Two Major League Baseball games were postponed yesterday as the Miami Marlins organization had at least 12 positive COVID-19 tests. Miami’s Monday home opener against the Baltimore Orioles was postponed and the New York Yankees will have to wait to take on the Philadelphia Phillies, who hosted the Marlins Sunday. That left broadcasters to scramble to fill those gaps.

MLB team owners held a conference call Monday and did not discuss canceling the season. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said it was not a “nightmare” scenario and that the league “believe[s] the protocols are adequate to keep our players safe.”

Manfred also said that a bubble tournament “was not workable” for the league. However, that approach has been successful thus far in containing the virus. The NFL and NCAA, which also are considering playing games in home markets, haven’t yet publicly discussed a bubble plan.

Bubble Success: 

— The NHL’s phase 3 ended Saturday with no positive COVID-19 tests among the 4,256 tests from July 18-25. The players entered phase 4 bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton Sunday, where daily testing will resume.

— The NBA and MLS both reported no positive cases in their latest bubble test report. Both leagues had some issues as teams and players made their way to the bubbles in Orlando, but they have proved to be secure once entered.

— The NWSL successfully navigated its Challenge Cup in Utah, with zero positive tests during the duration of its tournament after the Orlando Pride withdrew when six players tested positive.

Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and Chief Financial Officer David Bergman received notice they could face civil-enforcement action based on the company’s accounting in 2015 and 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission started investigating the company last year and issued the Wells notices last week.

Former Under Armour executives said the company would shift sales and other tactics to keep a 20% sales growth streak intact. Plank stepped down as CEO this year as the company restructures and has struggled with declining sales the past two years. The Wells notice news comes as the company is set to release its second quarter earnings report on Friday.

Under Armour had an up-and-down second quarter, including:

— Working to get out of several high-profile collegiate partnerships, including a $280 million deal with UCLA.

— Reportedly trying to sell the MyFitnessPal app. Connected fitness was a lone bright spot in the company’s first quarter, gaining 8.9% in revenue, while overall revenue dropped 23%.

— New diversity and inclusion initiatives announced last week.

Online casino and sports betting company Rush Street Interactive is looking to go public through a merger with blank check company dMY Technology Group. The deal will value Rush Street at approximately $1.8 billion. Rush Street’s main focus on online casinos has helped boost its revenue during the pandemic even with sports betting largely sidelined.

Having companies go public through special-purpose acquisition companies is a growing trend to avoid market fluctuations, especially in sports-related sectors. In the sports betting realm, DraftKings used the strategy to go public earlier this year. Allied Esports took the blank check route last year and Topgolf is reportedly eyeing the option.

Public U.S. Sports Betting Companies:

— Boyd Gaming: (BYD – down 28.0% year-to-date) Casino and resorts; has a stake in FanDuel.

— El Dorado: (CZR – down 35.7% YTD) Casino and resorts; recently closed a deal to acquire Caesars, which is an NFL, ESPN, and Turner partner. Also has a 20% stake in British sports betting company William Hill.

— DraftKings: (DKNG – up 221.3% since going public in April) Daily fantasy and sports betting; the stock dropped 6.48% Monday following the MLB postponements.

— MGM: (MGM – down 52.5% YTD) Casino and resorts; joint sports betting venture Roar Digital with British company GVC Holdings.

— Penn National: (PENN – up 27.7% YTD) Casino and resorts; bought a stake in Barstool Sports earlier this year and is developing a mobile betting platform. Penn also has a deal with theScore.

A group of local media companies from across the country are launching a new effort that aims to help them compete with outlets like The Athletic by providing subscribers better access to sports coverage. Dubbed the Local Media Consortium, the alliance of publishers will be launching “The Matchup,” which will allow an estimated 78 million subscribers to see the local coverage of teams from a variety of outlets across the country.

The effort is being supported by Google and its Google News Initiative, which the search giant created to support the local journalism. There will also be advertising and sponsorships around the content, which will only be available to subscribers of the local papers. The site is expected to debut in 2021.

It will face stiff competition from other major sports media companies like ESPN and The Athletic – the latter is approaching 1 million paid subscribers and embarking on new cross-marketing strategies to increase readership. 

Major Local Media Consortium Members:

— Atlanta Journal-Constitution 

— Boston Globe

— Chicago Sun-Times

— Dallas Morning News

— Gannett network, including the Detroit Free Press and Arizona Republic

— Las Vegas Review Journal

— Los Angeles Times

— McClatchy network, including the Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee

— Minnesota Star Tribune

— Philadelphia Inquirer

— Tampa Bay Times

— Toronto Star