Angels CF Mike Trout turned last night's MLB All-Star Game at Great American Ball Park "into his personal showcase," hitting a home run to lead off the game and claiming his second consecutive ASG MVP (USA TODAY, 7/15). Outside of Trout, the game "might be remembered" for Mets P Jacob deGrom striking out the side on 10 pitches or for Reds P Aroldis Chapman "punching out all three men he faced” (WASHINGTON POST, 7/15).

Last night's game "concluded five days of festivities that turned Cincinnati ... into a celebration of the national pastime and the Queen City’s love for the game" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/15). If fans "ever doubted it, Cincinnati really is a baseball town," and it "has shown exactly that as proud hosts" (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 7/15).

Despite the clear weather for the game itself, a brief but intense afternoon thunderstorm did delay by a half hour an MLB invitation-only, pre-game party for more than 3,500 guests at nearby Yeatman’s Cove Park, and left muddy conditions behind. “Every precaution has been taken. We were completely able to proceed on as planned,” said Delaware North Sportservice Food & Beverage Dir Tom Schlaker (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).

MLB honored players on the field last night, and Pete Rose "drew the longest and loudest ovation – about one minute – of the four Reds legends." Rose "was introduced last and clearly generated the most buzz among the sellout crowd." Jerseys with Rose's last name and No. 14 "could be spotted fairly easily at the stadium" (USA TODAY, 7/15). MLB also recognized HOFers Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax, who were selected as the game’s four greatest living players (THE DAILY). 

Prior to walking onto the field, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred met Rose for the “first time.” The meeting “was brief, and nothing of consequence was discussed, other than the long promised ‘thank you’ Rose had said he would give the commissioner” (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 7/15).

The U.S. Open "will return to Pinehurst No. 2" in '24 after the Pinehurst Village Council yesterday "unanimously approved an agreement" with the USGA for the use of village property to stage the event. Assistant Village Manager Jeff Batton said that the USGA "will pay the village $350,000 as well as cover the costs of restoring those areas afterward." Batton "explained to the council that the USGA has a 'gentleman's agreement' with the British Open not to make any formal announcements such as this until after its championship concludes" (Southern Pines PILOT, 7/14).

Following the conclusion of the NBA’s annual summer BOG meeting yesterday in Las Vegas, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver quashed any speculation that the Bucks would relocate to Las Vegas should the team fail to win financing approval for a new downtown arena. “I would say that is not realistic in the short term,” he said. "I would say we are hopeful that the vote will go in favor of the Milwaukee Bucks, and that team will stay there for a long time" (John Lombardo, Staff Writer).

Wisconsin state Senate Republicans and Democrats today will resume talks on public financing for a new Bucks arena. They were "close to reaching an agreement" yesterday after a "long day negotiating behind closed doors on a deal." Central to the discussion is a "change that would drop a requirement that Milwaukee County turn over its debt collection program to the state" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/14).

Meanwhile, reps from MillerCoors, We Energies, Milwaukee Building & Construction Trades Council and Building Advantage were "among those who gathered at the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee" yesterday to "say that the arena made sense for the state because it would create jobs, revitalize downtown Milwaukee and preserve tax revenue" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/14).

The San Diego City Council yesterday kept the city's "pursuit of a new Chargers stadium on track" by approving $2.1M for "accelerated environmental studies required for a public stadium vote in January." Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the council’s approval in a 6-3 vote was "crucial to convincing NFL officials that San Diego is serious about building a stadium that would prevent the Chargers from moving" to L.A. The Chargers say that "it’s not possible the city can complete a comprehensive and legally sound analysis" by the Oct. 15 deadline (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/15).

The U.S. Soccer Federation is expected to face "aggressive scrutiny" today in a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing about the FIFA corruption scandal. Senators on the subcommittee said that they "wanted to determine what involvement or knowledge U.S. Soccer officials had of the possible criminal activity laid out by federal prosecutors in indictments unsealed last month." The USSF will be represented by CEO & Secretary General Dan Flynn (N.Y. TIMES, 7/11).

A panel invited FIFA President Sepp Blatter to "answer questions" at the hearing, but a congressional official said that FIFA "declined on his behalf." Also missing will be President Sunil Gulati. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran's (R-Kan.) office said that Flynn was "the highest ranking official U.S. Soccer was willing to send" to testify (REUTERS, 7/13).

Cavaliers F LeBron James appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night and discussed his return to Cleveland and his role in "Trainwreck." Host Jimmy Fallon said of James’ performance in the movie, “If you love LeBron James, which I do, you’re going to love LeBron even more.” Fallon said James “comes off so genuine and so funny. I saw you first be funny in those Nike commercials, you played everybody in the family.” James: “I don’t know if that gave me a kickstart, but I had a great time on that set." James then presented Fallon a personalized pair of "Trainwreck" edition Nike LeBron Lows sneakers, which are available this summer (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 7/14).

