Coronavirus

Jon Gruden dropped in and surprised an online Univ. of Tennessee stats class this week ... and it was hilarious -- mostly because the guy absolutely sucks at using Zoom!!

The Raiders head coach -- who has an affinity for the Vols (remember #Grumors?) -- surprised a group of students Thursday that included star RB Ty Chandler ... but he didn't exactly pull off the drop-in without a hitch.

As soon as JG busted in the class ... his camera wasn't working and students couldn't see him. Later, the 56-year-old had a hell of a time trying to sign out.

But, hey! In between all of that -- Gruden's visit was cool as hell!!!

Gruden ribbed Chandler (a 2021 NFL Draft prospect), provided messages of encouragement for the young students and even got a "Spider 2 Y Banana" shoutout from the teacher. Good times, right?

As for why this happened ... Chuckie's always had a great relationship with UT -- he once was a grad assistant at the school and his wife was actually a former Vols cheerleader.

The lack of baseball has hit the most famous bat manufacturer HARD ... with the makers of the Louisville Slugger shutting down its factory and museum.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co. discussed the decision to furlough 90% of its staff and halt production at its Kentucky facility on Monday ... saying the coronavirus and its impact has forced the changes.

"We’re not doing any advertising. We’ve cut all our expenses we can. We’re just hoping we get back to normal before we run out of cash," CEO John Hillerich told The Courier Journal.

Of course, there is no MLB right now ... as the start of the season has been delayed with no return date in sight.

According to the Journal, Hillerich & Bradsby sends about 50,000 sticks to the MLB each year ... and there's serious concern the logs used to make the bats could "spoil" before they're used.

As for the employees ... those remaining on staff have taken a 25% pay cut ... but everyone -- including the furloughed workers -- are keeping their health benefits.

Hillerich says the company is concerned about the museum's future ... saying, "We’re afraid that even if we open up, people aren’t going to want to be in crowded museums."

Derek Jeter is taking an indefinite pay cut as Marlins owner -- a move that could cost him MILLIONS -- this as the MLB community continues to struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeter, a part-owner of Miami's team since 2017, told his staff Monday he's giving up his paychecks while the league continues to postpone play over coronavirus, ESPN reports.

Derek's salary is reportedly around $5 MILLION per year ... so the move is a pretty big one for the former Yankees captain.

Of course, his actions will help others in need in the Marlins' franchise ... reportedly, the team will now continue to pay its employees until at least May 31 -- right around the time baseball hopes to resume.

Jeter's pay cut comes just a week after MLB commish Rob Manfred also agreed to slash his salary in a move that could cost him around $4 MIL.

The good news ... baseball still appears to be committed toward paying its other employees in the meantime.

The MLB season was set to tip off on March 26 ... but was postponed indefinitely after coronavirus fears in early March.

Ex-UFC fighter Phillipe Nover is now a registered nurse helping patients during the COVID-19 pandemic -- and he just got a video message from Dana White praising him for his efforts!

"Hearing all the incredible things you're doing on the frontlines of New York City," White said ... "You're awesome, kid!"

Some backstory ... 36-year-old Nover first began fighting in the UFC in 2008 and took fights in the Octagon all the way up to 2017. He's 11-8-1 as a pro.

But, he's now a registered nurse working at a hospital in Brooklyn -- where he's part of a rapid response team treating coronavirus patients.

When Dana found out about Nover's story ... he sent a video to us that we could play for him -- and it's pretty great.

"I have so much respect for, not just you, but for everybody who is part of the first responders and the medical staff that are taking care of everybody and putting yourself in harm's way to help others."

"You were a stud on ["The Ultimate Fighter"] and apparently you're still kicking ass, my friend. Congratulations! Thank you so much for all you're doing for everybody."

Nover was blown away by the message -- telling us, "That's awesome! Thanks, Dana!"

Nover also explained why it's so important to him to pitch in during the pandemic -- explaining, "I'm glad I can actually help out."

There's more ... Nover tells us why he got into nursing -- and why he feels his experience as a fighter helps him in his new career.

As for whether he would take another MMA if he gets the chance, Nover says it's highly unlikely.

"At this point, I think my fight is in the hospital."

Ticketmaster pulled a fast one on concertgoers by retroactively changing its refund policy ... so claims one of its customers in a new lawsuit.

Derek Hansen filed the class action suit claiming Ticketmaster, which is a division of Live Nation, had a policy stating customers get a refund on ticket purchases "if your event is postponed, rescheduled or canceled.”

But, according to docs, obtained by TMZ, Hansen says Ticketmaster retroactively revised its refund policy after the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancellation or postponement of most large events and public gatherings. The policy now states it'll only allow for refunds for canceled events ... which, according to the lawsuit, excludes postponed or rescheduled ones even if those delays are indefinite.

