TMZ Sports - Page 50

Paul Allen's cause of death was the septic shock brought on by his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained Allen's death certificate, and it lists septic shock and immunosuppression as causes of death ... but both were clearly the result of his cancer. According to the document ... Allen died Monday at 12:35 PM at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

The Microsoft cofounder had announced nearly 3 weeks ago his cancer had returned after 9 years of remission.

Allen owned the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trailblazers, and cofounded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. His estimated net worth was north of $20 billion. Allen was never married and had no children. He was 65.

According to the death certificate, he opted to be buried instead of cremation.

Conor McGregor's already puttin' that UFC 229 money to good use ... 'cause he just surprised 10 Boston firefighters with World Series tickets!!

We're told McGregor wanted to do something special to show his appreciation for the firefighters ... so he plunked down a good chunk of change for 10 tickets to W.S. Game 1.

Remember, Conor says he made around $50 million from the Khabib fight -- and around $100 mil for the Mayweather fight -- so it's nice to see him spreading the wealth around.

McGregor personally delivered the goods to the Back Bay Fire Station ... where he spent time takin' pics and choppin' it up.

As if gettin' to watch their beloved Sox play for a ring at Fenway wasn't enough ... Conor also hooked the first responders up with his super hard to get Proper No. Twelve whiskey.

Before The Notorious split ... they cracked open some Proper No. Twelve and toasted to the Sox winning a title.

BTW -- Proper No. Twelve tells us they're donating $5 to first responders for every case of whiskey they sell ... up to $1 million a year.

Wicked awesome!!

Floyd Mayweather is proving you can never be too rich -- 'cause the dude just dropped $2,000 on lottery tickets in the hopes of winning the $1 BILLION jackpot!!!

Floyd rolled into a 76 gas station in L.A. on Thursday and told the cashier to start ringing up the Mega Millions tickets. You can see the stack of orange tickets in his hand as he walked out with his bodyguard.

The current jackpot is $1 BILLION -- but if there's a single winner and that person takes the lump sum, the take-home check would be about $565 million!!!

The drawing is set for Friday night -- but if nobody wins, the prize will be carried over to next week where the estimated grand prize could be over $1.6 BILLION!!!

Good luck, everyone ...

Here's Lonzo Ball's baby mama, Denise Garcia, proving her snap back game is STRONG ... showing off her incredible post-baby bod less than 3 months after giving birth!!

As we previously reported ... Garcia gave birth to Zoey Christina Ball on July 22. If you've been paying attention to her social media, she's been practically living in the gym ever since.

Before Curtis Granderson steps into the batter's box Friday night ... he needed a visit to the dentist's chair -- 'cause dude JACKED UP his tooth sliding into second base Wednesday!!

You'll remember ... The Grandy Man legged out a double in the 9th inning of the Brewers' Game 5 loss to the Dodgers -- and his helmet whacked him square in the mug on the slide.

Curtis ended up with a fat lip AND a broken front tooth to go along with the L ... and even said afterward the chipped piece got STUCK IN HIS LIP!!!

BUT ... the story has a happy ending -- 'cause Curtis hit up Mykleby & Thao Family Dentistry in Wauwatosa before Friday night's first pitch ... and he's cheesin' like normal now.

The smile might be fleeting, though ... Milwaukee's on the verge of elimination.

Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled have been hit with a lawsuit from people who claim the stars participated in an illegal cryptocurrency scam that screwed investors out of millions of REAL dollars.

The coin at the center of the scandal is called Centra Tech -- and, according to the class action lawsuit, Floyd and Khaled were influential celebrity endorsers who promoted the virtual currency on social media.

In fact, social media posts from Floyd encouraged people to buy the coin and he said he was so excited about it, "You can call me Floyd 'Crypto' Mayweather from now on."

Khaled called the company and its products a "game changer."

The problem ... the Securities and Exchange Commission says the company behind the coin was operating illegally, misleading investors and claims several of the execs listed on the company website don't really exist.

Centra Tech raised $32 million in backing during the initial coin offering in 2017 ... thanks, in part, to the celeb endorsements ... the lawsuit claims.

The founders of the company were arrested back in April and are facing several charges including securities fraud, wire fraud and some conspiracy charges.

In the suit, investors are going after the company founders and the celeb endorsers for fraud -- and they're seeking to get their millions of dollars back plus damages.

Rihanna did the right thing blowing off the NFL's invitation to perform at the Super Bowl's halftime show -- so says Tinashe.

