• USOC's Blackmun To Miss Opening Ceremony After Cancer Diagnosis
• Nationwide Set To Announce PSA Deal With Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Air Force Academy Resumes Sports Programs As Shutdown Ends
• Annual PGA Merchandise Show Tees Off This Week In Orlando

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Today: Why is one of NBC’s most famous faces staying away from Super Bowl LII?

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will miss the Opening Ceremony of the Pyeongchang Games while he begins treatment, the organization said yesterday. His prognosis or further details were not made available, but a spokesperson said it was unlikely Blackmun would make it to South Korea at all. The 60-year-old Blackmun, who has been CEO since '10, broke the news to staff yesterday.

Nationwide this morning will announce that it has signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to a multiyear PSA deal, continuing a longtime association with the retired driver and customer of the company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Nationwide had a PSA deal with Earnhardt from '08-14 before ending that to focus fully on its primary sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports. The Ohio-based insurer will focus on using Earnhardt in a similar way that it has used retired NFLer Peyton Manning, with speaking engagements to employees and customers on top of some consumer-facing activation, and slowly introducing a focus on financial services to relate to his retirement.

With lawmakers reaching a deal to end the government shutdown, the Air Force Academy late last night announced that "all athletic events will resume immediately," with teams returning to practice in the hours before that announcement. Sources said that Fresno State men's basketball has "pinpointed a pair of Mondays in the upcoming months in which it could make up Saturday’s game that was cancelled as Air Force shut down all sporting events." But other sources said that "any such decisions remained days away and there was no guarantee that the game would be made up at all"  (Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 1/23).

The '18 PGA Merchandise Show begins today in Orlando with Demo Day at the Orange County Convention Center, where some 1,000 golf companies and brands will showcase their wares. PGA Tour Superstore President & CEO Dick Sullivan said of the golf merchandising business, "We have had consolidation in the market with Nike getting out of the (club) business and some off-course retailers shutting down. ... I’m bullish not just on the club side but across all categories. Technology has gotten better and we see it in our stores." Sullivan added, “The same challenges that we there five years ago are the same today; that is difficult to play, the game takes too long, and it is expensive. We have had great movement in beginners and new golfers coming into the game. ... We need to bring more youth into the sport and make it fun and enjoyable.”

Golf Channel will have nearly 20 hours of news and instruction coverage from the event in Orlando, which runs through Friday, with streaming coverage available each of the four days. SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio will air more than 32 hours of coverage.

UNLV today breaks ground on the Fertitta Football Training Complex, the school's upcoming $28M "state-of-the-art facility." UNLV yesterday announced that Las Vegas Sands will donate $1M toward the "73,000-square-foot, two-level complex," which is slated to open in early '19 (LAS VEGAS SUN, 1/23). Following the latest donation, more than $22M has been "committed to the project" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/23).

We are proud to announce a gift from @LasVegasSands toward the new home of @unlvfootball, the Fertitta Football Complex: https://t.co/eu74Nz6Erv #UsNowLV pic.twitter.com/32jtpQmNMB

— UNLV Athletics (@UNLVathletics) January 22, 2018

The NBA at its annual meeting of league licensees and teams in Las Vegas yesterday named the Magic Team Retailer of the Year, while naming Forever Collectibles and New Era its licensees of the year. This marks the second time the Orlando team has received the award, having also been recognized following the '07-08 season.

The U.K. competition regulator has "provisionally ruled against" Fox’s planned $16.3B takeover of Sky, "citing concerns over media plurality" (LONDON TIMES, 1/23).

Front Row Motorsports and Love’s Travel Stops have "extended their relationship into a sixth year." The company will "sponsor the No. 34 Ford of Michael McDowell" in 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races this year, including the Feb. 18 Daytona 500 (NBCSPORTS.com, 1/22).

New Washington State AD Pat Chun today will be "introduced in a news conference at the Rankich Club Room at Martin Stadium" at 11:00am PT (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/23).

Margot Robbie was nominated for Best Actress for her role as Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya” for the 90th Academy Awards. Allison Janney, who plays Harding's mother in the film, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress (“Today,” NBC, 1/23).

San Diego-based Full Swing Golf has reached multiyear partnerships with golfer Brandt Snedeker and instructor Cameron McCormick (Full Swing Golf).

