Coronavirus

A hotel worker in Brazil earned office bragging rights when he not only warded off an insane attacking customer -- he sent the guy running off with his tail between his legs.

The incident reportedly went down in the city of Varginha, and allegedly started because the guest -- who WAS wearing a face mask -- refused to allow a COVID temperature scan as he checked in.

As you can see in the security footage ... the hotel employee's holding the scanner at the beginning, but sets it down before an argument erupts.

It looked like the customer was gonna walk out, but then he stormed back in and violently swung a chain holder at the worker ... then went behind the counter for some hand-to-hand combat. Big mistake!!!

The hotel worker immediately squared up to defend himself against the guest's punches and unloaded a series of blows himself. He even gets the guy to the ground and continues to pummel him, before the guest was able to retreat.

The NBA will allow players to FINALLY bring guests into the Bubble environment in Orlando ... but not EVERYONE will be allowed in.

In fact, the NO ENTRANCE list is the most interesting part!!

First off, the guest list will open up to players beginning after the 1st round of the NBA playoffs (which is approaching fast).

The league sent a memo to teams, obtained by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, laying out the criteria for entrance.

"Four guests per player, but can be exceeded for children," Woj says.

"Guests can travel on team charters following testing. Guests will be allowed to attend games."

There will be strict quarantine protocols for guests before they're allowed inside the bubble ... similar to what the players are already going through.

But, here's where it gets interesting ... the league is clearly trying to prevent players from bringing in random people they meet on social media for booty calls. Aka, no randoms from Tinder!!!

"Any individual the player has not previously met in person or with whom the player has had limited in-person interactions [will not be granted access]."

The league cites a hypothetical example of a person who would NOT be allowed in -- "[someone] known by the player only through social media or an intermediary."

Get it? Seems pretty clear to us!

Woj says other people NOT allowed inside include "agents, trainers, massage/physical therapists, personal chefs and tattoo artists."

Sorry, no new ink inside the bubble!

Once inside, Woj says "Each player is allowed one ticket per playoff game for a guest -- plus an additional admission for a child (32 inches and below)."

Gilbert Arenas recently told us he's been talking to players who are griping about not being able to get booty while inside the bubble.

Cleveland Indians pitcher Adam Plutko just roasted the hell out of his teammates Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac for partying amid the pandemic ... saying straight up, "They hurt us bad."

"They lied to us," Plutko told reporters after the Tribe's loss to the Cubs on Tuesday. "They sat here in front of you guys and publicly said things that they didn't follow through on."

"It's gonna be up to them. It really is. I'll let them sit here and tell you how they're gonna earn their trust back."

As we previously reported, both Plesac and Clevinger were busted for leaving their team hotel over the weekend to hang out with friends in the Windy City.

It's obviously a huge no-no ... MLB teams like the Marlins and Cardinals have had their seasons completely derailed by COVID outbreaks, so unpermitted meetups are seriously frowned upon.

Both Clevinger and Plesac were placed on the restricted list for their actions and forced into quarantine ... and Plutko -- who had to fill in for Clevinger on the mound Tuesday -- was pretty pissed over it all.

"I don't need to put words in their mouths," the 28-year-old said. "The term that I continue to hear -- and excuse my language -- is 'grown-ass man.'"

"So those grown-ass men can sit here and tell you guys what happened and tell you guys what they're gonna do to fix it. I don't need to do that for them."

L.A. Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn revealed he was diagnosed with COVID earlier this year -- and only got tested after hearing about a golfer with similar symptoms.

51-year-old Lynn spelled it out on the season premiere of HBO's "Hard Knocks" -- and though he didn't specifically say WHEN he tested positive.

"I can't promise you you're not going to get infected," Lynn told his players during a video chat meeting ... "I got infected."

He continued, "What I want to do is limit your exposure, but then when that whistle blows, let's go kick somebody's ass and play some football."

Later in the show, Lynn was asked about his symptoms -- and how he realized he had coronavirus.

"I’m coughing a little bit, then my body started aching a little bit. I couldn’t get comfortable in my bed," Lynn said.

Lynn then explained that he was watching a golf match and saw that a golfer had pulled out after experiencing similar symptoms -- and laster tested positive for COVID.

"I said, 'sh*t. My body kinda felt like that.'"

"If I hadn't been watching the golfing game and saw that golfer complain about backaches and soreness ... I never even would have gotten tested And I would have had this and never even known it. And probably got people infected."

Lynn says he was more worried about being branded an "outcast" than batting the virus itself.

"All the sudden, I'm the problem. I'm used to fixing the problem, now I'm the problem."

Lynn was eventually cleared to return to work -- where his players are staff are tested for COVID every day.