Don't get the "2 On" singer wrong ... she might not have turned it down (she just performed the National Anthem at a Rams game a few weeks ago) -- but she's defending Rihanna's right to do it, regardless.

"If she believes in it, she believes in it," Tinashe says.

Of course ... RiRi's upset at The Shield for the way she believes it's blackballing Colin Kaepernick, reportedly saying she'll ride with Kap over getting the huge exposure anytime.

And, that's clearly something Tinashe can respect.

It's gotta be the knee!!!!

At least, that's what we think Josh Gordon was saying when he decided to throw a tat of Spike Lee on his right leg this week.

The New England Patriots wideout hit the tattoo shop to get a pic of Spike -- in full Mars Blackmon costume -- permanently etched near his kneecap ... and it came out pretty dope.

Unclear why J.G. wanted a photo of Lee from the iconic, "It's Gotta Be The Shoes" Michael Jordan Nike ads ... but, then again -- there are a lot of questionable tats on Josh's bod these days.

(He wears No. 10 now. Thanks, Tom.)

LSU has been trying like hell to stop the student section from chanting, "Suck that Tiger d**k, b*tch" during football games ... but LSU legend Marcus Spears says it just ain't gonna happen.

A little background ... whenever the LSU marching band plays Cameo's 1984 hit, "Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck," the student section shouts out the explicit alternate lyrics instead.

The school has made a concentrated effort to phase out the dirty chant -- but it hasn't worked. Here's video of the kids in Baton Rouge busting out the song as Joe Burrow and co. thumped Georgia in the real Death Valley last Saturday. You can even hear it during live TV broadcasts. It's crazy.

Enter Spears -- who won a National Championship playing for the Tigers in 2003 and was a consensus All-American defensive end in 2004. He now works for ESPN and agrees the chant is pretty bad.

"It's terrible, man. It's terrible."

But, Spears says the students love it and it fires up the players -- so, he doesn't really want to see it go either.

"It's a legitimate gripe, but at the same time, it's a part of the atmosphere. It's a part of the gameday thing."

"If you could somehow convince [the students] to clean it up, that would be great. But, we know what Neck is about, Neck is about getting the team motivated."

Aly Raisman and her Team USA teammates are heroically disrupting a dangerous belief system that athletes must blindly trust their coaches and doctors -- so says fellow Olympian Adam Rippon.

The Team USA figure skating star says he's so proud of Aly, Simone Biles and others for refusing to be victims -- and instead, uniting to change the culture for the better.

"I think when you're an athlete and you have somebody who's in power, you feel like they're in the right," Rippon says.

"You're in that position where you wanna listen to them. You want to do everything that they tell you to do, even if it sounds wrong. You still do it because that's what you're told. You want to be the best."

Obviously, it was that mentality that explains why so many girls and young women stayed quiet about the abuse they suffered at the hands of team doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted more than 180 women under the guise of performing medical techniques.

"There were people [like Larry Nassar] that really took advantage of that. But, then those younger gymnasts, those younger athletes, they can look to athletes like Simone Biles and Aly Raisman and all of the survivors who've really come forward and help give those other victims a lot of courage and like a zero tolerance."

Prince Harry knows how to rise above things ... in this case, scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Harry climbed the iconic landmark in Australia Friday afternoon along with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Not for nothing but it seemed Harry was nervous ... looking serious and holding on tight. Probs thankful the Mrs., Meghan Markle, stayed behind. She's got a good reason, with the pregnancy and all.

In case you're wondering ... the climb's nearly 500 feet and 1,332 steps. That's a lot of calories burned. He was up there to hoist the flag of the Invictus Games on the eve of the international Paralympic event ... founded by Harry.

The Boston Red Sox had a locker room rager for the record books after clinching a World Series berth on Thursday ... dousing each other in beer and champagne ... and the video is insane!!

The BoSox just knocked the Houston Astros outta the playoffs with a 4-1 win to close out the ALCS last night ... and celebrated their Fall Classic with champagne showers of epic proportions.

Craig Kimbrel set the mood for the boys ... declaring, "You're too dry!!" before drenching his teammates with bubbly.

Seriously -- watch the video and tell us we're overreacting. This is wild and we wish we were a part of it.

Next up for the Sox -- either the Dodgers or Brewers, depending on who wins this weekend.

By the way, we spoke with "Seatbelt Psychic" star Thomas John BACK IN JULY -- and he predicted Red Sox vs. Dodgers in the World Series.

