A sellout crowd of 62,921 last night braved the 17-degree cold and a snowstorm at Soldier Field for "the last of the NHL's four Stadium Series games," as the Blackhawks beat the Penguins 5-1. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said it was "probably the greatest setting you could want." Blackhawks LW Patrick Sharp: "The ice was very good, but that first period it was tough to see and handle the puck. It really felt like a real outdoor game. There were no real systems or structure. We were just kind of hoisting the puck, slapping it around and having fun" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/2).

The elements made the nationally televised game a "visually stunning affair, particularly in the first period when the snow was at its heaviest" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/2). Last night was "a tough night for hockey," but a "great event to watch for the ... fans who filled the stadium on the lakefront." The temperatures and snow made for "an unforgettable event" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/2).

Meanwhile, the Senators and Canucks today will play in the league's annual Heritage Classic at BC Place. However, the "problem with calling this game a 'Heritage Classic' is that there is no rivalry between these two teams." They "play in different conferences, on opposite sides" of Canada (Vancouver PROVINCE, 3/2).

Sabres President of Hockey Operations Pat LaFontaine yesterday "abruptly resigned" from the role a little more than three months after "being brought in to provide a new direction" for the club. The move comes after "speculation had been raised of a potential front-office shakeup involving LaFontaine." However, it "still comes as a major surprise." LaFontaine in January "talked openly about how he would use his connections to USA Hockey in a bid to lure national and international events to Buffalo." He leaves a day after team GM Tim Murray "made his first big splash" by trading G Ryan Miller and C Steve Ott to the Blues (AP, 3/1).

U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken on Friday ordered that settlement talks "occur between the NCAA and two sets of plaintiffs associated" with the Ed O'Bannon case pertaining to the use of college athletes' names, images and likenesses (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 3/1). The move is a "key development" in the case. Wilken forwarded the anti-trust case to Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins and advised the parties meet for settlement talks "as soon as it is convenient" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/1).

U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati yesterday at the organization's annual general meeting in N.Y. was unanimously re-elected to the position. