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Vickie Johnson has reportedly accepted the head coaching job for the Dallas Wings -- ending the WNBA's year-long drought without a Black woman in a head coaching position.

Johnson has head coaching experience -- she led the San Antonio Stars back in 2017, before the team moved to Las Vegas and hired Bill Laimbeer to run the team.

She's served as an assistant coach with the Stars under Laimbeer ever since.

But now, 48-year-old Johnson will take over in Dallas for Brian Agler -- who was fired back in October after the team went 8-14 in 2020, missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

Johnson was a pretty solid player back in the day -- she was the 2nd-round pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft and was a 2-time All-Star before retiring in 2009.

The WNBA did NOT have a single Black woman as a head coach during the 2020 season, which has raised eyebrows considering an overwhelming majority of the players in the league are Black women.

In fact, of the 144 players in the league in 2019, 127 reportedly identified as Black or women of color, according to SB Nation.

Odell Beckham is back in the gym and busting his ass just over a month after his devastating ACL injury ... and he's showing off his battle scars.

The Cleveland Browns superstar has been sidelined for the rest of the season after going down in the 1st quarter of the Oct. 25 game against the Cincinnati Bengals ... calling the situation "really f'n tough."

But, OBJ has vowed to bounce back better than ever -- and he's putting his money where his mouth is ... posting footage Thursday from a recent workout.

28-year-old Odell can be seen going through squats and catching drills ... and it's pretty impressive considering the dude had surgery just 3 weeks ago.

"Lord I swear I think I'm healed," Odell said on Wednesday ... as he walked comfortably out of the training facility.

It's been a tough time for Beckham -- who has had his fair share of injuries throughout his career.

The star receiver spoke out about his struggles in an Instagram post this week ... saying, "Ima be honest.... I been thru hell these last couple years n I just keep it pushin... this shxt ain’t for errbody!"

No bubble, mo' problems.

The NBA says 48 out of 546 players have tested positive for COVID-19 in its first round of testing for the 2020-21 season.

Yeah ... not great.

But, NBA officials aren't panicked just yet -- insisting they expected higher numbers off the bat as players leave their homes to rejoin their teams, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

The NBA says players were tested in their team's home market between Nov. 24 and Nov. 30 -- which the league has dubbed "the initial return to market testing phase."

NBA officials did not name names as to who tested positive so far -- but a spokesperson says all COVID positive players have been instructed to isolate in their team's city "until they are cleared for leaving isolation under the rules established by the NBA and the Players Association in accordance with CDC guidance."

Of course, the NBA does NOT plan on playing the 2020-21 season in the bubble environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando this time around ... despite the massive success it enjoyed earlier this year.

The move to host games in various cities isn't going over well with some players and execs including Philadelphia 76ers coach, Doc Rivers, who said he's "very concerned" about a bubble-free season.

Just look at the NFL ... they're not in a bubble and the 2020 season has been a mess -- with a bunch of players, coaches, execs and others testing positive on a fairly regular basis.

NFL games have been pushed, the quality of the play has been questioned ... and several top players have opted out.

Hugh Keays-Byrne -- the actor who impressively played the bad guy in both the original "Mad Max" and "Mad Max: Fury Road" 36 years later -- has died.

Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan announced the Australian actor's passing and hailed him as "an unsung hero of Aussie cinema" -- adding he's "continually floored" Hugh played the main villain in both 'Mad Max' movies.

It's true -- Hugh became famous for starring opposite Mel Gibson in the 1979 film as the central antagonist, Toecutter ... then returned to face off against Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy as Immortan Joe in 2015.

As you'd imagine ... he's the only actor to appear in both flicks, and he and director George Miller had a very good working relationship over the decades. Miller also cast Hugh in the scrapped DC movie, "Justice League: Mortal."

That's not all he's known for though -- Keays-Byrne also starred in several British and Australian projects, including "Stone," "The Chain Reaction" and "Resistance."

He had more than 50 acting credits to his name spanning nearly 5 decades.

So far, Hugh's cause of death is unknown. He was 73.

Taylor Swift is teasing her first rerecorded hit song ... in a hilarious new ad starring Ryan Reynolds as the devil.

