Petey Pablo Gripes Over All-Star Weekend Snub ... Wanted NC to Raise Up!

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No shirts were taken off, twisted around hands and spun like helicopters at NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte ... and Petey Pablo is pissed.

Remember, Pablo's 2001 hit, "Raise Up," is all about North Carolina pride -- and the NBA even used the song in an All-Star game promo.

But Pablo, who's from NC, wasn't invited to perform during the ASW festivities -- and it's clear he's upset about it, calling out the NBA, TNT and the Charlotte Hornets on social media.

"To all my fans thank you guys for all the love and support. You will have to ask @NBA @NBAonTNT @hornets @NBAAllStar why I wasn’t added as a performer this year for all star.

"I guess they just wanted to rock the building and not tear the whole roof off."

Instead, ASW featured performers like Meek Mill, J. Cole and constant tributes to the Curry family (Steph, Seth and Dell all have deep ties to NC).

The players didn't seem to miss Petey -- as evidenced by this pic of LeBron James and his teammates coming out of the locker room at halftime to watch J. Cole perform.

Come on, NBA ... Cole is great ... but it's no Freek-a-Leek.

Julian Edelman Used Beard Clippings Pass $2,000 ... In Charity Auction

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Would you pay more than $2,000 for Julian Edelman's discarded beard shavings?!?

That's the going rate for the NFL star's recently shorn facial follicles -- which Ellen DeGeneres famously shaved off earlier this month after the Patriots won the Super Bowl.

Ellen collected the trimmings off the floor of her show and donated them to CharityBuzz -- which is now hosting an online auction with the proceeds benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.

The opening bid was $1,000 ... but that was quickly surpassed and as of the time of this post, the leading bidder has offered up $2,100!!!!!

Think it's gross to buy someone's used beard?? Maybe ... but Edelman's face fuzz was a piece of Patriots history.

The WR rocked the scruff during his Super Bowl MVP performance in New England's SIXTH Lombardi Trophy-winning game.

Besides the cash raised from the auction, both Julian and Ellen donated $10,000 each to the Boys & Girls Clubs ... so, props to them!!!

The bigger issue ... what does the winning bidder do with the beard? Display them? Throw them away? Clone Edelman?

It's super weird, right?

Sean McVay's GF Tiny Bikini In Paradise ... No Super Bowl Blues Here!

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How's Sean McVay getting over the Rams' devastating Super Bowl loss to the Patriots??

You're looking at it ... and we gotta say -- it's getting tough to feel bad for the L.A. head coach now.

McVay and his smokin' hot GF, Veronika Khomyn, hit up what appears to be Hawaii (for the second offseason in a row) ... and seems she's helpin' him get through his dark times.

There's a tiny bikini ... a pool ... the Pacific Ocean ... and shining sun.

Yeah, what Super Bowl L?????

The two have been mostly hangin' poolside in paradise ... but don't worry, Rams fans -- Veronika said last week she was havin' a hard time getting McVay to stop studying plays on his iPad!!!

The trip to the islands seems to be an annual thing for these guys ... last year, they were in Maui to get over McVay's first-ever playoff loss with the Rams.

If ya need a reminder of how Veronika helped back then ... you're welcome.

Boxer Ryan Garcia Fires Back at Floyd With $1 Mil Demand

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If Floyd Mayweather wants to do business with undefeated boxing star Ryan Garcia (17-0) ... he's gonna have to break out the checkbook!!

Garcia just watched our video where Floyd tells TMZ Sports he wants the 20-year-old to fight one of his rising stars, Rolando "Rolly" Romero, if he wants to get the BIG money fight with Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

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GARCIA DON'T WANT NO SMOKE

Garcia says he's down to scrap with Rolly -- but he's got demands of his own ... namely a $1 MILLION bonus if he knocks Rolly out.

"On the Floyd situation, you have always been the biggest mouth in the room," Garcia says ... "Talk is real real cheap!!!!"

"No more talk," he added ... "actions speaks louder then words I will fight your fighter but I’m going to need 1m if I knock him out and I’ll take that 200k to beat him."

Hey, it's progress!!

Remember, in Floyd's offer ... he told us he's willing to cut Ryan a $200k bonus check if he beats Rolly -- plus, he'd greenlight the "Tank" Davis fight.

But, Garcia's counter is the "knockout bonus" -- a cool $1,000,000 if he ends the fight early with a K.O. -- in addition to the $200,000 victory money.

Your move, Floyd ...

Miranda Lambert Guess What ... I Got Married!!!

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5:40 PM PT -- Miranda's husband, Brendan, is an NYPD officer who's assigned to the Midtown South precinct in Manhattan. We're told he has several years on the force and walks a foot post in Times Square. And, according to this 2015 photo, he's a dog lover.

Miranda Lambert is full of surprises -- in the same week she dumped salad on a woman's lap during a restaurant argument ... she's now announced she's got a brand new husband.

