New England Patriots

Eli Manning claims he doesn't give a crap about the pressure in his footballs -- and says the fact that Tom Brady obsesses over it seems incredibly strange to him ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 2-time Super Bowl champ was a guest speaker at a private function at the New York Athletic Club last week when he was asked for his opinion on Deflate-Gate.

"I never worried really much about the inflation," Manning said ... "I thought it was kind of strange that [Tom] Brady knew he liked his ball at 12.5 pounds of pressure in the ball."

"That's the minimum number you can have ... seems kind of strange to me."

But get this, Manning says he's not convinced the pressure in the ball "is that big of a deal" ... and claims the Brady scandal is the first he's ever heard of an issue with inflation.

Manning -- who seems to be the bane of New England's existence when it comes to Super Bowls -- also told the crowd what he thinks could be the key to another Seattle victory.

Do you like mystery novels? Do you like mystery novels that have secret jail messages from Aaron Hernandez to other inmates hidden inside them? Then you might be in luck ...

We broke the story ... Hernandez was investigated for trying to sneak notes to other inmates at Bristol County Jail in 2013 by allegedly penning messages inside jail library books ... which the other inmates would then check out. It's pretty Shawshankian stuff.

Now, one of the books that Aaron allegedly used to pass the notes has hit eBay -- asking price? $2,000. The seller is keeping the contents of the note secret as part of the sales appeal.

The seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells TMZ Sports he got the book from a guy who managed to sneak it out of the clink. More Shawshankian stuff.

And get this ... the book is "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" by Walter Mosley ... a crime novel about the fictional Easy Rawlins ... a man who faced murder charges in a previous Mosley story.

In the books (spoiler alert), Rawlins was able to prove his innocence and beat the rap.

Wonder if Hernandez chose this particular book hoping life imitates art ... or if it just happened to be the only writing he could grab.

The NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker room attendant who might be the cuplrit behind the deflated football scandal ... this according to a new report.

According to Jay Glazer and FOX Sports, surveillance video allegedly shows the attendant taking footballs from the official's locker room and going into another room at Gillette Stadium before bringing them to the field.

The attendant in question has already been interviewed by the league, according to Glazer. The NFL is trying to determine if any wrongdoing occurred.

T.O.'s callin' B.S. on T.B.

It's clear, the "Celebrity Apprentice" ain't buyin' Tom Brady's excuse that he had no idea his footballs were under-inflated during the AFC Championship game earlier this month.

Terrell Owens -- who played 15 seasons in the NFL -- told us it's "obvious" when the ball isn't pumped up to the league standard ... especially for a guy who has as much experience as Brady.

Tom Brady had a message Thursday -- he doesn't screw around when it comes to his balls.

But we do ... which is why TMZ Sports proudly presents the Tom Brady Deflate-Gate Remix.

C'mon, you saw the news conference -- he was practically beggin' for someone to put this to a beat.

Enjoy!

So, Richard Sherman and a llama walk into a bar ...

Actually, it was a studio ... and one of them launched into a expletive-laced rant against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, in general -- kicking off Super Bowl smack talking season.

The whole thing is an ad for one of Sherman's sponsors -- but the Seattle Seahawks superstar might wanna take notes. The llama gets in a pretty good jab at Brady's favorite footwear.

Only thing missing? A shot at Brady's balls.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says he "had no knowledge" of the deflate-gate scandal until Monday morning ... and has "no explanation" for why the team's balls were under-inflated.

Belichick says the team has complied with the NFL investigation into the AFC Championship game -- in which the Pats were using under-inflated balls, which some say are easier to throw and catch.

Bill told the media, "I have no explanation for what happened."

Belichick explained that giving his team an advantage by tampering with the footballs has "never been a priority for me."

In fact, Bill says ... for years he has made his team practice with crappy footballs -- "the balls we practice with are as bad as they can be" -- and has never even thought about deflating the footballs to make it easier for his team.

"I've told you all I know about the subject from my perspective ... I don't have an explanation."

Super Bowl XLIX isn't just the Seahawks vs. the Patriots ... it's Captain America vs Star-Lord ... because Chris Evans and Chris Pratt just laid down an EPIC bet on the big game in Arizona.

It all started Monday, the day after Evans' Patriots clinched a spot in the Super Bowl by deflating the Colts 45-7. He took to twitter to remind his fellow Marvel Super Hero that for the next two weeks they ain't buds.

"Well, well, well @prattprattpratt, looks like our teams are going into battle. For the next 2 weeks, you are not my friend, you are my enemy."

That's when Pratt -- a huge Seahawks fan -- laid down the gauntlet, proposing a bet whereby if the the Seahawks win, Evans has to fly to Seattle and visit a local children's hospital in full Captain America regalia, waving the 12th Man flag.

