NFL

Michael Irvin says it's a damn shame some Eagles are boycotting Trump's White House ... and hopes the time-honored tradition can continue once POTUS is outta office.

"I hate that we're at that place," Irvin told TMZ Sports. "Hopefully we can get back to that, if not this President's term, maybe the next."

Remember, The Playmaker won 3 rings with the Cowboys ... so it wasn't a surprise when he told us he thinks the ceremony's a BIG deal.

That said, Mike says he realizes times have changed with #45 in the Oval Office ... so when it comes to Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long and the other Eagles skippin' out on the visit, he ain't gonna hold it against them.

The Rams player who was arrested for driving around with a loaded handgun that was allegedly stolen has struck a plea deal with prosecutors ... and he'll be on thin ice for the next 3 years.

Ethan Westbrooks -- a defensive tackle who played in all 16 games in 2017 -- was arrested back in September after he was pulled over in Kern County, CA for speeding and cops found the gun in the car.

Officials had previously said the gun -- which had been reported stolen in 2009 -- was loaded with 13 rounds of ammo. He was initially booked with 5 felonies including carrying a loaded firearm and possessing a high-capacity magazine.

But now, court records show Westbrooks made a deal in which he agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor carrying a loaded firearm ... and in exchange, the rest of the charges were dropped.

27-year-old Westbrooks has been sentenced to 1 day in jail -- and got credit for time served, so he ain't going back.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Trevor Davis was arrested at LAX on Sunday morning after cops say he joked about smuggling a bomb into the airport ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Yeah, they DON'T PLAY about that at LAX!!!

Law enforcement sources tell us the 24-year-old -- a 5th round draft pick out of Cal in 2016 -- was at the Hawaiian Airlines ticket counter with a female companion to check into a flight when the attendant asked the usual security questions about their luggage.

Instead of playing it straight -- we're told Davis turned to the other woman and said, "Did you remember to pack the explosives?"

She apparently said, "No" and tried to get him to stop. He then said, "Just kidding" -- but it was too late.

We're told cops were called and Davis was immediately taken into custody for misdemeanor criminal threats. He was booked -- mug shot and all -- and then released.

According to his booking sheet, Davis is listed at 6'2", 195 lbs.

Chris Bosh says his heart is full of pride because his friend Dwyane Wade did an awesome thing ... taking time out to brighten the lives of kids affected by the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High.

In case you missed it, Wade visited with the students back in March, taking pictures, laughing with them, and delivering a message of encouragement to the kids.

We got Bosh at LAX and asked what we thought of his old Miami running mate getting involved and showing love, and Bosh gushed like a proud bestie, then delivered a message of his own.

"That's what it's about man. He's a great dude, Florida's a great place and blessings that all the people get better soon and stay strong man."

Von Miller clearly isn't fazed by an investigation into whether he illegally caught a hammerhead shark in Miami, 'cause he continues to party it up there ... in open waters.

The star Broncos linebacker was spotted in the Sunshine State again this weekend enjoying himself on a yacht with a ton of girls and a few pals in tow -- including 49ers rookie Adrian Colbert. Von even hopped on a jet ski with a chick at one point for a quick spin.

As you can see from the photos, Von doesn't seem to be the slightest bit concerned over the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission looking into whether he broke any laws a couple weeks ago in capturing and then releasing a wild hammerhead shark.

PETA flipped their lid over video and photos of the incident, claiming the crew had illegally caught and killed the animal. They ran their complaint all the way up the flagpole in Florida ... which is now officially under investigation.

Luke Terry -- the 15-year-old catcher who only has one arm -- CAN HIT ... and TMZ Sports has the incredible video!!!

Video of Terry playing catcher went viral this week ... showing the athlete catching the ball with his mitt and then flipping it to himself to throw back to the pitcher.

The footage inspired millions of people, including Deion Sanders who reached out to Terry to send him new, high-quality baseball gear.

We spoke with Terry who says his baseball dreams include playing at the college level and then GOING PRO, BABY!!!

"I'd like to play in the MLB, too," Terry says ... noting he's always had a passion for the sport.

But, the best part of this story is listening to Terry's approach on life -- and how he HATES the word "can't."

In fact, Terry says he feels like a superhero when he goes out on the field and competes -- because he knows other kids look up to him and he's all about being a positive role model.

