Exclusive

Aaron Rodgers hasn't made a Pro Bowl in three seasons, but Brett Favre is adamant the quarterback isn't washed ... telling TMZ Sports his former teammate "still has the potential to lead a team to the Super Bowl."

"He can still play," Favre insisted during a recent sitdown. "There's no question."

If Rodgers can still be elite, he'll have to prove it in a different uniform this year ... as he left the Jets this offseason to sign with the Steelers.

Lance Stephenson is demanding an end to the sex toy-throwing chaos at WNBA games -- not just out of respect for the players, but also for the young fans in the crowd.

The longtime NBA star made things crystal clear to TMZ Sports this week ... following a fourth incident where a dildo was launched onto the court during a W contest.

"I got kids," Stephenson said. "For them to see that on the floor, man, I mean like, I'd be devastated."

Olympic boxer Omari Jones is taking the underdog in the Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez matchup ... telling TMZ Sports he's predicting Bud will pull off the upset.

Crawford (41-0) and Alvarez (63-2) will throw hands on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ... and even though Terence is moving up several weight divisions to meet Canelo at 168 pounds, Jones still likes the boxing star's chances.

"It looks like he put it on the right way," Jones said of Crawford's weight gain. "The nutrition, the training -- Crawford, he trains hard."

Ronnie Radke is laughing off the catfishing drama he got roped into with Tommy Lee and Brittany Furlan ... his new music video pokes fun at the couple, but he says the jokes are harmless fun.

We got the Falling In Reverse frontman at Beachwood Cafe in Los Angeles on Friday and our photog asked him about the "All My Women" music vid.

A woman with cartoonishly huge lips is cast as Brittany and Tommy is getting the puppet treatment and punching puppet Radke ... and there's a bunch of not-so-subtle references to the catfishing saga that briefly caused problems between Brittany and Tommy.

8/9 6:25 PM PT -- Seems Blackson pulled a fast one on us. Turns out his son's name isn't Bruce Leroy like he says in the clip -- that's a reference to a character from 1985 action-comedy "The Last Dragon."

He wrote on social media that his son's name is really Mikey ... so, looks like he got us with this one. Chalk it up to the hazards of interviewing a comedian!

Michael Blackson's introducing his son to the world ... though his own introduction to the kid was a bit delayed -- 'cause his need for caffeine made him miss the birth!

We caught up with the comedian and his fiancée Rada Cheang -- also known as Rada Darling -- at LAX Thursday ... and, we got a glimpse of their son with their consent of course.

He's a cute kid ... though his dad's already ribbing him about his looks -- life of a comedian's son, we suppose.

Dean Cain's become a real-life superhero for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ... with the agency saying he's giving their recruitment a major boost.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tells TMZ ... "We have certainly seen a pop in applications in the past few days -- we are grateful to Dean Cain for his efforts to highlight the work that ICE law enforcement is doing to remove terrorists, pedophiles, gang members and murderers from American communities."

As you know ... earlier this week, the actor took to social media, urging his followers to sign up as the agency worked to recruit loads of new officers.

Chris Appleton’s plugging his new memoir, and he’s opening up to TMZ about how writing it helped him confront his own mental health struggles he's experienced throughout his career.

We caught up with the celebrity hairstylist in NYC on Thursday, and he tells us writing "Your Roots Don’t Define You" was a brutal ride ... because if he wasn’t real about his journey, how could he expect to help others with theirs?

Catch the full clip, because Chris says the book is for anyone who looks like they’ve got it all together on the outside but really don’t -- and that was him for years.

Kelly Clarkson’s deep in grief over ex-hubby Brandon Blackstock’s death -- but her talk show’s still slated for a fall return, TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ ... "The Kelly Clarkson Show" is locked for a 7th season and the plan is to still drop fresh episodes in September.

Rumors circulated this year that Kelly was going to leave the show because of her numerous absences ... though we learned that was because of Blackstock's illness. We’re told the whole staff knew about Brandon’s illness -- but kept it under wraps out of respect for Kelly and Brandon's privacy.

Pro wrestling’s self-proclaimed "Indy God" Matt Cardona is picking a new kind of fight – one with Grand Tank Auto ... and paperwork!

The Deathmatch King joined the premiere episode of TMZ’s "Inside The Ring" to discuss his growing empire in life after WWE -- including a growing toy line that now features MLB stars ... and told us his longstanding feud ends this month in a one-on-one match with the new self-proclaimed "Indy God," Shotzi Blackheart, at GCW’s Homecoming episode August 23rd in Dallas.

