Texas football coach Mack Brown "informed the team during Saturday's practice" that he will step down after 16 years in the position, but will stay on for the Alamo Bowl against Oregon. Brown's attorney and UT benefactor Joe Jamail said that Brown will "remain at UT as special assistant to the president." Jamail added that UT will "honor Brown's contract through 2020, but Brown could accept another coaching job somewhere else before then." The school has "grown into a financial behemoth" under Brown, including the creation of the Longhorn Network and renovations to Darrell K. Royal Stadium (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 12/15).

Meanwhile, Alabama football coach Nick Saban "reached an agreement Friday that is expected to raise his salary" to $7-7.5M per year from its current annual compensation of almost $5.4M and "extend his term." Saban's new deal "marks the fourth time his original eight-year contract has been extended since he arrived" at Alabama in Jan. '07 (TUSCALOOSA NEWS, 12/14).

The three final bidders for IMG submitted binding offers for the company on Friday, pushing the company's sales process into its final stage. Sources familiar with the process said Forstmann Little trustees and bankers with Evercore and Morgan Stanley are evaluating offers from three groups: CVC Capital and Peter Chernin's investment company; Silver Lake Capital and William Morris Endeavor; and Carlyle Group and ICM. The value of the offers could not be confirmed and it is unclear how soon a buyer will be chosen. IMG is expected to attract an all-cash offer of more than $2B. Several outlets, including the N.Y. Times, reported on Friday that Silver Lake and WME were expected to submit the highest bid.

ESPN is "finalizing a trade" with NBC to hand over day-one rights for the '14 Ryder Cup in exchange for improved rights access to EPL highlights for shows such as "SportsCenter," according to sources. NBC "has not determined" whether the Friday coverage will be placed on NBC, Golf Channel, NBCSN, or "some combination of the three Comcast-owned networks." The '14 Ryder Cup is the "final year of ESPN's current arrangement with the PGA of America" (GEOFFSHACKELFORD.com, 12/13).

Marquette AD Larry Williams is "out after two years on the job," and is "leaving to pursue other interests." Williams "had just seen Marquette through the transition" to the new Big East, but "was known to be at odds with men's basketball coach Buzz Williams." Former Marquette AD Bill Cords will take over the position "until a replacement is named" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 12/14).

About 600 MLSE employees "walked off the job on Friday" due to wage issues. The strike "includes kitchen, serving and housekeeping staff," as well as those who convert Air Canada Centre from a basketball court to an ice rink. With the Raptors at home on Friday, and the Maple Leafs playing last night, MLSE "pulled in staff from its other venues, such as the Ricoh Coliseum and BMO Field, to pick up the slack" (TORONTO STAR, 12/15).

MLB is looking into whether Yankees President Randy Levine "broke any tampering rules with his comment" about Angels CF Mike Trout, although it appears Levine "was able to resolve the situation with a pair of phone calls." Levine said, "I was using it as an example of the type of player because of his age, we would consider giving a 10-year deal to. I realized it could be misconstrued, so I called John Carpino, the president of the Angels, and apologized to him." Levine said he also apologized to MLB, and his "understanding is the matter is over" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/14).

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on Friday announced that he "will step away from fighting for an undetermined period of time," and will "relinquish the UFC belt." The 32-year-old "cited personal issues and a severe reaction to the intensifying pressure of being a star athlete for his decision." St-Pierre is the UFC's "most successful draw" on PPV, and he "left the door wide open to returning" (ESPN.com, 12/13).

The Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic is "coming to an end" after 20 years, as organizers now "hope to reach people through other events." The V Foundation "will focus on other events, such as the Rock 'n' Roll Raleigh Marathon and Racquets for Research." The V Foundation VP/Communications Sherrie Mazur: "Throughout the years, as you continue to have an event, perhaps the newness and the shininess of that event tends to wear off" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 12/15).

The Maple Leafs-Red Wings edition of HBO's "24/7: Road To The Winter Classic" debuted last night, and while narrator Liev Schreiber "espouses the importance of losing and foreshadows more adversity ahead, points lost in the standings were only a small part of the first episode." Instead, the focus is on "introducing to a more casual audience the characters NHL fans know so well." Maple Leafs D Dion Phaneuf is "shown twice with movie-star wife Elisha Cuthbert," while Red Wings RW Daniel Alfredsson is shown "with his wife, Bibi, and four children" (CP, 12/15).

ESPN made "late adjustments" to the 30 for 30 documentary "Youngstown Boys" ahead of its premiere last night after the network "discovered what it called inappropriate 'creative liberties.'" A review copy of the film "featured several instances of deceptive editing" (TOLEDO BLADE, 12/15).

The IOC is putting up $20M "to fight doping and match-fixing -- considered the two biggest threats to the credibility of the Games" (AP, 12/14).

The K.C. Star published a commemorative Sunday edition to honor Sporting KC's '13 MLS Championship (THE DAILY).

