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Craig Carton -- co-host of the popular 'Boomer and Carton' sports talk show on WFAN -- was arrested by FBI agents at his home in Manhattan on suspicion of running a concert ticket scheme.

We're told the alleged scheme looks like this ... Carton and a partner claimed to have been operating a ticket business that promised blocks of tickets to big concerts. Problem is, it was all a lie (allegedly) -- they never had the tickets.

Carton is suspected of defrauding investors out of more than $2 million.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of NY tells TMZ Sports Carton is facing securities and wire fraud charges and he's due in court later Wednesday.

Ezekiel Elliott has officially taken an L with his domestic violence appeal ... as the NFL upheld the RB's 6-game suspension Tuesday following an arbitration hearing at the league's NYC headquarters.

NFL-appointed arbitrator, Harold Henderson, handed down the verdict ... after hearing Elliott's case from a team led by Jeffrey Kessler -- the lawyer who's repped the NFLPA on several landmark appeals including DeflateGate.

Zeke also gave his side of the story while under oath ... according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The league suspended Elliott earlier this month after finding "substantial evidence" he engaged in physical violence against his then-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson -- a claim the Cowboys superstar has adamantly denied.

Elliott's team was reportedly prepared for this outcome ... as Henderson denied a request to have Thompson testify at the appeal proceeding. Henderson also barred the introduction of notes and materials gathered in the NFL's interviews with Thompson.

Zeke's legal team says, "We are extremely disappointed with Mr. Henderson's inability to navigate through league politics, and follow the evidence and, most importantly, his conscience." Next step is federal court, where Cowboys star will ask a judge to reduce his suspension.

Mariachi superstar Pepe Aguilar's son won't be doing any more jail time for his failed attempt this March to smuggle 4 Chinese immigrants across the San Ysidro border in the trunk of his car.

Jose Emiliano Aguilar was sentenced Tuesday to time served. He also got 3 years probation and will have to serve six months in a sober living facility.

The 24-year-old copped a plea deal in June. He was originally facing up to 10 years in prison. Ultimately, he only served 18 days before getting released on bond and striking the deal.

Hurricane Harvey is thankfully calming down ... but J.J. Watt's relief fund for Houston is still goin' strong -- pushing past the $20 MILLION mark on Tuesday.

J.J.'s crowdfunding campaign started off with a $200K goal a little over a week ago ... and quickly ran up into the multi-millions with big-name celebs like Miley Cyrus ($500K), Drake ($200K) and Chris Paul ($75K) leading the way.

In case you're wondering how things are going ... Watt shared an update on social media after breaking $20 mil -- saying, "It has truly been an incredible spectacle to watch."

Barack Obama is coming out swinging at Donald Trump's decision to end his pro-immigration program, DACA, calling it "cruel" and condemning the White House for doing so.

44 posted a 2-page response on Facebook Tuesday not long after Trump announced his decision. It's a huge departure from Trump's 140-character jabs on Twitter.

Barack starts by acknowledging immigration can be a controversial topic, but says ultimately there should be no threat to the future of "young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us.”

Obama continues ... "What makes us American is not a question of what we look like, or where our names come from, or the way we pray. What makes us American is our fidelity to a set of ideals – that all of us are created equal..."

Barack says it's up to Congress now whether Trump's decision to end the program ultimately goes through or not.

Ryen Russillo says he deserved the weeklong suspension he got from ESPN following his drunk arrest in Wyoming -- admitting he embarrassed himself and the network.

The ESPN host returned to his TV/Radio show on ESPNews on Tuesday and started by essentially owning up to boozing too hard that night and passing out in the wrong hotel room.

As we previously reported, the owner of the room where Russillo passed out called cops. When they arrived, cops say Russillo reeked of booze. He was arrested for criminal entry.

"The thing about screwing up is it can be hard when it's just you. But that's actually what's made this easy, is that it's only my fault. I have no one else to blame," Russillo says.

The Robert E. Lee descendant, who denounced white supremacy during the VMAs, says that speech cost him his job as pastor of a North Carolina church.

Rev. Robert Wright Lee says factions of his United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem "were concerned about my speech and that I lifted up Black Lives Matter movement, the Women’s March, and Heather Heyer as examples of racial justice work."

Rev. Lee says there were also church members who supported his right to speak out, but were "uncomfortable with the attention" his MTV appearance was bringing the church. He says, "The church’s reaction was deeply hurtful to me."

It's almost like no one cares that Conor McGregor LOST to Floyd Mayweather -- at least judging by new video of the UFC star partying in Spain.

Conor got the VIP treatment at the Ocean Club in Ibiza -- where he was turning up with his girlfriend/baby mama Dee Devlin after a friend's wedding.

Props to Conor for shaking hands with everyone who approached him -- couldn't have been a nicer guy to all his fans ... even the dude wearing an old-school Pau Gasol throwback Lakers jersey.

Yeah, they still have those!

Meanwhile Floyd's still in Vegas where he hit a $100,000 jackpot on a video poker machine Monday night ... 'cause he really needs more money.

Prince William and Kate have another reason to smile this week ... they just scored more than $200k in a lawsuit over topless pics of the Duchess of Cambridge.

A French court imposed maximum fines Tuesday against Closer magazine -- as well as its editor and owner -- for publishing topless photos of Kate in 2012. A judge ordered the magazine to pay $119,000 in damages. The editor and owner also have to cough up $53k each in fines.

