Football

Michael Irvin tells TMZ Sports he believes the Pro Football Hall of Fame robbed Antonio Gates by bypassing him for the 2024 class ... but he's now offering some advice for the tight end to get through it.

Irvin said at the "A Night Out With Legends" party in Vegas that the ex-Chargers superstar can't get too down on himself after he didn't make the cut for the HOF's '24 class on Thursday ... explaining that if he does, he'll allow the committee to "steal" from him twice.

Instead, he recommended Gates put this behind him quickly ... so when he ultimately gets his gold jacket, he can enjoy it.

Irvin, of course, would know a thing or two about the situation ... after all, it took him three years to finally get into Canton despite being one of the most prolific receivers of all time.

"I didn't get in on the first ballot," the former Dallas Cowboys receiver said. "But, I promise you I got in on the third ballot and when I got there, and I got to that podium, straight joy was waiting on me. It didn't even matter that I didn't go in on the first ballot, once I got there, I just saw joy."

Irvin tells us he's got plans to relay the message to Gates himself ... saying, "that's my guy."

Talk about charm-ing ... Braxton Berrios and girlfriend Alix Earle turned their super cute pet names for each other into shiny bling, copping two diamond-filled panda bear pendants!

TMZ Sports has learned the Miami Dolphins receiver recently hit up Sean Salci for matching necklaces for him and his TikTok star GF, whom he started dating in 2023.

"My boyfriend just got me the best present I've ever gotten in my life," Earle said on social media.

"We call each other panda and he got us matching panda diamond necklaces!"

We're told each piece contains solid, 14-karat yellow gold with 5 carats of VVS1 F diamonds. Top notch.

"The eyes, nose, and mouth all have custom-sized and shaped diamonds to really enhance the panda look we were going for," Salci said. "It was extremely important to keep the all-diamond look while maximizing the panda face concept."

We're not sure if Berrios rocked the piece to the NFL Honors show in Las Vegas on Thursday, but another athlete did wear a Salci piece to the event ... New York Giants QB Tommy DeVito.

We're told the 25-year-old quarterback copped a custom cross and necklace ... and you can clearly see the massive chain on DeVito's neck while on the red carpet and on television during the show, even prompting Keegan-Michael Key to make a "Goodfellas" joke.

Salci -- who also happens to be Tommy's marketing guy (he makes the jewelry through his family-owned jewelry business) -- told us DeVito's iced-out piece contains a total of 55 carats of diamonds.

It's unclear how much dough Berriors and DeVito dropped on the pieces.

Berrios signed a $3.5 million contract with the Dolphins last March and DeVito -- who went undrafted in 2023 -- signed a bunch of endorsement deals since becoming a star last year in Daniel Jones' absence.

Before the world's greatest athletes get padded up and hit the grass of Allegiant Stadium to battle out in this year's highly anticipated Super LVIII in Las Vegas ... the hottest players on the Chiefs and 49ers showed off their bulked-up bods on social media, so get in the game and see if you can tackle who's behind the ballin' bod.

Showin' skin for the win ... Big-shot quarterback Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes took off his pads and posed for a shirtless shot, and in a position you've never seen 'em in before ... while San Fransisco's Trent Williams, Kyle Juszczyk and Christian McCaffrey showed off their game day-ready physiques!

Put your game face on and test your skills on these peak physical forms off the field!

New Hollywood bromance alert ... Glen Powell and Johnny Manziel are apparently buddies, because they partied their faces off together in the desert.

TMZ obtained video of Glen and Johnny hanging out last night at Casa Amigos Tacos and Tequila in Scottsdale, where Johnny Football had a VIP section.

Folks who were there say Johnny was already in the club when Glen showed up and joined the group.

We're told this wasn't a coincidence ... Johnny and Glen clearly planned to hang out, and their group of about a dozen were mostly hot chicks.

As you can see, Glen is chatting up a woman in one of the videos ... and we're told they stayed close throughout the night.

Johnny meanwhile, was talking to several different ladies ... and we're told there was no drama and everyone seemed to be in good spirits, with JM and GP partying for at least a few hours.

Glen was in town to play golf in Wednesday's Pro-Am at the WM Phoenix Open ... Johnny wasn't golfing, but he's never turned down a good time.

