The 76ers and Devils today will hold a joint press conference to announce a "first-of-its-kind partnership between two professional sports franchises and the online-gaming company that owns partypoker.com." Under a multiyear deal, the poker site "will have a multimedia promotional partnership with the 76ers, Devils, and Prudential Center" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/9). A source said that the "agreement is worth at least" $10M (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/9).

Sources said that outgoing NFL Exec VP/Football Operations Ray Anderson today is "expected to be named" Arizona State's new VP/Athletics. Anderson will replace Steve Patterson, who in November took the AD job at Texas. Search firm Korn/Ferry worked with ASU President Michael Crow "to find a replacement for Patterson and advanced three finalists for the job." Anderson led football operations at the NFL since August '06 after four years as Falcons Exec VP & Chief Administrative Officer (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/9).

The Univ. of Louisville Athletic Association's personnel committee is scheduled to meet this morning "with the task of approving the hire" of Bobby Petrino as the school's new football coach. Such meetings are "often simply a rubber stamp," but several members of the Athletic Association said that they would like AD Tom Jurich to "address some questions about Petrino's past." One member said that he "would like to see some provisions" in Petrino's contract related to his "contentious past" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 1/9).

Meanwhile, two sources said that Vanderbilt football coach James Franklin "was offered the head coaching position" at Penn State "during an hours-long meeting with the university's search committee." Franklin today is expected to "either accept or reject the job" (Scranton TIMES-TRIBUNE, 1/9).

A bill "once again beginning to move" in the Florida Legislature would put Daytona Int'l Speedway "in line with other sports venues for state tax breaks." The state Senate Commerce & Tourism Committee last night voted unanimously for SB 208, under which the $400M Daytona Rising project slated for completion in '16 would receive up to $2M annually "provided it meets economic-development goals and generates enough state sales revenues to recoup the money" (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 1/8).

The track today and tomorrow is hosting a test session for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, followed by a Saturday-Sunday test for Nationwide Series teams and a Monday-Tuesday session for the Camping World Truck Series (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/9).

With the start of testing today at Daytona, the No. 1 and No. 42 NASCAR Sprint Cup teams run the last five years under the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates banner "will now return to their former name: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates." The sign outside the team's North Carolina shop "has been changed, and stickers on the cars and patches on the driver and crew uniforms will carry the Chip Ganassi logo instead of the EGR logo." Teresa Earnhardt "has not been involved" in day-to-day operations and "apparently no longer has any financial stake" in the team (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 1/8).

MGM Resorts Int'l yesterday received approval from Clark County, Nev., for the "first round of permits and reviews needed to begin construction" on a new Las Vegas arena. The County Commission unanimously approved use permits for the planned 20,000-seat arena "and the restaurants, retail space and park that will accompany the development." Planning documents show the estimated $350M project will include a 640,000-square-foot sports and entertainment arena, "plus another 80,000 square feet for the outdoor shopping center" (VEGASINC.com, 1/9).

The Univ. of Texas System Board of Regents reportedly is “working to schedule a Monday conference call to approve the basic structure” of football coach Charlie Strong’s contract. The five-year deal is worth approximately $5M annually (STATESMAN.com, 1/8).

Senators Assistant GM Tim Murray was in Buffalo last night to “meet again” with Sabres execs about the team’s GM position, according to a source. His hiring "could come before" tonight’s Panthers-Sabres game at First Niagara Center (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/9).

Japanese P Masahiro Tanaka yesterday arrived in the U.S. to “begin meeting with teams interested in signing him.” It is “not known how many teams he will visit,” but he has until Jan. 24 to complete a deal with an MLB team (NYTIMES.com, 1/8).

Bloomberg Sports has formed a partnership with OneTwoSee to develop real-time applications for Smart TVs that enhance sports broadcasts. The pair announced the partnership at the Int’l CES 2014 show in Las Vegas (Bloomberg Sports).

The Cubs ran a full-page ad in this morning's Chicago Tribune congratulating Greg Maddux on his election to the Baseball HOF (THE DAILY).

A new weather forecast predicts "no chance of snow" for Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium. The prediction is from Weather 2020, an app created by meteorologist Gary Lezak (whose blog is also titled Weather 2020). The forecast stands in contrast to the Farmer's Almanac calling for "bitter cold and possible snow" (Weather 2020).

