NBA player reps last night "voted to approve the league’s plan to start the season on Dec. 22 and take advantage of playing games on Christmas Day and increase potential revenue." Teams "will play a 72-game schedule, and the season will finish before the start of the scheduled Tokyo Olympics in the summer." Training camps are "expected to open in early December." Owners and players "still have several issues to resolve, including salary cap and luxury tax amounts and the start of free agency" (USA TODAY, 11/6).

The Raiders’ "repeated COVID-19 protocol violations" will "cost the organization dearly." The NFL has fined the team $500,000 and coach Jon Gruden $150,000, and it "stripped the Raiders of a sixth-round draft pick." The Raiders "can appeal the punishment." This comes after Gruden was fined $100,000 and the club $250,000 after a Week 2 home game against the Saints because Gruden "was not consistently wearing a mask on the sidelines." The Raiders were fined an additional $50,000 for "allowing a noncleared team employee into the locker room after the game" (LAS VERGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/6).

Jimmie Johnson’s longtime partners are rolling out tributes ahead of the driver's final full-time NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend, including Chevrolet running a full-page ad in USA Today. The Chevy ad is a micrography collage of Johnson comprised of 120 tributes from fans and industry members, including fellow Hendrick Motorsports drivers Alex Bowman and William Byron, plus Chevy VP/U.S. Performance & Motorsports Jim Campbell. Johnson only drove a Chevy during his seven-championship run in NASCAR that has spanned two decades.

Elsewhere, Hendrick ran a tribute video on its social and digital channels narrated by Jeff Gordon that reflected on Johnson's career and 83 Cup Series wins. The video had more than 1,300 retweets and 4,200 likes on Twitter as of this morning. For NASCAR’s part, it will honor Johnson before Sunday’s finale: The last trophy he won in Phoenix is being displayed in the midway this weekend, while Johnson will lead the field in a special pre-race parade lap. Phoenix Raceway also has put a Jimmie Johnson logo on the apron just past the start-finish line.

Incoming Mets Owner Steve Cohen this week wrote on Twitter that he is "hoping to close on his purchase of the team" today, followed by an "introductory news conference Tuesday." A source confirmed that the "plan indeed is for the sale to be completed Friday." That is "within the timeline Cohen and the Mets provided last week." They previously said that they expected to close on the sale "within 10 days." That window "ends Monday" (NEWSDAY, 11/6).

The Breeders' Cup will hold its first fanless two-day championship event starting today at Keeneland Race Course, but it will include enhancements to the viewing experience and 37 top thoroughbreds from overseas. "This year's Breeders' Cup will have the most on-site production ever for a horse racing event," Breeders' Cup CEO Drew Fleming told THE DAILY. There will be 80 cameras at the track, two cameras on race horse jockeys and a new video feature to follow the horses from the paddock to the starting gate, Fleming said.

The Breeders' Cup will be broadcast Friday starting at 2:00pm ET on NBCSN and Saturday on NBCSN starting at noon ET. The Saturday broadcast will move to NBC beginning at 2:30. Two weeks ago, the Breeders' Cup launched a digital advertising campaign, created by Boston-based Conover Tuttle Pace, called "A Breed Apart." It will run across national media platforms, including NBC Sports, iHeart Media, Yahoo! Sports, Amobee, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

For more insights, check out this afternoon's episode of the "SBJ Unpacks: The Road Ahead" podcast with Breeders' Cup Senior VP/Marketing Justin McDonald.

The Vivint Houston Open heads into its second round today "welcoming up to 2,000 fans a day, the first U.S.-based PGA Tour event in nearly eight months to have spectators on property." Fans are being asked to to "wear masks at all times and pass a health screening at the club entrance." Golfer Tony Finau said, “When they said my name on the first tee, it was cool to have some people kind of cheer. It’s been a while since I’ve heard that.” The Tour is "viewing the Houston Open as a test case for bringing back fans in greater numbers and at more tournaments in the first quarter" of '21 (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 11/5).

Golfer Brandt Snedeker: "I love having fans out here. I kind of feed off their energy. It's great to hear some claps and people excited for good shots" (AP, 11/5).

The Nov. 14 Nevada-New Mexico college football game will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas "because of COVID-19 protocols in New Mexico, the Mountain West announced." No spectators "will be allowed at the game" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/6).

The CFL has "made changes to next spring’s college draft to deal with some of the ramifications" of the pandemic. With no games played in '20, the order of the '21 draft will be by "random selection," and it will be "cut down from eight rounds to six" (TSN.ca, 11/5).

Penn National Gaming expects to open its first retail-branded Barstool Sportsbook at Colorado-based Ameristar Casino Resort Spa Black Hawk today at 4:00pm MT, subject to any final regulatory approvals (Penn National Gaming).

