Los Angeles Kings

Jerry Buss -- owner of the Los Angeles Lakers -- died early this morning at the age of 80.

Buss had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. for the past few months due to a previously undisclosed intestinal problem ... though it was revealed yesterday he'd been battling cancer the entire time.

After starting his career as a chemist, Buss soon found his true calling in the real estate biz ... snapping up properties all over L.A. before moving on to the sporting world.

In 1979, Buss made history when he purchased the Lakers, the L.A. Kings and The Forum for $67.5 million -- at that time, the largest transaction in sports.

Under his ownership, Buss watched dozens of all-time greats -- including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant -- win the Lakers 10 NBA Championships. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Buss was also an avid poker player ... and appeared on several TV shows, including "High Stakes Poker" and "Poker After Dark."

He is survived by his six children.

Erin Andrews and her L.A. Kings BF Jarret Stoll's answer to a simple Valentine's Day question sparked a hysterical convo -- about V-Day for gays and lesbians.

Warning: the following train of thought may derail. Frequently.

L.A. Kings star Drew Doughty has been officially cleared of raping a woman he hooked up with in a bar ... TMZ has learned.

As TMZ first reported, the NHL defenseman had been investigated after the woman accused him of forcibly having sex with her at his home back in March ... after bumping into each other in a Hermosa Beach, CA bar.

According to the the L.A. County District Attorney's Office ... the alleged victim "told the investigating officer that she had consensual sex with suspect" a few months prior to the March incident.

The D.A. says there is insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt -- and as a result Doughy will not be prosecuted.

L.A. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty is being investigated for rape following an incident back in March -- when a woman accused him of forcibly having sex with her -- but TMZ has learned, the D.A. will be rejecting the case.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the woman in question filed a police report following the March 1st encounter -- claiming she bumped into Doughty at a bar in Hermosa Beach early that morning, and he asked her to come back to his place.

We're told ... the alleged victim told police she loudly rejected Doughty in front of his teammates -- calling him an "a**hole" -- and his teammates laughed.

Sources say the girl told police Doughty was embarrassed following the diss -- then wrangled her into a cab, took her home, and raped her.

The girl said she took a cab back to her place after the sex and later went to the hospital -- where police interviewed her and collected rape evidence.

The case has been under investigation since -- but police sources tell us, it will be rejected by the D.A. due to lack of evidence. We're told law enforcement has "major issues" with the woman's credibility.

Bottom line -- Doughty will be off the hook.

The Stanley Cup was a whore last night ... because it let all sorts of strangers rub their mouths and butts all over it for hours ... and TMZ has the pics.

The enablers were several members of the world champion L.A. Kings -- who treated Stanley to a night of mayhem at Beacher's Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

During the show, the Kings were entertained by The Little Kings -- a band of little people dressed up like their NHL counterparts ... who used the cup as a chair when their tiny feet got tired.

We're told the Kings arrived to the party with David Beckham ... and were met at the venue by UFC legend Chuck Liddell ... who filled the cup with beer and had the Kings hoist it up so he could chug with the champs.

The New Jersey Devils had a rough time scoring on the L.A. Kings -- which didn't stop them from trying to go top shelf ... on a couple of chicks outside their party bus! What Stanley Cup defeat?

The Stanley Cup is probably nursing the mother of all hangovers right now ... 'cause hours after the L.A. Kings beat up the NJ Devils, the champions took the trophy to their favorite local bar in Hermosa Beach.

Stanley Cup Finals MVP Jonathan Quick -- along with several of his teammates -- brought Stanley to the North End Bar and Grill last night ... where the unofficial team celebration went down.

But Stanley wasn't the only piece of championship hardware in the building, Quick also brought along his MVP trophy ... which sat right next to Lord Stanley's Cup at the front of the bar.

Go Kings Go.

The NJ Devils couldn't have been too upset after the L.A. Kings destroyed 'em in the Stanley Cup Finals last night ... 'cause the whole team put on their finest suits and partied their faces off in Hollywood!

