AMB Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Falcons, today announced that IBM will be the NFL team’s “technology teammate on the new downtown stadium.” IBM will provide Wi-Fi infrastructure and “an array of other technology needs for the 71,000-seat stadium.” The goal is for IBM’s technology to “connect numerous stadium amenities and deliver information to fans about everything from traffic to concessions stands lines” (AJC.com, 2/18).

IMG has acquired Ohio-based Icon Sports Management, meaning WME/IMG has "boosted its roster of clients and strengthened its North American business." The acquisition is "the most significant for IMG" since it was acquired by WME a year ago. Icon's golf business will be merged into the IMG Golf division. Icon President & CEO R.J. Nemer will continue to manage Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter. He also will become a Senior VP at IMG and "oversee all the golf clients" (AP, 2/19).

U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said that she will rule today on a request by rooftop businesses near Wrigley Field to "obtain a temporary restraining order and stop" the Cubs from putting up signs. The ruling "could determine the future" of the ballpark as the Cubs attempt to complete renovations (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/19). This comes after a four-hour hearing yesterday "ended without a decision from Kendall" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/19).

Organizers of the ’20 Tokyo Games today announced that IT companies NEC and Fujitsu have “signed on as top-tier domestic sponsors.” NEC will “introduce security technology for face and fingerprint authentication and network-related products,” while Fujitsu will “provide servers for data” during the Games (AP, 2/19).

Las Vegas' soccer stadium plans are "officially dead" after a City Council vote, which came after MLS last week informed Mayor Carolyn Goodman that the city "wouldn't be getting an expansion franchise for the next several years." The council voted 6-0 to "remove a master development agreement for the stadium from its meeting agenda." A "potential legal challenge to a June ballot question on the issue is still in play" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 2/19).

The St. Petersburg City Council today is "going forward with a workshop" to talk about building a new ballpark for the Rays. Mayor Rick Kriseman last week sent a memo "ordering city staffers to stop preparing" for the workshop, but that "won't preclude council members from starting to plan for the future." Kriseman had "informed the council that he thought any discussion about stadium plans in St. Petersburg would be premature and could hinder negotiations" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/17).

The Univ. of Michigan athletic department is "moving forward with its plans to erect a 310,000-square-foot multi-use facility for its Division I Olympic sports complex." The UM Board of Regents today will vote on whether to approve the $2.4M demolition and abatement of the site. In order to complete the $168M project, the "next step in the process is finding a company to demolish" the industrial/office building on the site (MLIVE.com, 2/16).

One World Sports has hired veteran soccer announcer JP Dellacamera to call NASL N.Y. Cosmos games on the network. Dellacamera signed a multiyear deal and will be paired with Shep Messing on the games starting in April. Dellacamera has called MLS for ESPN and Fox, the World Cup for ESPN Radio and Olympic soccer for NBC. One World Sports also signed Ed Cohen to a multiyear deal, putting him as the main announcer for KHL and CHL hockey, Yomiuri Giants baseball and Chinese basketball games. Cohen has had on-air jobs with ESPN, MSG, NHL Network and SiriusXM. One World Sports Exec VP/Programming Joel Feld handled the network’s negotiations.

The Duke and North Carolina men's basketball teams paid tribute to the late Dean Smith prior to last night's game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the teams "gathered at center court, held hands and knelt for around 10 seconds of silence." Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Dean’s passing really affected all of us. I thought the way we did it was the best. ... I thought that was good, real touching. You could see the kids, they were moved by it.” UNC coach Roy Williams: "I think it shows the class this rivalry has" (FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER, 2/19). Cameron, "as loud both before and after as it always is when North Carolina is in the building, was utterly still" for the tribute (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 2/19).

Meanwhile, a pregame ceremony to honor Jerry Tarkanian prior to the Boise State-UNLV game "was class and hit the mark." The game drew a crowd of 13,675, "a majority of the fans dressed in black." In addition to the pregame tribute, the "Rebels wore black uniforms and fans waved commemorative 'Tark' towels" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/19). Many area casinos dimmed their lights starting at 10:30pm PT, and the "Luxor's heaven-sent beam of light appeared to be the first to go" (AP, 2/18).

