You Might Want to Rethink

Think your tennis background's going to save you on the pickleball court? Think again ... 'cause Genie Bouchard says the two sports aren't even remotely the same!!

The tennis star explained it all to TMZ Sports while out in Las Vegas for Super Bowl week ... saying straight up her talent with a racket did not instantaneously transfer over when she picked up a pickle paddle.

"People think there's an automatic transition from tennis to pickleball and there's not," she said. "It's a completely different sport."

Genie, of course, knows all about it firsthand... after years of dominating on the tennis courts, she just recently made the move to play on the PPA Tour -- a league for pro pickleballers -- and she's had some growing pains.

Obviously, she's flashed some ridiculous talent ... but she nonetheless fell in her singles debut last month.

"It requires different skills," she said.

Regardless, Bouchard told us she's determined to get better ... explaining she's hoping to dominate a sport "that's just, like, taking over the country."

A "90 Day Fiance" couple pissed people off by backtracking on a cancer announcement and seemingly trying to fundraise off it -- something the platform they used shut down quickly.

Here's the deal ... Brandan and Mary Denuccio -- who got hitched after appearing on '90DF: The Other Way' last year -- told their followers over the weekend that Mary had colon cancer ... something they came out with pretty definitively at first, without any doubt.

As part of the announcement -- in which they said flat out that Mary had been diagnosed with colon cancer after experiencing symptoms for years -- they also asked for donations for a fundraiser they started ... which they said would go toward surgery she'd need to remove it.

Soon ... the doubters started coming out of the woodwork and questioning their claim online, which resulted in Brandan and Mary slightly changing the wording of the cancer diagnosis -- making it seem like she hadn't actually gotten any official word from a doctor just yet.

Before long their entire fundraising campaign was halted -- and the whole thing came down.

At the time, the only message that was up on the page read ... "GoGetFunding has been requested or required to stop this campaign." Now, though, we have a bit more clarity.

At first, it was unclear if the campaign -- which, by all accounts, had only raised about $1,300 or so before it was nixed -- was halted by Brandan and Mary themselves ... or the company, but a rep for GoGetFunding tells TMZ ... they're the ones who actually pulled the plug.

We're told the company was quickly flagged by users about the fact it was suspicious -- and after doing some digging on it ... GGF felt enough evidence existed to yank it all down.

Now, in terms of what happened to people's money -- as far as those who donated -- GoGetFunding says the donations were received via PayPal for this campaign ... and no funds passed through their site, so there's no way for them to refund anyone specifically.

GGF goes on to say that they advised anyone who donated and who contacted them afterward for help to dispute any charges/withdrawals with their banks -- and to report any suspicious activity to the police if they felt it rose that level. Unclear if anyone did.

As far as what Brandan and Mary have to say about it all now ... they actually tell us they were the ones who stopped the GoGetFunding campaign because people were inundating them with hate. Mary adds, "I know i announced i have colon cancer. It’s just im so scared that time because i was in pain and i got all the symptoms. But we are still going back and forth to the hospital and have do all the laboratory requested by the doctors."

Mary tells us she's not going to post anymore about this, as she's very stressed right now.

The college student who got a cease and desist from Taylor Swift for tracking her private jet ain't sweating a legal battle with her, 'cause he thinks she'll balk ... so says his attorney.

James Slater, the lawyer for Jack Sweeney, tells TMZ ... he and his partners don't see any realistic legal path for T-Swift and her attorneys to take if they wanna press this jet issue.

Now, Slater does say if there was any movement from Taylor's side -- namely, a lawsuit of some sort -- Sweeney's team would immediately respond with an anti-SLAPP motion ... a law that provides defendants a way to dismiss meritless lawsuits quickly.

JS adds to us the letter from Tay Tay's attorney, Kate Wright Morrone, had little legal substance, from his POV, and her assertation Jack committed stalking and harassing behavior by showing TS's flight path to the world was totally unfounded in the eyes of the law.

He basically blasts the whole thing as a big scare tactic ... asserting everything that needed to be addressed was written in the letter he sent to Swift's team -- and that nothing else really needs to be mentioned to make their point. Bottom line ... Sweeney ain't scared!

Quick recap ... things took off when TS' attorneys issued a legal threat to Sweeney in December, warning him that if he didn't stop putting their famous client's safety in imminent danger, he'd be subject to further legal action.

