• Ochsner Health System Gets Naming Rights To Saints/Pelicans Facilities
• MLB Tries Shorter Breaks, Virtual Ads During Rockies-Cardinals Game
• Pac-12 To Open Football Media Days With Scott Addressing Media
• Long Beach City Council Recommends Keeping IndyCar Race

The Saints and Pelicans today will announce they have signed an eight-year deal with Ochsner Health System for naming rights to their combined practice facilities in Metairie, La. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Ochsner Sports Performance Center is the only training complex in pro sports that houses both NFL and NBA teams, plus administrative offices. Ochsner is an existing sponsor of both teams, and the health care provider features the Gayle and Tom Benson Cancer Center, founded in '10 and named for the clubs’ owners. Saints training camp starts tomorrow.

The deal was done in-house by Saints/Pelicans Senior VP/Sales Mike Stanfield, Exec Dir of Corporate Partnership Sales Matt Webb and Partnership Marketing Coordinator Megan Sullivan Milazzo. The facilities had no corporate names previously.

MLB last night experimented with a set of shorter commercial breaks for the Rockies-Cardinals game, which was the showcase game on MLB Network. Commercial breaks that typically would be 2 minutes, 25 seconds were reduced by 40 seconds to 1 minute, 45 seconds. MLB also expanded upon its prior tests in virtual advertising, digitally displaying corporate logos in the batter’s eye, in foul territory near first and third base and along the top of Busch Stadium. The game, a 3-2 Cardinals win, still required 3 hours, 11 minutes to complete, six minutes longer than average MLB game times this season that are pacing at record-high levels.

The effort involved widespread coordination among the league, MLB Network, MLBPA, World Umpires Association, the two teams, FS Midwest and AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. MLB has not yet formally committed to another game with the shorter inning breaks. However, as improving pace of play continues to be a key priority for MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, further experiments with shorter breaks and different ad presentations are likely, particularly on league-owned media outlets before expanding to other rightsholders.

The Pac-12 begins its annual football media days today in Hollywood, with Commissioner Larry Scott "on the podium" to open the event around 9:00am PT, "followed by six head coaches and players." The remaining six teams are set for tomorrow. Scott "usually unveils at least one piece of significant news during his opening remarks, and there are two obvious possibilities this week." One is a "new Pac-12 Networks president" after Lydia Murphy-Stephans stepped down at the end of June. The other is a "major carriage deal" (SAN JOSE MERCURY-NEWS, 7/26).

The Long Beach City Council selection committee yesterday announced that it has recommended that the city stick with hosting an annual IndyCar race over F1. The city had hired KPMG to conduct a study over whether to continue with the long-running Verizon IndyCar Series Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach or switch to a plan for an F1 race. The City Council will now officially vote on the decision in early August. Though the recommendation still needs to be formally adopted, race President & CEO Jim Michaelian and IndyCar CEO Mark Miles both described their respective entities as "delighted" with the development.

Puma "notched another strong quarter" in Q2, with double-digit growth in all regions and "footwear the main driver behind sales." Puma is off to a "better-than expected start to the year." Net earnings rose 13.7% in the three months ending June 30 to $25.5M (all figures US), with sales up 16% to $1.128B, "adjusted for currencies." Operating profit "nearly quadrupled" to $50.5M, and gross margin – a "key indicator of profitability" – rose 90 basis points to 46.5% (WWD.com, 7/26).

Fathom Events and Mayweather Promotions have partnered to bring the Aug. 26 Mayweather-McGregor fight and its undercard to "movie theaters around the country." The theater broadcast of the event from T-Mobile Arena will be "identical to what home viewers will see on the Showtime PPV telecast." Ticket prices "will vary as they are set by each theater owner." However, Fathom Events said that they "likely will be around $40 apiece" (ESPN.com, 7/25).

Meanwhile, RingTV.com and Flipps Media announced a partnership to stream the Sept. 16 Alvarez-Golovkin boxing match. RingTV.com will be the online programming apparatus for purchasing and viewing the fight, with Flipps providing technology to drive the event programming (RingTV.com).

The "Canadian Football '17" video game was released today for Xbox Live and Steam, but the CFL "has not got behind the project" from indie developer Canuck Play. So "instead of the Edmonton Eskimos playing at Commonwealth Stadium, for instance," the game "features a team in green and gold called the Edmonton Rhinos who play in a kind of familiar setting." Canuck Play President David Winter said, "There’s no league licence, there’s no Players Association licence." Winter said that he was "told the league was looking for a developer who would pay for both development and marketing, as well as a royalty to the CFL on top" (POSTMEDIA NETWORK, 7/26).

