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Shawne Merriman is furious his good pal and former teammate Antonio Gates didn't make the cut for the Hall of Fame on Thursday ... and now, he's demanding an explanation from the committee.

Lights Out didn't hold back when TMZ Sports spoke with him about the Chargers legend's HOF snub ... saying point blank, "This is pretty much an embarrassment, man."

"This one needs an explanation," he said. "Because if you watch football, in the last two decades, there's no way in the world that Antonio Gates is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Instead of Gates, the committee chose to put in Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis.

Clearly, Merriman thinks Gates got robbed ... adding, "I was shocked just like every other football fan was."

The sad part ... Merriman -- who played with Gates from 2005 through 2010 -- said he knows Gates is feeling down about it all.

"I know this has to bother him some," Merriman said.

Of course, Shawne is confident Gates will get his gold jacket sooner rather than later ... but in the meantime, he really wants to know why it didn't happen this week.

As far as The Beatles memorabilia goes, it doesn't get better than their autographs -- which you can now get your hands on if you have some seriously deep pockets.

Momentsintime.com -- one of the nation's leading autograph dealers -- has listed a signed piece of paper from all 4 members, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr -- and it can be yours for a whopping $100,000.

Lennon signed the American Airlines-branded paper as St. John Leper, alluding to Lennon's controversial "we're bigger than Jesus" comment -- the extra piece of Beatles history, albeit not something they would've wanted to be remembered for, making it all the more lucrative.

You may remember ... the remark drew considerable backlash from Christian communities -- some radio stations even refused to play their music, and their records were banned. The criticism got so ugly, it led to the end of The Beatles' touring career.

McCartney's signature is also extremely rare ... with him referencing Father McKenzie from the "Eleanor Rigby" track. Both of these unique signatures make it worth more $.

Davido has a sparkling new pendant to honor his three-year-old son who died from an accidental drowning in 2022 ... and like his guardian angel, it's a one of one!!!

Celebrity jeweler Gabriel Jacobs presented Davido with the completed chain earlier this week, a shimmering replica of his son Ifeanyi's face wearing a crown of flowers, and tells TMZ Hip Hop the piece contains an astounding 8,000 stones in total ...  natural brown, champagne, and black diamonds, oh my!

Gabe says the entire piece weighs 60 carats in total and cost him $250,000 in full but the details found craftsmanship is priceless.

The headwrap adorning Ifeanyi is made from even more diamonds, opal, topaz, and citrine ... the birthstones of the late toddler, in addition to Davido and his wife Chioma.

Davido told TMZ Hip Hop he was hoping to cash in on at least one of his 3 Grammys at this year's awards but came up empty-handed at last Sunday's ceremony.

American actor John Enos III was in his early 30's when he first started playing Bobby Parezi -- the ex-marine and Amanda's handsome brother-in-law -- on Fox's popular soap opera "Melrose Place" back in 1995.

Joining Enos in the dramatic series included Heather Locklear as the advertising executive with a challenging upbringing, Amanda Woodward, Thomas Calabro as the apartment manager-turned Cardiology surgeon, Michael Mancini and Andrew Shue as the publicist and Amanda's love interest, Billy Campbell.

John was also in popular shows like "Sex And The City", "Days Of Our Lives" and "Young And The Restless."

Travis Kelce was FUMING on the sideline after the Chiefs fumbled the ball in the red zone, bumping Andy Reid and screaming in his face ... nearly knocking the coach on his ass!

The incident went down during the 2nd quarter of the Super Bowl after K.C. star RB Isiah Pacheco turned the ball over deep in Niners territory ... a play Kelce watched from the sideline.

The NFL superstar was none too pleased -- and expressed his frustration, yelling inches away from his coach's face -- as girlfriend Taylor Swift watched from her suite.

Trav also slammed his helmet.

Of course, Kelce and Reid go way back to 2013, when both men joined the organization. Both guys are future Hall of Famers.

