USGA Exec Dir Mike Davis today said Pinehurst No. 2 hosting both the men’s and women’s U.S. Opens could raise the profile of women’s golf. Davis during his annual press conference prior to the men’s event said he recently spoke at an LPGA players meeting at the request of Commissioner Mike Whan and said they are “very, very excited” about the tournament’s prospects. Davis: “Yes, they had some questions about how the logistics work, how are the hotel situations going to work, 'How can I practice?' 'What about divots?' But I think if anybody was sitting in that room they would realize that there was such a positive atmosphere.”

Davis said there “isn’t really a difference” in how the USGA will prepare for the women’s tournament compared to the men’s event. Davis: “This sounds swell on paper, but trying to actually execute it perfectly – I can almost guarantee you we won’t do that.” But he added, “We’re excited about what this can do. In a lot of ways, this next week is going to be about showcasing women’s golf.”

Meanwhile, on the heels of the organization’s “While We’re Young” pace-of-play initiative last year, USGA President Tom O’Toole announced an American Express-sponsored “Play 9” campaign which encourages golfers to play just nine holes instead of the 18. O’Toole said the campaign, featuring golfer Rickie Fowler, will debut Saturday during NBC’s telecast.

ESPN today announced that Landon Donovan will be part of the ESPN/ABC's coverage of the FIFA World Cup. Donovan is serving as a studio analyst based in L.A., and made his debut with today's edition of ESPN's "FIFA World Cup Preview" at 3:00pm ET. Donovan's analysis will focus on the U.S. team's three group stage matches. He will appear on pre- and post-match segments, halftimes and editions of "SportsCenter," "World Cup Tonight" and other shows (ESPN).

The Belgium and U.S. men's national soccer teams have agreed to cancel their planned scrimmage tomorrow morning in Sao Paulo, "citing traffic concerns." Belgium's team is staying 40 miles east of the city. Before U.S. Soccer formally announced the cancellation this afternoon, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said, "I don't want to sit in a bus for five hours." Tomorrow is a national holiday with the start of the World Cup, but "transportation is a problem every day of the week" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/11).

Tickets remain available for "more than 15" FIFA World Cup matches, "including some involving Germany, Italy and France," a day before the tournament begins in Brazil. FIFA said that it sold more than 2.9 million tickets, "but some were still on sale" earlier today. There were "plenty of tickets for matches between less prominent nations." Only tickets for the "highest-priced categories remained available for the better matches" (AP, 6/11).

Pirates Chair Bob Nutting today at the '14 Veritix Sports Facilities & Franchises conference in Pittsburgh discussed the franchise's approach to building through the draft and investing in a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic. Nutting: "I'm not a patient person, particularly. ... But we needed to do the right thing for the long haul. ... We began to see an impact about two years ago, when we saw a team that was playing better baseball with the right building blocks. Last year, we saw it develop in a big way, our first winning season in 21 years. To see the passion of Pittsburgh light up was a confirmation that some of the rocky travel we took was worth it."

He also talked about establishing a master plan for PNC Park for the next decade: "We have been in PNC Park for 14 seasons, and we need to continue to invest in and improve the fan experience. We have had good incremental improvements in the ballpark. But the process we are going through now is really a 30,000-foot deep dive into what our vision for the ballpark is 15 years from now, trying to find what the best ballpark in 2030 is going to look like. ... I think PNC Park has sustaining legs as one of those iconic ballparks, like a Wrigley, like a Fenway, that has iconic sustainability."

See updates on the event via our On The Ground blog or using the Twitter hashtag #sbjsff.

Direct Energy today announced a deal with the CFL Tiger-Cats to sponsor one of four primary entrance gates at Tim Hortons Field. The deal includes a fan engagement zone and customized VIP trip to an away game (Direct Energy).

AT&T is rolling out a FIFA World Cup-themed app for its U-Verse TV service that "features ESPN's coverage of the tournament and gives customers access to stats, schedules, athlete biographies, match scores and more" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 6/11).

Pinehurst Resort today announced a 10-year extension of its 92-year partnership with Toro, which will continue as the resort's preferred supplier of golf course maintenance equipment and irrigation solutions (Pinehurst).

"The only reason you’d know there’s a World Cup here is because half the people are on strike and you can’t get from the airport" – Football Association Chair Greg Dyke, on the lack of buzz in Rio for the upcoming FIFA World Cup (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 6/11).

“Jurgen Klinsmann is the star of this team, and he wants it that way” – ESPN’s Alexi Lalas, on the coach of the U.S. World Cup team drawing attention for reiterating his belief that the club cannot win the tournament (“2014 FIFA World Cup Preview,” ESPN, 6/11).

“The reality is, they’re not that far apart on the various ends of that and I’m pretty confident the whole thing is going to work out and probably be successful” – NCAA President Mark Emmert, on the five power conferences seeking a change to the Division I governance structure (USATODAY.com, 6/11).

“Calling games was easy. The game was over and you had 13 or 14 beers and go to sleep and then wake up and do the next game” – NHL Panthers GM Dale Tallon, comparing the broadcast booth to the front office ("Ferrall on the Bench,” CBS Radio, 6/11).

Goal.com's Seth Vertelney: "Donovan on ESPN will be interesting, but he's a pro. Don't expect him to rip Klinsmann or any U.S. players"

Buzzfeed's Kate Nocera: "Confirmed @noceraNYT is actually Joe Nocera, who once promised he would never ever join twitter. #ff"

Baseball America's Josh Leventhal: "Why minor league teams host Education Day promotions: @SyracuseChiefs draw 10,157 yesterday, nearly five times their average."

MLSSoccer.com's Ben Jata: "Brazil spent $3.6 million to build/remodel stadiums in 12 cities. Only 3 were delivered on time."

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

The BBC's Ben Smith posted this image from the Brazilian national soccer team's press conference and wrote, "More than 400 journalists in the room waiting to hear from Scolari and Neymar. 300 more turned away at the door."

Astros Exec Advisor Nolan Ryan is a trending topic on Twitter today because "Nolan Ryan" is "the name of a new track" from rapper Hoodie Allen. The song includes the lines, "I'm Nolan Ryan when I wind up / You strike out and I'm making hits without even trying" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/11).

Baltimore's Board of Estimates will vote on a plan for a hotel on Recreation Pier in Fells Point. The plan calls for the city to alter an ordinance to allow the project, backed by Under Armour Chair & CEO Kevin Plank, to proceed without a public promenade around the property.

Our FIFA World Cup Daily Downloads continue this week with veteran soccer commentator Ian Darke's interview with NPR. ESPN's Darke discusses learning players' names, his approach to calling a match and how the sport makes its way into his dreams. Listen to the interview.

6.3 million – Number of Facebook followers for the EPL, more than double the NBA, which is tops among U.S. sports leagues with 2.9 million (ADWEEK.com, 6/10).