Marshall Univ. has reached a deal with IMG to extend its multimedia rights deal through '26. Marshall and IMG College have been partners since '98, and their most recent 10-year deal was set to expire in '21 (IMG).

Sony's PlayStation Vue OTT service has introduced a Sports Pack add-on that "sells for an additional $10 per month" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 7/25).

An estimated crowd of 7,000 gathered at FedExField yesterday and "filled a section of the stadium's lower bowl" to watch an FC Barcelona practice ahead of the La Liga club's Int'l Champions Cup match tonight against Manchester United at the same venue (WASHINGTON TIMES, 7/26).

"If we'd had some time, we'd play the Revs. We're here for 10 days. Last year we did it like that, it's great. The players love Boston so they look forward to coming back" – AS Roma President & Chair James Pallotta, a Celtics investor, saying he is open to the Serie A club playing the Revolution in the future. AS Roma is in Boston for the ICC (BOSTON HERALD, 7/26).

"Once the Games start, it will be exciting. And we showed back in 1994 that, even without NHLers, anything can happen" – Former NHLer Todd Hlushko, on the NHL not participating in the '18 PyeongChang Games. Hlushko was part of the '94 Team Canada squad that won silver in Lillehammer (TORONTO SUN, 7/26).

"I definitely had a little bit of extra motivation to kind of do it for all of us who have been fair to the sport and who have played the sport the true way it's meant to be played" – Tennis Player Eugenie Bouchard, during an appearance on Toronto-based CJCL-AM, on her Madrid Open match with Maria Sharapova, who was coming off a drug suspension (Mult., 7/25).

USA TODAY reports Stemedica Cell Technologies, the "company that manufactured experimental stem cell medicine for several aging sports heroes," is "facing several complaints in court for large unpaid bills, as well as a complaint by an investor who accuses the company of misusing funds and fraud."

Also:

• St. Louis stuck with abandoned NFL venue, a "uniquely haunted" structure.
• Bengals Owner Mike Brown's family "runs its business the way it chooses."
• How new Bills GM Brandon Beane's early career risk paid off.
• Brett Lashbrook promises to bring exciting soccer franchise to Las Vegas.

The TORONTO STAR's Theo Moudakis sends up the modern trend of cause-related ballpark promotions in MLB:

Welcome @Aportzline to @TheAthleticCLE and #BlueJackets coverage. Here's his welcome letter to our readers https://t.co/tUVLSoAZsm #NHL

— The Athletic (@TheAthleticCLE) July 26, 2017

Bottom line: more testing is needed to come to a conclusion on CTE. Right now everyone placing blame at the feet of NFL, which is not fair.

— J.W. Cannon (@cannonjw) July 26, 2017

Is it bad that when I saw "PSL" my head immediately went to "Pumpkin Spice Latte"? #basic https://t.co/eaLjKyIYrI

— Andrew Stallings (@AStallings88) July 26, 2017

Please do not invite me to join any panels or speak at any events where there's no female representation.

— Ricardo Fort (@SportByFort) July 26, 2017

When you get bored waiting for your prescriptions at Walgreens so you make Coke displays out of baseball players pic.twitter.com/vrKdjLWPCQ

— Alex Kolodziej (@AKolodziejFRS) July 25, 2017

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

MLB and the Nationals will unveil the official logo of the '18 All-Star Game in a 4:00pm ET ceremony at Nationals Park.

The Greater Green Bay Chamber will hold a ribbon cutting to mark the name change of Brett Favre's Steakhouse to Hall of Fame Chophouse.

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

“Once a feudal state, it has the highest capital city in Europe at an elevation of about 3,300 feet.”

CBS’ Charlie Rose appeared on the net's “The Late Show” last night where he said he “spent the weekend working” for CBS’ “60 Minutes” in Del Mar, Calif., to profile a racehorse named Arrogate, who is “supposed to be the best horse in the world.” Rose: “Everybody has said (the horse) is close to Secretariat, he’s that good. So I hung out with the jockey and hung out with the trainer. The horse lost but it was great fun for me, it was something people would pay to do.” Host Stephen Colbert noted, “People actually do pay to go see horses.” Rose said those people “bet a lot of money” on the horses “as I did. I bet on the horse, he didn’t win, I lost a bunch of money” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 7/25).

“What is Andorra?” The capital of Andorra is Andorra la Vella.