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Sunday, Oct. 25, 2:30pm ET

Weekend Rap .... Latest News .... Island & The Stream

No Major Issues With Yahoo NFL Stream, Though Some Hiccups Exist

Yahoo's live stream of this morning's Bills-Jaguars game from London generally got positive reviews on Twitter. The MMQB's Mark Mravic: "I'm getting a phenomenal picture quality on this Yahoo NFL stream on iPhone. Super hi-def." NFL Network's Albert Breer: "So far, pleasantly surprised by the quality of the picture, via the Yahoo stream, on my laptop." NBC News' Luke Russert: "I had no buffering hiccups while watching on my Xfinity by Comcast hi-speed internet." NFL.com's Judy Battista: "The Yahoo stream has worked fine for me, but my overwhelming impression is that I love having a game in the morning."

However, there were some issues that viewers had to deal with. Sports radio host Steve Czaban: "When the Yahoo! feed is strong and clean on my retina iPad, IT IS REALLY REALLY GOOD. Freakishly so. Almost 4k. But glitches remain." Former top Fox Sports exec Ed Goren: "Was surprised how easy to access but the video pauses are yahoo issue. There are better streaming systems." Charged.fm's Tommy Dee: "This Yahoo stream is as buggy as you'd have expected. Tough spot for them having it in another country, but ok so far." FoxSports.com's Alex Marvez: "I wouldn't be so irked if Yahoo SVP hadn't told me their company was prepared for these issues. Nope."

BUSINESS INSIDER's Cork Gaines writes the stream "has been awful for many," as there were "far too many instances of the screen going blurry." Gaines: "The more common problem was the stream freezing and jumping, something that happened every few plays" (BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 10/25).

Yahoo promised advertisers that it "will generate at least 3.5 million streams for the game," a figure that execs planned to reach in part by "streaming the game to everyone who visits Yahoo’s home page." Visitors "were greeted with an autoplay stream of the broadcast, including commercials, but without sound" (RECODE.net, 10/25).

MLS Touting "Decision Day" In Marketing As Regular Season Wraps Up

Today marks the final day of the MLS regular season. Now coined "Decision Day" by the league, all 20 of its teams will be in action. The league will be hosting a 90-minute pregame show on its website at 3:30pm ET as four teams fight for playoff spots. This is the first season that the MLS media partners also had flex scheduling for the final week, with FS1 picking up the 5:00pm Crew-DC United match and ESPN showing Sporting KC-Galaxy at 7:00pm. The final day of the season will also determine who wins the Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season. The Red Bulls and FC Dallas enter the day tied in points (Ian Thomas, Staff Writer).

Meanwhile, the Sounders "will set" a new single-season MLS attendance record and break their own mark set in '13 "with more than 53,000 fans expected to attend" today’s regular-season finale against Real Salt Lake at CenturyLink Field. The club "is averaging 43,547 fans per match, with Sunday’s attendance expected to edge the mark clear of the record 44,038 set two years ago." The Sounders have led MLS in attendance every season since joining the league in '09 (SEATTLE TIMES, 10/25).

Sources: Angels' Klentak To Be Named Phillies GM By Tomorrow

Angels Assistant GM Matt Klentak "will be named" Phillies GM, according to a source. Klentak "handled many" of the Angels' day-to-day operations after former GM Jerry Dipoto resigned on July 1 and Bill Stoneman took over on interim basis (L.A. TIMES, 10/25). Klentak "has worked for the last four years" in the Angels' front office. He has been named as a favorite for the Phillies' job "nearly from the get-go." The club is "likely to make the announcement by no later" than tomorrow (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/25).

Austin's F1 Race To Start On Time After Weekend Of Heavy Rain

The F1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin appears set to begin on time at 3:00pm ET after the remnants of Hurricane Patricia "caused the cancellation of the final segment" of qualifying this morning. That came after "heavy rain washed out Saturday afternoon's planned track action" (RACER.com, 10/25). Driver Jenson Button called the conditions after today's second qualifying segment "proper scary" (MOTORSPORT.com, 10/25).

