The San Jose City Council last night voted unanimously to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court its antitrust lawsuit against MLB that seeks to allow the A's to move from Oakland to San Jose. This comes "two weeks after an appeals court ruled against" the city. The appeal was "expected, as the city will continue to get free services from its outside law team if it loses." The city "would need the justices to overturn precedent on antitrust law to succeed" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/4).

If the court agrees to hear the case, "arguments will be held in the term that begins in October, with a ruling due by June 2016" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/4).

Serena Williams pens a TIME magazine exclusive about her plan to return to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., this year. She recounts the crowd "jeering and booing" her in the '01 final after she bested sister Venus in the semifinal. Williams: "The false allegations that our matches were fixed hurt, cut and ripped into us deeply. The undercurrent of racism was painful, confusing and unfair. ... I said a few times that I would never play there again." It is with "a new understanding of the true meaning of forgiveness, that I will proudly return to Indian Wells in 2015" (TIME.com, 2/4).

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh remains "determined to mark" the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX victory with a parade today "despite the growing frustration of residents bedeviled by snow-clogged intersections, epic traffic snarls and sluggish mass transit." He also "promised the city would not divert snow-removal resources from other neighborhoods in the service of a sports spectacular." Walsh: "I don’t want to debate this. This has been a tradition in the city" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/4).

NESN is slated to begin its live coverage of the celebration at 10:00am ET (NESN).

Rory McIlroy has reached an out-of-court settlement with Horizon Sports, his former management company, "cutting short a multi-million-dollar case that could have exposed the financial dealings" of the top-ranked golfer. Both sides in a joint statement said, "The legal dispute between Rory McIlroy and Horizon Sports Management has been settled to the satisfaction of both parties." Terms were not disclosed (AP, 2/4). A source said the settlement had McIlroy paying "far north" of US$20M (PA, 2/4).

ESPN Radio 98.7 N.Y. extended its media rights deal to carry Knicks and Rangers games thanks to a multiyear extension signed with MSG Networks this week. A formal announcement is expected later today. Specific terms were not released. The deal includes pre- and postgame coverage and allows ESPN to stream the live games on ESPNNewYork.com.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was in Sacramento for last night's Warriors-Kings game at Sleep Train Arena. He also "visited the construction site of the new arena in downtown Sacramento and was impressed with the progress." Silver: "I wish everybody could have a sense of that because it's a monumental undertaking. ... I was moved to see that it's actually happening. ... I can't wait to be here for opening night" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/4).

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today will visit the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in DC, marking one of his first official appearances since formally ascending to the post on Jan. 25. The academy, which opened last year after an eight-year effort to become a reality, offers baseball, nutritional and academic instruction to at-risk youth. Manfred will tour the facility and watch a skills demonstration by some of the academy scholar-athletes. Also today, the club will host its annual partner summit at Nationals Park.

Serie A team AC Milan today “unveiled the first plans for a new 48,000-seat stadium based on the design” of EPL club Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. The proposed $345M stadium, which would have a retractable roof, would be “surrounded by a hotel, parking areas, and restaurants” (TELEGRAPH.co.uk, 2/4).

A combination of “recent heavy snowfall and monumental gridlock on downtown streets made for a very light crowd” of 10,289 at last night’s Boston Univ.-Harvard/Northeastern-Boston College Beanpot semifinals at TD Garden (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/4).

Northern Illinois’ Huskie Stadium turns 50 this year and the school is "celebrating the milestone" with an official anniversary logo designed by Rick Cerrone Communications and graphic artist Michael Macchione (SUNTIMES.com, 2/3). View the logo.

“We love this opportunity, but once you decide you’re gonna do the Super Bowl, you’re gonna have no f—g life for six months” – Katy Perry, on headlining the Super Bowl halftime show (N.Y. POST, 2/4).

“Everybody says it’s a lousy building, it’s an old building, it’s a mausoleum and everything else. All I know is, if you want to come and have a good seat and watch a hockey game, this is a good building. This is a hockey building” – NHL Panthers Alternate Governor Bill Torrey, who was the Islanders' first GM, on Nassau Coliseum (NEWSDAY, 2/4).

“What it did was it showed the pitchers and the hitters that 20 seconds is more than enough time to get yourself ready to pitch and hit” – D-Backs Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa, on liking the idea of the 20-second pitch clocks that were tested last year in the Arizona Fall League (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/4).

“We all need to play a championship game. I fully expect that the current requirement of 12 teams and two divisions will be modified. I doubt that it will be this season, but for 2016 I’ll be surprised if that isn’t permissible” – Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson, who is on the CFP management committee (ESPN.com, 2/3).

“I don’t want to follow some kid around for his entire life in a movie. I got a daughter I do that with already” – Bears TE Martellus Bennett, asked his thoughts on Best Picture contender “Boyhood” (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 2/4).

