Liberty Media has agreed to pay $4.4B to acquire F1 "in a cash-and-stock deal." Fox exec Chase Carey will serve as F1 Chair, and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone will remain in his position. The organization will "remain based in London." Liberty's acquisition of F1 is "happening in two stages." In the first stage, it has "acquired an 18.7% stake." Liberty is "aiming to acquire the rest" in the Q1 '17 (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/8). Under terms of the deal, F1 teams will be "given the chance to buy a stake in their sport for the first time." It is "not known which teams are interested" (LONDON TIMES, 9/8).

NWSL Seattle Reign MF Megan Rapinoe "never got a chance to kneel during the national anthem" at last night's game against the Washington Spirit at Maryland SoccerPlex. Spirit Owner Bill Lynch, an Air Force veteran, preemptively "ordered 'The Star-Spangled Banner' to be played while the teams were in the locker room." The club said it took the action "rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent." Players on both teams "arrived at the SoccerPlex unaware of plans for the early playing of the anthem" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/8).

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte will "receive a 10-month suspension" today for behavior that "embarrassed and infuriated" the IOC, USOC, USA Swimming and ROCOG. The three teammates involved in Lochte's fabricated story about being robbed at gunpoint are "expected to be banned for several months each, and other sanctions could be added for all four as well." Lochte's suspension is "scheduled to end June 30, 2017, but it also bans Lochte" from the '17 FINA World Championships in Budapest, which begin July 14 (USA TODAY, 9/8).

Meanwhile, Lochte discussed his upcoming appearance on "Dancing With The Stars." He said, "Hopefully this helps and helps put people in a different mind perspective of me" (“ET,” 9/7).

The 49ers have signed a deal with Amazon Prime, whereby fans will be able to order tailgating supplies for delivery to their parking spot in three designated lots at Levi’s Stadium prior to kickoff. Through the Prime Now mobile app and Primenow.com, fans can order from a selection of tens of thousands of items for delivery with an hour. Prime Now users enter their zip code to start shopping, and the delivery fee is $7.99 per order. The 49ers' first home game is Monday night against the Rams.

The Players' Tribune will announce today that it is launching its first weekly multimedia series featuring an athlete, Seahawks CB Richard Sherman. The first episode of "Tuesdays with Richard on Thursdays," will feature Sherman engaging in his personal off-field passions. The series will feature Sherman in a variety of formats, including video, photo essays and long-form written features. All content surrounding "Tuesdays with Richard on Thursdays" will be housed on a dedicated landing page on TPT. It is expected that TPT will roll out more weekly series featuring athletes from different leagues and sports. No sponsor currently is tied to the series. 

NBC Sports Digital today at 3:00pm ET will debut a live weekly video show devoted to fantasy football entitled the "Rotoworld Fantasy Football Kickoff." Carrying presenting sponsorship from Kia, the 30-minute program will be hosted by Paul Burmeister and include Rotoworld analysts Josh Norris and Raymond Summerlin. The show will continue weekly on Thursdays during the NFL season and be available on demand at NBCSports.com and on the NBC Sports mobile app. Meanwhile, PFT’s Mike Florio will host weekly Facebook Live chats and on-demand videos during the NFL season. The Verizon-sponsored content will begin today for the Panthers-Broncos NFL season opener and then shift to Fridays during the season.

Sports TV technology company WSC Sports Technologies completed a $12M investment round (Series B), led by Intel Capital, which pushes the company’s total funding to $16M. As part of the financing, Intel Capital director Uri Arazy will join WSC’s board. Ownership groups with the Cavaliers (Dan Gilbert), Vikings (the Wilf family) and the Dodgers (Guggenheim Baseball Management's Elysian Park Ventures) also participated in the funding round for WSC, which has deals with Turner Sports, the NBA and the Big East conference. WSC, which provides the technology to allow these companies to make highlight packages in near real-time, says it will use the money to grow both domestically and internationally.

