Front-Page Headlines: Raleigh News & Observer: "Redeemed!" ... Charlotte Observer: "Brought To Heel" ... Greensboro News & Record: "Looking At Six" ... Spokane Spokesman-Review: "So Close" ... Seattle Times: "Dream Of NCAA Title Slips Away From Zags"

When NCAA President Mark Emmert was "introduced on the floor to present the championship trophy, he was immediately and emphatically booed by UNC fans" due to the ongoing investigation into the school's academic scandal (K.C. STAR, 4/4). UNC coach Roy Williams, who won his third title with the school, addressed the issue postgame. Williams: "I know that we did nothing wrong. ... But there were some mistakes made at my university that I'm not happy about either" (USA TODAY, 4/4). Thanks in part to "legal stalling" by UNC, the NCAA probe "continues several years after the scandal's revelation" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/4).

Williams "doesn't sound excited about the prospect" of meeting President Trump in the "traditional White House visit" (SI.com, 4/4). Williams said, "I don't know that we're going to get invited" (USA TODAY, 4/4).

Tony Romo will be a TV analyst with CBS next season, according to sources. A deal has yet to be signed, but CBS and Romo have reached a verbal agreement. The Cowboys QB is expected to replace Phil Simms as the net’s top game analyst, where he will be paired with Jim Nantz. CBS outbid Fox Sports for Romo’s services, sources said. Fox Sports wanted Romo to replace John Lynch as the game analyst on the net’s No. 2 broadcast team. Just a couple of weeks ago, Fox was considered the front-runner to land Romo, since it carries the NFC package that Romo knows so well. But a concern for Romo was that another former Cowboys QB, Troy Aikman, is the net’s top NFL game analyst, and he is not likely to leave the booth any time soon.

ESPN first reported that Romo will retire and move to the broadcast booth following his expected release from the Cowboys today. There still is a chance that another NFL team may try to sign Romo, but ESPN is reporting that the 36-year-old Romo will retire, citing health reasons. Romo is being repped by CAA Sports in this deal.

An unresolved question is what will happen on Thursday nights. A source says that Romo, a broadcasting neophyte, does not want to call both “TNF” and CBS’ national Sunday game right off the bat. The NFL in the past has made it clear, though, that CBS and NBC, its "TNF" broadcasters, have to use their top broadcast team for the series. Last season, the NFL balked at NBC’s plan to have Mike Tirico replace Al Michaels on Thursday nights.

Fanatics has reached a "definitive agreement" to acquire VF's Licensed Sports Group (LSG), which has held exclusive MLB jersey rights since '05. News of the pending acquisition was announced just before the start of trading this morning on the NYSE. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 and is subject to standard closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed. Fanatics, MLB and Majestic will be holding an announcement event later today at the Majestic manufacturing facility in Easton, Pa., with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, Fanatics Exec Chair Michael Rubin, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Majestic President Mike Pardini.

The move continues Fanatics' rollup of licensing rights, e-commerce operations, along with brick-and-mortar venue sales, and a push into a vertical arrangement, within which it controls much of the sports-licensing business from end to end. VF put LSG up for sale last year. With annual sales of around $500M, VF’s sports licensing unit that includes LSG has rights with all four major stick-and-ball leagues, along with NASCAR and many colleges. Majestic is easily Fanatics' largest acquisition to date, and will add to its significant domestic manufacturing capabilities. VF/Majestic employs around 600 people in its Easton, Pa., plant, which is largely responsible for MLB jersey production.

MLB in October struck a deal with Under Armour and Fanatics, making them MLB’s replica and on-field jersey rightsholders beginning in '20. That left VF/Majestic in the unprecedented position of being a three-year lame duck licensee with a major sports property. Fanatics' pending LSG acquisition means that UA-branded MLB authentic (on-field) jerseys and Fanatics replica MLB jerseys will likely be at retail long before '20. Over the past several years, Fanatics, once considered solely a back-end e-commerce provider, has amassed a slew of rights across leagues and teams. That includes licensing rights across colleges, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NHL, NFL and NFLPA, ranging from on-field to replica jerseys.

