The USOC has named a working group to review and evaluate whether or not it should bid for the '24 or '26 Olympics. The group is made up of five BOD members: IOC member Anita DeFrantz, former Visa CMO Susanne Lyons, USA Hockey Exec Dir Dave Ogrean, IOC member and former USA hockey player Angela Ruggiero and Braves Exec VP/Business Operations Mike Plant. The USOC BOD decided to forgo bidding for the '22 Olympics during a meeting in July. The five members will be tasked with completing their analysis and making a recommendation to the larger board about bidding by the end of the year.

The pros of bidding for a Summer Olympics are that the USOC would stand to bring in more revenue and host an event with wider appeal to Americans. The cons are that it will face more competition and have to convince an elite U.S. city to pay for a bid, which can cost more than $70M. The pros of bidding for a Winter Olympics are that a bid likely would face less competition and cities already are interested in bidding, including Salt Lake City, Denver and Reno-Lake Tahoe. The cons are that the Winter Games would generate less money and not have as broad an appeal.

A study that the USOC commissioned last year showed the difference in revenue generated by a Summer and Winter Games was marginal.

ESPN today formally announced an eight-year, $5.6B deal to extend its MLB rights through ’21. The deal, which goes into effect in ’14, includes TV, digital, int'l and radio rights. ESPN President John Skipper said, “We did one deal across everything, which was our preference.” The net will increase its Sunday night games from five to six per season and increase the number of appearances that any one team can have on Sunday night. Skipper said, “We’ve made a commitment to show every team.” MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said, “This is really a very historic day for MLB in many ways, and a very happy one. We look forward to many more years now of partnership with ESPN. This deal underscores how popular the sport is today.”

Basketball HOFer Scottie Pippen has "put a halt to his personal holdout over the licensing of his digital likeness and will now appear" in "NBA 2K13" along with the rest of the '92 Dream Team when the video game is released Oct. 2. 2K Sports said in a statement, "Feedback on forums, social media and community interactions were the driving force in influencing Pippen to sign a deal." Pippen posted on his Twitter feed, "Joining @2KSports Dream Team in #NBA2K13 after hearing fans & family say I had to be a part of it" (ESPN.com, 8/28).

NAPA this Friday will become the third team sponsor in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the last year to announce a full-season sponsorship renewal. Sources familiar with the brand's decision said it has agreed to a three-year deal with Michael Waltrip Racing as the primary sponsor for all 36 Sprint Cup races on the No. 56 car. The agreement is valued at approximately $16M a year.

MWR is expected to announce the deal and an extension of its contract with driver Martin Truex during a press conference Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. NAPA follows Miller Lite and 3M as the third full-season sponsor to retain all 36 races after its current contract ended, bucking a trend of giving up full-season primary sponsorships that has taken place over the last decade in NASCAR. The number of full-season sponsors dropped from seven to five this year after UPS opted to decrease the number of races it sponsored at Roush Fenway Racing from 36 to fewer than 10 races, and The Home Depot sold off 10 of its races to Dollar General on the No. 20 car at Joe Gibbs Racing. Lowe's and Menard's join NAPA, 3M and Miller Lite as the last five full-season primary sponsors in the sport.

Grand Prix of Baltimore organizers said that they "expect attendance to be down for this year's race." Race GM Tim Mayer said sales for the Labor Day race are "not completely dissimilar to last year" at this point. Mayer "declined to say how many tickets have been sold [at] this year’s Grand Prix." Organizers also "advertised tickets at a reduced rate on Aug. 21 through online discount site Living Social," and the site sold "nearly 5,000 tickets to the race," at prices ranging from $9-90 (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/28).

Hurricane Isaac is scheduled to make landfall on the Louisiana coast tonight, but SMG Senior VP/Stadiums & Arenas Doug Thornton "feels much more confident" in the ability of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to "withstand the fury" of this storm than it did during Hurricane Katrina in '05. The stadium underwent a $336M renovation after Katrina, and the "most important upgrade was a $32 million roof job, designed to protect the facility from winds up to a Category 3 hurricane." While Thornton is confident in the roof, he said that the "main concern is that flying debris could damage the building's aluminum outer shell." However, any damage would affect the facility "aesthetically not operationally" (NOLA.com, 8/28).

