IOC President Thomas Bach today indicated that there is a "growing hope" there will be "fans in attendance" for the Tokyo Games. Bach said that recent sports events in Japan have "provided evidence that competitions can be held safely there with fans." He cited, among other examples, a gymnastics meet that was held in Tokyo over the weekend with "athletes from four countries and 2,094 fans in attendance." Bach "declined to say whether there is a deadline by which the IOC will decide whether to allow international spectators" at the Tokyo Games. He will visit Tokyo next week for the "first time since the beginning of the pandemic." When asked if a contingency plan for the cancellation of the Tokyo Games will be discussed during his visit, Bach said, "No" (USA TODAY, 11/11).

The NBA today sent out '20-21 season safety protocols to its teams to be in place for the Dec. 22 start. A source familiar with the regulations said that no fan temperature checks will be required, but fan testing will be required for fans sitting within 30 feet of the court. Team bench configurations recommend a minimum of three feet in distance between seats. In addition, team scorer’s table will have a maximum of 7 seats. No testing for suites and clubs will be required for 25% capacity. Capacity for suites and club seating to up to 50% will be allowed with fan testing.

The Vikings today "blew the whistle" on their hopes of "bringing fans back to U.S. Bank Stadium during the 2020 season." Rising COVID-19 infection rates "forced the call." The Vikings will "continue as they have for much of the season, allowing only the allotted 250 friends and family members into the games to sit socially distanced in the southwestern section of a stadium." The team in a statement said, "While we have worked hard to develop a safe and responsible plan to bring back a limited number of fans, our decisions have been based on medical guidance with public health as the top priority" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/11).

The Masters and its exclusive digital partner IBM unveiled their latest collaborative innovation, My Group, a digital feature debuting with the '20 tournament. The new feature will allow patrons worldwide to create personalized groups of players, and watch every shot, on every hole, from all of their favorite golfers during The Masters. My Group, which runs on IBM Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift, will be available globally in the official Masters app and on Masters.com. IBM and The Masters won the '20 Sports Business Award for Best in Mobile Fan Experience (THE DAILY).

Riot Games is in discussions to sell an exclusive English-language media-rights deal for League of Legends esports, in what would be a major move for the game publisher that has often focused on a non-exclusive streaming strategy. The company currently airs the three major LoL global events, plus its North American series, on multiple streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. However, Riot has entered into an exclusive deal in China with streaming platform BiliBili.

Riot confirmed it is exploring an exclusive English-language deal. "We are evaluating a number of options for our various rights packages,” the company said. The interested players are not known yet, but given that LoL is the most-watched esport, Riot is likely to only align with major entities.

See more in SBJ esports.

NMSU

New Mexico State Univ. today unveiled its "own officially licensed whiskey, making it the first to do so as schools across the U.S. scramble for more revenue amid shrinking budgets." Pistol Pete’s Six-Shooter whiskey "builds on the university's brand building effort." Last month, the school "added a signature wine developed by vintners with deep roots in the state." NMSU AD Mario Moccia "described it as a win-win for the university, for small businesses during a rough economic time and for the athletic program, which shares the proceeds from every sale" (AP, 11/11).

Chris Cote, a popular producer on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz,” was one of several hundred ESPN employees laid off last week, but Le Batard "has found a way to keep Cote" on the air. Today on the show's digital hour, “The Big Suey,” Le Batard said that Cote is "being hired as his personal assistant." Le Batard said, “Some creativity was required from us in order to get here -- but I’m going to hire Chris Cote as my personal assistant with a raise on his present salary to fill the role vacated by Allyson Turner. I will cover the raise. I will cover the entire thing" (MIAMI HERALD, 11/11).

See more about Cote's situation in today's Podcast Picks.

The USGA partnered with Golfweek Custom Media and content delivery platform BlueToad to relaunch the publication Golf Journal as an exclusive benefit of the USGA Members Program. The USGA stopped production and distribution of Golf Journal in '03 after 55 years of circulation, but has revived the magazine as a monthly digital and quarterly print publication. USGA members now receive monthly digital editions through BlueToad containing interviews, podcasts and video content. The quarterly print magazine also is reproduced digitally (THE DAILY).

