The Bucks named Dir of Basketball Operations Jon Horst GM. The team will hold an introductory press conference tomorrow at 10:00am CT. Horst began his NBA front office career with the Pistons in '05 and joined the Bucks in '08 (Bucks). Horst "wasn't one of the six executives the team interviewed" June 5-6 in N.Y. He also "wasn't one of the three finalists the team brought to Milwaukee last week for further conversations." It looked like Bucks Assistant GM Justin Zanik was the "last finalist remaining and in best position to take the job" (JSONLINE.com, 6/16). Horst was a finalist last summer for the Bucks Assistant GM position that went to Zanik. The Bucks are "expected to pursue a well-connected and experienced" Assistant GM to assist Horst in his transition (ESPN.com, 6/16).

The staging the Warriors' championship parade on Thursday will cost team co-Owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber "roughly" $4M, according to a source. Typically, a team's city "will help cover the costs of the championship parade." But after discussing the matter with City of Oakland officials, who are facing a massive budget shortfall, Lacob and Gruber "volunteered to cover the entirety of parade production costs" (SFCHRONICLE.com, 6/16).

Those who attend the final round of the U.S. Open today "will receive" a pin from the USGA honoring Arnold Palmer. The pin is an "exact replica of the players pin" that Palmer received at the '60 U.S. Open, where he "stormed from seven shots back to claim the title" (USATODAY.com, 6/18). 

Wisconsin tourism officials are "delighted with the coverage of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills." The sights and sounds of golf in the "American heartland have reached viewers, and golfers, around the world." Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett said, "The bottom line is the video footage has been so incredible and the coverage of the event itself, why, literally we cannot pay for this kind of advertising" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL, 6/18). Meanwhile, health officials in a release said that evidence of E. coli bacteria was "found at a hydration station at Erin Hills." However "no incidents of illness had been reported" (ESPN.com, 6/15).

Coyotes President & CEO Anthony LeBlanc and President of Hockey Operations Gary Drummond "stepped down from their roles" on Friday, continuing the restructuring of the team's front office. While the Coyotes have "not decided to hire" a new President of Hockey Operations "at this time," they appointed GM John Chayka and General Counsel Ahron Cohen as the club's new Alternate Governors. Cohen has also been named the team's new COO. The two will "report directly" to Managing Owner & Chair Andrew Barroway and "oversee operation until a new CEO is hired" (AZCENTRAL.com, 6/16).

The NFL has "reached a settlement with a youth charity that sued the league for fraud over how the league enforced its gambling policy" at a casino near Las Vegas in '15. The agreement to close the federal court case "comes about a week after the charity asked for a federal judge to compel" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to "testify under oath about the league's gambling policy." The charity, Strikes for Kids, sued the league last year, saying it was "misled by the league and lost revenue after being forced to relocate a bowling event for kids." More than 100 boys and girls were invited to the event at a bowling alley that was to "feature more than 25 NFL players as the star attraction" (USA TODAY, 6/16).

The Reds yesterday "unveiled a bigger-than-life sculpture" of former MLBer Pete Rose at Great American Ball Park for the "latest tribute to their favorite baseball son." Baseball HOFers Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and Joe Morgan "were among those attending the festivities" (AP, 6/18). With the Reds "still in a rebuilding phase on the field," the weekend honoring Rose with a sculpture "became their biggest promotion." They "drew 36,613 fans" for Friday's game against the Dodgers that kicked off the weekend festivities, their "largest crowd since Opening Day." Yesterday's game following the statue unveiling "drew the Reds' first capacity crowd since Opening Day" despite it being 90 degrees (ESPN.com, 6/17).

The statue is the "unprecedented effort of 74 designers, thinkers and makers" from across Cincinnati and Ohio (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 6/18). The CINCINNATI ENQUIRER examines the science and math behind the Rose statue.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in K.C. on Wednesday, and Negro Leagues Museum President Bob Kendrick said that Manfred and MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark are "expected to announce a partnership with the museum including a significant donation." Kendrick was "mum on discussing a donation figure." However, he said that support from the league is being "significantly raised to a new level" (K.C. STAR, 6/17). 