The Bruins today will officially unveil their new practice facility in Brighton and, while only the rink itself has been revealed thus far, it is clear the Bruins are "no longer playing shorthanded against other franchises when it comes to practice facilities." Unlike the "cave-like ambience of most ice rinks, Warrior Ice Arena lets the sun shine through the gigantic glass wall prominently visible from the Massachusetts Turnpike." Players have also "raved about what the facility offers behind the scenes" (BOSTON HERALD, 9/5).

The USTA said that a digital audio sound processor at court level yesterday "malfunctioned during the U.S. Open quarterfinal between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori." A loud noise from the malfunctioning equipment caused the umpire to call a let. Murray "disagreed" with the decision to "immediately halt things" and replay the point. Nishikori went on to win the match in five sets. The USTA said that the malfunctioning unit would "be replaced" between yesterday's day and night sessions (AP, 9/7).

Meanwhile, the Tennis Integrity Unit is "investigating a first-round women's singles match" at the U.S. Open between Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland and Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia "after irregular betting patterns were detected." Bacsinszky won the match, 6-1, 6-1 (N.Y. TIMES, 9/8).

The Mets are signing former NFLer Tim Tebow "to a minor-league contract." He will likely next play in the Florida Instructional League or Arizona Fall League (TWITTER.com, 9/8).

Univ. of Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez has "signed a contract extension that will keep him in the position" through January '21 (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 9/8).

UConn today is "scheduled to make its formal presentation for admission to the Big 12 Conference" in Dallas, according to a source (HARTFORD COURANT, 9/8). UConn's meeting follows the Univ. of Houston's "formal presentation to the Big 12" yesterday (CHRON.com, 9/7).

The NBA today unveiled the logo for the '17 All-Star Game in New Orleans. The game was originally slated for Charlotte but was relocated after the implementation of North Carolina's controversial bathroom law (THE DAILY).

Colorado State Univ. and the city of Ft. Collins will hold their first FORTitude 10K Labor Day Classic on Sept. 4, 2017. The event will "coincide with the opening of the college's new football stadium," which is "set to be built next summer" (Boulder DAILY CAMERA, 9/8).

USA Today runs a special NFL Kickoff '16 section today featuring a full-page ad from the league promoting tonight's opening Panthers-Broncos game, along with full-page ads from league sponsors Microsoft, Visa, McDonald's and Bridgestone (THE DAILY).

"The thing now will be for us to identify things she can attach herself to, to keep the relevance going. But you're never going to be able to maintain the level of relevance as the week of winning a gold medal at the conclusion of the Olympic Games" – Fritz Martin Management Princial Jamie Fritz, on securing endorsements for his client, U.S. boxer Claressa Shields, in the wake of her Gold Medal in Rio (MLIVE.com, 9/8).

"We want to make sure our sponsors are getting everything out of it as well. ... I was just happy to do whatever they wanted me to do" – NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, who is also an equity owner at Hendrick Motorsports, on coming out of retirement to fill in for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. in three races (ESPN.com, 9/7).

"I don’t want the band to form ‘VERNE’ as they march off the field. That’s not my idea of the way to go out. That’s a little over the top" – CBS' Verne Lundquist, on entering his final season as an SEC football broadcaster (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 9/8).

"We would love to play this in perpetuity. We need to let the dust settle on (ACC plans). How that affects rivalries" – Univ. of Pittsburgh AD Scott Barnes, on his hopes to renew the school's football series with Penn State (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/8).

Under Armour Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank yesterday in a full-page newspaper ad detailed his proposal to "facilitate a new city-within-a-city" in Baltimore's Port Covington, which includes a request for $535M in tax increment financing. The Baltimore SUN editorial board writes Plank "answers some" of the important questions the project raises, but "leaves others."

The BOSTON HERALD's Michael Silverman writes the Red Sox' visit to San Diego last night "marked one more strange-but-true chapter" for Don Orsillo, the former Red Sox play-by-play announcer who is "now the television voice of the Padres."

Also: 

• Danielle Bartelstein plays a "vital behind-the-scenes role" for Virginia Tech football.
• Nike payouts for Iowa, Iowa State are "just a fraction" of what they will get next time.
• Tennis fan Ralph Gardner Jr. waxes poetic on his love of the U.S. Open.
• Penguins GM Jim Rutherford seems to have a "renewed energy" after Cup victory.

