Coronavirus

Houston Cougars lineman Sedrick Williams says he's experienced "complications with my heart" after battling COVID back in July ... and now he's opting out of the 2020 season.

The 6'3", 302-pound defensive lineman -- a junior transfer from Kilgore College -- tested positive for COVID in early July and spent 14 days in quarantine.

But, Williams says he didn't make a full recovery.

"As a result of the virus I’ve had complications with my heart and I really don’t know the outcome or what’s in store for me in the future," Williams said on Facebook.

"I just know that my life is more precious to me than football could ever be."

As a result, Williams says he's opting out of the 2020 season -- but vows to return once he's 100% recovered.

"I won’t take this year for granted, IM COMING BACK BIGGER, FASTER, & STRONGER than EVER."

Williams says the recent death of former Florida State basketball player Michael Ojo made him realize heart issues are no joke.

As we previously reported, Ojo passed away last week after suffering a heart attack during a training session. He was only 27.

Williams had been a standout at Kilgore College the past two seasons and was expected to compete for starter's minutes with the Cougars.

Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is adamant he WANTS to play college football this season -- even spelling out reasons why it's imperative for so many players -- but it ain't lookin' good.

The QB -- the projected #1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft -- essentially argued athletes are safer from COVID in the college environment than back in their own homes.

"People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play," Lawrence said Sunday on Twitter.

"Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19."

"Not to mention the players coming from situations that are not good for them/their future and having to go back to that."

Lawrence says football "is a safe haven for so many people."

"We are more likely to get the virus in everyday life than playing football."

"Having a season also incentivizes players being safe and taking all of the right precautions to try to avoid contracting covid because the season/ teammates safety is on the line."

"Without the season, as we’ve seen already, people will not social distance or wear masks and take the proper precautions."

Fair points, but while Lawrence was making his case ... the leaders of college football's Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) were holding an emergency meeting to talk about the likelihood of no college football season in the fall.

No official decisions were made, but ESPN reports the leaders were discussing how they can work together if fall sports are canceled or postponed.

The takeaway from ESPN's report is it seems a postponement is the likely path at this point.

Meanwhile, Lawrence joined several other major college football stars in posting a message saying #WeWantToPlay ... which outlines the conditions that need to be met in order for the players to be on board with a 2020 college football season.

The group says it wants several things ...

--  "Universal mandated health and safety procedures to protect college athletes against covid-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA."

-- "Give players the opportunity to opt out and respect their decision."

-- "Guarantee eligibility whether a player chooses to play the season or not."

-- "Use our voices to establish open communication and trust between players and officials; ultimately create a College Football Players Association [with] representatives of the players of all Power 5 conferences."

The first actual brawl in the 2020 MLB season just unfolded before our eyes -- and lo and behold ... it was against the Houston Astros.

The A's were playing Houston Sunday for a day game, and during the 7th inning ... Astros pitcher Humberto Castellanos beaned A's outfielder Ramon Laureano in the back, which ticked him off. He had words for Castellanos, but then directed his anger at the dugout.

It looks like one of the Astros hitting coaches was chirping at Laureano, which then prompted the A's slugger to charge the dugout. Several Astros players stepped in before Laureano could reach his target -- it looks like Dustin Garneau took him down and others piled on.

This led to the benches clearing and other players to tussle and wrestle on the ground, while others tried pulling one another off. Some were wearing masks, others weren't -- and the fact it was the first actual physical brawl of the COVID-era season made it all the more bizarre.

Of course, there's likely going to be some harsh penalties dished out here because of this -- MLB has strongly discouraged physical closeness/confrontations ... especially if they can be avoided. They've said they'll hand down whatever regular fines or suspensions they normally do in these types of situations, but won't cut 'em down at all for the shortened season.

Tech N9ine got on the mic for a bunch of never-ending partiers down in Missouri -- and the joint looked about as packed as any of their shindigs lately.

The rapper put on a homecoming show Saturday night at the Regalia hotel in Lake of the Ozarks -- he's from Kansas City, BTW ... so it was definitely a special occasion to have Tech come out and perform. He took to the stage in front of what we're told were upwards of 1,000 people.

That didn't seem to bother Tech N9ne though -- ditto for the concert promoters and the hotel folks hosting the event. As you can see ... it looks eerily similar to all the other Ozark water ragers we've seen of late. No masks, little distancing ... and just a whole lot of bodies.

Aside from the bad idea of hosting any type of large gathering like this -- indoors or out -- the fact Tech N9ne is in the mix here seems to signal something else that's fairly troubling ... the idea that in-person concerts are coming back with more regularity, slowly but surely.

We've seen some well-known artists over the past couple months performing to large crowds -- sometimes with blatant disregard for safety, and other times letting things get out of control despite their best intentions ... looking at you Chase Rice and the Chainsmokers.