It's an interesting pairing ... Johnny won the Heisman Trophy at Texas A&M and Glen studied at the University of Texas at Austin before heading to Hollywood. The schools are big rivals, but it's more of a big brother-little brother type deal.

Usher tenía a un montón de celebridades en el teaser promocional de su show para el Super Bowl, incluyendo J Balvin, pero a pesar de la especulación de que el cantante estaría presente en el espectáculo, ahora sabemos lo contrario.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que el cantante colombiano no participará en el show de medio tiempo con Usher este domingo, a pesar de que mucha gente asumió que podría ser posible desde que apareció en el corto que Apple lanzó el jueves.

Nos dicen que resulta que Balvin está en Brasil en este momento y actuará en el Carnaval el domingo del Super Bowl, por lo que estará lejos de lo que pase en Las Vegas.

No solo está técnicamente reservado para la misma noche del Super Bowl, nuestras fuentes dicen que su atención también está en su próxima gira internacional "Que Bueno Volver a Verte", que comienza en abril en Alemania. Además de eso, nos dicen que está en medio de los ensayos para Coachella.

Ahora, si se preguntan por qué J Balvin apareció en la promoción de Apple, que también tenía a Ludacris, Lil Jon y Taraji P. Henson, tenemos una respuesta.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que la idea de la promo era destacar a los mayores colaboradores de Usher a lo largo de los años y Balvin es uno de ellos, pues tienen una canción juntos, "Dientes".

En términos de quién estará realmente en la actuación de Usher, es casi un hecho que Luda y Jon se unirán a él en algún momento, y como les contamos primero, es también seguro que Alicia Keys va a estar en el escenario con Usher.

También sabemos que se ha hablado de la posibilidad de que tenga como invitado especial a nada menos que Justin Bieber, pero no está claro si realmente va a hacerlo o no.

Travis Kelce's ex, Kayla Nicole, might have had a falling out with Patrick and Brittany Mahomes ... but there's clearly still plenty of love between her and Jackson Mahomes -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned they rubbed elbows in Vegas.

Eyewitnesses tell us ... Kelce's former flame -- who he dated for years before Taylor Swift -- and the Chiefs QB's younger bro came together at the Aria's High Limit Lounge around 10:15 PM Thursday, and they didn't leave each other's side for about an hour.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us this meetup wasn't planned -- it was more of a bump-into sitch, apparently -- although folks at the casino say it seemed coordinated, as we're told Kayla joined Jackson at the hotel's fancy bar after he'd been waiting around for a minute.

So, to some, it appeared Jackson might've been waiting for her.

Regardless, witnesses say Jackson and Kayla -- who became good friends during the years the model dated Kelce -- were warm toward each other while they talked, appearing jovial throughout their entire conversation ... which, we're told, was an engrossing one for both.

Of course, this is notable because Kayla has recently attempted to distance herself from Patrick and Brittany ... after the latter struck up a bond with Kelce's new bae, Tay Tay.

ICYMI ... Kayla unfollowed the famous couple online -- later explaining she did it to "protect" herself amid the tight end's new romance and his obvious continued bond with Patrick.

While Kayla seemingly shook off any connection to Mahomes/Kelce -- she's clearly still cool with Jackson, which makes sense based on what else we know.

Sources tell us there's no bad blood between any of the parties, and just because Brittany and Kayla's friendship fizzled after she and Trav ... there was never an expectation anyone else surrounding them would cut ties, including Jackson.

Trav, of course, has moved on ... and Kayla seems more than ready to do the same -- saying last month she's no longer interested in dating athletes, wanting a man with power instead.

On its face, her run-in with Jackson doesn't appear to have been romantic. But it is interesting Kayla is in Vegas at all right now ... suppose we'll see what happens.

Usher had a lot of celebs in his teaser promo ahead of his Super Bowl Halftime Show, including J Balvin -- but despite speculation he'll be in the mix ... we now know otherwise.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the Colombian singer will not be participating in the halftime show with Usher and co. come Sunday, even though a lot of people assumed that might be since he showed up in the short film that Apple dropped Thursday.

As it turns out ... we're told Balvin is actually in Brazil right now and will be performing at Carnival on Super Bowl Sunday -- so he'll be far away from the action going down in Vegas.

Not only is he technically booked on the same night of the SB ... our sources say his focus right now is on his upcoming international tour -- "Que Bueno Volver a Verte" -- that kicks off in April in Germany. Plus, we're told he's in the middle of rehearsing for Coachella too.

