RIP

Beloved ESPN host John Saunders has passed away unexpectedly at 61 ... this according to ESPN.

The details surrounding Saunders' death are unclear -- but officials tell us he died in New York and there is NO suspicion of foul play.

Saunders joined ESPN in 1986 and went on to co-host "NFL Primetime." He also anchored "SportsCenter."

ESPN tweeted, "We are heartbroken to report longtime ESPN personality John Saunders has died. He was 61."

Adam Schefter tweeted, "Sickened and saddened to hear of loss of our colleague and friend, John Saunders. What a nice man. What a great man."

Saunders is survived by wife, Wanda, and daughters, Aleah and Jenna.

Story developing ...

Amy Winehouse's dad gave his late daughter's look-alike the ultimate blessing ... posing arm-in-arm.

Mitch joined up with Frankie Jordan over the weekend during an event for the Amy Winehouse Foundation. Frankie's the star of the tribute show "Dear Amy."

#RIPAmy #WeMissYou

So many people are flocking to the gravesite where Muhammad Ali is buried, the cemetery has put up a temporary headstone to help guide fans to the right spot ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Bryan Clauson -- one of the top short-track dirt-car drivers in the world -- died Sunday following injuries sustained in a bad crash from a race on Saturday ... officials confirm.

The 27-year-old was racing in the 39th Belleville Midget Nationals in Kansas when he made contact with another car and flipped several times. His car was then slammed into by another car.

Clauson was airlifted to a nearby hospital -- but died from his injuries the following day.

Clauson's family issued a statement saying, "Our Bryan fought to the end with the same desire that he demonstrated behind the wheel of all the various race cars he would park in victory lane."

"However, we were more proud of our Bryan that took a moment to make a young fan's day, or demonstrated his uncommon kindness and appreciation toward his friends, family and fans."

Clauson had made 26 starts in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

Light heavyweight boxing champ Sergey Kovalev says he's driven to be a champion by the memory of Roman Simakov ... the man who died 3 days after fighting Sergey back in 2011.

We talked to Kovalev about Conor McGregor revealing he's been seriously disturbed by the fact he trained MMA fighter Charlie Ward for a match where the opposing fighter ended up dead.

That's when Kovalev opened up to us ... saying after Simakov slipped into a coma and died three days following their 2011 fight, he immediately decided to dedicate the rest of his career to his memory.

"I will be champion for me and him ... this helped me and still helps me to fight."

You gotta check out the clip -- Sergey says there's one thing he wishes and thinks about every time he steps into the ring.

Prince's famous Paisley Park mansion could soon hit the open market, but there's a legal beef brewing that might squash the whole thing ... TMZ has learned.

The bank managing Prince's estate filed docs asking the court to let it sell a bunch of Prince's properties, and Paisley Park is the clear gem on the list.

It's not up for sale yet, but as the bank says in the docs ... "The properties that the special administrator is currently anticipating will be sold, and the appraised value of same are listed in spreadsheet attached as Exhibit A."

The appraised value for the more than 60,000 square feet of Paisley Park is listed at just over $7 million -- and the bank's already hired a real estate agent.

This could get messy. Sources close to the family tell us Prince's heirs will do everything they can to block the administrators from selling the legendary home and studio. We're told they'd rather turn it into a museum.

BMX legend Dave Mirra suffered from depression and heavy drug abuse before he died ... his family told law enforcement.

David Huddleston -- the actor who played "The Big Lebowski" -- died Tuesday of kidney and lung disease ... according to his wife.

He died on Tuesday at his home in Sante Fe.

Huddleston is most famous for playing the title role in the 1998 Coen Brothers cult classic, alongside Jeff Bridges. He was a popular character actor in TV and movies for 50 years and has a ton of credits to his name. He also played Ben Franklin in the Broadway play "1776."

The L.A. Times first reported his death.

Huddleston is survived by his wife, Sarah. He was 85.

Lil Wayne dropped everything as soon as he heard about Toya Wright's brothers being killed in New Orleans Sunday ... and hopped on a jet that same day to be by her side.

We're told Weezy was completely devastated over the death of his ex's brothers, and wanted to get to Toya and their daughter as soon as he could to pay his respects. He's been in NOLA since Sunday and just left Thursday.

Lil Wayne was especially close to Toya's brother, Rudy, who used to live with Wayne.

