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Zion Williamson is taking the high road amid the growing concern about his weight and conditioning ... telling reporters he appreciates the criticism if it's in good faith -- and thanking his fans for sticking by his side.

The New Orleans Pelicans star spoke to the media after his 121-107 win over the Timberwolves on Monday ... and he was asked specifically about guys like Shaquille O'Neal sharing their thoughts on his struggles so far in his career.

Of course, Shaq dropped knowledge in hopes of helping Williamson last week ... saying there are several parts of his game that have to improve if he wants to be great.

Zion said he hadn't heard Diesel's comments ... but explained he respects the words if they were meant to lift him up instead of bring him down.

"If it comes from a great place and a place where they just wanna see me do better, thank you," Zion said. "But if it comes from anywhere else, everyone entitled to their own opinion. Can’t control that."

Zion's fitness has been a major focus this season ... with reports claiming the Pels are trying to get him to focus on his diet and conditioning, but he "doesn't listen."

Despite the report, Zion was met with applause from the home crowd prior to the matchup against the Wolves ... and he didn't take it lightly.

"If you love the city, which I very much do, it will love you back," Zion said. "So, to the city, to the fans, thank you. I'm gonna do my best not to let y'all down."

Mercy 👏 Miller👏 Went👏 Off👏

Master P's son, one of the best high school basketball players in the entire country, had an absolutely gaudy stat line Monday night, dropping 68 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists on 28 for 38 shooting (74%)!!

Thanks to the ridiculous performance, Mercy Miller's Notre Dame Knights squad beat Oakwood, 104-44.

Mercy's 68 points were good enough for the ND school record (Sherman Oaks, CA) ... and one of the greatest scoring performances in California history.

Miller, a 6'4" guard who committed to the University of Houston last month, is averaging 36 points and 11 rebounds a game this season.

It shouldn't come as a shock that Mercy can hoop his ass off. His brother Hercy Miller hoops at the Univ. of Louisville ... and dad, aside from being a hip hop mogul, played in the NBA.

The undefeated, 6-0 Notre Dame team is regarded as one of the best teams in their division, the CIF Southern Section.

Mercy will have a few days to rest his arms after putting up all those shots ... his Knights team doesn't return to the court until December 19, when they'll play a 2-4 Marshall H.S. squad.

Notre Dame will also be in action on January 6th ... under the bright lights at Crypto.com Arena when they play in the Coastal Catholic Classic Game, with proceeds going to the You Are Not Alone Foundation, which helps kids struggling with mental health issues.

An Italian man recently got chewed up by a shark in Australia, and while you'd expect him to be freaking out and trying to get to shore ... he was also preoccupied with filming the whole ordeal.

The guy's name is Matteo Mariotti, and he's a 20-year-old student from the city of Parma -- however, last week ... he found himself snorkeling off the coast of 1770 Beach on the eastern shore of the land down under.

While he was in the water, Mariotti was recording with a selfie stick of some sort -- which captured the moments right after the shark bit his leg. It's pretty shocking, considering you can see blood start to flow all around him.

Mariotti was eventually able to swim close enough to land for a pal to yank him in and attempt to help. Soon, though, he was transferred to a hospital -- but it was too late to save his leg. It was reportedly amputated from the knee down, but Matteo still sounds grateful.

He writes, "I played this video a few moments after the last bite, I wanted to say goodbye, I never thought I'd survive that monster. Lost so much blood and my leg, I don't know if they're going to cut it all off or if it's going to be left in half but it doesn't matter now."

MM adds, "You are my heroes, you give me strength to carry on with your texts and calls, my only dream is to see you again." Matteo shouted out his friend for saving his life, and apologized for not being able to respond to everyone right away.

Forget pigskins ... Monday night's "ManningCast" devolved into an in-depth chat about butt skins -- and the whole conversation between Peyton, Eli and comedian Nate Bargatze was hilarious!!!

The talk about NFL players' cakes went down while the trio was helping broadcast the "Monday Night Football" doubleheader involving the Titans vs. Dolphins and the Giants vs. Packers.

