Drugs & Alcohol

NY Yankees star CC Sabathia says he desperately tried to cover up his alcoholism for years -- boozing hard in secret hotel binges -- until finally realizing he needed to address the problem.

"In 2012, I kind of came to the realization I was an alcoholic," Sabathia said on ABC's "Good Morning America" ... "and I was kind of battling it without any help."

"I would go a couple, you know, two, three months at a time sober, and then I would just relapse, and, you know, go on these weekends when I thought nobody was paying attention, and I would get in a hotel room and drink out of the minibar, pretty much everything."

Sabathia says he feels relief now that everyone knows about his issue -- "I can just, you know, start the healing process and take steps forward to get myself better."

The 35-year-old recently completed a stint in rehab -- and says he's proud of the support he's received from Yankees stars like Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez ... as well as stars from other teams.

"Torii Hunter, Dave ... 'Big Papi's' been calling me a lot. And, you know, I got to thank those guys. I'm truly blessed to be able to have friends like that."

Diddy's pals know him well ... they threw the mogul a surprise 46th birthday party Wednesday night and, in true Diddy fashion, plugged the hell out of the new apple-flavored booze he just launched.

Naomi Campbell, LA Reid and Andre Harrell threw the bday bash at Butter in NYC ... and Chris Rock, Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Tyson Beckford and Maxwell all made the guest list.

The apple theme trickled into the decorations and the desert table, which hilariously spelled out ALL of Diddy's nicknames -- IN HOT APPLE PIES!!!

Rich Homie Quan got his Pablo Escobar tattoo out of respect for the late drug lord's business sense ... not because he happened to ruthlessly kill people while making his billions.

Quan set the record straight while hanging with celeb jeweler AD Killa Ink -- telling us the good Escobar did for Colombia outweighs the bad ... as in the countless casualties of his drug operation.

He points out Escobar pulled in $60 mil in ONE day, so he deserves props and a place on Quan's arm. Watch his full explanation. Ends justify the means?

Metta World Peace says he and Kobe Bryant both tried to save Lamar Odom from going down a dark path ... and were FURIOUS when they learned he overdosed in a Nevada brothel.

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar will live forever on Rich Homie Quan's arm ... 'cause he just got a giant tattoo to honor him.

"Narcos" is a great show, but this is a bit much. At least RHQ didn't seem to be feeling an ounce of pain.

Chris Brown's friends and family are extremely worried about him, because they think he's addicted to sizzurp.

The latest evidence is this picture of Chris and some friends taken over the weekend at an L.A. pumpkin patch where Chris took his daughter, Royalty, to buy a pumpkin. You see Chris sitting on a bale of hay with a double-stacked red cup at his feet. Right behind him there's another double cup.

Chris' friends and family are worried for several reasons. The problem has been getting worse over the last few weeks. They say he's drinking sizzurp around Royalty and they're worried he'll lose custody.

TMZ broke the story, during Chris' custody battle he tested positive for codeine, but the judge gave him a pass because Chris had a prescription.

This video shows Chris at a birthday party for Tyga's son a few weeks ago, and you see him drinking from a double cup while riding a bike. You also see a guy carrying a bottle of codeine and soda, and it appears they're mixing it in the parking lot ... in broad daylight, at a kid's party.

Chris isn't buying it, and says it's "bulls***" that anyone around him is concerned.

Big week for Arizona Cardinals lineman Frostee Rucker -- who is set to own 1 of only TEN legalized pot farms in Ohio ... IF voters move to legalize weed during a statewide election tomorrow!!!

Rucker teamed up with NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson to co-own one of the ten approved farms that would grow all of the state's legal pot. Nick Lachey owns another one of the farms.

If the vote passes, Rucker stands to make a fortune ... but the 32-year-old tells TMZ Sports it's not about the money.

"This is not a shot to get rich," Rucker says ... "It's a movement to help the infrastructure of Ohio."

If the vote passes, Rucker says the legal weed industry will create thousands of jobs and save the state FORTUNE in money used to prosecute weed crimes.

As for the NFL, Rucker says the league has always told the players to think about life after football -- and says this seemed like a perfect (and legal) investment.

Rucker says his agent did reach out to his team and told them about his business -- but says it in NO WAY affects his play on the field.

"When I play football, I focus purely on that. I dedicate myself to my day job."

When asked if he's getting support from teammates or other players in the league, Rucker says the guys don't really talk about it ... "It's a non-issue."

Lamar Odom has made a shocking turnaround ... his kidneys have improved so much he'll be off 6 hours of daily dialysis and he won't need a kidney transplant ... TMZ has learned.

We're told the big hurdle for days has been Lamar's kidneys and they've responded so well in the last 48 hours they've moved him from the ICU where he was getting dialysis in a private room.

Doctors told Lamar his kidney problems were life-threatening, and they told him they're surprised at the dramatic improvement.

Lamar is on the floor where hospital staff performs physical therapy. We're told Lamar's motor skills are impaired from the strokes, and he'll undergo increasingly rigorous therapy to regain function.

We're told the Kardashians are happy about the news, with one big caveat ... Lamar's now able to make his own decisions, and he hasn't necessarily chosen wisely during the last few months.

