You Might Want to Rethink

Cincinnati Reds announcer Thom Brennaman uttered an offensive, homophobic slur while calling the Reds game Wednesday ... apparently not realizing his microphone was on.

Brennaman -- who was announcing a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals -- was heard referring to a city as "one of the f** capitals of the world."

Seconds later he snapped back into announcer mode and read a promo for the Reds Live Pregame Show ... as if nothing had happened.

But, viewers were SHOCKED ... and the clip went viral on social media in a matter of minutes.

56-year-old Brennaman has been calling MLB games since the '90s and has been the featured play-by-play broadcaster for major events like the BCS National Championship Game, the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the 2008 Sugar Bowl ... even the 2011 Pro Bowl.

He's been working with the Reds since 2006.

BE HONEST -- would you try to get your ball back if a giant alligator tried to steal it off a golf course?!!?

HELL NO, RIGHT!?

That's the question some golfers in Louisiana had to ask themselves after a 'gator tried to join their foursome this week ... and the whole thing was caught on video.

Lane Rodrigue tells us he was playing with friends at the Idlewild Golf Course in Patterson, Louisiana on Monday when  the monster walked right on to the course and snatched up his ball.

The guys were shocked -- and jokingly debated "playing it where it lies" ... but ultimately decided to let the gator keep it as a souvenir. No one got hurt. The gator is fine.

The whole thing harkens back to "Happy Gilmore's" mentor Chubbs Peterson who famously griped that a "damned alligator BIT my hand off" ... "cut me down in my prime!"

RIP Chubbs.

The Susan B. Anthony Museum's telling President Trump to kick rocks when it comes to pardoning the activist ... essentially saying it's unwanted, much less needed.

The museum's president and CEO, Deborah Hughes, said Tuesday, in no uncertain terms, "Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon." She explained ... "Anthony wrote in her diary in 1873 that her trial for voting was 'The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.' She was not allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman."

Hughes continued in her blog, "At the conclusion of arguments, Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced [Susan] guilty. She was outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed, 'I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.' To pay would have been to validate the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same."

As we reported ... Trump on Tuesday pardoned the women's rights activist for illegally casting her ballot in 1872. Remember ... it was illegal for women to vote back then.

The odd choice to pardon Susan came on the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment ... so to many, it came off like pandering.

Hughes says there's a better way the President can honor Susan ... "Enforcement and expansion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be celebrated, we must assure that states respect the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the United States Constitution. Support for the Equal Rights Amendment would be well received."

Jake Paul is making lemonade outta the FBI's lemons ... namely that raid at his mansion, which is his inspiration for a music video shoot ... one that has some folks up in arms.

The YouTube star is casting for a new music vid "reenacting his recent run-in with the law," which is a very downplayed description of a fully armed, military-style FBI raid.

Jake's looking for a couple men to play the roles of FBI agent and paparazzi, and naturally, he's also putting out a call for tons of hot chicks. It's still a music video, and he's gotta have eye candy.

In addition to pretty women ... Jake also recruited hypercar suppliers Obi Okeke -- aka Doctor Bugatti -- and Donny Gath from iLusso OC to snag him a $300K Maybach S650 Cabriolet for the shoot.

The music video shoot appears to be happening Saturday in Calabasas, presumably at the same house that was raided, and folks are already mad at Jake and questioning him on coronavirus safety precautions.

The questions are warranted ... as we reported, Jake's Calabasas crib hosted a super sloppy boxing match last week that looked like a COVID-19 nightmare. There were tons of people crowding together, few face coverings and sweaty boxers fighting for air.

For Jake's part, he wore a mask around the neighborhood with his ex, Tana Mongeau, but some people are worried the video shoot will be a repeat of his boxing bash -- short on safety measures.

Late night, drunken drive-thru vids are usually pure comedy, but this time a Karen is adding a huge dose of racism ... against a black man who had the nerve to have white friends.

This hate-filled incident went down at a drive-thru somewhere in Arizona ... when a white woman -- who definitely sounded loopy -- got out of her vehicle to harass a truck full of friends waiting behind her. She immediately targeted the black guy in the group, spewing ... "You f***ing black bitch. You're black hanging out with white kids and that's your problem."

Then she went after his friends -- "You ignorant white f***s videotaping my ass?" To their credit, everyone in the truck seemed to take it in stride, and mostly laughed off her vitriol. However, you gotta see what happened when the black guy got out of the truck for a face-to-face with her.

We'll just say he definitely kept his sense of humor throughout her rant, because he did a spot-on impression of Steve Irwin checking out a bizarre species ... of racist. "Crikey!!!

He did get serious when he calmly asked her to get in her car, saying ... "If the cops come, we're all f***ed." Far as we know, cops were NOT called.

