• The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee tapped former Olympian Seiko Hashimoto, who had been serving as the Olympic minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, to replace Yoshiro Mori as its president following his forced resignation amid backlash from derogatory remarks about women. Suga, a woman with experience dealing with gender equality and women’s empowerment, stressed gender equality repeatedly in her introductory press conference, which comes just over five months from the scheduled start of the Tokyo Games. (The Associated Press)

• Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams, 6-3, 6-4, in their semifinal match at the Australian Open overnight, signaling a passing of the torch atop women’s tennis and prompting questions about whether Williams is nearing the end of her unparalleled career. Williams, who is one Grand Slam title shy of Margaret Court’s record, said in a post-match news conference that she “wouldn’t tell anyone” when she plans to retire, before eventually cutting the press availability short when she became emotional. (The New York Times)

• Winter weather in Texas and Oklahoma continued to necessitate the postponement of sporting events in the region, including the Dallas Stars’ third straight game, which was scheduled for tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a slew of SEC and Big 12 basketball games that had already been delayed earlier in the week. The Stars and Lightning are still scheduled to play Saturday, when temperatures are expected to be above freezing after days of power outages, frigid temperatures and icy travel conditions. (The Associated Press)

New record-low for delayed Daytona 500
Sports Media Watch

Last Sunday’s NASCAR Daytona 500 averaged a 2.8 rating and 4.83 million viewers on FOX, easily the lowest in the history of the race. Ratings fell 36% and viewership 34% from the previous low set last year, when most of the race was run on a Monday afternoon.

NASCAR, Fox Look For Daytona Silver Linings
John Ourand, Sports Business Journal

NASCAR executives are hanging their hats on the number of viewers Fox had before the rain delay. Fox averaged 8.5 million viewers for the 15 laps before the rain delay hit – a number that is up about 4% from 2019. It’s down significantly from last year when President Trump was the Grand Marshal and drove a lot of early tune-in.

NHL may turn to new platforms for big TV money
Andrew Marchand, New York Post

For a substantial bump, the league will likely need to carve out some exclusive game content for one of the new subscription direct-to-consumer platforms, such as ESPN+ or Peacock. There is an expectation that the next NHL TV deal will be split between two networks with a streaming component likely, according to media executives and agents, who were surveyed for this column.

ESPN NFL analyst Ryan Clark will continue to entertain viewers, signing a multi-year contract extension
Ian Casselberry, Awful Announcing

One of ESPN’s most entertaining and insightful NFL analysts will be at the network for at least a few more years. The network announced on Wednesday that Ryan Clark has signed a multi-year extension and will continue appearing on several of ESPN studio shows, including NFL Live, Get Up, and SportsCenter.

Peacock Orders John Wayne Gacy True Crime Docuseries & Michael Phelps Sports Series
Denise Petski, Deadline Hollywood

Peacock also announced it has ordered Michael Phelps: Medals, Memories & More, a three-part series from NBC Sports, that will premiere exclusively on the streamer ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. In the series, Phelps takes a look back at his storied Olympic career and watches each race with Rowdy Gaines and Dan Hicks, NBC Sports swimming commentators who covered the past six Summer Games.

NBC’s NHL broadcast of the Lake Tahoe games: What should we expect?
Sean Shapiro, The Athletic

With NBC and the NHL building camera wells, they were able to custom fit certain viewpoints and for the first time in NHL history, live drone footage can be used as part of an NHL broadcast. NBC is bringing in 11 super slo-mo cameras for the event, which is “Stanley Cup level, if not more,” according to producer Charlie Dammeyer.

NFL set to cash in on billions in big deals, and it’s about more than TV rights
Daniel Kaplan, The Athletic

The league is poised to ink a new gambling data deal and its first national gambling sponsorship. And talks to renew two of the league’s biggest sponsorships, worth more than $1 billion each — with Anheuser-Busch and PepsiCo — are coming too.

Jaguars switching back to teal as primary home jersey color
John Reid, The Florida Times-Union

For their first 16 years as a franchise, teal was the Jaguars’ primary color for their home jerseys until they changed to black during Week 4 of the 2012 season. The Jaguars announced Wednesday they are returning to teal as their primary color for the start of the Urban Meyer era this upcoming season.

Study: Super Bowl generates US$95.8m in media value for top five sponsors
Sam Carp, SportsPro Media

The top five most visible sponsors during the national broadcast of Super Bowl LV received some $95.8 million in media value, according to research by GumGum Sports. Based on analysis of six assets across 353 exposures and 2,300 seconds on screen, the AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform found that Verizon, Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch brand Bud Light, Gatorade and DraftKings gained the most visibility.

