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Cleveland ain't big enough for two Guardians -- at least, that's what a local roller derby team is claiming -- 'cause the "original" Cleveland Guardians are suing the MLB franchise in hopes of blocking its name change.

The Cleveland Guardians roller derby team filed the suit this week ... saying the MLB organization is trying to bully its way into using their name, despite the derby team claiming a "common law" trademark for using the branding in northeast Ohio dating back to 2013.

The derby team is accusing the baseball squad of being shady in the months leading up to the rebranding announcement in July ... claiming they "surreptitiously" filed a trademark for the Cleveland Guardians name "in the small, East African island nation of Mauritius, effectively hiding the application unless one knew where to look."

The derby team says the MLB club hit them up months later ... asking for pictures of jerseys and logos to determine if they were interested in acquiring the CG intellectual property.

Shortly after, the derby team claims the MLB team filed a trademark for a logo that looks "remarkably" like their logo.

The Guardians derby team claims the MLB name change has caused serious issues ... in fact, it claims it cannot fulfill merchandise orders due to suppliers believing the baseball team has the rights to the name ... and its website has crashed due to increased traffic.

Gary Sweatt -- the derby team owner -- eventually reached back out to the MLB team's lawyers in hopes of striking a deal over the naming rights, but says the baseball squad "only offered to pay a nominal amount, likely no more than fifteen minutes of annual team revenue."

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- the woman at the center of the "Rust" death investigation -- was also recently tied to the death of a close friend, and her insurance company shelled out big bucks to his family.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Reed's friend, Tyler Dyer, was killed in an accident back in August 2020 -- a wreck that also involved her boyfriend, Aaron Butcher. Both men were on motorcycles at the time -- Aaron had borrowed Hannah's.

Tyler's dad tells us all 3 of them had been hanging out at a party prior to the accident -- and Hannah admitted to cops she'd seen both Tyler and Aaron drink 4 to 5 beers each before she opted to give Aaron the keys to her ride.

BTW, Aaron was already on probation for a DUI, and only permitted to operate vehicles with a breathalyzer attached to the ignition ... which Hannah's bike did not have.

According to cops, Tyler was going too fast when he made a turn and crashed his bike into a wall ... while Aaron tried to avoid him, and ended up wrecking Hannah's bike.

Tyler died in the crash, Aaron was arrested for aggravated DUI, and because he was on Hannah's bike ... her insurance company paid Dyer's parents, Joe and Sara, $50,000 in exchange for an agreement not to sue Hannah in the future.

The documents state each of Tyler's parents ended up walking away with $15,481.

TMZ broke the story, 24-year-old Reed revealed just last month she only recently wrapped her first project as a head armorer ... a project she says she almost didn't take on because she was afraid she lacked experience.

Dr. Fauci and the NIH are getting a clear message ... STOP supporting animal testing in the wake of allegations his agency used taxpayer money to bankroll torturous dog research.

The Beagle Freedom Project, a nonprofit animal advocacy and rescue organization, fired off a letter to Fauci ... demanding he and the NIH immediately stop funding research using animals. Not only that, they want anyone involved in the research to face criminal charges.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, the org rips animal testing as outdated, flawed, cruel, unethical and harmful ... and demands Fauci and the NIH put an end to the practice.

As we've reported ... Fauci is under fire because a watchdog group claims to have obtained documents linking NIH-funded animal testing overseas, where over 40 beagles were killed during experiments with insects. There's a photo that appears to show 2 Beagles with their head in netting as sand flies bite their faces. There's a report their vocal cords were removed to prevent them from howling.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina previously fired off a letter to Fauci, in which she and 23 colleagues from both sides of the aisle asked the doc to sit for a hearing on the subject.

Halyna Hutchins' family is almost certainly gearing up for a wrongful death lawsuit -- in the wake of her death on the set of the movie "Rust" -- and TMZ has learned the insurance policy that covered the production is limited to $6 million.

We obtained the certificate of insurance written by Front Row Insurance Brokers. General liability coverage is limited to $1 million per occurrence. There is also a commercial umbrella policy -- which is a supplement to the general liability coverage -- for an additional $5 million.

The production company filed a permit for the film, and the paperwork shows a $1 million policy, but that appears to be the minimum required for shooting in New Mexico. The production company obtained the umbrella, which is quite typical but not referenced in the permit.

