• An NFL team offered U.S. women’s national team forward Carli Lloyd a chance at suiting up in a preseason game after a video went viral of her kicking a 55-year-old field goal during a visit to a Philadelphia Eagles training session, her trainer said. Though she had to turn down the opportunity due to a scheduling conflict and likely a lack of preparation time, her trainer said Lloyd is “perfectly made out for a job like that.” (Fox Sports)

• The NFL and Oakley Inc. will announce a four-year deal today that’ll see the company become the league’s official helmet visor provider and “preferred” eyewear provider, though players won’t be mandated to sport branded sunglasses and eyeglasses on the sidelines. The deal with Oakley — which has exclusivity in the helmet visor category, but players can wear other brands without displaying logos if they receive a medical exemption — comes after the NFL ended a 21-year ban on the use of tinted visors except in cases where players had a medical reason to wear them. (Ad Age)

• The ATP Tour fired chair umpire Damian Steiner from the men’s tennis circuit, citing unauthorized interviews he gave to media in Argentina after officiating the Wimbledon Grand Slam singles final match between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic last month. Though Steiner was not named as an umpire for the U.S. Open, he isn’t expressly barred from working Grand Slams in the future. (The New York Times)

China’s Sportswear Leader Feels the Trade War Heat as It Goes Global
Jinshan Hong, Bloomberg

The bigger Anta Sports Products Ltd. becomes, the more vulnerable it feels. That’s the tight rope China’s largest athletic-apparel producer is walking as it expands beyond the Asian nation amid the trade war.

Team presidents with local roots ‘a must’ for new XFL
Eric Prisbell, Sports Business Journal

As the final XFL team president hired this year, Grady Raskin faces a two-pronged challenge: lead the multifaceted construction of one of eight teams in the new spring football league, and do it by playing catchup. Raskin, who was vice president of corporate partnerships for the NHL’s Dallas Stars before being named president of the Dallas Renegades XFL franchise on June 27, knows no blueprint exists for how to build a successful spring football league franchise.

After cementing ‘marketing partner’ status with Nike, The Infatuation plots new revenue streams
Katie Deighton, The Drum

The Infatuation, the food guide-turned-media platform-turned ‘360 marketing partner’, is primed to diversify its monetization strategy beyond branded content – a strategy that’s so far seen it bring food culture to the likes of Nike and Amex and unify internal brand teams with its plug-and-play approach. Nearly a year after securing $30m in funding from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo, The Infatuation’s co-founders found themselves ticking off a bucket list item.

Erectile dysfunction linked to concussions in NFL players, Harvard study finds
Elijah Shama, CNBC

Head trauma in former NFL players may be linked to low testosterone and erectile dysfunction later in life, according to a study by Harvard researchers. More than 3,400 former professional football players, the largest group studied to date, were surveyed by investigators at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School as part of the university’s ongoing Football Players Health Study.

This NFL player will buy your tickets, angry Colts fans, and give them to a children’s hospital
Scott Allen, The Washington Post

Jacksonville Jaguars long snapper Matt Overton was as shocked as anyone when the news broke Saturday night that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was abruptly retiring at age 29. Overton, who spent five seasons as Luck’s teammate in Indianapolis beginning in 2012, went on social media to make sure the surprising news wasn’t a hoax, and he didn’t appreciate some of the reaction he found there.

One Place Running Backs Still Rule: Fantasy Football
Victor Mather, The New York Times

Running backs once dominated the N.F.L. From Jim Brown to Walter Payton to Marcus Allen to Barry Sanders, star backs racked up the yards and got the headlines. But recently the contractual value of even elite players at the position — think about the standoff between the Dallas Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott or Le’Veon Bell’s holdout with the Pittsburgh Steelers last year — has been much debated.

Patriots’ Chung pleads not guilty to cocaine charge
Reuters

New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of cocaine possession and waived his arraignment scheduled for Wednesday, according to a New Hampshire Supreme Court spokesperson. His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 8 at Belknap County Superior Court in Laconia, N.H.

Patrick Mahomes lays it on thick in Hunt’s ketchup social ads
Jessica Wohl, Ad Age

Tomato products brand Hunt’s is boosting its social media presence this week with Patrick Mahomes, the ketchup-loving NFL star, in the hopes he can convince others to act like him and put ketchup on pretty much any food. Hunt’s snagged Patrick Mahomes as a brand ambassador in December, beating out larger rival Heinz for the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s attention after the news surfaced that the NFL star is a major ketchup fan.

Former NFL player says football caused ‘dark times,’ pleads for help to ‘get my head checked’
Cindy Boren, The Washington Post

Le’Ron McClain, a fullback who played for three NFL teams from 2007 through 2013, expressed frustration with the NFL on Twitter over the weekend, asking for personal help while wondering “what’s wrong with me?” “I have to get my head checked. Playing fullback since high school.

Dwight Howard officially signs one-year deal with Lakers
Tania Ganguli, Los Angeles Times

Dwight Howard officially signed his one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Lakers on Monday, after clearing the league’s waiver wire. To make room for Howard, the Lakers waived forward Aric Holman.

