You Might Want to Rethink

Nassau County chiefs want their residents to kick each other's balls if they must, but don't you dare go touching them ... tennis balls, that is. Hey, no giggling!

That was pretty much how it sounded when County Executive Laura Curran gave a rundown on how Nassau was going to navigate reopening tennis courts there, and what the new regulations would be when handling one another's balls. Again ... tennis balls.

In fact, you can tell Curran was trying her hardest to get the word "tennis" in there each and every time she mentioned "balls," but eventually she slipped ... and let a free ball run loose in her spiel, saying folks can kick other people's balls (back over to the owner if they happen to roll on over, is what she meant), but there is to be no touching of said balls!

That got a nice chuckle from the crowd who was listening, and finally ... Curran herself cracked up as well. She said she was gonna blush and again made another balls reference that got another giggle from just about everyone. Who says we outgrow sophomoric humor?!

This is the greatest balls moment since the 'SNL' classic ... of course, we're talking about Alec Baldwin's famous "Schweddy Balls" skit, where then too, it was balls galore.

Mark Henry has a warning for ex-WWE wrestler Lio Rush ... stop defaming me, or my (Harvard educated) lawyers are going to file a lawsuit against your ass!!

Let's explain ... earlier this week, Rush -- who was recently released by WWE -- fired off a barrage of Tweets attacking the Hall of Famer.

Rush accused Henry of torpedoing black wrestlers' careers, writing ... "This is why African American talent on the biggest platform will continue to not have equal opportunity because people like you constantly tear your own people down. A damn shame honestly.”

TMZ Sports talked to an extremely upset Mark Henry ... who says Rush's comments are straight-up nonsense.

"If you go down to the performance center at NXT, probably 25 I think, people of color in the facility, probably about 80 plus percent of them I helped get them there. I mean, it's completely opposite."

So, if it ain't true, why'd Rush write what he did?

Mark tells us Lio's clout chasing ... using his name and fame to promote his music career.

"He knew that I get a lot of attention. I have a lot of followers and he released the album, or song, or something, and he wanted to use that to get some attention. Get some buzz," Henry says.

Mark's adamant if Rush would've just asked for help, he would've plugged his music -- no problem -- but what he did instead was wayyy out of bounds.

"If he would've called me, I would've done it anyway. We would've just worked it. I would of really talked it up, we would of made world news, but now he said something slanderous."

"And, you can't question my blackness. Like nobody can question my blackness, pull my black card. No, not allowed. Nobody."

Mark's so mad ... he tells us he's seriously considering filing a lawsuit.

"My lawyer went to Harvard. I don't know what kinda lawyers he's dealing with, but I got those Ivy League people around me, and they're pissed!"

But, there is one thing Lio Rush can do before he finds his ass in a courtroom ... say sorry, and really mean it.

Fat Joe had an eye-opening story for Ashanti that almost saw one of her biggest hits go to Jennifer Lopez ... at the would-be behest of Ja Rule and Irv Gotti.

Joe was talking to Ashanti on Instagram Live this week, and recounted an interesting tale about a time he says Ja and Irv called him up in the dead of night and told him to come to the studio. Once there, FJ says they showed him the remixed version of his song "What's Luv?" with Ashanti singing on it ... but told him they wanted to get J Lo on instead.

He goes on to say that Irv and Ja tried pitching him on a Latino angle with himself, Ja and J Lo on the final cut for representation. Joe's Puerto Rican, Jen is too.

Luckily for Ashanti -- who seems seriously stunned at the revelation -- Joe lobbied to keep her on, 'cause he said she sounded amazing on it. Audiences clearly agreed in the end ... Ashanti was kept on as the primary female singer in the remix, and the song went on to peak at No. 2 on the Hot 100 Billboard chart, and stayed on for nearly 20 weeks.

As for Ashanti, she says she never knew this ... and seemed a little pissed at either Ja or Irv (or possibly both) by saying, "He stayed pulling records or trying to pull records from me." Joe tries calming her down by telling her not to go there, but too late ... Ashanti did.

The duo went on to talk about a number of hits Ashanti had on the charts at the time, including one J Lo song she's credited with helping write, "Ain't It Funny" ... the Murder remix, anyway. People online are saying Ashanti doesn't get her due for her pen prowess.

Rich the Kid did some damage in the hood this week ...

The rapper was shooting a music video on Long Island and wanted to film with 4 Lamborghini's in the background. A woman named Irina Pichkhadze, aka @queenofexotics, brought 2 Lambos she owned to the shoot. Rich rented a third Lambo and a buddy of Irina brought the fourth. Each car goes for more than $600k.

Then Rich had an idea ... line up the 4 Lambos and take a pic in front of them while they waited for the videographer.

The shoot did NOT go well ... in fact, it didn't go at all. The videographer was a no show.

And then ... he jumped on the hood of one of Irina's whips, and she just lost it, hurling profanities at the rapper as he clowned on top the car.

Irina tells us when Rich jumped off, he just said, "whatever," and left in his Lambo.