NFL Among Sports Orgs Supporting New Concussion-Treatment Study

The NFL will "help finance research that will try to find ways to more actively treat concussions to speed recovery." The research will "track about 1,000 American high school and college football players, Irish rugby players and Australian rules football players over an undetermined period." The study was devised in part with the London-based Int'l Concussion & Head Injury Research Foundation. The other research will "assess the long-term effects of multiple concussions on jockeys and the effectiveness of the King-Devick test, a visual examination that is used to diagnose concussions," on players in the CFL. The NFL "declined to discuss how much would be spent on these studies" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25).

The NFL's agreement with the ICHIRF "came during daylong talks convened by the NFL in London involving representatives of 15 sports leagues," including the NHL and World Rugby. The panel "discussed a range of initiatives to identify, treat and prevent concussions" (AP, 10/24).

Bruins Harken Back To Inaugural Season For '16 Winter Classic Jerseys

The Bruins yesterday "revealed the uniform jerseys they will wear" for the '16 Winter Classic against the Canadiens on New Year’s Day at Gillette Stadium. The jerseys are black and "feature a brown bear on the front sandwiched between 'Boston' written in yellow in an arc across the chest and 'Bruins' in a yellow block just below the bear" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/25). The logo comes from the Bruins' uniform "in their inaugural season, 1924." There is a "similar striping pattern with an updated color scheme to match Boston’s present-day black and gold" (THEHOCKEYNEWS.com, 10/24).

The jersey unveiling took place "in front of a couple thousand season-ticket holders" (NHL.com, 10/24).

Domestic-Violence Groups To Raise Awareness At Giants' Game

A coalition of groups at today’s Cowboys-Giants game at MetLife Stadium will partner with domestic-violence advocacy group My Sisters’ Place, which has a "longstanding relationship" with the Giants, to "coordinate multiple game-day activities." Fans in attendance "will be encouraged to use social media to speak out against domestic abuse." New PSAs in the theme of the No More segments that feature Giants coach Tom Coughlin, President & CEO John Mara, QB Eli Manning and other players "will be shown on the stadium’s large video scoreboards throughout the game" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25).

Copa América Centenario In '16 To Go Ahead As Scheduled

The U.S. Soccer Federation and CONMEBOL on Friday night announced that the Copa América Centenario, which "was nearly derailed by the FIFA corruption scandal, will take place" in the U.S. as scheduled in '16. The confirmation "came after months of negotiations to dissociate the event from contracts that had bound it to a handful of marketing companies that have been indicted" in the U.S. on charges of bribery, money laundering and fraud after a DOJ investigation. The "biggest obstacle -- a marketing agreement with a company called Datisa" -- was removed earlier this month (N.Y. TIMES, 10/24).

Opening Of Nike's New Jordan Brand Store In Chicago Draws A Crowd

Customers packed Nike's new Jordan Brand store in Chicago during its opening yesterday, buying "as many shoes as they can get their hands on." The store at 32 South State St. "contains multiple levels with products dedicated entirely" to the brand. The first floor "features retail and art designed by local artists." The second floor "features a basketball half court and workout area for local students to use" (ABC7CHICAGO.com, 10/24).

Weekend Briefs....

The T'Wolves this afternoon announced President of Basketball Operations and coach Flip Saunders has passed away at the age of 60. Saunders had been battling cancer (T'Wolves).

The Warriors this weekend launched their creative around the '15-16 season, with Bay Area-based artist Sheila E. providing a voiceover for the first ad. That spot, "Rally Cry," will debut at 7:00pm PT tonight on CSN Bay Area during "Warriors Ground" and re-air throughout the season. The second spot is entitled "Nowhere But Here" (THE DAILY).

About 30,000 tickets "have been sold" for the U.S. women's national soccer team's game versus Brazil today at 2:30pm at the Citrus Bowl. Organizers expect "at least another 5,000" walk-up tickets will be sold (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/25).

Yesterday's Bentley Scottsdale Polo Championships was expected "to attract again this year more than 10,000 people, making it the most-attended polo exhibition in the country" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 10/24).

After an allegedly drunk driver "drove her car into a crowd of people" at Oklahoma State's homecoming parade yesterday before the school's game versus Kansas, four people "are confirmed dead, and more continue to be treated at hospitals" (Stillwater NEWS PRESS, 10/25).

Quick Hits

"At this point, yes, because there's no sign that the other team or teams are not going to file" -- Chargers Special Counsel Mark Fabiani, on whether the team will file for relocation to L.A. when the NFL opens the window to do so in January (XEPRS-AM, 10/23).