The NHL yesterday announced that it will not participate in the '18 PyeongChang Games, ending "five consecutive cycles of NHL participation at the Olympics that started" in '98. The league in a statement said "no meaningful dialogue has materialized" with the IOC. The NHLPA said in a statement that the players are "extraordinarily disappointed and adamantly disagree with the NHL’s shortsighted decision." The statement reads, "This is the NHL’s decision, and its alone" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/4). PyeonChang Organizing Committee spokesperson Nancy Park said that there is "still time for 'meaningful discussions.'" She is hopeful that a "solution will be found" for '18 (AP, 4/3).

After the Nats' 4-2 win, protesters "hung a large 'Impeach Trump' banner from the observation deck up the first base side" (WASHINGTON POST, 4/4). Trump had previously declined an invitation to throw out the first pitch, and White House officials cited a "scheduling conflict." In his place, the Nats "invited service members from the five military branches" to "throw simultaneous first pitches" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/4).

Meanwhile, for the Reds' home opener against the Phillies, a "surge of ticket holders into the first-base side gates at Great American Ball Park" created a "bottleneck." Fans on social media claimed that the resulting delays "lasted upward of 20 minutes." Another "likely factor was that a regular season record crowd of 43,804 attended the game" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 4/4).

Yesterday's MLB Opening Day saw big crowds throughout the league:

• The Orioles beat the Blue Jays 3-2 before a sellout crowd of 45,667 at Camden Yards, ending the game with an "11th-inning home run" by DH Mark Trumbo (Baltimore SUN, 4/4). 
• The Astros "won their opener 3-0 over the Mariners in front of more than 45,000 fans" at Minute Maid Park (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/4). 
• The Indians-Rangers matchup drew 48,350 to Globe Life Park (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 4/4). 
• The Mets beat the Braves "in front of 44,384 at Citi Field" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/4). 
• The Rockies "held on to beat" the Brewers at a sold-out Miller Park (DENVER POST, 4/4). Attendance was announced at 43,336 (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/4). 
• The Twins topped the Royals before 39,615 fans at Target Field (STARTRIBUNE.com, 4/3).

NASCAR said that it "does not have a partnership with Bellator" after the MMA promotion yesterday announced that it "had partnered with NASCAR and Monster Energy to bring fights to four racing events later this year." Earlier, Bellator "issued its original news release with President Scott Coker announcing a partnership among the three organizations." Monster Energy and VP/Sports Marketing Mitch Covington "seemed to have no issue with Bellator’s announcement" (MMAJUNKIE.com, 4/3). 

The L.A. and Paris bid groups for the '24 Games are both in Aarhus, Denmark, today to present to the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. The session is happening alongside a week-long SportAccord meeting, with at least 20 voting members of the IOC expected to be in attendance. Each bid will have just 10 minutes to present. The American delegation includes L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, bid Chair Casey Wasserman, bid CEO Gene Sykes, Vice Chair Janet Evans and the three American IOC members: Anita DeFrantz, Angela Ruggiero and Larry Probst.

Meanwhile, talk of the IOC awarding both the '24 and '28 Games this year continues to gain steam. Both bids met with top IOC officials to begin talks over the rest of the campaign and the possible changes that may be coming. Paris and L.A. have both publicly said they only want '24, but insiders believe neither would reject '28.

Clippers G Chris Paul and former NBAer Steve Nash appeared together on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” last night for a basketball-themed edition of the show. Nash said since retiring from the NBA, he hasn’t played much basketball because “something about it doesn’t seem the same when you to push and try to play against the best every day.” Paul: “Could you see him at Lifetime Fitness right now (playing pickup basketball)?” Host James Corden said to Paul, “You wear a different pair of shoes every single time you play?” Paul: “When you say it, it sounds so wasteful” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 4/4).

In another segment, Corden met with Warriors G Stephen Curry as his "life coach." Corden takes Curry to play putt-putt and tells him, “All of life’s lessons can be taught in an indoor miniature golf course.” Corden: “I’m giving him life lessons.” Curry: “The best lesson I’ve learned from James Corden is how to waste a perfectly good afternoon” (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 4/4).

KT Tape has extended its rights as official kinesiology tape licensee of the USOC through '20, continuing a deal that was scheduled to expire after the '18 Pyeongchang Games. In a new part of the deal, KT Tape will create its own branded content, a video series titled “Working Out with Team USA,” that will debut on the TeamUSA.org site later this year. The tape will continue to be available to athletes in all USOC training centers and provided to trainers at the Games. Since first signing with the USOC in early '16, KT Tape has done deals with eight NGBs and now has relationships with 17 Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls. Terms were not disclosed. Torre Consulting is KT Tape’s marketing agency.