The TikTok star who's getting destroyed for his asinine subway prank says he's sorry, but much like his cereal stunt ... the apology misses the mark.

As we reported ... the TikTok prankster, @fckjoshy, dumped a large plastic bin full of Fruity Pebbles and milk on the floor of a NYC subway train Wednesday. The powerfully unfunny move was rightfully condemned by people online, the city's transit agency ... and we learned the NYPD is investigating too.

So, Fckjoshy posted a video Thursday in an apparent attempt to own up to his mistake and apologize to the MTA, essential workers and everyone else he affected with his prank ... but people aren't really buying it.

He claims he thought the stunt would be something to make people laugh and bring joy during the COVID-19 pandemic, but instead he was "way off the mark" and "went over the line."

Joshy goes on to call himself a "f***ing idiot," "public enemy #1" and says he wishes people could slap him. Alright, that part of the apology he nailed.

He also read 50 hate-filled comments -- in a pretty a dispassionate way -- and insisted he's taking them all to heart. Maybe he is, but it sure didn't sound like it.

Joe Exotic's massive new legal team is chomping at the bit to ask Donald Trump for a presidential pardon for the 'Tiger King' ... and they're ready to flood the White House!!!

Eric Love, the super-colorful figure leading Joe's legal team, just checked in from the HQ in Ft. Worth, Texas ... telling us they're hitting the road bright and early Monday en route to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As you can see ... the big bus wrapped in a plea to get Joe sprung from prison looks all gassed up and ready to go to D.C. ... and Eric says they're gonna enjoy the weekend then get down to brass tacks.

As we first reported ... Joe's legal team produced a Texas-style video asking POTUS for a pardon, claiming the 'Tiger King' is not only NOT GUILTY of trying to get Carole Baskin whacked ... he was also FRAMED.

Joe's army of lawyers will attack on all fronts ... they're appealing Joe's conviction, asking Trump for a pardon and even pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a bunch of people involved in Joe's criminal trial.

As you know ... there's also evidence the alleged hitman had an ax to grind with Joe, because he told us his testimony against Exotic was "payback" and he wished he could've done even more to hurt Joe.

And, as we previously reported ... Trump actually joked about a pardon for Joe when talking about the 'Tiger King' at a coronavirus briefing.

A TikTok prankster's getting rightfully condemned for dumping a tub of cereal on the floor of a NYC subway train, including by the MTA ... which called the stunt "despicable."

The stupidy played out like this -- TikTok star @fckjoshy got on a train heading to the Bronx Tuesday with a box of Fruity Pebbles and a gallon of milk, and proceeded to mix them in a big plastic bin ... like it's his normal routine.

Amusing enough, but then he stood up and "accidentally" dropped it on the subway floor so it spilled everywhere ... causing passengers nearby to scurry away.

The TikTok moron narrated his video of the giant mess he created, saying ... "Someone was like, 'I cannot believe this is happening.' I was like, 'I can't believe this is happening again.'"

Of course, the fact it happened at all has sparked justifiable outrage not just from random folks on Twitter, but the MTA ... who called fckjoshy's prank "A new low."

It added ... "Pulling a prank on essential workers in the middle of a global pandemic. And making essential workers clean up your mess. Despicable." Not to mention the ridiculous waste ... as millions of Americans have to wait in hours-long lines at food banks

It's been a year since LeSean McCoy ruined the ending to the insanely anticipated "Avengers: Endgame" movie ... and the NFL star is FINALLY apologizing for the huge mistake.

Of course, Shady infamously tweeted out "RIP my dog TONEY STARK" on April 26, 2019 -- before most people were able to check out the Marvel flick for themselves ... and instantly became Public Enemy No. 1 on social media.

BTW -- for those who haven't seen the flick, Iron Man dies at the end of "Avengers: Endgame." You've had a year to watch it. It's not our problem anymore.

McCoy was asked about the epic spoiler on "Good Morning Football" Wednesday ... and it's safe to say the dude will never live it down.

"That was the worst decision of my life, okay?"

"I didn't know like, the reaction of the people. I didn't know that. If I knew that, I would've never tweeted that. I didn't know that people really got into them cartoons like that." (yes, he called them "cartoons").

Shady says people STILL ask him why on earth he'd ruin the superhero saga while out in public ... but he's learned from his mistakes and will keep all spoilers in his drafts from now on.

"I apologize. It was terrible. It was a bad decision."

'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic allegedly managed to have a helicopter fly over his old zoo and freak out all the animals -- at least that's what Joe's ex-business partner and owner of the zoo, Jeff Lowe, thinks ... but Joe's team is calling BS.

According to the FAA ... it received an official complaint about a chopper illegally flying over Lowe's Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma. We're told an investigation is underway.

Sources close to Jeff tell TMZ ... the helicopter violated restricted air space and at one point was hovering right over the zoo's gift shop. We're told this caused the animals to go nuts and stressed out the endangered ones, which violates the Endangered Species Act.