"These are our two, [and] these are the two we gave ’em" -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick, describing the Giants’ four Lombardi Trophies while visiting MetLife Stadium in ESPN's upcoming "30 for 30" on his relationship with Bill Parcells (NEWSDAY.com, 1/23).

"The last time someone got beat up that bad in Philadelphia he had to move in with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air" -- NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, on the Eagles defeating the Vikings 38-7 in the NFC Championship Game (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 1/22).

"Right now, we’re bare bones, but we have the people we need to go racing and performance-wise to go racing. To grow into a Furniture Row, or a model similar to that, we need to get that (fabrication department) up and running" -- Richard Petty Motorsports crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, on the Cup Series team moving its HQ to the grounds of Richard Childress Racing, with whom RPM will have a new alliance this year (NBCSPORTS.com, 1/23).

USA TODAY goes with, "As NBC Sports Juggles Winter Olympics, NHL Coverage, It Envisions Unique Opportunity." Instead of seeing the NHL's decision to skip Pyeongchang "as an obstacle," the network has "opted to view it as an opportunity." Exec Producer Sam Flood: "My first thought was 1980 and how cool that was."

THE RINGER writes under the header, "Why The NFL Needs The New England Patriots." The Patriots are "many things -- secretive, smug, rule-bendy -- but they are not boring." Football will simply "be worse off whenever their dynasty comes to an end."

Also:

• U.S. speedskaters look to rebound after poor Sochi showing.
• Knicks honor MLK's legacy while in Memphis.
• The GLOBE & MAIL profiles MLSE President & CEO Michael Friisdahl.
• With 3-on-3 OT, the NHL has "found the sweet spot."
• FAST COMPANY cover story looks at Nike's focus on social responsibility.

Breaking: AT&T has suspended its sponsorship with USA Gymnastics. Hershey’s, Procter & Gamble and Under Armour have already severed ties. pic.twitter.com/5C1C7Nm4Wa

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 23, 2018

New NBA calendar
September: camp
October: games
November: tanking
December: XMAS games
January: Kevin Love blamed
February: All-Star parties
March: serious tanking
April: playoffs
May: Kevin Love blamed again
June: Warriors win
July: LeBron tweets analyzed
August: Banana boating

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 23, 2018

The NBA has a very entertaining product, but the “in team dramas” and feuds seem more like the Real Housewives.

— John Kincade (@JohnKincade) January 23, 2018

Everyone thinks Bobby Evans and the #SFGiants are crazy...and they will think that until this ends up working.

— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) January 23, 2018

I take my son to the playground and bring full backpack with toys and cars and etc. and he chooses to play with leafs. Cool

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 22, 2018

The Magic at 12:30pm ET will distribute $1M to 27 nonprofit organizations across three counties in Central Florida in a ceremony at Amway Center. 

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Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “World City Names.”

“Novosibirsk, the third-largest city in Russia, translates as this ‘city’; the first word for its more recent founding, the second for its location.” 

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel said with the Patriots advancing to the Super Bowl against the Eagles, there is “finally some good news for Boston-area football fans who have been so starved for success.” The broadcast then aired a video of a smiling, waving Bill Belichick, with Kimmel noting his smile is “like getting video of the Loch Ness Monster eating a Bigfoot.” Kimmel later commented on a photograph of President Trump sitting at his desk in the Oval Office wearing a baseball cap: “The only time it’s appropriate to wear a hat with a suit is at the NBA Draft, and we all know the president dodges drafts” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 1/22).

Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah said an Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl is the “most American-sounding game ever." Noah: "The only way this could be more American is if both of them teamed up to beat the Redskins.” Noah said Tom Brady is at the Super Bowl "so often he leaves a toothbrush there." The broadcast then aired footage of an Eagles fan running down a platform in an attempt to catch a departing train, but instead running into a pole that violently knocked him down. Noah: “The worst part is, after that, the NFL was like, ‘You’re good, get back in. Do it again, do it again. Go chase another train.’” Noah: “Knowing Philly fans, they probably saw that happen and they were like, ‘Yo, that pole is messing with Jeremy. Get him!’” (“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central, 1/22).

“What is ‘New Siberia’?”