Coronavirus

J.J. Watt says he's not sure whether the 2020 NFL season will take place as originally planned -- but he's training his ass off anyway because it's better to "stay ready."

"I don't know what's going to happen," Watt tells TMZ Sports ... "I'm just like everybody else. We're all kind of just waiting and seeing."

"The uncertainty is the worst part of it all. We don't know what's going to happen. But, I'm training like it's gonna happen on time. And, I'm looking forward to playing -- fans, no fans -- whatever it is. I'm just looking forward to competing and just doing what we do."

The Houston Texans superstar -- who's also hosting "Ultimate Tag" on FOX -- believes the return of football is super important ... but not at the expense of American lives.

"We love the game. We love the competition ... as long as it's safe for everybody," Watt explained.

"You have to remember we have coaches who are older. We have people helping out on the sidelines and staff members. So, as long it's safe for everybody and as long as everybody is comfortable and confident, I'm all for it because I think it does help return some normalcy and it gives people something to be excited about, to cheer for again."

"And, we're looking forward to that opportunity if it's safe."

Watt says he's been staying in touch with his teammates via Zoom meetings -- but jokes about some players not wanting to show off their homes to the rest of the team!

"One guy just points his [camera] at his ceiling fan for 2 hours straight during the meeting! Give us a little something. I mean geez, what are you hiding!?"

Besides training, we also talked to Watt about "Ultimate Tag" -- airs Wednesday night on FOX -- and says the athletes he's got on the show are FREAKS!

In fact, Watt says he doesn't think half the players in the League could keep up with the crazy athletes on "Ultimate Tag" ... which sounds like a challenge to us!!!

As for the NFL stars who would do the best on the show???

Here's a shocker -- Watt loves Lamar Jackson and Tyreek Hill ... some of the most talented players EVER!

But seriously, JJ -- pull some strings and get 'em on the show!!!

The NHL is planning to come back in a BIG way ... so says commish Gary Bettman, who just announced the league is looking to return this summer with an insane 24-team playoff!!!

The 67-year-old just revealed the plans ... outlining hockey's steps to resume play after it suspended action back in March over the coronavirus pandemic.

Bettman says the league is working on finalizing details ... but right now, the plan is for the regular season to be ruled officially over -- with only the top-12 teams in each conference returning to action for postseason play this summer.

FYI, there are only 31 teams in the NHL -- so how bad would that suck to be one of the 7 teams that didn't make the cut?!

(California would get skunked BTW -- the L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks are the 3 worst teams in the West).

Training camps to prepare for the 24-team playoff would begin on July 1 under the new plan, Bettman says ... and the league is gunning to put all the action in two hub cities -- one in the East and one in the West.

Bettman stressed the league is taking all steps necessary to keep its players and staff healthy in a return to rinks, saying, "Ensuring health and safety has been central to all of our planning so far and will remain so."

Bettman says the top-4 teams in each conference will get automatic bids to the 1st-round of official playoff play ... and will face each other in round-robin games to determine seeding.

As for the other 8 teams in the conference, Bettman says they'll square off in head-to-head series to determine which 4 will move on to face the top 4 seeds.

A bunch of skaters in California blew off government orders and removed sand from an iconic park in Venice ... this just a few weeks after officials poured the grain in to stop illegal boarding.

Here's the deal ... back in April, some California lawmakers were so fed up with skateboarders violating stay-at-home orders, they dumped tons of sand into ramps at parks all over the state.

The move worked for over a month ... but on Monday in Venice, skaters took back the place -- removing the sand with nothing more than shovels, brooms, buckets and bare hands.

The scene was all captured on video by multiple witnesses ... showing dozens of people banding together to fish all the sand out of the popular skate park.

One person who was on the scene said of it all, "All the kids need to have this, because if they don't get it, it's going to be a sad day. You don't want that."

By mid-afternoon on Memorial Day, the park had been completely cleared of the sand ... and boarders performed tricks in the bowls well into the evening.

It's unclear if California officials will let the place remain open ... but video Monday captured several police officers who didn't stop the action as they passed by throughout the day.

Jill Zarin and her daughter, Ally Shapiro, are proven pandemic heroes -- just ask nurses all over the NY, NJ-area -- but now they're up against a new foe ... depleting funds.

The 'Real Housewives of New York' star and Ally hopped on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to talk about their "Noshes for Nurses" project ... which launched back in April.

Since then, they've been feeding hospital staffs -- 3 to 5 hospitals per day -- in and around the NYC-area, and also in Florida, where they're quarantining. They raised money for the venture through GoFundMe, but Jill says they've gone through about $60k in donations so far, and the money's running out.

One way Ally's trying to help the cause even more is by tie-dying face masks she sells for $25 a pop. For every mask the Sotheby's Institute of Art graduate sells, she's also donating a mask to a nurse, doctor or any hospital worker in need.