The Cleveland Indians were so upset with Zach Plesac for leaving the team hotel in Chicago to hang with friends during a road series with the White Sox, THEY WOULDN'T LET HIM BACK ON THE TEAM JET!

The 25-year-old right-hander KNEW he wasn't supposed to leave the team hotel without specific permission (per team and MLB protocol) due to the COVID pandemic, but he went out Saturday night anyway.

The team found out and took immediate action.

FYI, Plesac grew up in Crown Point, Indiana -- roughly 45 miles from Chicago.

Plesac was ordered to be tested immediately -- and then the team sent him back to CLE by car service Sunday instead of joining the rest of the team on the team jet.

The flight is usually 90 mins The drive is a little over 5 hours.

Plesac was also placed on a mandatory 72-hour quarantine -- and will have to undergo more testing before he'll be allowed to rejoin the team.

"I realize I made a poor choice to leave the hotel, which broke protocols and could have endangered other people," Plesac said in a statement,

"I understand that in these times of uncertainty, I need to be more vigilant and responsible, and I am determined to earn my teammates' forgiveness and get back to work."

Plesac's Indians teammate, Shane Bieber, also weighed in ...

"We love Zach, we support him, but he screwed up. We're going to handle this in-house, and we'll see where it goes from here."

Major League Baseball is trying to crack down on protocol violators in the wake of multiple outbreaks affecting the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

Be smart, people.

Big blow to college football ... the BIG 10 has reportedly voted to CANCEL the 2020 season.

The Detroit Free Press is citing multiple sources who confirm BIG 10 presidents voted 12-2 in favor of canceling the season.

Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Purdue were among the programs that voted to cancel.

Meanwhile, the only 2 votes for playing came from Nebraska and Iowa, according to the Dan Patrick Show.

The conference will reportedly go public with the announcement on Tuesday.

As we previously reported, the leaders of college football's Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) held an emergency meeting over the weekend to discuss their options.

But, as ESPN reports, the takeaway from the meeting was that a college football season in 2020 was unlikely pending some sort of miracle.

Ever had a cotton swab shoved up your nose!? IT SUCKS!

Just ask L.A. Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward -- who had some major pre-swab jitters before his COVID test at the Chargers facility ... and the footage is great!

NFL players are getting tested everyday during the first 2 weeks of training camp -- which opened on July 28.

And, judging by this footage of Hayward captured by HBO's "Hard Knocks" ... there's just no getting used to it!

Both the L..A Chargers and the L.A. Rams are featured on the docuseries this season -- a big change for the show which has traditionally only chronicled one team's journey into the regular season.

The COVID pandemic will play a major role in the show based on clips released by HBO.

One scene shows how Chargers coaches are no longer having players gather together to "break it down" after a practice session.

Instead, players are instructed to chant, "1, 2, 3 ... Chargers!" while socially distancing from each other during drills.

Weird ... considering football is a collision sport that requires players to smother each other and they'll presumably work on tackling and/or close-quarter drills at some point during practices.

But hey, appreciate the effort.

Ex-Patriots lineman Matt Light says you won't catch him out in public covering his face ... claiming science proves there's no need to wear a COVID-19 mask.

"I respect anybody's decision to wear a mask or not wear a mask," Light said on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. "The science is real clear on masks, right? There's no need to interpret it whether it helps saves lives or not, it doesn't."

FYI -- Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said just last month he believed the pandemic could be controlled in 8 weeks tops if everyone wore a mask ... but doesn't seem the Super Bowl champ is convinced.

"It has no real effect. It makes you feel comfy and warm inside maybe but it doesn't do anything in the grand scheme of things."

Light says he's frustrated with how politicians have required people to wear masks in public or face potential fines ... adding the threat isn't as serious as it's being made out to be.

"I think we're better than that. I think this country was founded on principles that don't just say, 'hey, when somebody tells you to do something, even if you look around and know there's not a fire, don't believe them when they say there's smoke'. Like c'mon, we're better than this."

Light says despite disagreeing with the protocols, he DOES take the virus seriously ... but requiring everyone to wear a mask is not the answer.

"I understand that there is a bug out there. There's a virus and it is causing harm on certain people, no doubt but it does not warrant what we're looking at right now. The data clearly points to that."

There have been more than 5 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. ... with more than 161k deaths.

Perfect antidote for a dad raging like a maniac at grocery store customers who ARE wearing masks -- his own son, who's strong enough to shut down his loudmouth parent!!!

Check out this older man going off inside a grocery store in Tucson, AZ ... spewing anti-mask rhetoric. Typical tirade we've seen lately -- you're all sheep, blah blah blah -- except this guy threw in some offensive machismo.

He drops the r-word repeatedly when describing the workers and shoppers, and even tries to fight at least one person before he had to be held back by a young buck who's said to be his son. It's pretty crazy -- usually this is how responsible parents handle a child throwing a tantrum.

