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Brandon Marshall has accepted a challenge to race his new teammate for jersey #15, but the veteran wideout has thrown a few conditions on top ... sensing a straight race is not in his favor.

Marshall was recently traded to the New York Jets, where he quickly learned his #15 already belonged to fellow WR Saalim Hakim.

Hakim made a video with a challenge: they race, and if Marshall beats him, he can have the number for free. If Hakim wins, Marshall can still wear the number ... but he's gotta fork over $25,000 for it.

We quickly pause to present you a Tale of the Tape:

Marshall: Ran a 4.52 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine in 2006. He's 30-years-old.
Hakim: Reportedly ran a 4.23 40-yard dash and is just 25-years-old.

You see where we're going here ... and apparently so did Marshall.

Saalim tells TMZ Sports that Marshall has accepted the challenge, but Marshall wants to race AND compete in another challenge of his choosing ... which is to remain a mystery.

James Van Der Beek adopted an adorable dog at an L.A. pound this week, which sounds fantastic for everyone except the woman who also had her heart set on the pooch.

Kristin Halvorsen tells us she saw the Chihuahua mix Sunday at a charity event called Woofstock. Kristin fell in love with the mutt and was told to come back on Tuesday to seal the deal. Problem was ... James was also at the event and told the very same thing.

They both returned to the shelter at the same time and were shocked that there was competition for the animal. The shelter people told them the policy ... when more than one person wanted the same dog, each would be told to write down a bid and submit it. Highest bidder gets the dog.

Kristin wrote down $300, but James bid higher, though we don't know how much, and he got the dog.

Kristin tells us she dissolved into tears, which is a little weird because she posed with James and his kids after she lost.

It's the hoity-toitiest drag race ever ... a Rolls-Royce with a big rapper at the wheel vs. a BMW.

It went down in Atlanta Friday on I-75, and it didn't take cops long to track down the high profile whips. They arrested rapper Rocko -- whose hits include "U.O.E.N.O." -- who of course was driving the Rolls. His friend was slumming it in the Beamer, which is Rocko's other car.

The friend tried to escape, but cops had real muscle cars and subdued the guy and arrested him as well for fleeing and eluding a peace officer.

Here's the rub. By the time cops spotted the cars they had slowed down, so they couldn't charge either with drag racing. Rocko got popped for driving on a suspended license.

And a side note -- that's a really pretty shade of blue in the mugshot.

R&B singer Angie Stone was arrested Monday in Georgia for domestic aggravated assault ... and the victim is her 30-year-old daughter.

Police in Dekalb County tell TMZ ... 53-year-old Angie told police her daughter Diamond punched her in the face. Angie then told police she defended herself with a metal stand, but accidentally hit Diamond in the face ... knocking out her front teeth.

Angie told police once she realized the mistake she put down the stand and tried to flee ... but claims Diamond came after her again. A family friend eventually broke up the fight.

Diamond told police the argument started when Angie complained Diamond didn't clean up after her children. Diamond was also taken into custody, but eventually released without being charged.

Angie -- a 3-time Grammy nominee -- was booked for aggravated assault.

Police in Orlando are operating under the assumption that shooters targeted the Jeep NFL star Chris Johnson was in Sunday morning ... which led to his injuries and the death of another man.

While cops believe the Jeep was the intended target, they are unsure if the shooters were specifically going after Chris or anyone else in the vehicle.

According to the report, Chris was "uncooperative and would only state that he saw 'a car roll by, and they shot.'"

Police say Chris was riding in the front passenger seat when an unknown driver pulled up at a stoplight and opened fire - shooting him in the shoulder. The driver was declared dead on the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. Reggie Johnson, the other passenger - was shot twice in his right leg.

Neighbors near the crime scene tell TMZ Sports they heard at least 4 shots Sunday morning from what sounded like a large handgun - before hearing police arrive a few minutes later.

1:25 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained footage taken moments after the shooting ... showing bullet holes in Johnson's ride.

12:02 PM PT -- A source very close with Johnson tell us ... "When the driver got shot, Chris was leaning back in his seat texting like he always does. If he wasn't leaning back that shot would have killed him."

