Speed Reads....

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).