“They’ve got a lot more that they’re looking at nowadays than ever before, and I think they do a good job on the whole. It’s up to us league-wide to make sure we put them in a position to do the best job that they can do” – Steelers President Art Rooney II, who is in favor of full-time referees (ESPN.com, 1/8).

“It took about 10 seconds. It sends a strong message that America is very diverse. … Maybe we’ll be a voice for people who don’t feel they can be a voice yet” – Billie Jean King, on helping lead the U.S. delegation in the Opening Ceremony at the Sochi Games (AP, 1/8).

“That’s the worst thing an owner, general manager, coach or player can even consider. I can’t imagine going into a locker room or having a closed-door meeting with a coach to say I want you to lose. It’s almost un-American” – Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, on the suggestion his team is tanking to maximize its chances in the NBA Draft lottery (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/9).

“I have to be patient to let people fail, but I don’t have to be patient enough to let people repeat failure” – Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti, on the team failing to make the playoffs for the first time in six years (Baltimore SUN, 1/9).

“5,000 fans at a school and team of that caliber in Southern California, that’s just humiliation” – ESPN’s Dick Vitale, calling out UCLA fans for poor attendance at Pauley Pavilion this year (LATIMES.com, 1/8).

ESPN2's Keith Olbermann documented his "worst persons" in the world of sports, with the Phillies making the "insane" move of firing their TV game announcers. Honorable mentions went to Avalanche F Ryan O'Reilly winning the "Kendrys Morales Ankle Memorial Award" as he injured himself celebrating someone else's goal and the NASL Ft. Lauderdale Strikers claiming to trade a player for a "transfer fee." Olbermann said the team is "lying" and "traded him for a hotel room."

The 11:00pm ET editions of "SportsCenter" and "Fox Sports Live" deviated somewhat from the obvious basketball-centric news cycle this time of year, as ESPN led with Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel declaring for the NFL Draft and the Baseball HOF voting. FS1 transitioned from their UFC coverage to an interview with UFC fighter Sara McMann and followed with NBA highlights and Manziel's announcement.

ESPN’s Buster Olney: “It’ll be really interesting to see who in the Class of 2015 draws PED speculation scrutiny from steroid writers/police.”

USA Today’s Dan Wolken: “In April, the world college athletics was calling Jurich the best AD in America. Today, they are calling him a renegade.”

CBS’ Armen Keteyian: “I don't care what they say at Louisville, hiring of Petrino says all you have to say about where winning ranks in CFB.”

Louisville Courier-Journal’s Tim Sullivan: “Nice touch by San Diego State's student section, ‘The Show,’ hanging a star in honor of late Jerry Coleman.”

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

ESPN's Jeff Van Gundy during last night's Mavericks-Spurs game tried his hand at one of the most intimidating tasks for a sideline reporter in sports: interviewing Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Despite Van Gundy fumbling for a question, the encounter ended with a hug between him and Popovich.

The Tampa Bay Business Journal hosts its Business of Sports event at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Rays Senior VP & Chief Sales Officer Mark Fernandez, Buccaneers COO Brian Ford, Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment CEO Tod Leiweke and Univ. of South Florida AD Doug Woolard, among others, will take part in the event.

MLB Giants President & CEO Larry Baer will kick off this year's Brews and Views monthly speaker series at Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. in Half Moon Bay, Calif.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “2013 Obituaries.”

“She was called a ‘savior,’ a ‘heartless tyrant,’ a ‘trailblazer,’ ‘intimidating,’ and a ‘real toughie.’”

NBC’s Jay Leno: “Only a few more weeks of shows left, you know, but don’t worry about me. Today I got my first job offer for next year. Starting in March, I’ve been invited to join Dennis Rodman on his next trip to Syria” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 1/8).

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten New Products Featured At The Consumer Electronics Show.” CBS’ David Letterman said, “They have it every year in Las Vegas and it’s the big display of the brand new, cutting edge consumer electronics. It’s where they debut the iPad and the iPhone and many other items" (“Late Show,” CBS, 1/8).

10) “A watch that's also a portable clock.”
9) “Return-O, the gift that returns itself.”
8) “Noise cancelling coffin.”
7) “Cate Blanchett's electric blanchett.”
6) “High-definition, self-cleaning, rechargeable Shickshinny.”
5) “Liptop computer.”
4) “AM/PM radio.”
3) “Nose hair trimmer with nostril recognition.”
2) “iPod inappropriate touch.”
1) “Bi-curious-noculars.”

“Who was Margaret Thatcher?”