Coronavirus

Robert Kraft is offering up one his most prized possessions to help raise money for COVID-19 relief ... putting his 283-diamond, Super Bowl LI championship ring on the auction block!!

The New England Patriots owner made the announcement Sunday ... accepting Michael Rubin's All In Challenge with one of the most enticing packages we've seen yet.

The bling is one of the biggest championship rings ever created ... weighing 5.1 carats and featuring 10-karat white gold and nearly 300 diamonds.

Of course, the jewelry has a very special meaning as well ... the Patriots earned it by completing the greatest Super Bowl comeback ever, beating the Falcons in 2017 after going down 28-3.

"We were down 28-3 and had a .04 chance of winning, 99.6 percent chance to lose," Kraft said. "And we came back, and we won."

"And I thought about what's going on at this time and wanted to give something of extreme value in support of our health care workers. So I thought it would be good to give this ring, our fifth Super Bowl win because it showed how we came back."

Kraft says he'll hand-deliver the ring to the auction's highest bidder in his personal trophy room ... and says if the winner is out of state, he'll send the team jet to pick them up!

That's not all ... RK says the trip will come with a personal tour of the Pats facilities -- and maybe even a few meals with the 78-year-old!!

Opening bid started at $75,000 ... but it's already reached $330k -- and could break a million by the time it ends later this month!!

Props for yet another awesome charitable move from Kraft during the coronavirus pandemic.

NFL superstar Von Miller is opening up about his battle with coronavirus ... saying he was so scared of the illness in its early stages -- the thought of dying entered his head.

"I wouldn’t say that I thought I was going to die or anything like that," Miller told the Washington Post this week, "but it did cross my mind a little bit."

The Denver Broncos pass rusher was diagnosed with COVID-19 back on April 16 ... and other than speaking about a cough and general malaise, Miller didn't publicly seem too concerned about the virus' effects on him.

But, in a new interview with the Washington Post ... Von says he was far more worried about his symptoms than he initially led on.

"I got asthma, but it was past the asthma attack -- like my lungs were constricting," Miller said. "My asthma nebulizer helped, but it still didn’t feel like it was supposed to."

"That was the most frightening part. Just going to sleep knowing that my oxygen level could drop and I could wake up and have to go to the hospital."

Miller claims he also lost his appetite and sense of smell and taste due to coronavirus ... adding, "The first four, five days I was honestly nervous."

Fortunately for Von, the 31-year-old was able to fight off the virus ... testing negative for COVID just a few days ago.

COVID-19 fighters just got a super-charged lift from Ferrari ... the exotic sports car company announced it's built ventilators to help battle coronavirus!!

The guys who make the sweet vehicles say in just 5 weeks ... they designed and manufactured "reliable, versatile" and "easy to use and assemble" ventilators that are ready to be rolled out to hospitals soon.

Of course ... the machines weren't built with super parts from the legendary whips -- Ferrari execs say the ventilators needed to be constructed with normie equipment to make it easier to mass-produce.

Disappointing, we know ... but still -- AMAZING gesture!!!

Ferrari said in a statement Wednesday they partnered with the Italian Institute of Technology (ITT) to make the pieces ... which have been touted by Italian docs as "effective, advanced and performs well, while also being safe and durable."

Ferrari says the name of the equipment is FI5 ... F for Ferrari, I for ITT and 5 for "the number of weeks required to produce a fully functioning prototype, starting from a clean sheet of paper."

#BALLER!!!

UFC fighter Anthony Smith CAN'T WAIT to walk into an empty arena Wednesday night and throw down with Glover Teixeira ... happy to do his part to entertain during the pandemic.

"I think the world just needs something to look forward to and I think right now we're the only thing that's giving them that," Smith tells TMZ Sports.

Smith vs. Glover is the main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena -- and it's the only live sporting event on TV, creating a huge opportunity for the fighters.

"Selfishly, I'm excited I'm going to have a lot of eyes on me that I wouldn't typically have ... Gonna be a lot of fans looking for some sort of live event."

And, while Smith doesn't think fighting without a crowd will affect his performance -- he certainly thinks it had an impact on Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 this past weekend.

"I think no fans being there actually helped him a little bit because ...  he was dropped in that 2nd round and typically, Gaethje comes out in the 3rd round, guns blazing, trying to get that one back."

"If he would've went down, the crowd would've went crazy.  He would've felt that energy and that momentum swing."

