurses we are fortunate to know only give their time, lives, and take the vitals of their patients (not their property)." And, it gets even weirder.

One of the residents who had a package swooped from her porch says she played back the surveillance tape she had and describes one of the ladies arriving at her front door, only minutes after a FedEx driver dropped off her package, and casually walking off with the goods. Not a batted eye, not a fumble ... all very smooth and calculated.

Things got out of hand in NYC this weekend, where a bunch of cops broke up a crowd -- which ended up with a man being threatened with a taser and then beaten up.

Check out this video that was captured Saturday down in the East Village, where you see at least 4 plain-clothes officers yank a guy out of a building and throw him to the ground while people around them scream, and one woman insists the dude did nothing wrong.

While they're dealing with him, another man approaches the ruckus from the street, only to be met by a lone cop who gets up and tells him to back up -- brandishing his taser and even zapping it in what seems to be an effort to scare him. The guy didn't back down.

That led to the officer taking him down, putting him in a bear hug ... then slapping and punching him when he was on the ground. Another officer came over to help put cuffs on the bystander. Even more chaos ensues as the crowd grows and backup arrives.

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says this all started with a social distance infraction, which he says his cops were trying to break up. Now, this is being investigated by the department's Internal Affairs unit ... and one of the cops on video is on modified duty now.

Meanwhile, 3 people were arrested in the dust-up -- including the 2 guys taken down by the NYPD as well as a woman who allegedly had her own stun gun on her.

On the flip side ... the other side of town was also congregating en masse Saturday over in the West Village, but there weren't too many signs of rowdy, physical break-ups like we see here. The NYPD says they issued dozens of summons over these social distance breakers too, but we haven't seen video of any violence like these POC are experiencing.

The glowing dolphin phenomenon is closer to shore than ever before in Southern California's own backyard -- now, we got some coastal dolphins lighting up the night sea!

Check out this video from photographer Patrick Coyne, who -- like last time -- tracked down more flipper swimmers out near Newport Beach, who were lighting up with blue fluorescence underwater in the pitch-black dead of night ... and pretty close to land too.

In the vid, he makes a distinction between these dolphins -- which are bottlenose (AKA coastal) dolphins -- and the ones he caught on camera about a week or so ago, which are just common dolphins, and go further out in the water than these little guys do.

As we've explained ... the way the dolphins can glow the way they do here is attributed to bioluminescence. Basically, phytoplankton in the water have been doused in this, and they make the surrounding water shine bright in the dark. That includes anything swimming in the ocean as well, obviously.

Their defiance defies logic, but here it is ... another super-unsafe party in Chicago in the midst of a still untamed pandemic.

A throng of folks hit the streets of West Chi-Town Saturday night for a rager. A woman twerked on the hood of a car as the crowd roared its approval.

Chicago has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, and Mayor Lightfoot pled with Chicago residents Saturday not to defy the doctors and scientists. It's one thing to go out and get exercise, adhering to social distancing ... it's another to pack in like sardines, which is a surefire way to spread the virus.

The Mayor has cause for deep concern. Late last month there was a shocking scene at a Chicago house party where it seemed impossible to cram one more person inside. As you know by now, high concentrations of people -- like at funerals or celebrations -- can cause an explosion of COVID-19 cases.

The Mayor has also echoed what is now a known fact ... the virus is hitting minority communities disproportionally hard.

Girl dads everywhere should take a cue from this proud papa -- who's helping his daughter stay sharp in cheerleading during quarantine ... something Simone Biles digs a lot.

Check out this sweet video of a guy practicing a pretty advanced cheer routine within the confines of their home. The kid can't be more than maybe 4 or 5 years old -- if that -- but she's got some killer moves ... which her dad was more than happy to coach her through.

Frankly, this feels like something you might see Navarro College athletes practicing in preparation for Daytona -- and this teeny little girl sorta has it down to a tee already.

Her pops starts out by throwing her into the air, where she does a full body twirl and lands on his hands perfectly. She then balances on one leg while lifting the other one up near her head. The daughter then falls into her dad's arms for a cradle and up they go again.

It's incredible to watch -- and the way the father-daughter duo interact is pretty precious too. Of course, it would seem this clip has caught an Olympian's eye, 'cause Simone -- who does similar stuff to this on her own mat -- liked the video from her official page.