At one point during the 'Fins game, Tua Tagovailoa's starting center went out ... which led to Nate asking the two former quarterbacks about their familiarity with backup centers.

The Manning bros then revealed they don't love the situation -- insisting they don't want to get too cozy with too many sets of their teammates' butt cheeks.

"It's a comfort area," Eli said. "You don't want to go around that area with too many people."

Added Peyton, "You kind of want your hands to be for one set of butt cheeks, Nate. So, you kinda don't really want to share that with several. You try to stay loyal."

Nate -- who recently hosted "Saturday Night Live" -- didn't let the conversation die there, though ... 'cause he then just had to ask if the Mannings could identify their centers' asses even if they were blindfolded.

"I could for sure," Peyton said. "I knew Jeff Saturday's butt cheeks as well as anybody."

Peyton -- who played with Saturday on the Colts from 1999 to 2011 -- continued with his butt talk, adding, "You don't want to use blindfold and butt cheeks together very often ..." before Eli eventually put a stop to it.

Rob Ray is still tough as nails -- the former Buffalo Sabres enforcer-turned-announcer took a puck right between the eyes while working Monday night's contest against the Arizona Coyotes ... and he continued to call the game!!

The wild moment happened during the third period of the Sabres' 5-2 win ... when a rogue biscuit made its way toward Ray, who was providing his usual color commentary on the TV broadcast from between the benches.

The game was stopped ... and players and refs skated their way over to Ray to check on his status.

The 55-year-old was visibly bloody from the hit ... but he kept his headset on and let everyone know he was "all good" as he tried to clean up the gash with a towel.

Just over a minute later, Ray gave another update ... saying he was probably going to need to be patched up after the game, and his notes were no longer usable due to the mess.

"A normal guy would have been carried out of here," Ray told the crew.

This is par for the course for Ray -- the guy was a badass throughout his 15 seasons in the NHL ... and holds the franchise record for penalty minutes.

Ja Morant had a busy day in court Monday ... testifying that he punched a teen during an altercation at his home last year in self-defense -- while also demonstrating to an attorney how to check a ball in a pickup basketball game.

The Memphis Grizzlies superstar did it all before a judge in Tennessee ... as part of Joshua Holloway's civil case against him.

Holloway claims in the lawsuit that Morant assaulted him while the two were hoopin' at the NBA player's Shelby County residence in July 2022 ... though Morant and his attorneys say the suit should be dismissed, claiming Ja was simply attempting to protect himself during the incident.

At one point during Monday's proceedings, Morant told Holloway's attorney he was physically "hurt" when the teenager threw a ball at his face during a check situation.

Morant said in the courtroom that he asked Holloway, "What you on?" after the teen heaved the ball -- and then he claimed Holloway pulled up his shorts.

"Him pulling up his shorts," Morant testified, "where I'm from, that's a fighting stance."

Morant claimed Holloway then took a step at him -- and that's when the NBA player fired off a punch.

"I hit him first," Morant said, "to protect myself."

Morant was also seen in the courtroom showing a lawyer how a normal check-ball situation is supposed to go down.

Morant's dad, Tee, spoke as well from the stand during the hearing -- and it's anticipated he'll continue testimony Tuesday.

The proceedings, meanwhile, are slated to go through at least Wednesday -- and if it's ultimately deemed Morant was, indeed, acting in self-defense, the case could be dismissed. However, if it's not, a trial could be slated to begin in April.

The lore of Tommy DeVito grew tenfold on Monday night ... 'cause not only did he pull off an improbable win over the Packers -- he did it while rockin' a furry, fuchsia jacket to the stadium!!

The rookie New York quarterback -- who began the year as the No. 3 signal-caller for the G-Men -- lit it up against Green Bay despite being a 5.5-point underdog at home ... helping lead his team to a last-second, 24-22 victory.

And, both before and after the contest, he turned heads with his outfit choice -- sportin' a loud fuzzy 'fit that he wore proudly!!!