But Slater retaliated last month ... saying Taylor's camp cited no law supporting the cease and desist -- while also rebuffing the stalking claims ... saying it doesn't apply to his client whatsoever since Sweeney has never made a "credible threat" against Taylor through his words or actions.

He also pointed out the obvious ... Sweeney simply uploaded publicly available data from the Federal Aviation Administration to track Taylor's plane movements -- a point backed by aviation attorney Tim Loranger of Wisner Baum, who tells us this has been a longtime hobby for aviation buffs ... insisting there's no there-there to threaten a lawsuit or any legal action.

Loranger tells TMZ that whether aircraft owners like it or not ... their planes and jets have to be registered with the FAA and their registration numbers are displayed on their aircraft's side ...  making it pretty easy to be followed on flight tracking services.

We spoke to some more legal experts who weighed in on Swift vs. Sweeney -- and not everyone thinks he's in the clear. Civil attorney Tre Lovell of The Lovell Firm tells us that unless Sweeney can clearly describe the purpose for his actions ... he'd suggest Sweeney treads very carefully moving forward.

In contrast, Camron Dowlatshahi of Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP says TS has no legal standing in this matter -- but the one thing she's got is a whole lotta $$$ to bury JS in legal fees -- so, bottom line, he should probably watch his back.

Bottom line ... more people seem to think Jack's A-OK to keep tracking ... ball's in his court.

Tom Sandoval aparentemente piensa que su escandaloso engaño del año pasado es comparable a otros grandes momentos de la cultura pop, como la muerte de George Floyd, o el caso de asesinato de O.J. Simpson.

La estrella del reality show "Vanderpump Rules" hizo la impresionante comparación en un nuevo perfil del New York Times, donde le preguntaron por qué cree que el llamado Scandoval causó tanto ruido en 2023, cuando el mundo se enteró de que había engañado a su novia de mucho tiempo Ariana Madix.

Aunque Scandoval definitivamente fue algo icónico, Tom parece pensar que trascendió las cosas hasta el punto de elevarlo a la muerte de George Floyd o el caso de O.J. 

Esto es lo que dijo: "No soy historiador de la cultura pop, pero fui testigo del caso de O.J. Simpson y George Floyd y todas estas cosas grandes, aunque es extraño compararlas conmigo, ¿no crees que de una manera extraña es un poco lo mismo?".

El escritor de esta pieza trata de prestarle un poco de gracia, diciendo: "Creo que sabía lo que quería decir. Intentaba expresar la extrañeza de convertirse en el centro simbólico de una discusión nacional y una noticia importante; lo que comunicó, en cambio, fue algo más honesto, que es hasta qué punto la experiencia le había hecho perder la perspectiva".

En esta entrevista hay otra cita alocada en la que se compara con una estrella de "That 70's Show" que está en la cárcel. Tom dice: "Siento que tengo más odio que Danny Masterson, y él es un violador convicto".

Hay otro momento revelador en la entrevista cuando Tom explica sus razones para engañar a Ariana con Rachel Leviss. Es bastante franco al respecto y directo también.

Tom dice: "Hice lo que hice porque estaba en un momento infeliz de mi vida. Me dejé llevar por mis emociones y me enamoré completamente. De verdad". Tom aparentemente se levantó y subió a su habitación después de esto para prepararse para salir.

2:52 PM PT -- Tom Sandoval just addressed the backlash he's been getting for his remarks about George Floyd and O.J. Simpson ... and he's apologizing, while also clearing the air.

He writes, "My intentions behind the comments I made in New York Times Magazine were to explain the level of national media attention my affair received. The comparison was inappropriate and ignorant. I'm incredibly sorry and embarrassed."

Tom Sandoval apparently thinks his cheating scandal last year was comparable to huge moments in pop culture ... like George Floyd's death, or the O.J. Simpson murder case.

The "Vanderpump Rules" reality star made the stunning comparison in a new New York Times profile -- where he was asked why he thought the so-called Scandoval got as big as it did in 2023 ... when he was revealed to have cheated on his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix.

While Scandoval was definitely a major moment ... TS seems to think it transcended things to the point that it elevated to a George Floyd moment, or an O.J. one. Yes, seriously.

