Last night's Mets-Marlins game in Miami "wasn't a night of baseball as much as a night of mourning" for Jose Fernandez, who died this weekend in a boating accident. Many in the crowd of 26,933 "came with tears and flowers" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 9/27). There were "tears and tributes all night," including video montages, a somber playing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and hugs on the field between players (SI.com, 9/27). The entire Marlins team wore Fernandez' No. 16 in the 7-3 win. Marlins 2B Dee Gordon "drove a home run into the right-field seats leading off the bottom of the first inning" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 9/27).

Team Owner Jeffrey Loria said that the No. 16 will not be worn again by a Marlins player. Loria: "There are plenty of numbers they can wear. But not that one" (MIAMI HERALD, 9/27). Loria prior to the game said Fernandez is "up there in Heaven with all the great players that left before their time: Gehrig, Clemente, Munson and sadly Jose" (NEWSDAY, 9/27).

Fernandez' agent Scott Boras and Marlins President David Samson both said that it is "likely there will be a memorial service that will be open to the public, though it was not determined if it would be at a church or the ballpark" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 9/27).

The Clinton-Trump debate last night drew a combined 46.2 overnight rating across the four broadcast TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) and three cable news networks (CNN, MSNBC, Fox News). For comparison, Super Bowl 50 on CBS this year drew a 49.0 overnight for the Broncos-Panthers matchup, while NBC in '15 drew a 49.7 overnight for the Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl. NBC led all broadcasters last night with an 11.1 overnight for its broadcast of the debate, followed by ABC with an 8.4 (THE DAILY).

The Univ. of Florida today is expected to name Mississippi State AD Scott Stricklin its new AD. A source said that Stricklin was "on campus finalizing the deal" yesterday. Stricklin will replace longtime UF AD Jeremy Foley (USATODAY.com, 9/26). Stricklin began at MSU in media relations in '90, and after jobs at several other schools, he "returned to Starkville" in '08 as Senior Associate AD/External Affairs. He became AD in '10 (Jackson CLARION-LEDGER, 9/27).

Jacksonville Sports Council President & CEO Rick Catlett said, "It's a fantastic choice. Scott is young, enthusiastic and a great people person. ... He's the kind of guy like Jeremy was when Florida hired him" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 9/27).

StubHub this morning has gone live with its new ticketing platform for the 76ers in which primary and secondary inventory is blended into a single marketplace. The completion of the new system fulfills a plan first laid out in February, when the 76ers-StubHub partnership was first announced. The marketplace, powered in part by Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, is branded around the 76ers and will be accessible through stubhub.com/sixers. Fees will resemble the rest of StubHub, with base buyer fees of 15% per transaction and base seller fees at 10%.

The deal is the first of its kind in major pro sports, as it does not designate whether a seat is a primary or secondary ticket. “A ticket is now simply a ticket,” said 76ers Senior VP/Ticket Sales & Service Jake Reynolds. “We wanted to be first out in the market with something like this, and we think this will both serve the fan in a much better way, but also create a new treasure trove of data.”

In another unique element to the deal, StubHub will be incentivized to encourage larger purchases by ticket buyers, such as new season tickets, through revenue sharing of the club’s entire pool of ticketing revenue. “We’ve built this in a way we can scale the entire program and grow with them,” said StubHub Head of Partnerships & Business Development Geoff Lester.

A public commemoration for the late Arnold Palmer will be held at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Penn., on Oct. 4, and a private funeral and cremation will take place this Thursday. Palmer's representatives are "still arranging details about the public ceremony." The schedule "will allow the Ryder Cup to go ahead this weekend without interruption" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/27). The Ryder Cup's "star-studded field is expected to salute to Palmer during the event" at Hazeltine National Golf Club (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 9/27).

Sports Illustrated is featuring Palmer on the national cover of this week’s issue. It is the 12th time that Palmer, the '60 SI Sportsman of the Year, has graced the cover. The issue includes an obituary by SI senior writer Michael Bamberger (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). Meanwhile, the PGA Tour runs a full-page ad in USA Today with an image of Palmer and the simple message, "Thank You" (THE DAILY).

Marking the 500-day countdown to the '18 PyeongChang Games, organizers today said that 90% of construction of new venues is "complete and the focus is now on preparing for test events." Despite a slow start, organizers said that more than 80% of the domestic sponsorship target of $850M "has been met and that they expect to reach" 90% of the target by the end of the year. A program of cultural events featuring pop singers and local sports stars today "was held in Seoul" to "mark the start of the countdown" (AP, 9/27).

Analysts expect Nike today to report Q1 earnings of $0.56 a share on revenue of $8.9B. That "compares with per-share earnings" of $0.67 on revenue of $8.4B in the year-ago quarter. Nike itself said that its gross margin "would fall by 1 percentage point in the quarter, driven mostly by currency effects" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/27).

Brickyard Crossing Golf Course in Indianapolis "will host a major LPGA event for the next three years." Called the Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim, the tournament "will be Sept. 4-10. Golfers Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, Gerina Pillar and Danah Bordner "will be part" of today's announcement (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/27).

