The North Carolina General Assembly yesterday "approved a compromise bill that repeals House Bill 2 but restricts anti-discrimination ordinances in cities and counties," and Gov. Roy Cooper "signed the measure into law." The NCAA reportedly had "set a deadline" of yesterday for North Carolina to "change the year-old state law or be excluded from consideration for hosting postseason games" through '22. Whether the repeal and attached provisions "will be sufficient to put the state back in contention to host NCAA sports championships remains to be seen." House Speaker Tim Moore said that "business leaders who have been intermediaries in recent negotiations have told him this version of the bill would satisfy NCAA concerns" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/31).

NCAA President Mark Emmert said that the group's BOG will "meet in coming days to determine whether the NCAA will return championship events to North Carolina." Emmert yesterday "praised the North Carolina legislature." But he added that the BOG "still must decide whether the changes were 'sufficient' for the NCAA to return events to the state" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/31).

FIFA yesterday announced a plan for the "proposed allocation of slots from its confederations for the expanded 48-team World Cup" in '26. The CONCACAF region, which includes the U.S., "would get six automatic qualifiers under the new plan, up from its current three." The "small increase in Europe’s allotment" -- from 13 to 16 slots -- is "sure to disappoint fans and federations there." The host country will "continue to receive an automatic place, but in the future that slot will come from its confederation’s allotment." FIFA said that in the event of co-hosts, the FIFA Council will "decide how many teams will be granted automatic entry." That "has implications" for the U.S., Mexico and Canada, who are considering a joint bid for '26 (N.Y. TIMES, 3/31).

The AAC is "engaged in talks to add Wichita State," according to sources. The conversations have "advanced to where a timeline for potential membership has emerged." There is "strong mutual interest between both sides," strong enough where "neither side sees any looming issues." Sources said that a final decision "could be made within the next month or in as few as the next two weeks." Sources said that there is a "strong chance" that Wichita State could play in the AAC in the '17-18 season (SI.com, 3/31).

A state bill intended as Kentucky's "contribution to resolving the financial woes of the KFC Yum! Center won final passage in the General Assembly" last night "in the final hours" of the '17 legislative session. As passed, House Bill 330 "reverted closely to its simple original form of simply extending from 20 to 45 years the time that a tax rebate program can be used to pay off debt" on the downtown Louisville arena. Gone from this new version of the bill "was the Senate committee's earlier provisions that put a cap on the amount of revenue the arena authority can get from the tax rebate program" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 3/31).

Riccardo Silva Stadium will "be the new name of FIU's football stadium" under a naming rights deal "for five years," according to sources. MP & Silva Founding Partner Riccardo Silva recently donated $2.26M "for various improvements to the stadium including a new playing surface and video scoreboard." Silva is also president and co-owner of NASL club Miami FC, which also "plays its home games" in the stadium (ESPN.com, 3/30).

FIFA has "sent 1,300 pages of internal investigation reports into suspected bribery and corruption to Switzerland's attorney general." But the governing body said today that it was "legally barred from publishing the full reports or commenting on the evidence or conclusions." The documents "complete a 22-month probe by legal firm Quinn Emanuel, which FIFA retained in the fallout" from U.S. and Swiss federal prosecutors "revealing their sprawling investigations of soccer corruption" in May '15. FIFA has said that the U.S.-based law firm is "key to helping retain its institutional status as a victim of corruption and not an accomplice" (AP, 3/31).

Double-A Eastern League Hartford Yard Goats officials yesterday showed off most of Dunkin' Donuts Park after "four months of intense construction activity" aimed at opening the 6,000-seat ballpark "in time for Opening Day April 13." The $71M, publicly financed ballpark "looked mostly ready for its debut before a sellout crowd in two weeks." Most of the ballpark was "accessible and appeared ready for a year-delayed opening" (HARTFORD COURANT, 3/31).

WWE this weekend is rolling out a variety of social/digital activations around Sunday's WrestleMania 33 PPV event at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. On Snapchat, users starting today will be able to use a special Undertaker-themed augmented reality lens, leveraging one of WWE's biggest stars. WWE's own digital/social assets will feature behind-the-scenes content from WrestleMania, Saturday's NXT Takeover event and Friday's WWE HOF Ceremony; 360-degree VR interviews with WWE athletes; slow-motion footage of key WrestleMania moments; and a 360-degree live stream of the HOF red carpet.