It's not the first time Kelce has lost it on the sideline. Remember back to the Christmas Day game vs. the Raiders when Travis blew his top on the sideline.

Through a quarter and a half, the game has been incredibly tense ... with star players on both teams making mistakes.

The 49ers, however, lead 10-0 ... after Christian McCaffrey scored a touchdown late in the 1st half.

Kelce has been relatively quiet (besides all the screaming), catching just one ball for one yard. We'll see if the sideline incident gets him going.

Usher and his girlfriend seem to be headed toward one of the wedding chapels in Vegas -- at least that's what these legal filings suggest ... which gives 'em a green light to get hitched.

The singer and his longtime partner, Jennifer Goicoechea, obtained a marriage license on Feb. 8 in Clark County -- this according to court records obtained by TMZ. Their marriage certificate is not yet filed ... so for now, it seems they haven't said "I do" yet.

Unclear if Usher and Jenn are actually gonna get married tonight -- considering he just had a huge Super Bowl Halftime show an hour ago ... something tells us they might.

If they don't do it now ... they got a year to get it done in Clark County before it expires.

Usher and Jenn were first seen chit-chatting in 2016 -- but they went official as a couple in late 2019, and have been together as a couple ever since. In other words, they have history.

Usher's been married twice before -- namely, to Tameka Foster and Grace Harry -- and if he walked down the aisle again ... this would be his third go-around. He already has two children with Tameka, and he welcomed two children with Jenn as well in recent years.

BTW, Jenn is in the music biz too -- but on the business side. She's an A&R exec at Epic Records. She's not nearly as much in the spotlight as he is, but definitely holds him down.

We'll see if Usher and Jenn are ready to tie the knot in front of Elvis here tonight.

Usher brought out a ton of special guests for his Super Bowl Halftime show -- most of whom were expected -- but one person he didn't trot out ... Justin Bieber, who was in town.

The legendary R&B singer took the stage at Allegiant Stadium Sunday for the Super Bowl Halftime Show -- and he put on a medley for the ages ... going through all his biggest hits, including 'Caught Up,' U Don't Have to Call,' 'Superstar' ... and eventually, 'My Boo.'

Alicia Keys came out and started singing 'If I Ain't Got You' on the piano ... and then transitioned into her duet with Usher, and it certainly stood out as a major moment.

Jermaine Dupri also came out and helped Usher sing 'Confessions' -- and that transitioned into 'Nice & Slow,' and then 'Let It Burn' right after that. And finally, 'U Got It Bad.' It was during this part that Usher went shirtless and was joined by H.E.R. who did a guitar solo.

Usher came back out and started skating onstage alongside Will.I.Am ... and they did their hit 'OMG' -- with a bunch of other backup dancers/skates who were spinning circles around 'em.

Lil Jon was the next big guest ... and this led into perhaps Usher's biggest hit, 'Yeah,' He put on an incredible dance number. Luda eventually came out as well and rapped his verse too.

It was a great show, obviously -- but it was surprising that Usher didn't bring out Bieber, as many expected him to be there ... y'know since he was literally there in Vegas this weekend. Plus, as we reported -- Usher and JB had been in direct talks in recent weeks about this.

Guess the dude wasn't up for it after all .. in any case, it was a halftime show for the ages!

2:26 PM PT -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell just had a one-on-one chat with Taylor ... hopefully he remembered to thank her for all the new fans she's brought to the sport!!!

1:39 PM PT -- Taylor's giving out hugs left and right ... with Travis' brother Jason Kelce wrapping her up in a short embrace before introducing himself to Ice Spice with a courteous handshake. Ever the gentleman, Jason!

1:30 PM PT -- Taylor Swift is in the building!!! CBS' broadcast just showed the pop star pulling up to Allegiant Stadium along with several close/famous friends including Ice Spice who appears to be hugging Swift's mom Andrea and Blake Lively who'se decked in a bright red jacket.

Taylor Swift is on the move -- she just took off in a private jet headed to Las Vegas ... and just in time too, 'cause the Super Bowl is low-key about to start pretty damn soon!

