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Kobe Bryant’s earliest known, game-worn L.A. Lakers jersey -- rocked by the Mamba during his '96 rookie season -- is about to hit the auction block ... and we’re told it could rake in over $500k!!

Bidding for the awesome piece of sports memorabilia opens Monday at Goldin Auctions ... and Ken Goldin tells TMZ Sports the ultra-special threads have a chance to break the record for most expensive regular season NBA jersey of all-time.

FYI, the current record belongs to Michael Jordan's Washington Wizards jersey from his last ever NBA game in 2003 ... which a collector dropped $570k on.

As for the KB jersey ... it's pretty special.

An 18-year-old Kobe -- fresh off being selected with the 13th overall pick in the NBA draft -- donned the gold Lakers jersey during his 23rd NBA game ever ... when Bryant and Shaq's squad took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 8, 1996 at The Forum.

Kobe wasn't (yet) a starter, but played 22 minutes ... and dropped 11 points, 3 assists and 3 rebounds in the Lakers' 110-86 victory.

And, get this, Goldin Auctions officials say Bryant didn't only wear the jersey once ... they say it's been expertly photo matched to at least 4 games during his rookie campaign -- AND his rookie photo shoot before the season started.

If half a milli's a little too high a price to pay, Goldin says they have over 360 other pieces of Kobe memorabilia -- including a rare, mint-graded '97-'98 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Kobe card -- that they expect to go for over $300k.

Michael Blackson says he's a big fan of actors wearing fat suits -- like Sarah Paulson is to play Linda Tripp -- and he's got a message for folks who think Hollywood's too fatphobic.

We got the comedian at LAX and asked him about the controversy on the set of "Impeachment: American Crime Story," where Sarah's use of a fat suit is triggering critics.

Michael says he's all for Hollywood using fat suits ... and he thinks it would be hilarious to take the skinniest person in the world and make them fat.

One problem with Michael's take ... 'American Crime Story' isn't exactly looking for laughs.

As we reported ... Sarah's slipping her slim figure into a fat suit to get in character as Tripp, and a lot of people on social media, and in Hollywood, think Ryan Murphy and his team should've cast a bigger actor ... one who wouldn't need prosthetic assistance.

Michael says the outrage is way overblown, because as he tells our photog ... "let the skinny guys get some work!!!"

Police officers were perplexed to find Stefon Diggs' Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon abandoned by Miami train tracks this month, with one cop even noting, "That's at least a $160,000 car!"

It's all captured on new police video obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows Miami-Dade Police Dept. officers in the seconds after they were dispatched on April 18 to look at an abandoned vehicle near the Miami airport.

In the footage, you can see officers and other authorities discussing the ride ... and wondering out loud what it was doing there and how it got there.

They noted it had tire damage, they saw it was locked, and they made it clear nobody was in it or around it.

Eventually, one cop told another on the scene, "Nobody's inside the car, man. But, that's at least a $160,000 car!"

The officers then tried to piece together how the vehicle could have ended up abandoned there ... with one cop saying, "He was just coming southbound and then he lost a piece of his tire and came all the way down."

An official on the scene then joked, "Unless a helicopter dropped him there."

Ultimately, cops ran a search on the car and found out it was Diggs' ... and you can see in the clip, the cop recognized the name right away.

"He's a wide receiver," the officer said. "He's a wide receiver for the Bills, boo."

In an incident report, officers noted the car was "stuck in gravel, off the driving road" and had "scratches - dents" on it. They also noted they towed it shortly after discovering it.

It does NOT seem cops are investigating the incident further ... the report lists the case as "closed."

A rep for Diggs tells us there was NO wrongdoing involved in the incident ... saying the car was NOT stolen and adding that Diggs wasn't even in town at the time of its abandonment.

The rep tells us Diggs had lent the ride to a friend, who left it abandoned after it had gotten a flat tire.

"[Stefon] was not driving the car," Diggs' rep says. "He allowed a friend to use the car while he was gone. Unfortunately, the friend had got a flat tire with the car."

New Jersey native J.D. Roth (real name John David Weinroth) became a big name in the '90s after he hosted a bunch of great television shows including the kid's game show Fox's "Fun House," the go-to video game show "GamePro TV" and the short-lived dating show "Double Up."