Now, if you're wondering why JB was even featured in the Apple promo to begin with -- which also had Ludacris, Lil Jon and Taraji P. Henson in there -- we have an answer.

Our sources say the point of the promo was to highlight Usher's biggest collaborators over the years -- and Balvin is one of those lately ... they have their song 'Dientes' together.

In terms of who will actually come out for Usher's performance ... it's almost a given that Luda and Jon will join him at some point -- and we first reported ... Alicia Keys is for sure going to be onstage with Ursher.

Another person we know has been spoken to about potentially coming on as a special guest in none other than Justin Bieber -- but it's unclear if he'll actually perform or not for now.

Alicia Keys será una de las invitadas especiales de Usher en el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl, según puede revelar TMZ, Hip Hop, ¡¡¡la última noticia de la muy esperada actuación!!!

Fuentes cercanas a la producción confirman que algunos testigos vieron a Alicia Keys ensayando con Usher al interior del Estadio Allegiant el jueves. Ahora que sabemos que estará en la mezcla, el primer invitado confirmado hasta ahora, por cierto, todas las señales apuntan a que van a cantar una gran canción juntos.

Por supuesto, estamos hablando de su mega dueto de 2004 "My Boo", el que sin duda será al menos una de las canciones interpretadas por ella.

La canción encabezó la lista Billboard Hot 100 durante 6 semanas y se convirtió en la banda sonora de los lentos en todo el mundo. Será interesante ver en qué momento se incluye este lento entre las demás canciones, pero va a tener un montón de tiempo para exprimirlo.

Recuerden, Usher negoció tener 15 minutos de actuación en lugar de los 13 minutos asignados originalmente porque al parecer es la única manera en la que sabe cómo actuar en escena. Teniendo en cuenta la cantidad de famosos colaboradores que ha tenido Usher en los últimos años tiene sentido que necesite tiempo extra.

Su comercial de Apple Music para promover el gran evento también contó con sus colaboradores de "Yeah!" Ludacris y Lil Jon. Casi todo el mundo asume que estos dos también serán invitados durante su actuación aunque, técnicamente, no han confirmado.

Como ustedes saben, Usher también ha estado hablando con Justin Bieber como un posible invitado sobre el escenario, aunque no hemos cerrado si Biebs estará presente o no.

Alicia Keys will be a featured guest at Usher's Super Bowl Halftime Show, TMZ Hip Hop can reveal ... the latest development in the highly anticipated performance!!!

Sources close to the production confirm eyewitness accounts that AK rehearsed with Usher inside Allegiant Stadium on Thursday. Now that we know she'll be in the mix -- the first confirmed guest of his BTW -- all signs pointing to them doing one big song together.

Of course, we're talking about their 2004 mega duet "My Boo" -- which will undoubtedly be at least one of the tracks she performs.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 weeks when it came out -- and became the soundtrack to high school slow dances worldwide. It'll be interesting to see where the slow jam is included in the track list ... but he'll have plenty of time to squeeze it in.

Remember ... Usher negotiated to have a 15-minute set as opposed to the originally allotted 13 minutes ... 'cause it's the only way he knows how to rock, it seems. Considering how many famous collaborators Usher has had over the years ... it makes sense he needs the extra time.

His Apple Music commercial to promote the big event also heavily featured his "Yeah!" collaborators Ludacris and Lil Jon. Most everyone assumes these two guys will also be special guests during his performance ... although, they technically haven't confirmed yet.

As you know ... Usher has also been talking to Justin Bieber as a potential guest onstage -- although we haven't locked down whether the Biebs will actually be in attendance or not.

Usher ha estado en conversaciones directas con Justin Bieber acerca de compartir el escenario durante el espectáculo de medio tiempo del Super Bowl, TMZ ha averiguado.

Fuentes con conocimiento directo le dicen a TMZ que Usher se acercó a Bieber para hablar sobre esa posibilidad. Nos dicen que no había consejeros involucrados de ninguna de las partes y que hablaron directamente entre sí.

Nuestras fuentes dicen que no saben sobre el resultado de esas conversaciones, pero Usher definitivamente quiere que Bieber se una a él para lo que promete será el Super Bowl más visto de la historia.

Como saben, Usher fue mentor de Bieber cuando este tenía 13 años y lo ha guiado durante su carrera, junto con el manager Scooter Braun. Los 2 han sido cercanos desde entonces.

