LeBron James signed a two-year, $42.1M deal "with the goal of re-signing" with the Cavaliers before the '16-17 season, when a new NBA TV deal is "expected to create a large jump in value of the maximum contract," according to sources. Sources said that as part of the deal, James "will have an option to become a free agent next summer but is fully committed to the Cavs long term." There also is uncertainty with the current CBA in '17, when the league or players can opt out, another reason James "wanted to keep his long-term options open when it comes to the structure of his contract" (ESPN.com, 7/12).

LeBron James spent yesterday -- his first day since announcing his return to Cleveland -- in Rio de Janeiro, "fulfilling corporate obligations, being shuffled around by handlers and surrounded by fans and cameras as this city prepared to host the World Cup final." He arrived in Brazil on a private jet shortly yesterday morning "as a guest of Nike" and later "made a 45-minute appearance at Nike's Casa Phenomenal." He was accompanied by Cavaliers C Anderson Varejao, a Brazil native (MIAMI HERALD, 7/13).

The national networks on Friday covered LeBron James’ return within the first eight minutes of their newscasts. ABC’s “World News” led with the story, and the net’s Diane Sawyer said James’ “choices can change the economic fortune of an entire city.” James’ return to the Cavaliers was the third story on “CBS Evening News.” Scott Pelley: “Apparently now all is forgiven.” It was the fifth story for “NBC Nightly News,” with Jenna Wolfe saying there is "speculation that with LeBron’s return, ticket prices for the Cavs could suddenly become the most expensive in the entire league” (THE DAILY).

The Weekend Rap offers front-page coverage of James' return to the Cavaliers from newspapers in Florida and Ohio:

   Miami Herald S. Florida Sun-Sentinel Canton Repository Akron Beacon Journal  Cleveland Plain Dealer

Today's Argentina-Germany FIFA World Cup final kicks off in Rio de Janeiro at 3:00pm ET, and police on Friday said that they will be "mounting the biggest security effort in the city's history, with plans for nearly 26,000 police officers on the streets." They are "downplaying the possibility of violence -- but they aren't taking any chances either" (WSJ.com, 11/7). This World Cup "bounced, bucked, lurched, swerved and swayed along the way," but the tournament has "reached its destination with the wheels more or less still on the bus" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 7/13).

The N.Y. TIMES runs a front-page piece with the header, "Biggest Scorer In World Cup? Maybe Univision." The tournament "has been a record-breaking event for Univision, which has dominated its TV rivals in several of America’s largest cities" -- L.A., Miami and Houston (N.Y. TIMES, 7/13).

The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS features a story about the preparations in Google's World Cup war room for today's match. R/GA London Design Dir Pete Jupp, whose digital ad agency is working with Google during the tournament, said, "Once we start getting the data, we'll decide how to tell that story and find interesting ways to visualize it, not just for football fans but for everyone" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/13).

Roughly 25,000 fans attended last night's Legends of Candlestick flag-football game, the final sporting event at Candlestick Park. The game supported the S.F. Police Foundation and Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. Former 49ers Owner Eddie DeBartolo, who caught the game winning TD pass from Joe Montana, said, "It's a dream come true to get everybody back here. And have a fitting end to this stadium. It's a special place that has great, great memories for us that will last forever" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/13). The former 49ers players "swarmed their former owner" following his TD catch and "carried him off on their shoulders as a crowd ... chanted 'Ed-die! Ed-die! Ed-die!'" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 7/13).

Verizon IndyCar Series CMO C.J. O'Donnell said that ticket sales "were positive this year" at Iowa Speedway for last night's Iowa Corn Indy 300. The grandstands "were about two-thirds full" for the race. IndyCar and Iowa Speedway officials met yesterday morning to "discuss, in part, their scheduling future together." O'Donnell: "It'd be a little premature to give a specific date for Iowa next season. But every indication at this point is it's going to be good to go" (DES MOINES REGISTER, 7/13).

Fourteen current and former college athletes "filed their consolidated class-action complaint Friday against the NCAA and 11 Division I conferences, alleging they illegally cap football and basketball scholarships 'substantially' below players' value in a competitive market and the cost to attend school." The case "is the next major antitrust threat for the NCAA, which is awaiting a ruling from last month's Ed O'Bannon trial." The complaint alleges that the NCAA and its conferences "unlawfully restrain trade in the market" for D-I football players and men's and women's basketball players (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/11).

After a "humid day dotted with rain, the skies parted" for last night's free MLB All-Star Concert at TCF Bank Stadium featuring rock band Imagine Dragons and hip-hop duo Atmosphere. The league "limited" the concert to 27,000 free tickets (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/13). The SiriusXM Futures Game is scheduled for 4:00pm CT today at Target Field with the Taco Bell All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game to follow (THE DAILY).

The bidding for the first homerun ball hit by Babe Ruth at the old Yankee Stadium "didn't meet the $99,000 reserve Saturday at an auction in Ruth's hometown of Baltimore commemorating the centennial of his debut in the major leagues." The ball, owned by collector Joel Platt, "was signed" by Ruth and dated Valentine's Day in '23. The ball "will be returned to display at his Sports Immortals Museum in Boca Raton." The "highest price paid in the early bidding" was $850,000 for Ruth's '18 contract with the Red Sox (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/13).

Hornets Owner Michael Jordan will be the featured guest at the banquet for St. Hope, the Sacramento-based nonprofit founded by Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Time Warner Cable runs a full-page ad in today's L.A. Times, criticizing DirecTV's negotiations with the cable provider over the SportsNet LA RSN (THE DAILY).

