Celebrity Health

Is Marv Albert opting out of the NBA restart in Orlando? YESSS!

The 79-year-old broadcasting legend says it's just too risky to travel to the Walt Disney World bubble environment in Orlando with the pandemic surging -- and therefore will NOT be a part of TNT's on-site coverage.

"I had second thoughts," Albert told the NY Post.

Albert told the Post he got a call from Turner Sports boss Jeff Zucker about the move -- and even joked about his own age.

"He said to me, 'Maybe this is something you should skip in my age bracket,'" Albert said while joking, "I’d like to point out to you that 79 is the new 78.”

The good news ... Albert WILL contribute to the NBA broadcasts from a remote location -- he just won't be doing the play-by-play from the sidelines.

Of course, this is all contingent on the season actually starting again -- but with the new wave of positive COVID tests sweeping through the league, commish Adam Silver admits there's a chance things could get shut down before the July 31 tip-off date.

L.A. City Councilman Herb Wesson says it's time to have the right people responding to situations where force is not needed -- and his plan could be a model for the future of policing in America.

Wesson came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss a new city-wide measure he and his fellow council members voted on and passed this week, which aims to pull cops off on non-violent calls for service, and instead ... send specially-trained, and unarmed, community members.

The Council's intent is clear ... reduce the possibility of police using excessive force, and have social workers and mental health pros on the scene to deescalate and help citizens in need.

For example, the incident that went down in Tampa this past weekend -- where officers responded to a call for a mother in mental distress. Cops ended up ripping away her children in a heartbreaking scene.

Wesson wants to put a stop to unnecessary roughness like that, by deploying specialists who can calm situations and talk down subjects.

The measure will require defunding the police -- or more accurately, reallocating the city's budget. The City Councilman thinks the change would free up LAPD to better police violent cases. Win-win.

D.L. Hughley's got a good idea where he picked up the coronavirus, and even without experiencing any symptoms ... he's pretty sure he passed it on to his radio show staff too.

The comedian tells us he's recovered from COVID-19 and is in the last days of self-quarantine, and while the virus probably contributed to his on-stage collapse last month at a Nashville comedy club ... he says he's remained asymptomatic -- before and after diagnosis.

Unfortunately, as health experts have warned, it seems that's also the reason D.L. spread the virus to his team ... making him a "regular Typhoid Mary," as he put it.

Hughley says he was in Dallas for a few days -- where COVID precautions were a bit more lax -- but returned to do his radio show on Tuesday, June 16. A few days later ... he had the scary incident at Zanies Comedy Club, and subsequently tested positive for coronavirus.

He tells us everyone he came in contact with on that Tuesday has since tested positive, as well -- except for his daughter -- but it sounds like, so far, everyone's gonna be okay.

'Rona-truthers have infiltrated the Lone Star State -- here's a Texas woman melting down at a 7-Eleven over their mask policy ... only here, she left behind a gross remnant to mark her territory.

The woman is trying to buy a rack of Miller Lite -- but the front counter clerk won't let her check out because she's not wearing a face covering. She starts throwing a tantrum, and it's all downhill from there.

The guy points out the obvious ... she doesn't have a mask. She agrees, flabbergasted that he won't sell her the beer because of it. He stands firm though, saying it's the convenience store's policy to have one on while shopping, and that pisses her off even more.

The woman says the amount of time he's wasting is probably spreading more germs than if he would just let her purchase the booze and be on her way -- and his response is ... buy a mask here. The lady absolutely refuses to do so, starting to proclaim ... well, 'MURICA!!!

In the latter half of the video, the woman continues to escalate the situation ... outright spitting on the counter before storming out. The 7-Eleven guy keeps his cool throughout.

No word on whether this got to the point of getting cops involved, or if things ended here. In any case, it's another example of would-be freedom fighters pushing back with all their might against a simple policy that even some of Trump's closest allies are starting to follow.

"Certainly if we had a lot of cases, we are going to stop. You cannot run from this virus."

That's NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledging his plan to continue the season in Orlando could hit a huge speed bump if players and staff continue to test positive for COVID.

Of course, several NBA players have tested positive for coronavirus recently ... including DeAndre Jordan, Jabari Parker, 3 members of the NO Pelicans, several members of the Denver Nuggets organization and more.

And, with concern growing, Silver addressed the issues Tuesday during an appearance on 'TIME 100 Talks' ... saying he's still "pretty confident" the season will happen, but nothing is certain.

"We and our players together with their union, look at the data on a daily basis. If there were something to change that was outside of the scope of what we are playing for, certainly, we would revisit our plans."

"We are testing daily," Silver continued ... "We haven't put a precise number on it, but if we were to see a large number of cases and see spread in our community, that would, of course, be a cause to stop as well."

Silver says the league has a team of medical and science experts to help guide them through the pandemic plan.

Still, Silver believes the bubble environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando will still be relatively safe.

"I am absolutely convinced that it will be safer on this campus than off this campus because there aren't many situations that I am aware of where there is mass testing of asymptomatic employees," Silver said.

"In some ways, this is maybe a model for how other industries can ultimately open. But, I am only going to say we will be responsible and watch what is happening, but the biggest indicator will be if we begin to see a spread in our community."

The NBA season is set to tip-off on July 31 -- but some teams are planning to begin travel to Orlando as early as July 7.

It took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal -- but now Fight Island is ready to roll and it looks AMAZING!!!

Dana White just dropped the hype video showing the tremendous effort it took to bring Fight Island to life in just a few months ... transforming part of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into a city custom-built for the UFC.

Of course, Fight Island was created to provide a safe place for the UFC to host fights in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic -- so, there was clearly an emphasis on testing facilities on the premises.

There are 17 medical personnel stationed on the island, according to UFC -- and they've already administered more than 2,000 tests.

