Vikings owners the Wilf family today "officially became owners" of Orlando City "after completing a sale" -- which includes the MLS club, the NWSL Pride, Exploria Stadium and an academy system -- from Flavio Augusto da Silva. The purchase price was "not disclosed," but the transaction reportedly is for $400-450M. Mark Wilf "will assume the role" of Chair & Governor of the club. The new ownership group "includes a familiar name," as Magic owners the DeVos family "have purchased a minority stake in the soccer club from the Wilfs." The DeVos family "will mainly fulfill an advisory role, providing insight and helping the Wilfs integrate into the Orlando community." They will "not hold a voting position on the board and will not serve in a daily operational role." Both families "hope the partnership will allow Orlando City and the Magic to collaborate in the future" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 7/21).

Texas and Oklahoma reportedly have reached out to the SEC “about potentially joining the powerful league,” according to a high-ranking college official. An announcement “could come within a couple of weeks.” Such a move would give the SEC 16 schools and “make it the first of a national super-conference.” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey declined comment; a Texas spokesperson was “unaware of any discussions and had no comment” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/21).

Taylor worked at ESPN for eight years prior to her contract expiring this weekGetty Images

Maria Taylor and ESPN today formally parted ways, and she is "expected to end up with NBC and at the Olympics." If a contract with NBC is completed, Taylor is "expected to be part" of the net's Tokyo Games coverage, though "nothing is official yet." She also "could be waiting in the on-deck circle to become the host of 'Football Night in America,' when Mike Tirico moves to the full-time" play-by-play position on “Sunday Night Football" in '22. Taylor "could also have a role on Notre Dame football this season." Taylor leaves ESPN several weeks after the N.Y. Times reported on a private conversation in which ESPN's Rachel Nichols alleged ESPN was elevating Taylor in part due to its “crappy longtime record on diversity” (N.Y. POST, 7/21).

Taylor, whose contract expired this week, "spent eight years at ESPN." ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro in a statement said, "Maria’s remarkable success speaks directly to her abilities and work ethic. There is no doubt we will miss Maria." Taylor, in the same release: "So thankful to Jimmy and all of my great teammates and friends" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/21).

Bucks co-Owner Marc Lasry appeared on CNBC coming off the team’s NBA championship win. Lasry said he has “been up all night” after NBA Finals Game 6 in Milwaukee, but it's a “great feeling and it was a phenomenal game.” Lasry: “It's a bit surreal, because everybody tells you it takes forever to win a championship and you got to get lucky, and we did. ... Yesterday, I went out before the game, and we had 50,000 people outside. I was walking around and you could feel the energy.”

Lasry said of F Giannis Antetokounmpo signing a max deal with the Bucks rather than chasing a title via the “superteam” route, “He loves the city, he loves the organization. But I think the biggest reason is he wanted to prove that he’s his own person and that with the teammates that he had he could go it.” Lasry said with winning the title and the team’s valuation rising, the current ownership group is “in it for the long haul.” Lasry: “Now the focus is, ‘Okay, how can we repeat?’” (“Fast Money Halftime,” CNBC, 7/21).

CHARLOTTE -- ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips at ACC Kickoff today offered an update on vaccination rates among the conference’s 14 members in football, saying that as of yesterday, “over half of our group is above that 85% threshold, with several others on the cusp.” Phillips: “We all feel like that’s a reasonable target across the ACC.” As for whether the ACC will be willing to change the schedule if a team has players unavailable due to COVID, Phillips said no decision has been made. His comments follow reports this week that the SEC will not loosen COVID protocols as much as planned. “We all really want to wait a couple more weeks or so,” Phillips said. “I think there’s some more information that we’re going to be able to gather. I think we’ll understand the variant a little bit. It’s really at the recommendation of our medical group, along with our ADs and our presidents. So there’s direct alignment that at least this week, we didn’t need to make that kind of statement.”

Phillips, when asked whether the ACC would follow the lead of schools like Notre Dame, which has implemented a rule requiring students to be vaccinated, said that no such policy is in place yet. He pointed out that seven ACC schools have mandated vaccinations, adding, “You can just sense it and see it and feel it, and our policies are going in that direction, too, though we’re not ready to announce it today at the request of the medical advisory group.”

The Kraken will formally unveil the players they selected in the NHL expansion draft at 8:00pm ET, "after submitting its picks to the league this morning." The Kraken can select from "each of the 30 eligible NHL teams -- excluding the Vegas Golden Knights" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/21). There was "supposed to be intrigue" headed into tonight. But NHL insiders are "breaking selections left and right, allowing fans to piece together the roster hours before the celebration is set to begin." So, the NHL's "broadcasting partners -- which for the first time in a long time includes ESPN -- will have to manufacture intrigue" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/21).

