The total handles for Saturday's Kentucky Derby and its supporting 14-race card at Churchill Downs "were both records." The Derby, won by favorite Always Dreaming, drew a crowd of 158,070, "well off the record" of 170,513 set in '15. The Derby handle was $137.8M, and the handle for the full card was $207.5M, the "first time that handle on a single card" in North American history broke the $200M mark (DRF.com, 5/6). Based on betting and attendance, Churchill Downs Inc. "expects to add" $4-6M in "increased profitability" (BLOODHORSE.com, 5/6). The crowd, which was the "seventh-largest in Derby history," endured "rain early in the day but cheered loudly during a sun-drenched post parade and race" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 5/7).

Always Dreaming is "owned by a group that includes" NHL Panthers Owner Vincent Viola and former NYRA Chair Anthony Bonomo (Baltimore SUN, 5/7). Viola said, "This is the greatest feeling. We represent everybody who went to the racetrack for the first time with their dads and were astonished by the brilliance of these equine athletes and never fell out of love with the sport" (USATODAY.com, 5/6).

A slew of sports celebrities were sighted at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, including Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, Patriots QB Tom Brady and WR Julian Edelman, Cowboys TE Jason Witten, Pro Football HOFers Jerry Rice and Warren Moon, former MLBer David Ortiz, Suns G Devin Booker, skier Bode Miller and golfers Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Jimmy Walker (THE DAILY).

Snuck into the jockey room with @SKECHERSUSA to wish @EspinozasVictor good luck this weekend! #SKECHERS #kyderby pic.twitter.com/kwp8mw2vOh

— David Ortiz (@davidortiz) May 6, 2017

ESPN today aired the final episode of “The Sports Reporters.” In the "Parting Shots" segment to close the show, the N.Y. Daily News’ Mike Lupica, Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan, Detroit Free-Press’ Mitch Albom and The Undefeated’s William Rhoden reflected on the impact and history of the show.

• Ryan: "12 years sitting next to the incomparable Dick Schaap and 15 more in the comforting presence of the great John Saunders. ... We owe it all to our friend, (producer) Joe Valerio, who has run this show with class for nearly three decades and, of course, to you people out there. Thanks to you all for allowing us to have this much fun at 7:00 in the morning on Sundays. ‘The Sports Reporters’ truly changed and enhanced my life."
• Rhoden: "I'll really miss ‘The Sports Reporters’ audience. As much as many of us in this business like to think it's about us, it's always about you. I'm not a big fan of goodbyes, so I'll just say see you later and thank you."
• Albom said his goodbye in the form of a poem: "A clean and well-lighted place every week / to ponder, analyze, root, knock, or tweet. / For four different decades, and now fare thee well / we leave on a high note, with the show doing well. / We came in as writers, we're still that and friends. / We may start a podcast as some recommend."
• Lupica closed the show by saying, "Somehow we were able to conduct that conversation without making the discourse as loud and mean as so many have become in the public square. ... To the end, the privilege has been all of ours, and who knows, maybe we will see you down the road somewhere and the conversation will continue" (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN, 5/7).

Canelo Alvarez defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision last night before a sold-out crowd of 20,510 at T-Mobile Arena, and there was a "distinct Latino flavor" at the Las Vegas venue. Boxing fans "wore either red (Canelo) or green (Chavez) headbands as they celebrated the Cinco de Mayo weekend by chanting 'Mexico, Mexico.'" After winning, Alvarez "invited Gennady Golovkin into the ring and announced a long-awaited clash" on Sept. 16. The "venue is undetermined" (AP, 5/7). The announcement of the Alvarez-GGG fight was broadcast to HBO's PPV audience, and the matchup is a "badly needed shot in the arm for a sport that has shown signs of an awakening" (USATODAY.com, 5/7).

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge on Saturday completed the "fastest marathon ever run" as part of Nike's Breaking2 effort, which was as much a "Nike marketing play and a laboratory experiment as a sports competition." Kipchoge's time of 2 hours 25 seconds was "more than two and a half minutes quicker than the official world record." The attempt to break the two-hour barrier was "viewed by some critics as a publicity stunt," as it came "weeks before Nike was set to roll out a new line of running shoes" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/6). The event was "live-streamed on Twitter in what amounted to a two-hour Nike commercial" (FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.com, 5/6).

Before Friday's White Sox-Orioles game in Baltimore, a "new pregame message was read and displayed on the video board that 'threatening language or any type of hate speech will not be tolerated and will result in ejection for the ballpark.'" After this week's events involving the Orioles and Red Sox, MLB is "reaching out to all 30 clubs to review their policies and procedures when handling abusive language and hate speech." This is the "first step of canvasing the baseball landscape to re-evaluate how individual clubs handle such language in the stands and directed towards players." (Baltimore SUN, 5/6). MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred on Friday said the survey of clubs was a "prelude to giving consideration to some more industry-wide guidelines in this area'" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 5/5).

During the "Weekend Update" segment of NBC's "SNL," cast member Michael Che said, "Major League Baseball condemned the ‘unacceptable racial slurs’ yelled at Orioles OF Adam Jones during a game in Boston, because the only place for racism in baseball is on the hats" (“SNL,” NBC, 5/6).

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott on Friday "announced via social media that Pepsi and Frito-Lay have been added" to his list of endorsement deals that already included Adidas and Beats By Dre. Prescott has "quickly become one of the faces of the league," and with that popularity "comes lucrative endorsement deals." Prescott: "Frito-Lay, being in their backyard right there in Plano, it's exciting. I know their relationship with the NFL as well is huge." Frito-Lay North America Senior Dir of Marketing Christina Clarke said, "With Dak and the Cowboys right here in our backyard at Frito-Lay, the partnership made perfect sense" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/6).

