NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that if and when medically cleared, the league will resume the 2019-20 season by moving straight into the playoffs with a 24-team format to be held in two cities that will serve as hubs for the Eastern and Western conferences, making it the first major pro sports league in North America to announce definitive plans for a return. Under the guidelines, official training camp will begin no earlier than July 1 and the league will crown a Stanley Cup champion by early fall after holding all playoff games in two of the following cities: Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Edmonton; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Pittsburgh; Toronto and Vancouver. (The New York Times)

MLB pitched its players’ union on economic terms for conducting the 2020 season without revenue from fans in attendance, reportedly proposing a sliding scale of pay cuts that would predominantly affect the highest-paid athletes, effectively halving their salaries for a second time in recent months. Union officials were “extremely disappointed” by the cuts proposed by the league, according to a source who also characterized the two sides as far apart on issues of health and safety. (The Washington Post)

The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and its media partners announced they would delay the selection of game times and network assignments past the typical June 1 deadline amid uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The organizers did not set a new deadline, only saying that “these kickoff times and network designations will be announced at a later date as we all continue to prepare for the college football season.” (CBS Sports)

Peyton Manning leaves open possibility of TV announcing in future
Charean Williams, ProFootballTalk

ESPN keeps asking Peyton Manning to become its lead analyst on Monday Night Football. He keeps saying no. The future Hall of Famer hasn’t ruled out becoming an announcer in the future, though.

DirecTV to Credit Some Soccer, Baseball Sub Fees
John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable

With most pro sports still in mothballs, including pro baseball and soccer, due to the pandemic, DirecTV said it will be giving its subs a break on the MLB Extra Innings and MLS Direct Kick. DirecTV owner AT&T posted the news on its COVID-19 update website, adding that rebates it gets from programmers whose sports it paid for will be provided to customers.

Sports Television Advertising Business Expected To Be “Very Healthy”, “Active” in H2 ’20
JohnWallStreet, Sports Illustrated

Sports television advertising spend has declined since play was suspended back in mid-March. With businesses nationwide suffering and 38+ million people out of work since, it’s understandable why speculation would exist that the industry will be slow to recover.

Facing potentially bleak financial picture, NFL is counting on fans in the stands
Matt Bonesteel, The Washington Post

Last week, Forbes released its estimate that the NFL would lose $5.5 billion in stadium revenue, or 38 percent of its total revenue, should this season’s games be played without fans. Some teams would lose more than others, with Forbes citing the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots as among franchises that would lose more than half of their revenue, and the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals as among franchises that would lose less than a third.

Raiders considering moving training camp to Henderson
Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal

The Raiders’ arrival in Las Vegas could come sooner than anticipated. The team is seriously considering moving its training camp from Napa, California, to its new headquarters in Henderson

Lions, Panthers have received preseason proposals from The Greenbrier
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

Another NFL team could be coming to West Virginia later this year. Per multiple sources, the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers have received proposals from The Greenbrier resort for 2020 training camp.

Miami Dolphins to open drive-in theater at Hard Rock Stadium
Cameron Wolfe, ESPN

The Miami Dolphins will soon let fans drive their cars inside the stadium where football games are played every weekend in the fall. The Dolphins announced Tuesday that they are launching an outdoor drive-in theater inside Hard Rock Stadium that will be used to show marquee games in team history, classic movies, commencement ceremonies, concerts and more.

Jalen Ramsey, Rams ‘on same page’ concerning contract extension
Lindsey Thiry, ESPN

The Los Angeles Rams have been in contact with Jalen Ramsey’s representatives about a contract extension as the All-Pro cornerback enters the final season of his rookie deal. Ramsey was coy Tuesday when asked where negotiations stood.

