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MLB fans better start warming up the hot dogs and buttering the popcorn ... because according to Alex Rodriguez, the impending Yankees vs. Dodgers championship matchup will be absolutely must-see TV!!

"It's going to be a great World Series," the former Yankees superstar told TMZ Sports while leaving Craig's in L.A. on Monday night. "The best in 25 years!"

Of course, you won't find many in the baseball world who will disagree ... as the New York vs. L.A. series does seem to have it all.

Taylor Swift fans are hitting the high seas ... a cruise full of Swifties just set sail and they're celebrating Taylor all the way from Florida to the Bahamas.

The Taylor-themed cruise embarked Monday from the Port of Miami ... and TMZ has photos of what it's like on board -- plus, we got our hands on the itinerary.

The sailing Swifties are calling themselves the "In My Cruise Era: The Taylor Fan's Cruise Group" ... and some of the planned events include friendship-bracelet swapping, Taylor trivia, dance parties, karaoke, a ship-wide scavenger hunt, a door-decorating contest and nightly Era outfit themes.

MLB fans looking to own Shohei Ohtani's historic 50/50 home run ball might need to break a few more piggy banks for it than they initially expected ... 'cause Ken Goldin just revealed to TMZ Sports it wouldn't surprise him if the baseball sold for over $10 MILLION later this week.

Currently, the memento -- which Ohtani smacked over a left field wall during a never-before-seen performance against the Marlins back on Sept. 19 -- is a few mil away from getting to eight figures ... but Goldin says it's totally possible it reaches the plateau by the time the final gavel drops on bidding on Tuesday night.

According to the auction expert -- whose auction house is actually overseeing the sale -- most bids usually come in the final hours ... and with it already being up over $2 mil, it can threaten the $10 mil threshold for sure.

Lamar Odom is recalling his own experiences with street drugs in the wake of Liam Payne's toxicology report ... telling us the substances could have made the late singer hear voices.

We got Lamar in Encino, CA and our photog asked if he had ever used the drug cocktail known as "pink cocaine" ... a mix of ketamine, methamphetamine and ecstasy that police say was found in Liam's system.

Lamar, a recovering addict who owns Odom Recovery Group, said he's done every drug Liam allegedly had in his body ... including cocaine and crack, which Lamar feels is the worst one.

Autumn Crittendon of "16 & Pregnant" fame died from a combination of drugs that sadly took her life ... TMZ has learned.

According to the Virginia Department of Health, the late reality star's official cause of death was toxicity from fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl ... an illicit synthetic opioid similar to fentanyl.

The agency lists Autumn's manner of death as accidental.

Diddy's reputation is so toxic nowadays, no one in Hollywood wants to be associated with him -- and any celebs linked to his parties or allegations will likely pay up to avoid being named in a lawsuit ... so says an expert in crisis public relations.

Evan Nierman, CEO of crisis PR firm Red Banyan, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," and we asked what his advice would be to the celebs in danger of being named as defendants alongside Diddy in civil lawsuits.

One of the latest lawsuits against Diddy references two unnamed celebrities, and Evan says those famous people, whoever they are, would be wise to cut a check to the plaintiffs and their attorney Tony Buzbee ... to avoid having their names linked to Diddy.

Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson II?!?!

If Tyson handles Jake Paul in November, The Lion tells TMZ Sports he would consider giving Iron Mike another shot at him!!!

We caught up with Lewis out in NYC this week ... and asked his thoughts on the 58-year-old's upcoming bout with 27-year-old Jake.

Cops certainly knew who they were arresting when they threw the cuffs on Rajon Rondo earlier this year ... as police body cam footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows officers discussed his NBA career just after pulling him over.

The stop, as we previously reported, happened back on Jan. 28 in Jackson County, Indiana ... after authorities alleged Rondo's black Tesla didn't have a license plate properly secured to its rear.

The video shows that after initially speaking with Rondo and obtaining his information ... cops went back to their squad car -- and chatted for a few moments about the ex-Celtics guard's time on the hardwood.

