A "boisterous crowd of 42,386" last night attended the 87th MLB All-Star Game at Petco Park. Pregame festivities "included a flyover and giant flag stretching across the outfield during the national anthem." Then there was "an unexpected announcement" by MLB that it will honor HOFers Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn "by naming the AL batting title award for Carew and the NL batting title award for Gwynn" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13). The game "lost air after the second inning." It was "well-played" at times, but "just lacked the sizzle we long to see in this event" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13).

Last night’s game “was all about” retiring Red Sox DH David Ortiz, who became the “guest of honor” at Petco Park (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/13). Ortiz was replaced with a pinch-runner after a third-inning walk, after which the AL players "came out on the field to applaud him” (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/13). Ortiz "rivaled hometown Padres for applause and adulation" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13). However, there is a question about why AL manager Ned Yost pulled Ortiz “before the shadows covered the infield” (ESPN.com, 7/12).

MLB All-Star pregame ceremonies generated controversy as Remigio Pereira, a member of Canadian singing group The Tenors, held up a sign reading “All Lives Matter” and changed words to his country's national anthem during the group’s on-field performance. A statement from the group posted on Twitter during the game blamed the action on Pereira alone and said he will “not be performing with the The Tenors until further notice.” The statement read in part, “The other members of the group are shocked and embarrassed by the actions of Remigio Pereira, who changed the lyrics of our treasured anthem and used this coveted platform to serve his own political views.”

Former Capitals GM George McPhee has been selected as the GM for Las Vegas’ NHL expansion team. The team, which starts play in the '17-18 season, has called a news conference for 1:00pm PT today at T-Mobile Arena to make the official announcement. Two sources said that McPhee has been "hired by owner Bill Foley to lead his franchise through its formative years." McPhee "spent last season working" for the Islanders as a Special Assistant to GM Garth Snow. He served as Capitals GM from '97-'14 (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/13).

The MLB Giants, NBA and Clippers G Chris Paul last night were "among the winners at the Sports Humanitarian of the Year awards." The Giants won team of the year; NBA won the League Humanitarian Leadership award; Paul won as sports humanitarian; and Bank of America won the Corporate Community Impact award at the second annual show hosted by Laila Ali. Tennis HOFer Billie Jean King, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and the '15 Univ. of Missouri football team were "honored with Stuart Scott Enspire awards for taking risks and using innovative approaches to help the disadvantaged through sports" (AP, 7/13).

USA TODAY's Nancy Armour in a front-page piece writes NBC's decision to "delay its coverage" of the Rio Games Opening Ceremony for an hour is "ridiculous and hopelessly outdated." Social media and mobile devices have "conditioned us to expect immediate results and information, and anything less feels like a return to the Stone Age." If NBC "won’t adapt, then viewers will simply go elsewhere for their information." Britain’s BBC and Canada’s CBC are "airing the ceremony live, which the CBC was only too happy to point out" (USA TODAY, 7/13).

Sources said that Providence Equity Partners, which acquired a controlling interest in Learfield Communications, is "exploring a sale of the company." They said that Providence is "working with Moelis & Co. to find a buyer for Learfield." The sources added that the company, which "helps athletic departments negotiate sponsorship and licensing deals, could fetch" as much as $1B (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 7/12).

A front-page piece in this week’s SportsBusiness Journal outlines how Learfield's acquisitions have fueled speculation of a possible sale.

The Disney Media Networks will "broadcast a town hall meeting with President Obama on Thursday" at 8:00pm ET from DC. "The President & The People: Race in America" will be shown commercial-free on ESPN and ABC, and streamed online at WatchESPN and WatchABC. ABC's David Muir will "moderate the conversation," and ESPN's Jemele Hill will "join Muir and the president" (ESPN.com, 7/12).

ESPN Radio is expected to announce today that Marc Kestecher has been "named lead voice for the NBA," beginning with the '16-17 season. He replaces Kevin Calabro, who "accepted a play-by-play position" for Trail Blazers TV games. Kestecher: "I was hopeful I would get it" (Albany TIMES UNION, 7/13).

Sports Illustrated’s SI Play youth sports registration platform has signed deals with the National Softball Association and Baseball Players Association, becoming the official technology partner of both organizations. The deals give SI Play access to more than 225,000 participants. The platform, which will debut this month, will collate an array of functions such as scheduling, coaching background checks, statistics and content sharing.

Meanwhile, SI today will debut its documentary on former NFLer Ricky Williams and his entry into the cannabis industry, entitled “Ricky Williams Takes The High Road.” The SI Films production is part of a broader multi-platform content effort on Williams that goes live today and includes a long-form feature online and in print.

Top Rank Chair Bob Arum said that boxer Manny Pacquiao "plans to come out of a brief sabbatical to fight again on either Oct. 29 or Nov. 5 in the main event of an HBO PPV card in Las Vegas" (ESPN.com, 7/12).

The 49ers have "taken over management of the Foster Farms Bowl" from the S.F. Bowl Game Association. The team also "signed a four-year deal with Fox Sports to televise the game at Levi’s Stadium" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/13).

Olympic wrestler Adeline Gray has signed with Stanton & Co., a women-focused athlete representation shop. Gray is a three-time world champion in the 75kg weight class and favored to medal in Rio. She was previously represented by Nick Garone at X-cel Worldwide (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).

A crowd of 10,125 – the largest in NASL Carolina RailHawks history – attended the team's 2-2 draw against EPL club West Ham United last night in a friendly at WakeMed Soccer Park (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 7/13).

FAU will "host a warm-up soccer match between the Argentina and Colombia national teams" on July 21 in the run-up to the Rio Games (PALM BEACH POST, 7/13).