Sources: Many top NBA players hesitant to promote coronavirus vaccines
Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN

The NBA’s outreach to the agents of many of the league’s elite players — with hopes of getting stars to participate in PSAs to promote the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine — has been met with a tepid response, sources said. Player apprehensions about receiving the vaccine are consistent with those that also exist in Black communities throughout the country, agents and players told ESPN.

Exclusive: Russell Westbrook’s bank shot
Andrew Ross Sorkin et al., The New York Times

Erik Spanberg, Charlotte Business Journal

The Charlotte Hornets hope at least some fans can return to Spectrum Center as soon as next month, but team President Fred Whitfield cautioned that the NBA franchise will err on the side of public health before moving ahead. State and local government health mandates will be the ultimate arbiters.

Padres lock up Fernando Tatis Jr. to record contract
Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune

The deal is worth $340 million and is the longest in MLB history. It is the largest contract awarded a player not yet eligible for arbitration and is the third richest overall behind the $426.5 million over 12 years Mike Trout got from the Angels in 2019 and the $365 million for 12 years Mookie Betts received from the Dodgers last season.

MLB Lays Off More Than 55 Employees Ahead Of 2021 Season
Mark J. Burns, Sports Business Journal

MLB recently laid off more than 55 employees in order to consolidate business operations and eliminate specific positions as part of broader reorganization efforts, according to multiple sources. Employees’ termination were effective Mon., Feb. 15. Severance packages are being offered, some people said.

MLB spring training looks different in a pandemic, with tents, outdoor weight rooms
Bob Nightengale, USA Today

It might have been the traditional first day of spring training, but there was nothing traditional about this opening day, not with the health and safety protocols during a pandemic. Team officials addressed the players when they arrived for their first workouts, reminding them of the strict protocols and warning that any violations could result in fines and suspensions.

Extreme Networks lands MLB ballpark WiFi deal
Kevin Reichard, Ballpark Digest

Extreme Networks will be delivering upgraded WiFi to 16 MLB ballparks from now through 2026, as the sport works toward a connected world that will include more multimedia, transactions and online gambling. We’re in the midst of a transition in the MLB fan experience, one that may have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but a fan experience that has been in the planning stages for the last few years.

NHLers to wear Willie O’Ree-inspired skates for Black History Month
Canadian Press

A Canadian plant has produced skates honouring the NHL’s first Black player as part of Black History Month. Bauer Hockey says the Bauer Innovation Centre in Blainville, Que., produced skates with a custom graphic celebrating the achievements and life of Willie O’Ree.

NCAA Council votes to extend recruiting dead period through May amid ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
Kyle Boone, CBS Sports

The NCAA on Wednesday extended the recruiting dead period for all sports through at least May 31, keeping in place a ban on in-person recruiting activities that was enacted last spring at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The move ensures that any in-person recruiting activities will have been off-limits for over a year, extending through the 2021 spring semester as concerns related to face-to-face contact because of the pandemic continue.

Serie A clubs set to block media stake sale – letter
Elvira Pollina, Reuters

Seven Italian Serie A soccer clubs no longer see the sale of a stake in the league’s media business to a private equity consortium as a viable option, a document showed on Tuesday, effectively blocking the $2 billion deal. The deal needs the approval of at least 14 of the 20 top-flight clubs to proceed so a rejection by seven of the teams, who include champions Juventus, would be enough to halt it.

Elliott secures Daytona road course pole
Kelly Crandall, RACER

The performance matrix spit out this week’s starting line-up. It is a formula based on averaging the driver’s fastest lap in the previous race, finish from that event and owner point standings. With regular qualifying set to be run at only eight race weekends this season, the performance matrix will set most of the line-ups.

Alvin Kamara’s juice bar chain to sponsor NASCAR Xfinity driver Ryan Vargas
The Athletic

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara’s juice bar chain will sponsor NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ryan Vargas’ No. 6 Chevrolet in Saturday’s race at the Daytona International Speedway road course, JD Motorsports announced on Wednesday. The Big Squeezy, a Louisiana chain that Kamara co-owns, will be the primary sponsor for the car in Saturday’s Super Start Batteries 188.

