Endeavor is delaying its IPO "until September" as it "works to finalize" its $700M acquisition of On Location Experiences, according to sources. If completed, the deal for On Location "would aid the company's push to diversify its revenue base." Also behind the delay is that Endeavor "wants to be able to tout its second-quarter results and renegotiated contracts for soccer events, which it hopes will help achieve a higher public valuation," according to sources. Endeavor is "likely to seek a valuation" between $7-8B (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/2).

Former NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol is being honored at the Pro Football HOF this week with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, and on Thursday's HOF Game telecast, NBC’s Al Michaels told Ebersol, “You put a pretty good blueprint together, you know.” Ebersol said he “had a great teacher” in late Broncos Owner Pat Bowlen, who will be enshrined on Saturday. Ebersol said Bowlen at "one point in time" was the "only one who bought into the vision of what 'Sunday Night Football' could be." NBC’s Cris Collinsworth: “It really is amazing but for the two of you that we’re not sitting here. ... ‘Monday Night Football’ was all the rage, and you guys had a strategy that if you got to Sunday night, then it would create some flexibility with the schedules" (“Broncos-Falcons,” NBC, 8/1).

At Saturday's enshrinement ceremony, Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones will introduce Gil Brandt, who like Bowlen is being honored as a contributor. Presenting for Bowlen will be former Broncos trainer Steve Antonopulos, who said of his goals for the speech, "I just want people to know how much he cared -- how much he truly loved and cared for his players and his players' health and his players' lives off of the football field" (KDVR.com, 8/1).

The NBA 2K League on Friday will announce that Anheuser-Busch has signed on to make Bud Light the official beer of the esports series. Terms were not revealed for the deal, and the sides say that activation plans will be announced at a later date. A-B Head of U.S. Marketing Nick Kelly, who hinted at the deal in an interview with SBJ in June, said in a statement, “As we continue to expand our footprint in esports, it is important to align yourself with great partners and Bud Light becoming the official beer partner of the NBA 2K League does just that.”

Other partners of the league include AT&T, Dell, Facebook, Snickers, Twitch and YouTube. The league’s ’19 finals weekend starts tonight with a NBA 2K League showcase tournament that will include league players as well as influencers in a pro-am type event that will take place at the league studio’s on Long Island and be streamed on Twitch and YouTube.

Watkins Glen Int’l is closing in on a grandstand sellout for this Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, which would be the second of the ’19 season and WGI’s fifth in a row. The track seats 35,000 in its grandstand seats and brings in another 15,000 or through general admission and camping for about 50,000 people on site Sunday. The other race this season to sell out was the Daytona 500, which had about 100,000 people on site. The track has not yet confirmed a sellout but is likely to by Sunday.

WGI President Michael Printup said of how the track has been able to keep its sellout streak going, “We keep a simple approach, we stay even on our marketing platforms, we drastically change up our advertising every year. … We went massive with billboards this year; some people would laugh me out of the room in this sport if I said that, but we’re getting people socially recognizing us for all the billboards we have in Pennsylvania and New York for the first time.”

getty images

Entercom, owner of seven radio stations in the Miami market, "eliminated Josh Friedman's and Alex Donno's midday show" on WQAM-AM, along with Curtis Stephenson's afternoon drive-time show on WAXY-AM. Also, Dan Le Batard's 10:00am-1:00pm ET show "will be shifted" from WAXY to WQAM as "part of an effort to make WQAM more of a national station and 790 the Ticket more of a local one." The local hour of Le Batard's show "has been eliminated." WQAM "will now be called 560 The Joe." All teams whose rights are owned by WQAM (Dolphins, Panthers, UM) and WAXY (Heat) "will remain on the same stations" (MIAMI HERALD, 8/2).

ESPN is launching a new campaign dubbed "Don't Retire, Kid," in an effort to address declining youth sports participation rates in the U.S. In partnership with the Aspen Institute's Project Play, the campaign will go live Sunday during the 8:00am ET "SportsCenter" with a PSA featuring a young boy announcing his retirement from sports. It will air simultaneously on ESPN2, ESPNews and ESPNU, followed by an interview with "Don't Retire, Kid" ambassador Kobe Bryant. Other vignettes will feature Wayne Gretzky, Sue Bird, Mookie Betts, Sloane Stephens, Geno Auriemma, Muffet McGraw and Julie Foudy (ESPN).

The Rapids have canceled their fireworks display following Saturday's home game against the Impact "because of plague-infested fleas affecting prairie dog colonies" around Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The game itself "will be played as scheduled" at 7:00pm MT. The Tri-County Health Department also "asked the Rapids to restrict parking to asphalt lots because of the plague-infested fleas" (DENVER POST, 8/2).

Cavaliers Owner and Quicken Loans Chair Dan Gilbert on Thursday "addressed his Detroit-based mortgage company's 17,000 employees in a recorded message," marking the "first time he's been seen beyond a close circle of family and business associates since suffering a stroke in late May" (CRAINSDETROIT.com, 8/2).

Asics announced its Q2 financials in North America, with sales increasing 26% over '18 (Asics).

"I put $20,000 in our budget to fly the players first class and the league said you couldn't do that. The league refused to let us do that. I made a complaint at the Board of Governors meeting about that specific issue. They are our best assets, they are our All-Stars, treat them with respect. I apologized to them that I couldn't get that done" -- WNBA Las Vegas Aces President of Basketball Operations and coach Bill Laimbeer, on last weekend's WNBA All-Star Game (AP, 8/2).

"The state of Minnesota is filled with smart, talented individuals ... which has given us an opportunity to employ almost 500 employees" -- SportsEngine Senior VP/HR Anna Klombies. The youth and amateur software developer made the TWIN CITIES BUSINESS JOURNAL's list of "Best Places to Work" two years running (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/2).

Friday

The Steelers host their annual Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Gates open at 5:00pm ET for the 7:00pm practice, with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting the Greater Latrobe athletic department.

Is it flexing, as the kids like to say, if I ask for tips on my acceptance speech tomorrow? #PFHOF2019

— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) August 2, 2019

Not too often you get a plague reference in a sports announcement, but it’s been a weird year in Colorado Rapids land. https://t.co/RIFIiODRgi

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) August 2, 2019

Olympic news: @USABaseball officials expected to name their manager next week for 2020 Olympic cycle, beginning with November @WBSC Premier12. Likely to be someone with @MLB managerial experience. Roster for November to be comprised of non-40-man roster players and free agents.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) August 2, 2019

Strange 3-month gap from when @JeffKassouf broke news of Nike's NWSL extension and today's official announcement, but still good news for the US women's league to get multi-year deals with Nike and Budweiser. https://t.co/CzC2lO2Q5I

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) August 2, 2019

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

NFL Films' latest trailer for "Hard Knocks" on HBO hearkens back to the famous "Autumn Wind" theme associated with the '70s-era Raiders.

Villains, Big and Bold. 🏴‍☠️
⁣
The @Raiders premiere on #HardKnocks this Tuesday at 10pm on @hbo. pic.twitter.com/FhKUC8uEit

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) August 2, 2019

814,004 -- Students who competed in high school athletics in the state of California in the '18-19 school year, a state record, according to data from the California Interscholastic Federation. It was the "seventh consecutive year that participation increased in the state" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 8/2).