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann called out his “world’s worst” persons in sports: The Esquire Network for airing a Papa John’s commercial congratulating the Seahawks for winning the Super Bowl and a QVC salesperson describing how Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch had the ball taken from him in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl. Olbermann also derided Miss Amazon runner-up contestant Sheislane Hayalla for grabbing the crown off the head of the winner, and the “NFL’s publications and memorabilia department” for putting a hologram on the cover of the Super Bowl program that “sets off alarms” going through security at the airport.

Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” led with several NHL highlights, followed by Warriors-Kings, Jazz-Trail Blazers and UConn-Cincinnati women’s basketball. Last night’s 1:00am ET edition of FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” led with Jazz-Trail Blazers, followed by Warriors-Kings, Georgia-Kentucky men's basketball and UFC fighters Anderson Silva and Nick Diaz failing drug tests. The first NHL report on FS1 was Kings-Capitals 23 minutes into the broadcast.

WALL STREET JOURNAL: Reggie Love, a former Duke F and personal aide to Barack Obama, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the President's love of basketball and coaching his daughter Sasha's team: "As talented and smart as we thought we were about basketball, teaching fifth-graders the art of hoops was like herding giggling cats."

Today is national signing day for college football, and ESPN.com explores how social media has transformed recruiting under the header, "Real-Time Drama Is The New Normal."

GOLFCHANNEL.com goes with the header, "Golf And Olympics: A Bad Fit." Professional golf at the highest level is already "awash in big-time events."

Also:

• Multiple MLB cities confront aggravation of building new ballpark.
• Why is arriving at a Rays ballpark deal proving to be so difficult?
• Penguins C Sidney Crosby balances personal life, time in spotlight.
• Taking leadership lessons from the Seahawks' Super Bowl loss.
• MLB's pace of play needs work, but no drastic measures needed.

Major problems for the @wnba now that @DianaTaurasi will get paid to sit

— John Altavilla (@jaltavilla) February 3, 2015

Nice gesture by Tom Brady to give away the truck he received as SB MVP to Malcolm Butler. I hope he pays the taxes on it too.

— Tim McGhee (@tpmcghee) February 4, 2015

Falcons owner admits to cheating yesterday & nobody cares. Can you imagine if it were the Patriots?

— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) February 4, 2015

The @myfamilydollar truck has arrived! Today we're partnering w/ them to pack 10K care kits for our troops overseas. pic.twitter.com/rV0WiaDrnF

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) February 4, 2015

Look good play good! Big thanks to @adidasBaseball for helping me design these spikes for my high school! pic.twitter.com/CHDvObSlnM

— Kris Bryant (@KrisBryant_23) February 3, 2015

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

“This word for a process that leads to the solution to a problem comes from the Arabic name of a ninth century mathematician.”

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel said, “When it snows like this, the Weather Channel really really comes to life. When the weather is nice, there’s nobody really watching the weather channel. It’s like the NFL Network in July. … Last night, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was here. He showed up with his family and his personal party bus. They were hilarious. He has four brothers, all large people. I hung out with them a little bit after the show and I’ve never felt more like Danny DeVito than I did last night. So after they left, ... TMZ caught up with Rob coming out of a night club. I think he’s having fun.” The broadcast then aired footage of Gronkowski posing with a group of women and spiking a bouquet of roses on the ground. Kimmel said, “He is going to make the best Bachelor ever next season” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 2/3).

CBS’ David Letterman said of his guest Dr. Phil, “When you’re a guy as smart as Dr. Phil, you have trouble not giving advice to people. For example, he’s at the Super Bowl over the weekend and just before the last play, he goes up to Pete Carroll and he says, ‘Pass, pass, pass.’ I’m telling you, even one of those dancing sharks could have run it in. More than 114 million people watched the Super Bowl. No wonder I had nobody to talk to about ‘Downtown Abbey’” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/3).

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Sleep Recommendations From the National Sleep Foundation” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/3).

10) “Sleep eight hours a night or fifty-six hours once a week.”
9) “Don't use your bedroom for work, unless you're a prostitute.”
8) “Try a natural sleep aid, such as lavender or Charlie Rose.”
7) “Don't set an alarm; let your anxiety wake you up naturally.”
6) “Catch a few extra minutes of sleep at red lights.”
5) “Snoring spouse? Divorce and remarry.”
4) “Read a report from the National Sleep Foundation.”
3) “Put off sleep until the President finishes his speech.”
2) “Calling a pass play on 2nd and goal will probably keep you awake for awhile.”
1) “When all else fails, watch ‘Letterman.’”

“What is an algorithm?”

The mathematician was al-Khwarizmi.