NFL

Aaron Hernandez has just been found guilty of 1st degree murder in the killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd ... and has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Several people inside the courtroom began crying as the verdict was read ... including Aaron's fiancee and mother.

As the verdict was read, Hernandez was shaking his head in disbelief. At one point, Hernandez turned to his fiancee and mouthed the words, "Be strong."

25-year-old Hernandez -- a former superstar tight end for the New England Patriots -- killed Lloyd on June 17th, 2013. Lloyd was shot 6 times.

Aaron was also found guilty of illegal gun possession and illegal ammunition possession.

After sentencing in the Lloyd case, Hernandez will still stand trial in the shooting deaths of two people in Boston in 2012. That trial is scheduled to begin in May.

8:47 AM PT -- Hernandez has been ordered to serve time at MCI Cedar Junction at Walpole -- which is just under 4 miles from the stadium where the Patriots play.

8:39 AM PT -- Hernandez has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

8:18 AM PT -- Odin Lloyd's mother Ursula Ward is now addressing the court -- and explaining how Hernandez destroyed her life.

"I felt like I wanted to go into that hole with my son."

"I miss my baby boy Odin so much. But I know I will see him again some day. At that gives me the strength to go on."

The grandmother of the man allegedly killed by ex-NFL star Lawrence Phillips tells TMZ Sports ... she's not mad at him -- saying, "If [my grandson] was going to stay in jail for 80 years, maybe this was better."

As we previously reported, Phillips -- the #6 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft -- is the main suspect in the murder of his prison cellmate Damion Soward in Kern Valley State Prison in California.

We spoke with Damion's grandmother who told us several interesting things, including:

1) Damion's 1st cousin is former NFL wide receiver R. Jay Soward (a 1st round pick in 2000).
2) Damion told her he recently did 9 months in the hole at another prison after being caught with a weapon.

As far as how she feels about Phillips, she told us ... "I'm not angry. I'm sad for Damion. I love him and I'm sorry this happened to him."

It's tough to cover NY Jets receiver Eric Decker.

Apparently, it's even tougher to cover his penis ... 'cause his wife is pregnant with Baby #2 ... and she tells us the kid wasn't exactly planned.

We got country superstar Jessie James Decker out in NYC this morning ... who's due in September BTW ... and she told us a 2nd kid was always in the cards, but didn't expect it so soon!

Sort of a pleasant surprise kind of a thing.

Question is ... do you ever tell that to the kid? We asked Jessie ... she had a pretty good explanation.

Ex-NFL running back Lawrence Phillips -- the 6th overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft -- has been named a suspect in the murder of his prison cellmate ... officials confirm.

The 39-year-old -- who played for the Rams, Dolphins and 49ers -- is serving time at Kern Valley State Prison in California ... on a 31-year sentence for all sorts of convictions, including spousal abuse.

Officials say Philips' cellmate -- 37-year-old Damion Soward -- was found in his cell around 1AM on Saturday. Soward had been locked up on a 1st degree murder conviction.

Officials say there was ANOTHER murder in the prison on the same day -- and that victim's cellmate is also the main suspect in that case. Unclear if the two murders are linked.

Two things ...

1) Tom Brady took some batting practice off Red Sox legend Pedro Martinez today.

2) He bats lefty?!

The New England Patriots QB was a pretty good baseball player back in the day -- in fact, he was drafted by the Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft (as a catcher, not a pitcher).

But at Fenway Park on Monday, #12 proved he's handy with the wood as well ... from a lefty stance ... even though he throws with his right hand on the football field.

Darren Sharper has been KICKED OUT of his college Hall of Fame -- with officials at the College of William & Mary telling us they refuse to continue to honor a convicted rapist.

Sharper was inducted into the W&M Hall of Fame back in 2008 ... after a stellar collegiate career that led to an impressive run in the NFL.

Now, after Sharper pled guilty in rape cases in multiple states ... and after receiving criticism from high profile alums ... the school has decided to throw Sharper out of the Hall.

"After a period of thoughtful deliberation, the decision has been made to remove Darren Sharper from the William & Mary Athletics Hall of Fame," athletics director Terry Driscoll tells us.

The person selling Aaron Hernandez's official jail I.D. card from Suffolk County jail in Mass. says eBay has shut down the auction ... so he's moved it over to Craigslist.

We broke the story ... the seller says he "happened to come across the I.D." while he was locked up in jail with Hernandez ... and managed to smuggle the item out of the clink. Starting bid was $500.

But now, the seller says his plan hit a speed bump ... when he got an email from the auction site saying they suspended his account.

We reached out to eBay for comment -- but haven't heard back.

The seller tells TMZ Sports he's still optimistic about making a deal ... and has upped the asking price to $5,000.

So far, no word from Hernandez either -- since he's still on trial for murder.

Now that he's been booted from "Dancing with the Stars," NFL wannabe Michael Sam was looking to drown his sorrows in Las Vegas this weekend -- by kickin' it at the pool with Sammy Hagar.

The former Van Halen frontman and the former NFL player hung out at the Azure Luxury Pool at the Palazzo hotel ... where Sammy was trying to promote his new poolside bar.

The person who shot NFL running back Chris Johnson -- and killed his friend -- now has a $5,000 bounty on his (or her) head ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... investigators have been working like hell trying to identify and locate whoever fired the shots in that fatal drive-by shooting in Tampa on March 8th. Johnson was hit in the shoulder. His pal "Rollie" was struck in the head and died from his injuries.

