NFL

Tom Brady has some big support coming his way after beating Roger Goodell and the NFL in court on Thursday ... but David Ortiz may be the biggest supporter of them all.

As our friends at BSO pointed out ... Papi posted a tweet after hearing the news of Brady's 4-game suspension being lifted ... showing some Boston love after the New England QB was set free.

Shouldn't be surprised by the support ... both Beantown sports legends are no strangers to championships and controversy ... so they definitely have stuff to bond over.

The NFL's first female coach is getting some major support from an unlikely ally ... Floyd Mayweather ... who reached out to Jen Welter and offered her ringside seats to his next fight because he's a huge fan.

FYI -- Welter made history earlier this year when she was offered a coaching "internship" with the Arizona Cardinals ... working primarily with the linebackers.

We spoke with Welter's rep who tells us ... after her story attracted national attention, they got a call from Team Mayweather ... who offered 2 ringside seats to his upcoming fight against Andre Berto.

We're told Mayweather is a fan -- and wanted to show his support. As for Welter, she's flattered and we're told she's definitely planning on attending.

Backup QBs always stick together -- just ask Chad Henne who says Jimmy Garoppolo shouldn't be bitter now that he's lost the starting job ... saying, "It's the way the business goes."

Of course, Jimmy G was all set to cover for Tom Brady as the starting QB for the New England Patriots for the first 4 games of the season ... but that was BEFORE Tom's suspension was overturned.

But Henne -- who's the #2 QB in Jacksonville at the moment -- says Jimmy needs to stay positive ... and more importantly, stay ready.

To say New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft thinks highly of his star QB is a gross understatement ... and the proof is in his post-Deflategate comments on the situation.

"As I have said during this process and throughout his Patriots career, Tom Brady is a classy person of the highest integrity," Kraft said.

"He represents everything that is great about this game and this league."

Geez, get a room already ...

Still. Kraft goes on ... "Yet, with absolutely no evidence of any actions of wrongdoing by Tom in the Wells report, the lawyers at the league still insisted on imposing and defending unwarranted and unprecedented discipline. Judge Richard Berman understood this and we are greatly appreciative of his thoughtful decision that was delivered today."

Snoop Dogg is calling B.S. on the Tom Brady ruling -- basically saying it ain't fair that Brady will skate ... while players suspended for weed will still be forced to miss games.

Snoop is specifically pissed over Le'Veon Bell -- the Pittsburgh Steelers running back who's suspended for 2 games stemming from a marijuana arrest back in 2014.

In his rant, Snoop calls the situation "bulls**t" ... and then writes, "Do we get leveon bell 26 bac for game one or does this rule just apply to qbs?"

Hellofa move from New York Giants WR Victor Cruz this weekend ... when he stopped his pal outside of a NYC nightclub and gave him an impromptu DUI test to make sure he wasn't going to drive drunk.

Cruz and his pals were leaving Club Opus around 3:45 AM on Sunday -- when Victor tells his friend to "walk 3 steps" to prove he was sober.

Unclear if Cruz felt his friend passed the test -- but he definitely let the rest of the group know they should keep an eye out for their buddy.

The group eventually left -- and it didn't appear as if the friend was going to drive ... so props to everyone involved.

How good is Odell Beckham Jr.? So good that NFL legend Herschel Walker thinks he can defeat one of the most powerful forces in the history of sports ... the dreaded "Madden Curse."

Walker -- who is kicking the hell out of father time we must say -- was out in NY when we asked if Odell's 2015 season was in jeopardy ... since he's the coverboy for Madden '16.

If you didn't know ... some believe gracing the cover of Madden comes with seriously bad juju ... with athletes like Shaun Alexander, Daunte Culpepper, and Donovan McNabb suffering tragic injuries the same year they did it.

Check out the clip -- Herschel's heard of the curse but he basically thinks nothing ... not even supernatural forces ... can stop the force of nature that is Odell Beckham Jr.

The NFL may be a passing league, but when it comes to fantasy ... the greatest wide receiver of all time says your #1 pick should still be a RUNNING BACK.

We got Jerry Rice out in NYC Thursday -- and he told us Adrian Peterson is the key to a fantasy championship.

Interesting pick, considering A.P. has crossed the dreaded 30-year-old barrier AND he didn't play a single snap last season.

NY Jets stud Nick Mangold is an All-Pro level crime stopper after playing a crucial part in cops busting a roving pack of teenagers, turned alleged car burglars.

Here's how it went down ... cops say Nick was awakened early Sunday morning at his Chatham, NJ home when his car alarm started blaring. Nick ran to his garage and found the door was open ... so he immediately dialed 911.

Cops rushed to the 'hood and tracked down 5 suspects, just one mile from Mangold's crib. An 18 and a 19-year-old were arrested, along with 3 juveniles -- and the J-E-T-S center might have hit the jackpot with that phone call.

We're told there's been a string of more than 40 car burglaries in the area recently!

Things are moving pretty quickly between Michael Vick and the Pittsburgh Steelers ... with sources close to Vick telling TMZ Sports the QB hopes both sides can reach a deal by "the end of the day."

Our Vick sources tell us ... the QB had received "multiple offers" from NFL teams, including the Steelers -- but he really liked what Pittsburgh is bringing to the table.

Vick flew out to the Steel City this morning to meet with the team.

Wanna see a billionaire NFL owner get downright FUNKY to a hip-hop song??? Great, us too.

Tom Brady is getting chopped down to size by famed 'Watergate' journalist Carl Bernstein ... who says the Patriots QB can't hold a candle to Richard Nixon.

Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams players are already in playoff form -- squaring off in a sidelines-clearing brawl that included Dez Bryant taking what he calls a "cheap shot" to the face.

Steve Tisch has seen the Patriots cheerleaders dripping in brand new Super Bowl diamonds, and he's not impressed ... at least not financially speaking.

The co-owner of the G-Men was doing lunch at Il Pastaio in L.A. ... where we keyed him in on the pics TMZ Sports posted of the rival Pats and their cheer squad continuing to celebrate SB XLIX.

Of course, the Giants are one of 6 NFL teams that do NOT have cheerleaders -- and when you see this vid of Tisch's reaction to the new Patriots bling ... you'll understand why that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Important note: the following mathematical theory only applies to teams with a penchant for winning Super Bowls ... like the Giants and the Patriots.

Darrelle Revis is giving the "ALL CLEAR" on fights between Jets players ... one week after his QB Geno Smith got sucker punched by backup linebacker IK Enemkpali.

We stepped onto Revis Island -- on the island of Manhattan -- after he made a coffee run, and asked if the dust had settled in Gang Green's locker room.

DR did his best to calm the nerves of Jets fans everywhere, but he had less luck calming down a persistent autograph seeker.

Giants owner Steve Tisch is putting a ton of trust in his players, because he says the team will NOT ban them from using fireworks ... despite Jason Pierre-Paul's gruesome injury.

Tisch was out in Bev Hills when we asked him if they've considered adding fireworks to the list of high risk activities they don't want players doing in the off-season.

Remember, Tisch's star DE mangled his right hand in a 4th of July accident -- and so did Tampa Bay Bucs player C.J. Wilson, whose injuries were so bad he had to retire at 25.

So, we were kinda shocked by Tisch's response to our question. Check out the clip ... he explained why he thinks his G-Men can police themselves.