U.S. District Judge Richard Berman today in N.Y. will preside over a hearing on Patriots QB Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension. The two sides in the case, including Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, are expected to attend a "brief meeting" with Berman at 10:30am ET, with the formal hearing beginning at 11:00am. At least the "first part of this hearing will be made available to the public." Attorneys for both sides "will likely make statements summarizing their legal arguments" (SI.com, 8/11).

Goodell yesterday said that the "league will 'cooperate fully'" with Berman's efforts to "craft a settlement." Goodell: "We had discussions prior to this. Judge Berman, we got the letter today. We will certainly cooperate fully with that and we'll allow the judge to handle the process" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/12).

MLB owners today begin a two-day quarterly owners meeting in Chicago, with Commissioner Rob Manfred shifting the session to a downtown locale after predecessor Bud Selig typically staged Chicago-area meetings near O’Hare Int’l Airport. MLB President of Business & Media Bob Bowman will brief team owners on the league’s new, wide-ranging deal to manage many of the NHL’s media assets, including NHL.com, the NHL Network and GameCenter Live. Discussions also will continue with ongoing efforts to engage additional strategic investors in BAM Tech, the part of baseball’s digital arm that aids third-party programmers and content owners. The NHL will be an investor in BAM Tech as part of its deal with baseball.

One "interesting tidbit" emerging from this week's NFL owners meetings outside Chicago is that the league reportedly is "talking about making Super Bowl 50 Media Day a Media Night instead." The move would place media events on "prime time TV" (TWITTER.com, 8/11). It "sounds like" the event will be held "Monday night, rather than Tuesday" (TWITTER.com, 8/11).

Toronto Mayor John Tory yesterday met with Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut for a "briefing" on the '24 Games bid process. Also present was Bob Richardson, COO of the city's bid for the '08 Games, who said that it was a "straightforward, informational meeting." Tory's office said that he "still hasn't made up his mind on whether Toronto should bid" for the '24 Olympics. Cities face a Sept. 15 deadline to "express an interest" to the IOC (TORONTO STAR, 8/12).

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman yesterday led MLS President & Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott on a "tour of the blighted, 10-acre parcel of vacant land" selected as a potential site for an MLS venue. Abbott said, "I am tremendously impressed with the development that's taken place to date in St. Paul." Coleman "emphasized that no final decision on where to possibly situate a soccer stadium is imminent" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/12). Abbott also said the parcel "has an opportunity to be a tremendous site for a new MLS stadium" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/12).

A source said that the Vikings are "ready to announce" that they will return to Minnesota State-Mankato "for training camp next summer" in what would be their 51st camp. The move is "no surprise." Vikings President & co-Owner Mark Wilf two weeks ago said the team was "in the process of talking to the folks here and looking to extend that relationship" (TWINCITIES.com, 8/11). 

An announcement is expected today regarding the "establishment of Futbol Club Cincinnati," a USL franchise "funded by Carl Lindner III and other investors." The team is "set to take the field in spring 2016." A source said the club will play at the Univ. of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 8/12). A USL source said that "five new teams in all are expected to start play" in '16 (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 8/12).

The Penguins will conduct meetings this week at Consol Energy Center with “prospective ownership groups that have received advance approval” from the NHL (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 8/12).
 
Sony has signed U.S. snowboarder Amy Purdy to an endorsement deal to join the company’s Team Action Cam (Sony).

The Univ. of Hawaii "will allocate an average of $1,000 per scholarship athlete this year in cost of attendance stipends" (HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER, 8/12).

“It’s great for our game to have the only team in Canada doing well. And there’s not a person in the world who doesn’t like [Blue Jays President & CEO] Paul Beeston. You either like him or love him” – White Sox Chair Jerry Reinsdorf, on the Blue Jays contending for the top spot in the AL East (USA TODAY, 8/12).

“I’m glad they’re taking care of us. I like it. I was fine without it, but it’s definitely nice” – Marshall OT Clint Van Horn, on the school providing a $200 per month stipend to help cover the cost of attendance (Huntington HERALD-DISPATCH, 8/12).

“Things have definitely changed. Long gone are days where I can just go have a meal at my local store without getting interrupted in the middle of eating” – NWSL Houston Dash and USWNT MF Carli Lloyd, on the attention she has received since the FIFA Women’s World Cup (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/12).

“This is a great thing for the sport. Track and field needs to figure out whether it’s strictly an Olympic sport, or a professional sport that has an Olympic component” – U.S. shot putter Adam Nelson, on runner Nick Symmonds taking a stand against the terms in the USATF’s Statement of Conditions document (SI.com, 8/11).

Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Orioles-Mariners, followed by Yankees-Indians, A’s-Blue Jays and Nationals-Dodgers. The first non-MLB report was Jets QB Geno Smith having his jaw broken in a locker room scuffle eight minutes into the broadcast. Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” led with Yankees-Indians, followed by A’s-Blue Jays, Rockies-Mets and Geno Smith's broken jaw.

In his regular NPR column, writer Frank Deford argues, "The longer and more tangled that what has been called 'deflategate' goes on, the more it becomes about the commissioner." The issue is "all very messy, but then that's pretty much how everything ends up that Goodell is asked to adjudicate." The WASHINGTON TIMES goes with the header, "Claims Of A Conflict Of Interest Don’t Seem To Matter In NFL Investigations."

Also:

• Dreams of hip, high-tech Sacramento hinge on Golden 1 Center.
• Player, sponsor loyalty key to Mylan World TeamTennis longevity.
• Will '16 Games be able to help clean up Rio de Janeiro’s water?
• Eulogy for arena football teams that have failed in Las Vegas.
• After successful first year, what will Year Two of CFP bring?
• The late Frank Gifford was a consummate professional on the air.

The outpouring of support today has been overwhelming, has truly reminded me that the goodness of people should never be questioned.

— Flip Saunders (@Flip_Saunders) August 12, 2015

Hate when it takes me forever to write a story that I thought had real potential, and it's just ... meh.

— Jason Wilde (@jasonjwilde) August 12, 2015

Watching Hard Knocks. I don't think O'Brien's in this game for giggles.

— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) August 12, 2015

Bowles was wrong in this regard -- I've never seen sixth graders argue over $600 for a plane ticket and limo. Eighth graders, sure.

— Jane McManus (@janesports) August 12, 2015

MLB Network is producing a special game telecast of the 3:30pm ET Astros-Giants game incorporating a roundtable discussion focused on advanced metrics. "MLB Now" host Brian Kenny will lead a panel of analysts Kevin Millar, Jim Duquette and Rob Neyer from the net's Studio 21.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “French Literature.”

“Its first chapter recalls ‘the little scallop-shell of pastry, so richly sensual under its severe, religious folds.’”

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon said of Hillary Clinton’s new college affordability plan, “Hillary has a $350 billion dollar plan that she says will make college more affordable, which has to be better than my parents’ plan to make college affordable: be good at sports” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 8/11).

“What is the ‘Remembrance of Things Past?’” The novel is by Marcel Proust.