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Thursday 9:00am ET....Today's News....The Needle & The Damage Done

  • NFL Ruling On Patriots' "Deflategate" Could Come Down Today
  • Rita Benson LeBlanc Cut Out Of Saints/Pelicans Succession Plan
  • Ingersoll Rand To Sponsor NASCAR As Official Power Tool
  • Danica Patrick Helping Launch Healthcare Company's Campaign

NFL Ruling On Patriots' "Deflategate" Could Come Down Today

An NFL ruling on "Deflategate" could come as soon as today, "possibly bringing massive fines and the loss of a high draft pick" for the Patriots. Coach Bill Belichick will meet with the media at 9:30am ET as the team "prepares to leave for Phoenix with hopes of putting the growing scandal behind it before Super Bowl XLIX." League management is "believed to be as eager as the Patriots to prevent a scandal from tainting its showcase event" (BOSTON HERALD, 1/22).

Steelers President Art Rooney II is the first top team exec to publicly address it, saying, "I wouldn’t put it on a scale of serious." But he added, "If it’s in fact true it’s a violation of league rules that I’m sure the league office will deal with it in an appropriate way" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/22). Is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “willing to throw the book at a team owned by his biggest, most vocal advocate?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/22).

Meanwhile, mainstream media and the tabloids are all over “DeflateGate.” ABC’s “World News” and NBC’s “Nightly News” both aired reports on it in the first eight minutes of their broadcasts; CBS’ “Evening News” did so 18 minutes in. ABC’s “GMA” teased it in their intro today with the headline “Super Bowl Scandal” and led the broadcast with a taped report. "CBS This Morning" teased the scandal in its opening moments and made it the second report of the broadcast, while NBC’s “Today” aired it as the third report of its broadcast. Other news shows covering the controversy included ABC’s “Nightline,” and PBS’ “NewsHour.” MSNBC’s “All In With Chris Hayes” led with it during the 8:00pm ET slot. The N.Y. tabs are having a field day – see Back Pages below (THE DAILY).

ABC's Jimmy Kimmel discussed the scandal and enlisted the help of Dr. Drew Pinsky, who is someone that "knows a lot about this sort of thing" ("Jimmy Kimmel Live," ABC, 1/21).

Rita Benson LeBlanc Cut Out Of Saints/Pelicans Succession Plan

Saints and Pelicans Owner Tom Benson will transfer ownership of the two franchises to his wife, Gayle, when he dies. Benson is "effectively ousting" his granddaughter, Rita Benson LeBlanc, who has "previously been his handpicked successor." Benson said the change is necessary to "ensure the long-term stability and success" of the franchises. Benson LeBlanc's offices at the teams' HQ "recently have been vacated." She has "not participated in team-related business meetings" since the end of the Saints' '14 season (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 1/22).

Ingersoll Rand To Sponsor NASCAR As Official Power Tool

By Adam Stern

Ingersoll Rand today will announce a multiyear sponsorship deal with NASCAR that designates the company as the sanctioning body’s official power tool. As part of the deal, Ingersoll Rand also becomes an official sponsor of the IMSA road racing series as well as a contingency sponsor of the Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR’s other series. Financial terms were not available.

To activate the agreement, Ingersoll Rand will be on-site at tracks to provide demonstrations of its power tools plus expertise to both pit crews and fans. The company also will institute a text-to-win contest wherein winners will get rewards ranging from an Ingersoll Rand prize pack to meet-and-greats with pit crews and other racing personalities.

Al Haymon, Spike TV To Announce Deal For Boxing Telecasts

Sources said that boxing manager Al Haymon today will unveil a deal with Spike TV, coming on the heels of a multiyear TV deal with NBC Sports. Similar to the NBC pact, Haymon, with "tens of millions of dollars" from investors backing him, is "buying the airtime to present bouts under the banner of his 'Premier Boxing Champions' series." The first card on Spike will be held March 13. A press conference is scheduled for this afternoon at Spike TV HQ in Santa Monica, but "virtually no boxing media has been invited" (ESPN.com, 1/21).

Birmingham Awarded '21 World Games; First U.S. Host City Since '81

Birmingham, Ala., today was awarded the '21 World Games, a collection of events that are not contested in the Olympics. The Int'l World Games Association's Exec Committee "announced its selection" from a group of three finalists that included Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia. It will cost about $75M to host the games, including "public and private contributions." The city of Birmingham has committed to $3.5M (AL.com, 1/22). Birmingham becomes the "first American city to host them since the inaugural World Games in Santa Clara" in '81 (AL.com, 1/21).

Sharks Host Metallica Night As Band Members Drop First Puck

The Sharks hosted Metallica Night at SAP Center in conjunction with last night's home game against the Kings, and bandmates James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo were on hand. The trio was "set to drop the ceremonial first puck and be part of the game presentation for the evening, while fans received a commemorative Sharks t-shirt." Hetfield: "This is an honor to be able to hook up and keep it local." Metallica was formed in the Bay Area in '81 (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/21).

Speed Reads....

Discovery Communications is “joining a multi-billion pound auction” for EPL rights in the U.K. after Discovery CEO David Zaslav “flew to London” yesterday to meet with EPL officials (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/21).