Wynn Resorts is investing $80M in a "joint venture to pursue online betting in the U.S." The new venture is owned 71% by Wynn and 29% by BetBull, combining the latter's "online betting operations overseas with Wynn’s sports betting and social games in the U.S." (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/5).

"This (team) is something that me and Michael have spitballed around for a few years. It was a perfect time for both of us. We spent two weeks kind of vetting it all out, making some quick decisions, and saying, 'You know what? This is it. Let’s go for it'" -- NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin, on launching 23XI Racing with Michael Jordan (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 11/6).

“We don’t expect that it’s going to change overnight. It’s something we’re committed to. It’s something we’re working hard on. And certainly over time, I’m confident that those rates will increase” -- Iowa AD Gary Barta, on efforts to improve graduation rates among Black athletes (DES MOINES REGISTER, 11/6).

“The Giants are horrible this year, so we’re not doing great. But the Steelers are very good, so half the family is happy and half the family’s really upset” -- Actress Kate Mara, who is related to the Rooney and Mara families that own the Steelers and Giants, respectively (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 11/5).

"I’m thankful for anyone who has put out an effort to put on these events. It’s a scary thought what the future is going to be in sports, but we’ll take (an event) when (we) get the chance to" -- Dakota Buttar, a pro bull rider on the PBR Canada tour, which raps up its inaugural season this weekend despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic (TORONTO SUN, 11/6).

SI.com for its Daily Cover story goes with, "How the Missouri Football Protest Changed College Sports Forever." Five years after players "protested the university's response to racism on campus by refusing to play, the reverberations of that act are still being felt in Columbia -- and nationwide." Following the death of George Floyd earlier this year, college football teams "were using Missouri’s 2015 playbook to demand change."

Also:

• Bob Baffert comes to Breeders' Cup under cloud of doping speculation.
• Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence's absence from marquee game looms large.
• Like the NHL, EA Sports was "forced to adapt to the pandemic."
• Caroline Marks emerges as surfing ambassador before Tokyo Games.
• In troubled times, sports fans are "finding solace in baseball cards."

To many of us who worked in the newsroom, Elida was the comforting voice of unsurpassed news judgement. If you had a question on a story, she would find the answer. She was our rock w the best sense of humor. You and many others will be deeply missed. https://t.co/LAODZyavCb

— Kevin Negandhi (@KNegandhiESPN) November 6, 2020

When asked if Cal football would consider playing this season outside of Berkeley and Alameda County, head coach Justin Wilcox said: "We’re open to doing whatever we can do to protect our players and give them an opportunity to play." It's an AD/chancellor decision, he said.

— Rusty Simmons (@Rusty_SFChron) November 5, 2020

Since many people are asking, no we can't stop counting fantasy points after you take a lead during Thursday Night Football.

— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) November 6, 2020

Sunday’s Race at Phoenix will be the last race for a lot of things:

-Jimmie Johnson
-Matt Kenseth
-Clint Bowyer
-Germain Racing
-Leavine Family Racing
-Go Fas Racing running full time
-Number 88
-(hopefully) covid and limited capacity
-Chad Knaus as a crew chief

— CorvetteRacing48🎄 (@jason_albert48) November 5, 2020

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

So clean when I pull up to the scene.@OregonFootball vs. Stanford uni combo. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/ojZeeR96Fd

— GoDucks (@GoDucks) November 6, 2020

OpenSponsorship will host a free webinar crash-course event on athlete endorsements and influencer marketing from noon-1:00pm ET. Speakers: Penn Wharton School Professor of Sports Business Management Rob DiGisi, OpenSponsorship CEO & Founder Ishveen Anand. Register here.

During this crisis impacting the sports business, we want everyone to be up-to-date on the latest news and information. Here are the top headlines from last night's SBJ Unpacks: Pandemic Takes Bite Out Of Braves, F1 Financials.

• NFL Not Assuming It Will Keep COVID-19 Under Control
• Dombrowski Stays With Nashville Group; Won't Pursue MLB Openings
• GSE’s John Tatum Talks NFL Sponsorship In 2020

More from SBJ Football: COVID Continues To Test NFL Schedule Flexibility:

• A Look Back With Mike Egan, Arthur Blank's Top Lawyer
• Teams Look To Robots To Keep Community Appearances Alive

More from SBJ College: Expect School Websites To Help Shape NIL Future:

• Sidearm Sports Looks To Use Vast Network To Promote NIL
• Learfield IMG College Diversifies Content For School Sites
• Ivan Maisel Among ESPN Layoffs; Sees Outpouring Of Twitter Support

A brief hit on the stories you need ... Subscribe on iTunes ... Visit our podcast home.

Last night's “Final Jeopardy!” featured the category “Foreign Words in English.”

"The first use of this Spanish term in English was by Wellington referring to partisans in the Peninsular Wars."

"What is guerrilla?"