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An autographed box score sheet from the night Kobe Bryant scored 81 points has just hit the auction block -- and some of the proceeds will go to the families of the helicopter crash victims.

The rare document was personally signed by Bryant in blue ballpoint pen shortly after he dropped the incredible figure on the Toronto Raptors in that legendary 2006 performance.

You can see in the doc -- which, according to Goldin Auctions, was only given out to media members, players and staffers after the game -- Kobe was a flat-out BEAST during the Jan. 22 matchup.

Bryant took 46 shots and added 20 free throw attempts ... dropping 81 points with just 3 turnovers. What's even more incredible is only 2 other Lakers scored more than 10 points!

Of course, Bryant's squad won the game -- a sellout at Staples Center -- and Kobe said of it all afterward he couldn't have have imagined dropping that much "not even in my dreams."

We're told a portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the MambaOnThree Fund -- a charity set up to help the families of the other passengers that died in the tragic helicopter crash that killed Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, on Jan. 26.

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are taking a stand against his widow ... insisting she's got the wrong idea about who owns a bunch of unreleased Soundgarden tunes.

Soundgarden is responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year ... claiming ownership of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' laptop after his death -- but the band says ... not so fast!

In new docs, they acknowledge there are unreleased songs but say they -- as a band -- had been working on them as far back as 2014. As evidence, they point to a February 2017 article where Chris himself spoke to Music Radar about Soundgarden's new material. He said, "We have a lot of interesting songs."

The operative word there being, "We" ... according to the band. According to the docs, Soundgarden got together in the studio in April 2017 to do more work on the songs. They acknowledge they took a break from polishing the songs later that month ... to go on tour.

It was during that tour, in May 2017, that Chris died by suicide.

Further, Soundgarden say they've corresponded with Vicky about the songs, and she's admitted they were the band's property ... not just Chris' solo work.

They also think she's filed her lawsuit in the wrong court -- a federal court in Florida -- because the band is based in Seattle. Therefore, they're asking a judge to dismiss Vicky's lawsuit or, at least, force her to refile in the proper district.

R. Kelly's ex-girlfriend, Azriel Clary, already has the wheels in motion to not only help herself heal but to do the same for others ... and her plan includes multimedia and advocacy.

TMZ has learned about the next steps Azriel plans to take as she recovers from what she claims was a dysfunctional and abusive relationship with R. Kelly -- and one the first things she wants to dive into includes working with non-profit organizations that help protect young people.

The org is called Team Truth, and we're told it's run by her dad. It aims to educate minors and their families about types of abuse and how to escape it. Our sources say Azriel finds the cause near and dear to her heart, so she wants to take it up full force.

There's more though ... we're told Azriel also wants to focus her efforts on women of color specifically. She's planning on starting her own foundation dedicated to helping abused women take back control of their lives ... much like she's doing right now.

Speaking of that, we're told Azriel has even more in the works as far as reclaiming her independence and aspirations. She was working toward becoming a recording artist before getting with R. Kelly, and sources say she's pivoting back into that direction.

In fact, we're told she even has a YouTube series in the pipeline called "On the Run with Azriel," which will infuse her music career and her philanthropic efforts in one project.

As we told you, Azriel is already working with the feds in their cases against R. Kelly -- this despite death threats. She's also been doing interviews lately, which we're told she sees as a form of therapy and ultimately helpful in getting past her trauma.

Kobe Bryant was like an uncle to Shareef O'Neal -- the two were EXTREMELY close -- and Shaq's son is telling TMZ Sports the most important message he learned from Mamba.

"He just told me to always be the best I can be. Always try hard and always try to work harder than everyone else 'cause every day you take off, there's always people trying to get better."

"So, he just told me to be the best I can be, I don't have to live up to my dad's name. I don't have to live up to anybody's name. Be the best I can be."

Shareef -- who's now strongly considering continuing his college basketball career at LSU -- says he plans to honor Kobe every time he steps in the court.

"I just plan on playing for him every time I play. I'm going to just do it for him, do it for the family, do it for the people that lost their lives."

"It's always gonna be in my mind," Shareef added ... "It's a crazy, crazy feeling to think about it, but its always gonna be in my mind."

Shareef has been greatly affected by the tragedy -- he's been posting about it a lot on social media and personally visited the tribute to Kobe and Gianna Bryant outside Staples Center last week ... where he left a pair of shoes in KB's memory.

Kodak Black is pushing for a lighter prison sentence because he thinks the judge unfairly threw the book at him.

The rapper's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... they'll be filing legal docs soon appealing the 46 months he got in his federal gun case. They're looking to get several months cut off that time, and here's why.

