• Atlanta United Sets Multiple Attendance Records In Inaugural Season
  
• DC United's Swan Song At RFK Likely Marks Stadium's Farewell
  
• Thick Fog Engulfs Gillette Stadium During NBC's "SNF" Coverage
  
• NFL Formally Announces Timberlake Will Headline Super Bowl Halftime

Atlanta United set another MLS attendance record at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with last night's regular-season finale, a 2-2 draw against Toronto FC. The crowd of 71,874 topped the "previous MLS record of 70,425 -- which the United set last month." The club played "under an open roof for the first time" at the new stadium. Atlanta United "finished the season with 819,404 tickets sold, toppling the league's single-season record of 752,199," set in '16 by the Sounders. The club's average attendance of 48,200 also "sprinted past the previous" records for soccer in the U.S. (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/22).

Meanwhile, MLS is holding its annual Partner Summit today and tomorrow in Atlanta, and many attendees also went to last night's Toronto FC-Atlanta United match. Corporate partners, agency leads and MLS execs will share best practices and activation ideas, while discussing objectives and strategies for the '18 season and beyond. MLS Commissioner Don Garber, SUM President Kathy Carter and Atlanta United President Darren Eales will provide business updates. All MLS partners will be in attendance (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).

The "curtain fell" yesterday on DC United's 22nd and final season at RFK Stadium, where a crowd of 41,418 -- "the largest since David Beckham visited 10 years ago" -- attended the 2-1 loss to the Red Bulls. United "completed a forgettable season in an unforgettable two-plus decades" at the stadium. The DC club "celebrated its past, one that included four league titles and several other trophies." United in June "plans to open the gates" of the new 20,000-capacity Audi Field at Buzzard Point (WASHINGTON POST, 10/23).

With the "future uncertain beyond Sunday, the last page was likely turned at RFK" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/23). The "emotions on this afternoon felt mostly like love" for the venue, although "nothing about the 56-year-old-stadium fits in 2017." The crowd "pumped the joint full of electricity, and love, at least one last time" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/23).

Patriots QB Tom Brady: "I don’t think it affected much, really, at the end of the day. I’m sure it looked cool on TV, though." Falcons QB Matt Ryan agreed it "wasn’t bad on the field." He said, "It was worse when you kind of got off and you tried to look into the stands or anything like that. You realized you couldn’t see that far" (ESPN.com, 10/23). Patriots coach Bill Belichick hinted the fog "made life difficult on Patriots spotters residing in the upper levels of the stadium." Falcons WR Julio Jones "suggested that it may have impacted the deep passing game as Atlanta was attempting its comeback" (NBCSPORTSBOSTON.com, 10/23).

The Wall Street Journal's Jason Gay tweeted, "Are Patriots playing on Nantucket?" FS1's Colin Cowherd: "Was that a first down or a pirate ship sailing by. I can't tell." The Dallas Morning News' Tim Cowlishaw: "Hate to be negative but seems like fog in HD is pretty much just fog." Golf writer Jeremy Schilling: "Fog at @GilletteStadium is so bad that @SNFonNBC is showing game solely via SkyCam."

In a lighter moment, Timberlake said, "I have a goal to make Al Michaels dance. So Al Michaels, if we can get you to shake your booty at the Super Bowl halftime show. By the way, we can start that hashtag -- #AlMichaelsShakeYourBooty. That would be the icing on the cake" (NBC, 10/22).

About two dozen NFL players "protested around the league" yesterday during the national anthem in "some way before day games." Some of the 22 spotted protesting "took a knee, others sat on the bench, stayed in the tunnel or raised a fist." The Seahawks and 49ers "had the most protesters" in their respective games (AP, 10/22). Seahawks DE Michael Bennett said that there were "no formal deliberations among Seahawks players about what they'd do Sunday in reaction to last week's developments." Bennett: "There were no conversations. It was the same old, same old" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/23).

President Trump this morning tweeted, "Two dozen NFL players continue to kneel during the National Anthem, showing total disrespect to our Flag & Country.  No leadership in NFL!" (TWITTER.com, 10/23).

Yesterday's Missouri-Kansas charity hoops exhibition at Sprint Center included Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin and AD Jim Sterk, alongside KU coach Bill Self and AD Sheahon Zenger, presenting a $1.75M check to five charities that will "provide funds for hurricane relief." Fans could also "stream the game on pay-per-view for $40, an effort that itself raised $646,240" (Columbia MISSOURIAN, 10/23). There was a "reported 18,951 filling the Sprint Center" and "more than that watching from outside the arena at KC Live in the Power and Light District" (COLUMBIATRIBUNE.com, 10/22). The "sold-out event brought in an estimated" $1.1M in ticket sales (K.C. STAR, 10/23).

