Family

The Ball Brothers are joining a new family -- the Roc Nation Sports fam -- with LaMelo, Lonzo AND LiAngelo Ball all planning to sign with Jay-Z's sports management company.

Melo's business partner, Jermaine Jackson, went public with the decision on Monday ... saying the whole family is on board.

"This was a family decision," Jackson said in an interview with ESPN. "This is now an extended family. They put together a beautiful game plan with Jay-Z."

Jackson says the family had been shopping for an agency and spoke with "several agents" -- but ultimately, "The family had good vibes with Roc Nation."

Jackson added ... "I've known Jay-Z since I played for the Knicks, but this is what the kids wanted to do. Jay-Z is a master at what he does. He's global. It's power beyond power."

Roc Nation will take the lead on marketing deals for the Ball bros -- including LaMelo's shoe deal.

Of course, LaVar Ball has put tons of work into rebuilding the Big Baller Brand ... but Jay-Z is the creative director for Puma Basketball ... so it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out.

Jackson says there are multiple sneaker companies targeting Melo -- a top 2020 NBA Draft prospect.

"He's still wide open," Jackson said ... "He hasn't signed with anyone. Everyone is kicking in the door. Melo is open to whatever. With this pandemic going on, we don't know what things are going to look like."

The Ball Bros join a HUGE roster of sports superstars signed to Hov's agency ... including Kyrie Irving, Jaire Alexander, Spencer Dinwiddie and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

"Duck Dynasty" star Willie Robertson's home was the center of a massive shooting this week, where someone drove by and sprayed his home with bullets ... in broad daylight.

The drive-by took place Friday at Willie's estate in West Monroe, Louisiana -- where several of his family members are staying right now during the coronavirus, including his wife, Korie, his son, John Luke, and his wife and infant child ... as well as Willie's daughter, Sadie, and her own husband. He told local media 8 to 10 bullets hit the home.

Luckily, nobody was harmed during the shooting -- for which Willie himself says he was out at the store at the time -- but one bullet went through a window. He says witnesses told them a truck drove up to their gated property and just started shooting.

Willie says he's pretty sure whoever it was, they knew they were firing upon his place specifically, although he didn't elaborate on why beyond that. He also says his family saw the suspected vehicle drive by at least once before unloading in the middle of the day at 2:33 PM.

The truck in question is described as a white on brown Ford F-250 pickup with large aftermarket tires and rims. The driver was described as a white male in his 20s, and other passengers were said to be inside as well. The truck was reportedly caught on surveillance video. Cops are investigating, and Willie says he's in close contact with investigators.

Sofia Vergara's got a fun game for folks to play at home during quarantine -- it's a bit of a thirst trap, but with a bootyful twist: whose behind is whose?

The Colombian actress posted a lovely photo this weekend showing herself and her niece, Claudia, rocking two-piece thong bikinis and looking over a balcony at what appears to be Sofia's home. You can't see either of their faces -- but that wasn't the point of Sofia's post.

Sofia wrote of the aunt-niece duo in Spanish, "Modelo viejo del 72 y modelo nuevo del 92 😂😂😂😂 #alwaystwinning @cdvergara ❤️❤️❤️🌝🌝🌝." That translates to "old model from '72 and new model from '92."

BTW, she also posted a photo of Claudia from the front, bending over to make a burger, with uncle Joe Manganiello beside her working on his own grub. She's a lookalike from the side as well, but(t) as far as that first photo goes, it's actually SUPER hard to tell for sure who's who, no?

Anyway, just for funsies ... here's another look at the same pic in black and white -- only now it's coming from Claudia, who also seems to be in on the same guess-who game.

She writes, "Same same, but different ... cual es cual? 😂" Which is which, indeed. We could play this all day!!!

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger have a baby on the way -- their first together ... which means Arnold Schwarzenegger will be a newly-minted grandparent too.

TMZ has confirmed the married couple is expecting, though it's unclear how far along Kat might be at the moment. Reports surfaced last year that they were eager to get their family started as soon as possible -- they got hitched just last June after about a year of dating.

No word yet on whether the kid might be a girl or boy, but it looks like the mom-to-be has a baby bump well underway right now ... she was spotted out this week in L.A. with her mom, Maria Shriver, with loose clothing and a hoodie on, which seems to show her belly's grown. Per our sources, Kat instantly covered up when she saw she was being photographed. The couple hasn't made the announcement yet, but we know it's true. People broke the news.

This would make baby no. 1 for Kat, but it'd be Chris' second child. He's got a young son, Jack, that he shares with his ex-wife, Anna Faris ... to whom he was married for several years before getting divorced in 2018.