It sounds like a lot of money, but it could be woefully inadequate. 42-year-old Hutchins was a rising star with decades of earnings ahead of her. She was also a mother and a wife, which allows her son and husband to collect for loss of affection. And remember, director Joel Souza was also shot and wounded, and he would have a personal injury claim. The total the insurance company would pay for both Hutchins and Souza is limited to $6 mil.

There's a wild card here ... punitive damages. In New Mexico, if there's proof of recklessness or wanton misconduct, a jury could award punitive damages, and that could send any judgment into the stratosphere.

It seems obvious there was serious negligence on the set, to say the least. A real gun was used, something gun experts on movie sets say is a clear violation. The gun fired off a fatal live round of ammunition, and live rounds should never be on a movie set. And, the area in the line of fire should have been cleared of people, which it was not.

And, there's more. The gun in question clearly was not adequately inspected before it was handed over to Alec Baldwin. And, as we reported several days ago, some members of the crew were using that gun for target practice -- with real bullets. And, someone may have been doing just that hours before the shooting on the set.

There's another issue ... Front Row would not discuss the terms of the policy with us, but typically there are numerous requirements insurance companies impose and violations of those requirements could allow the company to deny coverage. For instance, given this was a policy to cover a western with various gun scenes, there may be an exclusion if there was live ammo on the set.

The fan who gave up Tom Brady's 600th TD ball might not have the $500K pigskin, but his Coinbase account is surging in value, 'cause Rob Gronkowski and Mojo Muhtadi are hooking up the dude with over $30K in tokens!!

Gronk and Mojo (along with Steve Aoki) partnered with a new crypto company called Beyond Protocol earlier this year, Muhtadi tells TMZ Sports. BP says they specialize in tech that allows internet-connected devices to communicate safely.

Anyways, back to the Bucs fan, Byron Kennedy.

As we previously reported, TB12 joined Eli and Peyton Manning on MNF and announced he was giving the fan 1 Bitcoin -- currently worth about $60K -- for giving up the extremely valuable ball.

Cool, but still not worth half a milli (at least not yet).

Enter Mojo and Gronk ... Muhtadi tells us he spoke to the company, and they've decided to hook the fan up with 690 coins (if you know Mojo, you get this) worth about $44 each.

Do the math ... that's nearly $31K in value.

And, in addition to the BTC, Brady and the Bucs are hooking the fan up with a bunch of cool memorabilia ... including signed jerseys, a helmet, cleats, AND 2 season tickets for the rest of this season and next season.

Chargers star Joey Bosa is finally spending some of the cash he got after signing his mega, $135 million contract last year ... copping an insane waterfront mansion in Florida this month.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the L.A. superstar just bought the crib in Fort Lauderdale -- his childhood hometown -- and the pad is amazing.

Pictures of the place, which was listed by realtor Tim Elmes, show it's right on the water, with an open floor plan and a ton of windows to soak in the view.

The house also comes with a dock, a wet bar, a pool and a fire table ... and it even features an elevator inside!!

Unclear what the final cost of the place was -- but it was last listed at $6,995,000.

Of course, Bosa just inked a huge, new contract with the Chargers back in 2020 ... so making the payments ain't going to be too much of a problem.

Josh Allen's grandmother is being remembered in an incredible way ... a local Buffalo hospital has named an entire wing in her honor after Bills fans made more than $1 million in donations.

Remember, the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital was flooded with over 27,000 donations from fans after the Buffalo Bills QB's grandmother, Patricia Allen, passed away last November.

The contributions -- which totaled around $1.1 million -- were used to open up the Patricia Allen Pediatric Recovery Wing.

The 25-year-old Pro Bowler was in person for the awesome launch on Monday ... and took a tour of the 10th floor's brand new recovery center.

"It's such a surreal moment," Allen said, "I'm so grateful to have this honor, to have my grandmother immortalize like this."

The new wing also has a "Bills Fans Fun Zone" -- a playroom dedicated to the 27,000 fans who donated.

"I'm so indebted to this great community and the city of Buffalo," Allen added. "We can't thank you guys enough for allowing us to be a part of this."

Jeff Bezos wants to get commerce going in the Milky Way -- something he's more than welcome to do, just so long as he pays Earthling taxes beforehand ... so says Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

We got the U.S. Senator Tuesday in D.C. where our photog asked what she made of Bezos' just-announced plan to get a space business park going via his rocket company, Blue Origin. Liz is totally good with that -- on the condition he ponies up to Uncle Sam first.

Check out this convo ... Sen. Warren says she doesn't care what JB does with his dough, but insists it should be money he has left over AFTER he gets fairly taxed on his wealth.

