• MLB All-Star Game Officially A Sellout; Free-Wheeling Atmosphere Returns
  
• Mayweather-McGregor Media Tour Begins With Raucous Affair In L.A.
  
• Activision Blizzard Sells Seven Teams For Startup Overwatch League
  
• Jazz, Levy Form Joint Venture For Vivint Smart Home Arena Concessions

Last night’s MLB All-Star Game, a 10-inning win for the AL, drew an announced crowd of 37,188 at Marlins Park. The game was termed a sellout, but tickets remained available at game time, pockets of seats remained empty throughout the game, and the crowd thinned out considerably in the late innings. The crowd was also noticeably quieter than the often-lively mood for Monday’s Home Run Derby. A pregame ceremony honored Latin America’s extensive influence on the game and included HOFers Juan Marichal, Luis Aparicio, Rod Carew, Tony Perez, Roberto Alomar, Pedro Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez and family members of the late Roberto Clemente (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).

The "concourses were packed long before the first pitch," but that meant "long lines for concessions and walkways jammed with people." Nevertheless, fans were "jubilant" at the game. Miami-Dade Police Department Public Information Officer Alvaro Zabaleta before the game said that he "did not think there had been any arrests" at the ballpark (PALM BEACH POST, 7/12).

Last night’s All-Star Game marked the first time since '02 that it was played without World Series home-field advantage at stake, and it “showed in the relaxed attitudes." Fox’ broadcast included Alex Rodriguez "interviewing players at their positions in between innings” and conversations with Nationals RF Bryce Harper and Astros RF George Springer during play (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/12). No moment summed up the return of fun to the All-Star Game more than when Mariners DH Nelson Cruz "reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone” to take a picture with home plate umpire Joe West (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/12).

The AL beat the NL 2-1 thanks to a 10th inning home run by Mariners 2B Robinson Cano. There were "lots of strikeouts (23), a few walks (six), and two homers, draining all of the pre-game energy out of the sellout crowd" (USA TODAY, 7/12). The game was "representative of the sport’s long-term trend of increasing velocity and strikeout totals" (THERINGER.com, 7/12).

Activision Blizzard has sold seven charter franchises in its startup Overwatch League, including two to traditional sports owners and three to other buyers with backers from major pro sports. The owners will be officially announced today.

The seven franchise locations and their owners are:

• Boston: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft
• N.Y.: Mets COO and Sterling.VC co-founder Jeff Wilpon
• L.A.: Noah Whinston, CEO of Immortals, whose backers include AEG, Grizzlies co-Owner Stephen Kaplan and Lionsgate
• Miami-Orlando: Ben Spoont, CEO & co-Founder of Misfits Gaming, backed by the Heat
• S.F.: NRG ESports Chair Andy Miller, a minority shareholder in the NBA Kings
• Shanghai: NetEase Inc., the distributor of Overwatch in China
• Seoul: Kevin Chou, co-Founder and former CEO of mobile game developer Kabam

The parties declined to disclose terms, but multiple industry sources said Activision Blizzard had hoped to get $20M for the permanent, exclusive right to operate an Overwatch team in some markets. The announcement comes after Activision Blizzard said little publicly about the e-sports league's development, a time period in which several organized teams disbanded. Activision Blizzard hopes to eventually sell 28 franchises across the globe.

See today's issue of SBD Global for more.

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor yesterday in L.A. began the media tour for their Aug. 26 fight in a "raucous appearance in front of more than 11,000 fans” (L.A. TIMES, 7/12). There were "scalpers hovering around the statues in the shadow of the Staples Center, lines around the block, police and security guards keeping order." Two hours before the event, scalpers outside were "charging $40 a pop, all for tickets that were distributed free on the internet and were snapped up quickly." Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza: "It is unprecedented to think you could get that kind of turnout for an event that would normally take place in a room with a couple of hundred (media) people" (USA TODAY, 7/12).

The media tour's next stops will be in Toronto, N.Y. and London, the “closest city to McGregor’s hometown of Dublin" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12).

The Jazz and Levy have formed a joint venture to run the food service at Vivint Smart Home Arena, a move tied to the facility’s $125M renovation. Salted Honey Hospitality, the name of the new company, will also operate concessions at Smith’s Ballpark – home of the Triple-A PCL Salt Lake Bees – plus the Tour of Utah pro cycling race and for the NBA G League Salt Lake City Stars. Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment owns those three sports properties in addition to the Jazz. The Stars play home games at Lifetime Activities Center Bruin Arena, a junior college facility. The Jazz previously managed food in-house through All Star Catering.

