Top Stories

  • Heisman trophy winner Kyler Murray announced he’s pursuing a professional football career, which will force him to return $1.29 million of the $1.5 million signing bonus he received from the Oakland Athletics this past summer as the ninth overall pick in the MLB draft. Murray signed with NFL agent Erik Burkhardt, who also represents Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose team has the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and said this past October he would select Murray with the first pick in the draft if he could. (Profootballtalk.com)
  • Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder and billionaire Joe Tsai, who also owns a 49 percent stake in the Brooklyn Nets, joined the Series A funding round for the upstate Premier Lacrosse League — founded by the sport’s most high-profile player Paul Rabil and brother, Michael. Terms weren’t disclosed for the round, which also included investment from the Raine Group and Hildene Capital Management President Brett Jefferson, a former lacrosse player at Syracuse University. (Bloomberg)
  • The Cleveland Browns reportedly signed running back Kareem Hunt to a one-year deal, meaning he’ll become a restricted free agent following the 2019 season. Hunt, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs in November after a video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman in February 2018, remains on the commissioner’s exempt list despite never being arrested nor charged and won’t be able to play until the league’s investigation is completed. (ESPN)

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Events Calendar (All Times Local)

02/12/2019
IAB Annual Leadership Meeting 7:30 am
National Sports Forum 9:00 am
02/13/2019
The Athletic’s Two-Year Emergence 7:00 pm
02/19/2019
Commercial Sport and Entertainment Facilities Safety and Security Summit 8:00 am
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General

Bob Costas Accuses NBC of Retaliating for His Remarks on Concussions in N.F.L.
Matthew Haag, The New York Times

Bob Costas, the longtime sportscaster and prime-time host on NBC, alleged in an interview that aired on Sunday that the network’s executives abruptly removed him from covering last year’s Super Bowl after he criticized the violence in football and how the “game destroys people’s brains.” His nearly 40-year relationship with NBC Sports, first as its boyish announcer and later as elder statesman, came crashing down over five days in November 2017.

Under Armour Posts Flat Sales in Holiday Quarter
Khadeeja Safdar, Wall Street Journal

Under Armour Inc. reported flat revenue in the holiday quarter, as strong gains overseas offset declines in North America and in its footwear business. The sportswear company has been restructuring its operations to cut spending and inventories as well as reduce promotions after demand for its apparel and sneakers slowed in recent years.

Report: DAZN plans US$2.5bn media rights spend
Steven Impey, SportsPro Media

DAZN is planning to spend around US$2.5 billion on global media rights this year, according to former MP & Silva chief executive Jochen Lösch. The over-the-top (OTT) streaming service holds rights to a broad portfolio of sports content in markets across Europe, Asia, North America and South America.

New Maryland Sports Betting Bill Could Become Cash Cow For State Lottery
Adam Candee, Legal Sports Report

Maryland sports betting could prove profitable for the state lottery under a bill introduced late last week. Still outstanding, however, is the question of whether Maryland voters would need to approve legal sports betting.

Bleacher Report’s House of Highlights is expanding into live events
Sahil Patel, Digiday

Bleacher Report set out in 2018 to turn House of Highlights into a meaningful business. This year, the company is planning to invest in and expand the sub-brand — and business — into live events. As part of its game plan for NBA All-Star Weekend from Feb. 15 to 17, Bleacher Report will host its first big physical activation for House of Highlights.

NFL

Panthers Reid: New contract more proof NFL owners colluded
Steve Reed, The Associated Press

Eric Reid has signed a three-year contract worth more than $22 million with the Carolina Panthers, a deal the safety believes is additional proof that NFL owners conspired to keep him out of the league last season. Reid said Monday he believes he got “fair market value” after making just $1.69 million last season from the Panthers.

