Today marks the start of a two-day appeal hearing on RB Ray Rice's indefinite suspension. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to testify, with former federal judge Barbara Jones presiding over the case. Other "potential witnesses on Jones' list" include Senior VP/Labor Policy Adolpho Birch, Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash and Chief Security Officer Jeff Miller (Baltimore SUN, 11/5).

The "crux of the argument is whether Rice was punished twice under the same set of facts." Jones "has issued a confidentiality order about the proceedings" (USA TODAY, 11/5). Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome's testimony is "crucial in this case" (USA TODAY, 11/5).

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon today will hold a conference call to "discuss the Rams' stadium situation and the next step towards keeping the team in St. Louis." His comments are "expected to be general but positive." There will likely be "no specific details on the stadium plan discussed," but sources said that "such plans will be made public by the end of the calendar year." Nixon is expected to address the "formation of a committee or task force to deal with the stadium issue" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/5).

StubHub late yesterday announced President & CEO Chris Tsakalakis is leaving the S.F.-based secondary ticketing giant, effective immediately. This ends a tenure that began in '07 and an overall 11-year stay within parent company eBay. Company officials did not outline a reason for the departure, but Tsakalakis’ move falls within a period of marked upheaval within eBay. Industry sources said Tsakalakis’ departure was voluntary, and comes just days after StubHub posted company record sales in October, fueled in part by robust sales of playoff and World Series tickets for the hometown Giants.

For more, see today's issue of THE DAILY.

Sources said that the Dodgers are set to hire A's Assistant GM Farhan Zaidi as their new GM, though a "formal announcement isn't expected to be made until later this week." The move comes "as a surprise," as the A's "have managed to retain most of their leading front office members in recent years." Zaidi worked under A's GM Billy Beane for the last 10 years (L.A. TIMES, 11/5).

Sources said that former Padres GM Josh Byrnes "will also be part of the mix, likely as a scouting director." The Dodgers "have also been linked" to Padres Dir of Scouting Billy Gasparino, and sources said that the franchise has "had talks" with Padres scout Jeff Pickler for a front-office position (ESPNLA.com, 11/4).

NASCAR "did not penalize any drivers but did suspend four Hendrick Motorsports crewmen for throwing punches" during the brawl that followed Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race in Texas. Jeff Gordon crew chief Alan Gustafson and Kasey Kahne crew chief Kenny Francis were fined $50,000 and put on probation for six races "for not controlling their crews." Hendrick "will not appeal the penalties and the four crewmen will not face additional sanctions" within the team (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/4).

European Tour CEO George O'Grady is "stepping down after 10 years," and the Tour today said that O'Grady asked the BOD to "start looking for a successor." It is "not clear when he would officially step down," but he has agreed to "stay on until the European Tour Board finds a replacement, and then sufficient time for his successor to make a smooth transition." O'Grady, who has been with the Tour for more than 40 years, will transition to the role of President of Int'l Relations, representing the Tour "when golf returns to the Olympics" in '16 (AP, 11/5).

A Caddo and Bossier parish hotel occupancy tax in Louisiana benefiting the Independence Bowl Foundation and a local airport last night “failed to pass by 208 votes (49,148-48,940).” The foundation planned to use the tax revenue to “enhance the payouts of the Duck Commander Independence Bowl in the effort to draw stronger matchups.” The estimated revenue from the tax ($770,000) “would have rivaled the monies generated by a title sponsor” (SHREVEPORT TIMES, 11/5).

The 16th annual NeuLion Sports Media & Technology (SMT) conference kicks off today at the Crowne Plaza Times Square. The event continues to bring together execs who are shaping the media and sports media landscape. This year's SMT will feature a series of presentations, interviews and roundtable discussions examining the developments and trends that are impacting their businesses the most. Based on feedback from attendees, a half-day Monetizing Media Assets Series will be held in conjunction with SMT.

Morning sessions include a panel discussion titled, "Sports Media Headlines: Perspectives from the Top" and "From the Beginning: Launching a New Network and Competing in a Saturated Market" with guest moderator SportsNet N.Y. President Steve Raab, a well as a one-on-one interview with NHL COO John Collins and a presentation from Discovery Communications President & CEO David Zaslav.

For continuing updates, see our On The Ground blog or use the Twitter hashtag #sbjsmt.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes today is slated to preside over a hearing "in which Comcast will seek to delay the debut" of Root Sports Houston to televise Rockets and Astros games (CHRON.com, 11/4).

Investcorp today announced that it has agreed to acquire motorcycle safety brand Dainese at an enterprise value of US$163M. Company founder Lino Dainese will retain a minority stake in the business (Investcorp).

“My term was scheduled to end on November 22, itself an infamous day. I shot myself 29 days ahead of schedule” – Former PGA of America President Ted Bishop, on his blog, referring to John F. Kennedy's assassination, on his impeachment (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 11/4).

“I’m no longer in Brooklyn. Unfortunately they keep talking about it. I don’t. I’ll let them keep talking. Now if it was me and him playing one-on-one on the court, that would be fine” – Bucks coach Jason Kidd, on Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s comments about Kidd’s departure (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 11/5).

“This was a seemingly random incident. There is no indication that this was a targeted attack on Brittney or her teammates” – Agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas, on her client Brittney Griner suffering minor injuries in a knife attack in China (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/5).

"As soon as Major League Soccer can afford to pay the players salaries that approximate what they can get in Europe, you’ll start to see European players choose to play here, just because of the benefits of America" – Former USOC CMO Rick Burton, on MLS' efforts to become one of the world's top leagues (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/5).

Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with curling highlights, surprisingly, followed by three NBA game reports and the latest College Football Playoff rankings. ESPN aired its first NHL report 14 minutes into the broadcast with Penguins-Wild highlights. Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” led with four NBA game reports, followed by the CFP rankings, with their first NHL report being Blackhawks-Canadiens 24 minutes into their telecast.

ESPN’s Adnan Virk filled in for ESPN’s Keith Olbermann last night and did not air a "world’s worst persons in sports" segment.

Bubba on his mom: "She says I should smile more and not be so angry. Pretty much what the media says. She could write for the media, too."

— Steve Elling (@EllingYelling) November 5, 2014

John Madden's birthday today - we checked his net worth. 200 MILLION DOLLARS. Not the worst call to sign on for that video game thingy....

— Greg Brady (@bradyfan590) November 5, 2014

Riling up the angry masses by writing a "[person] needs to stop coddling [team's] players" column is the definition of hack sportswriting.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) November 5, 2014

If you run the Cowboys social media you just made the day of fans of every other NFC East team. #oops #hashtagfail http://t.co/JyJpVKmGR0

— andrewhfine (@andrewhfine) November 5, 2014

Hickory, NC -- Madison Bumgarner's hometown -- erects congratulatory billboard http://t.co/sDTeWHF1B7 #MLB #SFGiants pic.twitter.com/ANJGJexotJ

— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNAuthentic) November 4, 2014

MLS expansion club Orlando City SC will unveil its new home uniforms at 10:00am ET at UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health. Club President Phil Rawlins and Orlando Health CEO Jamal Hakim are slated to attend.
 
Bruins D Zdeno Chara will meet fans at Walgreens' flagship Boston store as part of an event for Smith Bros. cough drops.

Ilitch Holdings President & CEO Christopher Ilitch will be the featured speaker at a Wayne State Univ. lecture about “Investing in Detroit.”

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The Supreme Court.”

“After Washington and FDR, he is, perhaps fittingly, the president who appointed the most Supreme Court justices.”

“Who was William Howard Taft?”