They both moved on -- Anna appears to be engaged. Interestingly enough, we'd heard Chris didn't want more kids in the foreseeable future, and that issue was one of the sticking points at the end of CP and AF's marriage.

In any case, the new baby means a lot for the Schwarzenegger family -- specifically, Arnie himself. This would be his first grandkid EVER, which is wild ... 'cause all of his own children are pretty damn grown now, but just haven't planted a seed. 'Til now, that is.

Don't mess with Pablo Escobar ... or the late drug lord's family, which is accusing a former exec of hijacking the Escobar YouTube channel, and trying to extort them.

Escobar Inc. is suing Daniel Reitberg, a former chief operating officer of the company, claiming the guy siphoned money out of the Escobars and is now holding their YouTube channel hostage.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the company claims Reitberg quit last month, but not before raiding the corporate accounts and changing the password to the company's YouTube channel ... cutting off their access.

The company -- which once wanted to partner up with a famous L.A. "gringo" -- claims Reitberg set up corporate bank accounts for the purpose of collecting payments for Escobar merch sold on the YouTube channel ... which it says has generated more than $1 million in sales.

Escobar Inc. also claims Reitberg has made off with thousands of dollars and refuses to surrender the channel. They claim he's holding it ransom ... as a means to extort significant sums of money from the company. The company claims it has tried but failed to reason with him.

Tragic news for Dak Prescott and his family ... the quarterback's older brother, Jace Prescott, died suddenly at 31 years old on Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys announced.

No cause of death was given.

Dak had been super close with Jace, the oldest of the Prescott brothers ... and had even just filmed a national Campbell's Chunky Soup commercial with him in 2019.

At the time, Dak said Jace and his other older brother, Tad, meant the world to him ... especially after he tragically lost his mom to cancer in 2013.

"My brothers have always been champions," Dak said. "Them along with my mom ... So now, not having my mom and just having them two, they mean even more."

Dak added, "Family is everything. It's what keeps me grounded when everything else is changing around me I know that's one thing that's always consistent and certain. I'm thankful for them."

Jace was a former football player himself ... he played offensive live for Northwestern State in Louisiana from 2008 to 2010, starting 11 games in his final season.

"The loss of Tad and Dak's brother is devastating," the Cowboys said in a statement during Thursday's NFL draft.

Added team owner Jerry Jones, "We are so saddened that Dak has lost his brother. We want to help him get through this time."

Both Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones and head coach Mike McCarthy also shared their condolences for the QB after the draft.

RIP

Soccer superstar Paul Pogba is keeping the competitive spirit during the coronavirus pandemic ... and his latest victim is none other than his OWN MOTHER!!!

The Manchester United stud made his mom look straight-up foolish in a hilarious clip this week ... hittin' her with a nutmeg for the ages while getting some fresh air.

"When your mum tell you she played football before 🤣🤣🤣" the French footballer captioned the vid ... while also adding a very thoughtful message:

"Love and spend time with your parents before they leave this world."

Not only is he pulling soccer tricks, Paul's also been keeping busy in the kitchen as well by making desserts like galette des rois for his mama.

Josh Altman -- one of the many realtors to the stars in Hollywood -- says Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are cream of the crop clients every agent is clamoring for right now -- but if they were under his wing, he'd have one key piece of advice for them ... gated or bust.

The 'Million Dollar Listing' star tells TMZ ... everybody in the real estate game in L.A. knows someone who knows the Sussex couple -- and every big shot realtor wants a bite at the Royal apple now that they're officially doing some home shopping in the City of Angels.

Josh says he isn't repping them himself, but if he was their agent, he'd strongly suggest getting a house that's tucked away and firmly secure, to keep paparazzi and other crazies away. He's got a neighborhood in mind for reference, which has two exits out of the gated community ... something he thinks they want.

As we've seen in the recent past ... Meg and Harry value their privacy, and have at times gone to great lengths to close themselves off -- even making threats when they feel it's being violated. It'll probably only get worse in La La Land, so maybe listen to Josh here.

TMZ broke the story ... sources with direct knowledge tell us Meghan and Harry are looking in Bel-Air and their range is $12 to $18 mil. It's unlikely they'd end up in a gated community in Bel-Air, but they'd almost certainly have a gated estate with security.

BTW, JA also talks about the housing market and what he thinks is going to happen once the coronavirus pandemic is under control. Long story short ... it's a great time to buy, so that means it'll probably be properties galore for the newbies in town too.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pled with Thomas Markle to stop blabbing to the media before their Royal wedding ... according to text messages sent by the Sussexes.

