Red Sox President & CEO Larry Lucchino yesterday said that he will be “stepping down at the end of the season, ending a remarkable 14-year run that saw the team win three World Series titles in 10 years.” He said, “Fourteen years in a 24/7 job is a lot. I’ll be 70 in September. That’s sort of why I’m ready to step back.” Lucchino said that his role as club president “will be filled by” Red Sox Exec VP & COO Sam Kennedy, who in ’13 was inducted as a member of the SportsBusiness Journal’s “40 Under 40” HOF. Lucchino: “Kennedy is my choice to be the next president of the Red Sox when I complete my contract at the end of the year.”

Red Sox Chair Tom Werner is “interested in taking over” as the club’s CEO, sources said. He “has been playing a more prominent role” with the franchise (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/2). The Red Sox are “on the verge of an historic shakeup,” which will not see Kennedy’s responsibilities “include a hand in baseball operations" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/2).

Ad agency WPP CEO Martin Sorrell today told the IOC at its 128th session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that it "needs to stay relevant with the younger generation and concentrate more of its content on the Internet and via mobile devices." He said, "Live sports coverage is the last bastion of high-value traditional programming." He added that the IOC "needs to stay current by increasing its on-demand content and social media." Sorrell: "It's critical to find your voice more than just 17 days every two years. ... The IOC needs to create a range of content that is more than archive and TV footage. You have the ultimate story platforms -- tell stories about the athletes, their families, friends and dreams" (AP, 8/2).

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman asked that Patriots QB Tom Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appear in court twice in mid-August. Berman has scheduled conferences Aug. 12 and 19 and told both the league and the NFLPA they should be attended by "your principles (including, without limitation, Mr. Goodell and Mr. Brady)." He also requested the parties "engage in comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions prior to the conference on August 12" (AP, 8/1).

Meanwhile, the Patriots shared a February e-mail exchange with NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash on the Wellsreportcontext.com website Friday, "highlighting their frustration with the league over what the team characterized as failing to correct certain Deflategate media reports and investigate where the information originated from" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 8/1). ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss: "It's seems obvious that Patriots owner Robert Kraft feels betrayed by commissioner Roger Goodell for siding" with Pash (ESPNBOSTON.com, 8/2).

Sydney Seau, the daughter of the late Junior Seau, will “be able to speak live during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony after all.” The HOF “added some opportunities that will help” Sydney honor her father next Saturday in Canton, Ohio. She “will be given the chance to participate in an on-stage interview conducted after the unveiling of Seau's bust.” The HOF also invited Sydney and Seau's three sons “to unveil his bust on stage. Normally, the unveiling is only done by the presenter and enshrinee.” The change in policy comes after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called HOF President David Baker on Friday to “ask whether there was anything that could be done by the Hall” (FOXSPORTS.com, 8/1).

Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom said, “This was all about the perception that they were silencing her. And that’s the way it came across. … I happen to think this seems to be a reasonable compromise" (“Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 8/2).

The NBA "put on a show in its first exhibition game in Africa" yesterday, culminating when African Basketball HOFers Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo "stripped off their business suits to don their old team uniforms again and play for a little while." The 52-year-old Olajuwon, in a No. 34 Rockets jersey, "pulled off a turn-around jumper -- the 'Dream Shake' — that had the current NBA stars leaping off the benches with their arms in the air." The game was "largely about the entertainment factor, with cheerleaders and several NBA team mascots mixing it up with the South African crowd." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the exhibition in downtown Johannesburg "was the NBA's biggest step into Africa so far, and could be the pre-cursor to a preseason and maybe even a regular season game on the continent" (AP, 8/1). Team World defeated team Africa in the exhibition 101-97 (THE DAILY).

It took "less than 30 minutes" into the 49ers' first training camp practice yesterday "for the Levi's Stadium sod to come up in pieces, also only a couple of hours after the venue hosted a high school all-star game." 49ers VP/Stadium Operations & Security Jim Mercurio has said that the sod "will be replaced on an as-needed basis and perhaps as many as six or seven times." The team yesterday said that it is "next scheduled for mid-month following a pair of concerts by Taylor Swift on Aug. 14-15" (AP, 8/2). The 49ers are "scheduled to hold seven practices over the next eight days" at Levi's Stadium (SFGATE.com, 8/1). Unlike last season when a Levi's practice "had to be halted, none of the players were slipping, and safety did not seem to be an issue" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/2).

MMA fighter Ronda Rousey "made short work of her Brazilian challenger," Bethe Correia, "landing a punch to the temple that knocked Correia out after just 34 seconds" at UFC 190 last night in Rio de Janeiro (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 8/2). USA TODAY's Nick Schwartz wrote the "only problem" with UFC 190 "was the schedule." The main card fights began at 10pm ET, and Rousey and Correia "didn't start walking to the ring" until 1:18am. UFC making the main event of its show start after 1:00am "isn't just a disservice to fans, it isn't good for the fighters either" (USATODAY.com, 8/2).

