TMZ.com Home

Darryl Strawberry wants to personally help former NBA star Delonte West kick drugs ... 'cause the MLB legend knows firsthand how addiction can ruin lives.

The 58-year-old former NY Mets star famously battled alcohol and cocaine addiction -- but he's been sober for over a decade and now dedicates his life to helping others conquer drugs.

So, with 37-year-old West -- who was reportedly using drugs and living on the street -- entering rehab last week with the help of Mark Cuban, we called Strawberry to ask what advice he has for the hooper.

"Delonte West is just like anyone else that probably has some deep-rooted issues that have never been dealt with, ya know? Putting on a basketball uniform and being successful, that just covers up everything that happens to a person."

Strawberry continued ... "It reflects back to when he was probably young somewhere, some kinda trauma, abuse or something affected him and it can leave you crippled and paralyzed. So, no one signs up to be in that situation he is. I didn't sign up to be in that situation."

But, Darryl -- who now runs Strawberry Ministries with his wife, Tracy -- isn't just talking about West's struggles ... he actually wants to work with Delonte.

"I would love to help him."

Strawberry says he doesn't want to interfere with Delonte's current treatment program ... but after he completes rehab, Straw wants West to know he'll be around to help keep on the right back.

"My hopes and thoughts and prayers are with him. Here was a guy that was successful playing in the NBA, and here he is struggling. He's down and out."

"I just want him to know that people like me, that are in recovery, been for a long time, is praying for him and thinking about him," Darryl tells us.

"If there's anything I can ever do to encourage him and sit down and have a talk with him, I just hope he can reach out and do that."

Before this cheesin' child became one of the greatest basketball players of all time, he was just another cute kid smiling for his school pictures in Newark, New Jersey.

Throughout his NBA career, this talented athlete had moved to numerous different teams but as the first-round pick back in the 1992 draft, the beginning of his career was magic. Standing at over 7-feet tall, he scored three consecutive championship wins with the Los Angeles Lakers.

This grinning guy has shown off lots of other talents as well ... including acting, rapping, DJing, and sports commentating.

Donald Trump is doing well enough that he can be discharged as early as Monday, but the latest update from doctors raises new concerns about Trump's health and whether his doctors are being straight with the American public.

Trump's personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, fessed up that he was evasive Saturday when he wouldn't say if Trump received supplemental oxygen at The White House before being transferred to Walter Reed. This time, Dr. Conley said Trump not only received oxygen Friday at The White House but a second round Saturday. In both instances, Trump's oxygen level dropped below 94%.

And, there's this ... Dr. Conley confessed he wasn't forthcoming Saturday because he wanted to reflect Trump's "upbeat mood." As for whether he hid information, Dr. Conley said that "isn't necessarily true."

Dr. Conley actually said Trump's Chief of Staff "misconstrued" Trump's condition when he said Trump's condition was deteriorating Friday at The White House. Yet, Dr. Conley concedes Trump was tired with a fever, a cough and low oxygen levels.

A reporter asked Dr. Conley if Trump's lungs were damaged and he would not answer directly. Nor would Dr. Conley say if there was evidence of pneumonia.

Trump's being pumped full of drugs and doctors say he's responding well.

A group of climate and labor activists have gathered in L.A. to protest Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos ... and they're taking their protest all the way to his doorstep.

The Congress of Essential Workers is the group of former and current Amazon warehouse employees leading the march, whose mission is to call out the company for its working conditions and impact on the climate.

The protest kicked off at 2 PM at Will Rogers State Park, with the group addressing the crowd about the alleged corporate greed and mistreatment of the planet by Amazon.

Many were seen holding signs saying "Tax Bezos" as well.

The protesters are now marching to Bezos' pad in Beverly Hills, less than a mile from the park, where they plan to stop and demonstrate before returning to the park.

The march was promoted earlier this week online with the tagline, "The wrong Amazon is burning!" ... and the protest comes just a little over a week before Amazon's popular Prime Day.

As we've reported ... the e-commerce giant's already having a bad publicity week on the heels of revealing it's had nearly 20 THOUSAND cases of coronavirus among its labor force since March.

