Retired Red Sox DH David Ortiz brought his larger-than-life persona to the Momentum Sports Marketing Symposium yesterday in N.Y. In a 30-minute session with his agent, Alex Radetsky, Ortiz shared some of his plans now that he is retired, as well as stories about sponsor relationships that he built during his career. He talked about the importance of players having a good relationship with fans, and then backed it up by graciously stopping for selfies with attendees every few feet as he made his way off the stage. He said, “People want to connect off the field. I take that very personally. When we go to a school, the way the kids look up at us has a major impact.” Ortiz, on helping players develop in his home country, the Dominican Republic: “You want to make sure they understand that just because you got signed by a ball club doesn’t mean that you made it.”

The conference opened the morning after one of the most contentious elections in recent memory, and there was no way to ignore what had happened. Here are some of the speakers' comments on the election cycle and its surprising result. Data scientist Dr. Rich Luker: “If I had to gamble, I’d say the Republicans did an awesome job on data. ... When Trump’s campaign was saying, ‘We have polls that say we are doing better,’ I think they did.” Former United Airlines CMO Tom O’Toole: “What can the sports industry learn from last night’s outcome? Marketing in the sports industry is driven by information, but it is also driven by passion and identity. And relying entirely on the information ... while not fully taking into account the passion and identity can lead to very unexpected outcomes.”

Today's sessions will begin with a discussion on how brands can make smart decisions on e-sports, then launch into three back-to-back sessions that will look at sports that are potentially set to go big-time: Drone Racing League, World Surf League and Tough Mudder. The conference will end with sessions that delve into some of the industry’s hot topics, including Sabermetrics and high school sports. For a quick recap of yesterday and a table-setter for today, check out our morning podcast. Also, check out the event's digital program (THE DAILY).

A source said that the Hawks today will announce plans to "purchase and operate their own" NBA D-League franchise located in College Park, Ga. The team, with a "new arena built by the City of College Park," will begin play with the '19-20 season. The Hawks, one of eight NBA teams not affiliated with a D-League franchise, "have often sent players to Austin, the Spurs affiliate, that runs a similar system" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/10).

Puma today reported strong Q3 profits "due to tight cost controls, improved sourcing and higher prices, and said its full-year operating profit should come in at the top end of its expectations." Net profit in the quarter almost doubled to $43M (all figures U.S.), "beating average analyst forecasts" of $35.9M. It now "expects its full-year earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) to be in upper half of the range" of $125.2-136M. Puma CEO Björn Gulden said that new products "like Ignite Dual running shoes promoted by Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt and the Fenty fashion line designed by singer Rihanna were proving popular" (REUTERS, 11/10).

President Obama today will welcome the Cavaliers to the White House to celebrate the team's '16 NBA championship. The trip, which coincides with the Cavs' road game tomorrow against the Wizards, "had been planned privately for this particular day for weeks." Today also marks the day when Obama is scheduled to welcome President-elect Donald Trump to the White House to "start the customary, peaceful transition of power." LeBron James campaigned for Hillary Clinton (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 11/10). The team visit, scheduled for 1:50pm ET, will last "about 10-15 minutes" (CLEVELAND.com, 11/10).

Meanwhile, Obama after the Cubs' World Series win tweeted, "Want to come to the White House before I leave?" Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein yesterday said, "There was a lot of interest from our players in taking him up on that initiative. ... Nothing has been finalized. But we'll see where it goes. It would be nice given his Chicago ties" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/10).

UFC officials yesterday announced host venues for several upcoming cards, including UFC 209 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Feb. 11. The event will mark the "third fight card in New York" since the state's ban on the sport was lifted. The first is this Saturday's UFC  205 at MSG, and the second is UFC Fight Night 102 in Albany on Dec. 9 (NEWSDAY, 11/9). UFC President Dana White said that Anaheim's Honda Center will host UFC 208 on Jan. 21. UFC 210 is set for March 10 in Las Vegas, "though no site has been selected." No fighters have been announced for "any of the cards" (L.A. TIMES, 11/9).

Meanwhile, Denver's Pepsi Center will host a UFC On Fox card on Jan. 28, "to be aired nationally on the network channel." Denver last hosted one of the MMA promotion's events with the UFC 150 PPV card in August '12 (DENVER POST, 11/9).

Former ESPN NBA reporter Chris Broussard officially joins Fox Sports Radio, where he will launch two weekend programs. Starting this Saturday, Broussard and Brian Noe will co-host a show from 8:00-11:00pm ET via 200 stations and Fox Sports Radio’s iHeartRadio station. Broussard also will launch a Sunday show in '17 and will be a guest/contributor on several other Fox Sports Radio shows. Broussard will remain an NBA analyst for FS1, appearing on that channel’s studio shows.