TMZ Sports has obtained the dramatic 911 call made after Glen Rice Jr. was shot Sunday -- in which the caller says he personally witnessed Rice try to ditch a handgun while "leaking" blood.

The caller is VERY descriptive -- saying he definitely heard gunfire and then saw the ex-NBA player frantically try to flag down a friend while screaming, "They just shot me."

As we previously reported, Rice was shot outside T.I.'s restaurant in Atlanta -- and according to the caller, he was "soaked" in blood which was spewing from his upper left thigh.

At one point, the caller becomes afraid for his own safety -- and finally decides to leave the scene.

A short time later, cops pulled over the Porsche that picked up Rice -- and he was arrested for weed possession and reckless conduct.

Lamar Odom could be staring down criminal charges soon -- his case is about to be turned over to the D.A., and the Sheriff suggests he should be prosecuted for felony drug use.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the Nye County Sheriff's Department will send Lamar's blood test to the District Attorney on Tuesday. The felony charge would be for using cocaine while at the Love Ranch South.

Lamar Odom had a visitor Monday night ... a guy who claimed to be Lamar's assistant, insisting Lamar had summoned him ... but hospital officials smelled a rat.

Our sources tell us the guy arrived around 11 PM and got on Lamar's floor when security stopped him. He said Lamar had called him and he came down from Vegas because Odom was insistent on seeing him.

Our sources say the guy has a history with Lamar and Odom's people believe he facilitated Lamar's drug use. The 2 men lived together in Vegas at some point. We're told Lamar's management fired the guy the day Lamar went into the hospital.

Security was unbending and refused to let the man in. There was yelling and "a big scene" before he was escorted out.

Khloe was not at the hospital when it went down.

They're both scary Irish guys ... but WWE superstar Sheamus says there's no question he'd dominate Connor McGregor in a real fight because, "I can kick anybody's ass."

Sheamus would definitely have the size advantage -- he's 6'4" and 267 lbs ... while Conor's 5'9" and 145 lbs.

Still, Conor is Conor ... violent.

There's more ... since Sheamus is especially proud of his drinking ability, we asked how many Guinnesses he could take down in one sitting.

"I lose count after about 15."

DRINKING FUN FACT -- Andre the Giant once claimed he put down 117 beers in 1 night (kids, don't try this at home).

The Sheriff now has the results of Lamar Odom's blood tests, and as expected ... he tested positive for cocaine.

Law enforcement sources tell us the Nye County Sheriff's Department received the results of the blood that was drawn at the hospital in Las Vegas ... and we're told it showed cocaine was indeed in Odom's system when he was admitted.

As we've reported ... Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said if there was cocaine in his blood it was "distinctly possible" he would be prosecuted for drugs.

Good news for Lamar ... even if he's prosecuted he won't do time. Although cocaine use carries a 1 - 4 year prison sentence in Nevada, first time offenders routinely get drug diversion ... when they complete the drug ed course, the charges are dismissed.

T.I.'s new Atlanta soul food restaurant was the scene of a shootout with a group of customers, leaving one man injured and also arrested for drugs ... TMZ has learned.

The shooting went down outside Scales 925 on Sunday night. According to cops, the incident started inside the restaurant on an upper deck patio ... where a group of 5 or 6 men started arguing.

Staffers threw the men out, but police say the fight continued in the parking lot ... and that's where one man in a red shirt whipped out a handgun and shot the victim once in the leg. We're told the victim escaped from the scene in a friend's Porsche.

Police were responding to a 911 call about the shooting when they pulled over the Porsche. Cops say they found the victim bleeding, but he also had a duffle bag with 240 grams of marijuana and $6,000 in cash.

The victim was booked for reckless conduct and possession of marijuana. He told cops he did not know the shooter. The entire incident was captured on restaurant surveillance cameras.

We're told T.I. was NOT at the restaurant nor anywhere near it at the time of the shooting.

Lamar Odom was set up for OD'ing at the Love Ranch brothel by being paired with a hooker who had a bad reputation for "partying" ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, when Lamar arrived at the Ranch, the girls were put in a lineup so Lamar could choose his partners. One of the hookers who was standing there told us management influenced Lamar into picking 2 girls who were known to tolerate drug use.

We're told the girls who were left standing in the lineup complained bitterly that management should not have pushed a known addict into choosing women who would take him down a bad path.

In fact, we're told several of the hookers quit in protest, including Tristen Lace, who says she's convinced Lamar would not be in the hospital if he had chosen different, less ominous hookers.

Bam Margera is bouncing back from rock bottom, quitting booze cold turkey ... and crediting a doctor he met on reality TV for his sober streak.

Bam's mom April tells us he's been sober for 3 months after getting treatment from Dr. Jenn Mann on her VH1 series, "Family Therapy with Dr. Jenn."

We're told Bam's drinking habit played a part when got knocked out cold in June during a concert in Iceland. Still, April says she was stunned Bam agreed to do the show because he'd been on a years-long bender following the tragic death of his best friend, Ryan Dunn, in 2011.

Bam's a completely different person after his treatment with Dr. Jenn, according to his mother ... who calls the change an absolute miracle.