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Monday 9:00am ET....Today's News....Chargers Have Work To Do In L.A.

  • Chargers Draw Fewer Than 22,000 For Preseason Home Opener
  • Seahawks' Bennett Sits During Anthem, Plans To Continue Protest
  • Colts Avoid Disaster, Touch Up Lucas Oil Turf For Preseason Opener
  • Aaron Judge Signs First Memorabilia Deal With Fanatics Authentic

Start your morning with Buzzcast, a 3-minute podcast on today's top stories.
Today: How will the Jones-Goodell relationship be impacted from Elliott’s suspension? Will more players join Michael Bennett in protesting this year?

 Also, get a jump on the big stories in this week's SBJ in the First Look podcast.

Chargers Draw Fewer Than 22,000 For Preseason Home Opener

The Chargers drew an announced crowd of 21,054 to StubHub Center for yesterday's preseason opener against the Seahawks, a "reminder that the Chargers have plenty of work to do" in the L.A. market. The "place felt split, with thousands of fans pulling" for the visitors. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was on hand, spending "much of the first half chatting with sponsors" (L.A. TIMES, 8/14). The crowd size is "not a good sign," but observers should "see the numbers in the regular season before we pass judgment" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/14).

StubHub Center "appears to fulfill the Chargers' promise to provide a unique place to watch football." The venue features "exceptional sight lines and remarkable closeness to the field -- and the Chargers Cannon is really loud when the home team scores" (AP, 8/14).

Seahawks' Bennett Sits During Anthem, Plans To Continue Protest

Seahawks DE Michael Bennett sat during the national anthem prior to last night's exhibition against the Chargers, a "stance he said he will continue throughout the 2017 season in an effort to 'continuously push' a message against injustice." Bennett after the game said that he "made the decision in the last few days in the wake of demonstrations in Charlottesville and elsewhere, including earlier Sunday in Seattle." Bennett: "Seeing everything in Virginia and stuff that is going on I just wanted to be able to use my platform to continuously speak out" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/14).

Colts Avoid Disaster, Touch Up Lucas Oil Turf For Preseason Opener

The Colts "had some issues getting Lucas Oil Stadium ready" for last night's preseason opener against the Lions after "hosting an international drum line competition" last week. Two hours before the 1:30pm ET kickoff, stadium officials "grew concerned about the 'Play Football' logos located at both 30-yard lines." Workers "began driving over the logos with a heavy roller, then scrubbed at them by hand, trying to smooth the painted surface as players warmed up around them." The field was eventually "given the green light for an on-time kickoff" (MLIVE.com, 8/13). 

Aaron Judge Signs First Memorabilia Deal With Fanatics Authentic

By Austin Karp

Fanatics Authentic today is announcing the addition of Yankees RF Aaron Judge to its roster of athletes with exclusive deals for memorabilia and collectibles. The multiyear pact marks Judge’s first agreement in the autograph/memorabilia space. The '17 Home Run Derby winner and likely AL Rookie of the Year spent yesterday signing his first batch of collectibles for Fanatics. Judge joins Cubs 3B Kris Bryant, 1B Anthony Rizzo, Dodgers SS Corey Seager and 1B Cody Bellinger as current MLBers working with Fanatics Authentic.

Rogers Cup Men's Tennis Tournament Draws Record Crowds In Montreal

The ATP Rogers Cup wrapped up yesterday in Montreal, setting a "world record for attendance at a one-week" tennis tournament with 216,097 fans on site. Tournament Dir Eugene Lapierre said, "There was a tennis craze in our city in the last few week and it shows in our attendance numbers." The previous record for a one-week event was also set in Montreal, with 213,760 attending the '11 Rogers Cup (CP, 8/13).

On the WTA side, yesterday's Elina Svitolina-Caroline Wozniacki Rogers Cup final in Toronto drew a "near-sellout of 7,997." The "overall total for the week" was 125,777 (CP, 8/13).

IAAF World Championships: U.S. Runs Away With Medal Count

The IAAF World Championships wrapped up yesterday in London, where the U.S. "ran away with the medal lead," claiming a total of 30. It was the "best-ever performance for the U.S. at worlds," with the previous record of 26 U.S. medals set in '91, '07 and '11. The '17 total "matched East Germany's record" from '87 as the "most medals at a single world championship" (NBCSPORTS.com, 8/13).

The event "set an attendance record, with more than 705,000 tickets sold over the 10 days." The legacy of the '12 Games "played a role," as did star athletes Usain Bolt and Mo Farah both "bidding a form of farewell" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/14).

Speed Reads....

The Golden Knights have "settled on their broadcast teams for TV and radio" on Fox Sports affiliate KRLV-AM and AT&T SportsNet, and an announcement "could come as early" as today (REVIEWJOURNAL.com, 8/11). 

Notre-Dame and Wisconsin today will "make it official" that their "football series is on." The teams will face off at Lambeau Field in '20 and Soldier Field in '21 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/14). 

