NFL

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson had a great day at Minute Maid Park ... rubbing elbows with some huge stars -- from Aaron Judge to CC Sabathia ... even Reggie Jackson!

Deshaun was a special VIP guest of the Houston Astros before they took on the New York Yankees -- and FOX 26's Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) was right there on the field as Watson came face-to-face with the MLB greats.

By the way, Watson is no small dude -- he's 6'2", 215 pounds and looks TINY next to 6'7", 285-pound Judge!

Watson got his own custom jersey and even got to hang with the team during batting practice.

'NFL on FOX' star Curt Menefee says he spoke with Josh Rosen right after the draft ... and he's CONVINCED the kid from UCLA will eventually be remembered as the BEST QB from his class.

"I liked the kid before [the draft], I loved him after," Menefee said of the new Arizona Cardinals quarterback.

Menefee and his 'NFL on FOX' crew analyze football for a living -- and he really believes Rosen has the skill and the attitude to make him a GREAT player in the league. Watch the clip and see for yourself how passionate Curt is about Rosen.

The NFL season is still 4 months away ... but T.I. is already making his Super Bowl prediction -- Atlanta Falcons, baby!!!!

The rap legend was at Studio Space in Atlanta when we started talking about the NFL Draft -- and it's clear T.I. is fired up about the Falcons' 1st round pick ... WR Calvin Ridley.

"We're going to the Super Bowl this year! I said it ... I can't take it back!"

T.I. isn't the only star who likes the Ridley pick -- Deion Sanders raved about him right after the draft saying, "[Falcons] got a steal with Ridley at that pick so late. That kid can play and he will see all 1on1 coverage because of [Julio Jones]."

As for Tip, this ain't the first time Tip's raved about his Dirty Birds to TMZ Sports ... remember when he money shamed our photog when he tried to make a Falcons bet in 2016?

Good times ...

Tom Brady says Bill Belichick is the "best coach in the history of the NFL" -- and confirmed he will be BACK playing for the New England Patriots in 2018.

Brady addressed the alleged rift between himself and Belichick at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills during a Q&A with Jim Gray.

"He's very respectful to me," Brady said ..."We've had a great relationship. A very respectful relationship for a long time and I feel like he's the best coach in the history of the NFL."

Brady admitted Belichick's "not the easiest coach to play for" ... but added, "he's the best for me."

Tom Brady just did a live Q&A with Jim Gray at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills ... and talked about everything from his NFL future to kneeling during the national anthem.

Brady says the kneeling debate sparked a lot of "great conversations" in the locker room and meeting rooms.

"I have a lot of friends that I've played with and everyone's from different backgrounds. Everyone's from different parts of the country. Everyone has different stories ... and you gotta have respect for everybody."

"You gotta have respect for everybody's opinion and the way that they want to present themselves. And the opportunity that they have to make a difference."

Brady also said sports, for him, have been the most "unifying part of my life" and said it's important that the NFL should bring people together.

9:30 AM PT -- Penn and his wife, Dominique, have issued a joint statement through their rep, Denise White, saying:

"There was a verbal disagreement, there was NO physical altercation. The two are in the middle of a divorce and it is a hard time for both parties."

Oakland Raiders star lineman Donald Penn is a suspect in a domestic violence incident ... after he allegedly slapped his wife's butt and then poured a drink on her head.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Sports ... cops were called to Penn's L.A. area home Sunday evening, but when they arrived ... Penn had already left the scene.

Cops were told Penn was at the house earlier and got handsy with his wife, at one point slapping her butt. Donald's wife took exception to the slap and a vocal argument ensued.

Things escalated and Penn allegedly poured a drink on his wife's head and grabbed his wife by the wrist.

Cops took a report and are currently investigating.

Penn and his wife have had issues in the past when the NFL player knocked up "Bad Girls Club" star Camilla Poindexter ... who then aired out all of their dirty laundry on social media.

Donald Trump says Colin Kaepernick would have been A LOT better off if he would have just "honored" the American flag and stood for the national anthem.

Trump didn't mention Kaep by name during his rally in Michigan on Friday -- but it's obvious he was talking about the QB, who remains unemployed.

"We defend our flag and we honor our flag," Trump said ... "and if others honored our flag, they'd be a lot better off wouldn't they?"

The crowd roared and Trump continued ... "We put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and we stand for the national anthem."

Again, the crowd went wild.

Ever drink Bud Light out of a dead catfish?

Well, one of the linemen from the Tennesse Titans did Sunday night ... and it was all to help the Nashville Predators win their playoff game.

Taylor Lewan and a bunch of his fellow linemen (along with QB Marcus Mariota) -- were sitting in a VIP section at the game when Taylor busted out the fish and chugged away.

Lewan's teammate, Quinton Spain, ripped off his shirt for moral support.

Of course, catfish is a "thing" with Preds fans -- they always chuck one onto the ice before or during a game. Lewan decided to up the ante.

