NFL

Who cares if it's trendy?! Dean Cain says he won't shame celebrities who wanna jump on the Dallas Cowboys bandwagon ... he's welcoming EVERYONE!!

Cain -- who briefly played with the Buffalo Bills -- was fired up in Malibu yesterday after Dallas beat the Seahawks -- and gave a bunch of the credit to head coach Jason Garrett ... who happens to be his good friend.

"Jump on our wagon!" Cain said ... while praising Jamie Foxx and LeBron James for finally breaking out their Cowboys gear this week.

So, will the Cowboys be able to keep up their winning ways? Cain has a theory -- check out the clip.

25 days after Roger Goodell announced a financial partnership between the NFL and a national domestic violence support hotline, zero money has changed hands ... TMZ Sports has learned.

In the wake of the Ray Rice scandal, the NFL commish addressed the media on Sept. 19th and announced "long-term partnerships to provide financial, operational and promotional support" to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

But we've learned the deal with the National Domestic Violence Hotline is still NOT finalized ... which means the organization has yet to receive the fat NFL check it's been counting on.

We spoke with Katie Ray-Jones -- CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline -- who tells us the two sides are still in negotiations and are "moving in good faith."

A rep for the NDVH says the org. is confident a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal will be finalized in the near future.

The question -- what's the holdup?

Ray-Jones tells us, "it's complicated" ... but it has to do with "modifying the language" in the agreement between the two sides.

Here's the problem -- the NDVH has already hired 20 employees in the wake of the NFL's announcement -- since call volume has been up more than 75% since the Ray Rice incident.

Eventually, the org. is gonna need the NFL checks to start rolling in ... or else.

It's trendy to be a Dallas Cowboys fan again ... just ask LeBron James and Jamie Foxx.

After the 'Boys beat up on the World Champion Seahawks in Seattle last night ... the closet opened and the celebrity bandwagoners began spilling out.

LeBron and Jamie have admitted to being Cowboys fans in the past -- but hadn't posted a single picture on Instagram supporting the team ... until now.

Funny how that works.

Also, LeBron touts himself as a Browns fan as well ... funny, he wasn't wearing any Cleveland gear after THEIR big win over the Steelers yesterday.

One guy who HAS been down with Big D all season long -- former "Dallas" star Josh Henderson ... who DEFENDED Tony Romo even when everyone else was calling for his head.

SHOTS FIRED!!!

Donald Trump is taking aim at the new Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula ... saying he's a LOSER who won't lead his team to a title.

Trump was in the running to buy the team, but was ultimately outbid by Pegula -- and this morning, Donald is saying the whole thing was a blessing in disguise.

"Even though I refused to pay a ridiculous price for the Buffalo Bills, I would have produced a winner. Now that won’t happen," Trump tweeted.

Trump added, "The people of Buffalo should be happy Terry Pegula got the team but I hope he does better w/the Bills than he has w/the Sabres. Good luck!"

Of course, Trump's referring to the Buffalo Sabres -- which Pegula also owns -- a team that flat out sucked over that past couple of seasons.

Well, this is weird.

The entire gang of Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers performed their pre-game ritual with LB coach Joey Porter before Sunday's game against the Browns ... and it was all caught on video.

Here's how it went down ... the LB crew lines up to give Porter a high-five ... each player getting lower to the ground than the guy before him -- culminating with a bizarre tandem leg-raising finale.

It's weird ... but if it works, who are we to judge ... right?

Terry Pegula JUST spent $1.4 BILLION to buy the Buffalo Bills ... but thankfully, he was able to scrounge up a few extra bucks to buy some brand team-colored shoes for his first game in charge!

Check out the new Bills owner on his way to watch his new team take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Hines Ward could have a serious bone to pick with Michael Irvin -- 'cause "The Playmaker" says Katy Perry made a big mistake wearing a #86 jersey on ESPN last week because "nobody great wears 86."

Irvin was at LAX when he raved about why Katy is the PERFECT choice for the Super Bowl halftime show (pleasant for you ears and for your eyes) ... and then went on to take a shot at #86.

"Next time wear #88," Irvin said to Katy ... "Nobody great wears #86!!"

For the record, here are some famous 86'ers other than Ward:

Todd Heap, Antonio Freeman and Raghib "The Rocket "Ismail.

"Brooklyn Nine-Nine" star Terry Crews tells TMZ Sports ... back when he used to play for the L.A. Rams, the Raiders fans hated his team so much, they THREATENED his wife and family.

Crews -- a former NFL linebacker -- played for the Rams back in 1991 ... back before the Raiders ditched L.A. and moved back to Oakland.

And last night in L.A., Crews told us some of the more insane fans of the Silver and Black took the rivalry so seriously, they threatened his wife and family.

It's pretty crazy stuff -- but Terry tells us it's not the Raiders fans that people need to worry about these days ... there's ANOTHER team in the Bay Area that's even scarier.

Katy Perry is getting major support for playing the Super Bowl Halftime show -- with an Oscar winning rapper vouching for the singer and warning the NFL ... you better not charge her to play!

TMZ Sports spoke with Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul -- who told us he's thrilled for Katy ... claiming she's the perfect fit for the big game -- and hopes it skyrockets her to another level.

"If you play the Super Bowl, that's a lot of money. You're reaching a whole new fan base. It'd be great for her career."

But DJ Paul says he read the reports about the NFL considering charging halftime acts to perform on their stage -- and says in Katy's case, she deserves a pass.

"Let her do it for free! She's a hot chick. Start charging next year."