Mick Fleetwood's going the way of the Fleetwood Mac-loving skateboarder who went viral for cruising on "Dreams" and juice ... and it's awesome.

The rock band's co-founder and drummer joined the "Dreams" Challenge Sunday by sharing his own TikTok, showing him grooving to their 1977 hit on a skateboard ... while sipping on some cran-raspberry juice.

Mick says Nathan Apodaca -- the TikTok star whose original video sparked the challenge -- "had it right. Dreams and Cranberry just hits different."

As you may know ... Nathan's become a sensation since posting his Fleetwood Mac-inspired feel-good vid. It's not only racked up millions of views but also helped him get thousands in donations to better his life ... as TMZ first told you.

President Trump is still hard at work while batting COVID-19 at Walter Reed, or at least that's how it seems at a quick glance -- but a closer look at a photo of him signing a document has some folks skeptical.

The White House released photos of the President working in his suite at the hospital Saturday night, his second night of hospitalization after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Two of his kids, Ivanka and Eric, shared the pics on Twitter, with Ivanka saying ... "Nothing can stop him from working for the American people. RELENTLESS!" and Eric adding ... "If only all elected officials had this work ethic."

Soon after, though, eagle-eyed viewers noticed Trump appears to be signing his name in the middle of a blank piece of paper ... suggesting it was all staged.

Furthermore, Jon Ostrower -- the editor in chief of an aviation publication -- pulled data from the 2 photos shared by The White House and revealed they were taken 10 minutes apart ... despite being in 2 separate rooms with Trump wearing different clothing.

So, signs are there it might have been a PR setup... which only prompts more distrust of the administration about the President's health ... and other stuff.

Thomas Jefferson Byrd -- who appeared in several Spike Lee joints -- has been murdered in Atlanta ... according to Spike himself.

Lee says ... "I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd Last Night In Atlanta, Georgia." Spike shared a photo of Thomas as the character Errol Barnes in his 1995 film, "Clockers."

Along with "Clockers," Byrd also appeared in "Get on the Bus," "Bamboozled," "He Got Game," "Red Hook Summer," "Chi-Raq" and more.

He was also a successful theater actor, nominated for Broadway's 2003 Tony Award as Best Actor for a revival of August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

He has starred in numerous regional stage productions including the San Diego Repertory Theater's award-winning performance of "Spunk".

Story developing ...

Italian kart driver Luca Corberi took road rage to another level and put racers' lives at risk ... when he threw a temper tantrum and a bumper on the track as they flew by.

The insane incident went down at the FIA KZ World Championship Sunday after Corberi was reportedly disqualified for coming into contact with another driver.

Instead of bowing out like a professional, Corberi chose to stand by the side of the track with a bumper that had fallen off ... and waited to throw it at a passing driver.

Problem is, it seems he missed his target, and the bumper pinballed around on the track before striking another driver. Luckily, it looks like nobody was hurt, and nobody lost control of their karts due to Corberi's bumper toss.

The announcer was baffled by his behavior, and said ... "I'm sorry, that is absolutely unacceptable."

The angry 23-year-old driver wasn't done though, and physically attacked the racer he initially threw the bumper at after the race was over. This led to a brawl involving several other drivers until everyone was separated.

Add Kellyanne Conway to the ever-growing list of President Trump's inner circle to test positive for COVID-19.

Trump's trusted advisor just announced her test results, and it totally makes sense when you see the people she was exposed to last weekend at the White House.

Kellyanne was seated in a Bermuda Triangle of sorts at the Amy Coney Barrett announcement in the Rose Garden -- smack in the middle of First Lady Melania Trump, Sen. Mike Lee and Notre Dame President John I. Jenkins. All 3 have tested positive.

Kellyanne tweeted she's experiencing a "mild cough," but her often outspoken daughter begs to differ. Shortly before KC announced she'd caught the coronavirus, Claudia Conway was giving Mom the business on TikTok.

She posted an image of herself looking annoyed with the caption, "my mom coughing all around the house after Trump tested positive for covid."

