Coronavirus

Sam Clayton, Jr. -- who was a part of the famous '88 Jamaican bobsled team that inspired the movie "Cool Runnings" -- has died after battling COVID-19.

He was only 58.

Clayton was NOT in the sled that crashed at the 1988 Winter Olympics -- but he was a key member of the team.

In fact, teammate Devon Harris told local outlets in Jamaica, Clayton was an "integral part" of the team.

"I am saddened by the news of the passing of my teammate Samuel Clayton," Harris said.

"Although he never made the Olympic team Sammy was an integral part of the Jamaica bobsled team."

"He was among the very first four selected to spearhead Jamaica's entrance into winter sports and the Winter Olympics."

"He was an amazing human being who will be sadly missed.

After his athletic career ended, Clayton got heavy into music -- and later became the sound engineer for the U.K. band Steel Pulse.

In fact, it was Steel Pulse that confirmed his death to the NY Times -- saying Clayton died on March 31 in Kingston from coronavirus.

76ers partner Michael Rubin's dishing cold, hard facts about how he came up with the ingenious All In Challenge -- which already has Drake, Tom Brady, Meek Mill and so many more onboard.

Michael joined us on "TMZ Live" and talked about why he felt he needed to step up to help the millions suddenly in need during the coronavirus pandemic. When it came to figuring out HOW he could help, he says he remembered the phenomenon of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

That 2014 movement ended up raising a whopping $115 million during an 8-week period ... and Michael has equally high hopes for feeding hungry Americans.

Rather than relying solely on government assistance, Michael says he believes it's important for leaders in business, entertainment and sports to make a difference. Luckily, he falls in all 3 categories and called on his friends to join his effort.

They've responded in a big way for the All In Challenge. As we've reported ... Kevin Hart, Magic Johnson, and Justin Bieber are just a few of the MANY celebs who've embraced it.

Brady took things up another notch ... not only because he's donating his first-ever Bucs jersey, but also cause he challenged Drake. All the proceeds from the celeb auctions and raffles will go to help feed Americans affected by COVID-19.

Nuns in Spain are taking a break from the mundane, yet very essential, task of making sanitary masks ... with a full-court game of basketball!!!

At the convent of San Leandro in Sevilla, nuns have exchanged making their famous sweets for sewing much-needed masks, and when they need some time to get away and stretch their legs, they pick up a rock and shoot some hoops!

Ya gotta see the video ... these nuns know how to run and gun, or should we say, nun and gun. Seriously, the ball hardly touches the floor, you'd think they were coached by Paul Westhead.

It's kinda hard to tell which team is which, they're mostly wearing the same thing, but keep your eyes on the nun wearing white, she's dominating the paint like Pau Gasol.

Leonardo DiCaprio's got everything a man could need in quarantine ... a smoking hot girlfriend and an adorable little puppy!!!

The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star and his GF, model/actress Camila Morrone, made a rare outing Wednesday, taking their fostered Siberian Husky for a stroll down world-famous Sunset Blvd.

Leo kept a pretty low profile behind some shades, a hat and a surgical mask, and they both looked casual in sweats. Hey, we're all staying comfortable in quarantine.

The streets of Los Angeles are pretty barren these days, with folks being ordered to stay-at-home to slow the spread of COVID-19 ... but you can still head outside for some exercise, and Leo and Camila are taking full advantage with their pup.

Camila, who's been with Leo for over 2 years now, fostered the pooch at the start of quarantine and the pup's growing up to be just as handsome as Leo.

Colin Kaepernick is stepping up to help those in desperate need during the coronavirus ... launching a relief fund for minorities, and pledging $100k of his own money.

"Black and brown communities are being disproportionately devastated by COVID-19 because of hundreds of years of structural racism," Kap said in a video Thursday.

"That's why we've established the Know Your Rights Camp COVID-19 Fund to help address these issues."