This is a hot debate right now, as Dems are trying to push through legislation that will see billionaires taxed annually on their unrealized capital gains -- which they say will help fund a lot of what President Biden is trying to accomplish with his infrastructure bill.

The Senator alludes to that here ... saying Bezos doesn't have an annual income that's easily taxable, which is why she says we've gotta be able to tax his overall wealth for true equity.

As you know, Bezos has been in a space race of sorts with other billionaires, who all seem eager to get the hell outta Dodge and conquer a new frontier.

The guy who gave back Tom Brady's 600th TD pass ball might have cost himself a small fortune ... 'cause one memorabilia expert says the pigskin was worth at least $500K!!

Here's the deal ... after catching the record-setting touchdown pass from Brady in the 1st quarter of the Bucs' win over the Bears, Mike Evans ran over to a Tampa Bay fan and gave away the ball.

Evans didn't think much of it at the time -- he does the nice gesture after most of his TDs -- but when he got back to the sideline, he realized his blunder.

Cameras at Raymond James Stadium caught Mike full of regret over handing away the valuable item (no player in NFL history has ever thrown for 600 in their careers) ... and eventually, Bucs staffers got to work on getting it back.

Somehow, during the middle of the game, the team convinced the guy to return the ball ... a move auction expert Ken Goldin says could have cost him HALF A MILLION DOLLARS -- and maybe even more than that.

"Given how historic this ball is as the first 600th TD in NFL history," Goldin said, "I'd estimate this ball to be worth a minimum of $500,000 (and possibly much more)."

The fan said during an interview mid-game that he gave back the ball simply because he was told Brady really wanted it.

"The trainer came over and asked for it," the fan said. "What am I going to do? Say no to Tom Brady?"

The fan added that he was promised some swag and maybe a handshake from Brady in return for it all.

As for Brady's side of it all, he was pleased with the guy's good gesture -- telling reporters after the game, "He’s going to get something nice in return."

"We'll get him a helmet or a couple of jerseys or some other stuff. It was really cool of him to do that."

Britney Spears has more to get off her chest as it relates to her family -- whom she says have caused irreparable harm ... which she's not going to be quiet about anymore.

The singer took to IG Monday with a not-so-cryptic message ... one that was aimed directly at her blood relatives, it seems. She explains how every person she's ever opened to immediately abandons her in a time of need -- which she finds screwed up and is over with.

She adds, "This message is to my family ... for hurting me deeper than you'll ever know !!! I know the conservatorship is about to be over but I still want justice !!! I'm only 5'4" and I've played the bigger person my entire life ... do you know how hard that is ???"

Unclear who exactly this might be about, per se, but it seems to perhaps be for her younger sister, Jamie Lynn, who's been making headlines of late ... and not for great reasons.

As we've reported ... JLS is taking major heat for releasing a book right on the heels of her older sibling's conservatorship drama, which many find to be exploitative. Britney, too, appears to agree with that -- and has issued a broader warning shot at her brood ... saying they better pray she doesn't do any interviews, where she might really spill the beans.

And, of course, Britney has already expressed anger toward her parents, Jamie and Lynne Spears, so her reference to "family" seems all-inclusive.

Keanu Reeves knows how to treat his movie crew right -- the guy handed his 'John Wick' stuntmen new watches as a thank-you for their services. Oh, and they were Rolexes!.

The veteran actor, who's beloved in Hollywood, kept his nice-guy rep going strong over the weekend ... when he dished out brand-new 2020 Submariners to 4 guys in Paris, who went to the mat for him on camera -- this as "John Wick 4" completed filming.

One of the stuntmen, Jeremy Marinas, took to social media to post photos of the Rolexes ... writing "Best wrap gift ever." He showed closeups of the timepiece, which was even engraved with a custom message, courtesy of Keanu and co.

Looks like each stunt guy got his own name etched in, as well as being assigned a number ... Jeremy here appears to have been the fifth "John Wick," as it were. KR is probs #1.

JM also got a shot of all the stuntmen (plus Keanu) holding their watches close together in unison -- and it's pretty freaking awesome, especially when you consider the retail price tag here comes in just under $10k a pop.

Like we said, this makes for a great gesture from Keanu -- and speaks to how much he appreciates folks who work behind the scenes and help bring his projects to fruition.

Here's something new ... Dr. Anthony Fauci getting grilled, but not over COVID-19 -- instead it's allegations his agency used taxpayer dollars to fund torturous dog research ... and a congresswoman's turning up the heat.

