• Rams-49ers Delivers Compelling Game For "TNF" Audiences
• Bulls Mark Start Of Ticket Sales With Performances, Giveaways
• ESPN's "College GameDay" To Ring NYSE Bell; N.Y. Locale Questioned
• Nike Touts Direct-To-Consumer Efforts At Shareholders Meeting

The Rams defeated the 49ers 41-39 last night at Levi's Stadium, marking the "highest-scoring game in the history of 'TNF.'" The contest "turned out to be far more entertaining than anyone expected." This comes after last week's "snoozer" in which the Texans beat the Bengals 13-9 (WASHINGTON POST, 9/22). The actual crowd "numbered about half of the announced 70,178" (L.A. TIMES, 9/22). ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt noted the first two weeks of the NFL season has “seen scoring way off,” and the “TNF” product “has been pretty dodgy to begin with.” But last night's game was “what we want: some fun, some excitement” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 9/22).

Reaction to the Rams’ Color Rush uniforms was mixed on Twitter. NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco wrote after an interception on the first play of the game, “Maybe Brian Hoyer didn’t see the Rams defender in those discreet all-yellow uniforms.” The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell: “If you're wondering about the Rams uniforms tonight, the answer is...Cheese puffs dust from head to toe.” ESPN Bengals reporter Katherine Terrell wrote the Rams looked like a “bunch of bananas.” Meanwhile, CBS Sports’ Pete Blackburn tweeted, “The Rams’ Color Rush uniforms are infinitely better than their regular ones. These and their throwbacks should be regulars.” Fox Sports’ Kristen Balboni wrote the Rams’ unis were “really good and I won't hear otherwise.”

Tickets to Bulls home games go on sale at 11:00am CT today, and to tip off the start of single-game sales, Bulls entertainers will be "around the city" of Chicago "surprising fans with performances and giveaways." Mascot Benny the Bull will be "handing out free CTA rides, tickets, T-shirts and more freebies." The Bulls this year are offering "new ticket promotions for families, students and military personnel." The "Bulls Student Pass" gives college students in Chicago "discounted tickets if they buy the morning of a game day through the Bulls app" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/22).

ESPN's Lee Corso will ring the opening bell at the NYSE this morning in recognition of "College GameDay" hosting its first-ever show in N.Y. tomorrow. A contingent of "GameDay" officials and guests will be on hand at the NYSE (NYSE).

Meanwhile, college football observers continue to debate the decision to bring the show to N.Y. The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM asks why "would you choose to go to New York City over Stillwater, Oklahoma," where Oklahoma State hosts TCU? Times Square "never works in these cases," and N.Y. "won't even notice Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, [Kirk Herbstreit] and Corso." But the OKLAHOMAN writes ESPN is "just looking for a little extra marketing, and Midtown Manhattan never is a bad place to start." The show likely is "headed to Stillwater for Bedlam on Nov. 4, so no reason to make two trips" there in a "six-week span."

Nike at its annual shareholders meeting yesterday made "much ado" of its "Consumer Direct Offense" plan. Nike Chair, President & CEO Mark Parker, reviewing the company's performance over the past year, said that "direct-to-consumer efforts made up just a third of its business but contributed" 70% of its growth. Nike posted 6% revenue growth to $34.4B for its most recent fiscal year. Parker "reiterated the goals of the new company structure: to double the speed of innovation, the speed of its supply chain and the frequency with which it connects directly with consumers" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/22).

Raiders management "hopes to foster a family-friendly atmosphere" at the new Las Vegas stadium when the team begins play there in '20, a stance that "could come as a shock to fans from The Black Hole" section at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Las Vegas Stadium Co. COO Don Webb yesterday said, "We like the deeply passionate fans. But we want the stadium to be not only a safe environment, but we want it to be perceived as a family-friendly environment. ... There will be some changes, frankly, to the fan base when the team moves. ... Ownership and team management is very keen on projecting the right image when this team comes to Las Vegas" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 9/22).

The Penguins announced that radio play-by-play announcer Mike Lange "will handle only 15 of 41 road games plus the 41 at home" for the '17-18 season, which will be his 43rd in the Penguins booth. Josh Getzoff will "fill in for Lange." The 28-year old came on in '15 as a "radio host and PensTV reporter." Lange said, "I just thought that right now it was time to take a step back. Hopefully they'll have another long run in the playoffs. ... It gives a chance for some young guys to get in and get some reps" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 9/22).

MSG Go, MSG Networks' streaming platform, is now available to DirecTV subscribers (MSG Networks).

N.C. State's athletic department announced a new partnership with ReplyBuy, which offers text-based ticketing (NCSU).