Initially, it seemed like Claudia was just giving her mother crap, as she tends to do, but now ... not so much.

Kellyanne is the 12th known person at the Judge Barrett event to contract the virus. It's getting hot in DC.

YouTube star Tana Mongeau's lost her verification just days after offering to send free nudes to people who could prove they voted for Joe Biden ... and that could explain it.

Fans noticed Tana's YouTube channel -- which boasts nearly 5.5 million subscribers -- seemingly had its verification status removed recently ... which could spell big trouble for her in terms of racking up views and money.

Though it's unclear for sure why she lost her verified checkmark, many believe it's due to her latest controversy ... which includes a possible violation of U.S. electoral law.

Here's what happened -- on Sept. 30 Tana tweeted she'd send her Onlyfans followers a nude for free if they sent proof of voting for the Democratic nominee. She added the hashtag #bootyforbiden.

Problem is -- making an expenditure for a vote -- also known as vote-buying -- is a felony under federal law. So ... Tana was arguably committing a crime, but it's not 100 percent clear.

Of course, her loss of YT verification could also just be a technicality over her recent name change -- if you recall that whole Jake Paul wedding fiasco -- or a host of other reasons.

The first-ever albino all-white shark was reeled in by a deep-sea fisherman, who did what he had to do before letting it go back in the wild ... snap an awesome pic!!!

Jason Gillespie of England was fishing with some friends last week off Britain near the Isle of Wight when he caught the 3-foot tope shark ... an entirely white one due to leucism, a condition where the skin loses all of its pigmentation.

Jason said ... "I've been fishing for 30 years and I've never seen one like that."

Though he says he normally would release a tope shark right away because they are a protected species, he knew this one was special ... so he had to bring it on board for a few photos before releasing it back in the sea.

Jason says they released it quickly though, and it was fine.

He adds ... "What're the chances? I have no idea. It's the fish of a lifetime, one in a million."

Though it's believed Jason's the only person to get proof of catching an albino shark, he says he's heard of another fisherman in Wales who caught one years ago ... but much smaller.

Japanese fashion designer Kenzo Takada has died from coronavirus.

Kenzo, the first Japanese designer to have ensconced himself in the fashion capital of the world -- Paris, France -- died Sunday in the hospital. His spokesperson confirms Kenzo's death was the result of COVID.

Kenzo's designs featured colorful graphic and floral prints. He was hugely popular, both for his high fashion and luxury day-to-day streetwear.

The designer sold his brand to LVMH back in 1993 and stepped away from the brand 6 years later.

Kenzo was born in 1939 and developed a passion for drawing and sewing. He went to France in 1965 ... it was supposed to be a stopover but he ended up staying permanently.

He created a line for men back in '83, and in '88 he created his first perfume -- Kenzo Kenzo.

Kenzo was 81.

"Saturday Night Live" came back with a flurry Saturday night, with a strong measure of social justice ... calling out Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, playing audio saying he's no different than "the sellout negroes that sold our people into slavery."

Megan was performing her song, "Savage," when suddenly you hear the sounds of gunshots. She stops singing and says ... “We need to protect our Black women and love our Black women, because at the end of the day we need our Black women,” Megan goes on ... “We need to protect our Black men and stand up for our Black men, because at the end of the day, we’re tired of seeing hashtags of our Black men."

The cold open was hysterical ... lampooning Tuesday's debate with Jim Carrey as Biden and, of course, Alec Baldwin as the Prez. Beck Bennett had the unenviable task of playing moderator Chris Wallace. He had a funny/ominous line ... "Just to ensure this is the worst presidential debate in history, I'd like to close with white supremacy."

The most hilarious part of the open ... Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris, who made it clear, there's an endgame to all of this.

The season 46 premiere returned after a 4-month hiatus. There was a small, masked studio audience -- those seats were filled by first responders.

The cast did not hold back telling jokes about the latest -- Trump's coronavirus diagnosis. Colin Jost and Michael Che yukked it up about the irony of it all, as Michael wished Trump a lengthy recovery.

