• Kevin Mather resigned as president and CEO of the Seattle Mariners amid backlash to remarks he made earlier this month in which he acknowledged the team manipulating service time for some of its top prospects, touted the benefit of the team’s low payroll on its bottom line amid the pandemic and disparaged a number of current and former members of the organization. It reportedly has yet to be determined whether Mather, who previously kept his job with the team despite being accused of harassing a female employee, will receive severance payment or what will happen to his small ownership interest in the club. (The Associated Press)

• New court documents reportedly link Amazon.com Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos to the potential sale of a chunk of the Washington Football Team, indicating that an attorney representing Bezos spoke with Baltimore-based sports investment banking firm Moag & Co., which led the sales effort on behalf of the NFL team’s three minority owners. Bezos, who purchased The Washington Post in 2013 and chose Arlington, Va., as the location for Amazon’s second headquarters, has reportedly been interested in joining the ranks of NFL ownership for some time. (Front Office Sports)

• The gap between the initial offers made by the NFL and Walt Disney Co.-owned ESPN in their media rights renewal talks is reportedly about $1 billion, with the league seeking $3.5 billion per year and the network offering $2.4 billion. ESPN currently spends about $2 billion a year on its NFL rights, including the “Monday Night Football” package and unlimited highlight rights for use in all of its programming, significantly more than Comcast Corp.-owned NBC Sports, ViacomCBS Inc. and Fox Corp. (Sports Business Journal)

• New York Rangers winger Artemi Panarin is taking a leave of absence from the NHL club after his former Russian hockey coach alleged that he beat an 18-year-old woman in Riga, Latvia, in 2011, a claim the Rangers called “an intimidation tactic being used against him for being outspoken on recent political events.” Panarin has been a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and supporter of political dissident Alexei Navalny, while the former coach making the allegations is a known Putin supporter, and Panarin is believed to be concerned for the safety of his family members who still reside in Russia. (TSN)

Rich Gannon out at CBS in NFL broadcast shakeup
Andrew Marchand, New York Post

Gannon, the former MVP quarterback, will not have his contract renewed in the first move of NFL TV free agency, a CBS spokeswoman confirmed. CBS has not set Gannon’s replacement just yet. The two internal candidates figure to be Adam Archuleta and James Lofton.

ESPN’s Alison Overholt joining Oprah Winfrey, Hearst Magazines
John Ourand, Sports Business Journal

ESPN Senior VP/Multiplatform Storytelling & Journalism Alison Overholt is leaving the company for Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Magazines. Overholt, a member of SBJ’s ’15 Game Changers class, is being named to the newly created role of GM for a “multiplatform lifestyle brand ”that has yet to launch,” according to the company.

Phillies reach multi-year radio rights deal with Entercom
Jeff Blumenthal, Philadelphia Business Journal

Entercom Communications Corp. has reached a new deal to retain radio broadcast rights to Phillies games on SportsRadio 94 WIP, representing the first multi-year pact between the two. A company spokesman told the Business Journal the deal was signed recently and described it as “long-term.”

Turner’s delayed Inside the NBA documentary ‘The Inside Story’ now set for March premiere
Jay Rigdon, Awful Announcing

Turner announced a new premiere: Thursday, March 4th, with episodes airing nightly through the conclusion on Sunday, March 7th. For fans and appreciators of the show, the documentary probably qualifies as must-watch.

NFL owners working to implement 17-game schedule for 2021 season
Mark Maske, The Washington Post

The deliberations about when to implement the 17-game season are tied in part to the completion of new broadcasting contracts with the television networks, according to people familiar with the planning of the league and owners. It’s not yet certain that the longer regular season will take effect this fall, but that’s what owners appear to be targeting, with the corresponding preseason reduction.

Optimism grows for full NFL stadiums in 2021
Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

As the nation begins to make real progress when it comes to beating back the pandemic, the National Football League has a growing sense of optimism that stadiums will be full during the 2021 season. From the availability of vaccines to signs of potential herd immunity, some believe that, by Memorial Day, the tide will have turned dramatically.

