ESPN and State Farm tonight for the first time will present a live feed of the NBA Draft across three of the largest billboards in Times Square. The live feed begins at 7:00pm ET and will be surrounded by State Farm branding, including creative featuring Clippers G Chris Paul as part of the ongoing Chris Paul/Cliff Paul campaign (ESPN).

State Farm is one of "at least nine of the league’s marketing partners" that will have a presence at Barclays Center for the event. The insurer will have "30-second spots airing during ESPN’s draft broadcast" along with Chris Paul/Cliff Paul campaign activation inside the arena. Other brands activating in Brooklyn include AmEx, Sears, Sprint, Taco Bell and adidas (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 6/24 issue).

Fox Sports today announced that it has signed commentator Bill Raftery to serve as its lead analyst for Big East games, where he will be working alongside play-by-play man Gus Johnson. Raftery and Johnson will call all Big East regular-season and conference tournament games televised on the forthcoming FS1. Raftery will continue in his role as lead analyst for men's regular-season college basketball and NCAA tournament contests on CBS (Fox Sports).

The Pacers today formally introduced Larry Bird, who is "resuming his duties" as the team's President of Basketball Operations. Bird said, "There’s got to be one voice and one guy leading this franchise. And I came back to do that." Bird would not discuss the specifics of his contract, but said that it was a multiyear deal and that "he intends to 'finish out the years' he signed for" (INDYSTAR.com, 6/27).

ESPN and AdvoCare today announced a four-year title sponsorship deal for the Texas Kickoff. The early-season college football matchup will be known as the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff, taking place on Labor Day Weekend at Reliant Stadium. The inaugural game will feature Mississippi State-Oklahoma State on Aug. 31 at 2:30pm CT, with coverage on ABC (ESPN). The company also sponsors the AdvoCare V100 Bowl in Shreveport, La. (THE DAILY).

The St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission today formally announced that Edward Jones Dome will host an Aug. 10 int'l friendly between Real Madrid and Inter Milan, marking the "first time a men's soccer match will be held" at the Rams' stadium. The CVC "will install a natural field turf" for the match. The Dome "will be able to accommodate 67,000 spectators including 96 premium field seats" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/27).

The LPGA today formally announced that the Wegmans LPGA Championship next year will remain in the Rochester area but will move courses to Monroe Golf Club under a one-year deal. The '14 tournament will be played Aug. 14-17 (LPGA).

ESPN today announced that it has extended college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit's deal through '22. He will continue to call "Saturday Night Football" on ABC and make weekly appearances on ESPN shows, such as "College GameDay" (ESPN).

Louisiana Tech AD Bruce Van De Velde announced that he will step down from his position, effective July 1. Van De Velde joined the athletic department in '08 and was promoted to AD in '10 (SHREVEPORTTIMES.com, 6/27).

Today is Tom Osborne's "last official day in the office" as Univ. of Nebraska AD (TWITTER.com, 6/27).

The BMO Harris Bradley Center has agreed to buy a half acre of nearby land owned by the Milwaukee Area Technical College. The arena will use funds from a low-interest loan from the Milwaukee Development Corp. to buy the property for about $1M (JSONLINE.com, 6/27).

"My dad left us in a position in which we were able to keep the team. You hear stories about families who can't afford to keep a team after the original owner passes away because of the inheritance taxes. But my dad made a plan ... and he put us in a really good position (to succeed)" – Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations Jeanie Buss, on her late father, Dr. Jerry Buss (FOXSPORTSWEST.com, 6/27).

“We have to change the image and the perception of the world of what FIFA is and what FIFA is doing. FIFA is doing a lot more than just organizing events, it’s doing a lot more than just being the governing body” – FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/27).

''For this to happen once in a while, it brings a little different flavor. But if it happened all the time, then TVs and sponsors would not pay for it" – Tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, on the number of marquee players being eliminated or withdrawing from Wimbledon (AP, 6/27).

"If we're going to take a step backwards, let's take a step backwards today and start the process of going forward and continue reorganizing and rebuilding this team and go from there" – Lightning VP & GM Steve Yzerman, on buying out the last seven years of C Vincent Lecavalier's contract for $32.67M (TAMPABAY.com, 6/27).

NFL agent Brian McLaughlin: "The media likes the agents with the best client rosters so they get the most scoops. Therefore, biggest = best, nothing else matters."

TSN sports law analyst Eric Macramalla: "Yes and rain is wet RT @mikesunx: #NHL Glendale has 'serious unresolved concerns' about Coyotes deal."

SI.com's Michael McCann: "Hernandez lawyer: not direct quote: 'Your Honor, don't let the media attention play a role in this.' I'm sure she appreciates the heads up."

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla: "He can buy Ritz now! RT @DanWolken: The sad part about Raf leaving ESPN is no more Maui. Nobody could touch him in Ritz-Carlton Kapalua bar"

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

MLS Exec VP/Communications Dan Courtemanche tweeted a picture of a bobblehead doll created in his image and wrote, “Love the creativity of the personalized bobblehead from @ChicagoFire, but it also scares me to have this on my desk.”

The College World Series champion UCLA baseball team will visit Dodger Stadium for a 7:10pm PT game against the Phillies. The UCLA team will be recognized on the field, with a team member throwing out the first pitch.

16W Marketing founders Steve Rosner and Frank Vuono will celebrate their 20th year as business partners together by serving as guest DJs on SiriusXM's E Street Radio station at 5:00pm ET. The program will re-air tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

As the NBA Draft rapidly approaches, we take a look at the high school senior year "mixtape" of a potential lottery pick in years to come: incoming Duke F Jabari Parker.

Raiders P Chris Kluwe will appear on TBS' "Conan" at 11:00pm ET.

300 – Number of affiliates with which CBS Sports Radio has partnered since launching in September of last year. The radio network's programming is now in all Top 10 U.S. markets and in 35 of the Top 50 markets (CBS Sports Radio).