Now, he's ONE GAME AWAY FROM BEING RIGHT! PSYCHICS ARE REALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!

Oscar De La Hoya believes Floyd Mayweather is angling for a rematch with Canelo Alvarez -- claiming he's a broke-ass fraud who desperately needs a money fight to stay afloat.

The head of Golden Boy Promotions was celebrating the record-breaking $365-MILLION contract he made for Canelo Alvarez ... when we asked about his rekindled beef with Floyd.

As we previously reported, Floyd dug up an old photo of Oscar on Thursday and blasted him on social media saying some pretty offensive stuff.

But, Oscar didn't seem too bothered at the Intercontinental hotel in L.A. Thursday night -- saying Floyd is simply trying to ruin Canelo's moment because he's a jealous, bitter man.

"How fair is it that Canelo announces this big monumental deal and then here you have Floyd crawling out of his little rock, trying to sabotage or trying to steal the thunder."

"That's who he is," Oscar says ... "He's a lowlife."

Oscar tells TMZ Sports ... he honestly believes Floyd has blown through his fortune and needs money in a bad way -- and he's trying to pick a fight with Canelo to goose him into making a deal.

Oscar says he'll happily make the deal -- because Canelo wants it -- but believes Floyd's too chicken to make it happen.

"Floyd, stay under your rock dude."

Two badass chicks have become fast friends with UFC superstar Cris "Cyborg" Justino taking Danielle Bregoli under her wing ... and an MMA future for the young rapper could be next!

Bregoli -- aka rapper Bhad Bhabie -- recruited Cyborg for a role in her new music video "Juice" with YG, and Cyborg tells TMZ Sports the two hit it off on set.

Get this ... Bregoli -- who became famous for that whole "Catch Me Outside" thing -- told Cris she loves fighting, but her style is more street than Octagon.

"She said she really like street fights. The first day I met her she said, 'I don't like gloves I like a street fight.'"

But, Cyborg tells us she thinks MMA could be great for Bregoli when it comes to self-discipline and respect -- and she's invited the 15-year-old star to train with her in Southern California.

"Soon we are gonna train together. Mixed martial arts teaches kids discipline. I think you learn a lot. When I start training, I learned a lot of things."

In fact, Cyborg says Bregoli may even have the talent to fight professionally if she wants -- but she'll have to get in the gym and put in the work.

Cris also gave us the 411 on her training leading up to her UFC 232 superfight with Amanda Nunes ... one of the most anticipated fights of the year.

Michelle Wie's callin' it a season ... 'cause her hand is COMPLETELY JACKED.

The superstar golfer announced she had surgery Thursday to fix a right hand that not only had a small avulsion fracture in it ... but also had bone spurring AND nerve entrapment.

The good news ... Wie says the surgery should fix the pain she's been dealing with FOR MONTHS.

"It’s been disheartening dealing with pain in my hand all year but hopefully I am finally on the path to being and STAYING pain free!" Wie said.

Michelle tried to stick out the season ... saying she even got 3 cortisone injections -- but it just became too much.

Wie says her season's now over ... but rehab and a big 2019 are comin'.

"I cannot wait to start my rehab so that I can come back stronger and healthier than ever."

She also quoted an inspirational lyric from a John Mayer song. It's from this song. Enjoy ...

The feud between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather is getting extremely personal -- and nasty -- with Oscar now calling out Floyd's domestic violence conviction to humiliate him.

Floyd went after Oscar earlier Thursday -- posting an old photo of De La Hoya wearing fishnet stockings and heels -- and saying, "I fought her and her name is Oscar 'Golden Girl' Dela Hoya."

Floyd then implored his fans on social media to "leave the most disrespectful caption you can think of" about Oscar.

Now, Oscar is firing back ... saying, "Hey, [Canelo Alvarez] someone is salty about your record breaking contract with @dazn_usa. Good thing we will never resort to hitting women."

He added some hashtags -- "#DomesticAbuser #DomesticViolence #Salty #antidomesticviolence #FloydMayweather #SaltyFloyd #FloydSaltyMayweather #whyyoumad."

Of course, Floyd was convicted of domestic violence in 2011 stemming from an incident where he attacked the mother of his children. He cut a plea deal and served jail time.

Unclear what Floyd's endgame is in regards to the feud with Oscar and Canelo -- since it seems he's already 86'd the idea of a rematch with Canelo.

Maybe these guys just don't like each other.