Taylor and Ryan teamed up to pimp the dating site Match, and the commercial features the singer's redo of her 2008 track, "Love Story." It's the first time fans are getting to hear what Taylor's re-recorded masters sound like.

As you know ... Taylor says she's hard at work rerecording her first 6 albums, because she wants ownership of the songs. Remember, her masters were scooped up by Scooter Braun and recently sold again, and Taylor's pissed about not owning her own work.

While Taylor makes it sound like she's far from done in the studio, she says Ryan hit her up asking to use a snippet of her new "Love Story" in the ad and she wanted to give fans a sneak peek.

What's interesting is whether there's any discernible difference from her original 2008 track. Check it out and decide.

It'll be "Wednesday Night Football" for the NFL this week ... the league has officially found a new date for the Steelers vs. Ravens game, this after Baltimore players reportedly scoffed at a Tuesday matchup.

As we previously reported, the game was all set to go down on Thanksgiving night ... but it got pushed to Monday due to positive COVID tests.

The coronavirus cases, though, didn't slow down over the weekend ... with Baltimore being forced to place over 15 players -- including reigning MVP Lamar Jackson -- on the COVID/reserve list.

So, the NFL tried to reschedule the game for Tuesday night to allow the Ravens' cases to subside ... but Baltimore players were reportedly PISSED over that idea.

Seems several Ravens players felt Tuesday was still too soon because they would be playing a key division game without their best players.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Ravens were so upset the game wasn't pushed even further, they were considering a "wildcat strike" ... which is when people in a union strike without the support of the union. In this case, the union would be the NFL Players Association.

In the end, the NFL -- pending no more positive cases between the two teams -- decided to move the game to Wednesday night.

Unclear if the unhappy Ravens players are satisfied with the new date or if a possible strike is still on the table.

F1 driver Romain Grosjean is lucky to be alive -- SUPER LUCKY -- because his car exploded in flames and was literally ripped apart during the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The race barely got started ... during the first lap of the race, his car made contact with another car and it sent him careening into the barrier. It looked like dynamite ... a massive explosion tore the car apart.

The 34-year-old driver was hurt, but miraculously not badly. He suffered minor burns and was taken to a local hospital, but he'll be ok.

The race stopped down for 45 minutes so the staff could clear the track of debris.

Lewis Hamilton, who's won 7 world championships, went on Instagram almost instantly and said in amazement, "I'm so grateful Romain is safe, wow."

Lewis then went on to remind folks of the danger ... "The risk we take is no joke for those of you out there that forget we put our life on the line for this sport and love what we do. This is a reminder to us all. Thankful to the FIA for the massive strides we've taken for roman to walk away from that safely."

Happy Romain's okay.

Diego Maradona -- widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time -- has died at his home in Argentina, according to his reps.

He was 60.

Maradona, who was still recovering after emergency brain surgery earlier this month, reportedly suffered a heart attack at his home Wednesday morning and was not able to pull through ... according to Argentinian news outlet Clarin.

His death was confirmed by Maradona's longtime lawyer and agent Matias Morla.

Back in the day, Maradona was considered one of the best soccer players in the world -- leading Argentina to a World Cup in 1986.

In fact, his "Hand of God" goal against England during the '86 World Cup is one of the most famous moments in soccer history.

Maradona was tracking down a ball and slyly used his hand to punch it over the goalkeeper into the net -- while pretending his hand never actually touched it. His acting job worked and the goal counted!

After his playing career, he struggled with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and health issues -- and had been hospitalized multiple times.

But, he was still widely loved in his home country -- and the fans came out in force to show love just a few weeks ago when he was being transported to the hospital for brain surgery.

As we previously reported, doctors discovered a blood clot on Maradona's brain that required emergency treatment ... and he went under the knife on Nov. 3.

In the days that followed, Maradona's doctor said the outlook was good and he expected the star to make a successful recovery.

But, something went terribly wrong on Wednesday ... and now the world is mourning Maradona's death.

Peyton Manning stiff-armed the "Monday Night Football" gig ... but the future Hall of Fame QB found a show he's down to host -- a reboot of the 1960's game show, "College Bowl."

