TMZ Sports - Page 50

Eli Manning claims he doesn't give a crap about the pressure in his footballs -- and says the fact that Tom Brady obsesses over it seems incredibly strange to him ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 2-time Super Bowl champ was a guest speaker at a private function at the New York Athletic Club last week when he was asked for his opinion on Deflate-Gate.

"I never worried really much about the inflation," Manning said ... "I thought it was kind of strange that [Tom] Brady knew he liked his ball at 12.5 pounds of pressure in the ball."

"That's the minimum number you can have ... seems kind of strange to me."

But get this, Manning says he's not convinced the pressure in the ball "is that big of a deal" ... and claims the Brady scandal is the first he's ever heard of an issue with inflation.

Manning -- who seems to be the bane of New England's existence when it comes to Super Bowls -- also told the crowd what he thinks could be the key to another Seattle victory.

Do you like mystery novels? Do you like mystery novels that have secret jail messages from Aaron Hernandez to other inmates hidden inside them? Then you might be in luck ...

We broke the story ... Hernandez was investigated for trying to sneak notes to other inmates at Bristol County Jail in 2013 by allegedly penning messages inside jail library books ... which the other inmates would then check out. It's pretty Shawshankian stuff.

Now, one of the books that Aaron allegedly used to pass the notes has hit eBay -- asking price? $2,000. The seller is keeping the contents of the note secret as part of the sales appeal.

The seller, who wishes to remain anonymous, tells TMZ Sports he got the book from a guy who managed to sneak it out of the clink. More Shawshankian stuff.

And get this ... the book is "Bad Boy Brawly Brown" by Walter Mosley ... a crime novel about the fictional Easy Rawlins ... a man who faced murder charges in a previous Mosley story.

In the books (spoiler alert), Rawlins was able to prove his innocence and beat the rap.

Wonder if Hernandez chose this particular book hoping life imitates art ... or if it just happened to be the only writing he could grab.

Young, rich, single NFL players better get chicks to sign contracts before taking them out on dates ... at least that's how former Steelers superstar Hines Ward sees it.

The ex Super Bowl champ went on Meredith Vieira's talk show and said single NFL players are being targeted by conniving women. Ward's point seemed to be that these women are falsely accusing players in domestic violence cases.

Pretty bold statement -- and Ward even went on to suggest single players get something in writing with their dates.

The NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker room attendant who might be the cuplrit behind the deflated football scandal ... this according to a new report.

According to Jay Glazer and FOX Sports, surveillance video allegedly shows the attendant taking footballs from the official's locker room and going into another room at Gillette Stadium before bringing them to the field.

The attendant in question has already been interviewed by the league, according to Glazer. The NFL is trying to determine if any wrongdoing occurred.

Dennis Rodman says he's constantly the target of vicious death threats ... all because of his trip to North Korea ... and it's clearly taking one hell of an emotional toll on the NBA legend.

The Worm nearly broke down during an interview scene in the new documentary "Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang In Pyongyang" ... in which he tries to explain why he was so passionate about going to N. Korea in the first place.

"I get death threats a lot," Rodman said ... "People ask, why are you doing this Dennis? I'm just trying to keep everything together."

Rodman also calls out Jay-Z and Beyonce -- claiming the couple is way more famous than he is, but aren't willing to risk what he risks in order to make the world a better place.

The WWE has not said if there will be any live matches -- but it's not out of the question.

Earlier today, the Governor of Connecticut said the roads will be closed after 9 PM ... which would be in the middle of RAW's telecast ... and leave everyone in the XL Center stranded.

The WWE says it's not leaving Hartford out in the cold -- and will push the scheduled event to Thursday.

He might be banned from the NFL, but Josh Gordon did NOT violate his probation by reportedly testing positive for alcohol ... court officials tell TMZ Sports.

The Cleveland Browns wide receiver was sentenced to 12 months unsupervised probation stemming from a DWI arrest in North Carolina back in July 2014.

The 23-year-old was given a 60 day suspended sentence -- meaning if he violated his probation, he'll have to serve 60 days in the slammer. High stakes.

But this weekend, reports surfaced that Gordon tested positive for booze on an NFL-issued substance test -- and faces a 1-year ban from the league for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.

The good news for Gordon -- we spoke with an official from Wake County Superior Court who tells us ... "there are no regulations on alcohol consumption" mentioned in the terms of his probation.

"Therefore, any failed NFL test for alcohol would have no bearing on his probation."

The official also told us Gordon has had no issues regarding his probation thus far.

Lance Armstrong says ... if he had a time machine to go back to the '90s, he would NOT have stopped himself from doping ...saying, "I would probably do it again."

The disgraced cyclist spoke with the BBC about his decision to cheat -- and if he's learned anything along the way.

"If I was racing in 2015, no, I wouldn't do it again because I don't think you have to," Lance said.