One ticket strip for the '14 MLB All-Star Weekend at Target Field will "cost from $401 to $1,416 for Champions Club members." Each strip "consists of single tickets for several events" in addition to the game (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 12/15).

UFC fighter Demetrious Johnson last night defeated Joseph Benavidez in front of a "near-sellout crowd of 11,537 at Sleep Train Arena in the main event of UFC on FOX 9" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 12/15).

UFC fighter Jon "Bones" Jones on Friday said that he has "been told he will headline UFC 172 in Baltimore" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 12/14).

The Mavericks and American Airlines on Saturday flew in "more than 100 wounded soldiers from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio" for the team's game against the Bucks. Season-ticket holders "donated their courtside seats, valued at more than $350,000, for the soldiers" (DALLASNEWS.com, 12/15).

"Every single tax payer in this country, ultimately, is bearing the burden of having to pay the taxes for this wildly inefficient organization that’s giving so little to charity" – Charity Navigator President & CEO Ken Berger, on the PGA Tour's tax exempt status as a non-profit organization (“OTL,” ESPN2, 12/15).

"Can you imagine watching the NFL or a college game without replay now? I think after a year or so, we're going to say, 'Why did we wait so long?'" – Orioles manager Buck Showalter, on MLB's introduction of expanded instant replay for the '14 season (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 12/15).

"Follow the NHL's lead -- it's more streamlined -- and they'll get it right" – Fox' Howie Long, on centralizing the NFL's instant replay system (“Fox NFL Sunday,” Fox, 12/15).

"I'll tell you what, the media -- not you guys, but the bigger media, ESPN -- blew that up. Coach is going to thank them in the end because they probably made him a little bit more money. I guess that’s good for him" – Univ. of Alabama QB A.J. McCarron, on speculation that Nick Saban would leave for Texas (N.Y. POST, 12/15).

"This is the perfect team to be from our nation's capital because they are representative of the dysfunction down there" –The Boston Globe's Christopher Gasper, on the state of the Redskins (“Sports Reporters,” ESPN2, 12/15).

"To make it go viral like this is just putting a sissy stamp on the NFL. How do you intimidate a 300-pound man? He's already intimidating. Let's grow some nuts" – Pro Football HOFer Lawrence Taylor, on the Dolphins' bullying scandal surrounding Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito (N.Y. POST, 12/15).

"It's simply false. Nobody in our firm has ever spoken to Johnny" – Select Sports Group agent Erik Burkhardt, on allegations that the firm violated NFLPA rules by being in touch with Texas A&M Univ. QB Johnny Manziel (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 12/14).

"I had a good feeling about him. He's down to earth and has good people skills. He has a natural sense of honesty" – Cubs play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes, on the selection of former MLBer Ron Coomer as color analyst for the team's radio broadcasts (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/14).

"The baseball world is not going to wait for pre-calc to be over" – 18-year-old SB Nation baseball writer Chris Cotillo, on balancing his work as a reporter with his schoolwork as a high school senior (N.Y. TIMES, 12/15).

The SEATTLE TIMES' Jerry Brewer writes superstar athletes were recently "an endangered species in the city." But now, "Seattle teams are well-stocked with superstars again. They're everywhere. You can get whiplash looking around at them."

The BOSTON GLOBE's Peter Abraham writes, "Baseball does not have a LeBron James or Peyton Manning, a player who is the face of the game. Or is that player now David Ortiz?" He has "ascended to the top of his sport with a combination of performance and personality that crosses lines of geography, fandom, age, and race."

Elsewhere:

• As Hollywood Park gets set to close this month, the track preps for its "last hurrah."
• The time is now for the NHL to answer for "the fighting culture it tacitly condones."
• Astros GM Jeff Luhnow "has a background in negotiating few others have."
• Wives of NFL coaches learn to "accept that they're married to football."
• Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell faced a steep learning curve in his first year on the job.
• Examining the sometimes-obscure roots of nicknames in professional sports.
• For athletes and events, '13 was a "year of overcoming the odds on a global scale."
• Late A's Owner Charley Finley's "free-agency idea was chaotic, but captivating."

Newsday's Neil Best: "When I was on beat in 1990s, NFL still announced no-shows. These days we are left to guess. My early estimate at MetLife today: a lot."

San Diego Union-Tribune's Jay Posner: "As I mentioned couple days ago, I don't care because of RedZone but can't believe @CBS8 isn't showing Pats-Dolphins. Big game for Bolts fans."

ESPN The Magazine's Chris Jones: "Watching that Liverpool game, hard not to wonder whether John Henry might pull off the MLB-EPL double."

Former NHLer Mike Danton: "What gives a non-hockey team president the right to take 30% of players monthly salary? A contract is a contract except in #Kazakhstan."

San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami: "Will Harbaugh seek additional personnel powers with any extension? Probably. Will he get them? Not over GM Trent Baalke. That's established."

UPS Senior Project Lead/Sponsorships & Events J.W. Cannon: "Like Ford's promo at GA Dome that donates $ to charity every time opposing team jumps offsides, has a false start or burns TO."

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