NFL

Former Carolina Panthers star Greg Hardy is off the hook in his domestic violence case ... after prosecutors say the accuser could not be located to testify against him.

The 26-year-old was arrested in North Carolina back in May after his GF told cops he beat the living crap out of her and threatened to kill her during a jealous late night rage.

Hardy was convicted -- but he appealed the case ... and a hearing was supposed to begin Monday.

But prosecutors told the judge Hardy's ex went off the grid -- and with no accuser, there's essentially no case ... and the charges against Hardy were dismissed.

Abandon all hope of a "Weird Al" Super Bowl Halftime show ... 'cause the 4-time Grammy nominee tells TMZ Sports it's NEVER gonna happen ... despite hardcore support from the fans.

Before the big game, more than 100,000 people signed a petition begging the NFL to select Yankovic as halftime entertainment at Super Bowl XLIX.

But the NFL went with Katy Perry instead -- and Al tells us he doesn't ever see the league offering him the gig.

"It would be fun, but I don't think I'll ever be on the NFL's short list," Al says ... "It's not gonna happen."

Hey, it's the NFL's loss.

More than 100 MILLION people watched him in the Super Bowl ... and he was calm under pressure.

But New England Patriots hero Malcolm Butler got super nervous last night at the 2015 Grammys when he and Julian Edelman presented one of the awards ... with less than 1/3 of the audience watching.

Don't get us wrong -- we love the guy ... but you could feel his nerves through the TV (deep breath man!!!).

Meantime, Julian Edelman's right ... Josh Duhamel does look like Tom Brady.

Warren Sapp wasn't exactly Mr. Congeniality at the NFL Network -- with a whole bunch of employees telling TMZ Sports they're GLAD he's gone ... because he was a nightmare to work with.

We broke the story ... Sapp was fired from his gig as an analyst for the NFL Network after he was arrested for soliciting prostitutes in AZ last Monday.

Now, after speaking with nearly a DOZEN current and former employees ... everyone is telling us the same thing -- GOOD RIDDANCE!!

In fact, the people we spoke with ... ranging from low-level people all the way up to big shots ... told us there was an unofficial "Sapp Disclaimer" when it came to interacting with the Hall of Famer.

Among the highlights:

-Don't look Warren in the eyes (seriously).

-Introduce yourself, but DO NOT try to befriend him.

-Call him Warren. NEVER call him "Sapp."

Of course, there are Sapp supporters ... but even they couldn't really defend the guy.

As one person put it, "I know certain people [at the Network] complained about the guy a lot but overall he was always cool ... just unpredictable."

Another person told us, "Warren has had one too many chances to get it right, and it just didn't work out for him. We all wish him well in the end."

As for his tough reputation around the office, it's not the first time we've heard that about Sapp -- back when he was on "Dancing with the Stars" he was known as the "diva" on set ... and was constantly causing problems.

Terrell Owens has been hit with ANOTHER big tax bill from the IRS -- but the ex-NFL star tells TMZ Sports he's already in the process of cleaning up the mess.

According to official documents filed in the L.A. County Recorder's Office, 41-year-old Owens is still on the hook for $107,297.60 in federal income taxes from 2013.

Owens is no stranger to tax issues -- he's been hit with at least 4 tax liens in the past ... but has settled all but one of those debts.

T.O. has been pretty open about his financial blunders -- and has been adamant about his desire to get his bank affairs in order.

The NFL is exploding in Europe -- and there could be a team there in the next 5 years ... but not everyone in the league is jumping at the chance to work overseas.

Just ask Dallas Cowboys superstar Orlando Scandrick ... who tells TMZ Sports he loves to travel and vacation in Europe, but if it ever came to working there full time -- it's just not for him.

His reality star GF Draya Michele isn't as opposed to it ... in fact, she was pretty pumped at the thought of moving to Paris or Milan!

But Scandrick says if it were up to him, he'd spend the rest of his career in Big D -- telling us he loves everything about the city ... from the fans to the ownership.

Rob Gronkowski ain't the only guy on the Patriots who loves to party -- Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler hit the club scene hard in Vegas last night ... and TMZ Sports has the pics!

Butler was the guest of honor at Chateau nightclub in the Paris Las Vegas -- where the 24-year-old got his own booth, his own custom champagne ... and his own personal cheerleaders.

Multiple sources tell us Butler was super nice to everyone -- taking pics with fans and dancing all night long.

It's been a pretty good month for Butler -- as we previously reported, Chevy decided to give him a FREE TRUCK for making that game-saving interception in the Super Bowl.

Dallas Cowboys RB Joseph Randle tried to pay his baby mama $20k to abort their child ... but she turned him down ... so says Randle's ex who's now going after the NFL player for child support.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Dalia Jacobs has filed court docs in Kansas demanding Randle fork over more than $5k-per-month to help pay for their 1-year-old son.

Jacobs says Randle has barely been involved in the kid's life ... and made it clear from the start he was not supportive of the pregnancy.

"When she told him she was pregnant, he offered her $5,000 ... then $10,000 ... followed by $20,000 to have the child aborted," Dalia's attorney Charlie O'Hara tells TMZ Sports.