Cohen says Kodak shouldn't have been classified as a prior convicted felon at sentencing. He says Kodak's previous guilty pleas didn't result in convictions -- because under those deals there would be NO conviction on his record ... provided he met all the terms.

It's a technicality, but nonetheless Kodak believes that error opened the door for a harsher sentence.

We broke the story ... Kodak will likely be serving out his time in a federal prison in Kentucky, and as of now, he's slated to be free again on or around Aug. 14, 2022.

If his appeal is successful though, his team believes he could be out in late 2021. Of course, this is all under the assumption Kodak can stay out of trouble behind bars ... which ain't always easy to do.

Danielle Bregoli came THIS close to cashing a $450,000 check in exchange for speaking at a conference in Hong Kong ... but just like with Dog the Bounty Hunter, it was a total scam.

Here's the deal ... reps for Bhad Bhabie were contacted by people purporting to be from the office of Peter Woo -- a billionaire Chinese businessman -- offering her a massive payday to make a quick speech at a charity event in Hong Kong.

If this sounds eerily familiar ... it should, because these are the same scammers who targeted Dog the Bounty Hunter last year. And, just like Dog, Danielle saw all the red flags.

Bhad Bhabie's team says the scammers wanted her to cash a check for $450,000 and then wire them back $300,000. Another red flag -- the website for Peter Woo Philanthropies is a carbon copy of the charity websites used in the scams targeting Dog and other famous folks.

Other perks included private air travel, luxury accommodations and a $10,000 wardrobe budget. Yeah, too good to be true.

It's funny ... Bhad Bhabie kept up her end of the bargain, sending a wire upon receipt of the check. She wired $0.01 with this memo, "SUCK MY D***. LOVE, BHAD BHABIE."

Joe Burrow is looking to follow LeBron James' lead when he starts making that NFL money ... telling TMZ Sports he's gonna hire a personal chef to keep him in shape!!

Of course, the Lakers superstar reportedly spends a whopping $1.5 million a year to maintain peak physical shape -- including trainers, massage therapists and a chef.

Other huge names like Conor McGregor have taken notice and followed suit ... electing to invest in his body rather than spending dough on cars and jewelry (though let's get serious, he'll be able to afford that too).

We spoke with the champ at the Fanatics Super Bowl party in Miami on Saturday ... and he tells us he's already on the hunt for whoever can whip him up the best steak!!

Burrow says he's not a picky eater, so whoever wins the gig won't have too hard of a time.

"I'm a healthy eater, so whatever he or she can make that tastes good and keeps me shredded," the Heisman Trophy winner tells us.

As for how he likes his steak?? Medium rare with a side of asparagus or lobster mac ... with NO A1 sauce.

Once again, MEDIUM RARE BECAUSE THAT'S THE CORRECT ANSWER.

Before this cute kid was kicking ass and taking lumps on TV as a bonafide badass, she was curled up with a good book ... and an even sweeter 'do.

This gal went on to star in hit shows like "Blindspot," "Kyle XY," "Watch Over Me," and "The Brink." She's starred in even more action flicks like "The Last Stand" and a bunch of "Thor" movies, in which she plays one of the heavenly, hammer-wielding gods.

She's known for doing some of her own stunts -- and has sometimes suffered serious injuries because of it ... like breaking parts of her back, her shoulders, fingers and nose. Ever the trooper though, she always finds a way back on screen and in our hearts!

Oh, and she also famously cut these pretty locks to play a classic Jane Doe character. Not to worry though ... her hair's grown back on screen before.

Safaree and Erica Mena are beaming over their little bundle of joy ... and they're showing off their first child together like proud parents!!!

Erica just shared the super-cute snap on her social media ... and Safaree looks like he's loving the whole fatherhood thing. Remember, he's a #girldad now!

The 'Love and Hip Hop' star says she's "just here staring at my husband as he obsesses over our daughter. I thank God. I prayed for this life."

As we reported ... Erica turned tradition on its head by gifting Safaree some bling for the pregnancy, dropping nearly $50,000 on a custom diamond chain that comes with a white gold "Daddy" lock.

Erica and Safaree tied the knot back in October in a blowout ceremony at a castle in New Jersey ... and now they're starting their own family.

Danny Masterson is firing back at his rape accusers over their stalking lawsuit against him and the Church of Scientology ... calling BS on the whole case.

The "That '70s Show" star filed new docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking a judge to toss the case on grounds the women, according to Danny, haven't specified what they're accusing him of doing.

You'll recall ... 4 women filed suit against Danny and the Church claiming they conspired to stalk them and invade their privacy. They cited multiple incidents of being followed, having their homes surveilled and their property damaged ... which they believe was in retaliation for going public with rape claims against Danny, who is a Scientologist.