Congrats!

Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.

The country singer made the marriage reveal out of nowhere Saturday, saying ... "In honor of Valentine's Day I wanted to share some news. I met the love of my life. And we got hitched! My heart is full."

She adds ... "Thank you Brendan Mcloughlin for loving me for.... me."

The wedding pics show Miranda wearing a gorgeous dress with her husband in the middle of a big open field ... but it's unclear when it happened or where they're at.

We do know Lambert was in Nashville last weekend, though ... because we broke the story that she was out to dinner with her mom and a male friend at Stoney River steakhouse when she got into a heated argument with another table of patrons.

It's possible, but hard to tell, that the male friend is her new husband, Brendan.

As we told you, the restaurant fight culminated with Miranda dumping salad on a woman who was allegedly provoking her. There were many 911 calls about the ordeal.

As you know, Miranda was married to fellow country star Blake Shelton from 2011 to 2015, and was linked to another singer, Anderson East, as recently as April 2018 ... when they announced their breakup after 2 years of dating.

We're not sure where Mcloughlin came from, but it looks like he's a keeper.

Demaryius Thomas Flips Car in Denver Crash ... Suffers Minor Injuries

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Demaryius Thomas -- who was just cut days ago by the Houston Texans following his Achilles injury -- has been hospitalized with minor injuries after a single-car crash in which he was the driver.

According to the Denver PD ... the NFL wide receiver lost control of the vehicle in the downtown area a little after midnight, causing it to roll and come to a stop in the grassy median.

Cops say, 2 men, including Thomas, and a woman were found inside the vehicle and all 3 were transported to the hospital. Demaryius was ID'd as the driver.

Thomas and the other guy suffered minor injuries and are expected to be treated and released, but the woman's injuries are possibly more serious. They do not appear to be life-threatening, though.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Demaryius is a 5-time Pro Bowler who spent his entire career in Denver until he was traded to Houston in the middle of last season. The Texans released him earlier this week, so he's now a free agent.

Beck Where It's At? Divorce Court

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Beck's divorcing his actress wife, Marissa Ribisi, after nearly 15 years of marriage.

The singer filed the divorce petition Friday in Los Angeles. He and Marissa got married in April 2004 and they have 2 kids together -- a 14-year-old son named Cosimo, and an 11-year-old daughter named Tuesday.

Marissa's had roles in "Dazed and Confused," "Pleasantville" and several other movies. She's the twin sister of Giovanni Ribisi.

This was the first marriage for both Marissa and Beck. They got married in a small ceremony in Santa Barbara.

Drake Universal Music Group Sued ... You Shut Down Our Drizzy Doc!!!

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The production company behind a Drake documentary is suing Universal Music Group for ratting them out, and getting the project yanked from streaming platforms.

Symettrica Entertainment rips UMG in the lawsuit, saying the music co. fired off notices to remove all the Drake music and video clips the documentary entitled, "Drake: Re-writing the Rules." Obviously, that would create a major hole in a Drake documentary ... if it were devoid of his image and music.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Universal's power move "has nothing to do with purported 'copyright infringement,' and everything to do with placating its artist Drake by attempting to suppress any commentary or criticism of Drake."

The unauthorized doc was released on Vevo in November, and then hit Netflix, iTunes and Amazon on January 16. Symettrica says it got UMG's notice the next day and, 2 days later, all the digital platforms caved ... saying they had no choice but to pull the documentary.

Symettrica insists its use of the Drake clips was fair use, and says it's lost a ton of money because UMG shut them down.

Symettrica wants the court to declare their use of the Drizzy clips is kosher. It's also suing UMG for damages. Drake is NOT being sued.

Colin Kaepernick Strikes Settlement with NFL ... In Collusion Case

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Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid say their legal war with the NFL is over -- after striking a confidential settlement with the league.

Kaepernick and Reid had filed a lawsuit against the NFL claiming owners and league officials colluded to keep them off NFL rosters because they chose to take a knee during the national anthem at NFL games.

The league had adamantly denied blackballing Kaepernick ... even after President Donald Trump publicly urged owners to fire any "son of a bitch" who didn't stand for the anthem.

Kap's attorneys, Mark Geragos and Ben Meiselas, issued a statement saying, "For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL."

"As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party."

Reid was picked up by the Carolina Panthers during the 2018 season and on Monday, the safety signed a $22 million 3-year extension. Kaepernick is still a free agent.

We shot Kaepernick arriving in L.A. over the weekend -- but he remained silent when it came to his case against the NFL.

Kaepernick initially filed his lawsuit in October 2017 -- and, as part of the case, a bunch of NFL honchos were deposed ... including Jerry Jones, Bob McNair, John Elway, Robert Kraft, Pete Carroll and more.