"It wasn't his time."

NFL running back Chris Johnson was shot in the shoulder during a drive-by in Orlando, FL early Sunday morning ... and one of the people in his car was killed.

Orange County Sheriff officials say the shooting took place around 4:09 AM -- when a mystery shooter opened fire on a Jeep that Chris was in ... along with two other people.

The victims told police they were stopped at a red light when another car pulled up next to them and began shooting.

29-year-old Chris was hit in the shoulder ... and another person in the car was also hit and died from his wounds. We're told Chris was taken to a nearby hospital -- and cops say he's in stable condition.

Sources close to Johnson tell us the former NY Jets and Tennessee Titans player was returning from a concert and was heading to a recording studio when he was shot.

Johnson posted a picture of himself and a friend together before the show.

Chris had been in L.A. training at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym but went home for the weekend to hang with friends and family.

The guy who burglarized Lupita Nyong'o's hotel room and stole what he THOUGHT was a $150,000 dress has gotten away with the crime, because Calvin Klein wants the whole thing to go away.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... reps from Calvin Klein contacted the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. earlier this week and said they had no interest in pursuing the case now that they got the dress back ...and it's pretty obvious why.

The thief called TMZ Friday and indignantly said he took 2 of the pearls down to the L.A. Garment District for appraisal, only to learn they were fake and worthless. He told us he had returned the dress to The London West Hollywood hotel and left it under a sink in a 2nd floor bathroom. We told the cops, and they got the dress.

We're told the Calvin Klein people did not tell cops why they did not want to pursue the case, but it's pretty obvious. The dress was represented as the real deal, and the dressmaker clearly doesn't want to put a spotlight on the phony pearls.

Well, at least it wasn't former "Teen Mom" Jenelle Evans in cuffs this time -- instead it was her fiancé who got arrested Wednesday in South Carolina for a domestic violence incident.

Nathan Griffith is currently being held without bail in the same jail where Evans was booked last week after she was busted for driving without a license.

Cops were called to their home around 4:45 AM Wednesday, says WBTW, but no arrests were made. The station says cops were called back again at 4:15 PM ... and that's when Griffith was arrested.

According to the police report, the alleged fight was over their engagement ring -- Griffith wanted it back, and Evans told police he pinned her against a toilet and ripped it off her finger ... leaving a cut.

Griffith told police it didn't go down that way, and says Evans cut her finger taking the ring off herself. Griffith also claimed Evans had been violent with him on several occasions in the past, but he never called police.

The report also claims there was a reality TV crew there at the time, but they didn't see what happened.

Adam DeVine lost more than a vehicle during a break-in at his home last weekend ... there's also an antique gun missing ... according to our DeVine family sources.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, DeVine's L.A. home was broken into over the weekend and the crooks made off with his brand new truck. We're told there was no surveillance video and right now police have no leads.

DeVine family sources say they are most upset about cops finding an empty gun case ... meaning one or more of DeVine's weapons was also jacked. We're told DeVine has an antique pistol in his collection that his parents bought for him in Deadwood, SD and he's pretty sentimental about it.

The "Workaholics" and "Modern Family" star is clearly pissed ... tweeting, "Luckily it's just stuff and no one was hurt but it just sucks that I work so hard to buy cool stuff and you just steal it because you have no ambition and are too stupid to earn enough money to buy nice things."

A lack of height and an abundance of turnovers ... that's what ultimately led to Prince becoming a musician and not an NBA player ... so says his junior high school coach.

Prince is a well-known lover of hoops, but his playing days are once again on everyone's mind after a school photo of him from way back in the day surfaced online Tuesday.

TMZ Sports spoke with Richard Robinson, who coached Prince Rogers Nelson back at Bryant Junior High in Minneapolis. Besides the fact he's just 5'2" on a good day, Coach Robinson says Prince would toss the ball away like Apollonia tossed off her clothes to jump into Lake Minnetonka.

Robinson told us, "He was quite a good basketball player, but I gave him less playing time because he always threw the ball away. The more turnovers he got, the less time he played."

Just think where J.R. Smith would be today if he had Robinson for a coach ...

