Football

Odell Beckham Jr. might've caught a big break in his butt-slapping case down in New Orleans -- 'cause the cop whose cheeks got smacked is pivoting away from pursing it.

According to NOLA.com and ESPN, the Superdome police officer who was on the receiving end of OBJ's ass slap last week is apparently not interested in pressing charges -- despite reportedly wanting to retaliate by punching Odell in the kisser, but refraining.

Of course, an arrest warrant on a simple battery charge had been issued for Odell. Now, NOLA.come reports that same officer has done a 180 ... reportedly having signed an affidavit stating he doesn't wish to press charges. It's unclear what changed his mind.

Either way, it could prove to be a major assist for Odell ... who's less likely to face prosecution if the primary alleged victim isn't cooperating. NOPD could even rescind their warrant at this point if they wanted to ... but all that remains to be seen for now.

Odell, meanwhile, has been laying low. Probably a good thing after sticking out like a sore thumb on Monday ... handing out cash to a ton of the LSU players on the sideline and raging in the locker room with them after. Probably best to let things cool off 😅.

The Tennessee Titans might be in trouble this weekend ... 'cause Patrick Mahomes' jersey has made its way to The Holy One before the big AFC Championship Game!!!

It's becoming a trend for Pope Francis to receive NFL QB jerseys -- he received a custom Ravens jersey signed by Lamar Jackson back in December.

The Pontiff's collection just got a nice MVP addition ... with the bishop of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph gifting it to him in Vatican City on Thursday.

Now, the Pope is an avid soccer fan ... but the dude might start watchin' some good ole American football now that he's got a closet full of jerseys.

We should note ... it may not be necessarily good luck for Mahomes, considering Jackson's Ravens got booted from the playoffs.

But, Pope Francis loved the gesture regardless ... and who knows, maybe he'll check out the game this weekend.

Drew Lock and his bombshell GF are keepin' the fabric to a minimum on their romantic getaway ... 'cause the Broncos QB's wearing a super-short pair of shorts posted up with his bikini-clad lady!!

The rookie is proving he's a seasoned vet in the vacation department ... hitting up Turks and Caicos with Natalie Newman ... and the pics are hotter than the 79 degree weather!!

Of course, Lock was a stud at Mizzou before going to the Broncos in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft. Newman is a Buffalo who attended Colorado.

The couple went IG official in 2019 ... and they've been posting adorable stuff ever since.

"Shore do love ya," Natalie captioned her beach pic with Drew. Cute, right?

Drew shared a tribute to his boo on Jan 1, saying "Happy New Year but most importantly Happy Birthday to this beautiful woman."

"I’m so thankful 2019 brought you into my life, you bring so many smiles to my face effortlessly! I can’t wait to see what 2020 brings us."

Troubled NFL receiver Antonio Callaway has found a new home -- he's signed with the XFL's Tampa Bay Vipers.

The 23-year-old was a stud for the Cleveland Browns when he was on the field ... but that became less frequent when he faced several suspensions for off-field incidents.

But, the ex-Florida Gator has an opportunity to put all that behind him -- and in his home state -- by signing with the Vipers on Thursday.

It's worth noting -- if the XFL maintained its zero-tolerance policy on players having a criminal record, Callaway wouldn't be getting this opportunity. But, the new league has since backtracked on that stance.

Callaway -- currently suspended by the NFL -- was punished multiple times for getting into legal trouble ... including an August 2018 arrest for having weed and gun parts in his car.

AC also had difficulty getting to games and practice on time ... and the Browns eventually decided to cut him in November. His current NFL career stats stand at 51 receptions for 675 yards and 5 TDs.

Joe Burrow says Odell Beckham gave him REAL cash after LSU won the national championship ... and there's NOTHING the NCAA can do about it.

OBJ was passin' out cash like candy at the Superdome after the Tigers beat Clemson in the natty on Monday ... and the video got so much attention that LSU released a statement claiming the money was fake.

