• El Clasico Fanfare Ramps Up In Miami, But Ronaldo's Status Unknown
• Crowd Of 15,000 On Hand As Australia Tops USWNT 1-0 In Seattle
• NBA Expected To Approve Pistons' Move Downtown By Next Week
• Baseball HOF Induction Could Maintain 40,000-Plus Attendance Streak

Tomorrow's Int'l Champions Cup schedule includes the much anticipated Real Madrid-FC Barcelona "El Clasico" at Hard Rock Stadium, and FCB team members today at noon ET are "appearing on stage at Casa Clasico, the free fan fest" at Miami's Bayfront Park. Real Madrid F Cristiano Ronaldo's status for the game remains unknown. Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross, whose company Relevent Sports owns and runs the ICC, yesterday said he was "probably more pessimistic than optimistic" about Ronaldo playing. Ross: "We've reached out, we've done everything" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/28).

Meanwhile, The FC Barcelona Foundation today will sign an agreement with Miami Dade College to "launch FutbolNet, an educational program that uses soccer to improve school performance, teach leadership skills, promote self-confidence and provide conflict-resolution techniques" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/27).

A crowd of 15,748 was on hand last night at CenturyLink Field for an Australia-U.S. women's soccer friendly. The U.S. was beaten 1-0, having "never lost to Australia" previously (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/28). The match was part of the opening night of the Tournament of Nations, which also saw Japan and Brazil play to a 1-1 tie in Seattle. The four-team tournament "shifts to San Diego on Sunday before wrapping up Aug. 3 in Carson, California." The U.S. "has plans to stage the event in years without the Olympics or World Cup" (AP, 7/28).

Thank you for your terrific support tonight, Seattle.

Grateful for all 15,748 fans who showed up to help us kick off #ToN2017. pic.twitter.com/invYu9rHdC

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) July 28, 2017

The NBA could approve the Pistons' move to downtown Detroit's new Little Caesars Arena "as early as next week." The league's advisory and finance committee sent a memo to the NBA BOG yesterday "recommending a 'yes' vote from the league's other 29 teams." Votes are due by Wednesday and "approval is expected," according to a source. A "simple majority of the 30 owners who make up the board is required" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/28).

The Baseball HOF induction ceremony takes place Sunday with five people being enshrined: MLB Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig, Braves Vice Chair John Schuerholz and former players Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines and Ivan Rodriguez. It is a "strong enough lineup" to possibly "rival or even beat the estimated attendance numbers for the past three inductions, all of which are in the top 5 for crowd size." No one is "suggesting this year’s group will top, or even get close" to the record '07 crowd, estimated at 82,000. But it could "break 40,000-plus fans for the fourth-straight year" (COOPERSTOWN CRIER, 7/27).

Charter Communications "will cease TV operations" of Florida's Spectrum Sports network "after the high school football season ends." The channel, available to Charter customers in the Tampa and Orlando areas, "produces more than 5,000 hours of high school sports programming each year." A Charter spokesperson said, "Some jobs will be eliminated, but most will be either unchanged, relocated or reconceived." This is "among the changes that Charter has made locally since buying Bright House" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/27).

WWE's earnings report showed that "revenues and profits grew" in Q2, "spurred by gains in several areas." Revenues increased about 8% from Q2 '16 to a "company record" of $214.6M, as "live event and network sectors produced their highest-ever quarterly revenues." Adjusted earnings were $18M, "more than doubling" the $7.5M in the year-ago period. On the media side, WWE Network averaged "more than 1.63 million average paid subscribers," up 8%. Through the first six months of the year, "video views have increased" 18% to some 9 billion. Sponsorship revenue rose 25%, "boosted by new deals with KFC, Nestle, AT&T and several video-game developers" (STAMFORD ADVOCATE, 7/28).

On Sept. 14, SportsBusiness Journal/Daily will hold its fifth annual Game Changers conference, where we will explore the multiple ways in which women intersect with sports. That week, we are planning to unveil exclusive new research on gender hiring trends and career advancement. In tandem with Game Changers sponsor and research partner Turnkey Intelligence, we are asking executives in sports to complete a brief survey about topics relevant to working in our industry. We anticipate that this survey will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.

Privacy Policy. All respondents to this survey can be assured that:

• Individual responses will not be disclosed in any way to any party.
• All data will be masked, aggregated and analyzed to ensure 100% anonymity.
• All responses are 100% confidential, private and secure.

New IOC sponsor Intel has awarded the contract for its hospitality and operations at the '18 PyeongChang Games to GMR Marketing (Ben Fischer, Staff Writer).

LAFC announced that former USMNT coach Bob Bradley will be the first coach of the MLS expansion club when it begins play next year (Mult., 7/27).

The Single-A South Atlantic League Lakewood BlueClaws "have been sold" to Shore Town Baseball, a newly formed group headed by former Mandalay Baseball Properties CEO Art Matin (AP, 7/28).

Porsche will compete with a factory team in the Formula E Championship beginning in '19 (Porsche).

"It was Christmas morning for them. They were that excited. Russell had been such a good partner for so long, and is still a great partner in many respects. ... But the Nike brand is something that is synonymous with international notoriety" -- Western Kentucky football coach Mike Sanford, on his players' reaction after learning of the school's partnership with Nike (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 7/28).

"It's certainly more than we had at my college games, so that's pretty cool" -- Patriots WR Julian Edelman, on the crowd size present at the first day of training camp (ESPN.com, 7/28).

"I've had phone calls, but I'm not interested" -- Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross, on the possibility of buying the Marlins (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 7/27).

WASHINGTONPOST.com goes with the header, “Laid Off By ESPN, Britt McHenry Is Having ‘An Awakening’ As A Vocal Conservative.” McHenry “believes that politically conservative viewpoints are dramatically underrepresented in sports media, both at ESPN and beyond.” She said that her “Twitter account was monitored for political content while she worked at ESPN, and that she sometimes raised eyebrows in Bristol with political sentiments she tweeted and political tweets she favorited.”

Also:

• Exploring the continued popularity of Watkins Glen Int'l.
• New Cavaliers GM Koby Altman has his work cut out for him.
• "Hard Knocks" director discusses how things are going so far with the Buccaneers.
• Challenges facing Tigers broadcasters in midst of trying season.
• Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross finally has team on winning track.

I am transitioning to audio with @ESPN where I will host an NFL podcast this year pic.twitter.com/fYTfiYKYkz

— Cian Fahey (@Cianaf) July 27, 2017

Sportswriters with early print deadlines for late games can relate to NYT Krugman, who in print today rips McCain as "wold-class hypocrite."

— Neil Best (@sportswatch) July 28, 2017

The Ravens signed an Arena Leaguer over Colin Kaepernick.
LOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOL
LOLOLOLOLOL
(Pause)
LOLOLOLOLOL

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) July 28, 2017

Colin Kaepernick’s ceiling is that he literally played quarterback in the Super Bowl. David Olson's ceiling so far is Irmo High School https://t.co/hB1Fme5MiX

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) July 28, 2017

Rosemont's new pro baseball team officially has a name: The Chicago Dogs. New franchise holding all-day event today @TheWienerCircle. pic.twitter.com/9lSzfZd2E2

— Danny Ecker (@DannyEcker) July 28, 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 “The Oscars.”

“This Brit is the only actor to get Oscar nominations for playing two real-life U.S. presidents, both for 1990s films.”

“Who is Anthony Hopkins?”

Hopkins portrayed Richard Nixon in “Nixon” and John Quincy Adams in “Amistad.”