Here's what he said ... "I’m not a pop-culture historian really but I witnessed the O.J. Simpson thing and George Floyd and all these big things, which is really weird to compare this to that, I think, but do you think in a weird way it’s a little bit the same?"

The writer of this piece tries to lend him some grace, saying ... "I think I knew what he meant. He was trying to express the oddity of becoming the symbolic center of a nationwide discussion and a major news story; what he communicated instead was something more honest, which is just how much the experience had made him lose perspective."

There was another wild quote in this interview, where he likens himself to a now-disgraced "That 70's Show" star who's in prison. Tom says, "I feel like I got more hate than Danny Masterson, and he’s a convicted rapist."

There's another telling moment in the interview ... where Tom explains his rationale for cheating on Ariana with Rachel Leviss. He's pretty blunt about it and straightforward too.

Tom says, "I did what I did because I was in an unhappy place in my life. I got caught up in my emotions and fully fell in love. Like, for real." Tom apparently got up and went up to his room after this to get ready to go out.

His PR assistant is also quoted as saying ...  "Sometimes he says too much."

We covered it all on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Dos adultos que han sido vinculados al tiroteo de Kansas City ahora se enfrentan a cargos de asesinato y otros delitos graves, algo que acaban de anunciar los fiscales de la ciudad.

Lyndell Mays y Dominic Miller fueron golpeados con cargos de asesinato en segundo grado el martes y también se enfrentan a otros de acción criminal armada y uso ilegal de un arma. Estos chicos son diferentes de los dos adolescentes que fueron acusados la semana pasada.

Es un desarrollo sorprendente, ya que recién nos estamos enterando de que los policías incluso tenían a estos dos hombres bajo custodia. Lo último que habíamos escuchado es que solo tenían 3 personas detenidas, entre ellas dos menores de edad.

Ahora, sin embargo, sabemos que hay al menos 4 personas en total implicadas en el crimen. Los fiscales dicen que todavía no están liberando fotos de los acusados porque estos 2 hombres todavía se están recuperando en el hospital.

Los fiscales llegaron a decir que podría haber otras personas detenidas y acusadas en el caso, pero por ahora están empezando aquí. Señalaron que los dos menores están siendo procesados por un tribunal diferente y sus identidades no se darán a conocer, ya que son justamente menores de edad.

No está claro cuántos años tienen los dos hombres adultos ni cuándo entraron en el radar de la policía. Pero algo interesante que mencionaron es que estas dos facciones en duelo - recuerden, habían dicho todo comenzó por una discusión- no se conocían entre ellos.

Los fiscales señalan que las pruebas sugieren que este acalorado intercambio llevó a que Mays desenfundara su arma de fuego, lo que motivó a que los demás hicieran lo mismo casi inmediatamente después, incluyendo Miller. Después de que estallaron los disparos, los fiscales dicen que el arma de Miller fue la que terminó golpeando a Lisa López-Galván, a pesar de que están atribuyendo su asesinato a ambos chicos.

TMZ dio a conocer la noticia, un registro audiovisual demostraba que había adolescentes capturados en la escena del miércoles, justo antes de que sonaran los disparos y testigos presenciales nos habían dicho que creían que estaban involucrados.

Aunque nuestros testigos no vieron a los adolescentes abriendo fuego, afirman que la persona o personas con las que estaban discutiendo fuera de cámara, fueron los que hicieron los primeros disparos.

Las autoridades de Kansas City dicen que la investigación sigue en curso y que tienen la intención de exigir responsabilidades a todos los que participaron en la tragedia. De momento, esto es lo que tienen.

Two adults who've been linked to the Kansas City mass shooting are now facing murder charges and other serious counts ... something just announced by KC prosecutors.

Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller were both hit with 2nd-degree murder charges Tuesday ... and they're also up against armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon charges on top of that. These guys are different than the two teens who were charged last week.

It's a stunning development, as we're just now learning about the fact that cops even had these two men in their custody. Last we heard ... they only had 3 people detained, including two juveniles.

Now, however ... we know there are at least 4 people total at this point being implicated in this crime. Prosecutors say they're not releasing mug shots yet 'cause these 2 men are still recovering in the hospital.

Prosecutors went on to say that there might be other people arrested and charged in the case -- but for now, they're starting here. They note that the 2 juveniles are being prosecuted by a different court ... and their identities will not be released since they're underage.