After his stint as a host, Roth made some major moves to working behind the camera and is credited with producing some big-time shows including "The Biggest Loser," "Bar Rescue" and "Beauty and the Geek."

He's now a husband, father of two sons and even an author!

Anne Buydens, who married Kirk Douglas a year after meeting him in 1953 on a movie set, is dead.

Kirks' widow died peacefully Thursday at her Beverly Hills home, which she shared with her late husband ... according to reps for the family.

A longtime staple in Hollywood, Anne presided over the Douglas Foundation and The Bryna Company before she died ... but she got her start in Tinseltown as a location scout for director John Huston. Anne also worked as a publicist for the Cannes Film Festival back in the day.

Anne and Kirk married way back in 1954 ... they'd met the previous year while he was shooting his starring role in "Act of Love." Anne applied for a job as his assistant on the movie ... and the rest, as they say, was history.

Anne and Kirk had 2 sons together, Peter and Eric. The latter died in 2004. FYI, Michael Douglas is one of Kirk's sons from his first marriage.

One thing Kirk and Anne definitely had in common was longevity. You'll recall, he passed away in February 2020 at the age of 103. Anne was 102.

Joe Rogan's walking back his COVID-19 comments suggesting young, healthy people don't need to get vaccinated, and he wants to make it clear he's not a doctor, not an anti-vaxxer ... but he IS a "f***ing moron."

The immensely popular podcast host and UFC commentator addressed the backlash he got this week on Thursday's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," saying ... "I am not an anti-vaxx person. In fact, I said I believe they are safe and I encourage many people to take them."

Rogan explained that he felt if you're a young healthy person, you don't need it -- something widely refuted by experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci -- but Joe now concedes what he said was misguided amid the pandemic.

Joe says ... "Their argument was you need it for other people. That makes more sense, but that's a different argument. That's a different conversation." He later repeated it makes sense to consider other people's health and safety.

He went on to blame media "clickbait" for blowing the whole thing out of proportion, but added ... "I'm not a doctor. I am a f***ing moron. And, I'm a cage-fighting commentator who's a dirty standup comedian ... I'm not a respected source of information even for me."

The NFL draft festivities have made a return to normalcy ... which means one thing -- EXPENSIVE SUITS ARE BACK, BABY!!!

Twelve of college football's best players have arrived in Cleveland for the big night ... and so far, most of the dudes are looking dapper as hell!

Check out this incredible look -- Michigan pass-rusher Kwity Paye paid tribute to the late, great Chadwick Boseman with a "Black Panther" inspired fit.

Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith crushed it in a bowtie and a pin with his initials on it!

Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons CRUSHED it in a navy blue suit with a black turtle neck ... while Florida tight end Kyle Pitts killed it in a green suit and bow tie.

LSU's Ja'Marr Chase and Alabama's Jaylen Waddle opted for the no-tie fit.

Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome II added a powerful message to his look for Thursday night ... rocking a black suit with red lettering tha read "Black Lives Matter."

Two of the top quarterbacks in the selection show, meanwhile, went with more muted looks ... both Alabama signal-caller Mac Jones and BYU QB Zach Wilson had little to no flash at all.

Of course, it's all a welcome site regardless ... 'cause just 12 months ago, there was NO in-person draft due to the COVID pandemic.

The 2020 show was held entirely virtually ... and most prospects opted for casual loungewear.

Josh Duggar is in custody in Arkansas ... federal law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

The reality star was arrested Thursday by federal agents in Washington County, and he's being held in a detention center without bail.

We've obtained Duggar's mug shot, showing the former reality star posing with a bizarre smirk.

As we reported ... back in November 2019, Homeland Security agents were crawling around the car dealership where Duggar works in Arkansas, raiding his office in connection to a federal probe.

Josh's only current legal dispute, as far as we know, is a civil lawsuit filed against him for real estate fraud. It would appear his latest arrest is for something far more severe, though it's unclear exactly why he's been taken in.

Multiple people who allegedly dognapped Lady Gaga's 2 French Bulldogs and shot her dog walker have been arrested ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell us the alleged culprits were arrested on a variety of charges, including attempted murder and robbery. They were arrested Thursday.

We're told cops got video of where the dogs were dropped off in an alley days after the February 24 dognapping ... and it became key evidence in hunting down the alleged criminals.

