The U.S. Open begins in N.Y. this morning for the first day of play, when top-ranked women's player Iga Swiatek "opens her title defense in the afternoon" and both Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic play at night. Defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz is "scheduled to play" Dominik Koepfer tomorrow night. With Roger Federer retired and Rafael Nadal "sidelined since January because of injuries," Alcaraz has "quickly picked up many of their fans along with his own" (AP, 8/27).

Djokovic "headlines the night session" on the 23,000-seater Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight. Most neutrals are "hoping that Alcaraz and Djokovic can progress through" to "another blockbuster showdown in the men's final" on Sept. 10 (YAHOO SPORTS, 8/27).

The USTA is celebrating the 50th anniversary this year of "introducing equal prize money to the men’s and women’s draws" in 1973. The "landmark decision" was spurred by tennis great Billie Jean King, who "demanded equal prize money for both pools after that tournament and facilitated the change with the financial backing of a sponsor," Ban deodorant. It was also "among the first major milestones in the decades-long fight for equal pay" in men’s and women’s sports. This year's tournament will feature a purse of $65M -- an "all-time high and 8% increase" from $60M in 2022 (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/28 issue).

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan made an appearance on East Lake Golf Club’s 18th green following Viktor Hovland's win at the Tour Championship yesterday, and he was greeted by "a series of boos and jeers" from the surrounding hospitality structures. Monahan "did not acknowledge the cold crowd reaction," instead opening his statement by "highlighting the PGA Tour’s fan support." Monahan: "I want to first start off by thanking all the great fans of the PGA Tour" (SI, 8/27).

Despite various reports to the contrary, the Big 12 "has not had conversations" with any of the remaining Pac-12 schools about further expansion and "has no intention in engaging" with those schools (X, 8/27). At every turn, when it sounds like Washington State "might survive the Pac-12 exit and land in a major conference after all," the Cougars' hope "seems to fade." If the Cougars can’t join the Big 12, their options are the ones that WSU President Kirk Schulz and others in the media "have already outlined: Join the Mountain West, join the American Athletic Conference or rebuild the Pac-12 in some fashion" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 8/27).

In the fall of 2021, the talk of the sports world was "how Formula One was exploding in popularity in the U.S." Two years later, the chatter is "turning to whether F1’s meteoric rise here is now slowing." After a couple of seasons of "dramatic gains in ratings, attendance, sponsorship, licensing, private equity interest, stock price, promoter solicitations and overall cultural resonance, F1’s U.S. ratings growth has slowed to a trickle this year on ESPN."

F1 backers "point out that television viewership is just one key performance indicator, but it’s the first time that growth has slowed in ratings during the 'Drive to Survive' era." The question now is "whether the sport is plateauing in the U.S. for good after gaining an impressive number of new followers, or whether F1 bears are simply jumping on the first sign of stagnation" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/28 issue).

In Vanderbilt football's season opener Saturday against Hawaii, the new floating scoreboard that was installed at Hawkins Field on Thursday "caught the attention of fans as well as the broadcasters" due to the "constant movement of the board before kickoff." Cranes were "holding up a board that is similar in size" to the Hawkins Fields video board. The start of the game was "delayed more than 90 minutes due to lightning in the area," and with that the cranes had to "take the board down a few notches" in the south end zone (Nashville TENNESSEEAN, 8/27).

The NFL and WWE have signed a multiyear licensing deal to create NFL-inspired WWE legacy title belts featuring the official colors and branding of all 32 teams. The line of officially licensed NFL products launches today on NFLShop.com, WWEShop.com and Fanatics.com. This marks the first-ever licensing agreement between WWE and the NFL. This is WWE’s latest licensing deal for its growing title belt business. WWE struck a deal with MLB back in August 2021, and last September, WWE secured licenses to produce custom side plates for all 14 SEC schools (WWE).

WWE

SB Nation on Tuesday will launch its first paid products -- newsletters focused on the Lions (Pride of Detroit) and Chiefs (Arrowhead Pride) that will come out twice per week. Vox Media-owned SB Nation will also host an activation for DraftKings Nation (its partnership with the betting platform) at the Lions-Chiefs NFL Kickoff in K.C. on Thursday featuring a live taping of DraftKings’ new “GoJo & Golic” show with Arrowhead Pride hosts, former players and more.

The showdown over "how long to extend" Madison Square Garden’s "special permit" to stay at its home of over a half-century is scheduled for the City Council’s Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises today. The Dolan family "wants the license to be immortal," but the City Planning Commission "recommends a 10-year extension that would require the Dolans to upgrade surrounding streets and sidewalks and work with transit agencies to make improvements to Penn Station." But "Move the Garden" advocates "insist the Council limit a permit renewal to three years" (N.Y. POST, 8/27).

The MTA, N.J. Transit and Amtrak this month "raised a new alarm about the impossibility of evacuating the Garden and the station in any major emergency" and demanded "major changes that could cost MSG’s owners hundreds of millions." And the MTA has threatened to "use eminent-domain laws to evict MSG 'if necessary.'" Far too much is "up in the air" right now for an extension. A three- or four-year one, with "stipulations that the Dolans at least settle the urgent evacuation issue," seems the "wisest course" (N.Y. POST, 8/27).

