The NBA concluded its BOG meeting on Friday with Commissioner Adam Silver expressing his continued optimism that a new CBA deal is near. He said, “We’ve made tremendous progress. We are not done, done, but we are on our way toward getting an extension done and I’m pleased to report that.” The league and the union can opt out of the current CBA on Dec. 15.

Silver singled out the contributions of Hornets Owner Michael Jordan, who is part of the league’s labor relations committee. “It has added an enormous amount of atmosphere to the room,” Silver said of Jordan’s involvement. “It allows players to see another side of the business.” He added, “There is a sense that we have a system that for the most part is working pretty well.”

The '16 Progressive Skate America competition that begins Friday night at the Sears Centre Arena in suburban Chicago "will be an important launch pad for an aggressive" $1M-plus marketing campaign from the U.S. Figure Skating Association. Titled "Get Up," the campaign "aims to inspire potential converts to the sport of figure skating and to draw new fans into the figure skating world." It will "debut during NBC's live coverage of the ladies finals at Skate America" starting at 3:30pm CT on Saturday. The debut spot features a male figure skater in hopes of sparking "more interest in figure skating among men" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/21).

IOC Exec Board member Gian Franco Kasper on Friday said Innsbruck would have “an excellent chance” of hosting the '26 Winter Games if the Austrian city decides to bid. He said that Innsbruck "would need to join with other cities -- probably Salzburg and venues in northern Italy or southern Germany -- to be able to stage all events." Innsbruck has hosted the Winter Games twice, in '64 and '76. Since then, Austria "had several failed bids, most recently with Salzburg" for the '14 Games (AP, 10/21).   

Savannah James, Akron native and wife of Cavaliers F LeBron James, Friday afternoon will formerly christen Wingfoot Two, the newest addition to Goodyear’s airship fleet. The 246.4-foot long ship is Goodyear’s second Zeppelin, as the company continues to phase out its blimp roster. Wingfoot Two provided aerial coverage last month for ABC’s broadcast of the “Battle at Bristol.” Goodyear officials told THE DAILY that they are waiting for an FAA waiver to simultaneously provide aerial coverage Tuesday night of the Cavs’ home opener for TBS and Game 1 of the World Series on Fox, which will be played across the street at Progressive Field. The FAA puts in place Temporary Flight Restrictions over MLB, NFL and major college football games as well as NASCAR races. The ban extends from the surface to 3,000 feet and has a radius of three nautical miles from the event venue.

ESPN3 is set to broadcast Glory 34 Denver's kickboxing event live Friday night starting at midnight ET. It will mark the tenth Glory event broadcast on ESPN this year and the first since Basketball HOFer Yao Ming bought a significant equity stake in the Singapore-based kickboxing league. The event will feature two championship fights, Nieky Holzken-Murthel Groenhart in the welterweight division and Gabriel Varga-Robin Van Roosmalen in the featherweight division. The fights will be re-broadcast Sunday on ESPN2 at 7:00pm.

Exec Editor Abe Madkour and staff writer John Lombardo discuss the NBA BOG meetings and the progress being made on a new CBA with the NBPA.

Pegula Sports & Entertainment on Friday announced an exclusive partnership with TSG Enterprises, owner of the Pure Hockey, Total Hockey and Hockey Giant brands (PS&E).

The White Sox named former MLBer Chris Getz Dir of Player Development (White Sox).

Roush Fenway Racing has "signed a multi-year deal to keep Ryan Reed behind the wheel of the No. 16 Ford" in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Lilly Diabetes "remaining as the sponsor." Reed in '11 was "diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes" (FOXSPORTS.com, 10/21).

"They should be chasing a younger demographic. Be more user-friendly. Maybe the proposed new owners, who are in the media business, will help them along with that” – NBC F1 announcer Leigh Diffey, on the series reaching a wider audience (MYSTATESMAN.com, 10/21).

“If the tablet is working, I prefer the tablet. You get to scroll through" – Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski, on using Microsoft Surface tablets on the sidelines in light of his coach Bill Belichick denouncing the technology (ESPN.com, 10/20). 

If you sat with Drew for a bit, you truly knew what kind of guy he was. He was a critical columnist, but quite the opposite as your friend. https://t.co/CJq6grcXQq

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) October 21, 2016

I don't think those Nuggets jerseys are WHITE PRIDE jerseys rather than Pride jerseys that are white. Still, unfortunate phrasing.

— RUSS BENGT$ON (@russbengtson) October 21, 2016

My thinking: NFL made a business decision to educate on domestic violence, but backed away from associating league with the issue.

— Jane McManus (@janesports) October 21, 2016

Credit where due: A-Rod is very good on TV. He draws a lot out of Pete Rose here. https://t.co/HEqLSzZbro

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 21, 2016

Those Noah's Ark rains at #USGP last year? Ancient history #COTA #F1 pic.twitter.com/hnag7uHFe3

— Jim Vertuno (@JimVertuno) October 21, 2016

Saturday

The NHL Panthers will become the first NHL team to host a Grateful Dead night in conjunction with their home game against the Avalanche.

The Stars will hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer night presented by the Univ. of Texas Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center when they take on the Blue Jackets.

The Devils will dedicate a statue to former NHLer Martin Brodeur prior to their game against the Wild at Prudential Center.

Sunday

ESPN Senior VP/College Networks Rosalyn Durant will deliver the Frank Armstrong Crawford Lecture at Vanderbilt Univ. on the topic, "A conversation on Diversity, Leadership and College Athletics."

CSN Philadelphia this week brought in a pumpkin carver to carve a pumpkin of Flyers D Shayne Gostisbehere. The carving was documented during a 90-minute Facebook Live post, after which CSN presented Gostisbehere with the finished product.

$11.6M – Amount officials at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational distributed to non-profit groups in North Texas, "marking a tournament-record total for Ft. Worth's annual PGA Tour stop" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/21).