"If you take me back to 1995, when doping was completely pervasive, I would probably do it again."

This is Bubbles the Elephant.

Besides being a massive star (she was in Janet Jackson's "Together Again" video back in '97), she also has a talent for predicting Super Bowl winners.

So, the people at the T.I.G.E.R.S. Preserve in Myrtle Beach, SC decided to put her talents to the test ... on video.

Here's how Bubbles works -- she's got two cakes to choose from ... a Pats cake and a Seahawks cake.

Whichever she eats -- they will win.

The folks in Myrtle Beach also have a SB-predicting tiger -- seems he strongly agrees with Bubbles.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is going into the Hall of Fame ... not for acting or bodybuilding ... the former governor is being inducted for his contributions to wrestling.

TMZ has learned Arnold will be the next inductee WWE announces for their HoF's celeb wing -- featuring the likes of Mike Tyson, Pete Rose and Donald Trump.

Schwarzenegger is a long time wrestling fan whose appeared at many Monday Night RAW and Smackdown events. He also inducted legendary wrestler Bruno Sammartino into the Hall in 2013.

As we previously reported ... "Macho Man" Randy Savage will also be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 31 weekend.

Instead of playing for a measly $55k bonus check in the Pro Bowl, Washington Redskins receiver DeSean Jackson spent his Sunday night up close and personal with Miss Universe.

Jackson -- whose 56 catches for 1,169 yards and 6 TDs weren't enough to earn him a spot in AZ -- was a judge in the Miss Universe pageant along with stars like Manny Pacquiao and Giancarlo Stanton.

The gang ultimately gave the tiara to Miss Colombia ... and after the show, DJ made sure to find her for a pic.

Nice work Colombia.

T.O.'s callin' B.S. on T.B.

It's clear, the "Celebrity Apprentice" ain't buyin' Tom Brady's excuse that he had no idea his footballs were under-inflated during the AFC Championship game earlier this month.

Terrell Owens -- who played 15 seasons in the NFL -- told us it's "obvious" when the ball isn't pumped up to the league standard ... especially for a guy who has as much experience as Brady.

Fact: The child abuse investigation into NBA star Dwight Howard has just been kicked to the Atlanta PD.

Fact: If charges are brought against Dwight, the matter would be prosecuted by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

Fact: The Fulton County District Attorney ... is Dwight Howard's uncle.

We broke the story ... the Cobb County PD was initially handling the investigation into allegations Dwight beat his 6-year-old son Braylon with a belt buckle.

But the CCPD tells us investigators now believe the alleged incident occurred in Fulton County, where Dwight's uncle has been the head prosecutor in charge since 1997.

So, what does it mean? Paul Howard is almost certainly going to have to recuse himself from the case ... which would likely mean the prosecution would be handled by the Georgia Attorney General (and judging by his photo, we're guessing there's no relation).

If Paul doesn't recuse himself, you could bet the alleged victim will put up a helluva fight ... for obvious reasons.

Just days after being diagnosed with a season-ending rotator cuff injury, Kobe Bryant his up a popular paintball park in L.A. this weekend ... to kick it with Anderson Silva.

Kobe and the UFC legend were hanging at the Hollywood Sports park in Bellflower, CA on Saturday -- where Silva and his kids go paint splatterin' every other weekend.

Seems unlikely Kobe got in on the action -- since everyone else in the pic is dressed for combat and Kobe's not ... and also, he's still nursing that injury.

Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo only came over from Cuba a few months ago, but he's already BALLIN' OUT like an American ... dropping $85,000 to trick out his $84,000 Porsche!!!

Castillo took his 2014 Avorza Porsche 911 Turbo to Alex Vega and the guys at the Auto Firm in Miami with the following marching orders -- MAKE IT AWESOME!

So what do you get for all that money? Vega says he and his crew took the entire car apart piece by piece to paint it "Snow White" ... then added detailing in red and black, Castillo's favorite colors.

Vega gutted the interior as well to put in red and black leather seats. Watch the video though for the highlight ... a custom grill with Castillo's #38 in lights. There's even a #38 light that shines on the road when he opens the doors.

Castillo signed with the Sox last year for $72.5 million ... so he's not struggling to make payments.

Only one team of dogs will win the eleventh annual Puppy Bowl ... but they'll all have to poop at some point -- and Animal Planet has their cute butts covered.

This year's event will feature 85 pups, 21 kittens and 5 Nigerian Dwarf goats (the cheerleaders) -- and producers prepared by purchasing 315 poop bags ... as well 1,200 puppy pads.

The animals will also have their own personal assistants -- 65 puppy escorts and 50 volunteers -- plus they've got a whole lot of food on deck.

Halftime performer Katty Furry got the real celebrity treatment though ... her outfit was crafted by a famous pet designer whose made expensive outfits for Paris Hilton and other celebs. They also extended an invite to Katy Perry to their pre-game party.