It's unclear how old the two adult men are -- and it's also unclear when these two guys came onto the cops' radar. But something interesting officials noted is that these two dueling factions -- remember, they say this all started with an argument -- did not know each other.

Prosecutors note evidence suggests this heated exchange led to a firearm being drawn by Mays ... which then led to others pulling their firearms almost immediately afterward, including one by Miller. After the shots rang out -- prosecutors say Miller's weapon ended up being the one that hit Lisa Lopez-Galvan ... although they're pinning her murder on both guys.

TMZ broke the story ... there were teenagers caught on camera on the scene Wednesday just before shots rang out -- and eyewitnesses tell us they believe they were involved.

While our eyewitnesses say they never saw any of the teens open fire ... they claim the person or persons they were facing off with, off-camera, did unload the first shots.

Kansas City officials say the investigation is still ongoing, and that they intend to hold everyone who participated in the tragedy responsible. At the moment, this is where they're at.

A woman in Memphis was reportedly arrested after allegedly having her young daughter wax the vaginas of adult women -- something she appears to have posted online.

30-year-old Jasmine Moss was booked last week on child neglect charges after cops say they received complaints about her posting graphic images on social media that allegedly depicted her 5-year-old daughter working at her waxing business.

Screengrabs of posts that Moss allegedly threw up on her business account, @jasminedemiracle, quickly started to circulate last week ... and they caused quite a stir.

In two different photos ... you see a little girl standing in front of what appears to be two different women with their pants/underwear off ... and their legs spread wide open. One picture, which is incredibly graphic, shows the girl wearing gloves and applying wax to a lady's crotch area.

The purported posts have captions that seem to reflect she's proud of her little girl, saying "When I say I'm passing down Deed & LLCs to my creations I mean that!"

If they are indeed authentic, it's stunning because the mom appears to say she had the kid do this for a total of 24 different clients starting at 7:25 AM, and had her going for 8 hours.

Una mujer de Memphis ha sido detenida después de que se supiera que su hija depilaba las vaginas de mujeres adultas, algo que parece haber publicado en Internet.

Jasmine Moss -De 30 años de edad- fue detenida la semana pasada por cargos de negligencia infantil después de que la policía dijera que recibieron quejas sobre su publicación de imágenes gráficas en las redes sociales que supuestamente mostraban a su hija de 5 años de edad, que trabaja en su negocio de depilación.

Pantallazos de mensajes de Moss que circulaban supuestamente en su cuenta de negocios, @jasminedemiracle, rápidamente causaron un gran revuelo.

En dos fotos diferentes, se ve a una niña de pie delante de lo que parecen ser dos mujeres diferentes sin pantalones ni ropa interior y con sus piernas abiertas de par en par. Una foto, que es increíblemente gráfica, muestra a la niña usando guantes y aplicando cera en el área de la entrepierna de una dama.

Las supuestas publicaciones tienen pies de foto que parecen reflejar que está orgullosa de su pequeña, diciendo "¡Cuando digo que le estoy poniendo todo el empeño a mi negocio, lo digo en serio!".

Si todo esto es verdad, es impresionante porque la madre haya tenido a la niña haciendo esto para un total de 24 clientes diferentes a partir de las 7:25 AM... la tuvo durante 8 horas.

La nueva película de superhéroes de Dakota Johnson ha sido un fiasco en taquilla, pero ella no está deprimida para nada, pues el agua de México le sienta bien, especialmente si está con su novio a su lado.

La actriz estaba usando un traje de baño blanco de una pieza mientras se refrescaba con su hombre Chris Martin en las playas de Puerto Vallarta el domingo, continuando su gira IDC (realmente no me importa) y demostrando que ni siquiera un fracaso de proporciones puede arruinar su buen momento.

En las fotos se puede ver a la pareja relajándose en una tumbona antes de que Dakota se secara con una toalla tras un refrescante chapuzón en el mar.

Ahora, algunos pueden argumentar que tal vez Dakota huyó a México para evitar todo el ruido de "Madame Web" luego de que se hundiera este fin de semana. Sin embargo, teniendo en cuenta su gira promocional, donde incluso ella admitió que no había visto la película, para consternación de los fans, algo nos dice que probablemente ni siquiera ha registrado lo mal que fue recibida por los fanáticos y críticos por igual.