Colin said there was a major scramble to address the developments over the last 72 hours ... “This news was a lot for us to process a day before we came back on the air after four months off,” Jost went on ... “It’s been very weird to see all these people who clearly hate Trump come out and say ‘We wish him well.’ I think a lot of them are just guilty that their first wish came true.”

Chris Rock hosted, and had a hilarious line ... “The elephant in the room, President Trump’s in the hospital from COVID. And, I just want to say, my heart goes out to COVID."

Calling all (rich) Kobe Bryant fans, an incredibly unique collectible from the Mamba's historic 60-point farewell game is up for grabs ... but it'll cost a fortune!!

A large section of the Staples Center hardwood court -- where Kobe played his final NBA game -- is set to hit the auction block ... and the piece is truly 1-of-a-kind.

The floorboard features KB's original jersey number, 8 -- painted in white, outlined in Lakers purple -- signed by the L.A. legend before he walked off the court he dominated on for nearly 2 decades.

Remember, Kobe -- who was 38 years old at the time -- had one of the greatest final games in sports history ... dropping 60 points on the Utah Jazz during the April 13, 2016 contest.

Bryant started off slow, but was UNSTOPPABLE in the 2nd half ... leading his Lakers squad to a come-from-behind victory.

It was truly a jaw-dropping performance by the Hall of Famer ... and that's why the court section is expected to sell for a whopping $500,000!!

We're told the seller will donate 10 percent of the proceeds to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation -- a foundation named after Kobe and Gigi Bryant -- which promotes youth sports.

Online bidding starts September 4 at Heritage Auctions ... and a live auction will be held September 26.

Mamba would have turned 42-years-old on Sunday, and Monday (8/24) was dubbed Kobe Bryant day ... with everyone from James Harden, Anthony Davis and LeBron James celebrating the basketball legend's life.

One of the closest people to President Trump has tested positive for COVID ... his "body man."

Nick Luna serves as Trump's personal attendant and he too has the virus. Luna has been by Trump's side both at The White House and when the President travels. He's always close to the President -- think personal valet only a lot more involved in the day-to-day.

It gets complicated ... Luna married Cassidy Dumbauld this year. She's an assistant to Jared Kushner. Get the picture?

Luna now joins a growing list of the 27 White House-related coronavirus cases, which now includes Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Hope Hicks, Kellyanne Conway, Chris Christie, Sen Mike Lee, Sen Thom Tillis, Sen Ron Johnson, Ronna McDaniel, John Jenkins, Bill Stepien, and now Nick Luna.

As for Trump, his condition remains a mystery. The White House physician, Sean Conley, painted an inaccurate picture of Trump's condition, suggesting all was well, when in fact Trump was having trouble breathing Friday, had supplemental oxygen, had a fever and was rapidly going downhill when he was taken to Walter Reed.

Dr. Conley said Saturday night ... "President Trump continues to do well, having made substantial progress since diagnosis," adding, "This evening he completed his second dose of Remdesivir without complication. He remains fever-free and off supplemental oxygen with a saturation level between 96 and 98% all day. He spent most of the afternoon conducting business, and has been up and moving about the medical suite without difficulty. While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic. The plan for tomorrow is to continue observation in between doses of Remdesivir, closely monitoring his clinical status while fully supporting his conduct of Presidential duties."

The White House then released photos of Trump working in Walter Reed's Presidential Suite.

DaBaby's music video shoot ended abruptly when shots rang out and the crowd scattered, and it sounds like it might have been a drive-by.

The rapper was in Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, ensconced in the crowd of what appear to be extras, when you hear shots from a distance. As the shots continue, you hear them get louder, and it seems someone may have been shooting from a vehicle.

The crowd scatters and you hear the screeching and burning of rubber as people make their escape.

It seems like at least one person got hit. We do not know their condition, or if anyone else was struck by bullets.

Cops responded ... we don't know if anyone was arrested.

Earlier Saturday, DaBaby posted video of him holding stacks of cash as he sat on the hood of a car. And, Sunday morning, he followed up saying, "wasn’t there for the 'shootout' I’m hearing bout. I do got a new video on the way tho."