Sources tell us ... cops have received several tips -- but so far, no arrests have been made.

We're told cops are hoping a $5,000 reward -- offered through the Central Florida Crimeline -- will motivate people to share information that will lead to the killer's arrest.

The cash was raised through donations -- and tipsters can be as anonymous as they want.

Willie Gault was a Picasso on the gridiron ... but Manny Pacquiao thinks Gault's son Gabriel is a regular Picasso ... hiring the kid to capture the Pac Man's essence in two custom paintings.

It went down when Willie got a call from Manny's manager who told him he'd seen Gabriel's artwork ... and he was a HUGE fan.

He spread the word to Manny, who commissioned two pieces from Gabriel about a month ago -- one solo Manny shot ... and one with him and his son.

We're told it took Gabriel about a week to sketch and paint the artwork (speed runs in the family) but then he really turnt it up ... making each painting into a 3D image that "JUMPS" out of the frame.

Gabe did the job for free ... But since Manny signed each piece and gave one back to Gabriel, he now has a piece of memorabilia that could be worth thousands of dollars ... although we're told he plans to keep it.

FYI -- Both Gabe and Willie say they are squarely in Pac Man's corner ... so add another celeb to Manny's stable of supporters.

Seems Aaron Hernandez got jacked for his official jail I.D. card during his stint in the slammer -- 'cause it just surfaced on eBay ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the item appears to be a legit identification card from Suffolk County Jail in Mass where Hernandez arrived in July 2014.

Starting bid -- $500.

As for the seller -- that person has not revealed his own identity ... but explained in the eBay post, "I was in jail with Arron Hernandes [sic] the for patriot super star.. I happen to com [sic] across his jail id."

Wonder how that happened?

We reached out to the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department -- but they're not saying jack squat about the situation.

Here's video of NFL superstar Odell Beckham Jr. -- proving he's WAYYYYY faster than non-NFL superstar Diddy.

OB2 was in West Hollywood yesterday -- where he decided to test his foot speed on the same steep hill where Diddy was running sprints back in February.

According to our unofficial clock ... Beckham ran the hill a full 2 SECONDS faster than Diddy did it.

So, congratulations Odell ... you're faster than a 45-year-old non-professional athlete.

Kevin Smith -- former Detroit Lions running back -- was arrested on the campus of UCF earlier today ... after cops say he fled the scene of a car accident and then disobeyed a police officer.

According to campus police, the 28-year-old was walking to class (apparently he's back in school) ... when he was approached by a University of Central Florida officer who was investigating a car wreck that occurred over the weekend.

Cops say Smith was involved in the accident and was driving with a suspended license at the time. Officials also believe Smith left the scene without providing information.

Fast forward to Wednesday ... when a UCF police officer tried to issue a citation to Smith -- but he refused to cooperate.

Instead, cops say Smith blew off the officer and continued to walk to class.

That's when the officer decided to "seize" Smith -- and arrested him. He was taken to a nearby jail where, in addition to refusing to sign the citation, he was also charged with resisting arrest.

Odell Beckham Jr. already dominates on football fields, soccer pitches, and basketball courts -- and now he's making the ocean his bitch, too ... by mounting a flyboard down in Miami.

The NY Giants star tackled the extreme water sport on Tuesday -- and as you'd probably expect -- he's already a pro. Paul Stoeppelwerth from Indy Flight Academy tells us ... OBJ got up and running on the flyboard on his first try.

If you haven't seen one of these things ... they're freakin' awesome -- kinda like a wakeboard that uses hydro-powered jets to hover up to 50 feet above the water! We're told most people take several minutes just to get upright ... but, of course, most people aren't Odell.

Stoeppelwerth says OBJ's "lower body is like a trunk, all the muscle memory from his football regimen definitely helps."

NFL wide receiver Greg Little has a big problem -- his landlords are trying to evict him from his sick Hollywood Hills bachelor pad ... but GL says HE'S the one getting screwed.

Here's what we know ... back in January, the 25-year-old free agent began renting the insane 3 bedroom crib for $15,000 per month. And things seemed to be fine until Greg missed a payment.

The landlord says Greg's rent check bounced -- and he's given the NFL player an ultimatum ... pay up or get out. Greg didn't take either option and is still occupying the home.

But Greg says that's a load of crap ... claiming he INTENTIONALLY withheld payment from the landlord because the house is essentially a lemon.

"When you pay for a high dollar house, you want everything to be smooth," Greg tells TMZ Sports ... "stuff was breaking left and right. They wouldn't fix the stuff."

The landlords have now filed court docs to force Greg out of the home.

Greg says he's not trying to be difficult -- he just wants to be treated fairly.

Bo Jackson used to be the king of TWO sports ... now, he's got problems handling a #1.

Jackson called in to "TMZ Hollywood Sports" and told us about how he's getting his 52-year-old body ready for his annual charity cycling event, Bo Bikes Bama ... but he's moving a little slower than he used to.

"I got up this morning and went to the bathroom to pee ... and pulled a muscle," Bo joked.

But the real headline could be that Bo thinks he's gonna get his "BUTT KICKED" in the ride by his former nemesis Brian Bosworth -- who's announced he's participating this year.