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What happens in Vegas doesn't happen at Houston Rockets camp ... and that may be why James Harden has yet to join his team.

The NBA superstar has been partying it up in recent days -- from ragers with rapper Lil Baby on Thursday to reportedly hitting up Drai's nightclub in Sin City on Sunday night.

It sounds like a hell of a time, except the Rockets expected Harden to show up for an individual workout on Sunday ... but later told staffers he would arrive at camp "soon."

Of course, players are required to quarantine in their home markets before joining the team ... something Harden wasn't doing while hanging with Lil Baby.

Rockets head coach, Stephen Silas, gave an update on The Beard's absence at camp on Monday ... saying he is unsure when the star will show up.

"There is no timetable, as far as I know. It is a setback," Coach said. "You want your best player to be here."

When asked if Harden is sending a message through his no-show, Silas says it's up to the 31-year-old baller to share.

"I have no clarity about the message, honestly. I take it basically at face value that he’s not here and what the reasoning is, is on him."

"He’s the one who can explain why or why not he's not here. For me to make inferences and think about the possibilities isn't real to me."

The drama comes weeks after ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Harden wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets ... but Silas says #13 is the one who has to come clean on what's really going on.

"What's real is he's not here and he has a reason, but that's on him to tell whatever his reason is."

Sooooooo ......... what's up, James?!

Chuck Yeager, the pilot known as "the fastest man alive" for being first to break the sound barrier, has died.

Chuck's wife, Victoria, says he passed Monday night after "an incredible life well lived." She says he will be known as "America’s greatest Pilot, & a legacy of strength, adventure, & patriotism will be remembered forever."

According to John Nicoletti, Yeager's friend and ground crew chief, Chuck had several health challenges in recent years and had a fall that led to further complications. Nicoletti says he died at an L.A. hospital, though he lived in Northern Cal.

Yeager broke the sound barrier in October 1947 when he tested the X-1 jet ... though the public didn't know about it until the following year. His incredible feat came after he became a WWII hero as a fighter pilot stationed in England.

During the course of the war, he flew 64 missions and shot down 13 German planes ... and was shot down once himself over France in 1944, but evaded capture.

Yeager returned to America in 1945 and married his first wife, Glennis, for whom he named several of his planes ... including his famous sound-barrier-breaking X-1, Glamorous Glennis.

Yeager's spectacular achievement went down over Rogers Dry Lake in Southern California. The X-1 reached Mach 1.06 or 700 mph, making him the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound and earning him the title of "Fastest Man Alive."

Yeager would go on to continue breaking records and performing in airshows, and his legacy was captured in Tom Wolfe's book "The Right Stuff," which became the 1983 hit movie.

Chuck was also a valued adviser for the government and aerospace industry and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Ronald Reagan in 1985.

Twelve years later, at age 74, he commemorated the 50th anniversary of his historic X-1 flight by flying in an F-15 Eagle.

Yeager was 97.

MLB umpire, Brian O'Nora, was arrested in a sex sting operation in Ohio this weekend ... after officials say he tried to solicit a prostitute online.

57-year-old O'Nora -- who's been an MLB umpire since 2000 -- was 1 of 14 alleged "Johns" who went online seeking to illegally purchase a sex act, according to police.

But, O'Nora didn't get sex ... instead, he got nailed by the Liberty Township Police Department, which was working with a task force that specializes in busting human trafficking operations.

Details of what exactly went down during the sting operation are unclear -- we're working on it -- but O'Nora and the others were all arrested and charged with misdemeanor soliciting and misdemeanor possessing criminal tools.

"John stings deter those seeking to purchase sex -- reducing the demand for human trafficking -- and serve as a reminder that these crimes are more prevalent and closer to home than you may think," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday.

The whole case rings similar to sex stings involving New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft, and pro golfer Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey.

As for O'Nora, he went viral back in 2013 when he was hit in the neck by a pitch ... but still made a "ball four" call despite being in serious pain.

O'Nora has been assigned to cover an MLB All-Star Game on 3 occasions during his umping career ... and he also worked the 2012 Giants vs. Tigers World Series.

The author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" -- the guy who said Hitler had reason to target the Jews -- was cruel to say what he said, according to the guy's own family.

Roald Dahl, a wildly successful author who also wrote "Matilda," "The BFG" and "The Witches," said during a 1983 interview, "There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. Maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there's always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere."

And then, he said this ... "Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason."

He practiced what he preached ... Dahl's screenplay for "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" included a large-nosed child snatcher ... an anti-Semitic trope that Dahl seemed to embrace.

Although he died 30 years ago, his anti-Semitism is now making the rounds, which caused his family to issue a mea culpa.

The family said they deeply apologize "for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl's statements. Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations."

The family added, "We hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst, Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words."

Teyana Taylor's had it up to HERE with the music biz making her feel "super under appreciated as an artist" ... so she's announcing her retirement.

Teyana made the surprise announcement Friday while touting Spotify's year-round stats feature dubbed "2020 Artist Wrapped" ... praising fans for playing her music all over the world but also railing on the music industry.

Teyana didn't pull punches ... saying she received "little to no real push from the machine, constantly getting the shorter end of the stick" and "being overlooked." She said the list goes on and on, but then tried to keep things positive.

The "Concrete" singer added, "I’m retiring this chapter of my story with the comfort that I can depart with peace of mind seeing that all the hard work & passion put was indeed loved & supported somewhere in the world!"

It's unclear what Teyana's got planned for the future ... but something may be percolating 'cause she says, "Don't worry y'all know all hustlers have the understanding that when one door closes another will open...either that or I'm pickin da locks."

Teyana released 3 studio albums -- "VII," "K.T.S.E." and "The Album" -- with GOOD Music and Def Jam. She also collaborated with tons of other artists ... perhaps most notably when she set the internet on fire appearing in Kanye West's "Fade" music video.

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.