• ESPN: Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday he plans to step down from the job upon the expiration of his contract in January 2029. Manfred, 65, received a five-year extension approved unanimously by owners last July. The 2024 season will mark his 10th year on the job. "You can only have so much fun in one lifetime," Manfred said to reporters at Grapefruit League media day in Tampa, Florida. "I have been open with [owners] about the fact that this is going to be my last term." Full story here.
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• ESPN: The Wichita (Kansas) Police Department on Tuesday said an arrest has been made nearly three weeks after a Jackie Robinson statue was stolen from a park — and subsequently found dismantled days later. "We believe this theft was motivated by the financial gain of scrapping common metal." The original mold of the statue exists and will be used by Art Castings of Colorado to rebuild a new one. Full story here. • The NFL said CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl LVIII, Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers, delivered the most-watched telecast in history with a Total Audience Delivery of 123.4 million average viewers across all platforms, including the CBS Television Network, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, and CBS Sports and NFL digital properties, including NFL+. Based on average viewership, NFL Super Bowls have 29 of the Top 30 all-time TV broadcasts. Only the final episode of M*A*S*H at No. 11 is on the list. Mahomes Plays In Disneyland In First Post-Super Bowl Ad Super Bowl 58 Has Character(s) ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Form Streaming Sports Service
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• Shellee Brown, has launched the James Nathaniel Brown Foundation to honor the legacy of her father, Jim Brown. The JNB Foundation stays consistent with Jim Brown's mission to spur economic progress for African Americans. “It was clear to me that Dad wanted the impactful work he started in the sixties to continue long after he was gone. His commitment and love for people was the driving force behind everything he did as an activist and humanitarian.”
• The NFL said it would will play its first regular season game in Madrid, Spain in 2025 in Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home to Real Madrid C.F. “as the NFL prioritizes global growth and expands the International Games to new cities and markets around the world.”
• Chicago Sun-Times: The Chicago Blackhawks will host the 2025 NHL Winter Classic in Wrigley Field. Their opponents will be the St. Louis Blues. The NHL previously held theWinter Classic in Wrigley Field in 2009, Despite the Hawks’ poor record this season, rookie phenom Connor Bedard’s star power has proven to be a massive television draw, making the league and its TNT television partner motivated to get him on the biggest possible stage. Full story here.
• The NFL said the Philadelphia Eagles would play as the designated team in the first regular season game in Brazil, as part of the 2024 International Games. In another first, the game will be played on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, the first time the NFL has played a game on Friday night of their opening weekend in more than 50 years (Cardinals at Rams, Sept. 18, 1970). NHL Olympic Return, In-Season Tourney
The game will played in São Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, home to Brazilian soccer team SC Corinthians. The Eagles' opponent, along with the kickoff time, will be unveiled when the 2024 NFL schedule is revealed this spring.
“This landmark first international game in South America demonstrates the ongoing expansion of our global footprint," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said via the league. “Playing on Friday night of Week 1 is a unique way to highlight our international growth and ambitions."
• Ally Financial and the United States Golf Assn. have signed a multi-year, multi-million-dollar corporate partnership. Ally becomes the official retail banking partner of the USGA, the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open, and the new presenting partner for the U.S. Women's Open, which will elevate its purse for the 2024 championship to $12 million, the highest in all of women's golf. In addition, Ally signed Lilia Vu to Team Ally.
• The NBA said the NBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm would expand to a two-night format that features the first round on Wednesday, June 26 and the second round on Thursday, June 27. The first round will be held in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., home of the Brooklyn Nets.The second round will take place in ESPN’s New York Seaport District Studios. ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App will each air the first round, and ESPN and the ESPN App will broadcast the second round. • CNBC: Tom Brady is merging his health and nutrition company, TB12, and his apparel company, Brady, with training brand Nobull. Full story here.
• The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, the non-profit advocacy group under the auspices of businessman and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, will run a 30-second spot, which will call upon viewers of all backgrounds to stand up against prejudice and hate against Jews. LA Clippers Score NBA All-Star Game 2026
• The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame unveiled the list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2024. Finalists from the Honor’s Committee for the Class of 2024 will be named Feb. 16 in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend.
• ESPN: Over 150 players at the 2023 Women's World Cup received targeted abuse on social media, with a FIFA report showing that the United States women's national team squad received more than twice the number of discriminatory or threatening posts of any other competing nation. Full story here.• The first Negro Leagues' East-West All-Star Game was played on Sept. 10, 1933, in Chicago’s Comiskey Park, and last played in 1962 when the last Negro League was disbanded. The game returns May 25, 2024 when the National Baseball Hall of Fame hosts theHall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game,presented by Boeing, with a legends exhibition in Cooperstown, NY.
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• Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, has launched through his Foundation to Combat Antisemitism “Stand Up to Jewish Hate,” a $25 million multi-media campaign to “raise awareness nationwide about soaring incidents of antisemitism online and in person.” • AP: Attempted book bans and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2023, according to a new report from the American Library Assn. Full story here.
