• NFL Giants Tab Former Exec Dave Gettleman To Be New GM 
• Jags Remove Sponsorship Tarps At EverBank Ahead Of Playoff Game
• MLB Set To Look Into Twins 1B Miguel Sano's Assault Accusation
  
• UFC Unveils Commemorative 25th Anniversary Logos Ahead Of '18

The NFL Giants on Thursday named Dave Gettleman their new GM, as he "replaces Jerry Reese, who was fired alongside coach Ben McAdoo on Dec. 4." Gettleman, who previously spent 15 years with the Giants before serving as Panthers GM from '13-17, will be formally introduced "during a news conference Friday" at 11:15am ET. Gettleman was interviewed by Giants President & CEO John Mara, Chair Steve Tisch and consultant Ernie Accorsi on Dec. 20. The Giants also interviewed interim GM Kevin Abrams and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for the position (NFL.com, 12/28).

The Jaguars will "remove tarps from several sections of EverBank Field's upper deck" for the team's upcoming home playoff game after receiving approval from the NFL and two sponsors that had logos on the tarps. The move creates 3,501 "additional seats," which go on sale Friday morning. The team also plans to "make a limited number of standing-room-only tickets available for purchase." The updated capacity at EverBank Field for the Jaguars' first home playoff game since '00 will be 67,932 seats "plus standing-room fans” (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 12/29).

MLB on Friday is likely to "reach out to Betsy Bissen, the woman who Thursday accused" Twins 1B Miguel Sano of "assaulting her two years ago at a mall in suburban Minneapolis." After posting her account of the assault on Twitter, Bissen, who worked as an occasional Twins photographer, said that she would "speak with investigators from the league and tell her story of the incident in which she said Sano grabbed her wrist and tried to kiss her multiple times after an autograph session." Sano "fired back with a full-throated denial" following Bissen's post (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/29). 

The UFC on Friday will unveil its commemorative 25th anniversary logos that will be used throughout '18 as part of a year-long celebration set to launch on Jan. 1. The logos, designed in conjunction with ad agency Droga5, will be integrated into UFC broadcasts, across social and digital platforms, in-Octagon branding, Fight Night collection and fan activations. UFC Fight Night: Jeremy Stephens-Doo Ho Choi on Jan. 14 at Scottrade Center will be the first event to incorporate the campaign (UFC).

More than 40,000 fans are "expected to attend" Friday's U.S.-Canada World Juniors hockey game at New Era Field despite frigid conditions, "by far the largest crowd in the history of this event." A local organizing committee "met Thursday to rubber-stamp approval" for the event's first outdoor game. Buffalo has seen "bitter cold" temperatures this week, but Friday "might be more co-operative" (TORONTO STAR, 12/29). The attendance record for a World Juniors game is 20,380, "set when Canada played Sweden for the gold medal in Ottawa" in '09 (BUFFALO NEWS, 12/29).

A "capacity crowd of 57,266 is expected to watch" Memphis-Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 11:30am ET on Saturday. It is the "second time in three years that the Liberty Bowl game has been sold out" in Memphis (COMMERCIALAPPEAL.com, 12/29). ISU QB Kyle Kempt said, “I wouldn’t expect anything less from our fans and just the uniqueness of the game and how we’re in Memphis.” ISU sold out its ticket allotment "weeks ago" (AMES TRIBUNE, 12/29).

Meanwhile, N.C. State had a "ticket allotment of 6,000" for Friday's Hyundai Sun Bowl against Arizona State. The school "sold about half of those to its fan base and donated the remaining tickets to soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/28).

College bowl season continued on Thursday with four games:

• TCU beat Stanford before a crowd of 57,653 in the Valero Alamo Bowl, marking the event's smallest crowd since '08 (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 12/29). That is down from 59,815 for Oklahoma State-Colorado at the Alamodome last year.
• The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl saw 47,092 fans for Michigan State-Washington State on Thursday night for the 40th edition of the bowl (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/29). That is the bowl's lowest attendance since Hawaii-Illinois in '92 drew 44,457 fans. 
• The Camping World Bowl drew 39,610 fans for Oklahoma State-Virginia Tech yesterday. The upper deck of Camping World Stadium in Orlando was "closed for the game, meaning the stadium had a capacity of a little more than 40,000 rather than the 61,500 listed." VT "sold a little over 4,000 of their 8,000-ticket allotment" (ROANOKE TIMES, 12/29). The crowd was the lowest since Clemson-Colorado in '05 for what was then the Champs Sports Bowl.
• Navy defeated Virginia in "sub-freezing temperatures before an announced crowd of 35,921 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium" (Annapolis CAPITAL GAZETTE, 12/29). That is up from 26,656 for Wake Forest-Temple last year.