You can see in the video the massive construction effort it took to erect the main fight arena, the beach Octagon and other facilities necessary to host all of the upcoming UFC events.

White has said all fighters and their crews will undergo 5 rounds of testing -- starting with tests before they board their flights to Yas Island.

Once on the island, there will be 3 more rounds of testing before the fights -- and then a final post-fight test before fighters are allowed to fly home.

There is a massive security presence on the Island to keep things safe -- and Dana White is fired up!

"I can't wait to get there," White said.

The first event on Fight Island is UFC 251 on July 11 -- featuring some crazy bouts ... including Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns.

Max Holloway is fighting Alexander Volkanovski and Paige VanZant is fighting Amanda Ribas.

President Trump is ditching plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend ... and it seems his campaign is finally taking COVID-19 seriously amid rising infections in the U.S.

The Prez was scheduled to visit Alabama ahead of its Senate race between Jeff Sessions, his former attorney general, and Tommy Tuberville, the former Auburn head football coach, but plans were scrapped as Alabama officials started voicing concerns about a mass gathering amid the pandemic.

Trump's campaign ultimately decided against another rally like the one in Tulsa ... where masks and face coverings were not required and campaign staffers ordered the removal of social distancing signage.

Alabama's Governor Kay Ivey announced a state order Tuesday encouraging face coverings in public and prohibiting non-work-related gatherings of any size where social distancing cannot be maintained ... which makes a massive rally unfeasible. Coronavirus cases in Alabama are also on the rise again.

The scrapped rally is just the latest sign some of the President's allies are getting serious about COVID-19 concerns -- even if he isn't yet.

Donald Trump Jr. now says "I don't think it's too complicated to wear a mask or wash your hands and follow basic hygiene protocols." Mitch McConnell finally said wearing a mask can't be stigmatized, and wearing face coverings in public are part of American's new routine in the pandemic.

A melee broke out in Arkansas when one restaurant customer felt others were too close for comfort -- but they all got much closer while breaking bottles and punching each other.

This nasty fight went down at the Saltgrass Steak House in Little Rock, and the video shows four grown adults just going at it Saturday night. According to cops, tensions started rising when one patron complained about social distancing.

You can see her -- the complaining someone else had coughed on her.

Here's your scorecard ... based on the police report, obtained by TMZ: the black woman claims the white guy (in the USA shirt) and his friends were not staying 6-feet away from her ... and when she expressed her frustration, they started harassing her.

Now, in the report ... there are differing accounts of who started coughing purposely on people. At any rate, everyone agrees things escalated from there -- and in the video, you see the brawl really exploded when a Black guy at the bar turned around with a bottle or glass ... and smashed another guy in the head.

The NHL is releasing its COVID-19 numbers ... with the league reporting 26 out of roughly 250 players have tested positive for the virus since June 8.

The NHL allowed small groups of players to start training at their team facilities earlier this month as part of its Phase 2 of returning to action ... and says it has handed out more than 1,450 tests during that period.

"All players who have tested positive have been self-isolated and are following CDC and Health Canada protocols," the NHL said Monday.

The news comes a week after the Tampa Bay Lightning had to shut down their facility after at least 3 players tested positive for COVID-19. The facility has since reopened.

"The NHL will continue to provide regular updates on the number of tests administered to Players and the results of those tests."

Yet another video showing a police officer mowing down Black Lives Matter protesters ... this time in Detroit where the cop in his cruiser's doing exactly that.

The horrifying incident unfolded late Sunday night in Southwest Detroit where protesters were peacefully demonstrating against systemic racism. They were heading back to Patton Park, where the protest began ... but met by cops who were determined to block them.

A tense standoff between protesters and the cop in his SUV followed. You can see the officer creep up in his car with protesters standing in front of the cruiser -- then the cop FLOORS it ... mowing down protesters along the way. You see a protester clinging to the hood of the SUV as the cop takes off.

A protester who says he was hit by the cop told the Detroit Free Press the cop "ran over a couple people's arms, feet. He ran over her phone. I think I was the last person on the car. I was just holding onto the car. I could feel him speeding up and then he did one of these and he flinged me off the car."

Medics treated as many as 10 people on the scene following the incident.

The Detroit PD says it's investigating the incident. This violent clash is reminiscent of what went down in NYC earlier this month when cops were seen on video driving their cruisers into a crowd of protesters behind a barricade.

The coronavirus pandemic is keeping the curtain closed on Broadway ... at least through the end of the year.

The Broadway League announced Monday all Broadway performances in New York City are on hold for the next 6 months and beyond due to COVID-19.

While there is no exact date for the curtain to open on Broadway, producers say they are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased to performances through Jan. 3.

The Broadway League says it's just not safe to host throngs of fans for indoor performances in the pandemic -- not to mention the cast, crew and orchestra -- so things remain in a holding pattern.

As you know ... Broadway has been shuttered since March 12, and the shutdown was previously extended through June 7 and then Sept. 6.

It's been almost 4 months since Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 ... but his sense of smell is still MIA.

The Utah Jazz star was one of the first cases of coronavirus in pro sports when it was confirmed on March 11 ... leading to the shut down of the 2019-20 NBA season.

One of the common symptoms is loss of smell and taste -- and the 28-year-old Frenchman is telling L'Equipe he still isn't fully recovered in that sense.

"The taste has returned, but the smell is still not 100%," Gobert said in French.

"I can smell the smells, but not from afar. I spoke to specialists, who told me that it could take up to a year."

Remember, Gobert was the guy who famously joked around about COVID-19 ... jokingly touching a bunch of microphones and other recording devices at a press conference before he formally tested positive.

Afterward, Gobert's teammate, Donovan Mitchell, tested positive -- leading to a rift between the two.