The film "Battle of the Sexes," which opens in select cities today, is highlighted in a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times. See today's issue of THE DAILY for reviews of the film (THE DAILY).

"My view is you should have it" -- Bucks co-Owner Marc Lasry, on whether there should be nationwide legalized gambling on NBA games (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/21).

"Absolutely I think they will enter the mix" -- EPL club Manchester United Exec Vice Chair Ed Woodward, on Amazon and Facebook potentially pursuing broadcast rights for the league (AP, 9/21).

"The fact is, I do think this was a minor technical violation. I start with the fact that this was unfortunately raised to a level it never should have been raised to" -- Red Sox Chair Tom Werner, on the team's relationship with the Yankees following the recent sign-stealing controversy (CSNNE.com, 9/21).

"There are some things that I felt because of my ethical standards I was not a good fit. I felt if I had to do it again, I would probably do a lot better job of researching it" -- Former Texas A&M AD Eric Hyman, on whether he regrets taking the job back in '12 (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/22).

"Portland would be on a list. I think Portland is a possibility. You can think of the prospects on the West Coast probably as effectively as I can" -- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, on Portland as a potential city for expansion down the line (KGW.com, 9/21).

The N.Y. TIMES writes under the header, "The Home Run Explosion Is Not Exactly Beyond Suspicion." With all the talk of "launch angles and physics and miraculous epiphanies about the virtue of pulling the baseball ... haven’t we seen this show before?" Back in the '98 MLB season, baseballs "never came down." But that ended up only being a "steroidal farce."

THE RINGER goes with, "The Future Of NBA Player Development Is Soccer’s Youth Academy Model." FC Dallas’ "enormous effort to build better U.S. soccer players from the ground up" has NBA owners "gearing up to bring it to American basketball."

On College Sports:

• How has AD Todd Stansbury impacted Georgia Tech?
• Brad Nessler on being the "new voice of college football."
• Which college football programs are the most valuable?
• Former Aggies AD reflects on issues at Texas A&M.

Also:

• NHL players still lukewarm on analytics.
• Memorabilia significant part of World Golf HOF induction.
• Bucks Assistant GM Milt Newton giving back to Virgin Islands.
• New Knicks GM Scott Perry faces the "ultimate test."
• Cavs, Indians and Browns talk tech strategies.

Tonight has been a throwback to the old NFC West. It's 49ers-Rams trading points like the 1980s. Fantastic stuff. #ThursdayNightFootball

— Bill Koch (@BillKoch25) September 22, 2017

Somebody please tell Cris Collinsworth a player does not go into the Hall of Fame based on three great seasons. Please child.

— Charean Williams (@NFLCharean) September 22, 2017

good job by reds, padres & mariners to promise more netting. 10 teams already added netting: atl hou kc minn mets phil pitt stl tex & wash

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 22, 2017

Bonus Money for FedExCup:
$10 million for first place, $3 million for second, $2 million for third, $1.5 million for 4th, $1 million for 5th

— Ron Mintz (@MintzGolf) September 22, 2017

2 things you could not have predicted at start of season: 1. Brewers in thick of playoff race. 2. Miller Park roof open on Sept. 21.

— Tom (@Haudricourt) September 22, 2017

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

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Sporting KC will celebrate its U.S. Open Cup championship with a party for fans at the Power & Light District starting at 6:30pm CT, with players and coaches on hand.

Bucks President Peter Feigin at 9:30am CT will announce a new partnership alongside BMO Harris Bank.

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

“Told to create a character called this, Len Wein learned the real animal is short, hairy and will attack an enemy 10 times its size.”

Last night’s edition of “Jeopardy!” featured the category “Not Their First Rodeo.”
$400: “The stripes on the competitors might tell you that Louisiana’s Angola Rodeo is held annually in one of these.”
$800: “Each July there’s a ‘stampede’ in this Canadian province.”
$1200: “A huge outdoor rodeo is the centerpiece of this Wyoming city’s frontier days, held since 1897.”
$1600: “Head to Jindabyne in this country for its annual Man From Snowy River rodeo.”
$2000: “’Let 'Er Buck’ is the slogan of the round-up in this Oregon town also famous for the plaid products of its woolen mills.” 

NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night aired the recurring segment, “Tonight Show Superlatives,” and this edition featured Redskins and Raiders players ahead of their “SNF” matchup (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 9/21).

“Who is Wolverine?”

Correct responses to the “Not Their First Rodeo” category:
$400: “What is a prison?”
$800: “What is Alberta?”
$1200: “What is Cheyenne?”
$1600: “What is Australia?”
$2000: “What is Pendleton?”