The woman who "found" the dogs was also arrested, according to law enforcement sources. As we reported, cops were suspicious of her from the jump and that's why Gaga was advised by cops not to pay the $500,000 reward.

We're told cops initially thought this was some sort of gang initiation, but later changed the theory to a dog-stealing ring. French Bulldogs are a hot commodity and can be resold for lots of money.

We're told police believe the dognappers got nervous with all the publicity surrounding the incident and decided to bail on the dogs and, while they were at it, cash in on the reward.

As we reported, Gaga got her dogs back unharmed ... they were tied up in an alley when the woman called the number Gaga had posted.

The dogwalker, Ryan Fischer, was in the hospital for several weeks but we're told he's OK.

Ghislaine Maxwell is sleep deprived and things are so torturous for her behind bars she's suffered a black eye ... so claims her attorney in a letter and photo she filed in court.

Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, filed docs attaching a picture showing what Jeffrey Epstein's associate is looking like these days while locked up at NYC's Metropolitan Detention Center.

It's clear she's suffered a bruise under her eye, but how she got it is a mystery. Her lawyer's filing included a letter to the judge stating Maxwell only noticed the bruise after catching her reflection on a nail clipper. She doesn't have a mirror.

Sternheim says Maxwell -- who's accused of trafficking underage girls to have sex with Epstein -- doesn't know how she got the bruise. It appears prison officials aren't buying that, because Sternheim claims officials threatened to put Maxwell in a Special Housing Unit unless she spilled the beans on how she got the bruise.

But, Sternheim says if Maxwell's ever placed in SHU "it would be ironic" because "it would signal that Ms. Maxwell needs protection from the very staff so intent on protecting her, since she has no contact with anyone but staff."

BTW ... there's one theory on how Maxwell got the bruise. Sternheim said, "There is concern that the bruise may be related to the need for Ms. Maxwell to shield her eyes [using a sock or towel] from the lights projected into her cell throughout the night."

Sternheim's concerned about Maxwell's sleep disruption every 15 minutes to check on her breathing ... to which the attorney also objects, saying it's a "myth" that "Maxwell's conditions of confinement are related to her being a suicide risk."

Post Malone's brought the magic touch to one collectible shop ... 'cause his mere presence alone brought fans out in droves to watch him spend bank on Magic: The Gathering.

We're told the "Circles" rapper hit up the super popular Frank & Son Collectible Show shop Thursday in Industry, CA -- just outside L.A. -- and he was on the hunt for some very pricey 'Magic' cards.

For the too-cool-for-school kids ... MTG is a collectible and digital collectible card game that hit the market back in the early 1990s. The game astoundingly has around 35 million players as of 2018, and more than 20 BILLION cards have reportedly been produced to meet the incredible demand!

As you can see ... Posty's a HUGE fan, and once fans got word he was in town looking to plunk down some serious cash, they swarmed the collectible shop as if he were the Pied Piper.

We're told PM signed autographs for fans before dropping thousands of dollars on a slate of cards. He's so passionate about the game, he was rocking an MTG button-up when he appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Fans went bananas trying to figure out how to get their hands on the $135 shirt. They also started speculating it was probably PM who dropped $511k for the highly-coveted alpha Black Lotus card when it sold earlier this year.

Rudy Giuliani just went on his radio show in an effort to set the record straight about what led the FBI to raid his NYC pad and office.

Rudy said Thursday on his WABC radio show that reports the search warrant's tied to allegations he played middle man between Ukrainian officials and Donald Trump ... are FALSE.

Instead, he claims the feds came knocking because he allegedly failed to file as a foreign agent prior to dealing with Ukraine -- which he said was also false.

What's more ... Giuliani claimed he tried to clear this up with the Justice Department for the last 2 years, but they ignored him. Rudy said that over the last 2 years he was willing to prove as much ... but claims the Justice Department ignored him.

In all, he claims he made 3 attempts to squash the whole Ukraine drama -- 2 years ago, 1 year ago and 6 months ago. What's interesting about all of those dates is that they were all under President Trump's administration.

Rudy, who in November 2019 said anyone that tries locking him up will come away embarrassed, the feds instead decided to raid his home at 6 in the morning.

