Roy Kramer, the architect of the BCS system, was honored on the field prior to the kickoff of Florida State's 34-31 win over Auburn in last night's Vizio BCS National Championship game. BCS Exec Dir Bill Hancock said, "Thanks to the vision Roy Kramer and many others shared, college football entered a new phase 16 years ago" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/7). ESPN play-by-play commentator Brent Musburger began the broadcast by calling the game a "perfect ending to an imperfect system" (ESPN, 1/6).

The L.A. TIMES' Bill Plaschke writes of the end of the BCS era: "The much maligned system finished its run by getting it right with the two best teams in America playing one of the best games of any season." The FLORIDA TIMES-UNION's Chet Fussman writes the BCS' "demise was a little under the radar" because the matchup was "one of the rare occasions where the system probably got it right." The ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER's Jeff Miller: "The greatest awful thing to ever happen to college football ... is breathing its last breath and all I'm wondering is if it's OK to dance at a funeral." The SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE's Matt Calkins: "Hail to the BCS. You were college football's Dark Knight – a hero cast as a villain. ... But in time, you will be appreciated."

Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable reportedly "had some cable-service problems during the fourth quarter in parts of the country." The problems "didn't sit well with fans who missed the end of the game" (CLEVELAND.com, 1/7).

The NFL will pay as much as $112.5M in legal fees to the counsel for the retirees who sued the league over allegedly misleading them on the dangers of concussions. The disclosure was made as part of a voluminous filing yesterday by the retirees counsel seeking preliminary court approval of the announced $760M class action settlement. The legal fees are in addition to that amount, so including other costs, the NFL liability is around $900 million. That is actually less than reports at the time of the Aug. 29 settlement announcement, which pegged the legal fees at over $200M.

For more on this story, see today's issue of THE DAILY.

U.S. Skier Lindsey Vonn on the "Today" show this morning announced that she will not compete in the Sochi Games due to injuries to her right knee. Vonn in a statement said, “I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level.” NBC’s Matt Lauer said this is "heartbreaking news for a woman famous for downhill and for some injuries over the last couple of years.” Lauer: “That last injury proved to be an uphill battle that she couldn’t win in time" ("Today," NBC, 1/7).

The NBA, four former ABA teams and former ABA Spirit of St. Louis co-Owners Ozzie and Daniel Silna today will announce a "conditional deal that will end the Silnas' golden annuity. Almost." The Silnas are to receive a $500M upfront payment that "would end the enormous perpetual payments and settle a lawsuit filed in federal court by the Silnas that demanded additional compensation from sources of television revenue that did not exist" at the time of the '76 NBA-ABA merger. Sources said that the Silnas will continue to get some TV revenue "through a new partnership" among the Nets, Pacers, Nuggets and Spurs (N.Y. TIMES, 1/7).

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, MLS expansion team Orlando City Owner & President Phil Rawlins and other reps from the club today will travel to K.C. for a "two-day design workshop." They will "brainstorm with architects from Populous," which is designing the new $84M stadium. Sessions will "focus on big-picture ideas," and a "fine-tuned blueprint will come later." Fans "will have a roof over their heads" at the 18,000-seat venue, and the field "will be open to the sky." There will be a supporter section, corner terraces, about 2,500 club seats, 300 seats in luxury suites and a "premium club" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/7).

The Memphis City Council this afternoon faces "intense pressure to approve a city takeover" of the Triple-A PCL Redbirds' AutoZone Park. Unless the Council "delays the measure again," today's vote "will likely mark the end of the debate." Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton's administration "launched a lobbying blitz" in favor of the project "to make up the ground it lost last month" (Memphis COMMERCIAL APPEAL, 1/7).

The Ocala (Fla.) City Council at a special meeting yesterday voted 4-0 to honor the Yankees' request to "suspend its agreement" to bring its Single-A farm team to Ocala "in exchange for the city using public dollars" to build a ballpark. The council also voted unanimously to "ask the County Commission to withdraw the ordinances that, if presented to and approved by the commission today, would have authorized that a three-year, half-cent sales tax go on the ballot in a special election in April" (OCALA STAR-BANNER, 1/7).

The Coyotes' Jobing.com Arena celebrates its 10th anniversary today. The Glendale venue "marked the beginning of a pro-sports building boom" in the area that would include Univ. of Phoenix Stadium and Camelback Ranch. It also "brought several commercial developments, from Westgate City Center to Cabela’s and Tanger Outlets." But over the past decade, the arena "has failed to pay for itself." Projections that the arena "would generate enough to pay off the debt" and net the city at least $100M "turned out to be wildly overstated" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/7).

The NFL Panthers have scheduled an 11:00am ET press conference today to provide an update on renovations to Bank of America Stadium. The $87.5M in facility improvements covers new escalators and larger video boards, among other upgrades (Don Muret, Staff Writer).

The cost of London's Olympic Stadium has risen to more than US$951.7M, "most of it met by taxpayers, with the news that Balfour Beatty has been awarded" the US$252.7M contract to "transform the venue into one suitable" for soccer and track & field (GUARDIAN, 1/7).

U.S. Soccer announced that the women’s national team will play an exhibition game against Russia on Feb. 8 in Boca Raton, Fla. (AP, 1/6).

PrimeSport and Clearlake Capital Group today announced that Clearlake has acquired a majority interest in the sports travel and entertainment management company (PrimeSport/Clearlake Capital).
 