Prior to Chris Cote being re-hired on “The Dan Le Batard Show,” he appeared on a podcast with his father, Greg Cote, to discuss being part of ESPN's recent round of layoffs. The elder Cote quickly noted this episode of his podcast was an “intensely personal one” for him.

MAKING TOUGH CALLS: Falcons Owner Arthur Blank appeared on the “Huddle & Flow” podcast where he discussed the mid-season firing of GM Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn. Blank said he could not be “tone-deaf” to the fans after the team’s 0-5 start. Blank added it was a “very difficult decision personally because I love both of these guys ... but sometimes change is required.”

POLL POSITION: On “Race In America: A Candid Conversation,” host Monte Poole welcomed Vice contributor Cari Champion and The Ideateur co-Founder Elsa Collins. Champion said sports played “significant roles in the pandemic and also in the fight for social justice.” Collins said it “can’t be underscored how crucial the NBA, the coaches, the players and the organizations” were in getting out the vote.

Know of a podcast we should keep tabs on? Send an email to pbounds@sportsbusinessdaily.com. Also, check out SBJ's podcast home.

Ohio State's game at Maryland on Saturday "has been canceled due to a coronavirus outbreak within the Terrapins' program." It will "not be rescheduled" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 11/11). Meanwhile, the Missouri-Georgia football game scheduled for Saturday also has been postponed "because of COVID-19 concerns" (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 11/11).

The Hornets signed a partnership with Waste Pro USA in which the company will become the official waste services partner of the team and provide solid waste collection at Spectrum Center (Hornets).

Bottega Gold, a product of Ontario-based wine and spirits agency Noble Estates, is now the exclusive prosecco of the PWHPA for the '20-21 season. Over 125 players compete in the PWHPA, which will soon begin its second season, across five regions in North America (Mark J. Burns, THE DAILY).

The Univ. of Wisconsin announced that both men's and women's basketball and men's and women's hockey home games will be played this season without fans in the stands for an indefinite period of time (UW).

"I trust my family. But nobody knows where Uncle Tommy’s been, either. You have to still be careful" -- Alabama football coach Nick Saban, on players heading home during the team's bye last weekend (TWITTER.com, 11/11).

"Of course it’s 'TTP.' We were right the entire time, the process has been trusted and now it is formalized on those jerseys” -- ESPN’s Pablo Torre, on a cryptic “TTP” -- standing for “Trust The Process” -- appearing on the 76ers' new City Edition uniforms (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 11/11).

ESPN

School spokesman at @MizzouFootball told me this is NOT an outbreak. There was 1 positive test on Sunday, and subsequent contact tracing within a specific position group caused it to fall below the numbers needed at that position.

— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) November 11, 2020

All 30 NBA head coach jobs are now full after OKC hired Mark Daigneault, an ex-G-League head coach with one-year of NBA assistant coach experience. OKC-Seattle has not had a black head coach since Nate McMillan in 2005. NBA now has seven black head coaches in a league 75% black.

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) November 11, 2020

• 15 looks like a different hole without grandstands.
• Watched Bryson drive 14 and 15. On 14 he was borderline pitching his second in. 15 was an easy short iron (8?).
• Grass around the greens does seem to be quite a bit different than in April, and it's really, really wet.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) November 11, 2020

Alabama and Ohio State should play this weekend. Give the winner the national championship trophy.

Play the rest of the season out for fun.

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) November 11, 2020

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

.@Chevrolet has bought another full-page ad in @USAToday, this one celebrating @JimmieJohnson passing the torch to @ChaseElliott. pic.twitter.com/Yo9OnhPudS

— Adam Stern (@A_S12) November 11, 2020

USA Water Polo is running a series of ads in its lighthearted #WaterPoloTough campaign leading up to the '21 Games in Tokyo. The effort includes a dedicated microsite.

Michael Strahan will appear on NBC's "The Tonight Show" at 11:35pm ET.

$10M -- Size of the combined donation Augusta National Golf Club and Masters partners AT&T, Bank of America and IBM will make to "spur redevelopment of the Augusta community." The money "will support the ongoing efforts led by the Medical College of Georgia Foundation, the Community Foundation for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) and the Boys & Girls Club of the CSRA" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 11/11).