Exclusive

Being an NFL quarterback isn't easy, but what's even harder than that? Adding the pressure of being the first overall pick. JaMarcus Russell knows that feeling all too well ... and he spoke with TMZ Sports about the advice he would give players who find themselves in the same shoes he once did.

"Just keep your head up," Russell said when we chopped it up with him. "Never give up. Keep striving forward. You were the number one pick for a reason. Don't get down on yourself, it comes with the sport."

"It don't work overnight. When you're not doing so good, the microscope on it so much because of you being the number one pick. Keep your faith, keep the film room and the weight room your best friend."

Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams have turned the Chicago Bears around in 2025 ... and one of the greatest players in franchise history can't get enough of what he's seen so far this season.

TMZ Sports caught up with Mike Singletary as his former team sits atop the NFC North with an impressive 11-4 record ... and he couldn't say enough good things about the coach and quarterback duo.

The Hall of Famer said the Bears have not only played good football, but proved they never give up -- and it's been fun to watch as a spectator.

Heidi Klum's recent beach trip will have admirers feeling as giddy as kids on Christmas morning ... because she unwrapped her pair of presents while swimming.

The model went for a dip off the coast of St. Barts with her husband Tom Kaulitz and their friends ... and, unsurprisingly, she decided to leave her brown bikini top on the beach while they splashed around as a group.

Check out the pics ... Heidi's hanging all over Tom in the water -- pressing her bare chest into his back in several pics while covering her face with a white cap and sunglasses.

The Backstreet Boys made the "right decision" not signing with Shaquille O'Neal back in the day ... so says AJ McLean, who tells TMZ Sports while he adores the NBA legend -- he doubts they'd have the same success had they inked a deal with him.

It's a wild story, but 100% true -- both BSB and *NSYNC used Shaq's Orlando studio to record some of their earliest music when he was a member of the Magic in the '90s ... and O'Neal has openly expressed his regret over not pouncing on the opportunity to work with the boy bands in an official capacity.

We caught up with AJ recently ... and asked a good ol' "what if?"

UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen is back in the gym gearing up for what hopefully will be a productive 2026 ... and while he has his sights set on former champ Dricus Du Plessis -- he tells TMZ Sports he's getting mixed signals from the Australian!!

We caught up with Allen a few months after he defeated Reinier de Ridder in Vancouver, and he told us he's hopeful a showdown with Du Plessis will be made sometime in the New Year.

But while that's his desire ... he's not so sure it's what the 31-year-old wants.

Todd Nepola's no longer interested in suing Bravo and NBC for defamation ... dismissing his lawsuit earlier this week.

The "Real Housewives of Miami" star filed a short document with the court voluntarily dismissing his action against the major corporations ... dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, so he can't bring it again.

The document does not provide a reason for the dismissal.

Before he was winning World Series rings with the Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani was dominating on the Angels ... and one of the final jerseys he wore with the other L.A. team is hitting the auction block -- and it could go for a big bag!!

That's what Heritage Auction told TMZ Sports this week -- just months before bidding opens for the rare Ohtani gear on Feb. 6.

The jersey was worn on Aug. 3, 2023 ... when Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the season against the Seattle Mariners. He also had four strikeouts on the mound for the Halos.

The white and red gear comes with all the details -- including the team logo, the FBM advertising patches, and the Nike/MLB inventory sticker.

TMZ Sports has obtained bodycam footage from the night a former Miami Marlins' draft pick allegedly wreaked havoc on the Washington State Capitol ... showing destruction throughout the building.

Cops arrived on the scene and found an abandoned Ford in the landscaping. After walking around, trying to find the driver of the vehicle, the fire alarms inside the building were heard going off, sending the cops running to figure out what was going on.

A responding officer found Gunnar Schubert walking outside the building before ordering him to the ground and throwing him in cuffs. Before he was detained, he threw a can of lighter fluid ... clearly, the 29-year-old wasn't in a speaking mood with cops.

Here's an easy way to find yourself on the naughty list ... a man in Seattle is in police custody after stealing a patrol car from a Washington State Patrol lieutenant ... and only TMZ has video of the suspect shoving the cop to the ground and taking off in her car.