The KYRC says the money raised will go toward buying food from local restaurants to distribute throughout communities, help pay essential living costs for those who can't afford it and providing information on Black and Brown communities to keep everyone in the loop on the pandemic.

On top of that, the fund will help communities receive proper face protection to prevent spreading the virus ... and work with organizations to get prisoners out of jail and in a  safer environment.

Wanna own Eli Manning's insane Super Bowl MVP Corvette???

All it'll take is some a lot of cash for COVID-19 charity ... and, get this, the New York Giants legend will even hand-deliver it for ya if you offer the most!!!

The 39-year-old newly retired QB just accepted Michael Rubin's all-in challenge ... and the package he's offering for a big coronavirus donation is one of the best we've seen so far.

Manning says the 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible Centennial Edition he won for beating the New England Patriots in SB XLVI is officially on the auction block.

It's a pretty amazing ride ... it's only got 5,830 miles on it -- and Eli says he'll drive it out to you and even have lunch with ya if you win it!

"Maybe I'll even teach you how to handle this bad boy," Eli says.

Pretty cool offer, right?? But, did Cooper Manning just one-up his little bro?!?!

The third Manning brother just posted his all-in challenge package offer ... and we gotta say, it's DEFINITELY the funniest we've seen yet.

Of course, Cooper's just playing around ... but little bro Peyton sure as hell ain't with his donation package -- the future Hall of Famer is offering up a round of golf AND dinner!!

Girl Scout cookie sales are crippled due to stay-at-home orders nationwide -- and parents are worried they'll be stuck with a fat bill ... but fret not, your nonprofit's got your back.

TMZ spoke to our Girl Scout sources -- yes, we have them too -- and we've got a consensus from lots of households ... since the girls in green can't set up shop outside and guilt-trip the public into buying cookies right now, there's a TON that are going unsold, with a deadline to pay fast approaching. Normally, it's parents who gotta pay the difference.

Here's how it works, per our sources. Parents can take just about as many cases of Girl Scout cookies from their local HQ as they want -- but they gotta be wise about that, 'cause they can only return a certain amount without penalty. Ten is one number we've heard, but the bottom line is ... if you bite off more than you can chew, you're on the hook.

The cookies add up too. At $5 a box, and at 12 boxes a case ... these things ain't cheap, especially if you aren't moving them at a decent pace. Clearly, because of coronavirus, a bunch of go-to Girl Scout spots in public places are off-limits at the moment, which means a big chunk of these GS sales have dried up in recent weeks.

Our sources say lots of parents are facing steep tabs -- upwards of a several hundred dollars or more -- because cookie season is wrapping up, and local councils want their dough.

Fortunately, Girl Scouts of the USA -- the org at the helm of this whole operation -- tells TMZ they're not going to let their parents default, so to speak. They say, "Girl Scouts of the USA is working closely with our 111 local councils across the country who administer the iconic Girl Scout Cookie program to ensure that no troops, girls, or volunteers are left financially responsible for any excess inventory of Girl Scout Cookies."

Drake's joined the All In party to raise money for COVID-19 relief ... and he's offering an awesome party package that starts with a flight on his $200 million private jet.

The rapper got called out by Tom Brady to get behind the All In Challenge -- the fundraiser started by 76ers partner Michael Rubin -- and what he's offering is going to be hard to top.

Drake says one lucky winner, and 7 others they want to bring along for the fun, will get to fly on Air Drake ... where they'll be greeted with an OVO package and a Nike care package.

The flight will take them to L.A. for the weekend, where they'll get the full VIP treatment and join Drake for a private party at his fave club, Delilah.

That's not all, though ... Drake says once he can get back to touring, he's going to hook up the winner with the best seats to his show back in their home city.

As we reported ... several other famous athletes and celebs -- including Kevin Hart, Meek Mill, Justin Bieber, Ryan Seacrest, Mark Cuban and Magic Johnson are either auctioning or raffling off incredible packages ... with all the money going to feed people in need due to the pandemic.

Brady's charity auction had a starting bid of $50k ... but it's already up to $140,000!