The pop star boarded her aircraft late Sunday morning -- flying out of L.A. and heading to Sin City to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. Everyone assumed she'd be there, and she's on her way now.

Tay Tay was once again being covered by umbrellas (just like yesterday) as she got on her PJ -- and from the looks of it ... she and the peeps she's rolling with are rocking Chiefs gear.

She oughta be landing pretty soon here ... and from the looks of it, her motorcade is already waiting for her in Vegas. She's got a brigade of SUVs all set -- as if she was POTUS! We suppose we wouldn't expect anything less for T-Swift, she kinda is American royalty.

Anyway, it looks like our theory of her crashing in L.A. for the night after a long flight from Tokyo ended up being correct. Rather than just go straight there, she laid low for a night.

It was a whirlwind trip for her, no doubt, and she's probably running on fumes right now.

And yet ... she's being a total trooper and making the trek to Vegas to see Travis, where she'll get a chance to cheer her head off on the biggest stage in American sports. And yes, as we reported -- she'll be in a private suite with her fam and Travis' brood too, no question.

Folks have been glued to their screens to see when Taylor will be landing in Vegas -- and now, it looks like she's pretty much at the finish line. The flight from L.A. is like 45 minutes.

Her being at the Super Bowl is this fairytale story coming full circle ... her NFL journey has been one for the ages -- and it's either gonna end in pure bliss with a W, or something else.

At any rate ... we're all stoked to see how it plays out, and we're sure TK's happy too.

The game is right around the corner -- kicking off at 3:30 PM PT -- and Taylor is about to take Vegas by storm. We're sure it'll be a circus ... but nothing she can't handle. And per usual ... she's sort of arriving at the 11th hour -- but she'll be right on time regardless.

Here we go!!!

Reba McEntire's rendition of the national anthem left a lotta fans feeling emotional ... and one Chiefs defender just couldn't hold back the tears.

The singer-songwriter finished up the opening ceremony just moments ago, belting out the song before the Super Bowl kicked off on Sunday.

During the performance, CBS' broadcast jumped from player to player with many keeping their heads down and staying focused ... though Chris Jones, the Chiefs' two-time All-Pro defensive lineman was clearly carried away by the moment.

Check out the vid -- Chris, number 95 with K.C., has tears streaking his face while Reba made her way through the song ... which took 95 seconds BTW, greater than the 90.5-second over/under mark for all you sports bettors out there.

He's not the only person who was moved by the performance. Lots of fans have taken to X to tweet out their impressions of RM's singin' ... and opinions are overwhelmingly positive.

Reba is one of many celebrities both performing at and just attending the biggest game of the NFL season ... with others like Post Malone, Usher, Paul Rudd, Leonardo DiCaprio and a heck of a lot more in attendance.

Bebe Rexha decided her performance in Las Vegas last night wasn't "Meant To Be" ... 'cause she bailed in the middle of a performance plagued by technical issues.

The singer-songwriter took the stage at Sports Illustrated The Party Presented by Captain Morgan Saturday night ... and apparently her mic wasn't working well 'cause she blated the poor sound quality.

BR said, "Hold up, hold up. I love you but you gotta figure out the f***ing mic system..." before saying she wanted to put on a "good f***ing show."

Clearly, Bebe didn't think that was possible, 'cause she stomped off the stage instead, putting an end to the whole performance.

It's not clear exactly how much she performed, but we know she did at least a couple songs, 'cause quite a few pics and videos are floating around of her on the stage.

We talked to her on the event's red carpet before the freakout ... and she didn't sound totally ready to hit the stage.

Rexha told us she'd actually gambled away a lot of freakin' money Saturday -- $3,000 in five minutes according to her -- and she was only taking on the performance for the paycheck.

An active shooter reportedly fired shots inside Lakewood Church -- Joel Osteen's house of worship in Houston ... and the moment was caught on video.

Local news outlets are reporting shooting began around 2 PM local time, just as a Spanish-language service was starting -- with the Sherriff's department quickly responding.