44-year-old Manning has signed on to host the 10-episode season of the once super-popular game show ... a quiz show which pits college students from different universities against each other.

The prize??

Well, SCHOLARSHIP $$$$!!!

The 2x Super Bowl-winning QB is pumped for the new gig (and the loads of prize money they're goin' to give away), saying ... “I’ve always loved intense college competition, so I’m thrilled to be part of the team bringing back ‘College Bowl.”

“Having personally seen the profound impact scholarships can make on deserving students, I can’t wait for the moment when we get to award life-changing scholarships to the winning team,” Manning says.

And, while Peyton is hosting the show -- which originally aired CBS and then NBC until 1970 -- he's also getting some help from his brothers, Eli and Cooper ... who are reportedly serving as Executive Producers.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder, Randy Arozarena, is the subject of an MLB investigation stemming from an alleged violent incident in Mexico involving the mother of his child and the woman's father.

25-year-old Arozarena was reportedly detained at the woman's home, according to local media outlets.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports Arozarena "allegedly tried to take his daughter from her mother and assaulted the woman’s father."

Reports out of Mexico indicate Arozarena showed up to the home with gifts for his daughter -- but things went awry when he arrived and he allegedly tried to take the child from the house without permission from the mother.

Video has surfaced allegedly showing a standoff between Arozarena and neighbors -- while Arozarena is holding a child.

Mexican authorities have said they will release more information about the case in the coming days. In the meantime, MLB has officially launched an investigation to gather information.

No fancy car. No fancy Rolex -- MMA fighter Emiliano Sordi spent his $1 MILLION prize money on something much more important.

HE USED EVERY CENT TO FEED HUNGRY PEOPLE IN HIS HOME COUNTRY!

Amazing, right?!

The 29-year-old earned his $1 mil check by winning the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight season and playoffs in 2019. Dude can fight.

Now, Sordi -- AKA "He-Man" -- is revealing how he spent the dough ... and it'll warm even the coldest of hearts.

The Argentinian fighter says the COVID pandemic has been especially brutal in his home town of Rio Cuarto -- and in an interview with the Hablemos MMA podcast on Monday, he explained why he felt compelled to step up and help.

"Everything here is very rough," Sordi said (via MMA Junkie). "The economy is very bad. The situation is looking very ugly."

"We started giving food to about 300 people and we got to a point where we gave food to 3,000. So economically, I didn’t enjoy any of [the $1 million prize]."

Sordi said he worked with the city to obtain the proper permits to deliver food throughout the area via pickup truck from March through August ... and the operation grew as time went on.

"I didn’t buy anything. I didn’t go on vacation. I mean, I was locked at home. But I used those resources to help people who were going through a rough time."

Emiliano (22-8) says despite his efforts, there are still folks in need ... but he understands he's made an impact with what he's done so far.

President Trump is finally cracking the door for President-elect Joe Biden's administration to begin the transition -- but he's still far from publicly admitting he lost the election.

DT's double-talk came Monday when he announced he'd given the green light to the General Services Administration to bring Biden's team into the fold. At the same time, he reaffirmed the fact he's still fighting the election results.

The clear contradiction -- Trump's finally acknowledging the need for the next POTUS to start taking the reins ... without admitting there will be a new POTUS.

The Prez says he's only relenting because GSA Administrator Emily Murphy is under heavy pressure. He claims, "She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA."

He added, "Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good... fight, and I believe we will prevail!"

Trump might be trying to hedge here, but according to the Biden-Harris transition team ... there's no question about it -- they have been determined to be the winner of the election, and the fact they've been reached out to by GSA signals that.

A rep for the transition team writes, "In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies." Ouch!

"Jeopardy!" will have a series of interim guest hosts following Alex Trebek's passing and first up is the show's 'Greatest of All Time' ... Ken Jennings.

Sony Pictures announced the move Monday to make the fan-favorite the first guest host. More guests will be announced in the weeks to come but for now, it's Ken first up at the podium.

Mike Richards, the show's executive producer, said the franchise "will honor Alex's legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues." He added, "By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers."

Ken also chimed in after the news was announced ... fittingly saying, "there will only ever be one Alex Trebek."

