Kids

LaVar Ball says the pathway for LiAngelo Ball to get to the Lakers is a clear one ... and it runs through the new hoops league he created -- THE JBA!!

L.A. -- along with the other 29 teams in the NBA -- passed on Gelo in the draft last month ... so now the most famous Ball has a new plan to fix that -- put him in a JBA jersey with LaMelo.

"It's not even a yellow brick road," LaVar tells TMZ Sports. "It's a road that he has to take. It's nothing wrong with this."

So far ... so good for Gelo -- who dropped 53 points, 10 boards and 10 assists in his debut Thursday night ... playing in front of Lakers stars Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

LaVar seems to concede it's probably not the most ideal route for Gelo to end up in the association ... but he says it's better than "running hills and just shooting on the machine by yourself."

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West paid a little extra attention to North on Friday ... but Saint made it clear he was not to be forgotten.

The proud parents went to their 5-year-old daughter's fashion show at a design camp she's been attending with a friend, where the kids get to design their own dresses and clothing. We're told Friday was the big show for the kids to reveal their designs to their moms and dads.

As you can see ... North's is stylin'!

Our sources say Kourtney also came to the show with her kids Mason and Penelope ... we're told Kim and Kanye took the whole crew out to eat at Carasoul after to celebrate.

It's unclear what caused Saint's display of emotion as the family was leaving the show ... but we're going to guess it must have been the beauty of his big sister's design.

The kid who plays the young version of "The Big Bang Theory" character Sheldon Cooper is getting a big boost to his bank account ... thanks to the huge success of the CBS spin-off.

According to Iain Armitage's "Young Sheldon" contract -- obtained by TMZ -- the star of the show got $30,000 for every episode in Season 1 ... which ended up being 22 strong after a stellar ratings debut scored it a full-season order.

Do the math, and that's $660k for Young Sheldon.

It gets better, though -- the show's been renewed for Season 2, which premieres in September, and will likely be another 22 eps. According to his contract, he'll get a pay bump to $31,200 per ep. for the second season ... which comes out to more than a $26k raise.

That's roughly $1.35 MILLION for Iain for 2 seasons of TV work.

And if season 3 happens, it's the same deal for Sheldon -- more eps. for more money ... $32,448 a pop.

Cardi B caught wind Nicki Minaj had reportedly bought her a pricey gift basket from Petit Trésor -- but, as it turns out, it never happened ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Cardi's team reached out to the famed WeHo baby boutique after reading a report claiming Nicki had snapped up a $5,000 basket and sent it to Cardi after hearing she'd given birth to Kulture.

We're told Cardi's camp called Petit -- there's only one location -- looking for a tracking number for Nicki's gift, because Cardi's been flooded with presents. However, they were told by the store's owner ... Nicki had NOT purchased anything.

We also called the store, and an employee confirmed neither Nicki nor anyone on her team bought any items from them.

The gift basket would have been an interesting olive branch because Nicki and Cardi were beefing earlier this year -- but no dice.

Versace, Versace ... Cardi B's baby girl will be staring down the famed Medusa logo and several other luxury designer brands the second she gets home.

Sources tell us Cardi and Offset decked out Kulture's nursery with some seriously high-end gear from West Hollywood baby boutique, Couture Kids on Robertson. Our baby gear sources tell us the new parents dropped several k's -- as in $7,000 -- to get their daughter off to a baller-ific start.

Here's how Kulture's rolling:
- Fendi stroller, $1,600
- Stokke Xplory stroller, $1,149
- Versace changing bag, $600
- Young Versace dress, $455
- Givenchy teddy bear, $195
- Customized recliner, $3,000

Shortly before Cardi gave birth Tuesday night she was showing off some of her baby swag.

SonBurned: When a man or woman is forced to watch their offspring (in this case, sons) get ruthlessly burned on the football field by an elite NFL WR who's taking no prisoners.

Drew Brees' kids should now know this definition well, having been ruthlessly destroyed by Lions WR Golden Tate while trying to guard him one-on-one with no safety help.

The life lesson went down at Santa Fe Christian High School where Brees was working out alongside other NFL guys like Tate, Darren Sproles and Michael Thomas.

At some point it was time for the kids to get in on the action, and the resulting carnage was caught on video as both Brees kids get turned around like J Lo walked by.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are gonna be hands-on parents judging by their trip to Ireland, where a bunch of kids got all up in their royal grills ... in a good way.

The newlyweds are in Dublin, their first official visit since the wedding, where it looks like they were a huge hit with the five-and-under crowd at Croke Park stadium.

The royals got to watch some traditional Gaelic sports, but the real show was the cute kids. Favorite games of the day appeared to include ... "Where's Your Nose?" and "Where's Your Beard?".

Good to know even Sylvester Stallone does the Leo in "Titanic" thing when he's on a boat, but most of us can't compete with the view he has right now -- namely, his beautiful wife, Jennifer Flavin!

Sly and the family Stallone are vacationing in Saint-Tropez to celebrate his recent 72nd birthday. While he was playing Jack on Tuesday ... Jennifer and their daughters, Sophia and Sistine, were on paddle boards, attempting what looks like some yoga positions.