“I'm told by several sources involved in the situation, expect some CBA extension talks at some point soon, certainly within the next year. It is likely the NFL would prompt these talks now. One key issue I'm told is player development. … Don't be surprised if there is more practice for younger players that allows them to learn, allows them to develop” -- NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (“NFL GameDay First,” NFL Network, 10/25).

"Our payroll's up quite a bit from where it's been in pervious years; we're playing a team that has a comparable payroll so if anything this probably is some evidence that money is not absolute king. But we're happy to be there" -- Mets GM Sandy Alderson, on his team-building approach ahead of the World Series matchup versus the Royals (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 10/25).

"Our business moves so fast; you have to be willing to jump in and do whatever job needs to be done. If we have a rainout, you may be out in the rain giving people information. The people in our building know that, and they all are a part of it. They understand that culture" -- NASCAR Vice Chair and ISC CEO Lesa France Kennedy, on the type of person she looks to hire (N.Y. TIMES, 10/25).

"We thank all of those ladies and gentlemen for, literally, their blood, their sweat and their tears for making us what we are today, for going for it. Your contributions will be here forever" -- ESPN's Chris Berman, addressing the employees who were part of the company's recent round of layoffs ("Sunday NFL Countdown," ESPN, 10/25).

Weekend Hot Reads....

The PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER's Mike Jensen writes under the header, "Lots Of Questions Surrounding Temple's Hoped-For Stadium." While many fans "liked the idea" of building an on-campus stadium rather than continuing to play at Lincoln Financial Field, "they diverged on sub-issues."

The BOSTON GLOBE's Peter Abraham writes under the header, "Players Find Tobacco Habit Hard To Shake." While smokeless-tobacco use "is not as prevalent in baseball as it was several years ago, a survey of the 58 Red Sox players invited to spring training this year found 21 who admitted to using it."

Elsewhere:

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Back Pages....

The Weekend Rap offers today's back page sports covers from some of North America's major metropolitan tabloids:

 N.Y. Post  N.Y. Daily News Newsday Boston Herald Chicago Sun-Times

Hit The Ground Running: The Week Ahead....

THE DAILY’s Week Ahead: Oct. 26 - Nov. 1

MONDAY
• ATP World Tour Swiss Indoors Basel begins - Basel, Switzerland
• ATP World Tour Valencia Open begins - Valencia, Spain
• Digiday Agency Summit begins - Key Biscayne, Fla.

TUESDAY
• World Series begins
• NBA regular season begins
• Release date for Urban Meyer’s book "Above the Line: Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season" (Penguin Press)
• World Rugby Council special meeting - London
• NFL community hearing regarding franchise relocation - St. Louis

WEDNESDAY
• NeuLion Sports Media and Technology conference begins (SportsBusiness Daily/Global/Journal event) - N.Y.
• Association of National Olympic Committees Executive Council meeting - DC
• Sports Marketing Association annual conference begins - Atlanta
• NFL community hearing regarding franchise relocation - San Diego

THURSDAY
• PGA Tour CLIMB Classic begins - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Blue Bay LPGA tournament begins - Hainan Island, China.
• NHRA Toyota Nationals begin (Countdown to the Championship, Event No. 5 of 6) - Las Vegas
• NFL community hearing regarding franchise relocation - Oakland

FRIDAY
• The Breeders’ Cup begins - Lexington, Ky.
• Champions Tour Toshiba Classic begins - Newport Beach, Calif.

SATURDAY
• Halloween
• Rugby World Cup Final - London
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 200 - Martinsville, Va.

SUNDAY
• Daylight Saving Time ends
• TCS New York City Marathon - N.Y.
• HSBC Golf Business Forum begins - Shanghai
• Launch of Match TV in Russia (24-hour terrestrial sports network)
• NFL Int'l Series game: Chiefs v. Lions - London
• Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen to be inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame - Denver
• Barclays Center to host its first college hockey games (U.S. Military Academy vs. Bentley; Notre Dame vs. UConn) - Brooklyn, N.Y.
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 (Chase for the Sprint Cup, Eliminator Round Race No. 1 of 3) - Martinsville, Va.
• F1 Gran Premio de Mexico - Mexico City

Note: Events are subject to change. Information about upcoming events can be sent via email to calendar@sportsbusinessjournal.com.