Pro Football HOFer Jim Kelly and the prospective ownership group led by musician Jon Bon Jovi have "had conversations about joining forces in pursuit" of the Bills. Sources said that Bon Jovi and his Toronto-based partners "reached out to Kelly within the past five days for a Hail Mary attempt to help salvage their beleaguered bid." Kelly and his brother, Dan Kelly, have "met with several potential ownership groups" since late Bills Owner Ralph Wilson died in March, but the Kellys "haven't been able to strike a bidding partnership" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 8/16). 

Meanwhile, Jim Kelly's daughter, Erin Kelly, tweeted at the Buffalo News' Tim Graham regarding his report, writing, "You should probably get all of your facts straight." Kelly's wife, Jill Kelly, also tweeted in response to Graham's report, writing, "Quick update on all the Jim ownership rumors. The things that you are being told by @ByTimGraham and the media are NOT ACCURATE!" (TWITTER.com, 8/16).

Recently elected NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts, the first woman to lead a major North American sports union, is profiled in today's N.Y. Times. She "was a long shot when she was one of about 300 candidates last fall," but she "emerged from a monthslong vetting process as the person the players saw as best equipped to represent them at a crucial moment." Roberts begins the job next month and "plans to essentially upend the union, which she dismissed as 'a mom-and-pop shop' under her predecessor," Billy Hunter. Her first priority will be to "create a management staff -- potentially doubling the size of the current union staff -- to improve oversight and bring more expertise to the organization" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/17).

The IOC this morning announced that it extended its worldwide TOP partnership with Samsung through the end of '20. The company will be the official worldwide Olympic partner in the wireless communication equipment and computing equipment category. Samsung will continue to support the IOC and all NOCs. The company's first Games as a TOP partner was the '98 Nagano Games (IOC).

Andretti Autosport and DHL today officially extended their partnership with a multiyear deal that will see DHL remain the primary sponsor of the race team's No. 28 car. In addition, Andretti announced that Verizon IndyCar series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay will return to the team for '15 and beyond to pilot the No. 28 car (Andretti Autosport). It is "expected to be a three-year deal" (INDYSTAR.com, 8/16). Meanwhile, IndyCar drivers Ed Carpenter and Sarah Fisher yesterday announced that they have formed CFH Racing, which "will be a two-car operation." Ed Carpenter Racing and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing "had sought expansion on their own without success." They said that working as one "was necessitated by the challenge of staying competitive in a sport dominated by multicar teams" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/17).

The Rockies today will play a doubleheader versus the Reds after a broken water main last night forced the game at Coors Field to be postponed. The rescheduled game is at 7:10pm MT. The Rockies today are planning to retire former MLBer Todd Helton's No. 17 jersey, "adding even more pressure to get the water pressure back in time." Last night's break "deprived Coors Field of water pressure, knocking the restrooms and concessions facilities out of action" (DENVER POST, 8/17).

The NCAA's exec committee last week voted unanimously "to tell member schools they must not 'manage, direct, control or interfere' with sexual-assault investigations involving college students." There are "no penalties involved if the school does so." The move comes weeks after U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), during a congressional hearing about college sports, announced that a survey conducted by her office "found that 30% of schools allow their athletic departments to handle sexual-misconduct allegations against athletes" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/16).

The Vikings and former NFLer Chris Kluwe on Friday jointly announced that they "reached an out-of-court settlement that will prevent him from suing the team." Kluwe threatened to sue for more than $10M because the team "wouldn’t release the full investigation into his claims about what he said was a culture of discrimination." The settlement, of which details are unknown, "comes after two days of mediation" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/16).

WWE on Friday announced that it has officially changed its corporate logo. The new version was originally designed for WWE Network, and fans will begin to see it during today's SummerSlam event (WWE). The new branding will "start appearing on the company's 'Raw' and 'SmackDown' shows, that air on USA Network and Syfy, as well as on its championship belts, consumer products, websites, apps and on the sides of production trucks that travel to each of its live events." WWE's most recent logo debuted in '02 (VARIETY.com, 8/15).

The Air Force Academy on Friday "began the official process of finding" a new AD, posting an ad for the position on the USAJobs website that will "remain open through Sept. 16." Current AD Hans Mueh this summer announced that he "will retire following completion of his contract, which expires in June." ADs before Mueh, who "had retired from the Air Force, were active-duty officers," but the new AD ad "makes no mention of a need for a military background" (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 8/16).

The Tigers' Miguel Cabrera bobblehead night on Friday at Comerica Park went awry because the figurine erroneously showed him as the MVP of the NL, not AL (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/15).

The Univ. of Tennessee football team's opening practice yesterday at Neyland Stadium "drew an announced attendance of 40,000, a slight increase from last year's total of 39,000" (AP, 8/16).

