MLB today will announce that Allstate's Esurance has signed on as a new corporate sponsor. The online insurance brand will title sponsor fan balloting for the July 14 All-Star Game in Cincinnati. All-Star Game balloting this season is being conducted entirely online for the first time, matching Esurance's heritage as an online insurance pioneer. Balloting at ballparks will be held on electronic voting kiosks. Esurance also has signed Giants C Buster Posey as a spokesperson for its MLB program. The insurer will support its new MLB rights by sponsoring a new postseason TV awards show. GMR Marketing is handling for Esurance, whose MLB rights are restricted and exclusive to the auto insurance category.

An announcement designating The Hartford as another MLB sponsor is expected shortly, which would give the league two new sponsors in the marketing-intensive insurance category after not having any since State Farm left the fold following the '12 season.

Today's White Sox-Orioles game at an empty Camden Yards "will be available on MLB.TV" and will be "televised locally by the teams' respective regional sports networks." An MLB game being closed to the public "has never happened before" (MLB.com, 4/28). White Sox GM Rick Hahn said, "It's going to be an interesting experience, a little bit different, but obviously from a safety standpoint it makes sense. Also it helps potentially relieve some of the log jams later in the season in terms of makeup games" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/29).

Meanwhile, tickets go on sale today "at the usual outlets" for this week's Rays-Orioles series, which has been moved to Tropicana Field. Tickets "will be general admission, $15 on Friday and Sunday and $18 on Saturday" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/29).

The Bucks are holding a ticket presale until noon CT today for tomorrow's Game 6 against the Bulls, with a goal of "taking the red out" of the BMO Harris Bradley Center crowd. The presale is "limited to fans with Wisconsin ZIP codes." Bucks VP/Marketing Dustin Godsey said, "There certainly will be Bulls fans here, and that's fine. Our goal is to give local fans the opportunity to get tickets. ... We definitely anticipate a sellout." He added that "a 'limited inventory' of tickets was available as of early afternoon" yesterday (JSONLINE.com, 4/28).

Meanwhile, injured Grizzlies G Mike Conley "has purchased 500 tickets to give away" for tonight's Game 5 against the Trail Blazers. The tickets "will be given away at noon in the lobby of FedExForum on a first-come-first-served basis," with a "limit of two tickets per person" (COMMERCIALAPPEAL.com, 4/28).

After the Rockets eliminated the Mavericks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the Rockets' Twitter feed "sent a message with a pistol aimed at a horse's head" with the caption, "Shhhh. Just close your eyes. It will all be over soon." The tweet was deleted. The Mavericks' account responded, after which the Rockets tweeted an apology (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/29).

@HoustonRockets Not very classy but we still wish you guys the best of luck in the next round.

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 29, 2015

Our Tweet earlier was in very poor taste & not indicative of the respect we have for the @dallasmavs & their fans. We sincerely apologize.

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 29, 2015

U.S. Soccer today is set to launch a video series profiling each member of the women’s national team as it further prepares for the start of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Titled, “One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories.” and presented by USSF official partner Clorox, the videos will profile each member of the roster with an exclusive interview discussing their lives and their journey to this point. Produced by USSF, the videos will be featured on USSoccer.com, along with additional pictures, narratives and biographies of each player. A similar series was done last year for the men’s World Cup.

The Impact "will set a Canadian record for attendance at a soccer game" after selling out today's second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final at Olympic Stadium. The MLS team this weekend sold 2,000 additional tickets to the match against Liga MX Club America "to push the total over 61,000." That breaks the "previous Canadian record of 60,860" that attended a Galaxy-Impact match in '12 (ESPNFC.com, 4/28). WSJ.com goes with the header, "The Club That Could Bring MLS International Respect Is ... Montreal?" (WSJ.com, 4/28).

The NFL is ramping up events in Chicago ahead of the start of the '15 Draft tomorrow. A group of former NFLers today will "take the stage in Pioneer Court" along with this year's prospects to "discuss their careers both on and off the field." Tomorrow morning, "select prospects will visit pediatric patients and their families at Shriners Hospital for Children as part of the NFL Play 60 program." Other prospects will "visit a local high school" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 4/28).

The NFL runs a full-page ad in USA Today: “Chi-Town Is On The Clock” (THE DAILY).

Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he expects to earn "upwards of $200 million" for Saturday's fight against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather: "Five years ago, this was a $50-million fight for me. I want you guys to say Floyd is the smart one" (L.A. TIMES, 4/29).

Meanwhile, ringside tickets to the bout have been listed at $180,000 on the secondary market. Earlier this week, the "cheapest priced ticket being offered on StubHub" was $4,600 for a "seat right at the back" of the MGM Grand Garden Arena (CNN.com, 4/27).

Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank run a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times promoting Saturday’s PPV telecast (THE DAILY).

The All England Club announced a 7% increase to the Wimbledon prize purse, bringing the total to US$40.9M (REUTERS, 4/28). For more, read the latest issue of SBD Global.

Jim Haggerton, the mayor of Seattle suburb Tukwila, has sent letters to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver “expressing his support for a proposed multipurpose arena that could house franchises for both leagues” (AP, 4/28).

