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Monday 9:00am ET....Today's News....Horse Sense

  • American Pharoah Helps Monmouth Park See Record-Setting Day
  • IOC Shakes Up Bidding For '24 Games To Ensure Crowded Field
  • ESPN's Kevin Negandhi Emceeing AAC's Summer Kickoff & Media Days
  • Kobe Bryant Teaming Up With Alibaba In Wide Ranging Deal In China

American Pharoah Helps Monmouth Park See Record-Setting Day

A Monmouth Park-record crowd of 60,983 attended yesterday’s meet, which included American Pharoah winning the William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes. American Pharoah’s appearance helped produce "record pari-mutuel handle for the race and for Haskell day." A total of $6.5M was bet on the Haskell, “shattering the mark” of $4.5M set in ’10. Total handle for the day hit $20M, up 13.5% from the previous high of $17.6M set in ’08 (BLOODHORSE.com, 8/2).

IOC Shakes Up Bidding For '24 Games To Ensure Crowded Field

The IOC “shook up the bidding process” for the ’24 Games, “eliminating the cut-down phase and clearing the way for all the candidates to make it to the final vote.” The decision “opens the prospects of a crowded field of as many as seven cities battling it out over a two-year global campaign.” The change comes in the “wake of the troubled race” for the ’22 Games, which was “left with only two candidates after four European cities pulled out for political or economic reasons” (AP, 8/2).

Meanwhile, the IOC said that it “will order testing for disease-causing viruses in the sewage-polluted waters" being used for ’16 Rio Games events (AP, 8/2). Outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter today ended his 16-year tenure as an IOC member “when he did not seek re-election.” Blatter informed IOC President Thomas Bach of his decision last month (AP, 8/2).

ESPN's Kevin Negandhi Emceeing AAC's Summer Kickoff & Media Days

The American Athletic Conference today begins its Summer Kickoff and Media Days in Newport, R.I., and the event will be emceed by ESPN's Kevin Negandhi. The football media days begin in earnest tomorrow with remarks from Commissioner Mike Aresco, who is expected to address the addition of Navy and the conference's first football championship game. Negandhi will moderate a pair of roundtable discussions featuring the conferences' football coaches (AAC).

Kobe Bryant Teaming Up With Alibaba In Wide Ranging Deal In China

China-based Alibaba Group Holding today announced a collaboration with Lakers G Kobe Bryant’s newly formed company, Kobe Inc. Per the deal, the Alibaba Group will release the “Kobe Bryant’s Muse” film exclusively through Tmall Magic Box this upcoming Sunday. Alibaba’s Pictures unit will create a series of Kobe branded products and distribute them in China through Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com. In addition, Alibaba and Chinese media firm Sina are teaming up with Kobe to create a brand new social media platform (Alibaba Group/Kobe).

MLB, MiLB Partnering With More Than 125 Cities For Play Ball Month

MLB and MiLB, in conjunction with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, today announced that more than 125 cities have signed on as designated Play Ball Cities for the inaugural Play Ball Month of August. The cities cover 34 states and Puerto Rico. The mayors of participating cities have agreed to sponsor a baseball or softball-related activity during the month (MLB/MiLB).

Must Read: Inside Look At Players Involved In Rangers' Bankruptcy Sale

In this Must Read, the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM on Saturday ran a special looking at the roles Tom Hicks, Chuck Greenberg and Sal Galatioto played in the "highly dramatic" bankruptcy sale of the MLB Rangers in '10. Barry Shlachter, under the header “Death Threats, Smear Campaigns Rocked Rangers’ Bankruptcy Sale,” writes that the process “was no ordinary bankruptcy or auction.” Shalchter notes MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "stubbornly favored" the Nolan Ryan-Chuck Greenberg group despite a rival bid from Mark Cuban and Jim Crane offering "more money." The bidding process was "poisoned" by a “thuggish and mean-spirited disinformation campaign,” which Cuban believes “originated at the highest levels of MLB” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 8/1).

Speed Reads....