We also spoke with Sir Mix-a-Lot ... who agrees with Paul -- the NFL would be INSANE to charge Katy a single cent.

"I wish no artists would pay. Do a concert with Katy Perry, Jay Z, Beyonce on an adjacent channel. Everyone would watch that while a boring f**king marching band plays the halftime show."

Diddy is no dummy ... so when he told us last night that he thinks it's a "great idea" for Rick Ross to buy a piece of the Miami Dolphins, The Boss should probably do it.

Earlier this week, Rick revealed that he sat down with Dolphins big wigs and talked about owning a piece of the NFL team

"It was a real positive conversation," Ross said.

So when we asked Diddy how he felt about it, the hip hop mogul not only gave his blessing ... but asked how he could help make it happen.

BTW -- Diddy doesn't own a team himself, but has stated in the past that he wants to own a MAJORITY stake in an NFL franchise in the future.

He's reportedly worth $580 million ... so it ain't exactly out of the picture.

It's FULL BLOWN WAR in the Adrian Peterson child abuse case -- with the prosecutor CALLING OUT THE JUDGE ... as an incompetent, trash-talking jerk who can't be trusted with the AP case.

TMZ Sports has obtained new court docs filed by the District Attorney of Montgomery County, TX ... who claims Judge Kelly Case didn't just call him a "media whore" behind his back -- he's been openly trashing the D.A.'s office for months.

As we previously reported, the D.A. demanded Judge Case apologize for the "media whore" comments during Wednesday's hearing -- and got it -- but now, the D.A. says the hostility runs much deeper than nasty comments.

According to the docs, the D.A. says Judge Case has unfairly blamed prosecutors for the media's unfavorable coverage of his mistakes on the bench ... and has showed a personal bias against the District Attorney.

Plus, the D.A. says Judge Case has had more of his decisions overturned on appeal than any other judge in the county ... proving he's constantly making bad rulings.

For his part, Judge Case laughed off the suggestion that he should recuse himself from the case at Wednesday's hearing -- but the D.A. is dead serious.

Donald Trump tells TMZ Sports ... he's not upset that he wasn't able to strike a deal to buy the Buffalo Bills -- because it would have been a bad investment anyway.

Trump was one of the big names in the hunt for the NFL team -- which ultimately sold to business mogul Terry Pegula for $1.4 BILLION.

But when we asked Trump about the situation Wednesday night, he didn't seem bothered by it at all ... telling us he didn't think it was a great financial move anyway.

The Raiders NEED Los Angeles ... and Los Angeles NEEDS the Raiders -- so says Hollywood legend Louis Gossett Jr. who tells TMZ Sports it's time to bring the Silver & Black back to where they belong.

Louis -- who recently appeared on "Celebrity Ghost Stories" -- says L.A. is still haunted by the ghosts of it's NFL past ... even since the Raiders left L.A. for Oakland back in '95.

The only way to exercise the demon??? BRING 'EM BACK!!!

Fireworks in the Adrian Peterson child abuse case today ... as AP's lawyer demanded a rush order on the trial so the NFL star could get back on the field.

But here's the craziest part -- prosecutors asked the judge to RECUSE himself from the case because he recently referred to AP's lawyer Rusty Hardin as a "whore" ... specifically a "media whore."

The prosecutor says the judge also called HIM a "media whore" as well.

The judge was taken aback -- and insisted he was just trying to be funny when he made the comments ... but the prosecutor wasn't laughing and demanded an apology.

Get this ... THE JUDGE DID APOLOGIZE ... and then advised the prosecutor to file a formal request laying out his arguments as to why he should step down.

Hardin then chimed in ... "For the record, I don’t take offense to it judge. I’ve been called much worse."

Meantime, AP's lawyer told the judge he wanted to schedule the trial ASAP for 2 big reasons:

1) AP is unable to play in the NFL until this legal situation is resolved and he wants to get back on the field THIS SEASON.

2) He believes AP is "getting killed" in the media and can't fight back outside the courtroom.

He also says AP is "chomping at the bit" to defend himself publicly but has been advised by his lawyers to not fight the battle in the headlines.

The judge set a trial date for December 1st ... but AP's lawyer says he's going to push to move the date up to November if another case falls off the docket.

This is a VERY COOL moment caught on tape ... when NFL star Dwight Freeney meets up with Kobe Bryant -- and gives a bunch of kids in an after-school program the surprise of their lives!!!

It all went down in San Diego on October 6th -- Dwight took 10 kids from the After School All Stars program (helping at-risk youth) to watch the Lakers take on the Denver Nuggets.

But after the game, the gang went to a VIP area ... where they all got to meet The Black Mamba!!

Check out the clip -- the kids are pumped, Kobe's pumped, Dwight's pumped ... and they all took pics to memorialize the special moment.

Pretty cool, right?

Ex-NFL star Larry Johnson's brawling ways got him 86'd from Miami's hottest nightclubs ... even BEFORE he got arrested because the guy's been making violent threats against club owners and promoters.

Sources in multiple MIA clubs tell TMZ Sports ... Johnson was banned earlier this year after folks around town started noticing his combative behavior. One source described him as a "walking time bomb."

We're told top celeb hangouts Mansion, Mokai, Set, Story and Liv (where the Miami Heat always hang out) ... all put the kibosh on Johnson, and he's clearly pissed about it. Just last week he posted (and then deleted) an Instagram saying he'd whoop the asses of club people.

We broke the story... Johnson was arrested Tuesday morning after cops say he attacked a man with broken glass inside a bar at the Delano Hotel.