Es seguro decir que Dakota realmente no dio lo mejor de sí para promocionar la película, al menos a simple vista, y las cifras hablan por sí solas. Si ella es responsable de algo de eso, bueno, ya es una conjetura.

En los seis días de fin de semana largo, que comenzaron en San Valentín y terminaron el Día de los Presidentes, la recaudación fue de solo $25,8 millones a nivel nacional y aproximadamente la misma cantidad a nivel mundial, definitivamente lejos de las cifras de apertura de una película de superhéroes importante.

De hecho, The Hollywood Reporter la calificó como la peor apertura para una película de Sony con personajes relacionados a Spider-Man y el consenso parece ser el mismo en todos los ámbitos.

Dakota Johnson's new superhero movie bombed at the box office -- but she's not trippin' ... 'cause the water in Mexico is fine, especially with her boyfriend right next to her.

The actress stripped down to a white halter neck-style swimsuit as she cooled off with her man Chris Martin in the beachy waters of Puerto Vallarta Sunday -- continuing her IDC tour by proving not even a major film flop was gonna ruin her good time.

The couple could be seen recharging on a sunlounger ... before Dakota dried off with a towel after a refreshing dip in the ocean.

Now, some may argue that DJ, perhaps, fled to Mexico to avoid all the 'MW' noise after it tanked this weekend. However, given her unbothered promo tour -- where she even admitted she hadn't watched the film much to the dismay of comic book fans -- something tells us she probably didn't even register how poorly it was received ... by fans and critics alike.

Safe to say ... Dakota didn't really put her best foot forward promoting the film -- at least on the face of it -- and the figures speak for themselves. Whether she's to blame for any of it though ... well, that's anyone's guess.

The running total for the six-day holiday weekend -- beginning Valentine's Day and ending on President's Day -- was just $25.8 million domestically and about the same amount globally ... definitely not up to par for a major superhero flick opening.

In fact, The Hollywood Reporter put it down as the worst opening for a Sony movie featuring Spider-Man-related characters ... and the consensus seems to be the same across the board.

Popular streamer Kai Cenat invaded Shannon Sharpe's show to set the record straight on his height ... confronting the Hall of Famer for calling him "three feet" tall on national television -- and the whole interaction was hilarious!!

Shannon had social media buzzing when he evoked Kai's height while dissing Jaylen Brown's dunk contest performance on Monday's edition of "First Take" -- ripping the Celtics star for leaping over a sitting Cenat ... when other guys had more impressive attempts with big men like Shaquille O'Neal.

Cenat got wind of Sharpe's comments ... and he went BALLISTIC on his livestream, jumping up and yelling expletives directed at the former tight end.

But he wasn't satisfied with sounding off in front of his viewers ... he had to step onto Shannon's turf on his "Nightcap" show to clear the air even further.

"Why you call me three feet?" Kai said. "Hold on, bro. Stop lying to these people."

Cenat insisted he's actually 5'9" ... but regardless, Shay Shay explained his stance, insisting his issue had more to do with Brown's decision-making than the YouTuber's stature.

Ultimately, it appears the two sides are on good terms now ... and were able to bury the hatchet.

Sylvester Stallone dice que no le aconseja a los actores que hagan sus propias acrobacias en el mundo del cine, y 7 cirugías deberían servir de advertencia... ¿Escuchaste, Tom Cruise?

La legendaria estrella de acción hizo la revelación en un próximo episodio de su reality show de Paramount, "The Family Stallone", donde dijo que se había sometido a más de media docena de cirugías de espalda para hacerle frente a una lesión que sufrió en el set de "The Expendables" en 2010.

Básicamente, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin -que también está en la película- estaba golpeando el cuerpo de Sly en el set, y el Sly realmente estaba absorbiendo los golpes, yendo toma tras toma tras toma.

Hice cosas estúpidas. Estaba dirigiendo "Expendables" y, como un idiota, estaba haciendo la toma diez, la toma que fuera, y recuerdo un golpe y realmente pude sentir un "bang". Steve lo sabía. Nunca me recuperé de "Expendables 1". Después de esa película, nunca volví a ser físicamente el mismo".

Sly añade: "Le he advertido a la gente... no hagas tus propias acrobacias".