FS1 has "once again hired a former ESPNer" in David Jacoby, who will join "The Carton Show" as a co-host alongside Craig Carton. Jacoby "most notably" teamed up at ESPN with Jalen Rose on "Jalen and Jacoby," which was a podcast-turned-TV-show. Jacoby is "expected to debut" on the network this morning with Carton (N.Y. POST, 8/27).

Sports Business Journal is now accepting nominations for the inaugural year of SBJ’s Best Places to Work in Sports, honoring companies for their leadership and unwavering commitment to their employees.

• Spanish women vow not to play until Rubiales out
• Wimbledon champ Vondroušová signs with J. Lindeberg
• Erling Haaland adds Prime Hydration to portfolio

Check your preferences to make sure you are getting all the SBJ editions you need to keep you informed.

Blues

The Blues have picked Shift4 to become the exclusive payments processor at Enterprise Center and the adjacent Stifel Theatre. The team will deploy Shift4 hardware (including point-of-sale devices and self-serve kiosks) and software (mobile ordering), as well as powering the Blues’ mobile wallet and loyalty solution, to continue the Enterprise Center’s ongoing enhancement (Bret McCormick, SBJ).

“It’s mindboggling to have the young talent that they had there and to put Tony La Russa in charge of it first, a guy who had been retired for a decade, and now to just watch it fritter all away like this. as disappointing as the Mets are this year, as the Padres are this year, as the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Chicago White Sox are the most disappointing team of the last five years and there’s no question about that” -- ESPN’s Jeff Passan, on the White Sox bringing back Tony La Russa in a “consultant” role after managing the club from ’21-22 (“Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown,” ESPN, 8/27).

The AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN dives into Brett Yormark's comments on Texas last week under the headline, "Big 12 commish Yormark drew a line in the sand with his comments on Texas." Brett Yormark "took it there -- and he didn’t have to." When he took over as Big 12 commissioner last year, he "got straight to the point" by saying the conference was "open for business." One year later, it has "gotten really personal against the league’s resident blue bloods" -- Texas and Oklahoma. As the Big 12's only traditional college football powerhouses prepare for a move to the SEC, no one is blaming Yormark "for not getting the warm fuzzies when the not-so-dearly departing are mentioned," but he "made a grievous error" when he revealed at an annual Red Raider kickoff luncheon that he has "thrust his full public support" behind Texas Tech in its Black Friday matchup with Texas this year.

Also:

• Frances Tiafoe is ready.
• RJ Peete isn’t just a clubhouse attendant with autism. He’s a central part of the Dodgers family.
• Orioles reset: John Angelos should stop talking. Here are 3 ways he can get his critics to do the same.

TUESDAY

• The ACC will hold a flag-raising ceremony at its new Charlotte headquarters in Bank of America Tower at 10am ET. The event will include a post-ceremony reception and celebration.
• Lausanne Olympic Capital will host an esport and gaming strategies forum, open to all international federations, at Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland (1 day).

WEDNESDAY

• Daktronics will release its quarterly earnings report. 

THURSDAY

• The Berner Sport Forum will be held in Bern, Switzerland (1 day).
• Academy Sports & Outdoors will release its quarterly earnings report. 

SUNDAY

• The final day of NFL preseason training camp for all teams.

Have an event we should feature? Send an email to malongi@sportsbusinessjournal.com.

The latest on Ryan Preece after his violent crash Saturday night at Daytona. He has been released from Halifax Health Medical Center. pic.twitter.com/cTPZFyfv49

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 27, 2023

Bob Costas regrets his call of the final out of the 1995 World Series.

"I swear not five seconds later, this pops into my head. 'Atlanta at last.' And that would have been perfect...but you don't get do-overs on live TV." pic.twitter.com/03gpvwWdiZ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 27, 2023

Looks about right. https://t.co/Jx8WlV9cvh

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) August 27, 2023

A walk-off homer to win the Little League World Series!

What a moment for Louis Lappe and El Segundo, California!

📹: @ESPN & @LittleLeague pic.twitter.com/oioAywbliV

— MLB (@MLB) August 28, 2023

#Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa wore a camera on his helmet during OTA's/camp.

Here's a glimpse of what it looks like from his view.... Pretty cool.

(📽️ @FinsPhanatics)pic.twitter.com/PZD2Mj0Loh

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 27, 2023

The floor routine that secured @Simone_Biles' 8th national all-around title, a feat that no American gymnast in history has done before. #XfinityChamps pic.twitter.com/yRhHxSEcY1

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 28, 2023

Tony Khan says that October 1 from Seattle will be the first AEW WrestleDream PPV, in honor of Antonio Inoki pic.twitter.com/TWjTytwEEq

— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) August 27, 2023

To fight malaria, this former royal estate helped move quinine-producing cinchona plants from South America to India.

“What is Kew Gardens?”