The new deal marks Levy’s 22nd NBA arena account. The upgrades to Vivint Smart Home Arena, which opened in ‘91 and is now among the NBA’s five oldest buildings, will be completed by October.

Sporting KC last night honored late co-Owner Neal Patterson, who died Sunday, "before and during the game against FC Dallas" at Children's Mercy Park. The players took the field with "orange patches on their jerseys and arm bands with 'Neal' on them." Before the National Anthem, a "moment of silence was held," concluding with the "Sporting faithful breaking into 'Neal Patterson' chants." Sporting KC President Jake Reid said that team will "continue to honor Patterson in several ways throughout the remainder of the season" (K.C. STAR, 7/12). A special "honoree seat in the Victory Suite, which Patterson established as a benefit for children who are battling cancer," was "left vacant" during last night's game (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/11).

Thank you, Neal. pic.twitter.com/0r4HUytbF1

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) July 11, 2017

Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. is the athlete with the hottest brand under the age of 25, according to a new index being released today by sports and entertainment marketing agency Charge. The Charge 25 Under 25 Index ranked the top 25 young athletes based on their brand energy, which includes social media following, social media engagement, search results and news stories. Beckham dominated the results with his 8.6 million Instagram followers, 2.5 million Twitter followers and 1.4 million Facebook likes. Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott is ranked second, with Nationals RF Bryce Harper, Lakers G Lonzo Ball and NASCAR driver Kyle Larson rounding out the top five.

The index applied only to athletes who primarily play in the U.S. It examined a total of 245 athletes from 22 sports, including 203 men and 42 women. Women who made the index include gymnast Simone Biles, golfer Lexi Thompson and MMA fighter Paige VanZant. See the full list of results.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the second day of his test run as a WFAN-AM host "grumbled about not getting a fair shot" at Mike Francesa's job. Christie told co-host Evan Roberts on-air, "They screwed us here. These are the two worst sports days of the year. They gave us the 10th and 11th of July. It's ridiculous" (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 7/12).

The Newark STAR-LEDGER's Steve Politi writes Christie did "really well" in his radio stint, and he "passed the audition." But this is "unlikely to change the opinion, at least among the people I've spoken to, that Christie should get this job on a permanent basis." Politi: "I haven't encountered one person who is truly enthusiastic about the idea of Christie replacing pope-in-residence Mike Francesa. I've also come to believe, however, that this is a checkmark in his favor, not one against him, because radio ratings and approval ratings have nothing in common" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 7/12).

Minnesota AD Mark Coyle today will "make the athletic department's annual budget presentation" to the school's Board of Regents, "outlining where the extra Big Ten money is going" as part of a projected $113M annual budget. Coyle took over last summer and "inherited the projected" FY '17 budget from then-interim AD Beth Goetz. That budget "severely overestimated how much ticket revenue would come this past year." Football ticket sales "sagging beneath those hefty price increases" led to a $6.3M shortfall (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/10).

Apollo Global Management has "agreed to purchase" ClubCorp, owner of more than 200 golf and country clubs, for $1.1B. The deal is "expected to close by the final three months of the year." Dallas-based ClubCorp, founded in '57, operates in 28 states and DC, as well as in China and Mexico. It also "owns sports and business clubs, with a combined total of 430,000 members" (AP, 7/11).

The NBA BOG's advisory and finance committee "received the lease and entertainment agreement" between the Pistons and Olympia Entertainment, and a final vote "will be scheduled" within roughly the next two weeks on the team's relocation to Little Caesars Arena (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/12).

Joe Gibbs Racing announced that Erik Jones "will replace" Matt Kenseth as driver of its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series No. 20 car. The move was "expected" after Kenseth said that he "didn't consider JGR an option" in '18 (ESPN.com, 7/11).

MSG announced a booking and marketing partnership with Prudential Center, marking a "further move in the ongoing venue battle" between MSG and AEG Live (VARIETY.com, 7/11).

Flames D Mark Girodano was named Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian at last night's Third Annual Sports Humanitarian Awards in L.A. The 49ers, USTA and Dick's Sporting Goods also were recognized (ESPN).