Venezuelan politicians may take the field if MLB bars players, socialist party No. 2 says
Vivian Sequera et al., Reuters

Venezuela’s upcoming baseball season will go on “even if we have to play ourselves,” socialist party No. 2 Diosdado Cabello said on Monday, criticizing a move by Major League Baseball (MLB) to restrict players from participating because of U.S. sanctions. MLB said last week it would suspend involvement in the Venezuelan league, which starts play in October, while it awaited word from the U.S. government on whether its players’ participation was consistent with Washington’s sanctions on the OPEC nation, which are meant to force out socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Pitcher discovered on social media lands chance with A’s
Janie McCauley, The Associated Press

Nathan Patterson never even made the varsity baseball team as a middle infielder during high school back home in Kansas. In fact, he’d strayed far from the game — running his own landscaping business and working various other jobs that included sales and software — before baseball came back into his life when he least expected it.

Vince Naimoli, original owner of Tampa Bay Rays, dies at 81
The Associated Press

Vince Naimoli, the original owner of the Tampa Bay Rays who ended the region’s long pursuit to land a major league team, has died. He was 81.

Why each side might (and might not) want to opt out of the NHL’s CBA as the deadlines quickly approach
Sean Gordon, The Athletic

There is apathy, certainly. There is also anger, although how much isn’t entirely clear.

Wayne Rooney suspended for another D.C. United match
Steven Goff, The Washington Post

MLS suspended Wayne Rooney an additional match for a red card last week, meaning D.C. United’s captain will miss a critical trip to Montreal on Saturday. The English striker served a mandatory one-game suspension this past Saturday at Philadelphia, but because his expulsion against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday involved a blow to the head, United officials said the league’s disciplinary committee extended the penalty for another match.

NASCAR, ISC hit the road for new vacation category
Adam Stern, Sports Business Journal

NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. have struck deals with Bluegreen Vacations in a pact that fills a new category and is another example of the integrated packages the sanctioning body is assembling these days. The multiyear deal will be announced this week, and sources said it was in the low seven figures annually. Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief sales and partnership officer, and Famous Rhodes, Bluegreen’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, both declined to comment on financials.

Serena Williams Crushes Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open
Christopher Clarey, The New York Times

On the night Serena Williams returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium, scene of last year’s traumatic United States Open final, could there have been a more reassuring opponent than Maria Sharapova? So much had changed in tennis and beyond since Williams last faced Sharapova, in January 2016.

For Federer and His Fans, a Chance to Leave Wimbledon Behind
Christopher Clarey, The New York Times

On Sunday, the day before the United States Open, Matt Manning, a 38-year-old technology consultant, was strolling the grounds in the breeze and the sunshine while wearing an “RF” T-shirt. This has been a difficult period for Manning, as it has been for many a Roger Federer fan.

Coco Gauff Made a Smashing Slam Debut. She’s Ready for an Encore at the U.S. Open.
Tom Perrotta, The Wall Street Journal

The tennis tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., a small tune-up held the week before the U.S. Open, doesn’t usually attract much attention. But earlier this summer came the surprising news that Cori “Coco” Gauff, age 15, would play in a match.

Koepka claims second consecutive PGA Player of Year award
Tom Perrotta, Reuters

Brooks Koepka has claimed PGA of America Player of the Year honours for the second consecutive year, edging the newly crowned Tour Championship winner Rory McIlroy, the PGA of America said on Monday. Koepka, winner of three titles this season including a successful defence of his PGA championship crown, finished with 84 points.

Nike, New Balance, and USTA serve up ads celebrating female stars for U.S. Open
Jeff Beer, Fast Company

The 2019 U.S. Open kicks off today in Queens, New York, and there are plenty of questions heading into it. Will Serena be healthy?

This Golf Ball Could Help You Cheat by Finding Hole Every Time
Jie Ma, Bloomberg

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. has developed a golf ball that will help you make a putt with your eyes closed. As a proof of concept, the carmaker unveiled a video on Tuesday, whereby a toddler taps a ball with his club and makes a putt that would make Tiger Woods’ jaw drop.

How James Franklin, Penn State Could Be Impacted by Ex-Team Physician’s Lawsuit
Michael McCann, Sports Illustrated

Did Penn State unlawfully fire its former team physician because he blew the whistle on James Franklin directing still-injured football players to return to the field? In a lawsuit filed on Monday in the Dauphin County (Pennsylvania) Court of Common Pleas, Scott Lynch, MD, defiantly claims the answer is “yes.”

Depth chart of FCS power North Dakota State is a work of art
Dave Kolpack, The Associated Press

The most dominant team in the history of the Football Championship Subdivision has had turnovers in so many places — head coach, assistant coaches, quarterback and nearly 70% of its starting lineup. It would seem that this year’s playoff might be more than the race for second place.

Fortnite Maker Wants to Sell More Games, and Build a Platform to Do It
Jason M. Bailey, The New York Times

Epic Games found blockbuster success with the video game Fortnite: Battle Royale, a fantasy test of endurance and survival that has captivated millions of players. The game has brought in an estimated $4 billion since it was released in September 2017.

Which Active NFL Players Are Set to Become Fantasy Football Legends?
Riley McAtee, The Ringer

The first class of The Ringer’s Fantasy Football Hall of Fame is set. But as soon as we completed the task, a new question emerged: Which active players are on pace to eventually make the fantasy hall?