But, now ... A TWIST!!!

The star QB appeared on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast and told the guys Beckham WAS handing out real money that night.

"I'm not a student-athlete anymore, so I can say yeah," Burrow revealed.

The only thing that's unclear is if Odell handed the real money to Burrow on the field or at the bars afterward ... not that it would make that big of a difference.

There's more ... the Heisman winner says he's been partying his face off since the victory and has only slept for about 45 minutes!

But, the real party may come Saturday when the championship parade goes down in Baton Rouge ... and Burrow says he's planning to channel his inner Rob Gronkowski.

"I might have to save up so I can Gronk that parade."

Big Cat points out that college championship parades are usually a lot less boozy than the pros ... but Burrow says he's the exception, not the rule!

"I'm graduating and I'm 23 years old, so I can do whatever the hell I want."

Well said, champ.

Joe Burrow and Co. will be takin' their championship celebration to the nation's capital ... 'cause the LSU Tigers are scheduled to visit President Donald Trump at the White House!!

The Tigers handled Clemson in a 42-25 win in the natty on Monday ... which POTUS attended and received a massive ovation prior to kickoff.

Now, Ed Orgeron's team will be returning the favor by hitting up 1600 Penn on Friday to be recognized by the prez.

It's been one helluva season for the Tigers -- they went 15-0 and some are considering it one of the most dominant seasons in college football history.

Burrow -- who won the Heisman Trophy -- has previously talked about Trump hitting up their games earlier this season (for the big matchup against Alabama) ... saying it's "pretty cool" regardless of political views.

Of course, college champs -- unlike some pro teams -- have jumped on the opportunity to visit the White House in recent years ... including last year's Clemson team, who got hooked up with junk food due to the government shutdown.

No word on if Trump will improve the menu this time around ... but Burrow passionately hates Skyline Chili, so maybe don't serve that.

Drew Brees got choked up talking about his former teammate Steve Gleason at his Congressional Gold Medal ceremony Wednesday ... and the moment was insanely emotional.

Gleason was being honored in D.C. for all of the incredible work he's done to fight ALS since his diagnosis back in 2011 ... and when Brees -- Gleason's teammate in New Orleans in 2006 -- stepped up to the mic, he delivered a powerful speech about his good friend.

Brees explained how back in 2011 before a Saints Wild Card game ... he learned of Gleason's tragic diagnosis through an e-mail -- and broke down on the team bus.

But, Drew says Steve was nothing but positive despite the tragic news ... saying he told the Saints QB he was going to live until he was 109 years old!!

"I'm betting on you [to do it], Steve," Drew said with a laugh.

You can tell ... Gleason means A TON to Brees -- 'cause Wednesday was not only Drew's 41st birthday, but his son's 11th as well. But, Brees said, "There is no place we'd rather be than right here, right now."

Gleason's whole ceremony inside of National Statuary Hall was awesome ... everyone from Nancy Pelosi to Chuck Schumer raved about the ex-Saints DB for all of his work fighting ALS.

FYI, Steve's been a pioneer when it comes to helping people live with the disease ... aiding in the creation of speech-generating devices and spearheading the largest coordinated and collaborative ALS research project in the world.

As for his award Wednesday, it's prestigious as hell ... only a handful of Americans have EVER earned the honor -- with Gleason being the first NFL player to do it.

Steve vowed in his speech while accepting the award to continue to fight the disease ... and he pleaded for others to help move humanity into a better place moving forward as well.

Antonio Gates says he's ALL about the possibility of Tom Brady coming to the Chargers -- telling TMZ Sports, "If he does, I'll be one of his biggest supporters."

"I heard that he might come out here and bless us with his presence," Gates told us on the way out of Bootsy Bellows nightclub in West Hollywood.

"... and if he does that, that would be a great sight to see in L.A."