Justin se ha retirado de salir de gira. En 2022, detuvo su gira mundial "Justice" y la canceló oficialmente en marzo de 2023, después de ser diagnosticado con el síndrome de Ramsay Hunt. Ha actuado en eventos puntuales, incluida una actuación en el fin de semana de las estrellas de la NHL el pasado fin de semana en Toronto.

Sabemos que Usher estará acompañado por Lil Jon y Ludacris. Hay algunos rumores de que Alicia Keys también actuará.

O.J. Simpson is reportedly battling cancer -- but the man himself is somewhat pushing back that he's in poor health ... although, not necessarily denying the notion that he's been diagnosed.

The notorious ex-con -- who was famously acquitted in his double murder trial in the '90s, and who has maintained his innocence -- was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer ... according to Local 10 News.

The publication cites sources for their reporting ... and they go on to say O.J. has been receiving chemotherapy in the area. Unclear when exactly he was given the bad news.

One other bizarre element about this report is that Local 10 News says they're hearing O.J. has been going around and telling friends there are rumors about him going into hospice ... something he's apparently been denying to his closest pals.

Welp, O.J. doubled down on that denial Friday on the heels of this report coming out -- and while he is denying any notion of him being in hospice ... nobody seems to be claiming that.

Again, O.J.'s not saying he doesn't have cancer ... but he is trying to make it seem like everything is just fine and dandy in his world -- and that his focus is on the Super Bowl.

Here's the weird thing about all this ... O.J. appears to have already acknowledged that he has cancer and that he had done chemo. A video he posted in May 2023 -- where he rambles -- briefly touches on the fact that he "caught cancer," without specifying what type -- but in the clip, he also suggested he'd beaten it and that he was doing just fine now.

The ex-RB talked about dropping weight during chemo and how weed helped him get his appetite back -- but this video seems to have completely flown under the radar at the time.

Turns out Patrick Mahomes hasn't actually worn the same pair of nasty red drawers DURING nearly every NFL game of his career, just before kickoff ... according to his mother, Randi Mahomes.

Randi recently joined the "Got It From My Momma" podcast ... when the conversation turned to the infamous underwear Patrick recently revealed he wore for almost all of his career. Mom straightened the record.

“I asked Brittany, it’s not that he wears them in the game. He wears them from point A -- like leaves the house, gets to the game. I don’t think he actually wears them in the game,” Randi explained.

Of course, Patrick made the admission to a stunned Peyton and Eli on the Manningcast earlier this season, saying he'd worn the present from his wife Brittany Mahomes since his great rookie season.

"I love a good superstition, but couldn't you just do something like eat the same pregame meal? Did it have to be the red underwear?" Eli asked Patrick at the time.

Randi, like Manning, wasn't a fan of the tradition when she first heard about it, saying, “I was at work, I went into my co-worker's office like I can’t handle this.”

Mahomes and his Chiefs squad are slight underdogs against the 49ers ... we'll see if Patrick breaks tradition and wears them for the game on Super Sunday.

Usher has been in direct talks with Justin Bieber about sharing the stage during the Super Bowl Halftime show, TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Usher reached out to Bieber about performing. We're told there were no handlers involved on either side ... they talked directly to each other.

Our sources say they do not know the outcome of the talks, but Usher definitely wants Bieber to join him for what promises to be the most-watched Super Bowl in history.

As you know, Usher mentored Bieber when the latter was 13 years old and helped guide his career, along with manager Scooter Braun. The 2 have been close ever since.

Justin has pulled back from performing on tour. He stopped his "Justice" world tour in 2022 -- officially canceling the tour in March 2023 -- after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. He has performed at one-off events, including a performance at NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto this past weekend.

We know Usher will be joined by Lil Jon and Ludacris. There's some rumblings Alicia Keys will also perform.

Travis Kelce did NOT host a big shindig in Sin City a couple nights before the Super Bowl, despite his name being on the invitation for a house party ... TMZ has learned.

There was an invite going around social media Thursday promoting "The Kelce House Party" later that night in Las Vegas ... with Travis' name prominently displayed above the RSVP. Of course, many quickly wondered ... is TK partying his off just a few nights before the game???