As for the connection to Exotic ... our sources say Lowe's people got the chopper's tail number as it buzzed nearby, and discovered it matches with the one featured in a video produced by Joe's legal team.

We broke the story ... the legal team made the video to ask President Trump to free Joe, claiming he was framed for putting a hit out on his foe, Carole Baskin.

We're told Jeff's wife, Lauren, called and reported the incident Monday to the FAA.

Joe's rep, Eric Love, tells us ... Team Tiger has no knowledge of the incident. Love says no one on the team was involved, and says the helicopter used for the video was one they chartered ... it's not theirs.

Of course, the whole thing raises eyebrows. As you may recall from 'Tiger King' ... Joe once flew a helicopter over Baskin's Big Cat Rescue park in Florida to check it out, which she also claimed caused the animals distress.

We had to read this legal doc several times, because it was so shocking ... Island Express -- the company that owned the helicopter that sent 8 innocent passengers to their death -- claims Kobe AND 13-YEAR-OLD GIGI knew flying could result in an accident and therefore, Vanessa Bryant has no case.

It's true ... Island Express filed an answer to Vanessa's wrongful death lawsuit and, they threw in every argument in the book, including Act of God.

So, here's how it breaks down. Island Express says in its answer, "Kobe Bryant and GB [Gigi] had actual knowledge of all of the circumstances, particular dangers, and an appreciation of the risks involved and the magnitude thereof, and proceeded to encounter a known risk, and voluntarily assumed the risk of the accident, injury ... thereby barring or reducing [Vanessa's] claim for damages."

Island Express never explains how a 13-year-old girl appreciates such risks, and while we're on the subject, did anyone know helicopters are so dangerous that passengers who dare to board do so at their own peril? If that's the case, how come Island Express didn't have a big sign in front of the helicopter?

It gets even crazier. Island Express says it's not responsible for the crash because it was an Act of God. Well, blinding fog is definitely an act of God. Flying into it at 180 MPH is not.

And then, just like the pilot, Island Express blamed the crash on the passengers -- in this case Kobe and Gigi, saying their lawsuit should be thrown out because they were negligent.

And, there's more. Island Express said the accident was the result "of an unavoidable accident." Turning the helicopter around before going into the fog, or going very slow as the pilot ascended or descended might have made it avoidable.

Michael Jordan may have seemed like a teammate from hell ... but ex-Bulls player Scott Burrell says he welcomed MJ's tough antics ... telling TMZ Sports he LOVED the way #23 motivated him.

Previously unreleased footage of the '98 Bulls season aired on ESPN's "The Last Dance" doc Sunday ... showing Jordan cussing at, mocking and being extra hard on certain players during practice.

Burrell -- who was on the receiving end of a lot of Jordan's harsh actions -- says it wasn't as bad as it looked ... 'cause he WANTED His Airness to prep him to be a contributing player on a championship team.

"I think Michael had different techniques maybe some people didn't think were great leadership qualities," Burrell says. "I loved it! I loved the way he pushed me, I loved the way he motivated me."

Burrell says the antics worked off ... 'cause the Bulls were ready to take on each team's best shot every night, even when the opponents gave MJ all they had.

"People gotta understand, this is a team that won 5 championships in 7 years, and 2 in a row. People weren't saying 'I'm gonna play Steve Kerr or Toni Kukoc, every team that played Chicago was 'I wanna kick Michael Jordan's butt.'"

Burrell never took MJ's words to heart ... saying he knew Jordan was just trash talking and didn't really mean what he was saying.

Matter of fact, Burrell says he's still tight with MJ ... and they even hit the links together from time to time.

"I'm glad I learned from the best coaches and the best players and I like the friendship we built and the team camaraderie we have."

We also asked Burrell -- who also had a brief stint playing baseball in the minor leagues -- about Jordan's brief pro-hardball career ... and he gives the guy props for what he was able to do after so many years away from the diamond.

Rick Singer is the key witness against Lori Loughlin and other parents of accused of bribing universities -- but instead of shaking in his boots ... he's paddling in his Speedo.

The college admission scandal mastermind -- who copped a sweet deal early on -- was spotted over the weekend in Newport Beach -- where he was, once again, paddling his heart in nothing but a skimpy bathing suit ... something he does pretty often out there.

It's funny, 'cause you'd think the feds might want to keep their cash cow, so to speak, under close observation or away from the public eye ... ya know, in case someone starts to feel squirrely and tries something nuts ahead of what appears to be a forthcoming jury trial.

This ain't ''The Godfather'' though -- RIP Frank Pentangeli, BTW. It's just good old-fashioned white-collar crime (allegedly), and it doesn't seem federal prosecutors, or Rick for that matter, have a care in the world about him making it to the witness stand safe and sound.

Meanwhile, Lori Loughlin just had her bid to have the charges against her and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, dismissed shut down by a judge. She and her team claimed the feds tried coercing Singer into lying and telling them what they wanted to hear about his clients, but the court wasn't buying it and said it was mostly much ado about nothing.