The plan worked ... the Preds won the game 5-4 over the Winnipeg Jets.

"Ezekiel is the best to ever play the game, remember I said that," -- Zeke's dad.

TMZ Sports spoke with Stacy Elliott -- who also runs Fifth Down Enterprises -- who tells us his son has been laser focused this off-season and is ready to wreak havoc all over the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys in 2018.

"He's the G.O.A.T. He's the best to ever play the game," Stacy said.

"This is deeper than Lavar Ball ... this is the actual truth. The truth is in the pudding, or the pudding's in the truth, whatever they say."

Elliott says he's impressed with the new crop of running backs, including Saquon Barkley ... but no one can hold a candle to his son.

Mike Vick is pretty happy for Lamar Jackson -- telling TMZ Sports he's thrilled the QB was selected in the 1st round of the NFL Draft ... and challenged the QB to break his NFL records!!

Of course, Vick holds the NFL records for most career rushing yards by a QB (6,109) and single season rushing yards by a QB (1,039) ... but a lot of people believe Jackson has the potential to do better!

"All records are made to be broken," Vick told us in Dallas.

He also thinks having Jackson and RG3 on the same is a GOOD thing -- and not a problem.

We also asked who's more explosive -- Vick or Jackson?

Josh Rosen out ... TOM BRADY IN!!!

The New England Patriots stud showed up to the UCLA football facilities in L.A. on Friday for a special workout with the Bruins players ... and c'mon, how awesome is that?!

Brady was throwing the ball around and dishing out advice to some of the players at the Wasserman Football Center in Westwood. One of the prospects pictured is 3-star QB Austin Burton.

Interesting considering all the rumblings that 40-year-old Tom might retire instead of coming back for the 2018 season. This looks like a guy ready to hang it up to you? Didn't think so.

Meanwhile, the UCLA social media team used the workout to throw a little low-key shade at their cross town rival, USC ... tweeting out, "OnlyAtUCLA."

Josh Allen's old stomping grounds were turnt to the max when the ex-Wyoming star got drafted by the Bills ... with tons of people crackin' beers and cheering in the streets when his name got called!!

Fans in Laramie, WY went nuts outside the Buckhorn Bar when the Bills selected Allen with the 7th overall pick ... just watch the beer suds fly!

Some experts predicted Allen would be the #1 pick ... but after the Twitter scandal, he fell down to #7.

The fans didn't care -- they celebrated like Allen just won the Super Bowl.

Marcus Davenport was the 14th pic in the NFL Draft and is now slated to make MILLIONS! So, what's his first big purchase??!?

Mickey D's, baby!!!

The New Orleans Saints newest defensive end was craving some burgers after the draft -- and told our guy specifically what a 6'6", 265-pound man eats to celebrate the biggest night of his life!

Davenport told us he's super excited to get to work in the Big Easy -- and told us the one QB he's most excited about taking down!

If Josh Rosen REALLY has a chip on his shoulder after getting picked 10th, he didn't show it after the NFL Draft -- because he was in a GREAT mood celebrating at a post-event dance party!!

Rosen, along with family members and close friends, was all smiles at a nearby hot spot in Dallas -- where the QB and his crew got a special private area to celebrate his new job with the AZ Cardinals.

There were bottle service girls, signs that read "Cards" -- and Sheck Wes' "Mo Bamba" banging from the speakers.

Afterward, Rosen kept the party going back at the hotel -- dancing away like he just became a millionaire ... because he just did!

Yeah, he might have been the 4th QB selected -- but he's still a FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK!

Talk about team loyalty ...

The mother of Chicago Bears 1st-round draft pick Roquan Smith says she's still a die-hard ATL Falcons fan and will NOT abandon her team.

At least not yet!

The video is great ... we got Smith's mom right after the Bears drafted her 6'1", 235-pound linebacker son with the 8th overall pick and you can tell she's having a crisis of conscience -- root for her hometown team or the team that's paying her son millions of dollars?!

"I'll keep both," mama Smith told us ... "I'm from Georgia, I'm in Georgia."

Before you start to think a family feud is brewing, we got Roquan a little later and asked him how long it'd take for his mom to become a full-time Bears fan.

"Not long at all."

Josh Allen will get a chance to prove he's not a racist idiot when he gets to Buffalo Bills training camp -- so says Bills legend Fred Jackson, who thinks the players will forgive Allen's teenage tweets.

Of course, Allen has already apologized for dropping the n-word on Twitter when he was a teenager. It also came out he tweeted about A.J. McCarron's wife ... awkward since they're teammates now.

But Jackson -- who played for the Bills from 2006 to 2014 -- says the players will "let the past be the past and move forward."

"It's something that you just put in the back of your mind and don't even worry about it."

Easier said than done, though, right?!

As for Jackson, the recently retired running back -- and Bills' 3rd all-time leading rusher -- says he just completed a broadcasting boot camp and hopes to transition to the booth.