Jacob Josefson and a bunch of his teammates hit up the AV Nightclub for a little while ... before piling into cabs and limos and speeding off into the night.

As the L.A. Kings continue fighting to win the Stanley Cup, it seems like everyone in Hollywood is now a HUGE fan.

But for those holding out on the NHL fandemonium, TMZ created a patent-pending Bandwagon3000 -- which turns any ordinary celebrity photo ... into an action-packed hockey pic!

Despite having three nominations, country darling Taylor Swift skipped the CMT Awards in Nashville last night ... to watch the the L.A. Kings at a bar instead.

Wearing a floral prairie dress and sensible shoes, the 22-year-old -- who also lost in all 3 nominated categories -- was spotted leaving The Cut Saloon in Brentwood after watching Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The serial dater's award no-show comes on the heels of John Mayer complaining in Rolling Stone magazine that he was "humiliated" by Taylor's song "Dear John," which is allegedly about the adult-contemporary crooner.

It was a real "puck you" to the New Jersey Devils Monday night, as L.A. Kings fans taunted their rivals with blown up images of an even famous-er N.J. franchise -- the cast of "Jersey Shore."

Devils players may not have gotten the joke, since 18 are not even American, but fans sure did.

In the end, Snooki, The Situation, Pauly D and Jwoww may have been L.A.'s secret weapon, because the Kings won 4 zip, which puts them 1 game away from their first Stanley Cup.

Finally, Snooki and Sitch did something useful.

Most people go to Boa for steak ... Pam Anderson goes to Boa to lap dance ... and the crotch-grinding was all caught on tape.

The 44-year-old former "Baywatch" star hit up the restaurant after the L.A. Kings playoff victory last night ... and she was in the mood to party.

Pam was hanging out at a table in the front of the restaurant with a bunch of guys ...and after a few swigs of vino ... a sexually-charged Anderson offered up some quality table-dances to some of her friends.

Just two months after Kobe Bryant and his estranged wife Vanessa shared a Valentine's Day kiss (below) -- fueling hopes of a reconciliation -- the two hit up the L.A. Kings playoff game with their daughters ... as "really good friends."

Sources close to Kobe tell TMZ ... the divorce is still on ... but Kobe is adamant the two are "really good friends" who still love each other.

As TMZ first reported, Kobe has been "aggressively" trying to save his marriage.

We're told Vanessa was open to the idea of a reconciliation ... but as of now, the divorce is still expected to move forward with Vanessa set to walk away with all three of the Bryant's Newport mansions PLUS $75 million in cash.

L.A. Kings goal scorer Dustin Penner's aspiring actress wife has filed for divorce ... and TMZ has learned it's her SECOND failed marriage to a pro hockey player.

Her name's Jessica Welch -- don't bother looking up her IMDb profile -- and she was married to former NHL star Richard Zednik from 2005-2009 ... the guy who accidentally got his throat slit with a skate in 2008. The couple had one daughter together.

Two years later in 2011, Jessica married Dustin -- who won the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.

Now, Jessica has filed for divorce AGAIN in L.A. County Superior Court -- citing "irreconcilable differences." Dustin and Jessica have no children together.

Watch your sticks, boys.

Former L.A. Kings hockey player Pavol Demitra -- a 3x NHL All-Star -- was one of 43 people killed when a plane carrying a Russian hockey team crashed outside of Moscow this morning.

Russian officials say TWO people on board survived the crash -- a crew member and a player named Alexander Galimov.

The plane was carrying a team called the "Lokomotiv Yaroslavl" -- which was en route to Belarus for the season opener -- when it crashed shortly after departing from an airport 150 miles outside of Moscow.

Several former NHL players are believed to have died in the crash along with 36-year-old Demitra -- including Karel Rachunek, Josef Vasicek, Brad McCrimmon, Igor Korolev and Alexander Karpovtsev.