Of course, the undrafted free agent -- who's gained fame for the way he leans heavily into his Italian-American heritage -- wasn't the only person in the DeVito clan drawing attention at MetLife ... his agent, Sean Stellato, got plenty of social media love for his threads choice too.

The DeVito rep was seen sportin' an all-black, pinstriped suit topped off with a fedora ... that many online said made him look like a character out of "The Sopranos."

DeVito's family, meanwhile, had a blast while watching the 25-year-old knife through Green Bay's defense during the primetime game ... they had a huge, Italian-themed meal in the parking lot before the contest started -- and then cameras showed them kissin' on each other in the stands after big DeVito plays.

Following the exciting night, DeVito -- who's gained the nickname "Tommy Cutlets" after starting four games following injuries to Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor -- was cool as a cucumber talking about his game-winning drive at the postgame podium ... telling reporters, "I enjoy being on the field any play, no matter what play it is."

Travis Kelce may have lost to the Buffalo Bills Sunday ... but he's still a big winner in the eyes of his superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift, who planted a passionate kiss on his cheek at the game!!!

Check out this photo ... Taylor closes her eyes as she holds Travis' head with both hands and delivers some major lip service to the side of his grinning face. Travis is one lucky guy, indeed!!!

The happy couple was snapped at a festive Christmas-themed bar for a postgame party after the K.C. Chiefs battled the Bills at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday.

Celeb stylist Patrick Regan uploaded the snap to his Instagram page Monday, along with a bunch of other pics from the Bills 20-17 victory over the Chiefs.

As you know, Taylor showed up again to the stadium to cheer on Travis as the hunky tight end recorded 6 catches for 83 yards. Not too shabby!

In fact, it was the sixth time the pop star popped up on gameday for Travis -- and, for those who are keeping count, the Chiefs have a 4-2 winning record with Taylor watching from the crowd.

California Highway Patrol has finished their investigation into Julio Urias -- months after the Dodgers star allegedly got physical with a woman as they were leaving a soccer game in Los Angeles -- and now the District Attorney's office will whether to file criminal charges.

TMZ Sports broke the story in September ... the 27-year-old pitcher was accused of bloodying a woman after the LAFC vs. Inter Miami match at BMO Stadium on September 3. Urias was arrested for felony DV.

As for what allegedly went down, sources told us a stadium worker intervened after witnessing an alleged altercation between Julio and a woman. We were told Urias and the woman then went into a nearby vehicle where things once again allegedly got heated. At least part of the alleged altercation was captured on video.

CHP took over the case from local police, and after months of investigating, they've sent their files to the Los Angeles County District Attorney ... who we're told will analyze the evidence before deciding -- to charge or not to charge.

The decision will likely have a huge effect on Urias' baseball future. While he was having an up-and-down 2023 season before the alleged violent incident, the arrest marked the end of his baseball season (and LAD career) ... after the organization placed him on the Restricted List for a possible violation of MLB's domestic violence policy.

Urias, a World Series champ in 2020, had been with the Dodgers since coming into the league in 2016. Julio became a free agent this offseason.

MLB free agency is in full swing (Shohei Ohtani just agreed to a $700 million contract), though it's difficult to imagine a team signing Urias to a sizeable deal while possible felony charges hang over his head.

On the other hand, Urias, who has maintained he did nothing wrong, could be cleared by the DA ... and in that case, it's more than likely there will be a host of teams interested in the hard-throwing starter.

If Chiefs fans are looking to blame anyone for the offensive offsides penalty that foiled their comeback attempt Sunday, it should be the Philadelphia Eagles ... so says Dean Blandino, who tells TMZ Sports their "Tush Push" play might have actually impacted the call during the Bills game.

The former NFL Vice President of Officiating said he believes refs are calling line of scrimmage fouls much more closely this year due to the nature of the Birds' "Brotherly Shove" play -- and that's leading to more calls like the one against Kadarius Toney at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday evening.

"You think about 2015 to 2022," Blandino said, "there were only 14 offensive offsides called in the entire league. This year already, with the Toney call, there's 13. So, it's definitely a point of emphasis this year."