All opening ceremony events for the College World Series in Omaha "were canceled" Friday night, as "bolts of lightning flashed through the sky" around 6:30pm CT. Singer Aloe Blacc's performance was "moved to Creighton's Rasmussen Center." Due to space constraints, the event "was for players and their friends and families only." The fireworks "went on as scheduled" at 10:00pm, but fans had to "make do with watching from elsewhere," as TD Ameritrade Park remained closed (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 6/17). The weather forecast for today's Louisville-Texas A&M and Florida-TCU games is sunny with a high of 81 degrees and no rain (THE DAILY).

In the opening game of the 71st CWS yesterday, Oregon St. rallied to defeat Cal State Fullerton 6-5 "in front of 22,656" at TD Ameritrade Park (OMAHA.com, 6/17). LSU then rallied for a 5-4 win against Florida St. in the second game "in front of 25,305" (OMAHA.com, 6/17).

Boxer Andre Ward beat Sergey Kovalev to win the light heavyweight title by way of eighth-round TKO last night in front of a "pro-Ward crowd of 10,982 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center" (USATODAY.com, 6/18). The crowd was "roaring at every punch landed by Ward and chanting his nickname." Ward was paid $6.5M for the rematch, while Kovalev "got a percentage of the gate and the pay-per-view" (AP, 6/18). The crowd "wasn't cheated because both fighters brought their 'A' game and was willing to lay it all on the line" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/18). Ward "deserves the top spot on the sport's pound-for-pound list" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 6/18).

Patriots QB Tom Brady's tour of Asia with Under Armour "begins in Beijing" today. Brady "plans to engage fans around the excitement of football and training for the sport with a focus on recovery" (ESPN.com, 6/18).

Director John G. Avildsen, whose resume includes "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid," died Friday at 81 from pancreatic cancer (AP, 6/16).

“The brand is something that is ours, and a brand is one of the biggest things you can get. Whether it's a lot or a little bit, it's still mine” – LaVar Ball, on owning the Big Baller Brand (“Sunday Today with Willie Geist,” NBC, 6/18).

"They’re breaking their own rules to try to punish North Carolina because they don’t like this ... You can’t just violate the rules because you don’t like something. ... A rules-based organization cannot break its own rules to get the result that it wants" – ESPN's Jay Bilas, describing the NCAA's treatment of UNC (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/18).

"ESPN is basically the Titanic. They’re the first one to hit the iceberg to show how damaging this greed of theirs has been over the years, to overpay for sports rights and to force that down to consumers whether they wanted to watch it or not" – American Cable Association President & CEO Matt Polka, on the effect EPSN has on the media rights landscape (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/18).

Potential No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has agreed to a multi-year endorsement deal with Nike, source tells @TheVertical.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 16, 2017

What I've learned during this last month of Warriors dominance & this US Open is that nothing is ever good enough for the "old school" peeps

— max homa (@maxhoma23) June 18, 2017

NHLPA Executive Board vote on salary cap still ongoing today ... Vegas can begin talking/negotiating with unprotected free agents today

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 18, 2017

Whether or not you speak Spanish you should probably watch the Telemundo broadcast of Mexico-Portugal. Why? Andres Cantor, that's why.

— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) June 18, 2017

28th Birthday! Sad that I didn't get to spend it with @brhitney but DC was an incredibly special way to end my best year yet. I'm grateful for all the amazing people in my life!

A post shared by Jay Harbaugh (@jayharbaugh) on Jun 15, 2017 at 6:37pm PDT

The L.A. TIMES writes under the header, "How Jeanie Buss Became The Most Powerful Woman In Sports." Buss is also one of the most "powerful people in sports." Now, she faces her "greatest test: reviving the NBA’s glamour franchise, which has stumbled badly since her father’s death" in '13.

The AP wrote under the header, "Tigers GM, Catcher Among Father-Son Duos In Sports." C Alex Avila was the "best player available" when the Tigers and GM Al Avila selected him in the '08 amateur draft. Al Avila "suggested" picking someone else as to not show favoritism, but now the Avilas are "one of the fortunate father-son duos in sports."

Elsewhere:

• Father's Day and the NBA Draft "share uneasy bond."
• Rays' Sternberg discusses driverless technology tech.
• ESPN's Mendoza is "blazing" a trail for female journalists.
• The road to Omaha has led to a "bit of an impasse."
• Defiant Peter Pocklington "tries for one last score."
• Both Univ. of Louisville and the NCAA "should be ashamed."
• A list of the best stadiums Texas has to offer.

$65,000 – Money spent by Predators fans on fake fan gear during the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 6/17).