Meghan and Harry's pleas to Thomas leading up to their nuptials have just been made public in Meghan's lawsuit against an English tabloid, and the text messages spell out the family drama bubbling over before the ceremony.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Prince Harry texted Meghan's father 5 days before the wedding and 2 days after Thomas was caught staging photos with the paparazzi, saying ... "Tom, it's Harry and I'm going to call you right now. Please pick up, thank you."

Another text from Harry to Thomas reads ... "Tom, Harry again! Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologize, we understand the circumstances but 'going public' will only make the situation worse. If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don't involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks."

Remember, Thomas was awfully chatty with the press after it was announced he would not be attending the Royal wedding.

Another text from the Sussexes to Thomas says ... "Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1."

The docs also reveal texts Meghan sent to her father in May 2018, asking which hospital he was being treated for a heart attack and offering him protection.

Meghan wrote ... "I've been reaching out to you all weekend but you're not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts… Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don't respond…Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again? I’m very sorry to hear you're in the hospital but need you to please get in touch with us… What hospital are you at?"

The Duchess followed up with another text telling her father she and Harry were "dispatching the same security guys you turned away this weekend to be a presence on the ground to make sure you’re safe."

The docs say Thomas rebuffed the offer, even though Harry "pleaded with Mr. Markle to let them help him."

The families of four of the victims who perished in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, have filed wrongful death lawsuits themselves -- this after Vanessa Bryant has already gone after the chopper company in court.

The surviving members of the Altobelli family and Mauser family -- the remaining two Altobelli children and Christina Mauser's husband, her son and 2 daughters, respectively -- claim the Island Express's negligence was reason for the death of their loved ones.

In both suits -- obtained by TMZ -- the surviving family members claim Island Express negligently and carelessly breached its duty to own, lease, manage, maintain, control, entrust, charter and operate the helicopter in question in a reasonable manner.

They claim as a direct result of this negligent behavior by the company, their loved ones died in the crash -- which has caused an insurmountable amount of anguish on every level -- physical, emotional, mental and otherwise ... for which the families want damages, both over their own turmoil, but also for what their loved ones could have earned themselves if they had survived the crash and continued to work.

As Vanessa Bryant's wrongful death lawsuit ... when we looked into it appeared Island Express might very well go bankrupt because her damages are so enormous. Their insurance policy will only cover so much.

Offset says he's lost a member of his family to coronavirus -- his great uncle, Jerry, has died.

The Migos rapper posted the sad news Sunday, taking to his Instagram stories to write ... "Smfh this corona s*** done killed my great uncle 😢 Rip uncle jerry damn man." He continued in another post, "Pray for my family," adding a pic of a stitched-on cross from a jacket.

It's unclear if Offset's great uncle is from his mom or dad's side of the fam, or if he's someone Offset was close with publicly, but clearly the loss has him shaken -- as it's incredibly close to home. Cardi hasn't spoken on the death, neither have other Migos members -- namely, Takeoff and Quavo -- both of whom are related to Offset.

It's tragic, because both Cardi and Offset have been vocal about coronavirus -- the former we've obviously heard from loud and clear on the issue, but Offset himself has also been telling people to take precaution, with a few different social media posts about it.

In late March, he posted a photo of himself wearing a face mask with the caption, "STAY SAFE & STAY PRAYED UP." He's also promoted a music video of his one of YRN crew members, with a middle finger emoji ... saying screw coronavirus, "we still dropping."

It appears Offset himself has heeded the guidelines issued by the CDC -- as he's recently voiced frustration at wanting to go outside too.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave some parenting advice that probably rings true for dads everywhere -- reverse psychology must be used with daughters' boyfriends, or you'll be in big trouble.

New York's leader dished out a very insightful diagnosis over the guy any parent's daughter might date, and how to handle it. Basically, he says you always gotta say you like the boyfriend -- even if you don't -- otherwise, it triggers NDS ... Natural Defiance Syndrome.

What this "undocumented" condition entails, per Cuomo is the daughter rebelling against her father, then likes the BF more and decides to date the guy over Dad's objection ... and probably flaunts it just to stick it to her old man.

Cuomo advises avoiding that, because he's been through it first-hand.

Luckily, in his case, he says he actually likes his daughter, Mariah's, BF just fine -- so he doesn't have to lie when he says it by default. The dude's name is Tellef Lundevall ... seems like a good dude, and Mariah appears pretty smitten. All good by dad!

Definitely some needed levity in the day-in, day-out barrage of relatively morbid news at Cuomo's news conferences. Although, Cuomo said just this past week that COVID-19 deaths have plateaued, and he thinks the state's past the worst of the pandemic.