That all being said, however, Blandino made it clear the flag against Toney was the right call.

"This was clearly a foul," he said. "The officials have to call it."

Of course, Patrick Mahomes vehemently disagreed -- he absolutely melted down after the flag was thrown ... calling it "f***ing terrible," while later explaining he wished the refs had just let it go.

Blandino said as a fan of the game, he understands the sentiment -- though he said that if refs call things differently based on the game's situation, it could have even more drastic implications.

"You say, 'Let the players decide the game,'" Blandino said. "The problem with that is you tell the officials that and then the officials say, 'K, we're not going to call anything in the last two minutes.'"

"The players, the coaches will understand that and say, 'Hey, we're going to get away with -- we're going to play more aggressive, we're going to push the envelope.' And then the game, it's going to be decided unfairly for a different reason."

Former World Series champ Jerry Hairston says the Dodgers didn't overpay when they dropped $700 million to get Shohei Ohtani ... telling TMZ Sports, "He's worth it."

L.A. inked the two-way star to the deal over the weekend ... and with his pitching career in question due to a second Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, many wondered if the Dodgers spent just a bit too much.

But, Hairston made it clear to us on Monday ... he believes they didn't.

As for why ... the ex-outfielder who played two seasons for the Dodgers in 2012 and 2013 said there are a multitude of reasons. No. 1, he said he's fully confident Ohtani will be able to pitch again in 2025. No. 2, he told us he believes the 29-year-old is "just entering his prime, especially with the bat."

And, perhaps more importantly for the Dodgers' bottom line, Ohtani brings in revenue like no other player in the sport.

"He brings in anywhere from $70 to $85 million in revenue alone!" Hairston said.

Hairston actually went on to praise Ohtani and the Dodgers for the contract -- noting that the deal's deferred payments will allow L.A. to surround the two-time MVP with even more talent in the next few seasons.

"He is worth the price of admission," Hairston said.

3:38 PM PT -- Patrick Mahomes is sharing his regret over how he reacted in the closing seconds of his loss to the Bills ... admitting after going back and watching the video, it was, in fact, the correct call.

Mahomes did an interview with 610 Sports on Monday ... where he said his actions were unacceptable, especially how he treated Josh Allen after the game.

"Obviously, you don't ever want to react that way," Mahomes said. "I care, man. I love this game, I love my teammates. I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win."

"But obviously, can't do that, can't be that way toward officials or really anybody in life, so I probably regret acting like that. But, more than anything I regretted how I acted toward Josh after the game, because he had nothing to do with it."

Mahomes said he'll learn from the whole thing, as he wants to be a good role model to his young fans ... and he's ready to move on to his next opponent, the New England Patriots.

Patrick Mahomes showed a completely different side of himself after a controversial penalty eventually led to the Chiefs' loss to the Bills on Sunday ... going on a tirade on the sidelines and telling Josh Allen the call was "f***ing terrible."

Trailing 17-20 with just under 1:30 left in the game, Kansas City had a wild 25-yard touchdown play involving Travis Kelce and Kadarius Toney ... but it was called back after officials determined the latter lined up in the neutral zone prior to the snap.

The Bills went on to secure the victory ... and when Mahomes headed to the bench, he had to be held back by his teammates as he unloaded on the referees for what he thought was a BS call -- even throwing his helmet in frustration.

The tensions were just as high when Mahomes met up with Allen after the game ... 'cause instead of simply saying "good game" and trotting to the locker room, the two-time Super Bowl champ continued to rant about the penalty.

"Wildest f***ing call I've ever seen," Mahomes said while embracing Allen. "Offensive offsides in that moment, man ... f***ing terrible."

Of course, the consensus is Toney was visibly offsides prior to the start of the play ... and while Mahomes and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid aren't denying he was lined up in the neutral zone, they felt the sideline official should have either told the receiver to back up, or kept the flag in his pocket.

Mahomes' wife, Brittany, also shared her frustration with the call ... saying the ref was the real "MVP" of the game on her Instagram story.