Kaepernick first began taking a knee during the 2016 NFL season, while he was still a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

The QB opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017 -- and has not been picked up by another NFL team since then.

When asked about Kaepernick during the State of the NFL speech during Super Bowl week, NFL Commish Roger Goodell insisted that Kap's unemployment was a direct result of his football ability ... and not outside politics.

Kap supporters have strongly disagreed -- pointing out a slew of QBs with inferior experience and stats who got try-outs and contracts with NFL teams over the past 2 years.

Story developing ...

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21 QUESTIONS

Serena Williams Pottery Hottery

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Betcha didn't think pottery could be so appealing ... but, here's Serena Williams to prove it's definitely possible.

The tennis superstar put more than just her clay curves on display at a pottery studio on Thursday ... rockin' a leopard print shirt and some jean shorts that would make Daisy Duke proud.

Serena -- a Jehovah's Witness -- doesn't celebrate holidays, so she hit up Avenue Pottery in South Florida with some friends for GALentine's Day instead!!!

Serena picked out the matching outfits with her friend ... and posted about the experience, saying, "I’m really getting into pottery."

Of course, Serena addressed not celebrating holidays when her baby, Alexis Olympia, turned 1 back in September ... saying, "Olympia doesn't celebrate birthdays. We're Jehovah's Witnesses, we don't do that."

Williams' hubby certainly doesn't seem to mind not celebrating V-Day ... saying, "Those pottery skills tho" with a set of eye emojis.

Yeah, dude. Pottery skills.

Ben Affleck Quits Batman Role ... With Epic Shout-Out To Tom Brady!!!

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Did you know Ben Affleck made Warner Bros. stitch the No. 12 into his Batman costume during his entire run as the superhero as an ode to Tom Brady?!?

Neither did we ... 'cause it ain't true -- but Affleck joked it was Thursday on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' ... and the TB12 shout-out was hilarious!!!

Ben spoke with Kimmel on the late-night talk show and officially retired forever from playing The Dark Knight ... and to commemorate the moment -- Jimmy said they'd hang his costume in the rafters.

Guillermo -- Jimmy's ultra funny companion on the show -- brought out the bat costume (in his own Robin outfit) ... when suddenly, it was revealed the cape had "Batfleck 12" inscribed on it!!!

Ben said the number was a shout-out to none other than football's G.O.A.T., saying, "That’s Brady’s number. You can’t be a hero unless you wear number 12.”

Affleck added -- jokingly -- Warner Bros. "actually paid $80 million to digitally remove it from every movie.”

It was a funny moment ... but, it was hardly the best part of the skit -- that involved a Matt Damon thong and Affleck's nose.

Yeah, watch the clip.

Miranda Lambert 911 Send Backup ... She's Fighting and Flipping Plates!!!

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Geez, Miranda Lambert dumps ONE salad on a woman, and Nashville cops get flooded with frantic 911 calls ... and the recordings are damn entertaining.

The first call came from a staffer at Stoney River steakhouse, where saladgate went down. TMZ broke the story ... Miranda was out to dinner with her mom and a male friend and got into a heated argument with another table of patrons.

As the restaurant staffer put it to the 911 operator, "I have 2 guests about to get into a fistfight. Miranda Lambert got into it with another couple."

She goes on to describe the yelling and cussing and then dropped a dime on the country star, saying ... "Miranda's trying to hit people and she's flipping over on 'em!"

As we told you ... the showdown climaxed with Miranda dumping her salad in the lap of a woman at the other table.

Later, the restaurant's manager placed his own 911 call, begging cops to send help because the fight had totally disrupted his dining room.

Cris Carter Kaepernick Could Replace Tom Brady ... On The Patriots

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The Patriots could replace Tom Brady with Colin Kaepernick ... so says NFL legend Cris Carter, who says he KNOWS Robert Kraft's team is "very, very fond" of the QB.

Tom's fresh off his sixth Super Bowl ring ... but he's 41 years old -- and there's no clear successor to him on the roster if Father Time somehow abruptly wins their yearly battle.

Enter Carter ... an NFL Hall of Famer and overall plugged in guy who says TB12's eventual replacement ain't in this year's draft -- it might be in free agency ... in the form of Kaepernick.

"I know that the Krafts are very, very fond of Colin Kaepernick," Carter said on FS1's "First Things First" ... "I'm just saying outside the box, if someone will do it, it will be the people in New England."

Kraft has been close with Trump for years -- but he's also been critical of the President. In fact, Kraft told NFL owners and players Trump's language referring to NFL kneelers was "divisive" and "horrible."

Tom Brady has also been critical of Trump. In fact, he also publicly labeled Trump's comments regarding Kap as "divisive."

Carter says the Pats aren't known for drafting very well ... and says, "I believe you should start looking at other situations besides the draft for how they're going to look to get Tom Brady's replacement."