Well, Captain America never backs down from a fight ... and fired back, saying that if the Patriots win Star-Lord has to show up at his non-profit housing venture "Christopher's Haven," in a Tom Brady jersey.

C'mon ... this is pretty awesome.

Under-inflated footballs had NOTHING to do with the outcome of the Pats vs. Colts game ... so says Indy linebacker Erik Walden who tells TMZ Sports they got outplayed ... period.

"I don't think it made any difference," Walden says of the flatter pigskins ... "They whooped us. We got our asses whooped."

"It doesn't matter what was wrong with the balls ... they beat us by such a large margin."

Walden also says he doesn't think it's worth the NFL's time to punish the Pats -- saying, "You just got to give them credit for how they played."

"Hats off to [The Patriots]. They were the better team."

Deflated balls or not ... the New England Patriots kicked Indy's ass this weekend -- and the amount of air in the pigskin had NOTHING to do with it ... so says ex-NFL QB Rodney Peete.

Peete -- who played in the NFL for 16 years -- says the whole "Deflate-Gate" scandal is being blown way out of proportion ... because despite the pressure in the footballs, "you still gotta play the game."

Rodney also says slightly deflated balls don't give a QB an advantage -- "You still gotta make the throws."

C'mon, this is adorable ... even if you're a Colts fan.

With the New England Patriots gearing up to take on Indianapolis for the AFC championship later today, Tom Brady's kids are doing their part to cheer on their dad.

Tom's three children -- John, Benny and Vivian -- threw on their #12 jerseys and made a sign for Tom that read, "Go Patriots! Love you Daddy!"

Tom's wife Gisele also posted a note that read, "We are ready!!"

Sidenote -- look at the view from Brady's house. Ridiculous.

New England fans beware -- a trio of New Yorkers made thousands off Tom Brady and the Patriots by selling fake tickets to Sunday's AFC Championship game ... according to cops.

The alleged counterfeiters were busted by police in a Boston suburb on Thursday after a Patriots fan called cops suspecting he'd been ripped off by the sellers.

Police say the fan responded to a Craigslist ad for tickets, met the sellers at a Holiday Inn ... and forked over $900 for 4 tickets to the Pats-Colts showdown. It's unclear why he thought the tix were fakes.

Cops busted the suspects -- all from NY in their early to mid 20s -- and seized thousands of dollars in cash ... as well as more counterfeit tickets.

The New York/Boston rivalry just took an interesting turn -- with NY Giants co-owner Steve Tisch telling us he's rooting for Tom Brady to beat the Colts this weekend ... and eventually hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Tisch was out at Craig's in L.A. last night -- when we asked if it's cool for NFL owners to root for another team after their own squad gets eliminated from the playoffs.

Steve says he's got some pretty good reasons for backing New England -- including the fact he's already beaten the Pats the last two times they faced 'em in the Big Game.

Ben Affleck says the Baltimore Ravens are the absolute WORST matchup for his beloved Patriots ... telling TMZ Sports he's got a healthy fear of Joe Flacco.

A pumped up Affleck (seriously, this dude is SWOLL) was leaving Tavern in Brentwood when he told us he wishes Brady and company were facing a weaker opponent this weekend (a shot at the Steelers perhaps?).

Check out the clip ... Affleck breaks down the NFL playoffs and even tells us the teams he fears the most.

But when push comes to shove, Ben says he believes in his boys ... though he wouldn't go as far as his BFF Matt Damon -- who predicted a Super Bowl victory earlier this week.

Stay tuned ...

Gronk scores touchdown. Gronk spikes football. Gronk makes married woman wanna cheat on her husband.

That's basically the plot for a brand new erotica novel called "A Gronking to Remember" ... an X-rated book (available on Amazon) penned by a woman with a serious obsession with the Patriots tight end.

The book is a 38-page fantasy by Lacey Noonan -- who drones on and on about how watching Rob Gronkowski play football sends "jiggling ribbons of electric jelly" through her body.

To complicate things, the main character says her husband isn't getting the job done in the bedroom -- leaving her "aching for a love pummeling" from #87.

Terrell Suggs ain't gonna like this video.

New England Patriots superfan Matt Damon just told us he fully expects his squad to dominate the Ravens next week (and everyone else in Tom Brady's path) ... on their way to ANOTHER Super Bowl title this year.

"I think there's a lot of good competition there," Damon said at LAX this weekend ... "but I'm a big believer in the Patriots."

"Patriots are going all the way."

Damon said the same thing when the Ravens took on the Pats in the NFL Playoffs back in 2013 ... only to come up with some thin excuses after Baltimore pulled off the upset.

We will say this though ... check out the clip from 2013 and check out the clip from yesterday -- Matt always signs autographs, takes pics with fans and couldn't be a nicer guy.