Chrissy Teigen is hoping laughter is the best medicine in the face of a deadly pandemic ... laughing her face off while getting tested for the novel coronavirus.

The supermodel/TV personality mom posted video Tuesday of her in-home coronavirus test, and she couldn't help but giggle while a healthcare worker shoved a swab deep up her nostril.

Chrissy lets out a bit of a scream as the swab enters her nose, but by the time the guy pulls it out, she's laughing. When she gets her other nostril swabbed, Chrissy is giggling the whole time, and seems extra ticklish.

The testing process doesn't seem like a whole lotta fun ... but Chrissy says it's not bad at all.

John Legend's wife also says she "honestly loved" her coronavirus test ... which is good news for anyone on the fence about getting tested.

Hopefully Chrissy loves the results ... otherwise, it might not be so funny.

A wet market in New York City has taken its internal filth and left it out for the masses -- with an unattended dumpster full of chicken parts that was literally seeping blood into the NYC sewer system.

The gross-out spectacle was filmed out near Queens recently by the animal rights nonprofit, NYCLASS, and it's just the latest example of our domestic one-stop-shop slaughterhouses/live animal factories that are all around us ... and apparently have been forever. This particular wet market might just take the cake, though, as far unsanitary conditions ... 'cause this footage is gnarly.

You see a dumpster bin that's absolutely packed to the gills with trash bags, which are probably full of cut-up animal parts ... especially chickens -- one of which you can see popping out toward the top with its legs and feathers exposed ... and flies hovering above.

Not only that, but take note of the blood coming down from the dumpster and flowing down the street into the sewer drains like a mini river. We're told this dumpster belongs to the wet market in question, and that the place was closed when this was filmed.

What does that mean, exactly? It means the dumpster has been left out there and possibly contaminating its surroundings for a good minute now -- and nothing's been done about it.

It goes without saying, this is a massive public health risk.

We've seen several of these wet market operations all over the country, especially there in NYC -- where a few local legislators are trying to get them shut down with a new bill that was recently introduced. If it passes, these unsanitary live animal shops disappear.

While the issue is being taken up in the Big Apple, you gotta wonder why it's not being discussed on a national level yet? This is, supposedly, how coronavirus got started, right? For whatever reason, most politicians don't want to touch this. So, why is that?

2 Chainz is having a little trouble at the office ... one of his ATL restaurants is closed again -- shut down by cops for violating COVID-19 guidelines.

The rapper's popular joint, Escobar Restaurant & Tapas, was ordered to close its doors just Monday night after Georgia State Police paid the restaurant a visit. According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, officers say they drove by and "noticed that the location was rather loud, busy, and occupied to be operating as a restaurant at that time of night."

As you can see from some of the videos posted to the Escobar Instagram account, the place was PACKED. You can see people dancing, ordering bottle service, smoking hookah with virtually no social distancing happening. As the night continued, you can even see a long line start forming outside the entrance.

Cops say police arrived and "spoke to the manager before shutting the location down as it was violating executive orders regarding protocol issued due to COVID-19."

As we reported ... 2 Chainz initially said his restaurants would open when Georgia allowed limited-service back in late April. But, the rapper changed his mind -- opting to feed the homeless instead -- and said they'll wait it out a little longer before bringing back his staff.

Several weeks later, Georgia updated its restaurant reopening guidelines ... limiting dine-in service to 10 patrons max per table and allowing 10 patrons inside per 300 square feet of public space. This is all in addition to social distancing too.

Hundreds of Muslims from a mosque in Germany came together for a holiday prayer while maintaining social distancing ... thanks to their friendly neighborhood IKEA.

Muslims all over the world spent the weekend celebrating Eid al-Fitr -- AKA the "Festival of Breaking the Fast," which marks the end of Ramadan -- but for obvious pandemic reasons, gatherings and group prayer for the holy day were more challenging to do safely.

So, a mosque in Wetzlar asked the local IKEA if it could use the store's currently unoccupied parking lot as a community spot for physical-distancing-safe congregating ... and got the green light.

The photo is awesome and proves that old adage ... where there's a will there's a way. Folks online called the event "beautiful," "uplifting" and a "gorgeous sight."

It's also a good lesson for churches here in the U.S. that are trying to convene for services under quarantine rules.

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross insists the 2020 NFL season will NOT be canceled due to COVID-19 ... saying the 2020 season will "definitely" happen.

I think there will definitely be a football season this year," the billionaire real estate mogul said Tuesday morning on CNBC's ''Squawk Box.''

"The real question is will there be fans in the stadium?"

"I think right now today we're planing on having fans in the stadium but I think the NFL is looking at, and is very flexible, so that we will be able to start on time and really bring that entertainment that's really so needed to all of us in this country."

"I think that's one thing that we miss is our sports. I don't think a lot of people realize it until they no longer have it. Certainly the NFL I think will be ready to go and I think we're all looking forward to. I know I am."

