• Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Brings Smaller Crowd To Downtown Nashville
• Barkley Attends Stanley Cup Final Game, Crashes Gretzky Q&A
• San Diego Council Nixes SoccerCity Election, But Mayor Could Veto
• Beckham Group Close To Having Land For MLS Stadium In Miami

A "significantly smaller crowd descended on Downtown Nashville" last night for Penguins-Predators Game 4, compared to Saturday's Game 3. Metro police spokesperson Don Aaron estimated 10,000-15,000 people "showed up on Lower Broadway." The crowd was "small enough that fans even had room to sit down on Broadway and watch the game on the various screens." Sporadic rain "may have helped tamper the size" of the crowd. Local officials made several changes "to help provide a better experience" at downtown watch parties (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/6).

Wayne Gretzky last night "fielded a question from an unexpected source" in TNT's Charles Barkley during a press conference prior to Stanley Cup Final Game 4. It "proved to be a fun moment for the NBA great, who was invited to the game" by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Barkley said, "The playoffs in hockey have been amazing. I'm not breaking earth-shattering news, our NBA playoffs have not been very good." Barkley said that former NHLer Jeremy Roenick, his neighbor in Arizona, "convinced him to come." Barkley: "He said, 'You've got to come to Nashville for a game, it's the craziest thing I've ever seen'" (ESPN.com, 6/6).

The San Diego City Council yesterday voted 8-1 to eliminate $5M for a "special election this November on SoccerCity and the San Diego Convention Center expansion," but Mayor Kevin Faulconer "immediately vowed to veto the council’s action." SoccerCity project manager Nick Stone said that "despite the vote he was 'incredibly hopeful' of getting a special election." Most testimony during the five-hour debate concerned the $4B plan to redevelop the Qualcomm Stadium site with a "soccer-oriented focus" and the $780M proposed convention center expansion (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/6).

Meanwhile, the UNION-TRIBUNE goes with the header, "San Diego Stadium Politics – Once A Snap, Now A Puzzle."

David Beckham looks to be "on the verge of acquiring enough Miami real estate" to build an MLS stadium. Miami-Dade County commissioners today are being "asked to ratify a recommendation by the mayor to sell" the group three acres of land to complete a "nine-acre stadium site near the Miami River in Overtown." Beckham still "needs zoning approval from Miami to build the 25,000-seat, privately funded venue." But winning county permission for the $9M land transaction would move Beckham "closer than ever to succeeding in a stadium quest that officially began" in '13 (MIAMI HERALD, 6/6).

Former MLBer David Ortiz last night said that he and the Red Sox are "in discussions" regarding a "future role with the team." Ortiz, appearing at a charity event in Manhattan, said, "We've been talking, but right now nothing. We're going back and forth. At some point it's going to happen." When "asked whether his potential role would be in the front office or the dugout, Ortiz did not reveal details" (MLB.com, 6/6). Ortiz also was asked whether he regrets retiring from the field, to which he replied, "Not at all, man. I'm happy" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/6).

The event raised funds for CC Sabathia and his wife, Amber's, PitCCh Foundation. It featured a "friendly bowling competition" pitting current and former Yankees against their Red Sox counterparts (MLB.com, 6/6).

MSG Networks today is taking the wraps off of a new sign and four new LED boards outside of the RSN's studios at Penn Plaza in Manhattan. The new 10-foot-long “MSG Networks” sign replaces the “FUSE” sign that previously hung outside the studio across from MSG and can be programmed in different colors. The new LED boards each measure nine feet by nine feet. N.Y.-based SNA Displays designed and installed the new boards.

Panini America has signed USMNT MF Christian Pulisic to an exclusive autograph and memorabilia deal. Pulisic, who also plays for Bundesliga club Dortmund, becomes the first soccer player to join Panini America and Panini Authentic on an exclusive basis (Panini). USA TODAY profiles Pulisic under the online header, "U.S. Finally Has A Soccer Star In Christian Pulisic."

The Clippers will "come to Hawaii" to play two preseason games on Oct. 1 and 3 in Honolulu at Stan Sheriff Center against the Raptors. The games are part of a marketing agreement "inked late last year with the Hawaii Tourism Authority" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/5).

Sporting K.C. and the Earthquakes "received a visual shout-out" yesterday at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. During an announcement of "expanded visuals" for the voice command assistant Siri, an example was shown of the two clubs' June 17 match (KANSASCITY.com, 6/5).

"I heard and learned a lot from the previous bids that anything can happen in the last minute. We are still two candidates; there are still the same rules, so don’t count on me to be relaxed. I haven’t seen any paper that will tell me that I will get the Games in Paris in '24, so I want to remain focused on this objective" – Paris '24 co-Chair Tony Estanguet, on the nerves surrounding the city's Olympic bid (N.Y. TIMES, 6/6).

"When things aren't going good the first year, he's going to go down there and want to be Lonzo Ball's mentor" – Heat President Pat Riley, predicting how Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson will act in his first season at the helm (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 6/6).