At the center of this feud -- the copyright ownership of the title "Indy God." Cardona told us he outright owns the copyright of the moniker, and he wishes to protect that for any incoming wrestlers entering the Indie scene.

"Love Island" star Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez is still basking in the love -- and it’s not just his fans sending him heart-eyes, Iris Kendall’s still got him feeling some type of way too!

We caught up with Pepe while cruising on the TMZ Tour bus, and one of our visitors threw the juiciest question about him and Iris. If his smile didn’t say it all, he confirmed -- they’re both doing great!

IYDK, these two paired up after their strongest connections -- Thomas "TJ" Palma and Hannah Fields -- got the boot on the latest season of "Love Island USA." And yep, they stuck together all the way to the finale!

Leon Thomas needs a crown, robe and a royal scepter for the bang-up job he's doing in the R&B world -- words from his EZMNY label boss Ty Dolla $ign he's gotta live up to now!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Leon outside of producer Jae Murphy's single release party to celebrate the new bop "Stop Cryin'" and got his reaction to his whirlwind past 365 days ... even getting a cosign from rapper Siya in real-time!!!

Leon's blossomed into quite the draw since winning a Grammy with SZA for "Snooze" last year ... his signature hit "Mutt" has taken a life of its own with a Platinum plaque, remixes with Chris Brown and Freddie Gibbs.

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers found some more mud to sling ... Denise says she caught her estranged husband red-handed stealing her laptop.

The estranged couple had their lawyers duke it out in court Friday as part of a hearing for the temporary restraining order Denise has against Aaron ... and Denise's camp claimed they have security footage of Aaron running away from her home with her computer in hand.

Denise has claimed Aaron stole a laptop containing her nude photos ... but Aaron's denied it. His lawyers said Friday he doesn't have the laptop -- but her attorneys shot back with their claim that they have him on video with the laptop.

9:04 PM PT -- Terrell Suggs' rep, Denise White, said in a statement to TMZ Sports on Friday ... "There was an incident at a Starbucks drive-through in which Terrell attempted to safely back out of the lane when the individual behind him became hostile and falsely accused Terrell of making contact with his vehicle, which did not occur."

"The situation escalated when the individual exited his car and approached Terrell in a confrontational manner. Notably, the individual had not placed an order in the Starbucks line, which led Terrell to believe he might continue to follow him, causing Terrell to feel threatened."

"At no point," she continued, "did Terrell point a firearm at the individual. He made it clear that he was prepared to protect himself if necessary. Arizona is an open carry state, and Terrell is aware of the responsibilities that come with firearm ownership. He recognizes that he should not have displayed his weapon, but his actions were solely in response to feeling threatened and were not intended to escalate the situation further."

TMZ Sports has obtained the video of the Starbucks dispute that led to Terrell Suggs' arrest last year ... and in the footage, you can see the ex-NFL superstar did indeed brandish a gun during the tiff.

Baby oil and Astroglide were a big part of the government's case against Sean "Diddy" Combs ... but his lawyer used federal prosecutors' obsession with Diddy's personal lubricants against them ... and he tells us the moment he knew the jury was buying what he was selling.

Attorney Marc Agnifilo joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked him if he mocked the baby oil and Astroglide elements of the case as a way to diminish the prosecution.

Agnifilo had been making light of the baby oil aspect since September 2024, when the feds started crowing in their federal indictment and ensuing press conference about finding 1,000 bottles of lubricant in raids on Diddy's homes ... and now the endgame is clear.

Hulk Hogan's wife -- not his daughter -- is the only one who can make the decision on an autopsy for the WWE legend, TMZ Sports is told.

The District Six Medical Examiner in Largo, Fla., said on Friday that despite Brooke Hogan's wishes for a probe into her father's body ... it'll ultimately be Sky Daily's choice.

For now, the official said, they have been given no indication Sky is seeking a report.

Dean Cain says he joined up with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because he wants to support all of the law enforcement officers who are being vilified for doing their jobs.

We spoke with the actor on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and, we asked him why he decided to go from actor to immigration officer -- a move that only worked out when ICE removed its age restriction.

Dean says he's got a lot of respect for law enforcement ... especially these officers who are caught up in the controversy surrounding the sweeping raids they're conducting.