The USMNT argued in a court filing Friday that members of the UWSNT "should have been paid more than the men’s team, siding with the women in the appeal of their high-profile equal pay case against U.S. Soccer." In a "blistering amicus brief," the men’s team claimed that U.S. Soccer "had underpaid and discriminated against its women’s national team players for decades, arguing that a district court judge had wrongly decided against the women last year." The men’s team argued that the women "had been 'pressured' to accept 'an unfair and unequal' collective bargaining agreement." The USWNT's appeal is "likely to drag out for months, with US Soccer set to file a response to the players’ arguments in September" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/30).

The Texas and Oklahoma Boards of Regents on Friday both "unanimously voted to formally accept invitations to join the SEC." The next step is to "determine when the move will become a reality." Texas President Jay Hartzell said the school "told the Big 12 that we intend to honor our current agreement" on media rights, which runs until June 30, 2025. OU President Joseph Harroz and AD Joe Castiglione said that Oklahoma also "planned to honor its commitment to the Big 12" through June '25. Harroz said that it "became clear to the OU administration that the Big 12 was 'last in line' when it came to media rights negotiations," noting the 11:00am CT kickoff time for conference football games. Harroz and Castiglione said that they "hoped to continue the Bedlam rivalry with Oklahoma State beyond the expiration of the Big 12 media rights deal and that they plan to keep playing Texas in Dallas" (ESPN.com, 7/30).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles said that ticket sales for the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race on the road course at IMS "are looking strong" for next month. Boles said the track for the Aug. 15 Cup race is expecting "roughly 50,000 to 60,000 people." He said that ticket sales for the IndyCar race and Xfinity Series race on Aug. 14 are trailing about “15-percent behind.” But Boles added that he is "expecting more walk-up ticket sales for the Saturday races." There will be "no fan restrictions for any of the races" as it relates to the pandemic (WIBC.com, 7/30).

ViacomCBS-owned MMA property Bellator has perhaps its biggest ever fight on tap Saturday, in a main event that some fans are even calling the best across the entire sport this weekend. Bellator 263 will feature Patricio “Pitbull” Freire fight the undefeated A.J. McKee for the featherweight world title at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The bout will be aired by Showtime, which picked up Bellator media rights this year. Bellator was founded in ’08 and has long been seen as a challenger brand to the UFC. But the Freire-McKee fight has earned as much or more attention as any other happening this weekend across the MMA world, and that figures to only increase after a testy press conference Thursday.

Bellator President Scott Coker told SBJ this weekend’s event will feature Bellator’s biggest crowd since the pandemic, and “as far as how important (the fight) is to the company, it’s right up there and arguably might be the most important ever.” Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza added, “To a large extent, we and the event have already achieved a lot of our goals. With an event and fight of this caliber, you want it to get that just due and attention, and thankfully the audience, media and fanbase have taken notice of it, and we’ve felt huge momentum building throughout fight week.”

Hyundai is the new presenting sponsor of Univision's "Sábado Futbolero" soccer broadcasts and has lined up a new #BecauseFútbol campaign behind it, featuring three new Spanish-language TV spots. The effort highlights the fan rivalry between Liga MX clubs Chivas and Cruz Azul, the league's marquee rivalry. The spots -- Asado, Abuela, Lemonade -- were directed by Pulse Films' Martin Kalina and edited by Exile's Kyle Brown. The sponsorship and new ads kick off on Saturday; during "Sábado Futbolero," Hyundai will run a custom opening sequence developed in collaboration with Univision, plus logo placements, in-game virtual ads and custom social content. #BecauseFútbol was conceived and executed by Hyundai’s agency of record, Innocean USA (Univision).

Buffalo Groupe has launched a new events division: Moments Live, led by Buffalo Media & Events President Jeff Foster. The new division specializes in operating golf tours, tournaments, corporate offsites, golf societies and custom luxury experiences. In conjunction with the launch of Moments Live, Buffalo Groupe has become the majority stakeholder of The Friars Golf Club, an experience-focused golf society with nearly 700 members worldwide. Buffalo Groupe’s experiential offerings also include clients such as the NFL Alumni Association, MLB Players Alumni Association and GolfNow (Buffalo Groupe).

Sources said that Gus Johnson and Aqib Talib are "going to team up this year for some NFL games on Fox." It "won't be a full season of games but weeks Fox has an extra game" (TWITTER.com, 7/30).

N.Y. Times sports reporter Karen Crouse said she is resigning her post to "pursue nascent projects that are particularly timely" (TWITTER.com, 7/30). Crouse was suspended from the paper earlier this month over a book deal she had done with Michael Phelps (SBJ).

MLB suspended Nationals 2B Starlin Castro 30 games without pay for violating the league's domestic violence policy. The Nationals said they would release Castro upon completion of the suspension (Mult., 7/30).

NYCFC on Friday released a new apparel collection in collaboration with streetwear brand Staple (NYCFC).

NYCFC

"I am very optimistic on the rematch. ... All the elements are there for another really exciting fight and I think we will see it" -- Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza, on the chances for a rematch between junior middleweight boxers Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño late this year or in early '22. Their action-packed fight earlier this month earned Showtime’s best audience for a live fight since '19 with 422,000 viewers (Adam Stern, SBJ).

“We're going to be hearing more about Ryan Murphy. Sort of open mouth, insert foot” -- CBS’ Gayle King, on the U.S. swimmer alleging PEDs may have played a role in the competition (“CBS This Morning,” 7/30).

"Nothing against it. I mean, I know people that got the vaccination and still caught COVID, so to me it’s like, ‘what’s the point?’” -- NFL Panthers LB Denzel Perryman, on not getting the COVID-19 vaccine (AP, 7/30).

Per sources: Gus Johnson and Aqib Talib are going to team up this year for some NFL games on Fox. It won't be a full season of games but weeks Fox has an extra game. That's going to be a fun listen IMO.

— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) July 30, 2021

The idea of limiting the amount of teams from a league that could make the playoff is beyond laughable.

Why should a conference suffer for the shortcomings of others?

Would be a weak and embarrassing look for any conference that even brings up the idea. https://t.co/DF1TVIiSO4

— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) July 30, 2021

Oklahoma’s Board of Regents were sooooo close to voting but … “I didn’t get a harrumph out of that guy!

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 30, 2021

Text from boss about this timeline: "Most employees I've had have given me more notice before they left for another job." https://t.co/HhBSesHE5r

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 30, 2021

One of the cool perks at The Olympics is meeting people in different professions that you’ve always watched & respected. Hard to beat the hang with @franfraschilla at Dunkin. Nothing better than hearing old college hoops stories!!!! All the best.

— Brandt Packer (@BPACKERVOLS) July 30, 2021

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes learns he made the Madden 99 Club for the third time in the cutest fashion.

$234.9M -- Wagers accepted by Virginia sportsbooks in June, up 3.5% from $227.0M in May, marking the first time in three months that betting volume grew in the state, according to data provided by Virginia Lottery. The June jump helped push total gross gaming revenue past $100M since the market launched (PlayVirginia).