Hyperice Adds Los Angeles Lakers As Its Latest High-Profile Sports Sponsorship
Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes

The Lakers and Hyperice have signed a multi-year sponsorship deal that makes the booming Irvine, California-based firm the official recovery technology sponsor of the reigning champions. It is the first NBA team sponsorship for Hyperice, which became a league sponsor in July ahead of the “bubble” restart in Orlando.

Want to buy spring training tickets? Four Cactus League teams already sold out
Regina Burgess, Cronkite News

At least four Cactus League teams already are sold out for the spring including the Arizona Diamondbacks, who sold out their games within 24 hours of tickets going on sale. The Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers are also sold, and the Chicago Cubs were nearly sold out as of Monday, with only a few left for accessible seats.

How temporary realignment has impacted the NHL standings so far
Travis Yost, TSN

Some recent discussion has centered on whether the Maple Leafs have merely been reaping the benefits of forced temporary realignment and an apparently weaker division, or are a genuinely improved team that is putting daylight between themselves and other playoff contenders. One roadblock in answering that question is the fact that the divisions are locked, meaning no interdivisional play this season. 

Notre Dame won’t participate in new EA Sports college football game until NIL rules finalized
Dan Murphy, ESPN

University of Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said his school will not provide its name, logos and other branding property to EA Sports for the game until new rules that determine whether athletes will be able to receive a cut of the game’s profits are finalized. In order for athletes to receive money from a video game, they would likely need the ability to negotiate as a collective group on a price for the use of their names, images and likenesses.

Mountain West may force Aztecs to play make-up game at UNLV
Mark Zeigler, The San Diego Union-Tribune

The Mountain West is expected to announce its men’s basketball rescheduling plans for next week, and multiple conference sources told the Union-Tribune that most of the 11 teams could be in action despite numerous coaches being vehemently opposed. The conference’s new TV contract with CBS and Fox Sports has a minimum threshold of football and basketball games that must be broadcast for the full value to be paid out each year.

Bill Moos predicts Husker fans will be back in Memorial Stadium soon
Tom Shatel, Omaha World-Herald

NU athletics has survived the best it could thanks to television money and an estimated $60 million in a reserve fund. The hit to the athletic budget was around $40 million — considerably less than the projected $100 million had there been no football season.

FC Dallas to utilise MTX’s AI platform as part of shirt sponsorship deal
Sam Carp, SportsPro Media

FC Dallas have announced that local technology company MTX Group will take over from AdvoCare as their new shirt sponsor. The multi-year deal ends what the MLS side described as a ‘nationwide search’ for a new jersey partner after it was announced last year that AdvoCare, a dietary supplement company, would be vacating the inventory to become the team’s sleeve sponsor.

Champions League Adapts to a Fluid Concept: Home and Away
Victor Mather, The New York Times

UEFA, the European soccer governing body that runs the competitions, has decided that if restrictions adversely affect any game, it will be played at a neutral site where travel is permitted. But the decision to play knockout games in places seemingly chosen at random has led to confusion, and not a little grumbling.

Pepsi Taps Soccer Stars For New UEFA Champions League Campaign
Ethan Jakob Craft, Ad Age

In support of an ongoing partnership with the Union of European Football Associations Champions League, Pepsi has enlisted some of the world’s best soccer players to star in a new ad campaign that highlights “the fizz of the brand.” Lending star power to the creative are soccer “GOAT” Lionel Messi; reigning FIFA World Cup champ Paul Pogba; UEFA Women’s Championship League winner Shanice van de Sanden; and Borussia Dortmund phenom Jadon Sancho.

Fans OK’d for 2021 Indy 500, number to be determined
Marshall Pruett, RACER

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is planning to host fans for May’s running of the 105th Indy 500. The decision comes after the 2020 race was postponed until August, and run without fans, due to concerns stemming from the spread of COVID-19.