Kansas State Univ.'s football fan appreciation day yesterday drew an "estimated 3,000 fans" (WICHITA EAGLE, 8/16).

NBC Sports Group tonight at 11:30pm ET will debut "NBCSN Sunday Sports Report," a weekly, one-hour program that will showcase the news and highlights of sports properties that primarily air on NBC and NBCSN (NBC Sports Group).

Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA will air five delayed games of the Dodgers affiliate Triple-A PCL Albuquerque Isotopes (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/15).

Yesterday's fourth annual "Sabermetrics, Scouting & the Science of Baseball" conference was held before a "sold-out crowd" at Boston Univ., with Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, team manager John Farrell and Astros GM Jeff Luhnow headlining the presentations. The event "is expected to raise close to $30,000 for the Jimmy Fund, a big bump from last year's $23,000" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/17).

MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer "plans to speak after the season with Barry Bonds about possible roles on and off the field" in '15, but "there have been no talks about Bonds reprising his spring training-instruction gig during what is left" of '14 (S.F. CHRONICLE, 8/17).

"We're all just walking on eggshells right now, trying to do the right thing. It's an unfortunate situation for our sport. It's another black eye for our sport, which we don't need" — Veteran sprint car driver Dave Darland, on the fallout of Tony Stewart hitting and killing a fellow driver (USATODAY.com, 8/17).

"There's going to be two groups of football programs at the college level -- the Big Five and the rest of us. We have no say, we have no power. Those guys have all the power. We're just fighting to try to stay relevant" — Navy football coach Ken Niumatalolo, on what happens now that the Power Five have gained autonomy (Annapolis CAPITAL, 8/16).

"We push the reset button last year, caught hell for it, and now people realize that maybe we had an idea what we were doing. We have stability now with this team" — Marlins Owner Jeffrey Loria, on the team's improvement (MIAMI HERALD, 8/18).

"We tried to help facilitate the baseball discussion and it played out the way it played out. We can't sit around and wait for baseball to make a decision. We're moving forward" — Developer Darryl LeClair, on being close to giving up his project to build a ballpark for the Rays due to a lack of progress (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/16).

"It seems likely in my mind that the LPGA will find its way back to Rochester. ... For the right sponsor, this is a great place to be. Most sponsors, when they work on a new event, they worry about three things -- the fans, the field, and the media. None of those three things are an issue if you do a tournament in Rochester" — LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, on the Wegmans LPGA Championship leaving the city (ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 8/17).

"Shelly Sterling, I will remind you, has hidden her bigotry in the shadow of Donald's tabloid-friendly tape. Rewarding such behavior might be politically and financially expedient, the mere cost of deal making. But it makes me wonder if the NBA has learned anything at all" — ESPN's Pablo Torre, on former Clippers co-Owner Shelly Sterling remaining affiliated with the team as Owner Emeritus and No. 1 Fan ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 8/17).

Native American Journalists Association Founder Tim Giago in an op-ed piece for the MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE writes it "was not just a couple of years ago" when the issue of the Redskins nickname "first came up." The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision in June to cancel the team's trademark registration "just shows that persistence and patience can be rewarding." Now, all Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder "has to do to remedy the situation is to change the name."

The CHARLOTTE OBSERVER's Schwab, Alexander & Scott in a front-page piece report two of every three deaths in U.S. auto racing over the past three years, including the recent incident in which NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr., "occurred at short tracks." The smaller venues "have responded to individual tragedies," but have not "made sweeping safety changes" seen in NASCAR.

Elsewhere:

• Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are the NFL's "best reality show."
• Most minor-league baseball players "earn below poverty level."
• ESPN's Paul Finebaum discusses his new book, a "chest-beating paean" for the SEC.
• Cables companies "balk at rising costs for sports programming."
• One of the NCAA's "most distasteful chapters" -- realignment -- is "happily ending."

Twins President Dave St. Peter: "In Denver last night checking out @RoxRooftop at Coors Field. Impressive new space which is certain to be replicated across sports."

Williamsport (Pa.) Sun-Gazette's Ben Brigandi: "Saw ESPN analyst Barry Larkin sign autographs for everyone that found him on his way out of the booth after the Rapid City-Lynwood game."

Former college basketball coach Tom Penders: "NCAA President Mark Emmert shares most of the blame for the huge competitive gap between the Super 64 and the have nots like G-Town + UConn."
 
beIN Sports' Jeremy St. Louis: "Listening to Paul Allen on the call for @Vikings on @nflnetwork is a taste of home. Love his vocal range & exciting calls/enthusiasm!"

SI's Richard Deitsch: "As a huge soccer fan, I say a silent prayer weekly that Fox execs are watching NBC's coverage of the Premier League. This is how it's done."
 
If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.