Learfield was acquired yesterday by N.Y.-based private investment firm Atairos, and while terms of the deal were not disclosed, the price tag for Learfield was "expected to be between" $1.2-$1.3B. Atairos is "independent private investment firm that launched earlier this year" with capital from Comcast. The company "reportedly beat out a trio of other contenders including Fort Worth-based TPG Capital," which "made an offer" of $1.2B for Learfield. Providence Equity was the previous owner of Learfield and "acquired a majority stake in the company" in September '13. Moelis & Company "acted as financial adviser and Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal adviser to Providence Equity in the transaction." For Atairos, Deutsche Bank "acted as financial adviser and Davis Polk & Wardwell and Latham & Watkins acted as legal advisers" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/8). 

Yesterday's Dodgers-Nationals NLDS Game 2 was delayed until 1:00pm ET today. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, "Probably unlikely we would be able to get the field ready, even if it stopped at 8. So all things considered, we thought it was better for fans to let them know early and let them know that we’re going to be at 1 o’clock tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be good." Manfred said that on Monday Game 3 will "still go on as scheduled" in L.A., and the start time "won't change." As a result, the teams have to "travel across the country to play at Dodger Stadium less than 24 hours after Game 2’s conclusion." Manfred: "We do east-to-west travel like this during the regular season. It’s not ideal, but doable. Doable" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/9). Meanwhile, Indians-Red Sox ALDS Game 3 was postponed from today to Monday at 6:00pm ET because of rain (THE DAILY).

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey yesterday called in to CBS' Tennessee-Texas A&M broadcast to say that the conference is working with LSU and the Univ. of Florida to find a makeup date for their game postponed due to Hurricane Matthew. Sankey, who stood by his decision to postpone the game, said, "I certainly understand the angst and frustration, I have my own level of angst but we need to come together to play this football game and find the best way to do that.” Sankey said of when the game may be played, “We want to make sure we evaluate everything. I would like to move this along as efficiently as possible, but I’d be careful not to put a point and time when we can provide a definitive answer because there a number of issues that have to be considered” (“Tennessee-Texas A&M,” CBS, 10/8). Many obstacles "still exist to find a new date for the game," as UF and LSU "do not share an open date" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/9). The ORLANDO SENTINEL's Mike Bianchi wrote, "The right call was made and that's all that matters. ... SEC football is not life and death; it only seems that way in Baton Rouge" (ORLANDO SENTINEL , 10/8). 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Bank of America 500 took place today in Charlotte after having been rescheduled from yesterday "due to rain coming from Hurricane Matthew." The race will be "followed by the Race For The Cure 300 Xfinity race" on NBC Sports, which was postponed from Friday. This is the "second consecutive weekend" there will be a Cup-Xfinity doubleheader (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/9). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass tweeted, "Track reports all parking lots open. Had approximately 3.25 inches of rain.” Charlotte-based WBTV-CBS' Nate Wimberly writes, "What a difference 24 hours makes" (TWITTER.com, 10/9). 

The Rams and L.A. Coliseum officials are "looking for a bounce-back performance" for the team's game against the Bills today because fans at the Sept. 18 season opener experienced "long lines and wait times for food and beverages, and many concession stands ran out of water, prompting numerous complaints." Rams VP/Consumer Sales Jake Bye said, "We've been working for three weeks ... to come up with what we think is a pretty impactful list of tangible changes that fans will see on Sunday." Heading that list is a "new plan for the storage and distribution of concession products, the most important of which ... is water." Eight portable auxiliary warehouses to store food and beverage have been "added, and the number of vendors hawking products inside the bowl will be more than doubled, from 125 in the home opener to about 300" (L.A. TIMES, 10/8).

T-Mobile Arena welcomed its first NHL games this weekend, beginning with "an announced crowd of 15,181" for the Stars' 6-3 win over the Kings on Friday night (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/8). The Kings, who have annually played exhibition contests in Las Vegas, lost 2-1 to the Avalanche last night "before an announced crowd of 16,519." Kings G Jonathan Quick said, "It's going to be good that Vegas has a team of its own to root for." Kings C Anze Kopitar said that "playing in T-Mobile compared to the MGM was different." Kopitar: "It felt more like a regular game. You weren't walking through a casino to get to the rink." Before the opening face-off, the "torch was passed figuratively in the form of a silver hockey stick" from Kings President of Business Affairs Luc Robitaille to Las Vegas NHL Owner Bill Foley (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/9). 