Police: Redskins coach Jay Gruden’s son arrested after three confrontations
A.J. Perez, USA Today

Jack Gruden, the son of Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden and a video assistant with the team, was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in public after he was involved in multiple confrontations at a shopping and dining area near Redskins Park early Saturday morning. Gruden, 22, got into an argument around 2:15 a.m. ET Saturday and “walked after the other male to continue the confrontation,” the Loudoun County (Va.) Sheriff’s Department said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports and other outlets.

NBA

The Epicentre for All-Star weekend
John Lombardo, SportsBusiness Daily

The NBA will debut a new fan experience concept during All-Star weekend in Charlotte to amplify the buzz of the event, which is being hosted by the Hornets for the first time since 1991. The new effort is called the NBA All-Star at Epicentre and is located at the Epicentre dining and entertainment complex in uptown Charlotte, next to the Spectrum Center.

ESPN wins battle for rising NBA Twitter star Cassidy Hubbarth
Andrew Marchand, New York Post

The NBA is a social media league with all kinds of Twitter drama. So it makes sense that when reporters make career decisions, there is a Twitter factor. NBA sideline reporter/host Cassidy Hubbarth chose to stay with ESPN over an opportunity with Yahoo/Turner, and there is a Twitter component.

NBA opening investigation of Simmons-Johnson meeting request
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

The NBA is going to investigate whether league rules were broken when Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons inquired about meeting with Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson for playing tips. League spokesman Mike Bass said Monday that the NBA will look at the matter.

Kevin Durant: The Making of a Mogul
Ramona Shelburne, ESPN

There’s a story behind the small black triangle forever imprinted on Kevin Durant’s wrist. Like the rest of his tattoos — “Maryland” (his home state) across his shoulder blades, a portrait of Tupac on his leg — the ink is an attempt to grab hold of a moment in time and mark it as meaningful.

Stephen Curry will be the subject of the next Facebook Watch series
Ben Strauss, The Washington Post

A year after the most famous quarterback on the planet starred in his own Facebook documentary series, the world’s most recognizable point guard is getting the same treatment. Facebook announced Monday — in conjunction with Stephen Curry’s production company, Unanimous Media, and director Gotham Chopra — a new six-episode docuseries entitled “Stephen vs The Game.”

Russell Westbrook sets NBA record with 10th consecutive triple-double
Matt Eppers, USA Today

Russell Westbrook continues to make the triple-double look easy. Westbrook notched his 10th triple-double in a row Monday night, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and setting an NBA record for consecutive triple-doubles

MLB

Justin Verlander says ‘rebuilding’ teams should offer Harper and Machado 10-year deals
Des Bieler, The Washington Post

Discussions of why Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are still free agents often revolve around the apparent hesitation of contending, deep-pocketed teams such as the Yankees and Dodgers to make major investments in them. However, Justin Verlander asked a different question Monday: Why aren’t “rebuilding” teams looking to lock up the 26-year-old superstars to the 10-year deals they reportedly seek?

NHL

A year after Parkland, Wade and Luongo still feel anguish
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

Manuel Oliver has not seen a Miami Heat game in almost a year. Truth be told, he never was the biggest basketball fan in the first place. He watched a lot of games, was even coaching a team at this time last year, and did all that because of the joy his son got from the sport.

Soccer

Premier League turns to US in hunt for CEO
Murad Ahmed, Financial Times

The English Premier League has been forced to seriously consider US candidates to fill its vacant chief executive post for the first time, after the top British choices turned down the job of running one of the biggest competitions in world sport. The search for a successor to Richard Scudamore, who ran English football’s top division for 19 years, is being taken across the Atlantic following a series of embarrassing setbacks during the eight-month hunt for a new leader.

Racing

NASCAR fully rolling out paid media effort
Adam Stern, SportsBusiness Daily

After years of relying mainly on house ads as the means to mass market, NASCAR is preparing to open its pocketbook in 2019 to promote the sport outside of its own programming. Under the direction of new Chairman and CEO Jim France, NASCAR has signed off on a significant paid-media spend this year, with much of it geared toward local television and targeted digital and social campaigns.

