Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena last night in front of a crowd of 14,623, "about 6,000 shy" of capacity. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, "You're not going to always get it right. It's all about delivery. The fans who were here enjoyed themselves" (L.A. TIMES, 8/27). It was a "pro-McGregor crowd that roared every time the UFC fighter landed a punch" (AP, 8/27). The crowd "serenaded McGregor with 'Ole,’ and chanted 'Conor’ and roared with every McGregor connection" (L.A. TIMES, 8/27). The atmosphere was "more rock concert than sporting event" (SI.com, 8/27).

The night’s "biggest surprise" was that the fight "wasn’t the snoozefest many feared." Mayweather and McGregor "promised to put on a show," and to the "surprise of many, they delivered" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27). What was "long treated as a farce became legitimately fun, and intriguing" (NYPOST.com, 8/27). It was a "better-than-expected fight" (AZCENTRAL.com, 8/27). If fans "bought in for the spectacle," they got "more than" they bargained for (ESPN.com, 8/27).

Fight broadcaster Showtime "assembled a stable of celebs that rivaled the entourage" that was in Las Vegas for the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in '15. Among the celebrities in attendance: Robert Kraft, LeBron James, James Harden, Draymond Green, Paul George, Bruce Willis, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez, Matt Damon, Jamie Foxx, Mark Wahlberg, Jeremy Piven and Ben Stiller (USATODAY.com, 8/27). Also making an "appearance on the red carpet" was the Sasquatch mascot of Jack Link’s, directly after William H. Macy, Jay Pharoah, Cheadle and Willis (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/27).

Last night's Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight was "delayed shortly before its scheduled starting time due to widespread technical issues preventing an unspecified number of paying subscribers from being able to watch live." After "initial indications the main event would commence" at 11:15pm ET, it "didn’t get started until nearly one hour later." Social media was "bombarded with complaints from fans who paid $100 to get the pay-per-view telecast of the fight only to get error messages and no live stream of the action" (VARIETY.com, 8/27). 

I look forward to my prompt refund, @ShowtimeBoxing, for the fight stream I paid you $99 for that never, ever worked, not for 1 second. 🙃

— Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) August 27, 2017

Floyd Mayweather Jr. last night in his win over Conor McGregor made a guaranteed $100M, but "likely will make well in excess" of $200M. Meanwhile, McGregor was guaranteed $30M for the fight and "likely will earn" more than $100M (ESPN.com, 8/27). Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said that the PPVs were "trending well, and when all things are said and done Mayweather could end up" with nearly $300M. McGregor said of his purse, "The check's not bad. I've already been raising the MMA checks and I'm certainly going to raise the MMA checks when I get back there" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 8/27). While the fight was "entertaining and hardly the farce many called it, the truth is, this was made for one reason: money" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/27).

Asked if the size of McGregor’s purse would cause problems in UFC negotiations, UFC President Dana White said, “No. Listen, if our fights do what the buys did here tonight at the gate, we'll all be good. Trust me." White also said of the fight bringing more fans to UFC, "I don't know, I don't know if that's the case" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 8/27). Meanwhile, Swiss watchmaker Hublot ran a full-page ad in yesterday's N.Y. Times featuring Mayweather, reminding fans to tune in to the fight: "Don't miss Mayweather vs. McGregor Live on PPV Tonight" (THE DAILY).

The Falcons played their first game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium last night against the Cardinals "after more than five years of preparation." The opening was "hugely anticipated," and it is "not a bad place to watch a game." About 70,000 fans "packed into the building," most wearing "huge grins and pointing camera phones in every direction." There is a "lot to marvel at" (HUFFINGTONPOST.com, 8/26). The Falcons lost 24-14, but the "attraction wasn't the game" (AJC.com, 8/26). Tickets distributed was "announced at 70,237, but about one-third of them didn’t attend" (AJC.com, 8/26). 

Meanwhile, the plan is to open the stadium's roof today to "continue adjusting and measuring its mechanization." Then the roof is "scheduled to be returned to the closed position" days before Thursday’s Jaguars-Falcons game, the stadium’s second event. Today’s planned move will "mark the fifth time the roof has been moved" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/27).

LSU's season-opening football game against BYU scheduled for Saturday is "likely to not be held in Houston, following historic flooding in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey." Officials are weighing "several options" for a potential relocation of the game, scheduled for NRG Stadium. School officials, those from the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff and ESPN, which is broadcasting the game, "remain in contact about a relocation, something that seems more and more likely." NRG Park is "scheduled to be used as an emergency operations center." As of this morning, Superdome officials said that they have "not been contacted about hosting the game, but that they're open to it" (THEADVOCATE.com, 8/27).

Cavaliers officials are "planning to seek an additional trade asset before finalizing a deal" to send G Kyrie Irving to the Celtics after the team's physical examination of G Isaiah Thomas' injured hip "raised concern about the timeline for his return this season," according to sources. Sources said that without revisions to the original trade agreement, the Cavs could "threaten to veto the trade." The Cavs' stance could "trigger a standoff" between the team's and Celtics' officials, forcing both organizations to "weigh the consequences of letting the blockbuster trade implode" (ESPN.com, 8/26).

Andy Murray yesterday unexpectedly announced that he was "withdrawing from the U.S. Open because of a hip injury, adding to the lengthy list of top players who will miss" the year's last Grand Slam. Murray was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, which begins tomorrow, and his exit "further depletes an event that already was missing three of last year's four men's semifinalists," including '16 champion Stan Wawrinka, runner-up Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori (AP, 8/26). Even before Murray's decision, the number of absentees "dominated the conversation" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/27). Today's N.Y. Times Magazine U.S. Open preview features Roger Federer on the cover (THE DAILY).