VCU is prepping to provide cost-of-attendance stipends next year and “expects it will cost $500,000 annually – or an average of $4,100 per scholarship student-athlete per year” (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 4/29).

“He’s very disappointed, he’s upset. He’s wanted to go down as one of the greats or the greatest ever and he’s disappointed. But it is what it is. It was the decision we had to make” – UFC President Dana White, on suspending fighter Jon Jones and stripping him of his title after he was charged with felony hit-and-run (“UFC Tonight,” FS1, 4/28).

“Nothing that a few quick birdies won’t change if I try and win 7 and 6” – Rory McIlroy, who has ringside seats to Saturday’s Mayweather-Pacquiao bout in Las Vegas, on possibly having to play two WGC-Cadillac Match Play rounds that day in S.F. (AP, 4/28).

“His support unit was totally dictated by Josh and his management team. I think we went above and beyond to make sure he had all the resources that he needed” – Angels manager Mike Scioscia, taking exception to comments from Josh Hamilton that the team removed part of his support system (L.A. TIMES, 4/29).

“When you’re involved in the game, at the end it will be over and I’ll say, ‘What time is it?’” – Cubs manager Joe Maddon, saying he does not keep up with time during games (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 4/29).

“Did you ever go to a Rangers-Rays game between 2003 and 2005? I’ve played in games with two or three thousand fans; that’s a little weird. But literally nobody in the stands? I’ve never had that. That’s got to be different” – Yankees 1B Mark Teixeira, on today’s White Sox-Orioles game not being open to the public (N.Y. TIMES, 4/29).

Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Nationals-Braves, followed with Mavericks-Rockets, Spurs-Clippers and the Orioles playing the White Sox in an empty Camden Yards. Last night’s 11:00pm ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” led with UFC President Dana White discussing the suspension of fighter Jon Jones, followed by Mavericks-Rockets, the upcoming Orioles-White Sox game, Rays-Yankees and Blue Jays-Red Sox.

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann called out his “world’s worst” persons in sports: Brazilian MF Uilian for fighting with teammates on the field after allowing a goal. Olbermann also derided SB Nation Angels Blog Editor Matt Gleason for his scathing online post on Josh Hamilton, and Brewers CF Carlos Gomez for his new hairstyle.

THE UNDEFEATED's Brando Simeo Starkey writes of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, "How can boxing be dead? This is life after American cultural death. This weekend's spectacle is Al Haymon resuscitating boxing for one last shot at glory." Also, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe was one of the first to recognize Floyd's talent.

THESTREET.com interviews Foot Locker Chair Ken Hicks about the company's "plans to capture even more of the sneaker market, including efforts to remodel hundreds of stores."

Also:

• How Red Sox' Larry Lucchino could rescue Boston's '24 Games bid.
• New Hawaii AD David Matlin must bring stability to department.
• A detailed biographical profile of polarizing Lions GM Martin Mayhew.

Amazingly, reporters still have no idea how to deal with Pop...

— Peter Stringer (@peterstringer) April 29, 2015

Crazy thing about this summer is that teams will be maxing or near maxing guys that otherwise wouldn't be, b/c of TV bump in 16 and 17.

— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) April 29, 2015

Is it an improvement that Reggie Miller has now advanced to stating the unbelievably obvious instead of spouting garbage?

— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) April 29, 2015

When's the last time Ballmer was this nervous?

— Dan Hellie (@DanHellie) April 29, 2015

A new label on Bud Light bottles that reads “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night” is drawing ire online for perpetuating rape culture. The brand has since quit using the labels, which were “a continuation of its ‘Up for Whatever’ campaign” (N.Y. TIMES, 4/29).

The Padres will become the first MLB team to sign the Athlete Ally pledge at an event promoting LGBT diversity at Petco Park. Padres CEO Mike Dee and Athlete Ally Founder & Exec Dir Hudson Taylor will attend the event, along with 60 student-athletes from area public schools.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Movies and TV.”

“The first hit feature film based on a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch was ‘The Blues Brothers’; this was the second.”

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel said, “The 10th anniversary celebration of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ was a big show tonight. They brought almost everyone back. They had Super Bowl champions Hines Ward, Kurt Warner, Donald Driver, Cobi Jones, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice team up for what they called a ‘bromance dance,’ which if nothing else proves that football-related concussions lead to poor decision making” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 4/28).

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things I’ve Always Wanted to Say to Hello Deli Customers.” The list was read by Hello Deli Owner Rupert Jee, whose shop is located next to the Ed Sullivan Theater (“Late Show,” CBS, 4/28).

10) "Recommend something? Oh, I don't eat here."
9) "No matter what kind of cheese you want, you're getting American."
8) "Gay or straight, I won't cater your wedding."
7) "Legally, I can't call them hot dogs."
6) "Bring a subway sandwich in here and I'll beat you to death with a ladle."
5) "You call that a hair, I call it a garnish."
4) "Yes, I think the roast beef is a great choice."
3) "Do I look like a Rockefeller? Bring your own napkins."
2) "Sorry if I'm irritable, I'm covered in mites."
1) "How about you, me and your wife go make a sandwich?"

“What was ‘Wayne’s World?’”