Univ. of Rhode Island AD Thorr Bjorn, who had been linked to the UMass AD opening, is “working on a contract extension to remain in his current role.” His “three-year deal is due to expire June 30” (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 2/19).

Octagon announced its expansion to Turkey via a strategic alliance with Istanbul-based Sportsnet Group (Octagon).

The Big 12 announced a “conference-wide policy for the diagnosis of concussions and managing the care of all student-athletes” (AP, 2/18).

The Boston 2024 organizing committee yesterday announced that it “will hold 20 community meetings across the state over the next 20 weeks, to answer questions and solicit ideas for Boston’s bid to host” the Olympics (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 2/18).

The Int’l Cricket Council “plans to hold the Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament at Indianapolis’ World Sports Park in May” (IBJ.com, 2/18).

“It’s certainly true and undeniable that if you’re sitting in the stands, it’s not the best viewing vantage point” – NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, on the trade-offs to having outdoor games (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/19).

“It’s nice to see them just wander around and soak it in. I think it’s because it’s so different from what they’ve seen at a racetrack before” – Daytona Int’l Speedway President Joie Chitwood III, on the track showing off some of its Daytona Rising upgrades during an open house (AP, 2/18).

“I couldn’t even peg a day (for an announcement). We’re going as fast as humanly possible to get this done” – Bucks President Peter Feigin, on not being ready to unveil plans for a downtown arena project (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/18).

“The NHL can no longer ignore the impact of repeated head trauma and must finally acknowledge the serious conditions that retired players are facing” – Charles Zimmerman, co-lead counsel of a class-action concussion suit against the league, on the death of former NHLer Steve Montador. The 35-year-old Montador’s career was ended because of concussions (N.Y. TIMES, 2/19).

“Our intentions are to fully fund that. We’re just looking into how quickly we can step into it” – Univ. of Texas-San Antonio AD Lynn Hickey, on the school planning to offer yearly cost-of-attendance grants to its student-athletes (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 2/19).

Last night’s 1:00am ET editions of ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and FS1’s “Fox Sports Live” both led with North Carolina-Duke men's basketball and Louisville-Syracuse. ESPN followed with Red Wings-Blackhawks, Lightning-Ducks and Suns G Goran Dragic looking for the team to trade him. FS1 followed with Wisconsin-Penn State, the state of the Browns’ quarterback position, the NFL Scouting Combine and Daytona 500 practice.

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann called out his “world’s worst” persons in sports: The "physical laws of the universe" for an eighth grade playoff basketball game in Kansas ending with the potential game-winning shot coming to rest on the back of the rim. Olbermann was also annoyed with the “driver of the Chelsea team bus” for getting it stuck in the tunnel of a stadium, and French Ligue 1 teams Lille and Nice “played such a boring game on Saturday that one fan felt compelled to give a concert while the teams continued to play behind him.”

The Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE notes the people of St. Louis "are in one tough spot, having to choose between shoveling lots of money into a new stadium or maybe losing your NFL team." Minneapolis "just went through that."

The AP notes NASCAR's Jeff Gordon "has already announced that 2015 will be his last as a full-time driver, and there's a sense that several others could follow him out the door."

CBSSPORTS.com: "One of the more contentious issues at the NCAA convention last month was the creation of the Concussion Safety Protocol Committee by the Power Five conferences. ... Why is there not enough support to attach penalties yet to return-to-play concussion guidelines?"

Also:

• To date, Phil Jackson has failed the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony.
• An overview of possible locations for a Seattle-area NHL arena.
• Judy Rankin "brings class and dignity" to the Golf Channel booth. 
• Sadena Parks, Cheyenne Woods set to take LPGA by storm.
• Benson family presented united front in wake of Hurricane Katrina.
• Work begins in earnest for '16 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto.