"We struggle to do things at the resort every day. But we felt like the Greenbrier Classic was so critical to our community and the flood victims. So we have all come together and pulled together to make it happen" – The Greenbrier President Jill Justice, on the reopening of the Old White TPC course after last year's PGA Tour event was canceled due to flood damage (Bluefield DAILY TELEGRAPH, 6/6).

"I fly to New York City every three months still. I'll do that for the rest of my life, so hopefully I'll be doing it for like 20 years. But yeah, I feel pretty good. I mean, I'm always going to have pain. That's part of my life. You talk to any professional athlete that's been in my position, you're going to have pain whether it's in your back, neck, head, and in my case it's in my mouth" – Pro Football HOFer Jim Kelly, on how he feels after two battles with cancer (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/6).

Under the header "Isolated Qatar Could Be At Risk Of Losing World Cup," USA TODAY writes, "It seemed like a good idea in 2010, when the incumbent bureaucrats at FIFA took a few moments from their lavish lunches and first-class flights to vote for Qatar as host of the 2022 World Cup. ... It certainly doesn’t seem like such a good idea now."

Also: 

• Could NBA reform age limits to rely less on NCAA as farm system?
• Toyota wants to produce flying car in time for '20 Tokyo Games.
• Highlight of AFL Washington Valor game: free chicken sandwiches.
• Chargers PR official Bill Johnston stays in San Diego with family.

FIFA World Cup hosts
2018 Russia
2022 Qatar
2026 Mordor
2030 Azkaban
2034 Beyond the Wall

— Ben Reiter (@BenReiter) June 6, 2017

After World Cup 18 in Putin's Russia, 22 in diplomatically besieged Qatar, Tournament could be inherently Broken by time it comes to USA2026

— roger bennett (@rogbennett) June 5, 2017

Yes. Angelos/MASN debacle still plagues MLB. And that was *before* media rights explosion. Clubs hold on to TV territory like grim death https://t.co/6UFFFUkM1l

— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) June 6, 2017

says alot about shifting audiences & power of #UFC when #sportscenter gives 8 prime mins to 1 yr anniversary of Kimbo Slice's death this am. pic.twitter.com/Pj9b2WfDEO

— Joe Favorito (@joefav) June 6, 2017

A 3-minute hit on the stories you need to know ... Subscribe on iTunes ... Check out our podcast home.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “World Transportation.”
  
“It traverses hundreds of bridges, the longest stretching two miles across the Amur River.”

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel noted ABC's current “Bachelorette,” Rachel Lindsay, used to date Warriors F Kevin Durant, so the “star of ‘The Bachelorette’ dated the star of the NBA Finals. Here at ABC, we call that synergy. But it was supposedly a pretty serious relationship. They dated in college – they both went to Texas – but ultimately you can’t tie a guy like Kevin Durant down. He needs to be free to go where he's needed least. ... Rachel and Kevin could both get rings this year, which would be very sweet.” Kimmel said after the first two games of the NBA Finals, the “series is turning out to be not so great.” Kimmel: “If I wanted to see a bunch of blowouts I'd watch Fox News. … Golden State is now up two games to none, which is bad news for the Cavaliers. No team has come back from two games down in the Finals since ... last year, I guess” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 6/5).

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon: “Last week, President Trump announced the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump said he wants the entire country to be the same temperature as a Florida golf course. … I saw that yesterday, Trump went golfing with Peyton Manning. Trump said Peyton was a tremendous golfer, while Eli was a decent caddie. … They spent some time talking about football. It was a little tricky, because a lot of common football terms mean one thing to Peyton and another thing to Donald Trump. ... To Peyton, ‘3-4’ is a type of defense. But to Donald, ‘3-4’ is how many scandals he has a week. … To Peyton, ‘go long’ is what you tell receivers when they go out for a deep pass. But to Donald, ‘go long’ is what you tell the guy who makes your tie. … To Peyton, ‘man-to-man’ is a defensive coverage strategy. But to Donald, ‘man-to-man’ is Mike Pence's worst nightmare. … To Peyton, ‘holding’ is a penalty called when a player grabs an opponent. But to Donald, ‘holding’ is what Melania refuses to do to his hand” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 6/5).

Actor/comedian Kevin Hart appeared on CBS’ “The Late Show” last night and talked about attending NBA Finals Game 2. When asked who he was rooting for, Hart said it was “tough, because I know all the guys” on both teams. Hart: “Secretly – this is between us – I’m pulling for LeBron right now because I want to see 'Bron make history. … But at the games, I don't let Steph and K.D. see me cheering for 'Bron.” Hart: “I don’t want 'Bron to see me cheering for them, but I don’t want them seeing me cheering for ‘Bron. That way my relationship stays even in case I ever need money or something.” CBS’ Stephen Colbert asked, “Who are you hitting up for cash in this scenario, is it LeBron or is it Steph Curry?” Hart: “They all would do” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 6/5).

“What is the Trans-Siberian Railway?”