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Tuesday 9:00am ET....Today's News....Atlanta United Gets RSN Deal

  • Atlanta United Signs Regional TV Rights Deal With Fox Sports
  • Golden Knights Hosting 24-Hour Open House At T-Mobile Arena
  • "NBA 2K17" Promoted On New Hot Tamales, Mike & Ike Packaging
  • Kentucky Lawmakers Eye Fix For KFC Yum! Center's Financial Woes

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Buzzcast, a 2-minute podcast on today's top stories.

Today: Wall Street Journal P1 story roils NASCAR before Daytona 500 while Rob Manfred and Tony Clark show stark disagreement on possible changes to baseball.

Atlanta United Signs Regional TV Rights Deal With Fox Sports

By Ian Thomas

Atlanta United has signed a multiyear deal with FS South and Southeast to serve as the MLS club’s exclusive regional TV rightsholder. All of the club’s 19 non-nationally televised matches will appear on one of the two networks, as well as being streamed on Fox Sports Go. Each broadcast also will feature a 30-minute pre- and postgame show, and a weekly behind-the-scenes series will air on FS Southeast. An SAP feed will be available for every telecast. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Golden Knights Hosting 24-Hour Open House At T-Mobile Arena

The Golden Knights beginning today at 8:00am PT will host a 24-hour open house at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena "so fans can view the arena from the seats, tour the facility and take part in activities such as street hockey and shooting pucks in a cage." Two tickets to the NHL franchise's first regular-season game "will be awarded at the top of every hour" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 2/15). Team ticket sales staff will be on hand with information on season seats as well as 11- and 22-game packages (Golden Knights).

"NBA 2K17" Promoted On New Hot Tamales, Mike & Ike Packaging

Candy company Just Born Quality Confections is rolling out limited-edition packaging for its Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales products that promotes the "NBA 2K17" video game. The packages will contain locker codes that can be redeemed for rewards within the game. As part of the effort, Just Born is debuting the limited-edition Mike and Ike 3 Point Mix, which will hit shelves in March. Pacers F Paul George, the "NBA 2K17" cover athlete, helped promote the special packaging during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans (Just Born Quality Confections).

Kentucky Lawmakers Eye Fix For KFC Yum! Center's Financial Woes

The state of Kentucky is "taking its first steps toward resolving the KFC Yum! Center's financial problems in a long-awaited bill that could be approved" as soon as today. House Bill 330 would "extend the life" of a tax increment financing district program in the Louisville area from 20 years to as long as 45 years. The TIF district is a "critical part of paying off" the arena's $690M debt, but it "has struggled to meet expectations" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 2//21).

Heat-Backed E-Sports Team Misfits Buys "Vainglory" Squad Fate Zero

By Ben Fischer

Team Misfits, the e-sports franchise backed by the Heat, has acquired a team in the fast-growing mobile game "Vainglory." Misfits bought Fate Zero and its spot in the upcoming Vainglory 8 season for an undisclosed sum, adding to its rosters in six other games, including "League of Legends" and "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive." Misfits is the sixth major e-sports organization to enter "Vainglory" in recent weeks. The six new teams – Misfits, Fnatic, Echo Fox, NRG, Rogue and Immortals – will compete on Feb. 26 in the Vainglory Preseason Invitational.

Everton, British Open Agree To First-Of-Its-Kind Partnership

Everton has partnered with the British Open, a "first" between an EPL club and the golf tournament. The two entities will deliver "exclusive content to fans in the build-up to the 146th staging of the tournament" at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in July. The club can "take advantage of the marketing platform" which the Open offers and "tap into the popularity of golf among Everton fans." One of the main marketing activations will be an "exclusive Everton coloured Open Championship cap which fans will receive when purchasing a ticket" starting today and ending Feb. 28 (THEDRUM.com, 2/21).

Speed Reads....

The chances of Budapest remaining in the bid competition to host the '24 Games "appear to grow dimmer by the day." Already "considered an underdog" against Paris and L.A., the Hungarian city has "suspended its campaign and could withdraw as early as this week" (L.A. TIMES, 2/21).

The start time for the Blues' April 2 home game against the Predators has been moved from 5:00pm CT to 3:00pm to "accommodate the Cardinals' season opener" at 7:30pm against the Cubs at Busch Stadium (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/21).

NYRA has issued an RFP for an architect to design a building at Saratoga Race Course that "could replace a tent where fundraisers and corporate outings are held." The project, part of $6.79M in upgrades at the track, also could include "replacement of metal trailers with more permanent luxury suites" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/21).

Quick Hits....

"The Big East is still a league, it's a conference. The ACC and some of these other quote-unquote leagues are really just media-rights consortiums" – ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/21).

“I was very pleased with their having a second vote. ... It's a great Open venue. We would reconsider and make an announcement very quickly if that comes through positively” – R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, saying the organization could put Muirfield back in the British Open rotation if its membership votes to allow women members (GOLFCHANNEL.com, 2/20).

Morning Hot Reads: Best Seat In The House

The NATIONAL POST's Michael Traikos shared his experience watching hockey in VR as part of a partnership between Sportsnet and Molson. He wrote of watching an OT game-winning goal, "The noise of the crowd, mixed in with the fans pounding on the glass and the steady goal horn, makes it feel like I’m in the middle of a fireworks display in a thunderstorm. I’m on my feet, too, soaking it all in."

The SEATTLE TIMES questions hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen's urgency for the city to "grant him a 'shovel-ready' arena plan when he lacks the financing to execute his vision" for a facility in the Sodo district.

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Today's Events....

NASCAR HOFer and team owner Richard Petty will spend the day at ESPN HQ in Bristol, where he will promote the upcoming Daytona 500 on several national ESPN platforms, including two different airings of "SportsCenter."

Final Jeopardy!

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

“The first recorded use of this word in print was when Nathan Hope posted an image of his busted lip online in 2002.”

Today's Back Pages....

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

 N.Y. Post  N.Y. Daily News Newsday   Boston HeraldChicago Sun-Times

Spanning The Global....

The most-read Global stories today on SportsBusiness Daily:

1) Neymar, Barcelona, Former Club Santos To Stand Trial In Spain
2) Sponsors Not 'In A Rush' To Sign On For 2018 Russia World Cup
3) Sauber F1 Unveils Completely New Car For 2017 In Response To New Rules
4) Nike Middle East Launches Campaign Celebrating Female Athletes
5) Six Nations Drawing More Than 53 Million Viewers In Participating Countries