The Toronto Blue Jays say they're sorry players wore shirts that depicted their mascot as a homeless person ... and now, the team has officially banned the apparel from the clubhouse.

Several Blue Jays players were spotted wearing the T-shirts this month ... with pitcher Anthony Bass proudly displaying the attire on social media last weekend.

The all blue shirt featured the words "Homeless Jays" ... and showed a Blue Jay cartoon wearing tattered clothes while holding a baseball bat with a sack of belongings in it.

Of course, the shirt was meant to be a play on the Blue Jays being barred from playing games in their hometown over the COVID-19 pandemic ... but many called it straight-up offensive.

And, in a statement released by the team this week ... it agreed, apologizing for a "lapse in sensitivity" toward homeless people -- and adding they won't allow players to wear it again.

"The Blue Jays take accountability for ensuring negative stereotypes are not perpetuated and for supporting marginalized groups in our community," the team said. "The club has addressed the issue of the T-shirts with our players and they will not be worn again."

The team added, "The Blue Jays have a strong commitment to lifting up our most vulnerable through Jays Care Foundation, including a longstanding partnership with Toronto Community Housing."

A Harlem Globetrotters player says white Alabama news anchors threw a banana and other fruit at him during a January appearance ... and now he's coming forward to blast the men for the "disrespectful and egregious" act.

Maxwell Pearce -- AKA "Hops" -- says he was doing an interview with Fox 6 in Birmingham to promote an event ... when suddenly, people on set threw tangerines his way.

Shortly after ... the 24-year-old says one of the anchors took it a step further, and hurled a banana at him.

In footage from the interview ... you can see Pearce caught the fruit with a shocked expression on his face.

Now, after months of reflecting on the incident ... Pearce says he's going public with his feelings on the matter to raise awareness for just how unacceptable the acts were.

"Throwing fruit at me diminishes the Naismith Hall of Fame legacy of the Harlem Globetrotters to that of a circus," Pearce said in an emotional video over the weekend.

"But throwing a banana at a black man and passing it off as entertainment displays an unacceptable lack of awareness. And quite frankly, I'm having a very difficult time understanding how someone could work in the media field and not know that this is offensive."

Pearce added, "This carries deep racial undertones that date back to the early 1900s when black people were held on display in human zoos."

Pearce says he initially urged the news station for an apology, but "stood down" for fear of appearing combative.

But, Pearce claims after the tragic deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ... he felt it was necessary to shine a public light on what he went through.

Pearce told CNN this week that he did receive an apology from the news station over the fruit throwing ... but claims the anchors themselves have yet to reach out to him to say sorry.

"At this point it's not going to be sincere to me," Pearce said.

For its part, a station spokesperson released a statement on the matter to AL.com this week ... saying, "WBRC Fox6 would like to take this opportunity to again extend a heartfelt and sincere apology to Globetrotter Max Pearce."

This anti-masker has found his hill to die on ... and it's inside a Marshalls.

Check out this video from the discount department store in Campbell, CA ... the guy is shopping without a face covering, and he throws a fit when employees ask him to leave and launches into a homophobic rant.

The man in the video, who some are calling a male "Karen," or "Kevin," thinks he's smarter than everyone else, but he's not ... you'll hear him claiming it's a $75,000 fine to deny service to people with disabilities. Seems he got his info from the alleged "Freedom to Breathe Agency." Yeah, that's been debunked ... it's not a real thing.

Guess this genius missed the report from the U.S. Department of Justice saying the 'FTBA' cards folks claim allows them to get away with not covering their faces are fraudulent.

Of course, the anti-masker felt he couldn't possibly be in the wrong, and he dropped homophobic slurs at store employees -- calling them "dumb f*****g f*****s" for not knowing the law.

It gets even worse ... the man starts to expose himself while employees ask his name. What would the 'FTBA' say about that?!?

Too bad he couldn't just wear the damn mask on this failed shopping trip ... he really needs a new tie.

The Charlotte Hornets play-by-play guy John Focke says he wanted to tweet out the word "Nuggets" on Monday.

He tweeted out a different n-word instead ... and now he's been suspended indefinitely.

Here's the deal ... Focke was watching the Utah Jazz take on the Denver Nuggets on Monday and claims his intention was to tweet about the shooting.

But, something went wrong ... and he sent out the racial slur to his 3,800 followers.

"Shot making in this Jazz-(n-word) game is awesome!" Focke said in the since-deleted tweet. "Murray and Mitchell going back and forth what a game!"

Once he realized what he had done, Focke scrambled to apologize and explain ... saying, "Earlier today I made a horrific error while attempting to tweet about the Denver-Utah game."