Stallone se fracturó el cuello y necesitaba una placa de metal insertado para estabilizar las cosas, y como señala en broma... su próximo papel podría ser Quasimodo en una versión del "Jorobado".

Donnell Rawlings lost it on fellow comic Corey Holcomb at a comedy club this weekend -- and it all seems to have stemmed from an insult the latter hurled at DR.

This wild scene unfolded Sunday night at the Laugh Factory here in Los Angeles -- where Donnell went up to do a set ... and Corey went on after him when we're told he started hurling wild claims and barbs at Donnell and Dave Chappelle's expense.

Donnell tells TMZ he wasn't going to let Corey torch his close friend -- the two of them were on "Chappelle's Show" together back in the day -- so he confronted him over it.

That argument is what you see here on video, obtained by TMZ, with Donnell going absolutely ballistic on Corey -- whom you can hear calling DR "mild" and a lame funny man.

You can also hear Corey questioning Donnell's street cred ... and Donnell was ready to defend himself and his rep -- which he did from the audience level, right in front of everybody. Indeed, it must've been pretty surreal to see play out live.

Now, Donnell claims another inflammatory comment that Corey made played into how angry he got -- namely, Corey allegedly saying that anyone in comedy who has 3 movies or more under their belt has had to perform fellatio on someone in the biz.

The reason Donnell says he got as fired up -- in addition to feeling insulted and hearing his friends get insulted -- is because he has 3 movies, and he insists he's never done anything like that in his career.

BTW, this beef between Donnell, Corey and Dave runs pretty deep -- Corey recently did a podcast where he trashed DC ... and suggested he simply wasn't funny, let alone a legend.

In terms of how this ended, Donnell tells us he ended up walking away from the situation before things escalated further. However, he says he'd still like to hash things out with Corey in a more calm setting and hopefully put their differences aside.

Sylvester Stallone says he doesn't advise actors to do their own stunts in the movie biz ... and 7 surgeries oughta serve as a warning -- you listening, Tom Cruise???

The legendary action star made the revelation in an upcoming episode of his Paramount reality show, "The Family Stallone," where he said he'd undergone more than half a dozen back surgeries to deal with an injury he suffered on the set of "The Expendables" back in 2010.

Basically, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin -- who's also in the movie -- was body-slamming Sly on set ... and the dude was actually absorbing the blows, going take after take after take.

He says, "I did stupid stuff. I was directing 'Expendables' and like an idiot I’m doing take ten, take whatever, and I remember one slam and I could actually feel one bang. Steve knew. I never recovered from Expendables 1. After that film, it was never physically the same."

Sly adds .. "I’ve warned people -- don’t do your own stunts."

SS fractured his neck and needed a metal plate inserted to stabilize things -- and as he jokingly notes ... his next role might be Quasimodo in a 'Hunchback' flick.

While he might be discussing it in jest on his show -- the injuries/surgeries are quite serious ... apparently, Sylvester's doctors have told him he might need artificial discs popped into his lower spine down the line, and his wife Jennifer Flavin says on the show it's tough on the family.

Antonio Brown has been ordered to cut a high-profile jeweler a check for over $1 million ... this after he failed to fight a lawsuit that the diamond expert slapped him with last year.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Shuki International -- a world-renowned businessman who's been the jewelry guy for high-profile celebs like Floyd Mayweather for years -- sued AB back in April 2023 after he claimed the former NFL star borrowed a bunch of his prized items in 2022 but never returned them or paid for them.

In his lawsuit, Shuki said he gave AB a pair of his "Shuki International" diamond fingers -- which the jeweler said cost $500K apiece -- under the premise that Brown would eventually give them back ... or simply cough up the dough for them.

Shuki said he also handed over a rose gold black diamond version of the finger piece, a white gold chain, and a ring -- all with the same expectation.

Yet the jeweler claimed Brown failed to ever return the pieces or hand over the money ... so he asked a judge to force AB to fork over $1,095,000 for it all.

And, after Brown never responded to the suit, a judge issued a default judgment for Shuki last week.

Shuki told us he attempted to reach out to Brown over the decision on Sunday ... but the ex-Buccaneers wideout never returned his call. He added that he's disappointed over the whole matter -- considering the two used to be close.

Brown, meanwhile, was just seen out in LA with one of Shuki's diamond fingers earlier this month ... showing it off to our photog on Rodeo Drive.