Rounding out the weekend's hockey-related festivities, UNLV's men's club ice hockey team, which is attempting to move from club to varsity status, played at T-Mobile against Arizona State's club team (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/9). Meanwhile, Kings TV play-by-play announcer Bob Miller "called his first game" since having open-heart surgery in February (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 10/9). 

The WNBA Finals kick off today in Minneapolis at 3:00pm ET on ABC with the Lynx looking for a fourth title that would "tie the league record set by" the now-defunct Houston Comets and the team "could become the first team in 14 years to repeat as champions" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/9). The league has the "matchup it wanted" between the Lynx and Sparks. But with an "overpacked schedule of TV sports" today including NFL games and the MLB postseason, the WNBA will find itself "fighting for a slice of the audience." Game 1 is the "only matinee of the Finals and the only game scheduled to air on national broadcast television." The other games "all will be played at night and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 10/7). 

The IOC and WADA are "ready to cooperate on a new campaign to go after drug cheats," after the IOC yesterday called on the anti-doping agency to "take the lead on global enforcement." The IOC said it envisions “a more robust, more efficient, more transparent and more harmonized WADA anti-doping system.” Yesterday’s developments "seemed to represent a thaw between the organizations" (L.A. TIMES, 10/9). The IOC "emerged with a plan to increase the power" of the WADA, "affirming that organization’s central role in the fight against cheating." After a "four-hour, closed-door meeting with some 20 sports officials," IOC President Thomas Bach "expressed broad support for the agency." He also "called for WADA to be fortified but deferred to the agency itself on specifics, including how much more money it would need to carry out its expanded mandate" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/9). 

Some athletes and former USATF employees are "alarmed and dismayed by what they see" as CEO Max Siegel’s "soaring pay, lavish spending and unethical nonprofit leadership, according to interviews with more than 40 people who have worked with the organization and a review of hundreds of pages of documents and emails." Most former employees "spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from Siegel." He initially "agreed to an interview for this story, then cancelled and designated" USATF CMO Jill Geer to speak on his behalf. Geer "denied that Siegel has benefitted personally in any way" from USATF’s work with his business associates (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 10/7). 

Olympic athletes who bring home the gold, silver and bronze for Team USA will "no longer pay a 'victory tax' for their achievement under a bill President Obama signed into law Friday." The IRS will now be "prohibited from taxing most medals or other prizes awarded to U.S. Olympians." The USOC awards cash prizes to medalists, and the money had been "considered earned income, making it subject to tax." The tax will "still apply to high-profile athletes who earn" at least $1M a year (AP, 10/7).

The enthusiasm of the 40,287 soccer fans who attended the Mexico-New Zealand soccer match in Nashville "appears to reflect" the city’s growing appetite for the sport. It is an enthusiasm that has already "led the USL to award Music City an expansion franchise -- Nashville SC -- that is scheduled to begin play in '18, assuming a soccer-specific stadium is in place by then." The next goal is to "secure rights to an expansion franchise" in MLS. Nashville MLS Organizing Committee Chair Bill Hagerty said, "Today is a great step to bring MLS to Nashville. We're thrilled with the crowd. The energy here and around the stadium all day has been just outstanding. What we're seeing on the field is great. Sitting here with MLS officials, they could not be more thrilled with the showing Nashville has made to support soccer" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 10/9).

Three members of the Univ. of Michigan's "Fab Five" yesterday in Ann Arbor joined sports journalists and professors Kevin Blackistone and Billy Hawkins, as well as UM professor Yago Colas, in a forum to "discuss the impact of the Fab Five and the lingering ill will from the Ed Martin-Chris Webber fallout that led to UM wiping away the records from that era." Fab Five members Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson were in attendance, and a fourth member, Juwan Howard, "taped a message that was played at the start of the forum." Webber "was invited but did not respond." Rose said, "For this moment to be taking place, this should be the lead catalyst to truly repair the relationship to where it's not awkward. Because it's kind of awkward. Hopefully, this becomes a catalyst to break down this barrier." While the UM athletics department "officially was a co-sponsor of the forum," no "high-ranking member of the athletics department was present" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/9). 

