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Looks like Caron Butler has his future retirement plan all set ... 'cause his son is straight KILLIN' it on the bball court ... dropping 41 in a recent game.

Butler's kid J.C. is just a 15-year-old sophomore at Racine Prairie HS in Wisconsin but already has interest from D-1 schools like Wisconsin, Marquette Memphis and North Dakota State.

Why all the hubbub? It's not just the 41 point explosion ... J.C. is averaging nearly 20 points a game and is already 6'4".

How does dad feel about the success? We talked to Caron, the answer is ... duh, super stoked.

"I'm extremely proud of him. I've been watching him from afar, but I just got back to Racine and got to watch him play. He's playing great basketball going into State. I see myself in him a lot. He's much better than I was at that age."

As far as the NBA? Butler says it's not a sure thing ... but he's willing to do whatever he can to make sure J.C. has the shot.

"He really feels like he has a shot playing at a higher level. I'm going to give him every outlet and resource possible."

The superfight at Jerry World is one step closer to fruition ... 'cause Oscar De La Hoya met with Jerry Jones Thursday to discuss Canelo Alvarez vs. GGG at AT&T Stadium.

As we previously reported, Gennady Golovkin's camp had been in touch with Jones -- who expressed great interest in hosting the fight at his mega-stadium in Dallas in September.

Well, Oscar reps Canelo -- and made the trip to Big D to push along the conversation ... and by the looks of things, it's going well.

There are two other venues in the running -- the MGM Grand in Vegas and NYC's Madison Square Garden ... but we're told both sides REALLY want to make this thing happen in Dallas.

BTW, we spoke with GGG earlier this week about the prospect of fighting at AT&T Stadium -- and the guy was PUMPED ... telling us it would be "HUGE" for the sport.

Eddie Lacy could be coming back to Green Bay straight DIESEL ... 'cause it looks like the Pro Bowler has taken up P90x creator Tony Horton's offer to train him ... we think.

We broke the story ... Horton made an on-camera plea to Lacy -- basically begging to train the running back -- after Packers head coach Mike McCarthy demanded Lacy drop 30 pounds before next season.

Well, there is some evidence to suggest the two have linked up and are getting it RIGHT NOW in Jackson Hole, Wyoming ... namely a tell tale Moose.

Check out these two posts that each guy put up on social media recently -- pay attention to the certain alces (look it up) figure that shows up in each shot.

Need more? How about GB head coach Mike McCarthy saying Lacy is "conditioning as we speak" in a presser he just gave ... seemingly aware of Eddie's efforts to shave some muffin top.

"Mobwives" star Angela "Big Ang" Raiola is still alive and surrounded by family members at a Manhattan hospital despite multiple reports saying she died ... this according to a statement from a rep.

Outlets reported Ang had passed away after a battle with cancer around 6 PM PST but according to a statement on her Twitter, Ang is still alive. Addressing the death reports, the statement says, "All of the media outlets currently reporting this are reporting FALSE INFORMATION."

TMZ has spoken with a family member at Raiola's bedside who confirmed the statement. We're told her estranged husband Neil Murphy is with Ang.

The statement goes on ... "Angela is still in the hospital surrounded by her loved ones, and is fighting. Thank you."

Leonardo DiCaprio keeps winning -- both for his role in "The Revenant" and with the leggy blonde contingent, because he had another one in his ear at a BAFTA after-party.

The latest Leo conquest -- Irish TV personality Laura Whitmore. They looked very cozy Sunday night in London, and while she is a hot chick and he is Leo ... sources close to Laura say it's not what people think.

We're told Laura was working, interviewing celebs at the award show -- and their convo was nothing more than casual, friendly cocktail party chatter. Leo would call that foreplay, but the source insists it was all "innocent."

Still ... Laura would fit right in with the rest of them.

We told you it was comin' ... and now Nike has made it official -- Manny Pacquiao has been FIRED over his anti-gay comments.

Nike issued a statement saying, "We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent."

Despite being the 6th leading scorer in the NBA, Damian Lillard didn't make the All-Star squad ... and he's venting about it in a brand new rap song.

The Portland Trail Blazers star just dropped "They Sleep" under his rap moniker Dame D.O.L.L.A. -- in which he spits the line:

"I ain't make the all-stars but I’m flu game sick ... Last time they count me out, what I do Game 6?"

There's more ... Lillard also brags about getting his college degree (he graduated from Weber State) and his sick shoe game.

We asked Damien about the song -- he told us, "It's just a break in the season and how I've been feeling. My thoughts. That's all."

You can hear the entire song here ... it's fire.

Lil Wayne got paid $60,000 to make a very special appearance at Ace of Diamonds strip club after the Grammys, but he immediately spread that wealth around ... to a special lady.

Wayne strolled in and immediately got some face time with a stripper named NoForeign. They chatted at his table before she was called to the pole.

Wayne was laser-focused enjoying her performance -- then literally threw two bricks of cash worth $12,000 onstage for NoForeign and her comrade in heels, Malaaysiaaaa.