Ahmaud Arbery's mother is squashing her beef with an organization that's been raising funds in her son's name, but without her permission -- they've settled the dispute without going to court.

Wanda Cooper's lawyer, J. Carter, tells TMZ ... Ahmaud's mom settled her trademark dispute with the 2:23 Foundation last week, avoiding the hassle of a lawsuit.

As we first told you, Wanda claimed the 2:23 Foundation was using her son's name and likeness ... hauling in massive amounts of cash donations even though she hadn't given her blessing.

We're told the settlement terms call for the 2:23 Foundation to phase out their usage of the marks, for the org to be dissolved and for $345,306 in donations to be transferred to Wanda's newly established foundation, The Ahmaud Arbery Foundation.

Wanda's new foundation, we're told, is officially launching May 8 to coincide with Ahmaud's birthday.

Alfred Hitchcock is smiling somewhere -- hundreds of birds overran a Southern California home, and even spent the night ... and the video is straight out of that very famous horror movie.

The nightmarish scene played out recently in Torrance, CA where a family says they counted at least 800 birds flapping around inside their pad.

Video shows the huge flock ominously circling above the home before diving in through the chimney and then causing all kinds of chaos inside.

As you can see, the avian invasion took over every nook and cranny of the home -- birds were on the ceiling, along the windows, in the corners, in the bedrooms, in the bathrooms, on the furniture, on the stairs ... everywhere.

Oh, and ya know what birds do -- there's poop. Lots and lots of bird poop!!!

The family says the birds, which are migrating north, were in their home for a few days and didn't seem to want to leave for some odd reason. They actually spent one night with the birds, but it was too much, and the next night they moved to a hotel.

Sarah Paulson's slipping her slim frame into a fat suit in order to play Linda Tripp ... and it's got lots of folks pissed off over Hollywood's casting decisions.

The actress was all done up as Linda this week on the set of "Impeachment: American Crime Story," and her need for a fat suit is triggering critics ... including a journalist who says Tinseltown is doing plus-sized actors dirty.

The criticism, in a nutshell, is that roles for bigger actresses are few and far between in Hollywood, and it shows the industry's fatphobia when slim actresses like Sarah are cast to play a role like Linda Tripp.

Journalist Kristin Chirico wrote, "This could have been a fat actor. This could have been their big breakout role. This could have been their Golden Globe or their Emmy nod. This could have been their paid off student loans or their first house. Instead it's Sarah Paulson in a fat suit."

Another person tweeted, "So here’s a reminder: fat suits are incredibly anti-fat and perpetuate anti-fat bias. Here’s what you should do instead: hire an actual fat person!"

On the other hand, Sarah is a vet on the 'American Crime Story' anthology ... she was also cast as prosecutor Marcia Clark in 'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story', and just as she's doing with Linda, nailed the look.

A "Jeopardy!" winner flashing a hand gesture associated with "white power groups" is outraging hundreds of past players, who are calling out their beloved game show, but he insists they've got him all wrong.

The group of 467 former "Jeopardy!" contestants issued an open letter Wednesday, demanding "a statement and a disavowal" of the actions of Kelly Donohue ... who it accuses of racist messaging "either intentionally or unintentionally" on 2 separate occasions this week.

According to the letter, posted on Medium, the most egregious incident happened Tuesday, when Donohue made a 3-finger gesture to the camera that's extremely similar to the gesture "co-opted by white power groups, alt-right groups, and an anti-government group that calls itself the Three Percenters."

Donahue insists his hand signal was simply to indicate he'd won 3 games. In fact, Thursday morning he posted a long response to the backlash, saying, "I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists."

Even if that's true, the past players are still pissed "Jeopardy!" allowed the gesture to air without censoring it, and they point to a past example.

"A couple of years ago, a contestant unintentionally wagered a monetary amount that used numerical values coopted by white supremacist groups and, since the total didn’t affect the outcome of the game, 'Jeopardy!' digitally altered the numbers in the version that aired."

It should also be noted that Donahue held up one and two fingers after his first and second wins ... seemingly supporting his explanation that there was no hate behind it.

Even so, the former contestants believe it was on the production team to similarly catch Donohue's gesture and make an edit. The letter also alleges Kelly responded to a clue on Monday with a term for the Romani culture that's considered a slur.