The Nationals have teamed up with Lansinoh Laboratories to create the Lansinoh Family Lounge at Nationals Park. The lounge located off the first-base line includes chairs for nursing mothers, TVs, diaper changing stations and a play area for toddlers (Nationals).

The Bills have suspended offensive line coach Aaron Kromer “without pay for the first six games of the season” as a result of his July 11 arrest. Battery charges against Kromer were dropped last week (ESPN.com, 8/2).

Thousands of athletes yesterday took part in "an emotional closing ceremony for the Special Olympics" at L.A. Memorial Coliseum (AP, 8/2).

The USL Austin Aztex on Saturday drew 5,146 fans for a game against Timbers 2 at Reeves Athletic Complex, marking the "largest crowd in franchise history" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 7/2). 

The NHRA Sonoma Nationals yesterday at Sonoma Raceway drew 30,000 fans (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/3).

Quick Hits....

“I love the Red Sox, I love Fenway Park, and I love Boston. It’s my home. It’s never easy to leave a job you love, but I look forward to the next chapters” – Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino, in a statement, regarding his decision to take on a reduced role at season’s end (Red Sox).

“Well, first and foremost, I’m obviously a baller” – Jaguars DE Jared Odrick, on being asked how he got a cameo in HBO’s “Ballers” series (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/2).

“It’s not easy with UT sort of running the town, but there are plenty of soccer fans here. If they can get a stadium, there’s no reason why Austin won’t have a chance to make the jump” – Landon Donovan, on the city of Austin, Texas, having MLS aspirations (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 8/2).

“I think everybody in the movement would like to see the five rings bidding for the Games from the United States. It’s one of our major countries in this movement” – IOC member Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, on the IOC wanting the U.S. to make a bid for the ’24 Games (REUTERS, 8/3).

“To be able to experience something that very few women get to see is fantastic” – Jen Welter, on working as an inside linebackers coach for the Cardinals during training camp and the preseason (N.Y. TIMES, 8/3).

“You all saw yourselves on ESPN, didn’t you? They told your story. … They made their audience look at you inspired and in tears” – Special Olympics CEO Janet Froetcher, talking to the athletes during the Special Olympics closing ceremony (L.A. TIMES, 8/3).

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Morning Hot Reads: Life After 40

The Baton Rouge ADVOCATE looks at the 40-year-old Mercedes-Benz Superdome: “An ongoing post-Katrina interior remodeling combined with an exterior makeover, plus a level of cooperation with the principal tenant” has the facility “arguably as cutting-edge as it was in 1975.”

Also:

This Week In SportsBusiness Journal....

This week's In-Depth examines the '16 Rio de Janeiro Games and how the city's preparations for the event are still a work in progress.

Rise of the Drones: A look at the opportunities, risks of unmanned aircraft systems.
Tod Leiweke's hire as NFL COO seen as boon for Commissioner Roger Goodell.
• Will USOC be able to recover following implosion of Boston's bid for '24 Games?
• This week's "The Sit-Down" features Ladies European Tour CEO Ivan Khodabakhsh.

In Case You Missed It....

Some of the top news items from yesterday's edition of Weekend Rap:

Back Pages....

The Morning Buzz offers today's back page sports covers from some of North America's major metropolitan tabloids:

N.Y. Post N.Y. Daily News Newsday   Boston HeraldChicago Sun-TimesToronto Sun

Spanning The Global....

The most-read Global stories today on SportsBusinessDaily.com:

1) EPL Clubs Appear To Lose Luster After Five Teams' Sale Negotiations Fall Through
2) Scandal Over Barcelona's Signing Of Neymar Poised For New Twist
3) IOC Picks Beijing Over Almaty To Host 2022 Winter Olympic Games
4) Backlash Against Corporate Boxes A Warning For Stadium Redevelopment In Australia
5) African Football Confederation To Meet To Discuss Plot To Beat Platini

Final Jeopardy!

Friday night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Celebrities in Song Lyrics.”

“In a song, Weird Al says, ‘I know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows’ him.”

Laugh Track....Mark Of A Champion?

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon said of Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban’s support for Donald Trump, “Trump was like, ‘At least one Cuban loves me’” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 8/2).