ESPN “College Gameday” yesterday paid tribute to analyst Lee Corso with a segment on his 20 years of using mascot headgear on the show. Corso said, “ESPN, thank you for not getting rid of me when I had my stroke. You let me recover. Thanks to all the guys on the set and in the trucks and everything for helping me with the headgear, but most of all, thanks to the fans for having so much fun with me.” ESPN’s Rece Davis said, “You want a connection with people and nobody has done that better than you have, really throughout your career, but particularly over the last 20 years with this phenomenon. That’s really cool and really awesome.” ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said, “We're in the entertainment business, isn't that what you say? Twenty years, unbelievable. Thank you. Don't thank us, thank you” (“College Gameday,” ESPN, 10/8).

Daytona Int'l Speedway on Friday "experienced no flooding ... after Hurricane Matthew battered the Florida coast." However, there was reported "'moderate damage' to the facility from the Category 2 hurricane" (ESPN.com, 10/7).

After the sun "played a part" in a Cowboys loss earlier this season at AT&T Stadium, the team said that it "will not drop curtains to block the sun in the west end zone" for today's game against the Bengals (ESPN.com, 10/7).

With Hurricane Matthew not coming ashore in South Florida, the Univ. of Miami and Florida State's football game in Hard Rock Stadium drew a "sellout crowd of 65,685" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/9).

Steelers WR Antonio Brown was told by league officials during today’s game against the Jets that he had to change his cleats paying homage to Muhammad Ali or “he’d be ejected” (FOXSPORTS.com, 10/9).

Michael Bisping yesterday defended his UFC title against Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 204 in front of a "sellout crowd ... of more than 16,000 spectators" at England's Manchester Arena (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 10/9).

“You have to be able to say is, ‘Listen, the only thing we can control is the product on the field and the way were playing.’ I think that's the most important thing because their future is with the Chargers. Whether it's in San Diego or LA, wherever they're going to be, you’re a Charger” – CBS’ Bill Cowher, on the players handling rumors of the Chargers relocating (“That Other Pregame Show,” CBSSN, 10/9).

"I don't understand why the Big 12 feels this need to expand, nor do I understand why they think they have to have a championship game. I don't mind if they do, but they're going to create a potential road block for their own conference by having a championship game some years" – ESPN’s Rece Davis on the Big 12's prospective expansion (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 10/9). 

The N.Y. TIMES' Joe Nocera writes the NFL's proposed concussion settlement is "deeply flawed," as it "compensates some of the families of deceased players who had CTE, while others get nothing." Most of all, it "fails to account for" the fact that "we might soon be able to diagnose CTE while those with it are still alive." Even though the settlement is "supposed to be about CTE, a CTE diagnosis will not have any effect on whether a player receives money down the line." 

The WASHINGTON POST's Dan Steinberg writes the Redskins and Ravens organizations "don’t typically provoke a whole lot of mutual admiration." However, the Ravens "have one thing the Redskins have almost never demonstrated: faith in continuity and patience." 

Elsewhere:

• Former members of Bud Grant's Vikings share their thoughts on Colin Kaepernick.
• Ravens G John Urschel is “willing to risk” his brain that’s made for math.
• How the NFL went more than two decades without a franchise in L.A.

As a "Brady! Brady! Brady!" chant is heard, Tom Brady arrives on the field and pumps his... https://t.co/tI3z3OFydu pic.twitter.com/R32WY8d8iS

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 9, 2016

Just walked the grounds at @TooToughToTame & must say that the ole girl held up extremely well during #HurricaneMatthew #Blessed

— Kerry Tharp (@Kerry_Tharp) October 9, 2016

NASCAR heist movie Logan Lucky shooting at the track today. Channing Tatum among the actors filming here. Due out next year.

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 9, 2016

Bob Costas is not my favorite baseball analyst.

— Ann Killion (@annkillion) October 9, 2016

harold reynolds is a lot more entertaining when you start drinking

— Lana Berry (@Lana) October 8, 2016