Damian Lillard doesn’t plan to participate in resumed NBA season if Blazers don’t have ‘true opportunity’ to make playoffs
Chris Haynes, Yahoo Sports

If the NBA resumes the 2019-20 season by electing to play a handful of games with all teams just to reach 70 games to fulfill regional television deals, Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard knows his next move. “If we come back and they’re just like, ‘We’re adding a few games to finish the regular season,’ and they’re throwing us out there for meaningless games and we don’t have a true opportunity to get into the playoffs, I’m going to be with my team because I’m a part of the team. But I’m not going to be participating. I’m telling you that right now. And you can put that in there,” Lillard told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday morning via phone.

Which superstars and teams will be in the NBA bubble? That debate is heating up
Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN

The final, fleeting fight for 30 teams to resume the NBA’s season is raging through these last days of indecision. Hours of commissioner Adam Silver’s time are being spent engaging owners and high-level executives who are making the case for how the league should march into the summer’s playoffs, including those desiring the entire league to descend upon Orlando, Florida.

Mark Cuban suggests play-in tournament for final 2 seeds for NBA playoffs
Tim MacMahon, ESPN

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has suggested a plan to the NBA league office that would include all 30 NBA teams playing five to seven regular-season games before a play-in tournament to determine the final two playoff seeds, he told ESPN on Tuesday. Cuban considers it a must for all 30 teams to participate in the resumption of the NBA season, tentatively planned to take place at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, because of the financial impact of fulfilling local television contracts.

Pistons’ front office to grow with the addition of a general manager
James L. Edwards III, The Athletic

The Pistons are using the NBA’s ongoing hiatus due to COVID-19 to shake things up internally. On Tuesday morning, sources confirmed for The Athletic that Detroit senior adviser Ed Stefanski and vice chairman Arn Tellem would be conducting a search for a general manager to work alongside Stefanski.

Dodgers cut employees pay up to 35% to avoid furloughs and layoffs
Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times

The Dodgers on Tuesday informed full-time employees that the organization will implement a tiered system of pay cuts starting June 1 to avoid furloughs and layoffs as the organization proceeds without generating its usual revenue during the coronavirus pandemic. Every employee making at least $75,000 a year will experience a pay cut, with reductions ranging up to 35%.

Nationals’ plans for full-time employees: Partial furloughs, no virus-related layoffs
Jesse Dougherty, The Washington Post

The Washington Nationals’ full-time employees received clarity on their contracts Tuesday, when ownership detailed partial furloughs for those on the baseball operations and business staffs. The plan is designed to avoid layoffs for novel coronavirus-related reasons.

A’s employees informed of furloughs and pay cuts, minor leaguers to lose stipend
Alex Coffey, The Athletic

A’s employees were informed on Tuesday that they’d be receiving pay cuts or furloughs beginning on June 1 via a series of department calls. Later Tuesday, ESPN reported that the A’s informed their players on minor-league contracts (not players on the 40-man roster) that they won’t be paid their $400 per week stipend after May.

Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell signs with Boras Corporation
Ken Rosenthal and Josh Tolentino, The Athletic

Transactions are frozen during baseball’s hiatus, but that doesn’t stop players from changing agents. Rays pitcher Blake Snell, the 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner, recently became a client of Scott Boras after leaving his previous agency, Apex Baseball (formerly SCK Sports Agency).

Sweet 16: NHL playoffs qualifying round tough to predict
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press

The NHL’s regular season is over and the chase for the Stanley Cup is on if hockey returns this summer. The league settled on a 24-team postseason format that Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano supported back in March as the coronavirus was shutting down sports.

Roundtable reaction: Winners and losers of the NHL’s draft lottery solution
NHL Staff, The Athletic

OK, so it wasn’t a tournament to determine the draft order. Which, if you like chaos, was one of the best ideas to come out of the NHL’s brainstorming portion of its pause.

Iowa State unlikely to sell single-game football tickets this fall
Randy Peterson, Des Moines Register

The safest way to assure a seat at Iowa State football games inside Jack Trice Stadium this fall is to purchase a season ticket. The sale of single-game tickets for 2020 is unlikely.