Meanwhile, the season-opening football game between South Alabama and Texas-San Antonio has been moved from Thursday night to a Saturday 1:00pm CT kickoff because of Hurricane Isaac and "concerns about travel and safety for teams and fans." The game will be played at Ladd Peebles Stadium in Mobile (AL.com, 8/28).

LivingSocial today announced a partnership with the Cowboys to offer VIP access and other fan experiences at Cowboys Stadium. The deal kicked off earlier this month with a special ticket release for the sold-out Michigan-Alabama Cowboys Classic college football game (LivingSocial).

The NHL and NHLPA this morning resumed CBA negotiations at the league's offices in N.Y. NHLPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr appeared outside the building shortly after the meeting started and told reporters that the "talks had paused just for a bit" (AP, 8/28).

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating today announced a deal to sponsor golfer Corey Pavin on the Champions Tour, with logo placement on the front left chest of his shirt (Mitsubishi Electric).

NASCAR today announced that Speed will air a tape-delayed telecast of the "NASCAR Contenders Live" sponsored by Toyota and Sprint on Sept. 13 at 7:00pm ET. The event at the House of Blues in Chicago will feature all 12 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers (NASCAR).

"The growth of sport's status in school life in our country has halted now. We should start over and let it go beyond just a function (for) keeping (students) fit" – Former NBAer Yao Ming, calling on China's school system to invest more in sport at the grassroots level (REUTERS, 8/28).

"We take the task seriously and we're approaching it much the same way as we did the Olympic Games. Although it's a smaller operation and the scope is smaller, it's still a large sporting event and we don't anticipate any issues" – G4S Media Relations Dir Adam Mynott, on supplying security personnel for the London Paralympics Games (AP, 8/28).

"I think there certainly is room for an iconic event in Asia that would be at a similar level to a major event, which the players can support and which we can build up over time" – Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr, on wanting his tour to host a "fifth major" (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 8/28).

"People in the industry like to bash the brand and say Prince has gone away. But the reality is, the business is on the mend and we'll be back to where we once were" – Active Brands CEO Chris Circo, whose company has licensing rights to the Prince name for the next 40 years (ESPN.com, 8/28).

WhereToWatch.com Founder Todd Davis: "A friend working Dwyane Wade's basketball camp talked to Dwyane's brother, Demetris. He asked, 'why did your mom spell his name like that?' … Demitris replied, 'I know, right? The Y first is kind of weird. She messed up my name too! She left out the U.'"

Newsday’s Neil Best: "As always, keep this in mind: ESPN doubling what it pays MLB eventually will be reflected in your cable bill. Don't blame the cable company."

Charlotte Observer's Jim Utter: "If Dale Jr is doing appearances during the DNC, you can go ahead and call this one right now lol."

USC football coach Lane Kiffin: "First game week of the season and the Coliseum is sold out thanks to the Trojan Family!"

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com. 

Golf.com Deputy Editor David Dusek posts an image from inside the U.S. Open media center with the copy, "Scott Price and @jon_werthheim working @ Arthur Ashe Stadium."

Tennis players Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova try their hand at a tennis-themed variation of bowling in their latest lighthearted video for the ATP World Tour.

ESPN's "E:60" news program will make its fall season premiere at 7:00pm ET. The episode will have features on Lions WR Calvin Johnson, Giants QB Eli Manning, Rutgers DT Jamil Pollard and U.S. women's soccer G Hope Solo.

7.5 – Tons of crab, shrimp and lobster that U.S. Open concessionaire Levy Restaurants will serve over the course of the 20-day event. Dishes served at the tourney include a $28 lobster roll (ESPN.com, 8/27).