Odell Beckham Jr. just got the offer of a lifetime. No, not a new contract from the NY Giants -- this is an offer for OBJ to do what he TRULY wants in life ... dance in a rap video.

TMZ Sports spoke with super hot new NY rapper Flipp Dinero -- the guy who Odell blew up last week when video of Beckham dancing to Dinero's song "Leave Me Alone" went viral.

Flipp told us he's still super turnt that Odell chose his song to get busy to, and when we asked if he wants Odell to appear in the video, he made it clear ... HE DOES.

"Hell yeah, I just want Odell to be there. Just because he showed love off GP, I'm showing love off GP, too."

BTW Odell danced to the song (we think) to send a message -- he just wants people to let him live his life ... but Flipp says the track isn't about that, it's about what most songs are about.

A woman.

Cam Newton was involved in a collision with a dump truck in Atlanta on Thursday ... and TMZ Sports has a photo from the scene.

We're told the Carolina Panthers quarterback was driving his matte black Ferrari F12 (valued over $300,000) when the collision occurred around 4:00 PM local time.

Atlanta PD confirms the accident occurred but says neither party wanted to fill out a police report.

Unclear what caused the collision or who was at fault -- but calm down, Panthers fans, Newton appeared to be okay after the incident. In fact, he was seen walking the car around in his shorts and one of his funky hats.

FYI, Newton is from Atlanta and still lives there.

28-year-old Newton has been involved in car accidents in the past -- he overturned his car in North Carolina back in 2014. He was hospitalized with minor injuries and ended up being okay.

Johnny Manziel was killin' it at Spring League practice on Wednesday -- throwing strikes, reading defenses and impressing coaches and teammates ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

Manziel's "Team South" was practicing in Austin, Texas for their league opener on Saturday -- and he definitely looked like he belonged out there with some very talented teammates.

Among the players on Manziel's team -- Ben Tate, former 2nd round draft pick who played for the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.

His tight end is Chase Ford -- former Miami Hurricanes TE who played for the Minnesota Vikings. One of his WRs is former Baylor All-American Antwan Goodley.

Manziel will have 2 games to showcase his skills for NFL scouts -- hoping a pro team will take a chance on him for the 2018 season.

ESPN ain't sweatin' the $50 million defamation lawsuit filed by ex-NFL player Dimitri Patterson ... because the police report obtained by TMZ Sports essentially confirms their story about Patterson's insane courtroom arrest.

Patterson sued ESPN claiming the network's 2017 story about a "courtroom escape attempt" was false and defamatory ... and he wants them to pay up BIG to make things right.

But, the problem for Patterson ... the Miami Police Dept. report detailing the incident in question describes exactly what ESPN reported ... Patterson violently tried to escape a courtroom.

"The defendant ran towards the door of the courtroom to exit. While running towards the door, the defendant tackled officer B. Robert causing her to fall backwards and sustaining an injury to the back of her head."

The police report says Patterson continued to struggle with officers and pulled another cop to avoid being handcuffed. He was eventually arrested and booked for battery on an officer and resisting arrest -- both felonies. TMZ Sports has obtained his mugshot.

Here it is ... the first photo of the 4.09 carat blue diamond Drew Brees bought for $8.1 MILLION.

It's pretty incredible ... but the QB says he overpaid by roughly $6 MILLION!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Brees purchased the stone as an investment from Vahid Moradi of CJ Charles jewelers in San Diego back in 2015 -- but says he was completely duped.

For his part, Moradi and his attorney Eric M. George deny all wrongdoing and say Brees has no one to blame but himself.

Brees claims he trusted Moradi to get him the best prices on rare stones in the hopes of selling them for a profit at a later date.

Brees says in 2018 he had the stone appraised by an independent specialist who told him the diamond was only worth $2 million when he bought it ... and it has since increased in value to $3.75 mil.

There's more ... Brees is also furious over pink diamond earrings he bought in 2015 for $975k -- claiming Moradi used pink paint behind the diamond setting to make the stone appear more "pink" than its true color.

Brees says the pink stones are only worth $176k.

In total, Brees says he spent $15 mil with Moradi over the years -- but his stones are only worth roughly $6 mil ... a $9 million loss.

Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Dimitri Patterson is suing ESPN for $50 million claiming the network defamed him in a 2017 article saying he was in custody after a "courtroom escape attempt."

The article -- published on August 15, 2017 -- says Patterson injured two police officers while trying to abruptly exit a Miami-Dade courthouse and avoid being arrested.

ESPN says it confirmed the info with police -- noting, "a female officer suffered neck and back injuries, and a male officer injured his wrist while apprehending Patterson."

FYI, Patterson played in the NFL from 2005 to 2013, racking up 9 interceptions in 79 games.

But, Patterson says the information is wrong -- saying, "The article is false and defamatory in its overall portrayal of DP as a violent, impulsive, unstable person."

Patterson says there is court video footage which backs up his claims.

In his suit, which he filed while acting as his own lawyer, Patterson includes a letter from ESPN legal team in which the network defends the accuracy of the article.

Patterson is demanding $50 MILLION in damages.

Rob Gronkowski is one of the best damn players in the NFL, and he's sick of not getting paid like it -- so says ex-Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins.

You've probably heard ... rumors have been swirling about Gronk splitting with New England all offseason long -- for reasons ranging from his relationship with Bill Belichick to just being tired of football.

But according to Jermaine, the biggest thing doggin' Rob is his contract.

"I definitely think he's frustrated with the money that he gets when you look at what he does," Wiggins told TMZ Sports.

"He should be getting paid $15-16 million a year, but he's not, so there's definitely that frustration there."

Jermaine says it's obvious Gronk is the league's most dangerous receiver -- "by far more valuable" than top WRs like Antonio Brown and Julio Jones -- so getting paid way less than 'em ain't right.

Josh Norman is so confident he'd take Cam Newton 1-on-1 in basketball, he told Cam straight-up ... and TMZ Sports has the video!

We got Josh after a beach workout in L.A. with his NFL bros Julian Stanford and Demario Davis ... and the stud safety opened on why we keep spotting him droppin' sweat on the sand.

But, things got really interesting when our guy asked Norman about ballin' up Cam at his charity game in South Carolina this weekend.

Turns out, Cam was on the phone with Josh ... and when we asked who the better baller was, Norman wasn't about to back down.

"Me, of course. I'm not gonna say him."

FYI, a bunch of NFL stars are coming out to hoop at Norman's event -- but, is it gonna be bigger than Quavo's Huncho Day?

Did you know ... Josh Rosen has been tight with Snoop Dogg's son Cordell Broadus since the 7th grade??

It's true ... they're still good friends today (after playing together at UCLA) -- and now Cordell is giving us the REAL inside scoop on the QB.

In fact, Cordell says critics who think Rosen would fail in Cleveland are wrong -- and explains why a BIG, FAT PAYCHECK could drive a "millennial" like Josh to greatness in LeBron's city.

"If you give anybody $1 million they'll be mentally stimulated," Broadus told TMZ Sports at LAX. "He could thrive anywhere with the right check and the right dedication and the right determination."

Drew Brees is speaking out on his lawsuit against a San Diego jeweler -- saying he trusted the man with $15 million in diamonds ... but "in the end it was all a scam."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Brees sued Vahid Moradi of CJ Charles jewelers claiming Moradi misrepresented the quality and value of several high-priced diamonds over the years.

In fact, Brees claimed he severely overpaid for an $8.1 MILLION blue diamond in 2015 -- which is really only worth about $3.75 mil.

Now, Brees has issued a statement through his attorney Andrew Kim saying, "From 2010 to 2016, Moradi advised [my wife and I] to allocate funds into an alternative asset class of investment grade diamonds and told us that he would use his connections and expertise to acquire them on our behalf at or below market value."

"In an effort to diversify our investment portfolio, we trusted Moradi and invested. Moradi assured us he was being compensated by the sellers for any investment grade diamonds he acquired on our behalf."

"In the end it was all a scam. After thinking long and hard, Brittany and I decided to take this lawsuit on in part because we fear we are not the only ones Moradi has misled and defrauded."

Moradi has denied any wrongdoing -- with his attorney -- saying the fault lies with Brees.

"Mr. Brees's behavior and his belief that he was wronged because the jewelry did not appreciate in value as quickly as he hoped both demonstrate a lack of integrity and contradict basic principles of both economics and the law."