Wayne posted a hot pic of NoForeign a few weeks ago, so pretty clear Weezy was on a mission. And if $12k doesn't sound like that much ... that's a nice fat 20 percent tip off his appearance fee.

Kind and fiscally sound.

Aaron Carter's looking less tween idol and more "Sons of Anarchy" these days thanks to some fresh ink on his neck ... and that's just the start.

Carter went into Chapter X Tattoo in Orange, CA last week and got the word "love" and flames tatted across the left side of his neck. We're told it's a tribute to his upcoming album.

He dropped around $500 on the 3 hour session -- and there's way more to come. Sources close to the singer tell us he's been doing 10 hour sessions almost daily, attempting to ink his whole body.

And we're told the plan includes a face tatt. There ya have it -- from Disney to Mike Tyson in 16 short years.

Jimmy Iovine and Liberty Ross celebrated their wedding Sunday night with an insane celebrity guest list ... and perhaps the all-time greatest wedding band performances.

The party went down at David Geffen's Beverly Hills mansion and since Iovine is the co-founder of Interscope Records, the talent was ridiculous -- we're told Mary J. Blige and Swizz Beatz performed. But the main event was Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett's duet on the jazz classic, "It Don't Mean a Thing."

The Valentine's night event was packed with A-list couples such as Oprah and Stedman, Ellen and Portia, Tom Hanks and Rita and Pharrell and Helen Williams. All guests were asked to wear red for the occasion.

No traditional first dance for Jimmy and Liberty ... who instead opted to share the floor with their guests late into the night.

They officially tied the knot with a beach wedding on Saturday.

When Fetty Wap reps his crew, he reps 'em hard ... as in a brand new $70,000 diamond and gold chain hard.

We found out Fetty commissioned Elliot Avianne from Avianne & Co. jewelers in NYC to make a custom RGF Island emblazoned medallion. It's held together by 14 carat gold Cuban links blanketed with 35 carats of diamonds!

Fetty picked up the piece this week and owner Joe Avianne says the "RGF Island" is a reference to the rapper's single from his self titled debut album and his label.

If you ain't beefin' bout the money, then what's the problem?

Lil Wayne's got more lien problems ... this time it involves his 2014 tax bill.

Uncle Sam says he did not pay $868,000 in federal taxes that year, according to docs.

It's a ton of dough, to most of us, but as tax liens go ... Weezy's seen bigger. He was previously hit with a $12 million lien for several years of unpaid taxes.

Wayne was in arrears as of mid-January. It's possible he's already paid it off. We reached out to his camp, but no word back yet.

Motorhead frontman Lemmy is one huge step closer to returning to his favorite watering hole again -- his life-sized bronze monument is now fully funded.

TMZ spoke to artist Travis Moore who says he's already started work on the tribute that's going up at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood. Travis, a die hard Lemmy fan, agreed to waive his artist fee -- but a crowdfunding page was started to pay for materials.

As of Wednesday, they've got $20k!

On Wednesday, Travis started assembling an 18-inch clay miniature which will be used to model the final 6 foot tall sculpture.

And here's a bonus for all crowdfunding donors -- the owner of the Rainbow tells us their names will be plastered in the club, right behind bronzed Lemmy. They're aiming for a May unveiling.

#RockGodsLiveForever

Kristin Cavallari's family says her brother Michael suffered from extreme paranoia leading up to his fatal disappearance in Utah ... fearing a Mexican gang member was after him.

According to the Grand Co. Sheriff's report -- obtained by TMZ -- Michael Cavallari's mother Judy told cops he was diagnosed as bipolar and had recently claimed a gang member was out to get him.

Michael's car was found a few days after he went missing ... with 2 cell phones, a laptop and a golf bag containing $18k in cash inside. One possible explanation for all that loot -- the report says he'd just inherited $24k from a grandmother.

Kris Jenner is portrayed in 'The People v O.J. Simpson' as someone who fiercely believes O.J. murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and is angry that ex-husband Robert Kardashian is defending him ... and we know the sentiment is real.

The promo for next week's show has a scene where Kris angrily confronts Robert. Our sources -- definitely in a position to know -- say Kris did indeed have angry exchanges with her ex and believed strongly from the minute she found out Nicole was murdered that O.J. did it.

Kris was very close to Nicole and knew O.J. well. She and a group of friends who were close to Nicole all shared the same sentiment.

The "Family Feud" contestant Steve Harvey ripped for delivering the "worst answer ever" ... says she's positive she's NOT the worst -- although proving it might be difficult.

Sheila Patterson tells TMZ ... her phone's been ringing off the hook since Steve posted a clip of her multiple, hysterical attempts to answer, "What's another way people say mother?"

The clip of Sheila trying to pass off previous answers by changing inflection or adding a Spanish accent has gone viral. She admits she cracked under the pressure of being in front of a live audience.

But as a longtime fan of the show, she insists she's seen much worse responses. We asked her to give us an example ... Sheila drew a blank.

Must be her thing.