"We've got a lot of things down in Miami here and we're prepared either way and hopefully there'll be fans in the stadium."

It's the most definitive statement we've heard from an NFL owner about the 2020 season while the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

Of course, the league has been moving forward as if everything will run according to schedule ... the NFL Draft took place in April and free agency began on time.

As we previously reported, Joe Buck recently said multiple networks are kicking around innovative ideas to make NFL broadcasts fun and exciting without fans ... one of the ideas is artificial fan noise. So far, nothing is set in stone.

Britney Spears went through 2 weeks of full isolation in order to see her boys, Jayden and Sean -- self-quarantining for 14 days at Kevin Federline's behest.

Sources with knowledge of the situation tell TMZ ... Britney returned to L.A. from a trip to see her family down in Louisiana at the end of April. When she got back, she wanted some QT with her sons, but Kevin insisted she quarantine for at least 2 weeks before seeing them.

Our sources say Kevin has been homeschooling Jayden and Sean since the middle of March, when schools closed due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

We're told Britney had no issues obliging Kev's request and gladly quarantined after her trip down South -- and she's since seen their boys twice at her home, with each visit lasting only a couple hours.

It looks like business as usual at one airport in North Carolina ... where passengers are PISSED, and it has nothing to do with no one social distancing.

This is the scene right now at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina on Memorial Day, where long lines have wrapped around the lobby just to get through TSA. A reporter there says the travelers are getting furious over missed flights.

Based on the video, you wouldn't think the country's in the middle of a pandemic right now. If ya look closely, you can see it's about a 50-50 split on people wearing masks or not.

Most of the major airlines have said they will attempt social distancing by underbooking flights -- but doesn't seem like that's gonna be possible tonight in Charlotte.

You'll recall a UCSF scientist snapped a pic earlier this month showing his United Airlines flight packed like sardines ... a situation that made many customers uneasy.

Every row was packed to capacity ... including the middle seats.

Point is ... if ya think they're restless in Charlotte now, it could be getting a lot hairier once they actually get onto a flight.

An Asian man was attacked in Seattle by a guy who slapped, shoved and spit on him ... and it was all out of revenge over the coronavirus, and now cops are on the hunt.

As awful as it is, it's actually even worse because cops say the culprit has been threatening Asian residents all over the City.

The man allegedly told the Asian couple "it's all your fault" ... clearly referring to the coronavirus pandemic and the fact it originated in China and the government was hyper-secretive.
Cops say this is the same guy who was harassing Asians at Golden Gardens Park.

In one attack, police say the man approached an Asian woman in her car, knocked on her window, asking, "Where are you from? Where is your ID?" Cops say the man was also taking pictures of the victim's car and yelling, "Chinese disease ... they bring it here!"

Ellen DeGeneres is no masked singer ... but she's definitely singing her wife's praises as a stellar photog.

Ellen got flirty with her wife, Portia De Rossi, while grabbing dinner Sunday in her hometown of Montecito. The TV host rode shotgun in Portia's souped-up Porsche convertible ... then went inside the restaurant to order food while Portia waited in the car.

Elections are about choices, and 2020 is shaping up to be an imagery choice -- do you like your President with or without a mask?

Trump paid tribute to fallen heroes Monday at Arlington National Cemetery and later Baltimore's historic Fort McHenry, and he was true to form -- no mask. He's made it clear ... he's not going to wear a mask in public -- as he put it, he doesn't want to give reporter that satisfaction -- but he was seen once at a Michigan Ford plant wearing a mask behind a curtain.

Meanwhile, Joe and his wife, Jill, ventured outside for the first time since the shelter-at-home orders were implemented and his presidential campaign came to a screeching halt. The former VP and Jill laid a wreath during a visit to a veterans memorial in Delaware.

Joe, Jill and even his secret service detail all wore black masks.

Although a mask is a scientifically-based precaution, it's also become a political symbol. Trump clearly is telling his supporters NOT to wear them ... almost as if it's a sign of weakness. Biden clearly begs to differ.

To mask or not to mask -- Staten Island shoppers are beyond debating that issue ... instead they're just shouting rule-breakers right out of stores.

It was straight-up mob justice when a woman went shopping for groceries this weekend without wearing a face covering. You can see in the video, she tried to stand her ground. Tried.

Eventually, a handful of her very loud fellow shoppers -- who were wearing masks -- let the woman know what time it was ... time to get the hell outta the store.

No Karens needed here to call cops, cause you can tell ... Staten Island doesn't play. For the record, NY Gov. Cuomo ordered face masks to be worn in public in all places where social distancing is not possible. That includes stores, public transportation and even busy sidewalks. Makes sense as NY state was the epicenter of COVID-19 ... with more than 23,000 deaths.

As the Governor put it, "How can you not wear a mask when you're going to come close to a person?"