That's a problem, Hansen says, because Live Nation's president recently predicted live events will not occur again until fall 2021 at the earliest. And, in the meantime, customers like Hansen say they have to eat the money, which could be used for more important things.

Hansen claims he bought 2 tickets in February to see a Rage Against the Machine concert in Oakland originally scheduled for April. He says he unloaded almost $600 for them ... and now he's looking for a refund because the show's been indefinitely postponed.

Andie MacDowell showed how low she can go ... for some fresh air and exercise during the coronavirus pandemic.

The "Groundhog Day" star and her 2 actress daughters -- Margaret and Rainey Qualley -- must be feeling like they're living the same day over and over again, so they wanted to mix it up and go for a hike together in L.A.

Problem is ... the gate at the Audubon Center at Debs Park was closed, with signs stating it's shuttered until April 30 due to COVID-19 concerns, so the trio had to bust out some extreme stretching to get in. Looks like Andie and Rainey had a different approach to the task ... but same result.

Stir craziness apparently makes you pretty limber! Andie's little dog was able to sneak in too ... but without any trouble or extra effort.

Kylie Jenner's cravings for some good quarantine snacks apparently got so intense, she forgot to throw on shoes before grabbing her munchies.

Kylie hit up her BFF Stassie's crib on Sunday for a much-needed snack run in L.A. On her way out, photogs caught Kylie getting back to her car barefoot with a bag of chips and water in tow. As for the water, it's friend Jaden Smith's Just Water company.

Kylie went makeup-free for the munchie run ... with her hair back and some matching tie-dye sweats ... and a big grin on her face.

As we reported ... it was exactly one month ago when she urged her millions of fans to stay home and take quarantining seriously. Her message came just after the Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, urged social media influencers to help the cause and spread the stay-at-home message -- and named Kylie specifically.

She's also donated $1M to relief efforts and hand sanitizer to medical professionals on the front line.

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic is "opposed to vaccination" -- and says he would have a serious decision to make if he was required to get vaccinated in order to compete again.

"Personally, I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn't want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel," 32-year-old Djokovic said during a Facebook live chat Sunday with Serbian athletes.

"But, if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision."

He continued, "I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don't know."

"Hypothetically, if the season was to resume in July, August or September, though unlikely, I understand that a vaccine will become a requirement straight after we are out of strict quarantine and there is no vaccine yet."

Obviously, this is a huge deal -- Djokovic is the #1 ranked men's singles player in the world ... with 17 Grand Slam titles on his resume.

Offset says he's lost a member of his family to coronavirus -- his great uncle, Jerry, has died.

The Migos rapper posted the sad news Sunday, taking to his Instagram stories to write ... "Smfh this corona s*** done killed my great uncle 😢 Rip uncle jerry damn man." He continued in another post, "Pray for my family," adding a pic of a stitched-on cross from a jacket.

It's unclear if Offset's great uncle is from his mom or dad's side of the fam, or if he's someone Offset was close with publicly, but clearly the loss has him shaken -- as it's incredibly close to home. Cardi hasn't spoken on the death, neither have other Migos members -- namely, Takeoff and Quavo -- both of whom are related to Offset.

It's tragic, because both Cardi and Offset have been vocal about coronavirus -- the former we've obviously heard from loud and clear on the issue, but Offset himself has also been telling people to take precaution, with a few different social media posts about it.

In late March, he posted a photo of himself wearing a face mask with the caption, "STAY SAFE & STAY PRAYED UP." He's also promoted a music video of his one of YRN crew members, with a middle finger emoji ... saying screw coronavirus, "we still dropping."

It appears Offset himself has heeded the guidelines issued by the CDC -- as he's recently voiced frustration at wanting to go outside too.

At long last, an L.A.-area farmers market has FINALLY implemented proper social distancing protocols for the masses ... and it looks like Malibu's the first to do it well.

These photos show the Malibu Farmers Market in full swing Sunday, but it looks pretty dead -- which is a good thing. It appears organizers have put in place new rules that they're making their shoppers (and vendors) abide by ... so far, it seems successful.

You can see ropes along the front of the farmer's stands, with signs telling people to stand behind the line. The tents here are also a good 6-feet apart from each other -- and the whole layout in general is way more spread out than what we've seen at other markets in recent weeks. The shoppers themselves also seem to be practicing appropriate safety measures, with solid social distancing and even face masks to boot. Well done, Malibu!

Granted, the 'Bu isn't nearly as populated as some of the more south-end cities below it -- places like Santa Monica, Brentwood, Studio City and other neighboring L.A. 'hoods have populations that are more than double than that of Malibu, which is a meager 13,000 or so.