RIP Jerome Kersey. Such a classy man. Always available to the media and respected our responsibilities.

— chuck swirsky (@swirsk054) February 19, 2015

Funniest story of the afterparty was when Jay Z thought @BoomerWells33 was Curt Shilling and asked him about bloody sock

— David Cone (@dcone36) February 19, 2015

It's minus-4 in Indianapolis today (minus-19 windchill), which as we now know means any football left outdoors has been completely deflated.

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RVacchianoNYDN) February 19, 2015

@SethOnHoops aka notorious BERG on to the next one. #purvsind tonight. hoops dream tour. Big opportunity for boilers pic.twitter.com/eKL7hBF8GS

— Rece Davis (@ESPN_ReceDavis) February 19, 2015

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell takes part in the annual #RunRichRun campaign around the NFL Combine by running the 40-yard dash, without leaving the office.

ABC this year notched record sales of commercial time for Sunday’s Academy Awards show. A 30-second spot during the telecast reached an average of $1.95M, up 8% from last year. The price “could help the network rake in more” than $100M for commercial time during the three-hour show (L.A. TIMES, 2/19).

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “No. 1 Songs.”

“A U.S. No. 1 in 1977, it was performed the night before Carl XVI Gustaf’s 1976 wedding to Silvia Sommerlath.”

U.S. snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg appeared on TBS’ “Conan” last night, and Kotsenburg, who won a Gold Medal at the Sochi Games, told O’Brien, “I'm so pumped to be back, man.” O’Brien said of Kotsenburg's accomplishments: "You won the ESPY and now your greatest achievement probably is you’re on the Wheaties box.” O’Brien asked, “When you’re on the Wheaties box do they give you free Wheaties?” Kotsenburg: “They hook you up, man. We’ve got like 500 (boxes) at my house.” Kotsenburg then corrected himself, "We used to ... we’ve been eating all of them.” Kotsenburg: “It's an easy breakfast for 20-year-olds. You just pour milk in it and eat it.” Kotsenburg, on where he keeps his Gold Medal: “It started out at my house and then I got vibed out with it with so many people coming to my house. So it's at my mom and dad's now. I keep it in a sock in a drawer there” (“Conan,” TBS, 2/18).

CBS’ David Letterman said, “Baseball is just around the corner and we have our hands full, the New York Yankees with Alex Rodriguez. Do you remember Alex Rodriguez? He was involved in the performance-enhancing drug scandal and was being paid by the Yankees (with) $60 million left on his contract. … So what he did was he wrote a letter apologizing for his behavior. … He wants to put the scandal behind him. That’s what you’ve got to do in America. Go forward. Keep on moving. He wants to put the scandal behind him and concentrate on coming to the plate with the bases loaded and grounding out. That’s what he wants to concentrate on. He was suspended for a year from baseball, but the Yankees paid him $3 million. By God that will teach him” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/18).

Last night’s Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things Joe Biden Said At This Moment.” The broadcast aired footage of new Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter issuing a statement and VP Joe Biden standing behind Carter’s wife with his hands resting on her shoulders and whispering something in her ear. Letterman said, “She’s looking uncomfortable if not miserable” (“Late Show,” CBS, 2/18).

10) “Let me know when this gets weird.”
9) “What is that, Pert Plus?”
8) “You have the clavicle of a much younger woman.”
7) “Have you seen ‘Fifty Shades of Grey?’”
6) “Is that the necklace I gave you?”
5) “I haven't heard a word your husband's said.”
4) “You look like a young Jeanne Kirkpatrick.”
3) “Ever heard of a second ‘Second Lady?’”
2) “I don't have a time machine, but I do have a hot tub.”
1) “In the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ‘I'm not 100% sober.’”

“What is ‘Dancing Queen?’”

Carl XVI Gustaf is still the reigning king of Sweden and “Dancing Queen” is from the Swedish pop group ABBA.