We obtained footage showing a man casually crossing a busy Interstate-5 in Seattle when a WSP patrol car shows up ... the guy stops in his tracks, paces around, then goes up to the driver side door and yanks the cop out of the car. He pushes her to the freeway pavement, then gets behind the wheel and speeds off.

That's where our wild video ends, but the story doesn't end there ... because an intense police pursuit ensued ... and it ended with WSP officers pinning the car and taking the guy into custody.

Lukas Haas and Anderson .Paak are in the Christmas spirit ... because Lukas got on the mic at Anderson's karaoke bar and belted out his new holiday song ... and we have it all on video.

Check out this video, obtained by TMZ, from inside Anderson's music bar in West Hollywood, Andy's, where Lukas showed up on Christmas eve for a live performance of his new single, "Christmas Cheers."

The song was originally written for Lukas' character on the HBO hit "Righteous Gemstones" ... and as you can tell, it's not your traditional Christmas story.

Anderson's karaoke spot was having an ugly Christmas sweater night too ... and he and Lukas played along.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori slipped out for a super low-key Christmas Eve date night at “The Nutcracker” ballet in Los Angeles ... keeping a tight profile while taking in the entire holiday classic.

An eyewitness tells TMZ … Ye and Bianca stayed for the entire show -- Bianca in a fur coat and Kanye in his iconic incognito mask. Our source tells us he did take the mask off during the performance when the lights were down, but made sure to put it back on during intermission and at the end of the show.

We’re told the couple kept a pretty discreet profile throughout the ballet, clearly trying not to draw attention while still soaking in the holiday classic.

Rapper Nino Breeze allegedly got caught with the wrong kind of tree during the Xmas season ... the Florida native was slapped with a federal cannabis offense, but he's home now celebrating in front the Christmas tree.

Nino's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Mark Rankin, tell TMZ Hip Hop ... Nino surrendered Monday to the U.S. Marshals at the federal courthouse in Tampa after being charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

The lawyers said Nino was released after a court hearing in which he agreed to post $100,000 cash bond and put up $100,000 in property as collateral.

Richard Taite, an addiction-recovery expert, says Nick Reiner's relationship to his famous father and grandfather may have led to problems of self-worth as he grew up ... and he says Nick's struggles and extensive history in rehab may have been a result.

As you know, Nick Reiner is charged with murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner ... and Nick had earlier been in and out of rehab for substance abuse, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia before the tragedy.

Taite -- the founder and executive chairman of Carrara Treatment -- points out mental illness is almost always attached to drug addiction and alcoholism saying ... "they're one and the same."

Mookie Betts spent some quality time with a former Commander in Chief last week ... 'cause TMZ has learned the Dodgers superstar teed it up with Barack Obama for a full round of golf in Southern California.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Mookie and Barack played 18 holes together last Tuesday at Lakeside Golf Club, the ultra exclusive, members only course in Burbank.

We're told multiple Secret Service agents were stationed around the course, with cops on motorcycles nearby to keep things secure while the two enjoyed their day on the green.

No teeth, no problem! Chrissy Teigen was snapped kissing her husband John Legend Tuesday ... and we have all the details!

Check out the pics ... John leans over to give his wife a smooch while settling into their seats at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

Witnesses tell TMZ ... Chrissy, John and their kids were at the 5 PM showing of The Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes, and stayed for the entire hour and a half show.

Alaska Airlines doesn't give in to purr-pressure -- that's what Alexandra Compton found out on a recent flight home for the holidays ... and she told TMZ it might be because they're dog people.

Alexandra -- a 35-year-old bartender now known as '2 Cat Karen' -- got into a standoff with airline staff in Las Vegas when they refused to let her board with her 2 cats in the same carrier.

She tells TMZ ... on December 21 she was travelling from Vegas to Portland to go back home for the holidays on a flight with her cats Phoenix and Blaze. According to Alexandra, the airline caused a fuss over the cats being in the same carrier, but she's travelled with Alaska Airlines in the same carrier many times before.

"A man in charge came down from an office and didn’t even look at the cats," Alexandra told us. "He made the decision I needed to book another seat and get another carrier or I couldn’t fly with them. Because he didn’t look at the cats, it made me think he was a dog person. It was giving he had a golden retriever at home."