J.J. Watt to be 1st NFL star serving as Daytona 500 grand marshal
Frank Miles, Fox News

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is about to perform an NFL first at “The Great American Race,” the Daytona 500. He will serve as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500, making him the first NFL player to give the command for drivers to starts their engines before NASCAR’s most famous race this coming weekend, officials announced.

Golf and Tennis

No. 1 Osaka splits with coach 2 weeks after 2nd major title
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press

Naomi Osaka surprisingly split from coach Sascha Bajin, a little more than two weeks after she won the Australian Open for a second consecutive Grand Slam title and moved to No. 1 in the WTA rankings. “Hey everyone, I will no longer be working together with Sascha,” Osaka posted on Twitter on Monday.

‘They can keep their money’: Kuchar’s fill-in caddie breaks silence over pay dispute
Michael Bamberger, Golf.com

David Giral Ortiz, the diminutive Mexican caddie who goes by El Tucan, said in a recent phone interview that after being paid $5,000 by Matt Kuchar on the Sunday evening after the golfer won the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Nov. 11, he has not received any other payment. The caddie said he was offered an additional $15,000, for a total of $20,000, but that he found that unacceptable.

College Sports

Fairfax Accuser Told Friends She Was Raped by Corey Maggette
Kevin Draper et al., The New York Times

The woman who has accused Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Justin E. Fairfax, of raping her said that a former N.B.A. player, Corey Maggette, raped her at Duke University 20 years ago and that school officials did not pursue the claim, according to a childhood friend of the woman and Facebook messages the woman exchanged with another friend. Mr. Maggette, who attended Duke for one year, 1998-99, and reached the national championship game, played in the N.B.A. until 2013 and has since worked as a television analyst for Fox Sports.

Nebraska RB Maurice Washington charged under new California ‘revenge porn’ law
Steve Gardner, USA Today

A University of Nebraska running back faces criminal charges under California’s new “revenge porn” law for allegedly sending a sexually explicit video to his former girlfriend. According to a report by NBC Bay Area, Maurice Washington was one of several students from his high school to have a copy of a video of the then-15-year-old girl participating in what she described as non-consensual sexual acts with two male classmates.

Esports

Apex Legends surpasses 25 million players in first week
Justin Binkowski, Dot Esports

Apex Legends has officially been available for one week—and an insane amount of players have already tried out the smash-hit battle royale title. Over 25 million people have played Apex since it was released last Monday, according to a post by Respawn Entertainment CEO Vince Zampella. Additionally, the game reached a peak of over two million concurrent players this weekend.

Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research

On Chief Wahoo, Rob Manfred acted like a leader. Does the NFL have the same courage?
Kevin B. Blackistone, The Washington Post

Officials for the National Congress of American Indians went through a lengthy nominating and voting process this year to determine who or what organizations would win its annual awards for service to native people, which will be presented Tuesday in Washington. The NCAI’s Public Sector Leadership Award is going to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, who just a year into his stewardship of America’s old pastime started engaging Cleveland’s ownership about ridding its uniforms of the cartoonish Chief Wahoo logo that racially stereotyped native features.

The NBA’s Southeast Division Is Historically Awful
Jared Dubin, FiveThirtyEight

For the most part, divisions in the NBA have become more a formality than anything else. It’s been four years since the league last guaranteed division winners home-court advantage during their first-round playoff series, and it’s been 12 years since division winners were guaranteed a top-three seed regardless of their record.

Kyler Murray’s $150 Million Bump: The Math Behind Choosing NFL Over MLB
Darren Rovell, The Action Network

Kyler Murray made the right decision when he picked football over baseball on Monday. At least, financially speaking.

For Now, Nobody Won the Anthony Davis Trade Fiasco
Paolo Uggetti, The Ringer

Anthony Davis says he doesn’t regret anything. But Davis, his current team, and his purported future team are all in sticky situations after the trade demand that amounted to nothing. New Orleans doesn’t quite know how to operate with Davis still on the team, and Los Angeles is awkwardly moving forward with a roster of players who now know about their impermanence out west.

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