The Maple Leafs are "honouring the late Johnny Bower with patches on their sweaters and helmets for the remainder of the season." The team also is "holding a celebration of life event at Air Canada Centre next Wednesday" for the former player (SPORTSNET.ca, 12/28).

Golfer Blair O'Neal has inked a new partnership with Diamond Resorts Int'l. She will host clinics with Diamond Resorts members and play in the Diamond Resorts Invitational in Orlando, which is a pro-am affiliated with the PGA Tour Champions (Diamond Resorts).

The Esports Observer as part of its year-end review has ranked the top 10 teams based on distributed earnings and top 10 games based on distributed earnings (THE DAILY).

"That’s something you should keep in house. I don’t think everybody, the outside world needs to kind of be on the inside of that" -- Thunder F Carmelo Anthony, agreeing with the NBA's decision not to air the captains' picks for the All-Star Game under a new format this year (NEWSOK.com, 12/28).

"I really never worked with anybody quite like him before. He’s a different cat, there’s no doubt about it. He dances to his own beat" -- Blackhawks President John McDonough, on GM Stan Bowman (CHICAGOTRIBUNE.com, 12/28).

"This is a new dome. So I guess it’s time to create more lasting memories" -- Panthers QB Cam Newton, on playing the Falcons in Week 17 at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/29).

"How do you only have two officials on a national TV game?" -- Rockets G James Harden, commenting on the two-man crew on Thursday night after head ref Mark Lindsay suffered a back injury prior to Rockets-Celtics. The NBA only sends an extra ref to playoff games (BOSTON HERALD, 12/29).

The N.Y. TIMES writes under the header, "The College Sports Tax Dodge." As the bowl season wraps up, colleges "fear that the new tax law signed by President Trump could derail their gravy train -- two provisions target coaches’ high salaries and booster donations tied to ticket purchases." But they "need not worry much," as "even with the legislative changes, collegiate sports remain largely tax exempt."

NEWSDAY writes under the header, "The 10-Year Journey Of The NHL's Winter Classic To New York." The "long, icy road to Monday’s game between the Rangers and Sabres at Citi Field actually dates to before the inaugural Classic in Buffalo on Jan. 1, 2008." 

Also: 

• Pyeongchang Games to "test ties between North and South Korea."
• Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman returns to his Notre Dame roots.
• State of Connecticut saw many sports headlines in '17.
• Inside Hard Rock Stadium's "flip from Orange Bowl to Dolphins-Bills." 
• Bucks "embrace esports as integral part of brand."
• THE MMQB takes a close look at "how the NFL is watched."
• Holiday Bowl brings former Chargers QB Ryan Leaf back to San Diego.
• Penn State still "torn over the Sandusky scandal" six years later.

Most amazing - and telling - thing about @SInow confirming it will be biweekly starting next month is how little attention it got. Time traveler from 20th century would be mind-blown. https://t.co/liN2za7zKN

— Neil Best (@sportswatch) December 29, 2017

For the "too many bowls" crowd...through the first 20 bowl games of 2017 - 18 on ESPN and two on ABC – viewership is up 12% compared to last season’s first 20 games. More big numbers coming tomorrow with Alamo.
o This year: 2,240,000 viewers
o Last year: 2,003,000 viewers

— Burke Magnus (@burkemagnus) December 29, 2017

Federal prosecutors have turned over more than 300 hours of recordings and 145K pages of documents to defense attorneys in the college basketball bribery case, per a court filing.

— Nathan Fenno (@nathanfenno) December 28, 2017

Interim GM Kevin Abrams is expected to stay on board with the Giants, I'm told. Of course, other teams may want to interview him for their GM jobs.

— Tom Rock (@TomRock_Newsday) December 28, 2017

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 “Tradition.”

“The list of 12 may have been inspired by a biblical garment decorated in four rows, the top being sardius, topaz and carbuncle.”

“What are birthstones?”