Pumped to announce I’m officially apart of Team @Pepsi and @Tostitos this season! pic.twitter.com/SWql6WYmQt

— Dak Prescott (@dak) May 5, 2017

Today marks the last of 10 scheduled KTLA-CW simulcasts of Dodgers games this season, and Charter said that it "does not anticipate simulcasting any more games on KTLA." Beyond that, the majority of Southern California households without Charter's Spectrum cable service will "not see SportsNet LA, the Dodgers-owned channel that airs the team’s games." The Dodgers and Charter had "hoped the 10-game KTLA trial would persuade customers of DirecTV and other television providers to switch to Spectrum and/or urge DirecTV to add SportsNet LA" (L.A. TIMES, 5/7).

The first episode of TNT's "American Race," the new show hosted and exec produced by Charles Barkley, will be "previewed after TNT's NBA playoff coverage" tonight. Two episodes then will be "shown each night on May 11 and 12." The show "takes a deep dive into race, traveling the country over four, one-hour episodes." Barkley: "It's a hard show. None of the conversations were pleasant ... I needed a beer after every conversation" (NEWSDAY.com, 5/4). Barkley said meeting families who have had members killed by police was the "hardest thing I've ever done in my life ... We never talk about race until something bad happens, and then everybody's mad" ("CBS This Morning," 5/5).

The Univ. of Dayton will make nearly $12.5M in renovations to the school’s 47-year-old basketball arena – the "largest project" at the venue since a "major makeover" in '02. Specifics of the renovation were "not disclosed by school officials, but a building permit filed with the city of Dayton describes the project by Hastings + Chivetta Architects as an interior and exterior remodel." School officials "likely seek the improvements" in part to "keep the venue attractive" to the NCAA beyond '22 as host of the men’s basketball First Four (DAYTONDAILYNEWS.com, 5/5).

Beginning Friday night, the A’s have instituted a "peanut-free zone for each of their home games at the Coliseum, making life easier for their fans with peanut allergies." The A’s became the "only team" in MLB to "offer a peanut-controlled area for every home game" (MERCURYNEWS.com, 5/5).

The IIHF said it is "exploring options" with the NHLPA and the IOC and still "keeping the door open" for NHL participation at the '18 PyeongChang Games (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/6).

ESPN's Matt Barrie signed a new multiyear deal to remain with the net. Barrie joined ESPN in '13 and will continue as an anchor of weekend morning editions of "SportsCenter" (ESPN).

Less than 24 hours after a jury declared that the Univ. of Iowa athletic department was "guilty of gender discrimination, the school announced that it will order an external review of its employment practices" (DES MOINES REGISTER, 5/6).

High Point Univ. announced a new seven-year partnership with Adidas. The deal includes all 16 HPU intercollegiate teams, and the brand will supply gear from June 1 through the '23-24 academic year (HPU).

The Monster Energy AMA Supercross season "came to a dramatic conclusion with its 17th and final race on Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd of 39,509 inside Sam Boyd Stadium" (FULLNOISE.com, 5/7).

National Premier Soccer League club Detroit City FC on Saturday drew a crowd of 4,168 for its home opener and the "final exhibition match" before the season begins (DETROITNEWS.com, 5/6).

"It’s extremely disappointing. This could really be a great platform. ... I don’t know who dropped the ball on that, but whatever money they were trying to save, ultimately it hurts us, it hurts everybody" – Golfer Angela Stanford, on the lack of TV coverage for this weekend's LPGA Lorena Ochoa Match Play event in Mexico (GOLFWEEK.com, 5/5).

"Highly visible changes at ESPN and less-publicized changes at Fox Sports could portend a slowing-down or even perhaps a halt to exploding rights fees. ... Everything from coaches' salaries to facility improvements/expansions will require closer scrutiny in a flattening rights environment – should that occur" – Citadel Communications President & COO Ray Cole, on how the changing landscape of sports TV could impact college athletic budgets (DES MOINES REGISTER, 5/6).

"I just want to be genuine. I don’t want to force myself on anybody – I don’t think anybody wants to force themselves on anybody. I don’t necessarily care if a guy wants to pull for me or wants to pull for somebody else; I just want to be genuine" – NASCAR driver Chase Elliott, on creating his own identity despite being the son of former driver Bill Elliott (N.Y. TIMES, 5/7).

We hereby move that Always Dreaming gets Honorary Cat Status™ after that run. 🐎

Congrats to our owner, Vinnie Viola, on today's huge win!

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 6, 2017

ESPN cancelling "The Sports Reporters" feels waaaaay too literal.

— Ryan McGee (@TVMcGee) May 7, 2017

Macron wins. My French presidential bracket was perfect. Didn't enter any pools though.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 7, 2017

Always more pumped for NBA Combine then the NBA Draft. The draft is a celebration. The combine is a job interview. The truth is on the film.

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) May 7, 2017

Under the header, "ESPN Troubles Foretell Stormy Sports Broadcasting Climate," the S.F. CHRONICLE writes, "A deeper look at the sports broadcasting landscape shows a multi-billion dollar industry at a crossroads, passing from one-stop shopping to a la carte browsing."

Former narcotics investigator Mark Haskins pens a special to the N.Y. DAILY NEWS under the header, "Mitchell Report, Hearings Still Haven't Affected Change In MLB." Haskins argues that "Roger Clemens' assertion that Mitchell Report was about money may not be far from truth."

Elsewhere:

• Baseball's pace-of-play problem shows up more in late innings. 
• Matt Lloyd ready to shoulder responsibility as Magic interim GM.
• Monster Energy girl talks about confederate flags at NASCAR races.
• Chicago's South Side golf courses due for Tiger Woods upgrade.