The Int'l Motor Sports Association continues to sign partners for its Tudor United SportsCar Championship, agreeing to multiyear deals with Tequila Patron and Tully's Coffee. Patron will also serve as title sponsor of the four-race North American Endurance Cup (THE DAILY).

“It was a hell of a run. Hell of run” – SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, on the conference having won the last seven BCS titles before Florida State’s victory over Auburn in last night’s championship game (AL.com, 1/6).

“It was a nice distraction in a difficult season. It was able to take my mind off the season” – Falcons Owner Arthur Blank, on the team working on a proposed $1.2B retractable-roof stadium amid a 4-12 season (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/6).

“Why we are even playing doubles at this point is a mystery to me. … If you cut out doubles and gave that money to single players ranked between 200 and 1000, maybe that would do something for the game” – John McEnroe (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/7).

“The guys from the IOC should think about where to put the Olympic Games. It’s not right to give the Olympic Games to places where they are giving the most money. It should be about the sport, in nations where there is passion” – German skier Felix Neureuther, criticizing the IOC for awarding Olympics to Russia and South Korea (AP, 1/6).

“Our sports are not viewed in a vacuum. Schools from (major) leagues enjoy certain advantages in scheduling, TV, sometimes money and sometimes the ability to play in certain venues” – VCU men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart, on the recruiting advantages larger schools have in power conferences (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 1/7).

"Morning Buzz" introduces “Night Moves," where we look at how the news is playing on the late editions of ESPN's "SportsCenter" and FS1's "Fox Sports Live," as well as any other late-night newsmakers.

With the BCS Championship game airing on ESPN and ending after midnight ET, the 1:00am editions of each broadcast were viewed. ESPN's postgame coverage went over into the 1:00am "SportsCenter" and featured extensive BCS game footage, along with interviews and analysis. As expected, the 1:00am "Fox Sports Live" was dominated by BCS coverage with live interviews, game footage and studio analysis.

ESPN2’s Keith Olbermann documents his “worst persons” in the world of sports, with Lakers G Kobe Bryant drawing his ire for brushing off the media. Olbermann also called out the NFL for fining Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch and Redskins Owner Dan Snyder for being stingy.

Tennis HOFer Billie Jean King: “@BoomerandCarton Loving your new show on CBS Sports Network.Keep going for it.”

Writer Steve Elling: “Will be fun regaling the Brits in the office about the FSU/Auburn game. They'll look at me like I have genitalia growing out of my forehead.”

ESPN’s Brett McMurphy: “Final media hospitality meal of BCS: black pepper & jalapeño bacon, maple bacon glazed donuts, bacon milkshakes, chocolate dipped bacon.”

CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco: “Thank God the BCS is gone. Now let's get a 16-team playoff when this four-team crap is done.”

Excel Sports Management agent Victor Menocal: "My car says 7 degrees right now. Spring Training couldn't come any quicker!"

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

ESPN Deportes celebrates its 10-year anniversary with more than 12 hours of live programming and content across all platforms live from Miami Beach, Fla. Read Senior Writer Bill King's look at the 10th anniversary in this week's SportsBusiness Journal.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Broadway Actresses.”

“She originated two famous Broadway roles: One later played on film by Marilyn Monroe, another by Barbra Streisand.”

Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen appeared on NBC's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" and talked about her husband, Patriots QB Tom Brady. Bundchen, who speaks Portuguese as her first language, said Brady doesn't speak Portuguese and tells her that "he speaks two languages: Football and English." Bundchen noted she will speak to her son and say "Daddy doesn't know anything" in Portuguese. Bundchen: "After we're speaking Portuguese and he's trying to understand, he's like, 'I know that! I got that! What are you saying? You're saying I don’t know anything.' So then I'm like, 'Okay, you have to learn Portuguese. You have no other option'" ("Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," NBC, 1/6).

NBC’s Jay Leno: "I had quite a scare Saturday night. I didn't tell you guys about this. I'm at a steakhouse having dinner. The guy at the next table started choking and couldn't breathe. Turns out he ordered the Kansas City rib eye. I guess you know by now, Indianapolis Colts came back from 28 points behind to beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Isn't that unbelievable? It was like watching a Cleveland Browns game in reverse. It was amazing. And this cold weather is sweeping all across the country. … It was so cold in Cincinnati, quarterback Andy Dalton was having his snowballs intercepted” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 1/6).

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel: “For men, tonight, the college National Championship game from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. It was Florida State versus Auburn, the Seminoles versus the Tigers. If you missed it and you still want to see an Indian fight a tiger, check out ‘Life of Pi’ on Netflix” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 1/6).

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Voicemail Messages Left By Pope Francis.” CBS’ David Letterman said, “Pope Francis made a phone call to a group of nuns in Spain to wish them a happy and healthy new year” (“Late Show,” CBS, 1/6).

10) “Whoops, butt dial.”
9) “Am I the 25th caller?”
8) “Vatican cleaners? This message is for whoever shrunk my hat.”
7) “I’d like to add Cinemax to my cable plan.”
6) “Stop screening your calls--I know you’re there Rusty.”
5) “You’ve got my vote, Mr. Seagal.”
4) “I’ll take the Seahawks minus seven and a half.”
3) “Give me a call back, or just pray.”
2) “Two words, 'Spielberg: Jurassic Pope.'”
1) “Pick up or I’ll bad mouth you to Jesus.”

“Who is Carol Channing?”