• President Trump, First Lady To Attend CFP Championship Game
• Sloane Stephens Signs With Nike Rather Than Re-Up With UA
• Top NFL Draft Prospect Josh Rosen Signs With Athletes First
• NHL, Adidas Unveil Uniforms For All-Star Game In Tampa

President Trump is "planning to attend" Monday's Alabama-Georgia CFP title game in Atlanta, according to sources. He is "set to attend" alongside Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Vice President Pence's Chief of Staff Nick Ayers. Perdue and Ayers are both from Georgia. First Lady Melania Trump also is expected to attend "under stepped-up security" at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta police spokesperson Carlos Campos said that the department is "working with the Secret Service to ratchet up security" (AJC.com, 1/3).

Meanwhile, the World Series champion Astros recently "received their formal invitation to visit the White House." President of Business Operations Reid Ryan said that the Astros "plan to attend." The exact date for the team to be honored by Trump "has yet to be determined." The Astros "don't make their annual trip to Baltimore to play the Orioles until the final series of the regular season." Ryan said that the team is "exploring the possibility of going" to DC during Spring Training (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/4).

Athletes First has signed UCLA QB Josh Rosen for representation on and off the field. Athletes First VP/Marketing and agent Ryan Williams is repping him. Rosen was ranked No. 1 yesterday on ESPN NFL draft analyst Todd McShay's mock draft. There had been talk that Rosen could sign with a second firm for marketing, but he did not select another agency to represent him (Liz Mullen, Staff Writer).

Meanwhile, USC QB Sam Darnold, another prospective top pick who declared for the Draft last night, "has not made a decision on which agency will represent him" (L.A. TIMES, 1/4).

The NHL and Adidas unveiled the uniforms for the '18 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Amalie Arena. The look is inspired by the state of Florida, paying homage to the history of the league while celebrating the host city of Tampa. The uniforms utilize the primary colors from the host team Lightning as a base. A custom-designed number font was inspired by the suspension cables of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The All-Star Game will be played Jan. 28 (NHL).

ESPN announced the X Games will be held in Norway for the third year, this time returning to Oslo’s city center after last year’s event at the Hafjell ski resort. X Games Oslo Norway 2018 will be held May 16-20, and it will feature ski/snowboard big air and skateboard street competition. Once again, ESPN has secured SAHR Concepts as the local organizer, and has support from the Norwegian culture ministry. Distribution plans are still to be determined, an ESPN spokesperson said.

Thunder G Russell Westbrook wore his new Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 signature shoe in last night's win against the Lakers in L.A., a "nationally televised game" that aired on ESPN. This is Westbrook's "first 'performance' shoe," as his "previous Jordan Brand shoes were lifestyle, off-court shoes." The sneaker is "plastered with imagery on a smooth front, meant to evoke a room covered in posters." It features a "jagged black heel." There will also be "a '2-way' colorway in white with a black heel" (NEWSOK.com, 1/4).

First look at the Jordan Why Not Zer0.1 “Mirror Image”, Russell Westbrook’s first signature performance shoe pic.twitter.com/Y0S8aUtujU

— B/R Kicks (@br_kicks) January 4, 2018

LeBron James and Maverick Carter are expanding their media interest to focus on high school. Their digital media company Uninterrupted has formed a partnership with Mars Reel Media, an L.A.-based content outfit focusing on high school and amateur sports. Uninterrupted and Mars Reel will collaborate on content sharing efforts and co-develop original long-form content that will run on both platforms. The deal is focused in part on targeting younger audiences, and will allow Mars Reel to expand beyond a prior base of highlight clips into more expansive storytelling.

Carter in a statement said Mars Reel is “creating sports content that reaches and resonates young content consumers and brings the product to the platforms they use most.” The partnership follows a recently completed funding round for Mars Reel of more than $3M that involves Carter, rapper Nas and Translation Founder & CEO Steve Stoute, among others. Mars Reel investors have also included DraftKings co-Founder & CEO Jason Robins and former NBAer Shane Battier.

ESPN Radio N.Y.'s Michael Kay during yesterday afternoon's show "made it clear" that he "won't give a heartfelt goodbye to WFAN's now 'retired' Mike Francesa." Kay said, "First of all, we don't have to pay homage to competition that never really was nice to us. ... Mike was never kind to us, never gracious about his success." Kay added, “For us to sit here and, like, bow down because he decides to leave his job at FAN, I mean, I’ve had arguments with people on Twitter about this. Sorry, that’s not happening." Francesa's avid social media fanbase "took offense to Kay's words" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/4).