A clip, posted to X, shows a man seemingly beginning a sermon when several loud pops go off. People can be seen scrambling down escalators in the background, and the broadcast cuts to a screen of the Lakewood logo.

Eyewitnesses told local outlets there was panic and confusion among churchgoers as they quickly tried to exit the premises.

Deputies reportedly engaged with a possible suspect -- exchanging gunfire inside the church. A local sheriff tweeted out a suspect has been shot, though it's unclear how many alleged suspects were involved.

John Osteen -- Joel's father' opened Lakewood Church in the late 1950s, and it's grown into one of the largest megachurches in the United States -- Joel took over the church following his dad's passing in 1999.

Drake's betting big bucks on Kansas City to take home the Lombardi Trophy ... some harrowing news for Chiefs fans who know about his betting track record.

The singer/rapper shared a picture of his betting receipt to Instagram Sunday morning ... showing he put down $1.15 million on the Chiefs to win it all.

Drake also seemed to be making a shrewd political move by the way ... joking he couldn't "bet against the swifties" -- definitely a fanbase you don't want coming for your head!

Unfortunately for Drizzy, this might leave K.C. fans upset with him ... 'cause the dude's betting track record is pretty suspect.

For those who don't know ... Drake bets big like this quite a bit -- and loses a decent amount too. This has led fans to dub Drake cursed, saying essentially any team he bets on is bound to lose.

Sports fans tend to be an overly superstitious bunch ... but there's quite a bit of "evidence" to back up this claim with teams and players like the Kentucky Wildcats, Alabama Crimson Tide and even Conor McGregor losing pivotal matches when Drake's in their corner.

However, Drake's been a bit more accurate recently ... he hit two bets during last year's NBA finals and won just over $3.5 million when the Chiefs took home the title last year -- so maybe he's actually good luck for K.C.!

Jason Kelce's flying by on luck alone this weekend -- betting thousands at a craps table before Sunday's Super Bowl kickoff.

TMZ has obtained photos of the big Philadelphia Eagles center shooting dice at a craps table in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas ... with eyewitnesses telling us JK  was playing at a high roller's table in the luxurious Vegas hot spot.

We're told the minimum bet was $1,000 while the max was $5,000 ... a pretty penny for Jason, but nothing his reported career earnings of more than $81 million won't cover.

Kelce was letting it ride with his ride or die at his side -- Kylie Kelce stood alongside him, cheering him on with the little crowd that gathered around the Super Bowl champion.

Seems like he might've won a bit too ... we're hearing he was hootin' and hollerin' a bit after a couple throws -- so maybe he's made a few bucks at the table.

Of course, we all know why Jason's in L.V. -- his little bro Travis Kelce's attempting to win his third Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs against the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.

Jason's been a pretty public supporter of K.C. since his own Philadelphia Eagles were booted from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in embarrassing fashion last month -- a 32-9 slaughter by TB.

The Kelces are enjoying Vegas BTW ... with the couple even taking in an Adele concert -- where the 16-time Grammy Award winner said Jason sounded "drunk, and like you’re a football fan."

Travis Scott's music is an aphrodisiac ... at least it seemed to be for one couple who got hot and heavy with their hotel room window wide open.

Here's the deal ... the rapper took the stage at the Hakkasan Nightclub at the MGM Grand Saturday night to perform a few songs ahead of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

While busting out a few of his songs, fans there to watch TS got a totally different kind of show ... the kind you usually need to pay big money to see in L.V.

Check out the video ... it appears a couple was getting down and dirty in one of the hotel rooms overlooking the venue, and they weren't shy whatsoever about having an audience.

Unclear if the couple was aware they were so visible ... but it definitely seems like it'd be obvious that everyone could see them -- hotel room windows aren't usually tinted, people!

Some of the performers apparently addressed the erotic display on the mic ... with one of the performers straight up saying, "That boy's a legend."