The IOC and Tokyo 2020 organizers reportedly "have banned their social media teams from posting pictures of athletes taking the knee" at the Tokyo Games. A source said that the message "was delivered from on high on Tuesday evening Tokyo time, with a specific reference" to the Great Britain-Chile women's soccer match today. Both teams in that match took a knee in a "protest against racism and online hate," which was "seen on live TV and the gesture was then followed by United States and Sweden players as well as those from New Zealand." None of those "powerful pictures were posted on the official Tokyo 2020 live blog, or its Facebook and Twitter pages, or its Instagram site." They also were "not seen on any of the IOC’s social channels" (London GUARDIAN, 7/21).

Austin FC has landed a title sponsor for the suites at Q2 Stadium in a multiyear deal with locally based tech company NI. In addition to naming the NI Suite Level, the company will be the presenting sponsor of the pre-match "Standings and League Leaders" feature during Austin FC home games. The sponsorship agreement designates NI as an Official Partner of the MLS club. The NI Suite Level features 27 private suites. The “Standing and League Leaders” digital feature gives fans data-driven insights into player stats in real time (Austin FC). 

LeBron James' "Space Jam" media tour brought him to “SmartLess” -- hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett -- where he talked about his philanthropy work, NBA career and being a family man. James said the ongoing debate of who is the greatest basketball player ever is “exhausting,” but “any time you are compared or you are even mentioned with the greats that have ever played this game, it becomes humbling.”

BRAND NAME: Dr. Drew Czekanski on his “The Sport Professor” podcast discussed how to build a brand in sports. Czekanski said organizations use various forms of advertising to increase "consumers’ awareness of your brand." Each of them "works to build some type of positive association with the brand, each of them is trying to convey some type of benefit or value that you will get."

FROM PLAYER TO AGENT: Former soccer pro Alex De Carolis talked about becoming an agent and founding ADC The Players' Agency Founder on the “Down the Pub Podcast,” saying he "always wanted to stay in the football market once I was done playing." De Carolis: "I see how a lot of players in Canada go under the radar and never really make it. ... I feel like I’ve built a lot of connections and I can help players come to Europe and vice versa."

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

Therabody

Therabody is now the official recovery technology partner of the White Sox, joining the Mets and Dodgers as some of the other MLB teams with a similar relationship. White Sox players will have access to Therabody devices and recovery equipment in the team’s dugout, bullpen and training room (Mark J. Burns, SBJ).

ESPN next week is bringing back Madden Ratings Week next week (July 26-30), revealing the player ratings for EA Sports' "Madden NFL 22" during "Get Up" each morning before the game's release on Aug. 20 (ESPN).

Dr Teal’s Pure Epsom Salt Soaks has signed former U.S. gymnast Laurie Hernandez and Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long as endorsers ahead of the Tokyo Games (Dr Teal's).

Samsung Electronics America and SoFi Stadium revealed the new name of the center-hung videoboard at the Rams' and Chargers' venue: The Infinity Screen by Samsung (SoFi Stadium).

“This was getting so much attention from so many people that it surprised all of us because this is our job, this is what we do, and I think because we were getting so much attention and pulled in so many different directions before the broadcast, I sent a little text out to everyone and said, ‘Just remember, you're here because you love the game, and that's what fans want to see'” -- MLB Network’s Heidi Watney, on being part of the all-female broadcast crew for Orioles-Rays last night (“Today,” NBC, 7/21).

“The launch of DraftKings Marketplace is really going to deepen our connection with millions of users throughout the U.S., Canada and other countries. By entering, we'll have the biggest platform in terms of any NFT platform out there” -- DraftKings co-Founder Matt Kalish, on partnering with Autograph, the Tom Brady-backed NFT platform, and the company’s NFT Marketplace (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 7/21).

The Milwaukee Bucks became the first Instagram Checkout enabled team to win it all last night…and they were sure to capitalize on the moment with premium shoppable content.

Their merch was featured in the Shop tab this morning.

This is the future 👇 pic.twitter.com/JNtK6EUVf2

— Will Yoder (@WillYoder) July 21, 2021

Giannis’ use of Instagram over the past 15 hours — raw, unpolished and a real-time POV — is what makes social media, at times, so special.

— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) July 21, 2021

Jerry Jones says #Cowboys have only five of 90 players who are not “in the pipeline” yet for vaccination. He put the team at 77 percent currently.

— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) July 21, 2021

The Orlando Magic today reached a milestone in the construction of their new practice facility, the AdventHealth Training Center. The final steel beam was placed on the structure. which is located between Amway Center and Exploria Stadium.

— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) July 21, 2021

A new podcast series from The Ringer looks at how Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert set the tone for many discussion shows that followed, including sports programming like ESPN's "PTI." 

Buccaneers WR Antonio Brown will appear on ABC's "Match Game" at 10:00pm ET.

Sports broadcaster Bob Costas will be a guest on CBS' "Late Show" at 11:35pm.

56 -- Number of players competing in Athletes Unlimited's first season of women's lacrosse, all of whom will be featured in a new trading card set thanks to a partnership with Topps and Nike. Packs will retail for $14.99 (Athletes Unlimited).

Athletes Unlimited