Tickets sales for the Int'l Champions Cup game between Real Madrid and Paris-St. Germain at Ohio Stadium are "approaching 70,000," and promoters "plan to bring other big games" to Ohio State's campus (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/13).

"I had no clue there was ever a car involved. And he goes, 'Which one pops?' I was like, 'What?' I jut thought it was just some advertising" – Mike Hosmer, father of Royals 1B Eric Hosmer, on his son winning a new truck and giving it to him after being named MLB All-Star Game MVP (K.C. STAR, 7/13).

"The USPS is now publicly and indelibly linked to one of the biggest sports scandals in history. This clearly was not what the USPS bargained or paid for" – U.S. Department of Justice attorneys, in a recent court filing. The government is suing Lance Armstrong over the U.S. Postal Service's sponsorship of his cycling team (USA TODAY, 7/13).

"He spent all his money on UFC. He asked my parents for whatever they had" – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, jokingly, on his brother, WME-IMG co-CEO Ari Emanuel, whose company is buying the MMA promotion in a $4B deal (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/13).

"We have extended  an invitation to the USGA to come back. We have not had any further discussions, but we expect to have those during the Amateur in some fashion" – Oakland Hills Country Club General Chair Lee Juett, on the venue seeking to host a future U.S. Open following next month's U.S. Amateur (DETROIT NEWS, 7/13).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL goes with the header, "How Star Athletes Lost Millions To A Great Idea." A company called Ticket Reserve's plan to "sell options for tickets to post-season games was wildly popular but ultimately unprofitable," and "that's when the alleged fraud began."

The ATLANTIC notes, "Despite criticism from the public, teams are supporting expressions of activism by professional athletes." ESPNW.com goes with the header, "The Evolution Of The Activist Athlete." THE UNDEFEATED examines how Magic C Bismack Biyombo "uses his wealth to help his homeland," the Democratic Republic of Congo.
 
Also:

• Vice President Joe Biden on grand tradition of MLB All-Star Game.
• Rams look on as Chargers, Raiders press for new stadiums.
• Double-A Akron RubberDucks flourish under new ownership.
• Pro sports provide plenty of subject matter for scripted TV.
• Ten things you might not know about Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones.

Having planned 3 Super Bowls in SD & volunteered on US Open in '08 I know how SD executes big events...they did it again this week!

— Jim Steeg (@jimsteeg) July 13, 2016

There is no more @FS1 talent/shows left to promo, right? Nothing for @TMZ_Sports? Some UFC weigh-in before it moves to ESPN?

— Tom Hoffarth (@tomhoffarth) July 13, 2016

AL is so good they can bully their way into being the home team in the NL park and STILL win home advantage in the World Series #AllStarGame

— Jim Carlisle (@VCSJimCarlisle) July 13, 2016

What a joke changing the lyrics to OUR anthem. Better opportunities to make a political statement. @TenorsMusic you should be ashamed!

— Carlos Ferreira (@C_LosF11) July 13, 2016

It's cool that MLB is honoring Tony Gwynn and Rod Carew, but isn't it past time the baseball world stopped glorifying batting average?

— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) July 13, 2016

Currently crashing Peyton Manning's retirement party pic.twitter.com/YVEG83jaJK

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 12, 2016

The inaugural GeekWire Sports Tech Summit will be held at Safeco Field. Speakers include Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer, Whitecaps Owner Jeff Mallett, LAFC Owner Henry Nguyen and Brooks Running Chair & CEO Jim Weber.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Political Words.”

“Hamilton began and ended the Federalist Papers warning of this type of person, Greek for ‘people’s leader.’”

Last night’s edition of “Jeopardy” featured the category “Getting Ready For The Olympics.”

For $400: “Katie Ledecky was six when she got the autograph of this male swimmer who decided to try for more gold in 2016.”
For $800: “There are fears about how athletes in this palindromic conveyance will deal with Rio’s polluted water.”
For $1200: “I can’t wait to watch this event, back in the Games for the first time since 1904! Bubba Watson was hoping to give it a shot.”
For $1600: “I’m looking forward to a lot of beauty shots of this beach in Rio, famed in song for ‘the girl from’ it.”
For $2000: “It’s Thomas Bach’s first Summer Games in this job; Jacques Rogge will be a tough act to follow.”

Last night’s edition of NBC’s "The Tonight Show" included a recurring segment called “Pros and Cons,” in which host Jimmy Fallon delivered the pros and cons of shopping on Amazon. Fallon said, "Pro: You can get great deals on everything from bug repellent to mace to a Hazmat suit. Con: As part of Amazon’s ‘Rio Olympics Deal Bundle'" (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 7/12).
 
CBS' Stephen Colbert began last night’s edition of CBS’ "Late Show" with a taped segment in which he addressed the previous evening’s opening scene featuring Cubs P Jake Arrieta, 1B Anthony Rizzo and 3B Kris Bryant. Colbert said, "At the top of last night’s show, I wished the Chicago Cubs good luck on their history-making season by rubbing various lucky items, including three of the Chicago Cubs themselves. Well, funny story: We taped that bit on June 30th and they have lost nine of 11 games since I touched them, so obviously I feel terrible. So I want to make it up to them tonight by rubbing my lucky rabbit’s foot again." Colbert then began searching the room for the rabbit’s foot, a process that included many actions superstitiously believed to bring bad luck, including opening an umbrella indoors and walking under a ladder (“The Late Show,” CBS, 7/12).

“What is a demagogue?”

Correct responses to the “Getting Ready For The Olympics” category were:

$400: “Who is Michael Phelps?”
$800: “What is a kayak?”
$1200: “What is golf?”
$1600: “What is Ipanema?”
$2000: “What is IOC President?”