Speed Reads....

In today’s Must Read, N.Y. TIMES columnist Joe Nocera writes of UAB eliminating its football program under the header, “When Football Gets The Axe” (N.Y. TIMES, 12/16).

The Southern Miss athletic department has “officially settled on the ‘traditional eye’” logo and set up a website offering “a detailed analysis” of the redesign process (HATTIESBURG AMERICAN, 12/16).

Suns players wore “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts during “warm-ups and on the bench for their Monday night loss” to the Bucks. Suns G Isaiah Thomas: “You see a few teams doing it. We felt like we should come together as a team and support just like they are” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/16).

Saints coach Sean Payton wore a “visor with a pink ‘B’ on it, in honor of 11-year-old cancer patient Bailey Leon” (NOLA.com, 12/16).

The Hallmark Channel takes a shot at the NFL and AMC’s “The Walking Dead” in a full-page ad in the N.Y. Times: “The NFL And ‘The Walking Dead’ Share One Thing In Common … Big Ratings. More Than A #1 Series. More Than A #1 Franchise. Hallmark Channel Is The #1 Cable Network On Weekends In November And December” (THE DAILY).