Chris Brown had his cake and banged it too -- because months before he knocked up his baby mama ... he was partying with her AND Karrueche Tran at the same time.

Karrueche, who was Chris' gf at the time, actually had her arm around Nia in a photo they took -- with Christina Milian too -- during a Las Vegas party back in May 2013. Chris was also there.

Nia got pregnant with Chris' baby later that summer. We're guessing the ladies won't be having a reunion anytime soon.

We've also learned Nia was very popular on the video vixen scene ... appearing in several music videos, including a half-naked role in Phill Wade's "Dreams of You" video.

Bobby Brown looked understandably drained as he left the Atlanta hospital where Bobbi Kristina remains in a coma -- and we've learned he's been busy planning a vigil for her birthday.

Bobbi Kristina turns 22 today ... and sources tell us her father has invited several of his family members to join him at the hospital.

That's unusual because while Houston family members have been at the hospital every day -- Bobby and his wife were the only family members from his side allowed at Bobbi Kristina's bedside.

We're told exceptions are being made because Bobby wants everyone to come together for the birthday.

CeeLo Green is getting the equivalent of straight As in his efforts to complete his court-ordered community service -- in other words ... he's the anti-Lohan.

CeeLo was sentenced to 3 years probation and 360 hours of community service following his no contest plea to furnishing ecstasy to a woman he was on a date with back in 2012 -- and TMZ just obtained his latest report from his probation officer.

He's completed 151 hours of community service, and 31 hours of individual drug and alcohol therapy. According to the therapist ... CeeLo sometimes gets emotional when discussing the work he's done with homeless veterans living on L.A.'s Skid Row.

CeeLo was in court Monday for a progress hearing, and since he's been doing so well ... he was informed he would not have to attend any future hearings.

The therapist also says he shows "genuine humbleness" whenever she asks him about his work on a new album ... which does NOT count toward his community service hours.

That's not always clear to some celebs.

Kevin Garnett didn't get an employee discount when he bought 1,000 tickets to give away to fans for tonight's Timberwolves game ... dropping more than $20k of his own money, TMZ Sports has learned.

After fans came out in force to attend KG's first game back in Minn. last week, the NBA legend decided to give back ... by hooking up 500 fans with a pair of tix for tonight's game.

Smelled like a team-engineered publicity stunt ... but the V.P. of Communications for the T-Wolves assures us that Kev bought the tickets HIMSELF and paid FULL PRICE for all of 'em.

The rep wouldn't say exactly how much KG spent ... but the cheapest seats go for $21-a-pop.

$21 x 1,000 = $21,000. Not cheap.

KG's career earnings? $315,000,000+ ... so, he can afford it.

If you thought Vernon Davis was a beast ... WAIT'LL YOU SEE WHAT HIS NEW DOG CAN DO!!!!

The SF 49ers tight end just bought an adorable Belgian Malinois for his family -- and is in the process of training it to serve as a home protection dog.

It's cute. It's friendly. It will rip your arm out of the socket if you screw with it.

Vernon's training the dog with his pal Jas Leverette at Cali K-9 Solutions -- who's been training police dogs, protection dogs and your friendly neighborhood pets for years.

Leverette tells us Vernon's been working with the dogs at the facility for a while (including the one in the video above) -- and has a natural talent for it.

"Vernon just has a way with the animals. He could be a trainer if he wanted to."

Leverette says Vernon had been looking for a new dog for a while ... and fell in love with the Belgian Malinois because of its temperament and "disposition to be a great protector."

"In this area, there's a lot of home invasions. It's an epidemic," Leverette says ... "This dog offers protection for his family."

Justin Bieber rang in his 21st birthday doing something common -- drinking champagne -- and something very few people can do ... popping that champagne ON A PRIVATE ISLAND!

Sources close to Justin tell us he rented a Caribbean isle near Grenada for the "I'm finally legal" bash ... and based on this video, he had a great time celebrating with friends.

Bieber posted a pic on Shots of the party ... and it looks like he's getting close again with model Yovanna Ventura -- who he was rumored to be hooking up with in the past.

Wonder if she came with a ribbon?