Racing team Owner Chip Ganassi will sit-down for a featured one-on-one interview at the Motorsports Marketing Forum at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. To see the complete agenda and speaker faculty, visit www.MotorsportsMarketingForum.com.

Northern Illinois Univ. and the Univ. of Toledo drew 10,180 fans for the first-ever college football game at the White Sox' Guaranteed Rate Field (DeKalb DAILY CHRONICLE, 11/10).

St. John's Univ. yesterday announced a six-year extension to its existing multimedia-rights agreement with IMG. The deal now runs through '26 (St. John's).

"We debated over it -- it wasn’t really a debate. We all agreed that standing for the national anthem was the thing to do. It wasn’t a very sensitive subject, but that’s just the decision that we made as a team" – Ohio State F Jae'Sean Tate, on the team's decision not to protest the National Anthem (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/10).

"If we can’t make it there, then Major League Soccer has to question its viability. It’s a market that rivals Los Angeles. We can’t fail there" – Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, on bringing an MLS expansion team to Miami (TORONTO SUN, 11/10).

"With all the issues the league has, maybe they just need to let go of this one and just say, 'We're not going to test for it.' ... I think by the next CBA, I think it will be out. I think at that point, going through the whole CBA, it won't be tested for" – ESPN’s Mike Golic, on the NFL testing for marijuana as a banned substance (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 11/10).

ESPN.com notes boxer Zou Shiming won his first world title as a pro Sunday morning in Las Vegas, and Top Rank Chair Bob Arum "estimates close to 100 million people in China watched." Shiming is already "one of the biggest celebrities a country with a population of close to 1.4 billion people." His popularity "speaks to how far the sport has come" in China and has Arum bullish on its future there.

SI's Tim Layden writes under the header, "As With Presidential Election, Sports Often Prove We don't Really Know Each Other." He reflects on his experiences dropping into locales across the country that he "didn't really understand," interviewing people with whom he has "little in common." As the election showed, Americans are "connected by a flag," but we are "as different as we are alike."

Also: 

• Instructional golf studio in Brooklyn aims to get "hipsters to start playing."
• Tony Stewart's legacy "might never be clear," and his future is "up in the air."
• Lundquist's last year calling SEC football is "more sentimental" than he anticipated.
• Traditional sports' influence on e-sports "should precipitate a number of changes."
• Perhaps Texas Motor Speedway should "get crazy and unique" with its track design.
• Texas women's AD Chris Plonsky discusses how Title IX has changed athletics.

"Go Cubs Go" written in 1984 debuts on the Billboard charts; at #21 on Pop Digital Song Sales had 19,000 downloads & 2.5MM US video streams

— Brad Adgate (@badgate) November 9, 2016

Despite new laws re marijuana, NFL players should not expect to light up anytime soon. They've been "studying the science" for years.

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) November 10, 2016

At some point, someone needs to ask what the upside to testing for weed anymore is. Who is exactly winning here? https://t.co/H1bxKpZuP2

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 10, 2016

Dolphins leave today on 11-day, California road trip for games at San Diego and at LA. Then play in Miami vs SF, so three straight CA games.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 10, 2016

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

Former MLBer Alex Rodriguez will join Kelly Ripa as a guest co-host on the syndicated "Live With Kelly." Cubs LF Kyle Schwarber is a scheduled guest.

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

“It was constructed in the Paris foundry of Gaget, Gauthier & Co. from 1875 to 1884.”

Cubs 2B and World Series MVP Ben Zobrist appeared on TBS’ “Conan” last night and said of the Cubs' victory, “It was a long time coming. The fans have been overwhelming with support. It’s unbelievable seeing how many came out to the parade and out to every game all season long. They’ve been very patient and loyal.” Host Conan O’Brien said of Game 7, “The emotion coming through the screen was intense.” Zobrist said during the parade, fans were “climbing up in trees, hanging out of buildings.” O’Brien: “They shouldn’t hang out of a building. That’s really stupid.” O’Brien said if he were at-bat in the top of the 10th inning like Zobrist was when he got the Series-winning hit, he would “do the thing where I’d point (to the outfield) for a home run … and then strike out, then drop the bat and be like, ‘You’re welcome.’” Zobrist: “I was just as nervous as anybody else would be going up there” (“Conan,” TBS, 11/9).

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon: “A big story to come out last night was how bad the polling was, but the people who worked in the polling industry said that they're going to go back and figure out what they did wrong, then present their findings at the Cleveland Browns Super Bowl parade” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 11/9).

Last night’s edition of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” featured the recurring segment “Tonight Show Superlatives.” NBC’s Fallon presented awards to members of the Patriots and Seahawks ahead of their matchup on “SNF” (NBC, 11/9).

“What is the Statue of Liberty?”