DeSean Jackson is looking for a new set of wheels to match his real-life speed once more ... as TMZ Sports has learned his super fast whip was just stolen from his Los Angeles pad this week.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... on Tuesday morning -- at around 8 o'clock -- Jackson noticed his 2023 Dodge Challenger Hellcat was missing, and not long after, cops went on the hunt to find it.

We're told authorities were able to track its location through a GPS inside the ride -- but unfortunately for the former NFL star, its signal went dead about 30 miles outside of L.A.

For the first time in 24 years, the Mets and Yankees have the chance to meet in the World Series -- and Mark Messier says the entire tri-state area is pulling for that dream matchup to become reality!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the New York Rangers legend (whose new Prime Video Series, "Game 7," drops on Oct. 22), and he told us if both teams are able to win their respective series ... the entire experience would be "incredible."

"Both teams have the opportunity to do it," he said. "They're good enough teams to do it. Let's just hope they their able to win both their series, and we're gonna be the benefactors of a great Subway Series."

"Henry Danger" star Cooper Barnes is being dragged into a legal spat between his actress wife and their female neighbor ... his wife says their neighbor is trying to seduce him and sabotage their marriage.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Cooper's wife Liz Stewart is suing a woman named Jessica Ray ... claiming Jessica's a single mom who moved into their condo complex and developed the hots for Cooper.

In the suit, Liz claims Jessica has been trying to seduce Cooper for a while now ... sending him texts and trying to get him over to her place ... alone.

Chelsea Lazkani's estranged husband wants a judge to legally end their marriage ... saying the couple hasn't come to a divorce settlement, but he's ready to move on with his life.

Jeff Lazkani -- in the midst of a messy divorce with the "Selling Sunset" star -- filed a motion to officially terminate his union with Chelsea ... saying the two haven't been able to come to a settlement in the seven months since CL filed for divorce.

Lazkani says proceeding to bifurcate status will help streamline the divorce ... a case which can take many years to finalize.

Liam Payne stayed in one other hotel before checking into the one where he died, and did party pretty hard while there -- but, despite reports, it wasn't enough to get him kicked out of the fancy spot.

Liam and his girlfriend Kate Cassidy were staying at the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires during the week prior to his death, and a staffer there tells TMZ ... the couple was definitely in celebratory vacay mode.

We're told Liam did get "pretty drunk" on some nights, but he was never belligerent. In fact, he was, at least, trying to be entertaining ... as he would sometimes sing in the lobby.

Former NFL star Eddie Lacy is fortunate he didn't hurt himself or anyone else on the night of his DUI arrest last month ... 'cause cops claim he was driving around with a blood alcohol content level over FOUR TIMES the legal limit.

The Scottsdale Police Dept. says it all happened back on Sept. 30 ... after a woman dialed 911 and told dispatch that someone matching Lacy's Audi SUV description was driving so erratically, she was worried they were "going to kill somebody."

According to an SPD police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops pulled over Lacy in his Q8 a short time after the call was received ... and almost immediately, officers noticed something was off about the ex-Green Bay Packers tailback.

Belal Muhammad's responding to Conor McGregor ... days after the UFC superstar said he'd love to smash his skull. The current welterweight champ has some violent thoughts of his own!!

It all started earlier this week ... when 36-year-old McGregor went to X in a now-deleted tweet, writing, "I'd love to crush my left hook into belal's temple and take down the triple crown. I'd do it easily. And fast! I'd cave his skully heavy! The hurdles I face getting back to the octagon are just harrowing."

Conor continued ... "I am so sad over my June 29th fight cancellation. To think this bum is now a UFC champion with zero knockdowns on his resume whatsoever is so bad. The UFC's most abysmal zero revenue generating fighter in modern history."

A must-watch SEC showdown is happening on Saturday -- No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 1 Texas --  and while the Longhorns are the higher-ranked team, Todd Gurley tells TMZ Sports his Bulldogs will come out with the win.

We spoke with the Athens legend ahead of the thrilling matchup at the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium going down in a matter of hours ... and while he knows the Dawgs will find a way to get the dub, he still has mixed feelings ahead of kickoff.

"A little nervous for real," Gurley -- who played six seasons in the NFL -- said of the game. "We just gotta take care of business, man."