Ride Me

Dwight Howard is putting his Superman alter ego on ice for a while and re-emerging as ANOTHER comic book bad ass, THE FLASH ... and he's starting the re-branding process with a new car.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Houston Rockets star has commissioned some heavy duty Flash-themed work on his 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with the guys at 713 Motoring in Houston.

We spoke with the owner, Ash, who tells us D12 has always been known to "superhero" his cars and usually went with a Superman theme.

"But when he came to the Rockets, he wanted a change ... he said he no longer wanted to be called Superman, he is now Flash out here in Houston."

Ash says the project will run around $65k -- and included everything from a custom paint job ... to a pimped out steering wheel ... and custom Flash logos on the wheels, hood, seats and gas cap.

The Game surprised his personal assistant LoLo with the ultimate birthday gift – a brand spanking new whip ... and her reaction takes the cake.

We're told the rapper shelled out $200k on two customized 2015 Jeep Wranglers ... souped up by R.D. Whittington at Scottsdale Sports Car Group. Game kept a red whip for himself, and gave his wingwoman a fully-loaded white one.

If the price sounds steep ... consider these upgrades: 22" monster tires, 50" LED light bars, and of course ... custom leather seats and interior.

As Game puts it ... hard work and loyalty should pay off.

No, he's not hiring -- but you definitely want him to know when it's your birthday.

Two Boston tow truck operators didn't want to go down as the guys who hauled off Rob Gronkowski's party bus, so they let him off the hook ... and the Gronk couldn't have been happier.

Matthew from Todisco Towing tells TMZ Sports he was called to Howl at the Moon in Boston early Sunday morning to haul off a bus that was parked illegally in a private lot.

Despite the bus being adorned with a Body Armor logo (which Rob endorses) and his #87 ... Matthew claims he had no idea he was about to tow Gronk's ride.

Once the bus was up on the truck and ready to go, Matthew says several patrons began asking him, "Don't you know whose bus that is?"

Then, someone from Rob's entourage came out and promised to move it ... and Matthew decided, "I didn’t want to find out what the end result would be if I had towed the truck. You know Pats fans wouldn’t have that."

So Matthew let the truck down and that's when Gronk emerged -- super thankful for the reprieve -- and posed for a few pics.

Matthew was quick to tell us ... Gronk never asked anyone to stop or offered any kind of favor. Everyone involved was just acting out of the kindness of their hearts.

Not everyone was so lucky ... a few other cars did get towed that night.

Pays to be Gronk.

Attention golfers in the Santa Monica area ... Harrison Ford is back in the air -- taking off in the cockpit of a chopper.

Two months after seriously injuring himself in a plane crash ... Ford went back to the Santa Monica Airport and flew shotgun for a helicopter ride on Thursday.

Han Solo was looking good as he strolled into the airport, showing no long-term effects from the plane wreck ... which literally went down a few blocks from the chopper launching pad.

Fact is, Ford probably got a birdseye view of the 8th hole of the golf course he tore up that day.

The NTSB hasn't released its investigation results yet -- but initial reports point to some kind of mechanical failure causing the crash.

Two shots of tequila is all Sam Shepard drank ... at least that's the story he unsuccessfully told cops before they cuffed him.

The "Bloodline" actor was popped Monday night in Santa Fe, New Mexico outside a restaurant. A security guard called police, saying he feared Shepard was way too drunk to drive.

Shepard tried in vain to drive away, thwarted by an emergency brake he failed to release. That was enough evidence for cops to pull him over, and administer field sobriety tests ... which he failed. Cops say he also refused to blow into the breathalyzer, and that upped the ante.

He was arrested for aggravated DUI, and remains in custody.

Shepard was arrested for DUI back in 2009.

It ain't the Millennium Falcon, but hey ... it's baby steps for Harrison Ford, who was back at the stick -- of a Tesla last week.

It's the first time photogs have spotted Ford out in public since he ditched a plane on a Santa Monica golf course back in March, heroically missing nearby homes.

Ford was cruising around L.A. in the luxury electric vehicle with a friend. The 72-year-old looks to have healed well -- his face was cut and bloodied following the plane crash, but you can't see a mark on it in the pics.

Don't worry ... he'll hold together.

For Carlos Boozer black is the new black -- the Lakers forward just dropped $50k to cover his Mercedes Benz in darkness, and TMZ Sports has pics of the finished product.

Boozer just copped a brand new 2015 Mercedes Benz G63 for $200k, but before cracking the door ... he shipped the whip down to the Auto Firm in Miami to get it blacker than Snooki after a 3 day weekend on the Jersey shore.

Alex Vega, who runs the joint tells us Boozer had them paint the whole thing "satin black" ... and then jacked it up to add Avorza 22-inch wheels and a brand new body kit.

The only non-black items added to Boozer's ride -- some sweet LED lamps embeded in the front bumper.

Flavor Flav was arrested early Thursday morning in Las Vegas by highway patrol and got nailed for so many alleged crimes ... it might be easier to tell you what cops didn't pin on him.

Only sorta kidding, but here's what they booked him on:

-- DUI
-- Possession of marijuana
-- Open container
-- Speeding
-- Bogus registration
-- Driving with a suspended license

According to Nevada Highway Patrol, this all began when cops spotted Flav at 12:30 AM 2005 black BMW and going 73mph in a 45mph zone.

Flav was busted for speeding last year in NY on the way to his mother's funeral. When cops ran his license, they found it was suspended 16 times.

