Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby this week "issued a cease-and-desist letter to ESPN, the Big 12's television partner, accusing the network of attempting to push other schools to leave the conference." Bowlsby in the letter said ESPN has "taken certain actions that are intended to not only harm the Big 12 Conference but to result in financial benefits for ESPN." Bowlsby also accused ESPN of "deliberately attempting to destabilize the Big 12 and claimed to have hard evidence of such interference" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/28). Bowlsby said that he has "documented evidence that ESPN tried to encourage an unnamed conference." Sources said that the unnamed conference that Bowlsby is referencing "is the American" (TWITTER.com, 7/28). ESPN in a statement said Bowlsby's claims "have no merit" (SBJ).

SEC presidents are "expected to meet" today and formally vote to accept Texas and Oklahoma as new conference members, according to sources. UT and OU need "at least 11 yes votes from the current 14 SEC schools." Four no votes "would kill expansion." But another source said, “I feel like we have the votes." Another person with ties to Texas A&M said: “I’ve heard nothing to indicate this will go sideways.” One source said that SEC presidents and ADs were "briefed Tuesday on the financial parameters of a new 16-team conference." The UT System Board of Regents has scheduled a meeting for Friday morning, "presumably to formally accept the SEC’s invitation." OU regents also have "scheduled a Friday meeting" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 7/29).

Last night's Nationals-Phillies game "was postponed" due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the Nationals. The Nationals "have 12 positive tests, four of which were players, according to manager Dave Martinez, and the team will continue to undergo rapid testing and contact tracing to determine if the outbreak is more widespread." But the Phillies and Nationals will "attempt to play a single-admission doubleheader" beginning at 12:05pm ET today, with the Phillies "honoring only tickets for Thursday’s regularly scheduled game." The Nationals are "among the teams that have reached the 85% vaccination rate" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/29).

SBJ reporter Chris Smith is in Tokyo to cover the Olympics. He will be filing reports throughout his time there. Here is his latest dispatch.

TOKYO -- On Thursday, I made my first trip into the International Broadcasting Center. Since I’m a member of the written press, my credential actually doesn’t afford me access to the space, but I was able to secure a guest pass thanks to an invite from NBC. More from that visit in a later dispatch.

As the name implies, the IBC is the central hub for Olympics broadcasters, and in Tokyo it’s located in the east halls of the Tokyo Big Sight convention center. NBC has a massive footprint in the IBC, and CBC and Televisa are among outlets with smaller spaces. And no broadcaster commands more square footage than Olympic Broadcasting Services, the IOC-owned media operations arm headquartered in Spain.

OBS is responsible for delivering the actual imagery and sound from all Olympic competitions, and its “international feed” is provided to rights-holding broadcasters around the globe. OBS is also tasked with designing and managing the IBC, has a role in competition venue design and provides services to the RHBs. And as I discovered today, some of the OBS production operations are on full display. In fact, dozens of its employees -- OBS has a full-time staff of around 160, though total headcount will be quite a bit higher during the Games -- work in a sort of TV production aquarium freely accessible from “main street,” the IBC’s central concourse. The public access is a nice touch, since OBS staffers are truly among the unsung heroes of the Games, smoothly maintaining an astonishingly complex operation from behind the scenes. 

International Broadcasting Center

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The Professional Fighters League has partnered with HotelPlanner to set up booking arrangements for its industry and special travel packages for fans. The deal will be announced later this morning with terms not provided aside from the pact being for more than one year. HotelPlanner becomes the official hotel booking partner of the MMA series, which saw its ’20 campaign canceled due to the pandemic but which has gotten back on track this year. The deal involves HotelPlanner hosting a discounted booking platform for the PFL industry and creating travel packages for fans in the U.S. and globally. The PFL, whose inaugural season was in '18, has its media rights with ESPN and its starts its playoffs next month at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida.

PFL CEO Peter Murray told SBJ that the property has momentum in searching for sponsors “because MMA is a growth category with a young and diverse fanbase. Major brands who have yet to dip their toe into MMA are now looking to the sport for solutions to reach primary males 18-34. It takes time but the proof of concept is now we’re seeing growth.” The PFL’s sponsor roster includes Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. Air Force, Geico, DraftKings and IBM Watson.

Ticketing technology and analytics company Logitix has promoted Senior VP/Strategy & Analytics Stuart Halberg to CEO, one of several executive personnel moves being announced today. Halberg’s career began with the NHL Panthers where he spent five seasons focused on analytics for hockey operations and the club’s business side. He’s spent the last seven years at Logitix overseeing data and product strategy, including the development of its Pricing Intelligence Platform. Logitix also named TractManager CFO Eric Ingram to the same position and Salesforce Dir of Software Engineering Trent Stewart Head of Engineering. It also made former Harlem Globetrotters CEO Kurt Schneider Exec Chair of its board advisors.