Understandable -- on its face, the invite made it seem like Travis was hosting the party with his brother, Jason, which was billed as an event for their 'New Heights' podcast ... and there were even some reports going around claiming Travis was hosting this thing.

However, sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Travis didn't host any parties in Vegas last night, and more importantly ... he isn't hosting any ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, period.

For the non-sports fans out there thinking the players on the Super Bowl teams will be having fun in and around The Strip before Sunday's Big Game, our sources say that's just not the case ... and players are basically having zero fun in Sin City before the SB.

Thing is ... we're told Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs players have some pretty loaded schedules, plus a curfew. They start their days early and the day is filled with meetings, practices and training.

They have a strict curfew at midnight every night ... and our sources say if Travis or any of the players get caught anywhere near The Strip, they aren't going to be playing in the Super Bowl.

By the way, the Chiefs are staying far away from the glitz and glamour ... the team hotel is The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa, about a 40-minute drive from The Strip.

Sounds like Travis missed out on a fun party with his brother ... the invite says, "You're invited to come through the Kelce House, grab a beer (or 20, alright nah), kick back in the living room, take in an electric set from Cleveland's own DJ MEEL, play some pong on the deck, and all that. Be cool, have a good time, and above all - DON'T tell mom!"

Now, on the question of whether this 'Kelce House Party' is legit -- our sources tell us it is ... but that Travis himself was never explicitly tied to it. It was basically a bash put together by people who help run his podcast ... and we're told upwards of 400 individuals got an invite.

Unclear if Jason showed up or not -- he's a cohost of 'New Heights,' after all -- but we know for a fact ... Trav was nowhere near this thing on Thursday.

A Travis Kelce le pidieron que terminara una de las letras de Taylor Swift, de cara al Super Bowl y pareciera que no se la sabía muy bien, lo cual es interesante.

El jugador de los Chiefs estuvo hablando con los medios el jueves en Las Vegas, donde le preguntaron mucho sobre su novia, incluyendo una pregunta que lo comparó a él y a Tay Tay con la versión americana de los Royals. Sí, sin duda una gran adulación.

Luego, la misma periodista le preguntó por qué cree que la gente está tan fascinada con ellos como pareja y Travis respondió que la gente ama los "valores" que ellos representan, etc. Respuesta legítima y probablemente cierta, pero ¿sabes qué más les encanta? Las letras de Taylor y ahí es donde este intercambio se puso interesante.

El reportero le pidió a Trav que completara una línea de una canción MUY conocida de Taylor "Karma", que cualquier fan podría recitar.

Y, sin embargo, Travis parecía torpe, mientras se reía y le pedía a la reportera que pasaran a la siguiente pregunta.

La letra en cuestión es: "Karma is the guy on the screen // Coming straight home to me".

El reportero le dijo: "Karma is the guy on the".... y Travis añadió con confianza, "Chiefs", un guiño al cambio de letra que hizo Taylor durante su concierto en Argentina el año pasado y que el jugador de los Kansas City presenció desde la multitud.

No está claro si se da cuenta de que esa no es la letra original. Por cierto, tampoco fue capaz de terminar el resto de la letra.

Taylor Swift está teniendo problemas para mantener el equilibrio últimamente, pues ayer casi se cae del escenario en su concierto de Tokio.

Taylor realizó su segundo show en el Tokyo Dome como parte de su gira internacional "Eras" por Asia, Australia y Europa. Ahora ha aparecido un video en Instagram que muestra a la estrella del pop sufriendo otro percance como el de la noche anterior.

Echa un vistazo a las imágenes, Taylor estaba bajando unas escaleras cuando tropezó y casi se cae al suelo. Pero afortunadamente se agarró y siguió bajando. ¡Buena recuperación!

No parece que se haya lesionado, pero los mantendremos informado.

Taylor estaba actuando en ese mismo escenario el miércoles cuando se dejó caer sobre una silla y también perdió un poco la marca y tuvo que ajustar su asiento. Por supuesto, Taylor continuó como si nada hubiera pasado y terminó el espectáculo.

Sin embargo, sus percances consecutivos podrían atribuirse a todo el drama que rodea el Super Bowl de este domingo en Las Vegas.

El novio de Taylor, el tight end de los Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce, estará en primera fila jugando junto a su equipo contra los San Francisco 49ers.

¿Se escapará Taylor de su apretada agenda de conciertos para hacer una aparición en el gran partido y animar a Travis?