He swore to a judge he fixed the problem, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Verne Troyer turned vigilante at LAX -- chasing down a man who burst through a TSA checkpoint until police captured and tased him ... and Verne recorded the whole thing.

Verne was on his way to catch a flight to Ohio when he heard the commotion near TSA, and when he saw the suspect running away ... he fired up his motorized scooter and tracked down the guy.

You might call the video ... VerneVision ... it's all shot from his, umm ... lower perspective, but it's awesome, and remarkably steady.

Luckily, police caught up to the suspect before Verne did, but deputy Troyer did manage to capture the moment when officers busted out their Taser and took the man into custody.

Only bummer -- the stupid stairs and escalator that prevented Verne from nabbing the guy himself. He did get a souvenir though -- the straw hat the suspect dropped right before he got zapped.

Paris Hilton's kid brother is now facing a felony charge, and an arrest warrant for that high-speed chase he lead CHP officers on ... before wrecking his expensive ride in the desert.

Conrad Hilton has been charged with reckless evading of an officer for the blistering chase that went down near Palm Springs last August ... according to docs filed by the Riverside County D.A. As we previously reported, cops say the then 20-year-old was dangerously weaving his BMW through freeway traffic and driving up on the shoulder.

Police initially clocked him doing about 90 mph, but they say he punched it -- topping 100 mph to get away from an officer. Conrad eventually clipped the back of an 18-wheeler and drove off the highway.

Miraculously, no one was injured besides Conrad ... who walked away with a fractured hand. The potential 3 years in prison he faces if convicted would hurt a lot more.

Adam Bartley -- the lovable, bumbling Deputy Ferguson on "Longmire" -- just got a taste of his own medicine ... a skosh too much to drink landed him in jail for DUI.

Bartley was pulled over April 26th in Santa Fe, NM after a cop saw him driving a '93 Dodge pickup sans seat belt.

The officer says he smelled alcohol on Bartley's breath, and the actor folded like a cheap suit admitting he had "a few drinks."

Bartley performed poorly on multiple field sobriety tests ... so claim the cops. The breathalyzer was a heartbreaker ... .09, just over the .08 legal limit.

Bartley was arrested and charged with DUI, careless driving, and no seat belt.

"Longmire" originally aired on A&E. It got cancelled last year but it's since been picked up by Netflix.

Picture a Mustang on steroids, and you've pretty much got the new limited edition Mustang Rocket ... which just made its public street debut in Hollywood.

We got a tip Henrik Fisker -- co-designer of the Rocket -- was taking the very first model off the production line out for a spin on the Sunset strip ... and got a photog in position. Sure enough, Fisker (and his hot daughter) pulled up right in front of BOA Steakhouse ... and the machine's 725 supercharged horses did not disappoint.

If you like things that go fast, sound awesome, and attract the opposite sex ... you've gotta see this!

Famed automotive designer Henrik Fisker will be rolling up at an L.A. landmark in the very first Ford Mustang Galpin Rocket off the production line, and we're gonna be there to show you what 725 horses sound like.

The unveiling will go down at 5 PM PDT, and we'll be livestreaming. You'll hear and see the car as Fisker ticks off the special features.

It's pricey -- $125k -- and awesome ... encased in Fisker’s signature carbon fiber body style.

George Zimmerman flashed a gun at the motorist who fired a shot into Zimmerman's car ... at least that's what the motorist is telling his lawyer.

Matthew Apperson's lawyer, Mark NeJame, tells TMZ, his client did NOT flash his headlights at Zimmerman Monday nor did he chase him down. NeJame says Apperson ended up side-by-side with Zimmerman when the famous former defendant waved a gun.

NeJame says it was pure self-defense, buttressed by the fact that Apperson is the one who initiated the call to 911. He actually had to hunt someone down who had a cellphone because he didn't have one at the time.

Chris Brown rolled up to a recording studio Monday night on one of the coolest forms of transportation we've seen in a long time, and then he paid homage to his junk.

We asked Chris about Amira Ayeb, the woman who broke into his house recently and spent more than 2 days alone, before he returned and found her naked in his bed.

Chris told our photog Ayeb was naked for a reason ... she wanted him bad.

As we reported, Chris will not press charges against Ayeb, presumably because she has issues.

1:05 PM PT -- The other person involved is Matthew Apperson -- and he is the same man Zimmerman had a road rage incident with last September. Police also say Zimmerman did NOT fire any shots, and Apperson called police to report the incident.

As for what sparked today's incident -- police say they're still waiting to get more info from Apperson and Zimmerman.

12:50 PM PT -- Lake Mary PD is holding a news conference where we're expecting more details about the shooting.

George Zimmerman was involved in a shooting with another man, and Zimmerman's lawyer tells TMZ ... his client and the other guy may not be strangers.

The shooting went down Monday afternoon on a road in Lake Mary, FL ... where Zimmerman lives. Police tell us they got a call for a road rage incident. News footage from the scene shows a bullet hole in the front passenger side window of Zimmerman's truck.

Zimmerman's lawyer, Don West, tells TMZ Zimmerman told him he believes he recognized the other driver as someone with whom he had a run in several months ago.

The lawyer says Zimmerman told him the other driver drove along side his client and fired into the driver's side window.

The lawyer says Zimmerman was not struck by a bullet, but rather shattering glass.

We do not know the race of the other man involved in the shooting.