Granted, Keith Urban seemed to have a bit more success with his own drive-in show -- in any case, it's clear artists are getting restless too and are trying to secure that concert bag.

You wanna see someone disgusting ... check out this anti-masker who castigates a supermarket employee ... essentially calling her a loser because of her job.

It went down in Long Island, New York when an employee at a King Kullen market apparently told this shopper to wear a mask. Well, that set her off, threatening to "beat the f***ing s***" out of the employee, warning, "Don't pull your communist bull**** on me."

She then gets personal and insulting ... remember, the employee is an essential worker who, aside from enforcing the rules in the store, presumably is trying to keep her family and herself safe. That didn't stop the anti-masker from some loathsome insults.

And, check this out ... this video was shot at a restaurant in North Carolina where an employee got into it with a Grubhub driver. The employee claims the guy came up to the window without a mask and was chowing down on a Burger King sandwich. She says when she asked why he wasn't wearing a mask, he started screaming and spitting with food in his mouth.

The LAPD is pushing back against Mayor Eric Garcetti's threat to kill power at homes defying COVID-19 orders ... because cops don't want any more beef with citizens.

Here's the deal ... Garcetti authorized the city to turn off water and electricity to residents who have big parties in violation of health orders, and he put LAPD in charge of making those requests with the Mayor and other City officials.

So, if cops respond to a home and find a large party going down -- like the one last week in Los Angeles that ended with a fatal shooting -- officers can make the call to kill utilities there within 48 hours.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... no officer wants to shut the power off at a residence, in part because many folks are already pissed at cops. We're told they'd rather focus on reducing real crime, and not turning off home necessities.

Our sources say if the decision is left to officers' discretion ... very few will follow through with Garcetti's threat.

We're told, cops are worried about homeowners who rely on electricity to power a breathing device or food spoiling in fridges. Any of those situations would create way more tension in communities they police.

COVID-19 isn't stopping the legendary Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but with hundreds of thousands arriving ... it's gonna be near impossible for the bikers to avoid spreading the virus.

The small town of Sturgis, South Dakota is packed to the gills as Friday kicks off the 80th edition of the famous biker convention. They're expecting a quarter million people to ride through over the next 9 days, but these opening day images show face coverings are scarce.

Spotting a face mask in the crowds is like flipping through a "Where's Waldo." If you thought those Georgia high school hallways were alarming, Sturgis could be way worse.

Once parked, social distancing is gonna be tough for the bikers. People are jammed up like sardines in bars, and the streets are super crowded too. Yes, the fresh air helps, but there's a limit when establishments get filled.

At least the liquor stores are hawking "Full Throttle Hand Sanitizer."

The event is easily the largest gathering in America since the pandemic began, which raises another issue. Once the Sturgis rally ends ... people will ride off to another destination, and possibly trigger a spike.

This back-to-school pic didn't just alarm parents worried about their kids and coronavirus ... it also got at least 2 teenagers suspended.

Georgia's North Paulding High School hit the student, 15-year-old Hannah Watters, with a 5-day suspension for posting that photo -- a shot she took out of concern for her safety ... as well as her classmates'.

Hannah had captioned the pic, "Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed." She added that she was pushed multiple times, and defiantly posted, "This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate."

The school's stance is that Hannah, and another student who posted the crowded hallway image, violated school policy about social media and posting images of minors without consent.

That's the letter of the school's law, obviously, but one could easily argue ... the safety of students and faculty should be getting some consideration here. Hannah clearly posted the photo because she was alarmed at the inability to social distance.

Hannah told BuzzFeed News she feels her suspension is excessive.

The photo went viral Tuesday as it highlighted the fears of parents, and for that matter ... teachers, as students return to schools for the first time since the pandemic began.

Jerry O'Connell is dreading the new school year like most parents whose kids will continue virtual learning, and he's not afraid to admit it ... helping his girls with math is a mind-boggling challenge.

Jerry joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday from his home in Calabasas, where he's quarantining with his wife, Rebecca Romijn, and their twin girls, Charlie and Dolly ... and getting ready for the 6th grade.

In just a couple weeks his daughters will be doing distance learning, due to the pandemic, which means he'll have to pitch in some when it comes to teaching at home -- and based on this convo ... Charlie and Dolly should be very afraid.

Jerry says things are only getting harder since he posted a funny video at the end of last school year. In particular, he's hung up on long division problems ... which makes him feel like Stephen Hawking wrote their textbooks.

It's pretty funny too ... Jerry knows just what to do when the tough questions inevitably come his way. Stay on your toes, Rebecca!

There is one thing he's gotten better at this summer -- just watch the video. Unfortunately for his daughters, it doesn't involve math.