You won’t want to miss the Sports Facilities & Franchises and Ticketing Symposium, September 20-22 in Minneapolis. From the latest in ticketing trends and sales culture to the fan experience, content creation and the latest examples of how VR can help sports organizations, there will be three-full days of compelling information, provocative speakers and unprecedented networking. In addition, attendees will tour one of the most talked about new facilities in sports, U.S. Bank Stadium. See the latest agenda and register today.

Two questions if Tiger makes it to Napa. What's in the bag? And what's on the bag?

— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) September 8, 2016

Impressed by the number of @PGATOUR and @EuropeanTour players tweeting about @TigerWoods comeback. They sound as psyched as fans #theneedle

— Molly Solomon (@mollysolomon_gc) September 7, 2016

Appropriate that the Mets sign Tim Tebow since he's basically a human pyramid scheme.

— RUSS BENGT$ON (@russbengtson) September 8, 2016

With Tebow at instructs we may get our first ever live broadcasts of instructs games.

— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) September 8, 2016

The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee will discuss proposed financing for a Las Vegas football stadium today at 1:00pm PT at UNLV's Stan Fulton Building.

The Greater Houston Partnership and '16 Partnership Chair and Texans President Jamey Rootes will host Houston’s Business of Sports: The Game Day Impact at NRG Center at 11:00am CT. Among those participating are Texans Owner Bob McNair and Houston Super Bowl Host Committee Chair Ric Campo.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The Supreme Court.”

“With the passing of Antonin Scalia, this Reagan appointee became the longest-tenured Justice on the court.”

Last night’s edition of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” featured Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. and show staffer Guillermo Rodriguez starring in a “commercial” for Head & Shoulders that parodied Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “Psycho,” with the hotel called “The Odell Motel.” ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel said, “Have you ever wondered where true greatness comes from? NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. carries it on his shoulders and recently he shared his secrets with our pal Guillermo” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 9/7).

Radio host Dan Patrick appeared on NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daly” last night and discussed his acting career, noting the “acting thing came accidentally.” Patrick: “Adam Sandler was doing ‘Happy Gilmore’ and Keith Olbermann was supposed to be the golf announcer. So I see Sandler months later at a Knicks game and he says, ‘Danny, your boy (expletive) me,’ and I say, ‘You're going to have to be a little clearer.’ He said, ‘Olbermann, he didn't show up.’ I said, ‘If you ever need somebody you let me know, I'm your guy.’ He goes, ‘You’re a police officer in my next movie. You're Danny Mc(expletive) Patrick and you’re wearing a mustache.’ He actually cast me as Abe Lincoln in a movie, which of course, that's a given." Patrick: "Daniel Day-Lewis, we’re both great Lincolns.” Patrick talked about his radio show and hosting “Sports Jeopardy” on Crackle, noting he is “America’s conscience when it comes to sports. I mean, that’s not too heavy of a title, right?” (“Last Call With Carson Daly,” NBC, 9/8).

Fox Sports’ Michael Strahan appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night and talked about his draft day experience involving Fox’ Jimmy Johnson when he was head coach of the Cowboys. Strahan said, “He was about to draft me when he was coaching the Cowboys. I went to Dallas, I met with everybody. Jimmy, Jerry Jones -- everybody. They promised me that they were drafting me in the first round. They sent a scout to my house on draft day. The guy comes over, eating up my food watching the draft, and then they trade the pick and then the Giants pick me.” Host Jimmy Fallon: “The guy is just in your house?” Strahan: “The guy is in my house with a briefcase with my contract in it and then the guy disappears after eating the food.” Strahan said he finally “got the nerve” to ask Johnson about it on the Fox NFL pregame set and Johnson told him, “Hell, I didn’t know you were going to be that good.” Strahan added of Johnson, “So we’ve worked it out, I sit next to him, and yes everybody, the hair is real” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 9/7).

“Who is Anthony Kennedy?”