Are you or someone you know in sports business going to the Final Four this weekend in Phoenix? If so, SBJ/SBD wants to hear about your experience. Sign up here and we’ll connect with you after the nets are cut down.

YES Network returns to Comcast's programming lineup today in time for coverage of tonight's Yankees-Braves exhibition, the final Yankees Spring Training game of '17 (YES Network).

Cobb County (Ga.) Department of Transportation Dir Jim Wilgus yesterday said that there were "no changes to the county's traffic plan" ahead of the Braves' exhibition game against the Yankees today at SunTrust Park "as a result of the I-85 bridge collapse" (AJC.com, 3/30).

The BIG3 three-on-three basketball league, fronted by Ice Cube, has selected Premier Partnerships to lead the league's sponsorship sales initiatives (THE DAILY).
 
Panasonic tomorrow will officially launch a new sales division, Panasonic Media Entertainment company, that will specialize in serving the needs of the sports and entertainment industries. The unit is based in Newark (Panasonic).

The Celtics announced that Putnam Investments and the Arbella Insurance Group will be the team's co-presenting partners for the '17 NBA Playoffs (Celtics).

The MLB Rangers have entered into a three-year partnership through '19 with Dallas-based ParkHub, which provids technology designed to reduce traffic congestion (Rangers).

The Suns have expanded their partnership with N.Y.-based social content developer 15 Seconds Of Fame, which will now deliver video clips to Suns fans on their phones when they appear on FS Arizona broadcasts of games at Talking Stick Resort Arena (15SOF).

"I want to think sexism is too simple of an answer, but what is it if it's not that? Anytime someone hires a male coach and says, 'Coaching is coaching,' well, why aren't more women in men's basketball?" – Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, on the decline in women coaching college basketball (N.Y. TIMES, 3/31). 

"I've never been in a clubhouse with a pool table right in the middle. Sleeping areas, saunas in there. Everything you can think of. It's like a kid in a candy store. I hope we don't get too comfortable in the clubhouse and can keep our focus on the field" – Braves 2B Brandon Phillips, on the amenities at SunTrust Park (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/31).

"It's nice that in tennis we have it super loud, super quiet, super loud. I think it makes tennis very special" – Roger Federer, on crowd noise during matches (AP, 3/30).

"It's only for a couple players in the league. They don't care if the 13th man on the bench rests. It's only for like LeBron (James), Steph (Curry), (James) Harden, Russell (Westbrook). It's only for like five players. So you want a rule just for those five players?" – Warriors F Kevin Durant, on NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanting team owners to be more involved in the decision to rest players (ESPN.com, 3/30).

The N.Y. TIMES examines the melody created by composer Bob Christianson for CBS' NCAA Tournament coverage. The melody is "now familiar to almost anyone even remotely near a television in March." Meanwhile, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE profiles CBS' Greg Gumbel's path to the Final Four. Also, how Oregon "can thank Nike" for helping it reach the Final Four.

With Opening Day approaching, Dodgers fans try to deal with "Vin Scully Separation Anxiety" after the broadcaster retired following last season. For the first time in 67 years, the franchise will have a new voice, and there is a "real need for some kind of psychological exit strategy."

Also:

• Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk "leads new push for organ donors."
• Media outlets "dramatically cutting back" on commitment to golf.
• Boxing promoters are hurting the sport, but "could help revive it."
• MLB teams "tapping writers with backgrounds in advanced metrics" as scouts.
• ITF looking to "streamline the jump" from juniors to pro circuit.

Amalie Arena playing Britney Spears' "Oops I did it again" after Sustr's goal. His teammates having a hard time keeping it together on bench

— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) March 31, 2017

wait

shaq is making fun of jusuf nurkic’s first name?

a man named “shaquille” is making fun of a man named “jusuf”

just wanna be clear

— Dane Carbaugh (@danecarbaugh) March 31, 2017

Exciting! Mizzou J-School alum @chadjennings22 is new Red Sox writer for @bostonherald. https://t.co/WLylW9Qzkd

— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) March 31, 2017

Nassau County (N.Y.) will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum at 10:30am ET, followed by a media tour of the arena.

Baseball HOFer-elect Tim Raines will sign Montreal's Golden Book and receive the keys to the city.

A 3-minute hit on the stories you need to know ... Subscribe on iTunes ... Check out our podcast home.

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

“One of the world’s longest-running musicals, in 2015 it celebrated ’30 years of revolution!’”

“What is ‘Les Miserables?’”