"I don’t know how I mistyped, I had (and have) no intention of ever using that word."

"I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been sick to my stomach about it ever since. I’m truly sorry that this happened and I apologize to those I offended."

The Hornets quickly addressed the issue ... suspending Focke indefinitely and launching an investigation into the incident.

"The Charlotte Hornets are aware of the recent social media post by radio broadcaster John Focke. As an organization, we do not condone this type of language."

"John has been suspended indefinitely as we investigate the matter more closely."

To make matter worse ... this is Focke's first season broadcasting for the Hornets.

The Democratic National Convention deciding to go fully virtual this year is saving everyone millions of dollars ... TMZ has learned.

According to federal docs we obtained, the total cost of protecting everyone involved in the week-long DNC events will run around $1.5 million -- which also includes putting bodies on the ground at Joe's house in Wilmington, DE ... where he'll deliver his acceptance speech.

While a million-bucks plus is nothing to sneeze at -- it's a helluva lot cheaper than the original plan, which would've seen the Service spending way more in security coverage had the convention been held in person in Milwaukee -- something they scrapped very recently.

If there were conventions in convention halls, the Secret Service was anticipating security expenses at almost $4 mil for Joe and co., and practically double that for Trump.

Considering this order of $1.5 mil appears to encompass everyone participating in the DNC -- it's likely the government spent little to no extra money accommodating Biden's change of location. Presumably, he's already had people stationed -- and getting a few extra agents on his detail this week probably isn't breaking the bank.

All things considered -- going digital is saving the Dems (plus, you and us) millions that can and hopefully will be better spent elsewhere ... say, for coronavirus relief funds, for example.

Broadcasting 101 -- ya may not wanna call your ex-wife a "dingbat" on live TV ... 'cause everyone knows that's pretty bad, right??

But, former Chicago Cubs star Mark Grace must've missed that lesson ... and now he's apologizing for his bizarre rant during Saturday's game.

The 56-year-old joined Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies in the booth (virtually) for the Cubs vs. Brewers game on Marquee Sports Network over the weekend ... when he was asked to give a fun story about his playing days.

That's when Grace couldn't help himself but call his ex a "dingbat" several times while sharing an incident where she accidentally parked in a spot reserved for then-Brewers owner Bud Selig ... forcing Grace to rush out in full uniform to stop the car from being towed.

"My ex-wife, I’m going to go Archie Bunker on you guys a little bit," Grace said on air, "I called her the dingbat."

For those who don't get the reference ... Bunker is a character from "All In The Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place" ... and the guy was known for calling his wife -- you guessed it -- a "dingbat."

BTW -- While Kasper and Seshaies awkwardly played off the comments, neither spoke up and said Grace's jabs were a bit off.

To make matters worse, it wasn't even a good story -- she parked in Bud Selig's spot decades ago ... who cares?

Grace later apologized for the bad TV moment ... saying, "During today’s game I referred to my ex-wife in a way that I absolutely should not have."

"I want everyone to know how very sorry I am about that. My remarks were offensive and inappropriate, and I deeply apologize.”

Kylie Jenner's under fire for allegedly identifying herself as a person of color in a photo caption, but she's denying ever writing any such thing online.

The beauty mogul is taking major heat for the post that went up Sunday, and currently has the caption, "brown eyed girl." But, some Internet folks are claiming that caption is edited, and originally said, "brown skinned girl." Huge difference.

Sources close to Kylie insist she never wrote it, plain and simple. We're told the caption was always "brown eyed girl," and that the other caption making the rounds online is simply a doctored image circulated by trolls. Her camp is firm -- she never changed it at all.

Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if you weren't allowed to edit captions on IG -- like you can't on Twitter -- but you can, and a lot of people claim they saw the 'skinned' line first.

What's likely making doubters/haters skeptical is the fact Kylie is sometimes accused of cultural appropriation -- a lot of the Kardashians are, frankly -- and that magnifying glass is on her again ... no doubt, because she was featured in Cardi B's immensely popular "WAP" music video.

Folks thought the cameo should've gone to a Black girl -- like Jordyn Woods, for example -- and that putting Kylie in was giving her more exposure than she needs or deserves.

That debate's raging on, but on the "brown" caption issue, Kylie's peeps say there's no debate ... 'cause it didn't happen.

London Bridge might be falling down, but so is this man after getting his clock cleaned for spewing racist crap in public.

Check out this one-hitter-quitter that went down over the weekend on a train in the London Underground metro system, where this white guy was mouthing off to three Black youths ... for no apparent reason. He starts out as simply bigoted, but eventually turns full racist.

