Preorders for LeBron James Lakers jerseys went live on Fanatics last night, giving the retailer one of its top 10 sales days in terms of NBA items sold. In the first three hours of sales, there was a 600% spike across the Fanatics network, including NBAStore.com, compared to sales of his Cavaliers jersey the day James announced his return to Cleveland in July '14 (THE DAILY). The "top markets" for sales of James' Lakers jersey were L.A., N.Y., S.F. and Cleveland. Sources said that James "will wear No. 23, the same number he wore in both of his Cleveland stops" (ESPN.com, 7/2).

Meanwhile, Sherwin-Williams today confirmed that the "massive LeBron James Nike banner that's become a tourist attraction in downtown Cleveland will come down at some point this week" (CLEVELAND.com, 7/2).

The USOC has named four members of its Athlete & NGB Engagement Commission, a high-level committee chaired by WNBA President Lisa Borders that will consider potentially major reforms to the structure of the U.S. Olympic movement. The members named so far include: USOC BOD member and former CEO of Bloomberg LP Dan Doctoroff; Carol Brown, retired Olympic rower and VP/U.S. Olympics and Paralympics Association; USATF COO Renee Washington; and two-time Olympic Silver Medal-winning bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor.

Two other representative positions still must be filled: one from the Athletes Advisory Council and another for someone representing a small-sport governing body. USOC acting CEO Susanne Lyons today also said the organization will be looking for additional commission members “from policy making roles or other analogous organizations,” specifically mentioning the NCAA. The commission hopes to meet for the first time by August. It will consider how to improve how the USOC oversees and guides the 49 NGBs that run individual sports.

Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo will appear on the cover of "NBA 2K19," becoming the "first international player on the cover of the game's standard edition, which has had yearly iterations since" '99. The cover "features key words and phrases that hold significance to Antetokounmpo," including "Fear the Deer" and "Greek Freak." NBA2K VP/Marketing Alfie Brody called Antetokounmpo the "future of the NBA." The game will be available on Sept. 11 (JSONLINE.com, 7/2). LeBron James appears on the special 20th anniversary edition of the game.

Phenom. Greek Freak. And now, cover athlete. Meet the face of our #NBA2K19 Standard Edition, @Giannis_An34. Available on September 11th. Pre-order #NBA2K19 now https://t.co/YlVfTy452Y pic.twitter.com/rVpnTFYQZy

— NBA 2K19 (@NBA2K) July 2, 2018

Former UFC fighters Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz will "rekindle their infamous rivalry in a trilogy bout later this year, under the banner of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions." Golden Boy "has signed promotional agreements" with both fighters. An "official date and location are being finalized and should be announced soon." The PPV event "will mark Golden Boy's first foray into MMA." Liddell and Ortiz last met at UFC 66 in December '06. After retiring from the cage in '10, Liddell held an exec position at the UFC until '16, when the company sold to WME-IMG (ESPN.com, 7/2).

Longtime AP college basketball writer Jim O'Connell died today at the age of 64 after battling a "series of ailments." O'Connell was a former President of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and in '02 earned the Basketball HOF's Curt Gowdy Award. O'Connell served as the AP's national college hoops writer since '87, and he also "covered eight Olympics" (AP, 7/2).

The Washington Post's Tim Bontemps tweeted, "One of the legendary college basketball writers ever was also one of the nicest. RIP to a true titan of this business." The Philadelphia Inquirer's Mike Jensen: "Oc was everything you’d hope the national college basketball writer for the AP would and could be." The AP's Tim Reynolds: "Just a profoundly sad day for AP, for writing, for basketball and so much more." ESPN's Jay Bilas: "OC was an amazing writer and such a generous, kind soul. A pro’s pro in basketball. RIP." USA Today's Nancy Armour: "Oc might have seemed gruff at first, but you never met a sweeter and more genuine person. He was a treasure for everyone who knew him, and he’ll be missed" (TWITTER.com, 7/2).

Our sister publication, The Esports Observer, runs a weekly briefing recapping the week that was in esports. This week: Immortals acquire the legendary Made in Brazil brand, Mercedes-Benz sponsors one of China’s top esports teams, and the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association goes public.

Telemundo has acquired exclusive Spanish-language U.S. media rights to the '19 Copa America in Brazil (Telemundo).

Long-time Detroit sports radio host Mike Valenti has "agreed to a 'new long-term contract extension' with Entercom, which will keep 'The Valenti Show'" on WXYT-FM weekdays from 2:00- 6:00pm ET (FREEP.com, 7/2). 

"So the RF logo is with Nike at the moment, but it will come to me at some point. I hope rather sooner than later, that Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really" -- Roger Federer, on hoping to bring his RF brand into his Uniqlo collection after parting ways with Nike (USATODAY.com, 7/2).

"I appreciate more than anyone else the frustration at how long the case has taken to resolve and the uncertainty this has caused. I am glad it's finally over" -- Cyclist Chris Froome, a four-time Tour de France winner, on his anti-doping case being dropped by the UCI after nine months (BBC.com, 7/2).

Is it just me or does Tony Meola sound amazing?!

— Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) July 2, 2018

With another superstar migrating West, re-seeding the playoffs will once again enter the conversation. Why it still won’t happen: Travel. The NBA, sensitive to quality of play, is still reluctant to entertain the idea of Miami-Portland, Warriors-Wizards first round series’.

— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) July 2, 2018

We know LeBron James has been outspoken about Trump. So it makes sense to head to California, the heartland of the #resistance. The fact that he will be trying to resist the dominance of the Warriors is an added plot twist.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) July 2, 2018

Osorio goes full Klinsmann, says Mexican players need to go to Europe if the national team is going to improve. Wonder how that'll play at home.

— Andrew Das (@AndrewDasNYT) July 2, 2018

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

Coca-Cola endorser Jordan Spieth, whose sister Ellie is a Special Olympics athlete, shares a moment with Coca-Cola employee and Special Olympics competitor Matthew Wynne at the '18 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle. See the full video on box.com.

14 -- Number of courts from which ESPN+ is streaming Wimbledon matches today, Day One of the tourney. This year's tournament is the first in which every match at all 18 courts is being either streamed or televised (ESPN).