The WNBA Storm released a PSA ahead of its July 18 Planned Parenthood Night. The spot includes players Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, Noelle Quinn and Sami Whitcomb, who "voiced their support for the event" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/12).

"No" – Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, when asked if his company will buy Disney. McAdam is in Sun Valley for Allen & Co.'s annual retreat, which officially kicks off today (VARIETY.com, 7/11).

"The city of Chicago and a renovated Wrigley Field would be a great site for an All-Star Game. There will be an All-Star Game in Wrigley Field in the relatively near future" – MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/12).

"It was clear to me that as long as DeLoss Dodds was the AD at Texas, he really wanted to punish Texas A&M for leaving the Big 12. He said that. He said some very bad things about us" – Former Texas A&M President and current Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, on the former Texas men's AD (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 7/12).

"The TV is more important for the tennis than the players, probably" – Tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova, saying the scheduling at Wimbledon seems to put TV concerns before the well-being of players (TENNIS.com, 7/11).

"The court is not in a great condition. But, you have to deal with it. I don't think much can be done" – Tennis player Novak Djokovic, on court conditions at the All England Club (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12).
 
“Over the weekend, an elderly woman flashed her chest at Dodger Stadium on the Jumbotron. It was all part of a new baseball tradition, the Seventh Inning Stretch Marks” – TBS’ Conan O’Brien (“Conan,” TBS, 7/11).

The L.A. TIMES writes the "predictions of billions and billions in free-agent spending appear at odds with the fragile state" of cable TV. MLB's economic boom has been "fueled largely by lavish local cable television contracts, but the model behind those contracts could be creeping toward collapse." How many owners would "consider signing" a player such as Nationals RF Bryce Harper to a long contract "if the cable industry as we know it could be dead" before the contract would expire?

The SEATTLE TIMES: MLB "is thriving" as for the most part, "attendance is booming, local ratings are holding steady, and revenues are flowing like never before." Despite all that, there is a "strong perception that the game is in a major bind, with big-time trouble brewing just around the corner." The WASHINGTON POST goes with the header, "Baseball’s Customs Keep Aaron Judge And Bryce Harper From Being Bigger Stars."

Also:

• Nassau County officials "took the first steps" toward a possible Islanders arena.
• How ESPN analyst Jay Bilas "became the NCAA’s loudest critic."
• A look at Donald Trump-themed merchandise available at the U.S. Women's Open.
• The second of four-part series on Big 12 examines impact of Texas A&M's exit.

While @Cornell ended licensing deal with Nike, the university's athletes will continue to wear Nike, per agreement that runs through 2020.

— Matthew Kish (@matthewkish) July 11, 2017

2031: FOX shrinks A-Rod to an inch tall and has him broadcast from inside the baseball for 9 innings.

— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 12, 2017

Springer being mic'd up was really really cool. Good job MLB!

— Ryan Gonzalez (@RyGo_RTC) July 12, 2017

MLB and it's support of S⬆️2C gets me every single time. So powerful. #StandUpForThem

— Amy Ufnowski (@amyuf) July 12, 2017

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

A 3-minute hit on the stories you need to know ... Subscribe on iTunes ... Check out our podcast home.

Padres co-Owner Peter Seidler will be introduced as Nice Guys of San Diego's "Nice Guy of the Year." He will be honored at the nonprofit's Oct. 28 gala.

The NBA and Native American Basketball Invitational are partnering on the first Jr. NBA camp for Native American Youth in Maricopa and Phoenix.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Landlocked Country Names.”

“One in Europe and one in Africa, these two landlocked countries start with the same two letters and end with the same four.”

Former NFLer Peyton Manning appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night, with host Jimmy Kimmel saying, “No professional quarterback has thrown for more yards, completed more touchdowns or eaten more Papa John's pizza.” Manning talked about playing golf recently with President Trump, noting he “had a lot of people tell me not to do it.” Kimmel: “Who told you not to do it?” Manning: “You did. But to me, no matter what your beliefs are, I heard Arnold Palmer say one time, ‘If the President of the United States ever asks you to play golf, you do it.’ It's a no-brainer. It was a fantastic experience. Rode in the motorcade over there, and I've never felt safer playing golf.” Kimmel: “Usually golf courses are very dangerous places.” Manning: “It would have been almost un-American to have said no.” Kimmel: “Did he cheat when you played?” Manning: “I counted his strokes” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 7/11).

“What are Switzerland and Swaziland?”