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Sunday, Aug. 28, 2:30pm ET

Weekend Rap .... Latest News .... Speaking Out

Kaepernick Doesn't Stand For Anthem; NFL, 49ers Issue Responses

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick before Friday's game against the Packers "refused to stand" for the National Anthem because he believes the U.S. "oppresses African Americans and other minorities." Kaepernick said, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/28). Kaepernick added that he "didn't alert anyone from the 49ers in advance." Kaepernick: "I am not looking for approval" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 8/28). ESPN's "Sports Reporters" this morning led the show with discussion on the situation (THE DAILY). 

NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy in an email statement wrote players are "encouraged but not required to stand" during the anthem (SACRAMENTO BEE, 8/28). 49ers Coach Chip Kelly said, "We recognize his right to do that. It's not my right to tell him not to do something. That's his right as a citizen" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 8/28). 

Vikings Play First Game In U.S. Bank Stadium; Glass Doors Not Open

The Vikings today are hosting the Chargers in their first game at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Matt Vensel notes it is a "truly unique football venue." But it would be "easier to penetrate the Death Star than it was getting inside" the stadium this morning. ESPN Radio 1500 Twin Cities' Judd Zulgad notes the video boards at the venue are "huge and impressive," while the amount of "natural light is fantastic." 

Temperatures in Minneapolis were in the low 70s for today's noon CT kickoff, but the Vikings were "not opening" the five giant glass doors on the stadium's west side. Mankato, Minn.-based KEYC-TV's Nick Lewis notes it "seems like a perfect day" to have the doors open (TWITTER.com, 8/28). Various concerts have been held at the venue, but not all five doors have "been open at the same time for a public event" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/27). 

T'Wolves, Lynx' New Target Center Scoreboard On Display For First Time

The T'Wolves and Lynx' new scoreboard today "will be on display to the public for the first time" when the WNBA team hosts the Seattle Storm. It is "worth a trip" for fans to Target Center to see the new board, which is "Phase 1" of the arena's renovation (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/27).

The board -- with 4,300 square feet of display space -- is "four times the size of its predecessor." Fans sitting even in "one of the top rows" will have a "pretty good view." The T'Wolves and Lynx are billing it as the "largest center hung arena scoreboard in the Upper Midwest." With separate boards in each of the arena's corners, Target Center now "has seven times more digital board space than it did" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/27). 

Cal-Hawaii Football Game In Australia Draws Strong Crowd

Cal on Friday defeated Hawaii 51-31 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium in front of 61,247 fans, as Australia seemed to have a "healthy appetite for all things American football." It was "hard to overstate the hype" surrounding the game. However, fans complained of waiting "for an hour for giant hot dogs and ANZ Stadium running out of beer" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/28). The contest was the "first college football game played in Australia in three decades" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 8/27). 

The "most popular" jersey at the game was for former 49ers' Jarryd Hayne, who played in the NFL for one season before returning to Australia to play rugby. His jersey was "easily being worn by over a thousand spectators" (ESPN.com, 8/27). Meanwhile, Cal players "had fun during their week Down Under." The athletic department collected $1M in profit, and the team "handled an opponent they were supposed to handle" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 8/27).

Fox Sports Australia To Televise Pac-12 Football, Men's Hoops Games

Shortly after Cal and Hawaii kicked off the '16 college football season in Sydney on Friday, the Pac-12 announced it had "agreed to a multiyear partnership with Fox Sports Australia to televise football and men's basketball games." The net "will show 13 football games and 21 basketball games annually, utilizing a Game of the Week format." Pac-12 Networks "will produce the coverage" (ESPN.com, 8/26). 

IndyCar Gets Thrilling Finish For Resumed Race At Texas

The IndyCar Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway resumed last night after being postponed on June 12 due to rain, and it was "better than anything IndyCar has put on at TMS in years." Graham Rahal won the race by 0.008 seconds over James Hinchcliffe, and TMS President Eddie Gossage said, "That's as good a race as you're going to see. That's what racing should be. That's what we've been asking for" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 8/28). The crowd "wasn't large, but few expected it to be." Track officials "hoped for 10,000, and they might have gotten it but no more" (AUTOWEEK.com, 8/28).

CSN Chicago Airing Live Portion Of Scully's Final Cubs-Dodgers Call

Cubs fans today will "get a sample-size portion of one of baseball's greatest treasures," as CSN Chicago will "carry the live audio of Vin Scully's call during the third inning of the Cubs-Dodgers game," which begins at 4:10pm ET. Today will be the last time Scully "calls a Cubs-Dodgers game, unless the teams happen to meet in the postseason" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/27).

Triple-A Buffalo Bisons Turn Ballpark Into Golf Course For Special Event

The Triple-A Int'l League Buffalo Bisons on Friday announced the creation of a "three-day event from Sept. 16-18 turning the downtown Buffalo ballpark into a unique nine-hole golf course experience." On the first day of registration, one quarter of the tee times "already were booked" for The Links at Coca-Cola Field. While it is a "new event, it fits in with the desire of the organization to utilize the ballpark outside of Bisons' games." A round at the course "is $50 per golfer" (BUFFALO NEWS, 8/28). The Padres and Callaway Golf in November held a similar event at Petco Park (THE DAILY). 