"His coach was able to bring him back in and settle him down, get him calm and get him back focused on the task, back to the game plan."

"I think that would of been harder to do with feeding off the crowd, the energy of the crowd."

One of the most anticipated college football games of 2020 will NOT go down as scheduled ... so says FS1 star Colin Cowherd, who reports USC vs. Alabama in Sept. won't happen.

"Told by two people I trust -- USC v Alabama isn't happening," "The Herd" host said. "Trojans can’t even practice in LA potentially for several months. This is why Bama already talking to other possible opponents."

The game's currently scheduled for Sept. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas ... but with the Pac-12's home schools' states still imposing some of the most strict stay-at-home orders in the nation ... the game is in serious jeopardy.

In fact, with officials in Los Angeles -- home of both UCLA and USC -- announcing Monday their coronavirus lockdown orders could last all the way until AT LEAST August, things are looking super grim for the season as a whole, let alone the schools' opening matchups.

And, Cowherd says he's already hearing the Bama-SC opener cancellation is coming.

"Not official but understood," Colin reported Tuesday night.

There have already been reports the Tide is looking into replacements for USC ... with the school reportedly in talks with TCU for a new season opener.

But, SC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement late Tuesday the Trojans still regularly communicate with the Tide and "have every intention of playing our game against Alabama" despite the pessimism.

The State of Arizona is removing its stay-at-home order on Friday May 15 -- clearing the way for pro sports teams to resume team activities.

As part of the reopening plan, Gov. Doug Ducey says gyms and swimming pools will reopen to the public.

But, the biggest news has to be the pro sports component -- which could clear the way for Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NFL and possibly the NBA to resume play down the road.

MLB has reportedly put together a plan to potentially play a shortened season in Arizona ... with all 30 MLB teams moving to AZ to conduct games in several ballparks in the Phoenix area.

There are already a bunch of stadiums in the area -- since many clubs use Arizona as their home base for Spring Training.

As for why Arizona is pulling back on COVID-19 restrictions, Gov. Ducey is pointing to data which he claims shows a decline in positive tests for COVID-19 in his state.

Plus, Ducey says he feels AZ hospitals are well-equipped to handle coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles ... officials are moving to keep stay-at-home orders in place for the next 3 months.

Tekashi 6ix9ine's glorious return to social media paid him handsomely and then some -- but he ain't keeping all the dough for himself ... the dude's giving back to kids in need.

Sources close to the rapper tell TMZ ... the release of his new song, "GOOBA," as well as the launch of some new merch that he promoted on IG last week has left him with a small fortune on his hands in the amount of about $2 million, which he made in less than a week.

We're told Tekashi raked in a solid mil in just the last few days alone. Rather than hold on to all the cash, or put it it the bank for a rainy day -- our sources say 6ix9ine's planning to donate 10 percent of his haul to hungry families who are struggling in the pandemic.

Specifically, we're being told 69 will send $200k to an org called No Kid Hungry, which helps dole out money to families that can't afford to feed themselves or their little ones -- which, as you can imagine, has gotten worse with COVID-19 putting people out of work.

Tekashi's hoping his donation will help in that cause -- and, frankly, it's a really nice gesture and a nice pendulum swing after his wild, and not so smart, weekend activities.

Here's hoping it also serves as a sign to come for 6ix9ine in general -- give and you get, solid life philosophy.

UFC isn't wasting any time -- gearing up for their 2nd big event in just 4 days despite the COVID-19 pandemic ... and the fighters seem ready to roll!!!

Ovince Saint Preux, Michael Johnson and others hit the official weigh-in on Tuesday morning ... where everything seemed to go off without a hitch.

Saint Preux wore a face mask when he hit the scale -- and so far, he's the only fighter to wear the protective covering.

Everyone else ditched their masks -- but as Dana White has said multiple times, ALL fighters (and their teams) are being tested and retested and retested for coronavirus before and after the event anyway.

The event -- "UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira" -- is scheduled for Wednesday night at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL ... featuring 11 fights.

So far, no one on the card has tested positive for COVID-19 -- but even if there is a positive test, the show will go on ... just as it did for UFC 249.

Remember, Jacare Souza and his 2 cornermen tested positive the day before the fight and he was pulled from the card.

White says the positive test proved his medical screening system works -- and they immediately moved Souza and his cornermen from the hotel where the fighters were staying into quarantine.

President Donald Trump praised the UFC for finding a way to get their business back in action during the pandemic.

White has hailed UFC 249 as a massive success.