During a public meeting yesterday in Dunedin, Fla., officials "released an animated video showing a renovated version" of the Blue Jays' Spring Training home, Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. During tonight's open house, residents "can make their way through informational stations explaining the project and have one-on-one conversations with those involved."

A deal "will not officially be made for several months." But the meeting "was the first step toward asking the county and state for help" with an $81M project to "spruce up the team's facilities before its contract with the city expires" at the close of '17. If the project goes through, the team "would agree to stay in the city for another 25 years." The renovated stadium video was "created by Populous" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 9/27). View the video here.

An A-list lineup including Steve Ballmer, Steve Bornstein, Brian Rolapp and others will speak at the NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference next week in Manhattan Beach, Calif. It is not too late to join us, so visit www.SportsMediaandTechnology.com to register.

Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez have been "tabbed to headline UFC 205 on Nov. 12, the first time the octagon will be in Madison Square Garden" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 9/27).

Harris County (Texas) commissioners today are "set to vote on the future of the Astrodome: the beginning of a new project to raise the floors of the stadium and put two levels of parking underneath" to accommodate 1,400 parking spaces (CHRON.com, 9/26).

China's Wanda Group is "contemplating a deal that could give it control of Dick Clark Productions." Talks for DCP, controlled by Dodgers co-Owner Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries, are "becoming more serious after more than a year of conversations that have run hot and cold" (DEADLINE.com, 9/26).

Former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios today will receive the '16 WNBA Inspiration Award (NBA).

"It’s a scary-ass situation that if my son calls me and said he’s been pulled over, that I’m not that confident that things are going to go well, that my son is going to return home" – Cavaliers F LeBron James, on the state of race relations in the U.S. (USA TODAY, 9/27).

"We’re always assessing it. We have to for the city. We’re constantly assessing it. It has to be good for everybody, us included. We’re really in the middle of assessing it" – Pistons Owner Tom Gores, on the possibility of the team moving to downtown Detroit (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 9/27).

"We had a chance then to admire the crowd, the building, the lighting, the sound … its obviously an upgrade from our old building" – Oilers coach Todd McLellan, on the atmosphere during last night's first NHL game at Rogers Place (EDMONTON SUN, 9/27).  

“They look like home plate” – Red Sox DH David Ortiz, promoting Big Papi’s Kitchen blue tortilla chips, along with several other products he endorses, during an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night” (NBC, 9/27). See today's issue of THE DAILY for more.

The N.Y. POST goes with the header, "How Jose Fernandez Can Still Change Baseball For The Better." Rather than a "nebulous 'unwritten rule' about what constitutes excessive celebration that triggers retribution, how about the Jose Fernandez Rule? Simple: It is OK to show joy on the field." Meanwhile, the Baltimore SUN goes with, "Remembering Jose Fernandez And His Love For The Game."

Also: 

• Blue Jackets President John Davidson also succeeded as player, broadcaster.
• Fox Sports' Joel Klatt is one of the best announcers in college football.
• Retiring David Ortiz wants to be remembered as a nice guy.
• The inside stories of Fenway Park's Green Monster.

This is the awful part for Lester, taking control. I've sat between 2 people yelling-debating-not listening on TV. Looks easier than it is.

— Dana Jacobson (@danajacobson) September 27, 2016

Most @Saints fans at Superdome are recording debate for viewing after game so pls don't call them to say whether Hillary or Donald won.

— Joe Browne (@JBeonTheHill) September 27, 2016

Majestic workers in Philly stayed up all last night making No. 16 unis for all Marlins players. Being flown into Miami for tonight's game.

— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) September 26, 2016

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com

"Success in this game depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character." #ArnoldPalmer #ArniesArmy pic.twitter.com/rGZHpVQMJp

— Thomas Keller (@Chef_Keller) September 26, 2016

The Jacksonville Sports Council will host a media briefing luncheon featuring an update on all events and bids through the remainder of this year and into '17.

Since last year, companies including Facebook and Pinterest "began implementing the Rooney Rule." President Barack Obama "cited it last year as a tool tech companies" such as Amazon and Microsoft "are using" (WSJ.com, 9/27).

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “International Business.”

“This European company uses about 1% of the world’s lumber each year; it aims to make that 100% sustainable by 2020.”

TBS’ Conan O’Brien said, “Hillary Clinton has asked … (Mavericks Owner) Mark Cuban to attend tonight’s debate. Trump was furious and said a billionaire reality star has no business being at a presidential debate. People need to take this country seriously” (“Conan,” TBS, 9/26). Meanwhile, last night’s edition of “Conan” featured O’Brien talking about his favorite team, the Patriots, and how the team is “having quarterback trouble” with QB Tom Brady still on suspension, and QBs Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett being injured. O’Brien: “The Patriots never signed a fourth-string quarterback. They are in big trouble.” At this point, an older audience member dressed in a Brady No. 12 jersey offered his services to the Patriots and told O’Brien, “Put me in, coach” (“Conan,” TBS, 9/26).

“What is IKEA?”