Haas and Williams linked to BWT sponsor move
Christian Nimmervoll and Jonathan Noble, Motorsport.com

The iconic pink colour of Austrian water treatment company BWT could remain in Formula 1 this year, with sources indicating it has held talks with Haas and Williams. BWT was the title sponsor of Racing Point last year, having worked with the Silverstone-based outfit since 2017, but the team’s rebranding as Aston Martin, and preference to run a British racing green livery brought its BWT partnership to an end.

Mike Whan named next USGA CEO, ready to embrace challenges and opportunities
Jaime Diaz, Golf Channel

The USGA announced on Wednesday that current LPGA commissioner Mike Whan will succeed Mike Davis as its new CEO, becoming the eighth top executive in the organization’s history. The choice of Whan comes at a time when the USGA is seeking stronger alliances with the expanding and changing entities in the golf world, as well as negotiating the revenue challenges of a non-profit sports organization.

Sources: Mark Ein, CDL Could Have Mutual Interest For D.C.
Adam Stern, Sports Business Journal

Mark Ein could become the next owner to operate both an Overwatch League and Call of Duty League franchise, as there is mutual interest around potentially expanding CDL to the nation’s capital, sources said. Talks are still ongoing. CDL Commissioner Johanna Faries in January wouldn’t confirm nor deny the league’s interest in D.C., and Ein wouldn’t comment on the record regarding a possible CDL franchise.

Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Acquires Stake in Steinberg Sports and Entertainment Agency
Cynthia Littleton, Variety

Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies has taken a significant equity stake in Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, the athlete representation and marketing firm headed by superagents Leigh Steinberg and Chris Cabott. Steinberg Sports intends to use the resources from Yucaipa to expand the scope of its content production as well as its marketing operations and business development initiatives.

Herring vs Frampton fight rescheduled for Dubai in the spring
Mike Coppinger, The Athletic

Jamel Herring’s WBO world super-featherweight fight against Carl Frampton has been rescheduled for Dubai in the spring. Herring had been due to fight Frampton at the Copper Box Arena in London on February 27, but the fight had to be postponed after the Northern Irish challenger claimed to suffer a hand injury.

Quantifying The Property-Sponsor Gap
Terry Lefton, Sports Business Journal

Fourteen billion dollars. That’s the size of the pandemic chasm between properties and sponsors in North America for 2020 alone, as extrapolated by sponsorship agency IEG. That’s $14 billion in fees for 120,000 sponsorship agreements on behalf of 5,000 brands, which had rights undelivered across the North American sponsorship landscape — signage unseen in empty venues, along with vacant suites and seats.

NJ Sports Betting Market Keeps On Rolling With Record January Revenue
Brad Allen, Legal Sports Report

New Jersey set yet another new sports betting revenue record in January, with the state’s sportsbooks winning $82.6 million, a 24% increase month-on-month and a 54% increase from January 2020. The all-time high was helped by a friendly hold rate, as operators kept 8.6% of all wagers.

Celebrities Including Jay-Z, Durant And Rihanna Investing In Theragun Maker
Randall Williams, Sportico

Therabody has announced that its latest round of investing includes support from more than 100 names in sports, business, culture and entertainment. The group includes Jay-Z, Aaron Rodgers’ growth equity fund Rx3 Growth Partners, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures, Rihanna, Russell Wilson and Ciara.

Sport and politics: Naomi Osaka and the value of stars speaking out
Sara Germano and Leo Lewis, Financial Times

Osaka propelled herself into a position that none before her have occupied — a superstar athlete capable, at the age of 23, of making a protest reverberate equally powerfully in both east and west. She set out to “spread awareness”, as she put it, of violence against black people on the biggest stage possible, but ended up, say sponsors, sports industry supremos and advertising agencies, doing a great deal more.

Frozen out: Polar vortex halts Mavs, Stars and others while sports hoped for a return to normalcy
Kevin Sherrington, The Dallas Morning News

Here we are, not even three months into what we hoped would be a new year and maybe a return to normalcy, and the Polar Vortex has put a freeze on the Mavs, Stars, Big 12 and Lord knows what else. First it was global disease and now it’s the weather. Before you dare ask what’s next, catch up on your Exodus first.

NASCAR’s Prospects For Progress Are Wide Open
Brad Daugherty, Sportico

Daugherty, co-owner of JTG Daugherty Racing, wrote, “I’ve been around NASCAR since the mid-1980s, and in the background, I’ve tried to get more people of color included, from pit teams to the executive side. I wanted to get Bubba Wallace to drive for my team, but we just couldn’t work it out financially.”