Pac-12 voluntary workouts set to begin as soon as June 15
Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times

The Pac-12 Conference has taken its first step toward football season, as league executives voted Tuesday to allow voluntary, on-campus workouts for all athletes beginning as soon as June 15. Decisions on when those workouts begin on respective campuses will be left to the Pac-12’s member schools.

LAFC seeks naming-rights sponsor after restructuring $100m Banc of California deal
Bob Williams, SportBusiness

Major League Soccer’s LAFC has been forced to seek a new naming-rights partner after restructuring its 15-year, $100.5m deal with Banc of California. LAFC’s $350m venue has been known as Banc of California Stadium since the team joined MLS in 2018.

Charlatan, a Belmont Stakes Contender, Tests Positive for a Banned Substance
Joe Drape, The New York Times

Two horses trained by the Hall of Famer Bob Baffert tested positive for a banned substance at a recently concluded meet at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, according to a person familiar with the testing process. One of the horses, Charlatan, won a division of the Arkansas Derby on May 2 and was considered a top contender to win the Belmont Stakes on June 20.

Supercar group McLaren to cut 1,200 jobs across group amid pandemic
Bhargav Acharya and Alan Baldwin, Reuters

British supercar manufacturer McLaren Group, which includes the Formula One team, said on Tuesday it would cut 1,200 jobs under a proposed restructuring programme as it deals with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rory McIlroy: World number one believes Ryder Cup will be postponed until 2021
BBC

Rory McIlroy believes this year’s Ryder Cup will be postponed until 2021. The Northern Irishman is one of a number of players who previously called for the biennial event between Europe and the US not to be played this year if spectators are not able to attend.

World TeamTennis to allow up to 500 fans at matches
Reuters

World TeamTennis, an innovative mixed-gender professional tennis league, will start from July 5 at the Greenbrier, West Virginia, and up to 500 fans will be allowed to attend matches during its three-week season, tournament organisers said on Tuesday.

BlizzCon 2020 is canceled
Taylor Lyles, The Verge

Blizzard Entertainment will not host its annual BlizzCon event this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The event is usually held later in the year, with BlizzCon 2019 kicking off on November 1st and concluding on November 2nd.

Upset Vince McMahon pulls out of XFL bidding, but league could relaunch in 2021
Daniel Kaplan, The Athletic

Vince McMahon has pulled out of bidding for his bankrupt XFL, but dozens of bidders are looking over the league’s financials and interested in relaunching it next February. Those revelations came in a series of filings Tuesday, in which the league founder McMahon blamed a creditors’ committee for hounding him out of the bidding by accusing him of rigging the process.

D.C. Lottery says its sports betting platform will launch by the end of May
Scott Allen, The Washington Post

The D.C. Lottery said its online sports betting platform, GambetDC, will launch by the end of the month and gamblers will be able to place bets via the GambetDC app in early June. “While we recognize there will be a limited number of events to wager on, this ‘soft launch’ will provide us with an opportunity to roll out the GambetDC website to potential players in the District in preparation for the return of sports,” the D.C. Office of Lottery and Gaming, which is overseeing sports betting, said in a statement.

Japan launches remote cheering app to boost atmosphere in empty stadiums
Justin McCurry, The Guardian

When Japan’s coronavirus-hit football league finally resumes in a few weeks’ time, it will be in stadiums devoid of supporters. But a new smartphone app could mean the action won’t unfold in atmosphere-sapping silence.

After recent success, will golf thrive or struggle to survive in the age of coronavirus?
Adam Schupak, Golfweek

The world of golf is made up of two planets: Planet Hollywood and Planet Humility. Jay Karen, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, once used that analogy at an industry conference and it’s apropos.

The Worst Deal Ever: The Inside Story Of The Epically Bad Decision By StubHub’s Cofounder To Buy His Company Back
Noah Kirsch, Forbes

It’s Thanksgiving Eve 2019, and Eric Baker is already celebrating. “There has never been a better time to be in live events,” he says giddily, knowing that he’s positioned to profit from pretty much all of them.