Not only did his son hold him back, but he hoisted up his old man by the waist and carried him out the entrance like a 5-year-old having a meltdown -- with the chaos leaving a crate knocked over on the way out.

Russia beat the U.S. into orbit in the '60s, and might have thought they beat us in COVID-safe fun -- but looking at these images of paddleboarders packed together, we gotta say ... nyet.

This stand-up paddleboarding festival went down over the weekend in St. Petersburg, which drew thousands of paddleboarders to the canals of the Fontanka River. Unfortunately, they were all smashed together at the start and finish of the event, and definitely NOT socially distant.

Some folks are standing, others are sitting ... and to be fair, once they got out and about paddling on the water most everyone was exercising at a safe distance. Looks like good, clean virus-free fun.

The one thing we're not seeing a whole lot of ... masks. Win some, lose some, and truth is that would be fine since they're all spaced out.

But, that bottleneck when they're all crowded into a canal is Dr. Fauci's worst nightmare come true.

BTW, Vladimir Putin's claiming to have the first coronavirus vaccine up and running -- despite skepticism from U.S. scientists. If he's right though, these paddle boarders should be first in line!

Major League Baseball is considering ripping a page from the NHL's playbook -- and instituting a 3-city hub system for the playoffs, this according to ESPN.

As we previously reported, the NHL claims its 2-city hub system is VERY successful so far -- with zero new COVID cases reported in the past week.

FYI, the NHL has split up the league into 2 hub cities -- one in Edmonton and the other in Toronto.

Each team has an entire floor at a designated hotel -- and all personnel are restricted to only visiting certain approved locations ... like workout facilities, restaurants, etc.

Everyone in the "bubbles" are tested for COVID on a daily basis.

Now, MLB is so impressed, they've had "preliminary discussions" about implementing the same system for the playoffs following a series of outbreaks with at least 2 MLB teams.

The league would need 3 cities to accommodate the 16-team playoff format, according to Jeff Passan.

Passan says Southern California, Chicago and NYC would make the most sense for hub cities because of issues like weather, stadium availability and lodging.

President Trump was abruptly removed from his coronavirus briefing in what seemed like an immediate threat -- but he returned shortly to say it was due to a shooting outside the White House.

Trump's Monday evening news conference was interrupted by a Secret Service agent telling him he needed to leave, and there were reports the WH was on lockdown briefly as the press was asked to clear the lawn outside.

However, the Prez came back minutes later and told reporters there was a shooting outside and someone was taken to the hospital. He says Secret Service agents were responsible for the shooting, which he claims occurred just outside of the property at 17th and Pennsylvania Ave.

Video showed law enforcement tending to the person on the ground.

Trump says he waited in the Oval Office until he got the all clear, and told agents he wanted to return for his regular Q&A.

He went back to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic -- or as he still puts it, the "China virus" -- and the economy.

Law enforcement is still on the scene investigating the shooting.

Smash Mouth's proving they might still be All-Stars -- 2 decades after their biggest hit -- but based on their appearance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally ... they're not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of rowdy and excited bikers threw coronavirus caution to the wind Sunday night in South Dakota, and packed an outdoor venue to watch Smash Mouth perform.

The band's frontman, Steve Harwell, told the crowd at one point ... "We’re all here together tonight! F**k that COVID s**t!"

Though the venue, The Buffalo Chip, was reportedly at half capacity -- and Smash Mouth's manager says the promoter did a "fantastic job" with COVID-19 protocol -- video of the event seems to tell a different story.

As you can see ... attendees didn't seem to give a damn about wearing masks or practicing physical distancing as they prepared to take in Smash Mouth's hit tracks such as "Walkin' on the Sun" and "Can't Get Enough of You Baby."

Of course, the same carefree and reckless behavior went down Saturday night as Sturgis folks packed the Full Throttle Saloon as well.

Donald Trump is campaigning hard for college football -- urging programs NOT to cancel the 2020 season.

And, he's on board the #WeWantToPlay movement, which is being led by his old fast-food buddy, Trevor Lawrence.

"The student-athletes have been working too hard for their season to be cancelled," POTUS tweeted Monday ... adding the hashtag, "#WeWantToPlay"

Trump made the comments while quote tweeting the Clemson QB's demands for a college football season.

As we previously reported, Lawrence -- along with other top college football stars -- spelled out a list of demands in order for the players to be on board with a 2020 football season.

Among the demands ... "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."

Trump and Lawrence go way back -- remember, Trevor's Clemson football team was invited to the White House back in January 2019 to celebrate their national championship season.

Trump was widely mocked for the fast-food catering, but Lawrence had nothing but praise for POTUS on the way out ... saying the food was "awesome."