The seventh ATP Winston-Salem Open ended yesterday, and Tournament Dir Bill Oakes said it was "as good as any year we’ve had, and maybe better." With the North Carolina heat, Oakes and his staff "decided to move" both semifinals to Friday night, and yesterday's final to 5:00pm ET. Oakes said the time change "was a home run." Oakes: "The crowd today was amazing. It was as good as we’ve had." He added, "What we learned and what we’ve worked toward is we can be a great place for the players to prepare for the (U.S.) Open." Oakes said they are "looking at ways to enhance the fan experience." Oakes: "Shade in the stadium is one of those things we’re looking at" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 8/27).

Penn State on Friday confirmed that there have been “'some delays' in getting football tickets into the hands of the people who paid for all seven home games." In the past, season-ticket holders "received a sheet of tickets and ripped off the ones for the appropriate week." Parking passes "were the same way." But this year, plans were "made to do things a little differently, with a booklet that included all of the tickets and passes in one place." The tickets are "going out by overnight shipping." PSU Associate AD/Strategic Communications Jeff Nelson said that the university is "confident that no one will miss the game" (CENTRE DAILY TIMES, 8/26).

Lessons from the football field came to life late last week in Silicon Valley during the inaugural Campbell Trophy Summit. The unique event, which marries leadership building and networking with the best of college football, ran Thursday-Saturday at Stanford. It is named after Bill Campbell, a former college football player and coach at Columbia Univ. who went on to become Intuit Chair and a mentor to many other entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Campbell died last year at age 75. The National Football Foundation’s Campbell Trophy annually is awarded to the nation’s best player on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

The summit began with a reception on Thursday night, followed by a full program of speakers including Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Pro Football HOFer Ronnie Lott and several execs from leading technology companies. Those slated to be in the audience will be former college football players who were nominees for the trophy.

Yesterday's Verizon IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. "drew an estimated crowd of 40,000" (STLTODAY.com, 8/26).

Former MLBers Mark McGwire, Tim McCarver and Pepper Martin were inducted into the Cardinals HOF yesterday (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 8/27).

Baseball HOFer Carlton Fisk "will be inducted" into the Triple-A Int'l League Pawtucket Red Sox HOF today at McCoy Stadium (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 8/27). 

Yesterday's Sydney Cup between Rice and Stanford was a "successful" showcase of American football for a second straight year, drawing 33,181 fans to Allianz Stadium (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/27).

"I thought it was great for student-athletes to get to see Anchorage, Alaska. How often do you have a chance to go to Alaska?" -- Former Univ. of Kansas C Eric Chenowith, on the discontinuation of the Great Alaska Shootout tournament after this year (K.C. STAR, 8/27).

"We're always an activist and a football player -- but I think you have to understand, there's intelligence involved. I can't be two things at once that contradict each other" -- Pro Football HOFer Jim Brown, saying Colin Kaepernick needs to make a decision between football or activism (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 8/26).

"Modern civilization is going to probably survive" -- MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, on the significance of the Yankees not wearing pinstripes at home during Players Weekend (ESPN.com, 8/25).

"The energy of hopefully getting a new stadium, it almost feels real. I don't think they're messing around" -- Baseball HOFer Dennis Eckersley, on the A's continued pursuit of a new ballpark (SFGATE.com, 8/25).

"Failure would be losing money, and we are making money. Would it be a greater success if we were making a lot more money? Yes" -- Oregon State President Ed Ray, on the Pac-12 Networks' distribution and revenue (MERCURYNEWS.com, 8/25).

Stanford opens season tonight. Undergrad housing doesn't open until Sept 19. Does college football have anything to do w/college students?

— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@FO_ASchatz) August 26, 2017

For a basketball game an arena has more good seats than bad. For a boxing match an arena has more bad seats than good. #mayweathermcgregor

— Patrick Ryan (@PRyanTexas) August 27, 2017

So FAMU was penalized 10 yards for delay of game to start the 2nd half because the band played too long.

— Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) August 26, 2017

Now is as good a time as any ... I'll be leaving the Times-News soon and taking the Wake Forest beat at the Winston-Salem Journal.

— Conor O'Neill (@ConorONeillTN) August 25, 2017

Best matchup of #PlayersWeekend. pic.twitter.com/68499Sk7zH

— Dave Haller (@HallerDave) August 26, 2017

The S.F. CHRONICLE writes under the header, "Moneyball At 20: Inside Billy Beane's Legacy After 2 Decades Running The A's." Beane has been the "subject of a best-selling book and Academy Award-nominated movie, and is recognized beyond the world of sports for his innovative mind." His teams have "made the postseason eight times since he took" over the front office in '98, but the "periods between sometimes have been bleak." 

The ALASKA DISPATCH NEWS writes under the header, "For 40 Years, Shootout Showed Alaska What Big-Time College Basketball Looks Like." This year marks the final running of the Great Alaska Shootout, and at its very best, the Shootout "showed Alaska what big-time college basketball really looks like." And it did so "with a personal touch." It is "not the same as it is on TV." The players "are bigger, the coaches are louder, the contact is more violent." 

Elsewhere:

• How fate led Warde Manuel to Univ. of Michigan AD job.
• Pac-12 university presidents weigh in on conference's TV network.
• NFL Sundays "won't be the same" without Chris Berman.
• USTA's Net Generation program aimed at helping future of U.S. tennis.
• 49ers look at NFL's first lesbian coach as just another coach.
• Bridge Golf Foundation opens a golf center in Harlem.