Voters in St. Louis today will "decide on a proposed half-cent sales tax for MetroLink expansion and a plan to use a corresponding business use tax to raise money" for an MLS stadium (STLTODAY.com, 4/4).

Former FS1 NASCAR reporter Danielle Trotta is "joining SiriusXM Radio" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4/4).

The IAAF on Monday said that its computer network had been "compromised by the same Russian cyberespionage group" that U.S. officials have tied to the '16 election. The track & field governing body said that the hackers were "able to gain access to athletes' private medical records" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/4).

Cooper Tire & Rubber for the sixth straight year will serve as an MLB team sponsor, this season for 10 clubs (Cooper).

"It's what it stands for. It's what national champions do. We'll go to the White House" – South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley, on whether her team would accept an invitation from President Trump (AP, 4/3).

"It makes no sense why he shouldn't get an extension. He's pulled every move – he's tried to make every move happen – to better this team to be able to compete for a championship. So we wouldn't be in this position, obviously, without him" – Cavaliers F LeBron James, on GM David Griffin (ESPN.com, 4/3).

"They’ve named Little League fields after me, but a major-league ballpark? Never in my dreams would I think I would have my name on one" – Baseball HOFer Rickey Henderson, on the A's naming Oakland Coliseum's playing surface in his honor (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/4).

CRAIN'S DETROIT BUSINESS profiles Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert and his relationship with his oldest son, 20-year-old Nick, who has been "on and off chemotherapy for 15 years or so." For Gilbert, a "master of his universe, Nick's condition was a reminder of life's limits." He calls Nick the "most resilient and optimistic person he knows – and Nick takes pride in that impression."

The NEWARK STAR-LEDGER writes under the header, "With Raiders' Move To Vegas, NFL Rubs Its Hypocrisy In N.J.'s Nose." Even after allowing a team to move to Las Vegas, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will "continue with the New Jersey lawsuit," which has "opposed the right of the state to allow legal sports betting." 

Also:

• There is a "whiff of old-time freedoms in the air" at The Masters.
• Baseball writer shares his annual opus celebrating Opening Day.
• Golfers hobnobbing with Trump shows sport's "remoteness from the rest of us."
• Clemson AD is "set on being 'good stewards' of the department's cash."
• Paul DePodesta is the Browns' "trump card on the rest of the NFL."

Would loved to have been a fly on the wall at talks between IOC president Thomas Bach and the mayors of Los Angeles and Paris.

— Richard Peterkin (@rncpeterkin) April 4, 2017

Speechless... and a bit horrified. @DancingABC @D_Ross3

— Anthony Rizzo (@ARizzo44) April 4, 2017

Disappointing news, @NHL won't be part of the Olympics 2018. A huge opportunity to market the game at the biggest stage is wasted..

— Henrik Lundqvist (@HLundqvist30) April 3, 2017

Roy Williams got $925,000 in bonuses for Carolina's NCAA Tournament performance.

The players got awesome T-shirts and hats.

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) April 4, 2017

The Ravens this morning are hosting their third annual L.I.F.T. (Leading and Inspiring Females To Thrive) Conference, during which coach John Harbaugh is scheduled to speak.

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Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Countries of the World.”

“In 1947 these two nations became the first new members of the British Commonwealth since the original group of 1931.”

The intro to CBS’ “Late Show” last night featured host Stephen Colbert and guest Jason Sudeikis singing a parody of CBS’ NCAA Tournament theme song, “One Shining Moment.” The video announcer began by saying, “Earlier tonight, CBS celebrated the highlights of the NCAA championship with their annual ‘One Shining Moment’ montage. But we here at the ‘Late Show’ know there were other moments that weren’t celebrated so we’d like to celebrate them now.” 

TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night and engaged host Jimmy Fallon in a lip-sync battle. O’Neal told Fallon, “I’ve been waiting to do this battle with you for years.” O’Neal noted he has “broken about 10 backboards” while dunking. O’Neal: “One time, the shot clock fell and hit me in the head, but since it was in the arena, I had to play it off like it didn’t hurt. But when I got back to the locker room I was like, ‘Oh, I need some Icy Hot or something.’” O’Neal said being honored by the Lakers with a statue outside of the Staples Center was a “humbling moment for me, because I felt there was a couple more Lakers that were well-deserving of a statue” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 4/4).

“What are India and Pakistan?”