Pastor Tony Spell's got a plan for your stimulus check -- give it away to evangelists who can't pass the offering plate while the pandemic's closed their churches.

The controversial leader of the Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana has whipped up another controversial idea he calls the #PastorSpellStimulusChallenge ... and it has 3 rules.

First rule is it starts this Sunday. Second rule is donate your stimulus money ... and third rule is give it to North American evangelists, missionaries or music ministers who haven't received any money from parishioners in the past month.

Interestingly, that would NOT include Spell ... who's kept his church doors open to his flock. He doesn't specify if his challenge requires folks to donate some or all of their stimulus cash, but says he's practicing what he preaches by donating all of his $1,200 ... and so is his wife.

His challenge also doesn't seem to consider many people are in desperate need of their stimulus money for food, rent or bills. Then again, this is the guy who packed his church on Easter with zero concern for public health or that of his congregation.

You'll recall Spell also told us his parishioners are true Christians who wouldn't mind dying from the virus because they'd be doing so in the name of God and freedom.

Sports fans, brace yourselves ... live action could be back on your TV in as few as 8 weeks -- the PGA Tour just announced it's gunning to end its coronavirus suspension on June 8!

The golf circuit shut down play last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic ... but officials just announced a June comeback to the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas is officially on the calendar.

Of course, reps for the org. say the tourney -- along with at least the 3 after it -- will be fanless events ... but admit that could change as more coronavirus info becomes available.

"[The TOUR] will continue to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations of local and state authorities in order to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market," the org. said in a statement Thursday.

"As such, the TOUR will continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA TOUR events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved."

Several famous tournaments -- most notably the Masters -- have been postponed due to the pandemic ... with the 149th Open Championship being canceled altogether.

But, the PGA Tour says in its statement almost all of the postponed events have new makeup dates ... with the Masters set for Nov. 9-15 now.

"The health and safety of all associated with the PGA TOUR and our global community continues to be our No. 1 priority, and our hope is to play a role -- responsibly -- in the world's return to enjoying the things we love," PGA TOUR commish Jay Monahan said.

Some New Yorkers are still risking coronavirus exposure by going places where social distancing is difficult, but the good news is ... there seems to be less of them.

TMZ got these shots of the Union Square farmers market Wednesday. Despite the state being at the apparent apex of COVID-19 cases and having strict stay-at-home and social-distancing orders in place ... it's still buzzing.

Several photos show people standing closer than the required 6-foot distance, and even more concerning ... some aren't wearing face coverings either.

To be fair, it's not required for New Yorkers to cover up until Friday, but it's being recommended by experts to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Los Angeles enacted its face-covering rule last week at all essential businesses, for which farmers markets are included.

On the bright side, the Union Square-area doesn't look nearly as packed as other farmers markets across the country have been in recent weeks ... or even as crowded as Central Park was a couple weekends ago.

L.A. Rams center Brian Allen says things got so bad after he tested positive for COVID-19 ... he lost all sense of smell, and had NO REACTION whatsoever to even powerful smelling salts.

"I cracked them open, put them to my nose and nothing happened," Allen said. "All I could feel was texture in my mouth -- literally, it was the only sense I had."

Allen -- who became the first NFL player to go public with his positive coronavirus test -- told Fox Sports' Jay Glazer on Wednesday, things got even worse in his battle with COVID from there.

"Then I got periodic sore throats," 24-year-old Allen said. "I got really fatigued, my throat would start burning, everything felt different than every other flu I've had."

Allen says he was initially diagnosed with the virus roughly a month ago ... and after battling headaches and severe malaise, he's reportedly on the mend now.

In fact, L.A. head coach Sean McVay told Glazer he spoke with the former 4th-round pick this week and says he's "feeling good, he's healthy and he's on the road to recovery."

Because of Allen's positive test ... the Rams were forced to shut down their team facility for two weeks -- but McVay praised his player for handling everything about the virus properly.