Sources said that Golf Channel's Holly Sonders left the network Thursday after "turning down a new contract offer." Sonders is "expected to take a job with Fox Sports covering golf and serving as a sideline reporter on NFL games" (GOLFWEEK.com, 7/11).

Toronto city officials on Friday "joined organizers and volunteers" for the unveiling of a "massive countdown clock" for the Pan Am Games, which begin July 10 next year (TORONTO STAR, 7/12).

LSU on Friday announced that the renovated Tiger Stadium "is now the nation’s fifth largest college football venue with a stadium capacity of 102,321." The venue trails Tennessee (102,455) in stadium capacity in the SEC (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 7/13).

Today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Camping World RV Sales 301 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks "the conclusion" of Turner Sports' 30-year partnership with the racing series ahead of the sport's new TV deal that begins next year (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/12).

Italian Serie A club AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said that the organization "is in negotiations" with incoming MLS club Orlando City SC regarding the transfer of Brazilian F Robinho (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/12).

President Obama yesterday "played a round" of golf at a private club in Maryland with ESPN's Michael Wilbon (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/13).

Russia President Vladimir Putin "plans to spend" $20B to host of the '18 FIFA World Cup after spending $51B on the Sochi Games (NBCNEWS.com, 7/13).

"You know not to call him at 10 a.m. on Friday, because he’s getting his hair cut. He’s a creature of extraordinary habit, but that also makes him unbelievably reliable" — Dodgers President Stan Kasten, on MLB Commissioner Bud Selig (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12).

"We heard like everybody else. LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, called me this morning and just said, ‘Congratulations, LeBron’s coming home’" — Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert, on learning James was returning to the team (“NBA Summer League: Cavaliers-Bucks,” NBATV, 7/11).

"It’s obviously very new, but I’m happy that the teams are working together to drive costs down" — NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson, on nine teams coming together to form the Race Team Alliance (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/12).

"Even now when I'm trying to set it aside and spend time with my family on vacation, I can't ever really relax. If I haven't checked Twitter for 20 minutes, I worry that I might be missing something"  — Cleveland Plain Dealer Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot, on covering QB Johnny Manziel's off-field exploits (CLEVELAND.com, 7/12).

"Who would have thought with all the excitement about the World Cup that we've had over the past month, that NBA free agency would make the carousel almost stop spinning the way it has?” — N.Y. Daily News' Mike Lupica, on the impact of James' signing with the Cavaliers (“Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 7/13).

“I was the play-by-play announcer for TBS for 18 years beginning in the very first year of NASCAR coverage, 1983. It's been a real honor to be a part of today's broadcast and I wish my colleagues the very best today on TNT as this amazing 32-year run comes to a close” — Longtime NASCAR broadcaster Ken Squier, on the end of Turner Sports' NASCAR coverage (“Sprint Cup: Camping World RV Sales 301,” TNT, 7/13)

NBA Senior VP/Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeweghe writes in an op-ed in the N.Y. Times' sports section, "It is clear that two years of pre-NBA experience would be better for the players and better for our game. The players would be more mature, better equipped to contribute on the court and adapt to life off it ... The college game would be healthier, with some of the world’s most gifted young players spending another year on campus." He added, "If one more year can help athletes make better life and career decisions, the NBA is happy to wait."

The WASHINGTON POST's Dave Sheinin wrote MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "finds himself thinking about history a lot these days ... His own history. Baseball history. American history. By this point, they're all intertwined." Meanwhile, the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE's LaVelle Neal III writes under the header, "Commissioner Selig Proud Of His Role In Baseball's Growth."

Elsewhere:

• "NASCAR Flunks Public-Relations Test" in ending race for weather at Daytona.
• Dan Gilbert's letter offers insight into "the damaged Cleveland sports psyche."
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "Why LeBron Can't Go Home Again."
• More and more schools are "outsourcing" ticket sales, and "revenues are growing."
• Legendary Royals scout Art Stewart "tells all" about his 70 years in MLB.
• Many of MLB's best hitters "have never seen a screwball," as it vanishes from the game.
• Roger Clemens' PED past "remains stuck in the minds" of Baseball HOF voters.
• The "true constants in the Chicago sports landscape are the announcers."

N.Y. Daily News' Frank Isola: "True story: saw @WojYahooNBA late Friday who claimed his phone died. He wasn't worried, as if he knows deals can't be made without him. Damn."

ESPN's Michele Steele: "New White House @PressSec asked on @CNNReliable the first network he turns on in the morning? 'ESPN'"

N.Y. Times' Sam Borden: "Buffet in press room ran out of food for a bit earlier. Now wifi at Maracana is down. World's scribes confused: how do we pass the time now?"
 
South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman: "If Heat can close deal on Luol Deng, Pat Riley might yet make himself eligible for Comeback Executive of the Year."
 
USA Today's Jeff Gluck: "Have never been to Iowa Speedway, but don't they usually draw more fans? Kind of a disappointing turnout for the Truck race judging by TV."
 
CBS Sports' Seth Davis: "Between Adam Silver, the Spurs and LeBron's letter, the NBA is having the best p.r. run any pro league has enjoyed in a long long time."

MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle: "Kind of awesome that @cdchivasusa ends up with a legit Mexican star the year they're sold and set to rebrand."

Kick TV's Jimmy Conrad, on actor Ashton Kutcher: "The best part about my interview with @aplusk at the #BudHotel was that he said he would be game to own an @MLS team."

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