Ganassi suspended, fined $30,000 for bringing guest to pits
The Associated Press

Chip Ganassi was fined $30,000 and suspended one race for bringing a guest into the NASCAR pit area at Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR said the team owner violated its COVID-19 guidelines by bringing a nonessential individual into the restricted competition area.

Aston Martin Formula One Draws Major U.S. Tech Sponsors
John Wall Street, Sportico

Since Aston Martin announced its return to the sport after a 61-year absence, a pair of prominent domestic technology companies have made multi-year, multimillion dollar financial commitments in the open wheel racing team. Back in January, Cognizant Technology Solutions signed on as title sponsor of the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, and later this morning SentinelOne will be named its Official Cyber Security Partner.

Australian GP considering November date swap with MotoGP
Andrew van Leeuwen, Motorsport.com

A permanent date swap between Australia’s Formula 1 and MotoGP races is on the table for 2022 and beyond. The two events, both run by the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, traditionally sit at opposite ends of their respective schedules, with Albert Park opening the F1 season in March and Phillip Island hosting MotoGP in October.

For second year in a row, ANA Inspiration will not include fans but likely see a full field
Larry Bohannan, Palm Springs Desert Sun

For the second year in a row, the LPGA major championship will be played without fans on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, though the event does return to its traditional first week of April dates. That makes the ANA Inspiration once again the first major championship played on any of the major golf tours.

OverActive Media announces plans to build 7,000-seat esports venue
Igor Pontes, Esports Insider

OverActive Media, the parent company of Toronto Defiant, Toronto Ultra, and MAD Lions, has announced plans to build a 7,000-seat esports and entertainment venue at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada. The venue, projected to be completed in 2025, is set to include a ‘theatre-style entertainment venue and hotel complex’, whilst also becoming the new ‘home’ of the company’s Call of Duty League and Overwatch League franchises.

theScore files for NASDAQ listing in U.S. IPO
Jeff Lagerquist, Yahoo Finance

Score Media and Gaming (SCR.TO) has filed for an initial public offering in the United States, the Toronto-based company said on Monday. Commonly known as theScore, the company said it intends to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol SCR.

Comcast NBCUniversal picks 10 sports and esports startups for SportsTech Accelerator
Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat

Comcast NBCUniversal today announced it has picked 10 sports tech and esports startups for the first annual Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator. Comcast NBCUniversal is investing $50,000 in each startup and training them for 12 weeks, in partnership with Boomtown Accelerators. Two of the winners are esports companies.

Asian MMA Organizer One Championship Mulling U.S. SPAC Deal
Manuel Baigorri et al., Bloomberg

Asian mixed martial arts firm One Championship is considering options including seeking a listing in the U.S. via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, according to people familiar with the matter. The Singaporean sports media company has picked Credit Suisse Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help prepare for the potential listing, the people said.

McMahon Claims Luck Shared XFL Info With NFL Agent Brother-in-Law
Michael McCann, Sportico

The $23.8 million legal fight between former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck and his onetime boss, WWE founder and Alpha Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon, expanded last Friday when Alpha’s attorneys filed amended counterclaims in Connecticut federal district court. Among new allegations brought against Luck, Alpha insists that Luck “repeatedly” engaged in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential XFL information to his brother-in-law, William Wilson.

Big3 Announces Partnership With Monster Energy
Randall Williams, Sportico

The 3-on-3 basketball league founded by the rapper Ice Cube has announced a partnership with Monster Energy as the official energy drink partner for the upcoming season, to be played this summer. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but this is the BIG3’s first energy drink pact.

Inside the dual legacies of the NFL players’ union boss DeMaurice Smith
Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, ESPN

Two options for extending the NFL season were in play in fall 2019, and DeMaurice Smith seemed defiant in the face of one of them. Smith, the veteran executive director of the NFL Players Association, was standing before a room of players, part of his annual tour of locker rooms to deliver an insider’s update on negotiations with the league.