In the new docs, filed by attorney Andrew Brettler, Masterson claims the 4 women -- two of whom filed as Jane Does -- are engaged in a "shameful money grab." He says the women are ex-girlfriends who are trying to humiliate him and the Church but doing it anonymously to avoid scrutiny.

He'd already denied all of their claims, but now ... he's doing it again in court docs. He says there was a criminal investigation 2 years ago, and no charges were filed.

Danny says he wants a judge, at the very least, to force the women to disclose their names publicly and, more importantly, he wants them to specify what he allegedly did wrong. He claims they're far too general with their allegations, and he's demanding they get specific.

There's a hearing on the matter scheduled for March, at which point the court is expected to issue a ruling.

Brian McKnight's touching personal tribute to Kobe Bryant will make its way to the public eventually on a new album -- and just as sad ... it might be his last foray into music.

The R&B singer was on "TMZ Live" Monday to talk about writing the new tune, "Can't Say Goodbye" ... which he personally wrote and performed in honor of the late NBA superstar. He says he can't even remember writing it ... the lyrics just poured out of him.

Brian tells us he's never seen a death affect the world the way Kobe's did -- and that's taking MJ and Prince into consideration. To him, it just proves Kobe was THAT beloved.

He also told us, he'd gladly perform "Can't Say Goodbye" at Kobe's memorial service, if asked. We also asked him about releasing the track to the public -- and that's when he dropped a bombshell about his more than 30-year career. Brian says it's about to be a wrap, at least in the studio, after one more album ... which will include the Kobe tribute.

As for how serious he is about retirement -- we pressed Brian, and on a scale of 1 to 10 ... sounds like he's squarely a Cher.

The San Francisco 49ers didn't go home with the Lombardi trophy ... but they got a sick consolation prize -- an all-out rager with Lil Wayne and DaBaby ... and it was LIT!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the NFC champs hosted a bash outside the American Airlines Arena shortly after the devastating 31-20 loss in the Super Bowl ... but we're told everyone was in great spirits!

Lil Wayne and DaBaby each performed some of their hits, the Niners players joined them on stage ... and Kyle Shanahan bro'd out with Tunechi!!

FYI -- if you didn't know, the Niners coach is a HUGE Wayne fan and even named his son, Carter, after the rap legend ... and we're told Shanahan made sure to point that out to Wayne during the party.

Get this -- both rappers got a fat check to perform at the party. Like, we're talking 6 figures.

But, the party wasn't just for the players ... we're told the York family (who own the team) had a front-row seat!

Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley are back on campus for another round of "Saved By The Bell" ... which means they're back in character as A.C. Slater and Jessie Spano.

Mario and Elizabeth were spotted shooting the reboot Monday in Los Angeles, over 30 years after they first started starring in the hit series way back in 1989 ... talk about a blast from the past.

Mario doesn't look like he's aged much at all ... and he's still got those famous A.C. jock vibes. Elizabeth's keeping it business casual as Jessie ... the former students are reportedly playing roles as parents in the reboot.

Bayside High School is where it's all going down once again.

The new series is said to focus on a group of low-income students transferring into the wealthy Pacific Palisades at the direction of Zack Morris, who went on to become Governor of California.

Forget a Super Bowl hangover, the party continues for Kendall Jenner and Ben Simmons ... who spent their Monday chillin' by the pool in Miami ... and good lord, they're attractive!

Bendall (that's what we're gonna call them now) went to the Super Bowl together on Sunday where they made it pretty clear to everyone they're together -- despite an on-and-off past.

Fast forward to Monday morning where normies spotted the celeb couple taking in some sun and healthy drinks by the pool of their fancy Miami hotel.

Kendall was still sporting some swag from Stormi's big 2nd birthday in Los Angeles -- one of the biggest, craziest birthday parties we've ever seen.

Clearly, Kendall flew out right after the bash ... because she's RICH, Y'ALL ... and that's what rich people do.

As for Ben ... the Philadelphia 76ers star is actually in town to play the Miami Heat on Monday afternoon in what should be a pretty competitive game.

Hydrate, bro.

Rush Limbaugh's sharing some sobering news -- he says he's just been diagnosed lung cancer, and it's in an advanced stage.

The iconic conservative firebrand host made the shocking announcement Monday during his radio program. After revealing his diagnosis, Rush said his scheduled cancer treatments will mean taking time off from his show. He admitted there will be times when he just physically won't be able to host due to the treatments.

He was not specific about how doctors plan to attack the cancer.

Rush says he first noticed something was wrong on his 69th birthday last month, so he went for some tests and learned his diagnosis. He says he thought about not telling anyone but didn't want to set off rumors when he started missing shows.

Rush, who started his radio career in the 1970s, says he's going to keep working as long as he can.