Rutgers Univ. today announced that it has surpassed the $1B goal of “the most ambitious fundraising plan in the school’s history.” More than $100M was raised for athletics during the campaign (NJ.com, 1/22).

Former Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has “denied the latest media reports” that his Serie A club AC Milan “was up for sale” (REUTERS, 1/21).

Kansas State is “considering playing its spring football game off-campus this year” at Sporting Park (WICHITA EAGLE, 1/22).

The “massive snow slide” outside Nationwide Arena today is set to open “as part of the Winter Park activities surrounding” NHL All-Star Weekend (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 1/22).

Quick Hits....

“Anything faster than 2:30, you’re cheating your concessionaire. Anything longer than 2:45, you’re challenging your audience” – Minor League Baseball President Pat O’Connor, on the optimum time to play a baseball game (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 1/22).

“Something is not right, and this action does not make sense” – New Jersey state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, questioning the decision to close Izod Center despite financial figures showing the arena has been profitable over the last several years (Bergen RECORD, 1/22).

“We want to work together and build a winner. That’s the directive from Mr. Ross. That’s his passion and he’s given us the resources” – Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey, on Owner Stephen Ross adding VP/Football Operations Mike Tannenbaum to the front office (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 1/22).

“Is the NHL trying to get me to make fun of the league? Because they succeeded” – FS1’s Jay Onrait, on the league’s All-Star jerseys (“Fox Sports Live,” FS1, 1/22).

“Never. You got that on the record? Never. We have an amazing guy. I’m so, so proud that we got him here to Detroit” – Pistons Owner Tom Gores, on whether he ever thought about firing GM & coach Stan Van Gundy after the team lost 19 of their first 22 games this season (MLIVE.com, 1/21).

Night Moves....Having A Ball

Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with Rockets-Warriors, with the game being the lead-in to the broadcast, followed by Pacers-Hawks, more Rockets-Warriors coverage and Thunder-Wizards. ESPN reported on the Patriots deflated ball scandal 27 minutes into the broadcast. Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” led with Thunder-Wizards, followed by Jazz-Cavaliers, Cavaliers F Shawn Marion announcing he will retire at season's end and the Patriots' deflated ball scandal.

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann called out his “world’s worst” persons in sports: Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez for already “being in mid-season form” and working out with Barry Bonds. Olbermann also criticized Topps for announcing its ’15 “card set will include 15 special cards showing celebrity first pitches” and “presumably Nike or whoever else might have prevented” Spurs G Danny Green from wearing special sneakers to honor the late Stuart Scott. Olbermann said, “The league has now said it was not them who kept Green from wearing the shoes. It’s nice to see merchandising still has the final say in pro basketball.”

Morning Hot Reads: Dwindling Support For "Redskins"

The WASHINGTON POST editorial board chimes in on the Redskins' name controversy and the Fritz Pollard Alliance coming out against the moniker: "Distaste Grows For Washington Football Team’s Name, Even Among Some NFL Allies."

The TORONTO SUN notes, "Raptors players are paid in American currency, which means as the Canadian dollar drops, their paycheque goes a lot further."

The DALLAS MORNING NEWS offers a lengthy profile of Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, whose contract was recently extended, under the header, "The Once And Future Cowboy."

The ASPEN TIMES reports, "With the Winter X Games expected to lure thousands of young adults to the Aspen area today through Sunday, most local marijuana shops are making plans for a potential retail bonanza."

Also:

Twitter Me This....

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

A Lighter Buzz....

A glitch last night led to the Cowboys' official website being "full of information" on the Chargers. Chargers officials on the team's Twitter feed responded that the "issue was a glitch on the site cutover" (LATIMES.com, 1/21). The Cowboys' website has been fixed as of this morning (THE DAILY).

Spanning The Global....

The most-read Global stories today on SportsBusinessDaily.com:

1) ManU's $1.13B Kit Deal With Adidas To Allow Club To Pursue Stars Including Lionel Messi
2) F1 Team Sahara Force India Presents New Car; Williams Releases Images Of New Racer
3) Scottish Championship Side Hibernian Fans Join Forces, Reject Board Blueprint
4) Discovery Communications Set To Join Battle For Premier League Broadcast Rights
5) FIFA To Establish $100M World Cup Legacy Fund Aimed At Facilities, Grassroots For Brazil

Back Pages....

The Morning Buzz offers today's back page sports covers from some of the nation's major metropolitan tabloids:

N.Y. Post N.Y. Daily News  Philadelphia Daily News Boston HeraldToronto Sun Chicago Sun-Times

Final Jeopardy!

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

“A line in this short story is ‘slowly, awkwardly trying out his feelers, which he now first learned to appreciate…’”

Laugh Tracks....Undercover Brother

TBS’ Conan O’Brien said, “Citizens of Boston may soon get to vote over whether or not the city hosts the 2024 Olympics. They get to vote, they can vote. It's a simple ballot. Bostonians will either check off ‘Heeya’ or ‘Not Heeya.’ … In South Florida, Shaquille O’Neal has been sworn in as a reserve police officer. Personally, I can't wait until he works undercover. That’s going to be fun. ‘Aren't you – no I'm not. I am a sophomore in high school’” (“Conan,” TBS, 1/21).

Microsoft Founder and Seattle-native Bill Gates appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night and presented host Jimmy Fallon with a Seahawks cap saying, “I know you like winners” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 1/21).