Interesting comments from Gates who spent his entire career with the Bolts catching passes from Philip Rivers, who's about to become a free agent when the 2019 NFL season officially ends.

Don't get it twisted, Gates didn't say anything negative about Rivers -- but it's clear that Antonio wants his former team to jump on the chance to sign Brady if the opportunity presents itself.

"If [Brady] comes here, I'm gonna be a big fan."

Of course, Gates made headlines of his own this week when he announced his retirement from pro football after 16 seasons in the NFL.

Gates was an 8-time Pro-Bowl tight end, 5-time All Pro and owns the record for most career TDs for a tight end with 116.

What's more impressive ... Gates was an undrafted free agent out of Kent State, where he was a college basketball player. He didn't play a single snap of college football.

We're getting closer to an Antonio Brown vs. Logan Paul boxing match!!!

Check out this footage of the unemployed NFL star hitting the mitts in a boxing gym in footage AB posted on Tuesday.

The interesting part is the video was re-posted by DAZN, the live sports streaming service that carried the Logan Paul vs. KSI fight in November.

Paul already told us his camp had begun official talks with Antonio Brown to get a fight on the books -- and now it seems like DAZN could be seriously interested in getting a deal done.

As for his training, Brown's physique looks incredible but it's clear he needs real work in the ring to compete with Paul, who's already got 2 fights under his belt ... and looked pretty good in the KSI rematch.

Paul says he's dead serious about fighting AB and thinks it would be a great opportunity for the 31-year-old wideout to refocus his life while he's persona non grata in the NFL.

"I think we might be closer than anyone expects," Paul told us last week. "I'm f**king serious, bro. You know how serious I take fighting."

Even Tom Brady ain't above busting Julian Edelman's balls when it comes to his allegedly drunken car smashing arrest ...

The New England Patriots QB cracked a little joke at the WR's expense on social media Tuesday ... flashing a bottle of his TB12 Electrolytes with the caption, "[Edelman] it sounds like you need some of this."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Brady's favorite target (and last year's Super Bowl MVP) was arrested for vandalism Saturday night in Beverly Hills after cops say he jumped on the hood of a Mercedes-Benz.

Our law enforcement sources tell us it appeared as if Edelman had been drinking before the incident. He was partying with ex-Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce and former New England Patriots teammate Danny Amendola earlier in the night. The group had been hanging out at Cantina Frida while the Ravens were losing to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Divisional playoff game.

A former Penn State football player is suing the University -- claiming star players violently hazed younger players ... and made sexual threats invoking noted child rapist Jerry Sandusky.

The man behind the suit is Isaiah Humphries -- a defensive back who says he accepted a full scholarship to Penn State beginning in 2018.

But, Humphries says life as a Nittany Lion was hell -- with several upperclassmen players including Damion Barber, Micah Parsons, Yetur Gross-Matos and Jesse Luketa leading a campaign of hazing against the new players.

FYI, Micah Parsons is a star player -- the outside linebacker was Defensive MVP of the 2019 Cotton Bowl. Gross-Matos was an All-BIG 10 defensive end in '18 and '19.

According to Humphries' lawsuit, the upper classmen intended to make the new guys "their bitch" from the get-go ... telling them, "this is a prison."

He claims the upperclassmen also made threats against the new guys -- saying things like, "I am going to f*ck you" and "I am going to Sandusky you ... This is Jerry."

The alleged Sandusky quotes obviously refer to the disgraced Penn State football coach who was convicted of sexually assaulting many young boys at the school's athletic facility.

The allegations get much worse from here. Here's a list from the lawsuit ...

The Hollywood Police Dept. is sick and tired of Antonio Brown treating their officers like crap -- so, they've severed ties with the NFL star and even returned a large donation check.

Things have been bad between AB and the HPD for weeks -- with things exploding AGAIN on Monday during a domestic incident at Brown's Florida home in which Antonio cussed out and insulted officers and posted the video to social media.