After IndyCar’s Dir of Operations and Competition Derrick Walker's resignation on Thursday, drivers yesterday said that the “series’ politics -- and coverage of the infighting among series, team officials and manufacturers -- shouldn’t overshadow the racing.” Driver Sebastien Bourdais said at the Honda Indy 200: “As long as the series carries the momentum and keeps on being strong and showing good racing and helping sponsors with good ratings, who cares who is steering the boat?” Driver Charlie Kimball added, “People that show up at the racetrack say the same thing: ‘Man, this is awesome.' They have no idea about the politics or anything else that goes on behind the scenes” (USATODAY.com, 8/2).

Michael Waltrip Racing co-Owner Rob Kauffman said that his decision to purchase an interest in Chip Ganassi Racing was driven by a desire to "put more competitive race teams out on the track." Kauffman: "You're going to see more consolidation along the way. … Today, I would say there aren't really any one- or two-car teams that aren't affiliated with much larger organizations. The day you could have a lone wolf be in this sport are long past." He added, "It's very difficult for the teams to maintain a sensible business model" (ESPN.com, 8/1). NBC's Kyle Petty said, “It sounds like he is taking his business expertise -- what he knows about the business world -- and saying, ‘How can we do this better?' Because, in the end, the product that we put on the racetrack is how we’ll be judged” (“NASCAR America Sunday,” NBCSN, 8/2).

The Ft. Wayne Mad Ants, which is "the only team in the D-League neither owned nor operated by an NBA team, could be sold" to the Pacers (Ft. Wayne JOURNAL GAZETTE, 8/2).

Sporting Park yesterday "played host to its first match" since Sporting KC replaced its home field earlier this week, and players "offered mixed reviews. At best" (K.C. STAR, 8/2).

A crowd of 27,645 attended yesterday's Impact-NYC FC match at Yankee Stadium, where former EPL star Frank Lampard made his MLS debut for the home team (THE DAILY).

Monmouth Park officials are projecting that today's crowd for the Haskell Invitational, which features Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, "could top 60,000, which would make it the largest crowd to ever attend a horse racing event in New Jersey" (NJ.com, 8/1).

The Univ. of Alabama and the Univ. of Louisville will open the '18 season "in Orlando's Citrus Bowl," according to sources (ESPN.com, 7/31). The game, set for Sept. 1, will be "the second high-profile regular season game played at the stadium" since a $208M renovation of the facility (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 7/31).

“It makes them think that they have an opportunity to play in the big leagues one day, and that’s the ultimate goal” – Nationals RF Bryce Harper, on the franchise’s inner-city “Field of Dreams” facility (“This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” ABC, 8/2).

“It’s a total disruption of an organization to do a one-off race. I realize how disruptive it would be, so I probably wouldn’t do it” – NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jeff Gordon, on whether he would consider racing occasionally after he retires following this season (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 8/1).

“Instead of asking how they got hired, shouldn’t the question be what took so long?” – ESPN’s John Saunders, on NFL and NBA teams hiring female coaches (“Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 8/2).

“Commissioner Manfred and his team are making a lot of exciting changes — picking up the pace of the game, using new technologies to engage fans, getting youth involved. He’s modernizing the game in the right ways and I think baseball is in great hands” – Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez, on MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (N.Y. POST, 8/1).

Dan Pfeiffer, a former Senior Advisor to President Obama, wrote in a special to GRANTLAND that one thing is clear regarding Deflategate: Patriots QB Tom Brady is "very -- and I mean very -- bad at public relations." Brady’s situation is "eerily familiar to anyone who works in politics." Pfeiffer detailed three different strategies that Brady "should consider now" -- apologize, laugh and attack.

The N.Y. TIMES' Lawrence Downes wrote, "A strange thing happens when you spend a week ... at the Special Olympics World Games, watching groups of young people wandering about, relaxed and confident. You stop noticing the differences. The novelty wears off, and it becomes clearer that the world is full of people of an astonishing variety of appearances and abilities."

Elsewhere: 

• Exercise physiologists opine on "how to fight doping in sports."
• NESN's Tom Caron has "new perspective" on the Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon.
• The N.Y. TIMES examines MLB walk-up music and its origin on the organ.
• How the late Arthur Ashe "helped establish" DC's pro tennis tournament.
• Steelers GM Kevin Colbert "generally manages to keep things in perspective."
• Forty questions with 40-year Dallas broadcast veteran Norm Hitzges.
• The seven digits of Sports Phone are "seared in memory" for many N.Y.-area fans.

If only Andy Kaufman could've lived to see Rhonda Rousey. Actually no, that might've turned out awful.

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) August 2, 2015

Larry Lucchino is the very definition of a good baseball man and deserves much praise for what he helped build with @RedSox. #takeabow

— Jon Meterparel (@meatstweets) August 2, 2015

Larry Lucchino leaving the Red Sox was the worst-kept secret in baseball. A rich, fascinating, complicated, up-and-down legacy in Boston.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2015

Each year, I'd love to hear Buck Martinez just recite the names of every major league baseball player without any phonetics assistance.

— Adam Proteau (@Proteautype) August 2, 2015

Eagles PR chief Derek Boyko is being treated for shock. Not one media person asked for Tebow today.

— Bart Hubbuch (@BartHubbuch) August 2, 2015

Just took a look at the Levi's field--drum corps & cheerleaders are out there practicing. Field is divot-free. For now.

— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) August 2, 2015