The Univ. of Illinois "plans to roll out" its new athletic branding this week, three years after partnering with Nike for a "new Illini 'shield' logo and a dark navy and deep orange color scheme" (NEWS-GAZETTE.com, 8/13). 

The NFL has reached a U.K.-only sponsorship with Just For Men (Just For Men).

Quick Hits....

"It’s outstanding. We were able to fit 90 (players) in there and get everything that we wanted done. It’s something that’s going to obviously help us" -- Jaguars coach Doug Marrone, on the team's first practice in their new indoor facility (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 8/14). 

"Coming from Charlottesville, it's a quiet town. The loudest it gets is on Saturdays at [Univ. of Virginia's] Scott Stadium. ... It was shocking to see that" -- Bears G Kyle Long, on this weekend's controversial rallies in his hometown (ESPN.com, 8/13). 

Morning Hot Reads: Time To Shine

The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL notes Raiders President Marc Badain any other year "would know each Raiders player personally by now," but this "isn’t any other year." Badain’s charge this season is to "ensure the Russell Road stadium project continues to move forward at a responsible and prudent pace." 

The N.Y. TIMES writes, "As the decline of traditional TV creates a gold rush for ad dollars and consumer attention, every tech and media company seems to be heading to the mine, pickax in hand." Hence Disney's upcoming streaming service "won’t be the last of its kind." 

Also:

Twitter Me This....

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

Today's Events....

At the Smithsonian in DC, attorney and sportscaster Phil Hochberg hosts a conversation with authors Paul Dickson and Marty Appel, both of whom have written biographies of Baseball HOFers. Appel's "Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character" and Dickson's "Leo Durocher: Baseball’s Prodigal Son" will be available for signing. See more at SmithsonianAssociates.org.

The PGA of America hosts its annual PGA Fashion & Demo Experience, with the demo at Topgolf Las Vegas and the fashion part of the show at The Venetian. Golf industry insiders will test the latest clubs and see the newest fashion. The event is closed to the public. 

Today's Back Pages....

The Morning Buzz offers today's back page sports covers from some of North America's major metropolitan tabloids:

 N.Y. Post  N.Y. Daily News Newsday   Boston HeraldChicago Sun-TimesPhiladelphia
Daily News

In Case You Missed It....

Some of the top news items from yesterday's edition of Weekend Rap:
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This Week In SportsBusiness Journal....

This week's In-Depth focuses on youth and high school sports, with a thorough breakdown of participation data.

Check out our First Look podcast to explore more of this week's stories and themes.

Spanning The Global....

The most-read Global stories today on SportsBusiness Daily:

1) Huddersfield Town Crafting Brand Identity That Taps Into #TerrierSpirit Campaign
2) Carey Says Liberty Media Has Eliminated $1B In Debt From F1 Operations
3) Adidas' Republic Of Sports Event Delivers More Than 92 Million Live Streams
4) Cardiff City Owner Vincent Tan Says He Is Not 'Actively' Looking To Sell Club
5) Morocco Delivers Last-Minute Challenge To U.S.-Led 2026 World Cup Bid

Final Jeopardy!

Friday night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Early America.”

William Bradford wrote that this document was partly inspired by the ‘mutinous speeches’ of some passengers.”

Friday’s edition of “Jeopardy” featured the category “Play Ball.”

$200: “The beach version of this has been an Olympic sport since 1996.”
$400: “The Brits put ‘gridiron’ before this sport to refer to the American version.”
$600: “You need just a ball and a wall to play this sport with a body part in its name.”
$800: “The ITTF is the International Federation for this ball and racket sport -- that’s the ‘TT.’”
$1000: “It was invented in the winter of 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts.”

Laugh Track: Game Face

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon commented on a widely circulating image of Manchester United MF Marouane Fellaini being hit in the face with the ball during a recent match against Real Madrid: “Don't feel too bad for Fellaini, because he's actually been using the picture to get a lot of new endorsements. I guess companies like using the photo in their ads. I'll show you what I mean." The show then displayed the following mock ads: "United Airlines: This Is How It Feels To Fly United. … Snapchat: Try Our New ‘Face in a Blender’ Filter! … Maybelline: Some People Aren't Born With It" (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 8/11).


NBC's Fallon: “A reporter on the NFL Network was talking about a player who’s dealing with a bulging disc when she had a little slip of the tongue.” The NFL Network female reporter was talking about Cowboys OT Tyron Smith and said, “If you'll remember last year, he was dealing with a bulging dick ... disc issue, rather, in his lower back.” Fallon: “When asked how long his injury should last, his doctor said, ‘No more than four hours’” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 8/11).

Final Jeopardy....

“What is the Mayflower Compact?”

Correct responses to the “Play Ball” category:

$200: “What is volleyball?”
$400: “What is football?”
$600: “What is handball?”
$800: “What is table tennis?”
$1000: “What is basketball?”