The Hollywood PD says Brown's behavior was "very rude and disrespectful" and they no longer want to have a relationship with him.

As we previously reported, the HPD had allowed Brown for years to work out at their Police Athletic League football field. We posted video of AB training there in October as he tried to get back in the NFL. A spokesperson told us at the time AB had a great reputation with the cops.

In fact, cops say Brown had financially sponsored the HPD's 7-on-7 football league.

How'd Joe Burrow celebrate the greatest college football season ever by a QB?!?!

BY SMOKING A FAT STOGIE AND RAGING WITH ODELL BECKHAM JR., BABY!!!

LSU pounded Clemson to cap off a 15-0 year Monday night at the Superdome in New Orleans ... and the party afterward was pretty legendary -- with Burrow rippin' puffs of a cigar and Odell dancing his face off in the locker room.

In fact, the party got so intense ... reportedly police officers had to tell Tiger players to stop smoking indoors -- even threatening arrests!!!

While a security guard was snooping around offensive lineman Damien Lewis, Beckham walks behind the guard and smacks his ass.

But, not even that warning could slow down the Bayou bash ... 'cause in the middle of all kinds of cigar smoke in LSU's locker room, there was a dance battle!!

There's more -- OBJ whipped out a stack of cash right on the Superdome field ... and appeared to hook up star WR's Justin Jefferson and Jontre Kirklin with some dough.

Video of the scene is pretty hilarious ... future first-round pick Grant Delpit went off!!

Of course, there was plenty of reason to party ... the Tigers played an awesome game against Clemson, winning 42-25.

President Donald Trump may wanna stick to college football games ... 'cause #45 got a standing ovation once again at the College Football Playoff national championship game!!

It hasn't always been this friendly for POTUS ... he's been boo'd to hell (World Series), cheered incessantly (LSU vs. Alabama), and gotten what some would call "mixed reviews" (UFC 244).

But, the crowd was lovin' Trump on Monday night when he and First Lady Melania took the field before kickoff for the National Anthem ... with audible cheers coming from the seats.

FYI -- the reception shouldn't come as a surprise ... Trump easily won the state of Louisiana back in 2016.

LSU QB Joe Burrow has played in front of Trump once earlier this season ... and has previously said it's a "pretty cool" experience, regardless of political beliefs.

No one expected the Titans to wreck Lamar Jackson and the Ravens ... that is, no one except Chris Johnson ... and he tells TMZ Sports his old team is about to pull off ANOTHER huge upset!!

Mike Vrabel's squad came away with the 28-12 dub over Baltimore in the divisional round of the playoffs on Saturday (they were 10 point underdogs) ... one week after taking down Tom Brady and the Patriots.

CJ2K says the Titans ain't done yet, 'cause he tells us Tennessee is about to take down Patrick Mahomes and co. in the AFC Championship game and punch some tickets to Miami.

"Man, listen, the Ravens had a explosive offense as well," CJ tells us. "We went in there and we did what we had to do. We held them to 12 points. so, we gon' do the same thing this week."

CJ -- who was so pumped about the win, he made t-shirts -- jokes that he's getting so good with his predictions, he deserves a TV deal!!

"I've been right on the head. I've been predicting it every week."

Christian McCaffrey really is one of the best utility players in the game ... not only can he run and catch ... he can also squeeze super hot models into the tightest pair of leather pants!!!

The Carolina Panthers superstar came in clutch for his incredibly attractive GF Olivia Culpo before their date in L.A. over the weekend ... helping her squeeze into her pants in a super sexy moment captured on her IG Story.

"Leather pants should come with a human to help put them on," OC said. "This was after I ripped the belt loop trying to pull them up myself."

But, don't worry, the shirtless assistance from CMC was helpful enough to get the couple out of the house for their romantic dinner at Delilah in West Hollywood.

Culpo and McCaffrey have been on fire lately ... they recently had their belated Christmas together and had a lil bae-cation before getting back to L.A.