• Justify, the Triple Crown-winning horse from 2018, failed a drug test and should not have been allowed to compete in the Kentucky Derby that year, according to a review of documents. Rather than issue the designated disqualification, the California Horse Racing Board reportedly slow-walked the process before deciding behind closed doors to drop the case and lighten penalties for any of the horses that tested positive for the same drug as Justify, ensuring the horse could embark on its historic season. (The New York Times)

• California’s state Senate voted 39-0 to send Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) a bill that would allow college athletes to profit from the use of their names, likenesses or images. Newsom has 30 days to sign the bill into law, and was warned in a letter by NCAA Chairman Mark Emmert and 21 other members on the governing body’s board that doing so would result in California schools being barred from competition. (Los Angeles Times)

• The NFL is said to be seriously considering placing New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown on the commissioner’s exempt list following accusations that he raped his personal trainer in 2017 and 2018. The move would put Brown on paid leave, but it’s unclear if a decision will be made before the Pats are scheduled to play Sunday. (The Washington Post)

Sneaker Marketplace StockX Seeks New Customers With Bleacher Report Deal
Sahil Patel, The Wall Street Journal

Online sneaker marketplace StockX LLC has struck an advertising deal with WarnerMedia’s Bleacher Report as it seeks to step up its marketing efforts in an increasingly competitive business. The multiyear deal will include paid ads, links to drive Bleacher Report users to StockX’s marketplace, custom videos and sponsored articles on Bleacher Report, and a physical space at Bleacher Report’s annual sneaker-focused event, The Drop Up, in December.

Mike Francesa is the culprit in Chris Carlin’s WFAN demise
Andrew Marchand, New York Post

The moment Mike Francesa stomped back onto the air at WFAN, the trio of Chris Carlin, Maggie Gray and Bart Scott were on the clock. In fact, there were those high up at WFAN’s parent company, Entercom, who wanted to let the trio go entirely in May 2018, according to sources.

Ryen Russillo Explains Why He Left ESPN for The Ringer
Jimmy Traina, Sports Illustrated

Whenever someone leaves ESPN, it’s a big story. The goal for most people who get into sports media is to work at the World Wide Leader.

Boomer Esiason to host new syndicated interview show ‘Game Time with Boomer Esiason’
Neil Best, Newsday

Boomer Esiason announced on Wednesday a new, half-hour interview show, “Game Time with Boomer Esiason,” that will premiere on Saturday and be syndicated on 210 television stations around the nation. The show will air year-round at a designated day and time in each market.

Professional Bowlers Association sold as Bowlero aims for perfect game
Thomas Barrabi, Fox Business

Top U.S. bowling alley operator Bowlero Corp. has purchased the sport’s governing body, the Professional Bowlers Association, as both organizations look to build on the venerable pastime’s recent momentum. The company, which operates more than 300 centers in North America, under the Bowlero, AMF, Brunswick Zone and Bowlmor Lanes brands, said it plans to integrate the PBA’s pool of pro bowlers and fan base into its operations.

Bull-riding group wants to help pay for ‘Charging Bull’ statue’s repair
Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, New York Post

They’re taking the bull by the horns. Organizers of the country’s largest bull-riding tour are chipping in to repair the Financial District’s “Charging Bull” statue, which was vandalized last week by a religious zealot.

Sports Direct Faces Chaos After Failing to Appoint Auditor
Ellen Milligan and Benjamin Stupples, Bloomberg

Billionaire Mike Ashley failed to appoint an auditor in time for Sports Direct International Plc’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, throwing the U.K. retailer deeper into chaos. Sports Direct has been racing to find a replacement for Grant Thornton, which quit as auditor last month following the company’s delayed posting of annual results because of a last-minute $749 million tax bill.

The Antonio Brown Rape Allegation Presents an Unprecedented Problem for the NFL
Andrew Beaton, The Wall Street Journal

Late Tuesday, the phones of New England Patriots and NFL officials began buzzing with troubling news: Antonio Brown had been accused of rape. Quickly, they knew they had to look into the weighty allegations leveled against one of the league’s most high-profile players.

For Antonio Brown, a Rape Accusation Raises a Question of Privilege in the N.F.L.
Ben Shpigel, The New York Times

More than 3.7 million people follow the Patriots’ Antonio Brown on Instagram, and a fair chunk of them do, presumably, not just because he is one of the best receivers playing the country’s most popular sport. Brown, 31, is now ensnared in a maelstrom, with the attention that he draws as an athlete spotlighting a federal lawsuit that accuses him of sexual assault and rape, while also bringing more scrutiny to the N.F.L.’s handling of reports of violence against women.

Browns ban fan for dumping beer on Titans player. He says he wasn’t at the game.
Matt Bonesteel, The Washington Post

For the first time in a long time, hope was in ample supply in Cleveland ahead of Sunday’s season opener between the Browns and the Tennessee Titans. The downtrodden NFL franchise was coming off a not-entirely-dismal 2018 season and features a bevy of young talent, so much that there was not only talk of the playoffs but of a potential run to the Super Bowl.

U.S.A. Basketball’s No-Win Situation Became Too Real
Marc Stein, The New York Times

When it comes to basketball’s World Cup, this is how it works back home for American players: Only in defeat are you remembered. In a tournament of such modest standing in our hoops culture, compared to the Olympics, typically only by losing does the United States men’s national basketball team command the attention of the mainstream sports public.