Alex died a few weeks ago after battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer -- but all-new episodes with him hosting will continue to air until Christmas Day ... and "best of" episodes will air until December 28.

Ken's first taping will come on November 30 when the show resumes production. He's already etched his name in "Jeopardy!" lore thanks to his 74-game winning streak. Ken also took home an all-time record in regular-season play with a whopping $2.52 million in earnings -- and earlier this year he won the 'Greatest of All Time' tournament.

Here's Darius Leonard narrowly avoiding another awkward conversation with his wife ...

The Indianapolis Colts superstar actually checked his gloves Sunday before throwing them into the crowd ... dodging Wedding Ring Catastrophe Part II by the narrowest of margins!!!

If you ain't familiar ... back in September, Darius ripped off his gloves in celebration of a win and tossed them to a fan in the stands.

Turns out, though, his wedding ring had gotten stuck in one of the gloves ... and the 25-year-old linebacker had to beg on social media to get it back!!

Fast forward to Sunday ... and after a huge win over the Green Bay Packers, Leonard wanted to give his gloves away again -- and nearly threw the ring with them AGAIN!!!

Fortunately for Darius, he learned his lesson and actually checked the gloves before launching them.

The video is pretty funny ... Leonard realizes his mistake just before throwing the gear -- and, thankfully, a Colts staffer was able to fish the ring out.

The jewelry was saved, the fans got the gloves ... and Darius is still living the happy-wife, happy-life lifestyle.

Horrible news for the Baltimore Ravens -- the team's top 2 running backs, Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins, have tested positive for COVID ... and will NOT play on Thursday night.

So, first and foremost ... prayers up for a speedy recovery.

Secondly ... GO GRAB GUS EDWARDS FOR YOUR FANTASY TEAM RIGHT NOW.

Both Ingram and Dobbins tested positive on Monday -- leading Baltimore to shut down the team facility ASAP.

The team noted defensive lineman Brandon Williams was also put on the COVID list because he's considered a close contact. He's also out for Thursday.

The Ravens (6-4) are slated to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on 'TNF' -- with Gus Edwards now expected to get the majority of the workload at running back.

Running back Justice Hill is also expected to see more playing time.

Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, said the team reopened the facility Monday afternoon -- and it seems the plan is to play Thursday as scheduled.

"We're just carrying forward with our normal schedule at this point, working hard and getting ready for a big challenge Thursday night against the undefeated Steelers," Harbaugh said.

Matt Stafford's wife is apologizing once again for unloading on government officials for imposing more lockdowns during the pandemic ... saying of her rant, "I couldn't have said it any worse."

If you missed it ... Kelly Stafford -- who's been married to the Detroit Lions star QB since 2015 -- went ballistic last week over Michigan's latest COVID restrictions.

In her tirade, which she posted on her social media page, Kelly said the new lockdown rules imposed by governor, Gretchen Whitmer, felt like a "dictatorship" ... and she pled with officials to just open everything back up.

"I understand there’s a pandemic, and I understand it’s very scary. I’m scared of it, too. If you are at risk, do not leave your house until there’s a vaccine," Stafford said.

"But, shutting down all these small businesses, things that people have worked their life for, shutting them down again is not the answer. Because they will not make it."

Kelly's comments were met with immediate backlash ... and it grew so loud, the 31-year-old apologized just hours later.

And, on Monday, Kelly felt the need to backpedal off her comments yet again ... saying sorry in a lengthy post on her Instagram.

"I know where my heart was, but no matter, it should have never been said," Kelly wrote. "I was feeling frustrated and emotional..And in that moment, I said the wrong thing."

"In doing so, I overlooked so many important people that wake up every day to help all of us. Those in our hospitals -- doctors and nurses -- who are tired and scared, but put all of that to the side and continue to be relentless in fighting this pandemic every day. And the families who are watching their loved ones fight or the families who have a loved one who has lost the fight -- I truly am sorry."

Kelly continued, "I directed my frustration to the wrong thing. I used a word that made it political, when this is, in the end, about people. I do worry about people losing their businesses/livelihood and employees being laid off..not knowing how they are gonna get by but this on a grand-scale, is about the health and safety of everyone. Our family will do our part to help others through this and, as always, do what is recommended to keep people safe."