Of course, Kap's been out of the league since the 2016 season ... claiming the NFL has blackballed him because of his anthem kneeling protests.

But ... people close to the QB say he can still play -- with even his ex-49ers coach, Chip Kelly, telling TMZ Sports, "He's ready to go."

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HE'S STILL GOT IT

Vladimir Putin Flips Out w/ Russian Judo Babe

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Russian president Vladimir Putin hit the Judo mats in Russia on Thursday to train for more than an HOUR -- and if you took one look at his training partner, it's obvious why.

Russian officials told media 66-year-old Putin trained with 2016 Olympic bronze medal winner Natalia Kuzyutina during a session in Sochi. They trained for an hour and officials insist Vladdy's "in very good physical shape."

By the way, Kuzyutina is a total babe -- besides being a world-class athlete, she also does some bikini modeling ... and yeah, DAMN.

The very next day, Putin continued his public display of fitness -- strapping on his skates and hitting the ice for a hockey workout at Shayna Arena in Sochi. No Kuzyutina this time.

Of course, Putin wore the captain's jersey -- and probably scored about 73 goals ... per usual.

Putin's public display of fitness comes just hours after Trump's doctor released the results of his physical to the media showing POTUS is officially clinically obese (he's 6'3", 243 pounds).

So, the whole thing could be an "I'm in better shape than YOU" message to the commander-in-chief.

As for Trump, he's not exactly a slouch -- dude has good blood pressure (118/80) and his resting heart rate is healthy too (70 beats per minute).

He also loves to golf!

So, we gotta ask ...

Floyd Mayweather Doubles Down On Gucci ... Despite Celeb Attacks

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Floyd Mayweather will STILL not give up his Gucci -- in fact, he rocked one of his expensive Gucci jackets on his jet Thursday night ... despite being trashed by stars like 50 Cent and T.I.

The attacks on Mayweather have been brutal -- besides 50 leading a social media smear campaign, T.I. also recorded an anti-Mayweather track called "F*ck N*gga."

Both stars are furious Mayweather won't join the Gucci boycott after the apparel giant released a sweater many are calling "racist" because it appears to be blackface.

Floyd shot down the boycott earlier this week and dropped a TON of cash at the Bev Hills Gucci store -- which really pissed off T.I. and 50.

This new footage showing Mayweather rocking Gucci on his plane ain't gonna make things any better between the two sides. Guessing he'll continue to rock the brand during his stint in North Carolina.

François-Henri Pinault -- the guy who runs Gucci's parent company Kering -- tried to explain to reporters how the sweater actually made it to market.

"We didn’t understand the sensitivities of the African-American community, which is reflected in that mistake," Pinault told the media ... "We can’t be content with saying we’re sorry."

Pinault also says he will also push for more cultural sensitivity training with Gucci employees.

Meanwhile, 50 dropped a new Mayweather attack on Instagram early Friday morning. This thing ain't going away any time soon ...

T.I. Floyd Mayweather is a 'F**k N***a' For Dropping $$$$ at Gucci

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5:37 PM PT -- Floyd just responded to T.I.'s diss and the Gucci boycott ... saying celebs are picking and choosing topics to gain attention for themselves, and using "fake advocacy" as a platform.

Floyd rips T.I. for calling for a 3-month boycott, questioning why it's not permanent and why it doesn't extend to other designers under the same ownership.

Floyd says the artists up in arms over Gucci are the same ones who promote drug use, murder and sexual promiscuity in their lyrics ... and he wonders why people don't boycott their music.

He also takes a thinly veiled shot at Tip, claiming "unfaithful husbands" are using their platforms to rally their fans against luxury brands, while at the same time contributing to society's destruction with their musical content and imagery.

Bottom line for Floyd ... boycotts don't work, and the real answer is working together to find solutions.

T.I. is ripping Floyd Mayweather a new one with a blistering diss track where he calls the boxing champ a "f**k n**ga" for continuing to spend his millions at Gucci.

Tip dropped the song Thursday and, while he never mentions Floyd by name, the cover art shows Floyd with a mocked-up drawing of the infamous Gucci sweater that sparked the boycott. In the song, T.I. says, "Old greedy ass n***a only thinking about his self ... he get the fame, he get the wealth ... ya, people are struggling, who did you help?"

He also says, "Damn, it must suck to be a f**k n***a."

T.I. -- who's been leading the charge to boycott Gucci -- is clearly responding to the video TMZ Sports got of Floyd on Monday night as he dropped a bundle of cash at Gucci in Bev Hills.

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NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO

Floyd told us he didn't give a crap about any boycott and said, "I'm not no follower, I do what the f**k I wanna do,"

Floyd and T.I. already hated each other -- their beef goes back years to when they came to blows in Vegas.

T.I.'s track -- entitled "F**k N***a" -- is on iTunes and Apple Music. Hot beef, anyone?