Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced that a "maximum of 10,000 fans will be allowed to attend" the IndyCar Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader Oct. 2-3. Fans "will be organized into two 5,000-fan clusters in grandstands near Turns 1 and 4." They "will be required to wear a mask at all times, will undergo a temperature screening to enter and will be given a mask and a bottle of hand sanitizer upon entry." IMS will mark individual seats in the grandstands for proper distancing" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 9/18). This comes "after approval" from the Marion County Public Health Department (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/18).

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott indicated that he does not expect a vote on resuming fall sports at Friday's meeting of presidents and chancellors, nor is he “going to push for one.” Appearing on the "Dan Patrick Show" Friday morning, Scott did say the league has “overcome the major obstacles,” and “we have to decide by next week if we’re moving forward.” Scott: “Our medical advisory committee is much more comfortable with us going forward and it looks like the hurdles have been cleared in terms of the public health authorities in the states of California and Oregon. So things are looking a lot more promising. ... We’ll see if we can align with others in college football still this fall" (Portland OREGONIAN, 9/18).

NASCAR, Speedway Motorsports and other industry stakeholders have been discussing the possibility of running a dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the coming years, sources say, although the talks are in the preliminary stages. Bristol first pulled off the idea of filling its now-concrete short track with dirt for a race when the World of Outlaws series raced there in '00 and '01. Speedway Motorsports President & CEO Marcus Smith hinted at bringing the idea to NASCAR last year in on a podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- though the comment was vague and the topic has not been discussed since. The earliest possible run date of the race was unclear.

Teams would have to develop a special package for cars to pull off the race, and it is not yet clear how enthusiastic they are about the idea. However, if NASCAR and other stakeholders like TV partners were to push hard for the event, some sources suspect that teams would eventually agree. NASCAR is racing at Bristol this weekend, with a Truck race on Thursday night, an Xfinity race Friday and the Cup event, the annual Bristol night race, on Saturday.

The MLB Cardinals are going through a "fairly extensive round of layoffs" on Friday. Some furloughs and cuts "began Wednesday," with the rest coming on Friday. Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said that the team "eliminated one area-scout position and several part-time positions." Other cuts were "on the minor-league side." The team is "losing two teams next year, which will account for 12 coaching positions" (TWITTER.com, 9/18).

The Senators "turned back the clock for their new look," releasing their new 2D logo on Friday "as part of the club’s rebranding." The new mark is "very similar to the logo the club wore from 1992-to-1997 when it returned to the league." A new uniform "will be unveiled on the first day of the NHL draft on Oct. 6." The feedback, "so far, has been positive." Sens President of Business Operations Anthony LeBlanc has "spent a lot of time working on a marketing rebrand" since joining the organization in March" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 9/18). 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday offered words of caution on Chicago sports reopening to fans and contrasted her approach to the Big Ten, saying the conference's decision to play football had “less to do about the science than it did about the lost TV revenue.” Lightfoot said she “would love to get fans back in the stands” for Chicago sports, but "we’ve got to be smart and safe about it." She added, "I’d rather do slow and steady than capitulate to the crowds and then have a disaster on our hands.”

Lightfoot said it is “certainly possible” there could be fans at Bears games this season, but “the odds are less than 50%.” She explained, "We’re willing absolutely to work with the Bears, but they’ve got to talk to us and be willing to cooperate with us and not just say things in the media. ... The Bears have got to be better partners with us. ... I don’t like hearing for the first time on sports media, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to have to have fans in the stands.’ Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Talk to the Cubs” (“Mully & Haugh,” WSCR-AM, 9/18).

Jaguars sponsor TIAA Bank is activating around this NFL season with a social justice component. Each game day, fans can take a virtual selfie with a Jaguars player at tiaabank.com/selfiesforchange and unlock donations to organizations fighting for justice. Every photo taken could unlock a $5 donation to the Jaguars Foundation, up to $40,000 in donations this season. The digital experience will only be available on game days, both home and away, with a new player each week. Fans can share their photos on social media with #selfiesforchange (TIAA Bank).

Saturday's Houston-Baylor game "has been postponed," according to a source (TWITTER.com, 9/18).

Former NBAer Baron Davis is "joining the board of Bull Horn Holdings Corp., a new special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 9/18).

The Washington Football Team announced the talent for its multi-platform digital platform "Unfiltered." Gaming/content curator Anto Garabet, who boasts more than 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube, will host "The Lab," a video game-themed show featuring players and fans (Washington Football Team).

MLB sponsor Hankook Tire is activating around the playoffs with a Fall Classic Rebate, which runs from Friday-Oct. 31. The promotion offers $80 in savings via a prepaid Mastercard with the purchase of four tires from select lines (Hankook Tire).

"We designed a plan that would allow us to ease into it. ... If everything is going well, which we expect it to be, I think we will evolve into more and more of our fans coming to games. ... I do think we'll expand it as we go" -- Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, on AT&T stadium allowing some fans in for Sunday's home opener against the Falcons ("K&C Masterpiece," KRLD-FM, 9/18).

"It’s a pretty cool experience. Obviously, when you’re in the booth, you’re going to be unbiased, but it’s definitely really cool because I’ve stayed close to the organization" -- Fox analyst and former Vikings RB Robert Smith, on being in the booth this weekend for a game featuring his former team for the first time (St. Paul PIONEER PRESS, 9/18).

With the inclusion of Nielsen’s Digital TV Ratings, which don’t come out until 3 days after the national TV ratings, the final tally for FOX’s Week 1 doubleheader is +10% vs last year and an average of over 20 million viewers.

— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) September 18, 2020

Arizona Cardinals announced the passing of Hall of Fame safety and long-time team executive Larry Wilson on Thursday evening. He was 82.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2020

#RedSox VP of player development Ben Crockett said the team is planning a fall camp for prospects next month in Ft. Myers. Invites have not yet gone out.

They've had discussions with teams in the area about having games, but nothing scheduled yet.

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) September 18, 2020

Whatever cost savings San Diego State gained in moving its football games temporarily to LA, it wasn’t worth the bad PR. One of the dumbest decisions I’ve ever seen a university athletic dept. make. Oh, this just in: The Gaslamp Quarter is moving to Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/Yd2jsMOzB7

— Terry Blount (@TBlountPolitics) September 18, 2020

Fox backed out of its U.S. Open deal. Then Fox ran out of games to broadcast for this CFB weekend, so it picked Houston-Baylor, which is now canceled. Now NBC has the U.S. Open, which means Notre Dame plays on USA tomorrow while Fox broadcasts ... spikeball? competitive handball?

— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 18, 2020

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

It was tough to leave them hours later to go back to the bubble but what a moment we all got to share! pic.twitter.com/Zm3f8QbRRZ

— Mike Conley (@MCONLEY10) September 17, 2020

Sunday

LSU football coach Ed Orgeron will be profiled in the season premiere of CBS' "60 Minutes" at 7:30pm ET.

230,000 -- New mobile sports betting accounts created in Illinois, after a July executive order by Gov. J.B. Pritzker temporarily allowed remote registration for sports bettors. The 230,000 number would have been a fraction of that with the state's in-person registration requirement in effect, according to analysts for PlayIllinois. The remote registration window is again open at least until Saturday (PlayUSA.com Network).