When speaking with reporters, Mahomes said it was wrong for officials to "take away greatness like that" ... and it was "tough to swallow."

Reid echoed his quarterback ... saying it was an "embarrassing" moment for the league.

As for the refs' side of the controversy, Carl Cheffers said players can check with officials on their alignment prior to the snap ... but ultimately, it's their own responsibility -- especially because Toney's positioning was "beyond a warning."

Things got so intense between referees at a youth basketball game in Colorado that they ended up throwing punches in front of a bunch of kids ... and now police tell TMZ Sports they're investigating the melee.

The ugly scene, which was captured on video, went down during a 4th-grade boys hoops game -- Cherry Creek vs. Legend Blue -- over the weekend at the Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood, CO.

The clip clearly shows two referees square up on the court after some type of disagreement ... when one of the refs throws a massive right hook, knockin' down the other official.

The ref attempted to throw more punches, but was held back by bystanders.

The ref who was dropped eventually got up ... but he wasn't done fighting. The man then got into a stand-off with another official ... but thankfully no punches were thrown this time.

We talked to Lakewood Police ... who told us they're aware of the situation, but haven't yet made any arrests because "the involved parties had already left the gym" by the time they arrived on scene.

Thankfully, no one was injured during the fight, according to the Gold Crown Foundation ... which also tells us all the referees have been suspended indefinitely.

"We have informed these independently contracted officials that they are suspended indefinitely from working for Gold Crown Foundation," GCF told us in a statement.

"Most importantly we apologize to everyone that had to witness their unacceptable behavior - especially the kids."

It's pretty crowded up in the Crypto.com Arena rafters already, but the Los Angeles Lakers will have to make some room -- the team is reportedly expected to hang a banner in honor of winning the In-Season Tournament.

The Purple and Gold -- who already have 17 championship banners above their home court -- will announce the newest addition to the collection as a tribute to LeBron James and Co. beating out the competition in the first-ever regular season event, according to multiple reports.

To avoid confusion, the IST banner won't look like the Lakers' usual gold cloths with purple lettering -- insider Chris Haynes says it will have a different shape and color, and each year will be added to it whenever they win the NBA Cup.

Of course, the Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers to win it all on Saturday ... and the postgame ceremony was comparable to an NBA Finals victory -- with everything from confetti to champagne celebrations and special merch.

Many were wondering if the Lakers would find the victory worthy of getting the same treatment as the other titles ... and now we have answers.

Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann have plenty of issues, and now the judge in their divorce case is cracking down ... ordering them to mediation in an attempt to hammer out a settlement.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kim and Kroy are being directed to complete a mediation session by a Jan. 31 deadline.

The judge says Kim and Kroy have "numerous unresolved issues" and thinks they could benefit from mediation through the county's alternative dispute resolution program.

Obviously, mediation does not always work or guarantee Kim and Kroy will resolve their issues ... but the court is at least forcing them to give it the old college try.

As we've told you ... Kim and Kroy are divorcing amid tons of financial woes, and there's been several police visits to their Georgia home over explosive fights.

Kim and Kroy also have 4 young children so working out custody issues through mediation may be no cakewalk.

The Wilson family just got bigger ... 'cause Ciara and Russell Wilson have welcomed their new baby girl into the world -- revealing her name is Amora Princess!

The Denver Broncos quarterback and the singer announced on their social media pages their daughter arrived on Monday ... sharing an adorable photo of the newborn.

"Amora Princess Wilson," the couple said in a caption on the IG post. "9lbs 1oz. We Love You so much!"

Their friends -- and millions of fans -- were stoked by the wonderful news ... with Serena Williams writing in the comment section on the post, "Omg i love her already."

Ciara -- who married Russell in 2016 -- broke the news that she was expecting back in August ... showing off her baby bump in a video while dancing to her hit single with Chris Brown, "How We Roll."

This is Ciara and Russ' third child together ... she had their daughter, Sienna Princess, in 2017 and their son, Win Harrison, in 2020.

Ciara also has a son from her previous relationship with rapper Future.