The fam's already enjoyed some top-deck time -- sunbathing in their bathing suits -- and now they're looking to enjoy the Mediterranean waters.

Dan Rather says he can handle a little Hollywood interference to make a Thailand cave rescue movie, because the story is just that great.

We got the CBS News legend Tuesday in NYC hours after it was announced that all 12 boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were successfully saved from a flooded cave after being trapped for more than 2 weeks. Dan had 1 word for it this AM ... any guesses?

Our camera guy also asks what he makes of Hollywood types rushing to crank out a movie about the rescue, which Dan acknowledges is definitely going on and seems to frown upon.

Here's Gordon Hayward getting the news he's about to have a 3RD baby girl -- a blessing, obviously -- but, he REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted a boy.

At least, that's the way it comes off in his new gender reveal video -- in which his wife and 2 daughters give the Boston Celtics star a box with colored balloons inside.

When he opens it up and sees pink, he can hardly contain his ... excitement?

"Is daddy happy?!" His wife, Robyn, asks.

"Daddy's always happy," Gordon says as he kicks a balloon.

Guess if he wants a baby boy eventually -- he's gonna have to make it like he does at TD Garden ... and keep on shooting.

Remember, Chris Paul gave advice to Kobe Bryant a few years ago when Mamba learned he was having a 3rd girl ... "Keep going 'til you get a boy."

And, the summer of Tom Brady destroying his family continues ...

TB12 took his son out in the backyard for a little pre-training camp/post-vacation workout Monday -- and left his child grasping at straws after some savage juke moves.

Well, "savage" for a guy playing against an elementary schooler.

Remember ... Tom's been killin' his fam the past few weeks -- firing lasers at his mom in dodgeball and throwin' tantrums in front of them on the golf course in Montana last week.

Looks like his son ain't immune to the Hall of Famer's competitiveness, now that the family's back home, either.

Brooklyn Nets star Allen Crabbe tells TMZ Sports ... cutting a 6-figure check to save an L.A. school was a "no-brainer" -- because giving back to the community is more important than ballin' out.

We broke the story ... Crabbe stepped in with a "miracle" donation to Frederick K.C. Price III Christian School in south Los Angeles last month ... saving it from closing permanently.

Crabbe went to school there -- and has several members who still attend -- and felt a moral obligation to help out when it couldn't afford to pay the bills.

"My mom texted me saying, 'Look, nobody has come forward with a donation, can you give this amount?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I'll do it!'"

Crabbe -- who's in the middle of a 4-year, nearly $75 million contract -- says he's blessed to be making such a high salary and says he wants to use that money to give other kids a chance.

You gotta watch the clip ... Crabbe's as humble as they come.

TOM BRADY HAS NO CHILL!!!!

The future Hall of Fame quarterback threw a laser AT HIS OWN MOM during a crazy dodgeball game ... and had zero regrets!!!

TB12 was holding a family dodgeball game at the home where they're staying in Montana -- with everyone from Gisele to their kids and other family members (?) ... including Tom's parents.

The balls flew fast and furiously -- people were laughing, but you can tell there's some serious aggression!!

But, the craziest moment was when Tom's mom daintily underhanded a ball at her son to get him out ... and he responded with a 90 mph fastball!!!

Sorry, Mom ... shoulda remembered the 5 Ds of dodgeball -- dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge.

Mariah Carey transformed from superstar to concerned parent real quick in Vegas after her son put a plastic bag over his head onstage.

Carey's back at Caesars Palace for a string of shows, and brought out her 7-year-old twins, Moroccan and Monroe, while she belted out "Always Be My Baby." The twins tossed gifts to Mariah's fans ... but things got a little scary when Moroccan dug deep into his plastic goodie bag.

Anthony Bourdain left a sizable estate behind and most of it is going straight to his 11-year-old daughter, Ariane.

A copy of Bourdain's will was filed in a New York court Thursday and the celebrity chef/TV host left behind about $1.2 million in known assets at the time of his death. That includes $425k in cash, $250k in personal property, $35k in brokerage accounts, and about $500k in royalties and residuals ... according to the NY Daily News.

Bourdain's will also reportedly indicates an outstanding $1 million mortgage, but doesn't specify the location of that property.

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro's hanging with his baby mama a little more than a week after she allegedly dragged him with her car ... but it's not all amoré just yet.

Sources close to the on-again-off-again couple tell TMZ the 'Jersey Shore' star and Jen Harley were spending time together this week, including on the 4th of July. We're told Jen flew out to Jersey earlier this week, and the pair's been kickin' it for a few days now.

All that said ... our sources say Ronnie and Jen are not officially back together at this point. They're simply working things out for the sake of their daughter, Ariana.

We broke the story ... Jen dodged domestic violence charges after getting busted at the end of last month for allegedly bloodying Ronnie up during a fight in the car.

The incident left one hell of a bloody mess behind, inside the car and out.

Despite Ronnie's close friends wanting him to stay away from her out of fear for his safety, he seems to be doing things his way. So far, so good -- we're told he and Jen have had no major issues this week.