Delle Donne earns AP player of the year; Collier top rookie
Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press

Elena Delle Donne put together a historic season in Washington and has been named the Associated Press WNBA player of the year. Delle Donne became the first WNBA player to shoot over 50% from the field (51.5, 40% from behind the 3-point line (43%) and 90% from the foul line (97.4%).

Juicy stat: MLB sets record for most home runs in a season
The Associated Press

Major League Baseball hitters have punctuated a power-packed year by shattering the record for most home runs in a season. Jonathan Villar of the Baltimore Orioles connected Wednesday night for the 6,106th homer. That topped the mark of 6,105 set in 2017.

Diamondbacks Thrive With ‘a Nothing-to-Lose Attitude’
Tyler Kepner, The New York Times

The Arizona Diamondbacks were not exactly crestfallen on Tuesday when the out-of-town scoreboard atop Citi Field showed the Los Angeles Dodgers with an early lead in Baltimore. The Dodgers needed one victory to clinch the National League West over the second-place Diamondbacks, and it came easily.

Planning to profit off NHL Seattle season tickets? Team’s actions suggest limits are coming
Geoff Baker, Seattle Times

Ohio resident Mark Alessandro insists he isn’t a professional broker, just an “avid sports fan’’ who travels heavily for work and offsets season-ticket costs for multiple teams by reselling most of them. But when NHL Seattle last month began removing suspected broker names from its list of 32,000 season-ticket deposits, Alessandro’s two reservations were canceled and refunded without explanation when he didn’t immediately return messages left by the team.

Top 123 NHL prospects entering the 2019-20 season
Corey Pronman, The Athletic

What follows are my rankings of the best prospects outside the NHL, serving as a conclusion to the summer series looking at the talent in each NHL organization. This is just the top skaters, and the goaltender rankings will run on Friday.

Ex-Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger Is Moving to FIFA
Tariq Panja, The New York Times

Out of front-line soccer since ending a two-decade coaching career at Arsenal that many credit with revolutionizing English soccer, Arsène Wenger has agreed to join FIFA to spread his gospel to a wider audience. Wenger, a 69-year-old Frenchman, has agreed to become FIFA’s technical head, though his official title with the organization has not been finalized.

João Félix Is in a Hurry. So Is Everyone Else.
Rory Smith, The New York Times

João Félix did not have to do anything special to make people believe. There was no light-bulb moment that convinced his coaches at Benfica that he was destined for greatness, no single heroic performance that marked him for superstardom.

Schumacher “conscious” after undergoing operation
Luke Bradshaw, Yahoo Sport UK

Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is “conscious” after undergoing stem-cell treatment in Paris, according to a French newspaper. Earlier this week Le Parisien revealed that the seven-time world champion had been admitted to the Georges-Pompidou hospital for the complex treatment involving transfusions of inflammation-reducing stem cells.

NASCAR Truck Series team for sale
Shane Walters, Racing News

The team had a solid 2018 running with six top-10 runs. They opened up 2019 with plans for more races and team upgrades.

The Color of Money: Golf’s Embrace of Mobile Betting Means the Courses Are Getting Greener
Andrew Cohen, SportTechie

Eight years ago, the PGA Tour still banned the use of cell phones at tournaments. Now, with phone use fully legal, it is beginning to embrace mobile sports betting. Non-fans might now be brought into the game by the promise of winning real money.

McIlroy tops Koepka for PGA Tour player of the year
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press

Rory McIlroy is the PGA Tour player of the year, and even he was a little surprised. In a vote of the players, who presumably gave as much weight to the whole season as the four biggest weeks, McIlroy won the Jack Nicklaus Award over Brooks Koepka.

Ex-Zona assistant said he paid HS coach $40K
Mark Schlabach, ESPN

Former Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson told undercover FBI agents that he paid $40,000 to a high school coach to ensure that former guard Rawle Alkins was academically eligible to play for the Wildcats, according to a transcript of a meeting obtained by ESPN from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York. During a June 20, 2017, meeting with aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins, financial planner Munish Sood and two undercover FBI agents, Richardson said that Alkins needed one more class to be eligible under NCAA rules, and that an unidentified coach wanted $40,000 to add the class to his official transcript.

GameStop’s New CEO Adds Couches and Tournaments in Comeback Bid
Christopher Palmeri, Bloomberg

GameStop Corp.’s uphill fight to regain relevance may lead right through Tulsa, Oklahoma. The retailer is testing new store designs in that city, aiming to become a place where gamers come to hang out and socialize.

Team SoloMid to begin construction on $13-million esports training center in Playa Vista
Arash Markazi, Los Angeles Times

One of the biggest esports organizations in the world will begin construction Tuesday on a 25,000-square-foot training center in Playa Vista. The $13-million facility is slated to be completed by February 2020 and will be the home of Team SoloMid (TSM), which fields players and esports teams competing in popular video games such as “League of Legends,” “Fortnite,” “Apex Legends,” “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), “Hearthstone,” “Super Smash Bros.,” “Rocket League” and others.

I don’t know what Antonio Brown did, but he’s already damned by misogynist language
Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post

Skank whore here, checking in. Dumb ass bitch, reporting for work.