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina explained why she fired off a letter to Fauci last week ... in which she and 23 of her colleagues (from both sides of the aisle) asked him to sit for a hearing on the subject.

The Congresswoman told us on "TMZ Live" ... Fauci handles a lot of the National Institutes of Health's distribution of grants, and, therefore, he should step up to explain why it's backing such a brutal study.

As we reported ... a watchdog group claims to have obtained documents linking NIH/NIAID-funded animal testing overseas -- in which around 44 beagle puppies were gruesomely killed during experiments with sandflies.

Rep. Mace notes that most Americans would NOT be okay with their taxpayer dollars going toward such awful research ... so, she simply wants to find out why that's allegedly happening.

Cardi B has at least one bright idea about what she can give Offset for his 30th birthday -- and she's confident it will top his present to her ... assuming he's into good lovin'.

We ran into the rapper at LAX, where she was incognito and COVID-safe ... she still stood out like a sore thumb, though, on account of her unique nails. Anyway, we got to talking birthdays, because her husbands is coming up in a couple months -- and he just hooked her up with a new house in the Dominican Republic for her born day.

The natural question: Whatcha gonna get him in December that beats that???

Cardi's a little stumped on the question, but after some quick brainstorming -- she comes up with a possibility that literally made us laugh out loud. We'll say this ... Offset will NOT be disappointed. No Dad sweaters for him.

BTW, our camera guy noted something important ... Cardi might not have to get Offset a house or anything material at all, because she DID just deliver their son, who hit the big 5-0 himself on Sunday.

50 days, that is -- and still no pics of the little guy on Cardi's socials or anything -- ditto for his name. We ask Cardi about that too, and she admits we almost got her to spill the beans!!!

Young Thug is about that big spender lifestyle -- especially when it comes to his pal 21 Savage ... who just hit 29, and YT went all out for his very pricey gift ... some very expensive wheels.

21's birthday was on Friday, and he celebrated with a major Freaknik-themed bash in the ATL. You might've seen the awesome fire red pickup truck Thug gifted to his homey -- but what you didn't know, until now, is the whip cost $150k!!!

The price gets up there quick when it's a completely customized ride.

Roadshow International -- a luxury car dealership in Atlanta -- tells TMZ ... the truck itself is a Dodge Hellcat TRX, new models of which can range anywhere from $60k to $72k right off the lot. But, watch this video showing all the truck's features and you'll see why Thug paid way more than that.

The truck is plastered with dagger logos ... which lines up with Sav's signature face tat, which is an ode to his younger brother who was slain years ago. It also has a "21" emblazoned across the door.

Not just that, but the interior bears 21 Savage's face too ... a rendering of himself is stitched right into the upholstery of some of the seats -- so there's no question whose ride this is.

Buy all the Nikes you want ... nothings toppin' these 1984 kicks Michael Jordan rocked back in the day, 'cause the historic sneakers just sold for a record $1.47 million at auction!

The size 13 white and red Nike Air Ships are from Jordan's fifth game of his 1984 rookie season -- the first model of basketball sneakers worn by His Airness as a pro athlete.

In fact, Nike made these -- and a black and red colorway (known as the 'Bred') -- for the Hall of Famer while the Air Jordan 1s were still being made.

MJ signed and gave the priceless kicks to a Denver Nuggets Ball Boy, Tommie Tim III Lewis -- who kept them safe -- until recently putting the kicks on the market with Sotheby's.

Sotheby's expected to sell the rare sneakers for over $1 million -- and did they ever -- closing Sunday with a final price of $1,472,000.

The lucky (and clearly wealthy) MJ fan who copped the kicks is Nick Fiorella, a high-end sports memorabilia collector.

And, that's a record for the highest-priced sneakers in an auction. The outright most expensive pair of sneakers ever belongs to a fan who copped Kanye West's “Grammy Worn” Nike Air Yeezy 1 prototypes. Those went for $1.8 million at a private sale.

Jeremy Piven may need a new wardrobe ... because we're told he's the victim of a home burglary that saw crooks get away with five figures worth of his threads.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Entourage" star had his Los Angeles area home broken into earlier this week, with thieves smashing a window to get inside Jeremy's crib.

It sounds like JP has expensive taste just like his fictional character Ari Gold ... because we're told the burglars made off with over $20,000 in clothes. Must be quite a haul.

Our sources say police are looking for videos to help them catch the perps ... but so far, we're told no arrests have been made.

It's unclear if Jeremy's place was specifically targeted, but we're told he was NOT home at the time of the burglary.