Here's Jennifer Lopez giving Shakira a "SHAKE THAT ASS" lesson during a private Super Bowl halftime rehearsal ... and it's amazing!!!

"I do it with my knees," J Lo tells Shakira mid-gyration ... "If you shake your knees, your butt goes.

"My mother taught me that ... when I was four!"

WELL, THANK YOU, MRS. LOPEZ!!!

It's all part of newly released video Jenny from the Block decided to share with the world ... showing all of the hard work the team put in to make that INCREDIBLE halftime show from SB LIV back in February.

The footage is awesome -- and shows just how hands-on Lopez was with ALL of the dancers and performers, including Shakira!

"I can’t believe it’s already been 3 months since the #SuperBowlLIV#Halftime Show," Lopez said.

"So much has happened since then, but I wanted to share a fun peek behind the scenes at our first rehearsal with the dancers and @Shakira."

One of the moves they busted their asses to perfect was the end pose ... from the cake jiggling to the final ferocious head turn to the camera.

File this under no good deed goes unpunished -- a bride and groom held a responsible, safe and socially distant wedding, only to end up losing one very important thing ... the ring!!!

Full disclosure ... the groom here is one of our NYC camera guys, Jeremy. He and his fiancee, Laura, tied the knot Saturday in Milburn, NJ. Small affair ... about 20 guests outside in Taylor Park, with everyone -- except the bride and groom -- standing 6-feet apart with face masks.

But, watch what happened next -- Jeremy read his vows, but wanted to wrap them up with a little pizzazz ... so he crumpled up the paper and tossed it over his head. Awesome! Except for the part where his wedding band also got tossed. By accident, he says.

The wedding party quickly turned into a search party ... with guests and a few passersby crawling around in the grass looking for Jeremy's wedding band.

Spoiler alert! They never found it. The rabbi told Jeremy this kinda marital disaster was a first for him after performing more than 800 weddings. Oy vey!

The show did go on though ... Laura said her vows and the rabbi pronounced them married -- so the deal was sealed in the end. Mind you, this whole affair was their plan B. Originally, they were going to have 250 guests at a wedding hall, indoors (where it's easier to find lost rings).

For the record, Laura's ring is intact and on her hand. Jeremy's got some shopping to do.

If you ever wondered what 50 Cent would look like as Veep Mike Pence ... well, here you go.

An Australian artist created a Pence-ish looking painting using Fitty as his inspiration and it's, well, interesting.

50 seemed to approve, saying ... "This f***ing guy won’t stop, SMH. I guess i’m not wearing a mask because i’m tested frequently."

He was referring to Pence's ridiculous defiance when he went to the Mayo Clinic this week, ignoring protocol as he was the only one in the room not wearing a mask. He says he was tested, but that really doesn't make a difference. They told him to wear one and he didn't.

The artist who painted the Pence pic -- Lushsux -- has a history with 50. He's turned him into Donald Trump ... something that clearly doesn't sit well with the rapper/mogul.

Former Oakland A's pitcher and "Real Housewives of Orange County" star Matt Keough has died.

His former team made the announcement that Matt passed on Saturday. The team did not reveal the cause of death.

Matt pitched for Oakland for 7 seasons. He received some notable awards ... 1978 All-Star rookie, 1980 American League Comeback Player of the Year. In addition to Oakland, Matt pitched for the Cardinals, Cubs, Astros and Yankees.

Matt was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in '81 with the other "Five Aces" ... 4 other members of the A's.

After baseball, Matt ventured into reality TV with his then-wife, Jeana ... they were cast members on "Real Housewives of Orange County." They married in 1984 and separated 20 years later. Despite the separation, they continued living together during the early seasons of "RHOC."

Matt had his share of legal trouble. He racked up 2 DUI's ... the second of which earned him a 1-year jail sentence. Interesting ... Jeana testified on Matt's behalf, even though their marriage was over, asking the judge to give him probation.

It's especially tragic for the family ... a few weeks back their daughter, Kara, had a son who died during childbirth from complications ... shoulder dystocias and a compressed umbilical cord.

Kara posted a tearful message ... "Daddy, please take care of my son. Teach him the circle changeup and how to find forever friends. You're on grandpa duty in heaven now. Xoxo, Hammerhead."

Matt leaves behind 3 kids. He was 64.