Self and Martin after the game addressed their schools being in the midst of a "five-year hiatus from one of the best rivalries in college sports." Martin: "Of course we’d love to play. But I think both sides have to agree upon something like that. You saw the energy behind it. We’ll see." Self: "We’re gonna do what’s best for us. We’re not interested in doing what’s best for Missouri or best for Missouri fans. But if it’s best for us to play ’em, we will" (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 10/23).

The Mets today will introduce Mickey Callaway after the team and the former Indians pitching coach "agreed on a three-year deal for the 42-year old" to succeed Terry Collins. This appears to be the "outside-the-box hire the Mets needed to make to inject some life into the franchise" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/23). The Mets "did not fall into the oldest trap in the manual of hiring managers. They did not use familiarity as a crutch. They did not give extra credit to pre-existing relationships. They were willing to be impressed. And Mickey Callaway impressed them" (N.Y. POST, 10/23).

NBC Sports Group picked longtime media exec Len Mead to head up its Northwest RSN, which holds the rights to the Trail Blazers. As NBC Sports Northwest GM, Mead will report to NBC Sports Regional Networks President & Group Leader Bill Bridgen. Mead has been working on special projects for NBC Sports since January. Prior to that, he was NBC Sports Boston VP/Production & Programming from ’10-17, and NESN Programming Dir previous to that.

SportsBusiness Journal has acquired a minority stake in The Esports Observer, a Berlin-based online publisher that covers esports business news, operates industry events and provides marketplace data. Along with the investment, the two publishers expect to collaborate on news coverage, commercial matters and conferences. See THE DAILY for more.

New Univ. of Virginia AD Carla Williams will be introduced this afternoon in a press conference on campus. Her five-year deal with the school comes with a "base annual salary of $550,000, plus incentives" (DAILYPRESS.com, 10/22).

The 49ers and IdentoGo by Idemia have reached a multiyear partnership to promote and implement identity and security services at Levi's Stadium. The security tech firm also partnered with the NFL Jets earlier this month (49ers).

Patriots players before last night's "SNF" game "greeted about 200 military members around the field," with Tom Brady among several players welcoming the servicemen and women on the team's sideline (BOSTON HERALD, 10/23).

Rolex runs a full-page ad in the N.Y. TIMES promoting its partnership with F1. The caption reads, "When your performance is unrivaled, you've made history" (THE DAILY).

"Since 2012, this crowd has been growing year-on-year. I think this track is now my favorite" -- F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, on the atmosphere at Circuit of the Americas, where he captured the U.S. Grand Prix over the weekend (MYSTATESMAN.com, 10/22).

"I want him to have landed with a fair, fair, fair picture, perception of where he is on this matter. The way that this has come down from the NFL, it has not presented him in a fair light" -- Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, on RB Ezekiel Elliott's treatment from the NFL in the legal fight over his six-game suspension for alleged domestic violence (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/23).

"It's like heaven for a home team, in my mind. Coaches, it's fun to coach here. It's fun to play here. It's a great environment. This is what football is supposed to be about, right here" -- Bills coach Sean McDermott, on the game-day atmosphere at New Era Field (BUFFALO NEWS, 10/23).

"It’s like Mayor McCheese walking into a Burger King and ordering a Whopper" -- ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, on N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio being a Red Sox fan (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 10/21).

SPORTSNET.ca goes with the header, "The Quest for CTE Detection, And What It Means For Hockey." Imagine the "possibility of current hockey players being able to detect the early stages of CTE as they can a torn knee ligament." The existence of brain trauma in sports is "not new, of course," but "our understanding of it is."

LVSPORTSBIZ.com wrote with the expansion Golden Knights, Las Vegas is "going to become a good and perhaps great hockey town." The team is "far ahead of where" the Hurricanes were at this point in their existence, and will "build a rabid fan base" in Sin City.

Also:

• SI.com wonders, "What kind of influence does NBA Twitter have?"
• Minnesota United and its "no flight of fancy" to road games.
• Veteran sports journalists argue against "stick to sports" mantra.

Firing Watson this early in the season rather than last offseason is irrational & validates that my @Suns need more than a new coach

— Rocky Harris (@SunDevilRocky) October 23, 2017

Impressive to see @F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches chatting easily to fans in Austin airport. Massive culture shift underway in the sport

— Anthony Rowlinson (@Rowlinson_F1) October 22, 2017

CJ Cup getting high marks from players & caddies. That said, I'm hearing over and over the same refrain: "I'm fried." New season, LONG year.

— Rich Lerner (@RichLernerGC) October 23, 2017

This is my first extended time using NBA League Pass this season, and buffering issues making the game nearly unwatchable.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 23, 2017

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

Friday night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “British Monarchs.”

“Her marriage to a European crown prince in the 16^th century added Queen of Naples and Queen of Jerusalem to her titles.”

“Who was Queen Mary?”