Comcast has partnered with Electronic Arts for Xfinity Games, a service that brings more than 20 video games to X1 set-top boxes. The games include “popular EA franchises like ‘Plants vs. Zombies,’ ‘PGA Tour’ and EA’s FIFA soccer games” (VARIETY.com, 7/14).

The Bills have placed assistant coach Aaron Kromer on paid administrative leave following his arrest “on a misdemeanor battery charge in Florida” (BUFFALO NEWS, 7/15).

UCLA announced that it will hold an Aug. 27 groundbreaking ceremony for Wasserman Football Center, the school’s new football and basketball facilities (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/15).

A crowd of 21,256 attended last night’s friendly between EPL club Newcastle and Liga MX side Atlas FC at Miller Park. Atlas FC defeated Newcastle 2-1 (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 7/15).

“There’s just something unique about the Reds and the Reds’ connection to this city, that once the Reds started to get involved in funding and opportunities and these sorts of amenities, we’ve been very warmly received” – Reds Community Fund Exec Dir Charley Frank, on the team running an Urban Youth Academy (USA TODAY, 7/15).

“From a personal standpoint, it’s not a great look” – NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, on Clippers C DeAndre Jordan reneging on his verbal agreement to join the Mavericks during the free agency moratorium (Mult., 7/14).

“I’d love to see Brian France show up at some of these council meetings and stuff, but I’m sure he’s busy” – NASCAR driver/team owner Tony Stewart, talking about the increased communications between NASCAR and the drivers (ESPN.com, 7/14).

"I think you have done an extraordinary disservice to women’s golf, but in no way will that diminish my respect for the women on the LPGA tour or their great golfing talent” – Donald Trump, in a letter to LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, on the tour issuing a statement last week that it would prefer the Ricoh Women’s British Open be played somewhere other than Trump Turnberry (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 7/14).

Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and the 1:30am ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” both led with the MLB All-Star Game. ESPN followed with SEC Media Day, the deadline for NFL franchise tag players to sign deals and a preview of the British Open. FS1 followed with a British Open preview, SEC Media Day and former FSU QB De’Andre Johnson talking about striking a woman in a bar and being dismissed from the team.

FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.com goes with the header, "No Matter How Much They Make, The Best Players In The NBA Are Vastly Underpaid." Analysts "can tell you that the maximum-contract rule suppresses the salaries of superstars." The GUARDIAN header: "How NBA's Free-Agency Morality Play Screws Over The Players." Players "who demand more money are seen as selfish, but they’re working in a system that royally underpays its talent."

Also:

• Utah colleges trying to adjust to changing financial landscape.
• A look back at Donald Trump's foray into doomed USFL.
• Big League Chew bubble gum brand is still going strong.
• Boston Globe's sports Rolodex is a sports history treasure trove.
• SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey ready to embrace challenges.
• Behind the scenes of filming for NBC's "SNF" opening segment.

"So, are Star Trek and Star Wars the same characters?" I will not reveal which ACCDN employee just uttered this.

— Jeff Fischel (@JeffFischel) July 14, 2015

MLB has plenty of reason to keep Pete Rose out, but endorsing Draft Kings on air during the All Star Game while doing so is not a great look

— Emma Span (@emmaspan) July 15, 2015

Whoever designed the hats for this game needs to be fired.

— Brett Anderson (@BrettAnderson35) July 14, 2015

Gotta admit. Not a bad game. Great total All-Star couple of days. But it should have NOTHING to do with determining WS home field.

— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) July 15, 2015

Spieth says Augusta and St Andrews are his favorite courses. That's like saying the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are your favorite bands.

— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) July 15, 2015

Reds RF Jay Bruce and former MLBer Eric Davis are co-hosting the third annual Players Trust All Star Golf Tournament in Cincinnati.

The Patriots are releasing a limited number of individual game tickets through Ticketmaster and not at Gillette Stadium. The franchise expects to sell out tickets for its 22nd consecutive season.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Historic Americans.”

“The debate team at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire is named for this man who entered the academy in 1796.”

Skier Lindsey Vonn appeared on TBS’ “Conan” last night and said of attending the ESPY Awards: “I kind of geek out sometimes. I’m a big sports fan obviously, and it’s so nice to shoot the shit with other athletes.” Vonn said she doesn’t “take anything seriously” and she “loves making fun of other athletes. It’s awesome, like, ‘You really blew it at the Super Bowl.’” Host Conan O’Brien said, “That must be really fun.” Vonn is up against the UFC's Ronda Rousey for “Best Female Athlete” and said, “I feel like if I won I would be concerned about her dislocating my elbow backstage” (“Conan,” TBS, 7/15).

“Who was Daniel Webster?”