The Jaguars yesterday announced that a "'limited amount' of tickets and 400 standing-room tickets" for Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Bills will go on sale to the general public today. It "includes the inventory returned to the team by the NFL, the Bills and player families" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/4).

The Vikings yesterday "rolled out a new slogan for the playoffs: 'Bring It Home,'" an "obvious reference" to the team's attempt to become the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 1/4).

The Mavericks last night chose the Lone Ranger Heroes as the team's "new Chinese name, effectively ending a decadelong misperception of the Mavericks' brand" overseas (ESPN.com, 1/3).

Asics has "opened two new brand stores" in N.Y., including one on Fifth Avenue that is the brand's "first flagship store" in the U.S. (FASHIONUNITED.com, 1/3).

The Jazz last night ahead of their game against the Pelicans at Vivint Smart Home Arena "held a moment of silence for LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson, who passed away Tuesday night" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/4).

The @utahjazz honor LDS President Thomas S. Monson with a moment of silence ahead of the Jazz-Pelicans tip-off. 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/cxqaKQIfzn

— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) January 4, 2018

"The Olympics should be above politics. ... It was a disaster in 1980 for many of the athletes that couldn’t go. And I’d hate to see that just because Trump and Kim Jong-un are trying to see which button’s bigger" -- U.S. Figure Skating President Sam Auxier, on tension between the two world leaders ahead of the Pyeongchang Games (USA TODAY, 1/4).

"Everyone knows there’s two hotels up here at Patriot Place, so stay there for the night” – Patriots S Devin McCourty, on coach Bill Belichick demanding players arrive on time to practice despite predictions for more than a foot of snow in the Boston area today (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/4).

"I did send a smiley-face emoji to Brian Cashman the other day" -- Mets GM Sandy Alderson, on communication over mobile phones between MLB GMs (N.Y. TIMES, 1/4).

The N.Y. TIMES goes with, "Who Needs Trade Talks? These Days, General Managers Just Use Emojis." Technology has "altered how the sport’s decision-makers communicate with one another -- in humorous, contemporary ways." The "haggling over the phone, or even in person, still goes on, of course, but is now being supplanted in part by more and more text messages, emojis and GIFs." 

The NATIONAL POST writes under the header, "How TSN Transformed World Juniors Into Must-See TV." In the 25 years since TSN acquired the broadcast rights, the World Juniors has "evolved from a low-key curiosity to one of the biggest tentpole events in Canadian sports programming." Now they "have created a monster."

Also: 

• Why UCF's run should "end rigged path to playoffs."
• Should minority coach "play along with Raiders' charade?"
• Why ACC should reduce travel for athletes in non-revenue sports.
• How Tom Coughlin has turned around the Jaguars.
• Bengals keeping Marvin Lewis "reflected NFL trend."
• Bowl game struggles make Pac-12 "irrelevant on national football scene."
• The latest race between Under Armour, Nike and Adidas.
• S.F.-based radio host Tom Tolbert on life after heart surgery.

So beautiful....Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! https://t.co/tJLM1tvbvb

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018

Fans are so angry with Jeter that I just received paperwork from 15 yr old who is organizing boycott of all Marlins games.

— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 3, 2018

Dion Lewis, James White, Mookie Betts, Alex Cora and Troy Brown among the Boston sports celebs in the house tonight, just shown on video board.

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 4, 2018

Cubs have hired Gatorade consumer marketing exec Lauren Fritts (@frittsygirl) as their new VP of marketing. She replaces Alison Miller, who parted ways w/ the team after a 5-year run.

— Danny Ecker (@DannyEcker) January 3, 2018

Tickets to next month's NBA All-Star fan events in L.A. officially become available at 1:00pm ET. 

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

“This character’s famed entrance aria actually introduces him as a handyman, repeats his name and adds ‘la-la-la-la-las.’”

Titans K Ryan Succop ahead of Saturday's Wild Card game against the Chiefs texted his former teammate and current Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt "asking if he could help him with tickets" for the game at Arrowhead Stadium. But "when Colquitt asked if the tickets were for Chiefs fans or Titans fans, he said Succop just texted back an LOL emoji" (KCSTAR.com, 1/3).

“Who is Figaro?”

Last night’s broadcast featured Sounders VP/Corporate Partnerships Michael Shockley as one of the contestants. He finished in third place with no money.