Dalia obviously rejected the offer ... and says their relationship has a been a nightmare ever since.

In fact, it was Dalia who called police from a hotel in Wichita last weekend claiming Randle had a gun and was in fear for her life. Randle was arrested for marijuana possession (that charge has since been dropped) but cops are still investigating the allegations of domestic violence.

2:20 PM PT -- Chevy confirms Butler will get his own truck on Tuesday.

Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler is one step closer to getting a free truck ... because the powers that be at Chevy are actively discussing hooking him up ... so Tom Brady won't have to give up his MVP ride.

TMZ Sports spoke with a rep for Chevrolet who tells us ... they're well aware of Tom's intentions to give his Chevy Colorado to Butler ... but they don't want to see Tom part ways with the vehicle.

"Obviously, it was part of his prize as MVP, but we're aware of Tom Brady's wishes for Malcolm to have the truck," the rep tells us.

So, we asked if Chevy would be giving Butler a ride of his own ... and the rep told us, "We've discussed it. That's all I can really say right now."

Sounds to us like plans are in motion ... but when we pushed, the rep was pretty tight lipped.

Bottom line ... if you're Malcolm Butler, you might wanna start making room in your garage.

Chris Pratt is like a Lannister ... he always pays his debts -- and today, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" star dressed up as Star-Lord to make good on his Super Bowl wager with Chris Evans.

You already know the bet ... Star-Lord (Seahawks fan) and Captain America (Pats fan) agreed to visit the other actor's charity in costume if their team lost the big game.

Well, today it happened ... with Pratt -- in character -- hangin' with kids from Christopher's Haven in Boston ... an organization that helps provide housing for families with children fighting pediatric cancer.

Don't worry, Evans was there the whole time to follow Pratt around with a Tom Brady jersey.

And the story gets better ... because Evans says he'll be visiting Pratt's charity too -- a Seattle Children's Hospital.

To the victor, GO THE CHEESEBURGERS ... so says Rob Gronkowski who tells TMZ Sports he's been on a celebratory cheeseburger binge ever since he won the big game.

"I've been eating cheeseburgers off the charts," Gronk told us out in NYC earlier today.

Don't worry, the burgerfest is only temporary ... Gronk says he'll be back on his regular diet in just a few days -- but if anyone's EARNED a burger break, it's this guy.

Bonus -- Gronk told us he'll be spending time in L.A. this summer and says he hopes he can continue making waves in Hollywood ... where he's already landed a movie role ("Entourage") and TV cameos ("Whose Line Is It Anyway?").

Brandon Marshall is a dad ... TIMES TWO ... 'cause his wife Michi just gave birth to twins last month -- and the NFL star says she's already bounced back to her pre-baby weight!

The Chicago Bears wide receiver says the kids just celebrated their 6 week birthday -- and just like Wladimir Klitschko, he's super impressed with his bad ass wife.

"My beautiful wife is not from this planet," Marshall says ... "6 weeks post baby (×2) and she's already at her pre baby (×2) weight. Her discipline with her diet and mutant genes has her #snapback game #CRAZY."

Congrats!

Could Dallas Cowboys star Orlando Scandrick become a bathing suit model???

The answer is "yes" if it's up to his reality star girlfriend Draya Michele ... who tells TMZ Sports she's planning on launching a men's swimsuit line -- and only has ONE guy on her mind when it comes to modeling her stuff.

There's just one problem ... Draya knows Orlando ain't too keen when it comes to off-the-field publicity -- but the "Basketball Wives" star (and fashion designer) says she can be pretty convincing when she wants to be.

Supermodel Chrissy Teigen is coming out swingin' against the woman who shot a pic of a sleeping Julian Edelman and posted it to Tinder ... slamming the whole thing stupid and ridiculous.

The woman who snapped the shot, Sabrina, has already been blacklisted from Boston nightclubs by people who feel she shamelessly violated the New England Patriot player's privacy.

And Wednesday at The Grove in L.A., Teigen told us the problem is bigger than it seems -- "A lot of chicks do that sh*t. It's so ridiculous."

Teigen explained, "Everyone's a little too proud nowadays. I think these girls should relax a bit."

Emmitt Smith's accused of being a total asphalt -- and screwing a concrete supply company out of nearly $50k worth of cement ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

Smith -- besides being a NFL legend -- is also the head of Emmitt Smith Enterprises which is the parent company to EJ Smith Supply ... a construction company based in Dallas.

But according to a new lawsuit, EJ Smith ordered $46,448.65 in product from Redi-Mix Concrete last summer -- and never forked over the cash.

Now Redi-Mix is going after the dough ... and they've personally named Emmitt in the lawsuit ... as well as EJ Smith Supply.

Pete Carroll says he actually cried over his Super Bowl fail ... but he's still defending his decision to PASS on that infamous play from the goal line.

The Seattle Seahawks coach sat down with NBC's Matt Lauer for the "Today" show -- and spilled his guts about the play that's been hailed as the worst call in Super Bowl history.

"I never make a call thinking it's gonna go bad," Carroll said ... "This was properly planned. It just didn't turn out well."

As for the tears, Carroll says he was hit with a wave of emotion around 4:05 AM the next day ... and just let the waterworks go.