The lawsuit stems from photos taken of Kate while she was sunbathing topless at a private villa in France. The royal family deemed the magazine spread an invasion of privacy, and Wills and Kate sued.

The court's ruling comes one day after the couple announced baby #3 is on the way. This oughta help cover that kid's college tuition.

The NFL has filed 2 scathing new legal documents -- seeking to block Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL Player's Association from challenging the league's 6 game suspension ... and ripping the RB along the way.

The 1st document, filed in federal court in Texas, the NFL asks the judge to reject the NFLPA's request to throw out whatever punishment the arbitrator hands out to the Cowboys star.

Since the arbitrator hasn't ruled yet, the NFL says in the court docs, "the NFLPA lacks standing to vacate a hypothetical award." The league calls the NFLPA's motion an "utter waste of judicial resources."

In the 2nd document, also filed in federal court in Texas, the NFL is again essentially trying to block the imposition of the arbitrator's ruling.

This time, the NFL fires back against Elliott's claim that he has suffered "reputational harm" from the league's investigation and punishment.

"To the extent Elliott has suffered reputational harm, that harm is due to his own actions, including the well-publicized actions that led [the accuser] to call the Columbus Police Dept."

The league continued, "The NFLPA's concerns about reputational harm ring especially hollow given the avalanche of publicity the NFLPA engendered by filing the damning details of Elliott's misconduct on a public document."

The federal court judge has yet to rule. Ditto for the arbitrator overseeing Elliott's appeal.

WOOOOOOO!!

Ronda Rousey just cut her first pro-wrestling promo in years -- strongly hinting at a future with the WWE -- and it pits her against a trio of HUGE superstars including Ric Flair's daughter.

Rousey, along with MMA training partners Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir, were in a backstage skit with former WWE champs Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Bayley ... where Ronda challenged the rival group to get down.

"You name the time, you name the place," Rousey said. "We're waiting to hear from you."

The story practically writes itself ... Ronda's other BFF, Shayna Baszler, is wrestling in WWE's Mae Young Classic tourney ... and their crew has been calling themselves the Four Horsewomen since they met on "TUF Season 18."

Ric Flair was part of the legendary Four Horsemen of pro wrestling ... and you can bet Charlotte's character ain't gonna be happy with Rousey swagger-jackin' her dad.

We reached out to WWE to see if Ronda's new career is officially on ... so far, no word back.

Ric Flair is doing so well in his recovery, he's now taking phone calls from his famous wrestler friends ... including Stone Cold Steve Austin who says the two had a great convo earlier this week!

"All I can say is that I had a great conversation for about 5 minutes and we were both laughing," Austin said Wednesday on Sean Waltman's "X-Pac 12360" podcast .

Steve says Flair's still got a ways to go after undergoing major surgery for multiple organ issues -- but the fact he's got his personality back is a huge deal.

President Trump is pledging $1 million of his own cash toward the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Texas.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the donation Thursday, but it's still up in the air where exactly the money will go. Sanders said the President wanted reporters to help him decide which organization would maximize the impact of his funding.

Sanders cited the WH Press Corps' research skills and solid coverage of the disaster.

3:28 PM PT -- Looks like Lt. Greg Abbott beat Cobb County PD to the punch ... he just reportedly resigned from his post before he could officially be fired.

Cobb County PD is reacting swiftly and firing Lt. Greg Abbott the day after video surfaced of him telling a white motorist, "We only kill black people."

Chief Mike Register announced the firing Thursday afternoon, saying, “I have known Lt. (Greg) Abbott for years and perceived him as honorable, but he’s made a mistake. I don’t know what is in his heart, but I know what came out of his mouth. We recommend that he be terminated and we are moving forward on that.”

As we reported, Abbott had pulled over a white woman who was hesitant to reach for her phone, fearing she'd be shot. Abbott responded that cops only kill black motorists.

The incident happened in July 2016, but only came to light when WSB-TV requested the video last week, and aired it Wednesday night.

Victor Oladipo is putting all the whack NBA rappers to shame ... sounding like John Legend (seriously) in a single he dropped today to launch his music career.

The Indiana Pacers superstar went with a modern-day take of a Donny Hathaway classic for his debut effort -- and absolutely crushed it.

Oladipo talked about his other all-world talent in a social media post -- “They say when you have a gift you should share it because if you don't you're doing yourself, the world, and God who gave you the gift a disservice!!"

Victor also said his EP is coming soon -- "and it's straight fire."

Can't say we're too surprised by V.O.'s new gig ... ain't the first time the baller's slayed the mic!

LaVar Ball is dropping the the price to be a Big Baller -- debuting a new BBB shoe, The Melo Ball 1 ... and it's only $395!!!!

LaVar is calling the shoe a "industry game changer" -- and says it was "meticulously designed and inspired by" his 16-year-old son LaMelo Ball.

The shoe looks different than his brother Lonzo Ball's ZO2 kicks, which retail for $495.

BBB is already taking pre-orders but says the shoes are expected to ship in December.

BBB says LaMelo is the youngest basketball player to ever have his own signature shoe -- "History has been made."

Of course, Jay-Z bought 3 pairs of Lonzo's shoe -- saying he wanted to support a black-owned family business. Wonder if he'll pony up for the Melos, too?