People on social media, however, were up in arms ... calling the whole thing uncomfortable and expecting people to have a bit more common courtesy when it comes to those intimate moments.

We don't know if the couple's faced any discipline from the hotel or even the police ... but that wouldn't be entirely unexpected given how much the attendees saw.

Dwayne Johnson popped off over accusations he was booed for not following through on aid to Maui ... calling the claim "false clickbait garbage" in a furious response on X.

Here's the deal ... Nick Sortor -- an internet personality who has appeared on networks like Fox News and Newsmax -- posted a video to Twitter showing people at a WWE event raining jeers down on The Rock.

Sortor claimed these people were berating Johnson for not following through on his promise to aid the island of Maui following the devastating wildfires last summer.

He even pointed to some fans' chanting in the vid ... claiming they were saying "Maui" over and over -- and if you listen to the clip, it does sound like that's exactly what they're yelling.

But, DJ wasn't having this interpretation of events -- instead hopping on X to slam Sortor's analysis and insisting he was being booed for playing "the heel" in a WWE press conference -- professional wrestling-ese for "the villain."

Johnson said he tries to stay above the social media fray generally, but decided to correct Nick because he used "Hawaii's tragic events to draw attention" to himself before explaining his own role of villain at the presser Thursday.

He went on to claim The People's Fund of Maui -- kicked off by himself and Oprah Winfrey in August with a $10 million donation -- has delivered more than $50 million to thousands of survivors who were affected by the fires.

He praised the resilience of those people whose lives were uprooted by the fires and wrote directly to Sortor "instead of posting bulls*** like this that you know is false - I encourage you to post something positive for Hawaii, for our Polynesian American people. Or actually take positive action and come to Hawaii to help out in an uplifting way."

He encouraged Nick to use his platform to lift up the people of Hawaii instead of trying to tear him down ... and apologized to "all our Poly/Hawaiian ohana of Maui, for shining light on this toxicity as you struggle through tough times."

BTW ... Sortor isn't backing down -- responding on X by saying he's also based in Hawaii and Dwayne has his contact info, so he's happy to meet Johnson whenever he wants.

FWIW ... a community note has been added to Sortor's tweet explaining the context of the booing video -- and the crowd may have been shouting "Maui" but that's also The Rock's character's name from the highly popular Disney movie "Moana," so it could've been yelled in a totally different context.

Justin Bieber's definitely in Sin City ... but he brought his faith with him -- in the form of his new pastor!!!

The singer-songwriter was spotted walking through Wynn Las Vegas with his wife Hailey Bieber and his new friend and confidante Pastor Judah Smith who tossed a comforting arm around Justin.

Justin and Judah have hung out quite a bit through the years ... with pics of them together over the last decade or so. Now, Judah's his main pastor, taking on the role from Carl Lentz with whom Bieber had a public falling out.

Remember ... Bieber and Lentz were super close for years before Lentz admitted to cheating on his wife in 2020 ... a day after Hillsong Church fired him. It seems Justin distanced himself from Carl in the aftermath -- and now has charged Judah with his spiritual guidance.

He seems to be taking over the role to a T BTW ... 'cause the guys share a very similar look, all the way down to the beanie and glasses.

Unclear exactly when this clip was taken ... but we do know Bieber impressed the crowd at The Delilah -- a popular nightclub in The Wynn -- when he hopped onstage and showed off his drum skills.

Bieber banged away on a drum kit with a member of WeTheBand, twisting the sticks around in his hand and slamming away on percussion.

One party wasn't enough for Justin though ... with the 29-year-old hitting up Michael Rubin's 2024 Fanatics Super Bowl Party and jumping behind the DJ booth -- hanging out alongside rapper Travis Scott.

Rubin's party was stacked with stars like Scott and Ice Spice who both performed while T-Pain, Queen Latifah, French Montana and Remy Ma also pulled up to get down.

We broke the story ... Usher reached out to Bieber directly to ask him to join him for the Super Bowl Halftime show -- and Bieber arrived with the Kardashians yesterday.