ArenaBowl XXIX Draws "Late-Arriving" Crowd Of 13,390 In Glendale

The AFL Philadelphia Soul on Friday defeated the Arizona Rattlers 56-42 in ArenaBowl XXIX in front of a "late-arriving crowd of 13,390" at Gila River Arena in Glendale. The game had to be moved there because the WNBA Phoenix Mercury's "return from the Olympics fell on Friday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena." Before the season began, the AFL "had set this date with ESPN for the final game." Rattlers coach Kevin Guy: "We had a great crowd, and it was loud in there. The sound system was pretty strong. And our fans were in it" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 8/27). 

Weekend Marketing Promotions: Headed For The DL

The Mets for their game last night against the Phillies had an "awkward promotion," as the first 15,000 fans to arrive at Citi Field received Matt Harvey bobbleheads, "even though Harvey decided in July to have season-ending surgery." For today's matinee, the Mets distributed "Steven Matz lunch bags," even though the pitcher "is on the 15-day disabled list" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/27). Meanwhile, the Dodgers on Friday held a "Beatles Night," commemorating the 50th anniversary of the group's concert at Dodger Stadium. The game featured a "Dodgers/Beatles towel giveaway and a fireworks show after" (L.A. TIMES, 8/25). 

Speed Reads....

Sources said that Indianapolis is "bidding against Kazan, Russia, to become host city" for swimming’s '17 World Junior Championships. An announcement by FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports, is "expected soon" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/27). 

The Nationals on Friday night inducted former MLBer Frank Howard into their Ring of Honor "located on the right-field facade" at Nationals Park. His name "sits next to" Baseball HOFers Jackie Robinson and Frank Robinson (MLB.com, 8/26). 

Gold Medal-winning U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman "got a hero's welcome" yesterday in her hometown of Needham, Mass., as residents "gathered to celebrate" her achievements in the Rio Games. Raisman on Friday threw out the first pitch at the Red Sox game (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/28). 

As Sports Authority was "holding going out-of-business sales and auctioning off store leases, it also sold its customer's data" to Dick's Sporting Goods. Customers who "don't want Dick's to keep any personal information they gave Sports Authority do have a way to opt out" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/27). 

N.Y. Times reporter Harvey Araton said the upcoming U.S. Open will be his "last assignment" for the paper (NYTIMES.com, 8/26). 

NWSL Seattle Reign G Hope Solo "has taken an indefinite leave" from the team. The Reign "did not say how long Solo would be away" (AP, 8/27). Meanwhile, the Seattle Times runs an editorial cartoon on Solo. 


Quick Hits....

"What's cool is, like today, it's not just African-American kids. I want to inspire everybody, people from all walks of life" – PGA Tour rookie Harold Varner III, who is only the second African-American to join the Tour since Tiger Woods in '96 (N.Y. TIMES, 8/27).

“There is some integrity in that, putting himself out there and maybe being penalized in the next few weeks or years or maybe the rest of his life” – The San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami, on Colin Kaepernick (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 8/28).

"He's doing it the right way now. When I was coaching, he was the general manager and the personnel director. I thought he was going to hire someone else as general manager" – Steve Spurrier on Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder, who he coached for from '02-03 (N.Y. TIMES, 8/28).

"You can see people's zits and stuff" – Vikings WR Charles Johnson, on the quality of the video boards at U.S. Bank Stadium (TWITTER.com, 8/28). 

Sunday Comic....

A sneak preview of SportsBusiness Journal's weekly editorial cartoon:

Weekend Hot Reads....

The CHICAGO TRIBUNE's Ed Sherman notes ESPN has "lost more than 11 million subscribers" since '11 and more than 4 million since last summer, as subscribers are going to "scaled-down packages" known as skinny bundles. Sports networks "are already the most expensive" on cable and satellite menus. And if teams like the Cubs "go through with plans to create their own networks, fans will have to pay even more -- or be blacked out from the majority of televised games." 

The N.Y. TIMES' Brian Phillips writes under the header, "Even Roger Federer Gets Old." Federer's most recent leg injury "that cost him" most of his '16 season happened while he was "running a bath for his daughters." He "heard a click" while turning to one side -- a movement he "must have performed a million times in his life." 

Elsewhere:

Twitter Me This....

Today's 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 HeraldChicago Sun-Times

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

THE DAILY's Week Ahead: August 29-September 4

MONDAY
• US Open begins – USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, N.Y.

THURSDAY
• Deutsche Bank Championship – TPC Boston, Norton, Mass.
• Manulife LPGA Classic – Whistle Bear Golf Club – Cambridge, Ontario

SATURDAY
• NASCAR Xfinity Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 – Darlington Raceway
• Women's Baseball World Cup '16 begins - Gijang, Republic of Korea
• ITU World Triathlon begins – Edmonton, Alberta

SUNDAY
• F1 Italian Grand Prix – Autodromo Nazionale Di Monza
• IndyCar Grand Prix at The Glen – Watkins Glen Int'l
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 – Darlington Raceway
• NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado 250 – Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario. 

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