Logitix, which was known as Dynasty Sports and Entertainment until a December '20 rebrand, has partnered with 18 concert and live event promoters, 16 NFL teams, 14 NBA teams, 19 NHL teams, 16 MLB teams, 22 NCAA entities, and five primary ticket providers. Its four services include Logitix Lift, which focuses on optimizing pricing and yield management strategy; Logitix List, a distribution and fulfillment automation platform connecting ticket holders with available sales channels; Logitix Live, a B2B ticket exchange bringing secondary ticket buyers and sellers together; and Logitix Insights, a hub for engagement of ticketing data. 

Logitix’s CEO position had been vacant since late '20, when Cole Rubin, who founded what was called Dynasty Sports and Entertainment, left the company.

Puma has "returned to the trajectory it was on before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, reporting that revenues leaped 95.8 percent in the second quarter" to $1.89B (all figures U.S.), and "upgrading its outlook for the rest of the year." Puma "trumpeted double-digit increases in all regions and product segments." Compared to '19, the last “normal” year for clothing and footwear sales before the health crisis and retail shutdowns began, first-half revenues "advanced over 30 percent." The company "upgraded its outlook and predicted growth of around 20 percent for the whole year." Previously it had "forecast increases in the mid-teens" (WWD.com, 7/29).

Vivid Seats has rebranded its logo, redesigned its website and redone its app that is now geared toward customer personalization and simpler ways to find events and shows. The moves, which include an enhanced loyalty rewards program, follow Vivid Seats’ April merger with Horizon Acquisition Corp., which will see the SPAC take the company public later this year. Earning rewards in Vivid Seats’ new program is free and automatic. Fans earn a stamp for every ticket they purchase; 10 stamps equal a reward credit worth the average value of the 10 stamps, which can then be used for tickets to another event. Perks increase as fans progress through the program’s three levels.

The program’s perks also include “surprise and delight” events, the first of which will be held in Vivid Seats’ hometown of Chicago. A group of lucky Icon rewards members will be invited to an exclusive Lollapalooza after-party and private concert hosted by the company and Rolling Stone at Tao Nightclub. And though it’s subject to regulatory approval and available only for a limited time, the reward program is also offering DraftKings’ DK Dollars, cash-equivalent site credits to use at the daily fantasy company’s website.

U.S. pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, who won a Bronze Medal at the ’16 Rio Games, “will miss the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19” (USA TODAY, 7/29).

Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster stars in an ad promoting Yahoo Sports' fantasy football platform. The ad begins running today, with a full brand campaign spot to debut in August (Preston Bounds, SBJ).

The Univ. of Iowa will name the football field at Kinnick Stadium after Duke Slater, the Hawkeyes' "trailblazing star of the 1920s who later became the second Black judge in Chicago history." The field's official name is now Duke Slater Field at Kinnick Stadium (DES MOINES REGISTER, 7/28).

All five stops on LSU football's Coaches Caravan "have been canceled ... out of an abundance of caution because to the rise of COVID-19 cases" around Louisiana (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 7/28).

“If you wear the mask under your nose it defeats the purpose” -- ESPN’s Elle Duncan, on Bills WR Cole Beasley speaking about NFL players getting vaccinated and the NFL’s new guidelines on vaccinated and unvaccinated players while wearing a mask that wasn’t covering his nose (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 7/28).

GOLF.com writes Japan's media coverage of the sport offers a "window into the country’s insatiable appetite for the game." To "understand how important hosting Olympic golf is to the country, it’s helpful to take a closer look at the Japanese golf media." The "passion for the game of golf exhibited by the Japanese fans is reflected in the equally ardent media coverage of it." One can "walk into any convenience store in Japan and you will find rows of weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly golf magazines." There are "as many online outlets, too, their foreign correspondents posting updates throughout each week’s event; time-marked, of course, at intervals throughout the night."

Also:

• How the Olympic medal table can serve as a window into world affairs. 
• NBA Draft prospect Jalen Green on the pressure of teenage celebrity.
• Steve Sabol, now a HOFer, "was ‘the Steven Spielberg of the NFL.'"
• Student-athletes "deserve 10-Year scholarships."

When Marshawn Lynch said take care of your chicken and take care of your mentals, a lotta yall didn’t feel that apparently

— Kazeem Famuyide 🍎 (@Kazeem) July 28, 2021

It's clear now the @Big12Conference is going to fight to the death. This could be a long, drawn out process.

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) July 29, 2021

every time Caeleb Dressel cries, I cry

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) July 29, 2021

Does this man do house calls? 🙋🏼‍♂️ https://t.co/nNmLryupa6

— James Longman (@JamesAALongman) July 28, 2021

Leaders in Sport at 10:00-10:45am ET presents a Leaders Live online event: "Who really cares about the Olympics (and why)?" The conversation features LA28 CMO Amy Gleeson and former International Ski Federation Secretary General (FIS) Sarah Lewis. Register here.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Shakespeare’s Plays.”

“'Let’s all sink with the king' is a line from the opening scene of this play.”

“What is The Tempest?”