Watch ... the man's going off about this being "my home" in an incoherent tirade. He's arguing with the one guys off-screen, who's asking what his name is and where he's getting off. Soon, the instigator brings up race, saying with derision ... "You're black."

People around him ask what that has to do with anything, and he shooshes them ... firing back, "This is popular." You can tell he's getting a kick out of riling everyone up too.

The video then cuts to the three Black dudes getting off at their stop, and as they pass the white man -- who's got his fists balled up, ready to fight -- one the young'ns swings on him and connects with his jaw, sending the guy flying back and landing hard on the ground.

Another school year is ramping up -- and while some institutions are holding off on in-person classes, others are letting their students come back ... including UNG, which is already proving to be a COVID nightmare even before Day 1.

The first day of classes at the University of North Georgia begins on Monday, when students return to campus. Of course, that means a crap ton of 18-to-20-somethings flocked into town over the weekend and did what college kids do ... pack in tight and party the night away.

Check out this video of what must be dozens, if not hundreds, of students flooding the street of what appears to be an off-campus housing neighborhood. There's massive crowds for as far as the eye can see, and of course ... no one's distanced and no one's wearing masks.

It also doesn't look like there's a cop or campus security guard in sight -- then again, if it is off-campus housing ... it's probably a college student-driven area, so maybe nobody minds.

What we imagine people -- especially the faculty -- will care about in a couple weeks here when symptoms can set in ... is how much of the student body start getting sick, and what this rager might have to do with it right out the gate. At this rate, things could get ugly fast.

UNG has said they're committed to providing a safe environment for students this fall semester, with new guidelines and precautions in place. That's all fine and good while folks are on campus, but when the kids leave ... who can realistically control what they do?

This is either straight out of your worst nightmare or wildest dream -- a beautiful Victorian home with a dark secret in the basement ... AKA, a fully operational jail with cells intact.

A realty company called House of Brokers has a listing for a 2-bed, 2-bath, single-family brick home in Fayette, MO ... going for $350k. It's described as a historic site -- but that history is steeped in inmate lockups, 'cause the place used to double as an actual jail site.

Unclear what law enforcement agency operated out of here once upon a time, but it's clear they were using it to house prisoners ... 'cause the basement was literally reconstructed to accommodate just that. It features a full booking room and 9 cells, steel bunk beds and all.

The listing agent, Jeffrey Radel, had a cheeky description of the place, which raised eyebrows. He writes, "WAIT until you get to picture #30!! 1875 Howard County Sheriff's House and Jail. Extremely unique opportunity!!" Pic 30 is where the vibe changes drastically.

After describing the main house -- which looks nice with the renovations -- he adds, "AND THE BEST PART, connected to the home is a 2500 sq ft legitimate jail with 9 cells, booking room and 1/2 bath. The cell door lock throws appear to be operational. Full basement under the home with lighting throughout. Possibilities are amazing with this property."

We asked what his intention behind that last line might be -- and Jeffrey assured us he wasn't trying to offend or invite others to still use it as a jail. He says he meant it more like an opportunity to rework the space -- for wine tasting, for example -- and insists he was just trying to capture potential buyers' attention, since that's his job. He simply wants it sold.

A young New Yorker drew outrage for taking a dip in the infamous Hudson River -- but as it turns out, she might've had the last laugh ... 'cause it's actually safer than you might think.

TikTok user Donna P -- a 20-year-old food blogger from the Big Apple -- posted some videos of herself jumping off a boat into the murky waters right near the Statue of Liberty, which put a whole lot of Twitter truthers into a tizzy ... with a lot of them calling her out.

Folks were making fun of her, saying she was foolish and generally deriding the fact she thought this could possibly be safe ... not to mention she did it with so much verve and free-spirited passion. Basically, people thought this was downright dumb, putting her health at risk just for a TikTok video. There were also plenty of jokes and memes to go around.

BUT, it looks like Donna mostly walks away with the W in this sitch, 'cause she did her homework. When she caught wind of the "backlash," she decided to do a bit of research and took people to school with the facts -- per the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation.

If you go to their page about the Hudson River, it dishes out a lot of info as to whether it's safe or not to swim in. Long story short ... yes and no. The Dept. notes, generally speaking, it probably won't do much harm to take a swim or a dive. Fact is, the river's not quite as toxic or polluted as it was in the old days -- even though people are under the impression that it very much is. BTW, Donna tells us she knew this going in ... and that she's fine.

Now, we don't recommend taking to New York's river waters regularly -- good for the back as it might be. Frankly, it's probably not the best habit, 'cause there can still be some gnarly stuff in there that could be harmful. Different parts of the Hudson are certainly worse than others, and rain runoff can mix in with the city sewage and can seep in, even today.