The service for Toya's brothers is Friday, but we're told Wayne will not attend -- only because he doesn't want to turn it into a media circus.

The plan to co-name a NYC boulevard after A Tribe Called Quest took a slight left turn -- but it still praises late rapper, Phife Dawg.

Linden Blvd in Queens -- which Tribe rapped about all the time -- will also be known as Malik "Phife Dawg" Taylor Way.

The original plan was to name it A Tribe Called Quest Blvd, but councilman Daneek Miller's chief of staff tells TMZ ... Phife's widow requested it be changed to honor Phife alone. City officials signed off on July 14.

"Damn ... I still can't believe that kid is dead" -- Conor McGregor.

The UFC superstar is opening up about the death of Portuguese MMA fighter Joao Carvalho -- who died from injuries he sustained during a fight in Dublin back in April.

Conor was cageside at the fight ... since Joao's opponent was McGregor's training teammate, Charlie Ward. Conor and Charlie had been working out together at the Straight Blast Gym in Ireland.

"It's f****d up," Conor said to Men's Health magazine ... "I wasn't just watching that fight. I helped train a guy to kill someone, and then someone wound up dying."

"This is a f*****g dangerous game. People call it a sport, but it's fighting. I'm just making sure it ain't me. And that's f****d up."

Pinky the flamingo -- one of the biggest draws at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay -- had to be euthanized after a man allegedly got into the bird's enclosure and slammed it to the ground.

The Orlando man reportedly reached into the famous dancing flamingo's pen Tuesday night. Busch Gardens security detained the suspect until police arrived. He was booked for felony animal cruelty.

The theme park released a statement saying it was forced to euthanize Pinky due to her injuries. Pinky was 19, and one helluva dancer.

#RIP

Anton Yelchin's parents blame Fiat Chrysler's faulty gear shift for the death of their son who suffered greatly as he was trapped against a gate ... this according to a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Irina and Viktor Yelchin say a defective e-shift gear selector led to the death of the "Star Trek" star after the actor got out of the vehicle, apparently believing he left his Jeep in park.

The suit claims Anton suffered after impact before ultimately succumbing to his injuries. According to the suit, "Yelchin was crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death."

The Yelchins claims echo those in previous lawsuits against the automaker, where vehicles have crushed drivers who get out thinking the vehicle is in park.

Anton Yelchin died without writing a will and now his parents are filing to take over his estate.

Irina and Victor Yelchin filed probate docs in L.A. County on Monday which list the 27-year-old actor's assets. According to the docs, Anton had $731,000 in equity on the Sherman Oaks home where he died in a bizarre accident.

Anton also had $641,000 in cash and personal property.

The "Star Trek" star had no children or spouse. His parents are asking the court to make them administrators of his estate.

As we reported ... Anton's folks plan to file a wrongful death suit against Fiat Chrysler ... maker of the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee which pinned him up against his security gate.

Anton Yelchin's parents have lawyered up and are planning to sue Fiat Chrysler and other companies they believe are responsible for the "wrongful death" of the "Star Trek" actor.

Yelchin was killed back in June when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backwards at his home -- and pinned him against a security gate.

Yelchin's parents say they're going after Fiat Chrysler (which makes the Cherokee) along with manufacturer ZF North America.

They're also suing the AutoNation car retailer chain -- which is presumably where he bought the car.

The family lawyer says the Yelchins want punitive damages "for the wrongful death of their son due to significant defects" in the Jeep.

You'll recall, a class action suit was filed against Fiat Chrsyler in the days following Yelchin's death claiming the 2015 Cherokee has a faulty e-shift which makes drivers think their car is in park when it's actually in neutral.

Prince's massive real estate holdings are about to hit the open market ... if his estate gets a judge's approval.

The special administrator of Prince's estate has filed a request to start unloading various real estate holdings. It won't be a fire sale though ... according to the docs, the estate says it will only accept offers that are at least 90% of fair market value.

It's unclear exactly which of his properties will be for sale -- the court has sealed that part of the request -- but Prince is known to have real estate in Minnesota, Beverly Hills, New York and possibly more. His Minnesota holdings alone have been estimated at nearly $30 mil.

The move is a sign Prince's heirs are looking to liquidate his assets rather than hold onto 'em for sentimental reasons.

The judge still needs to sign off on the deal.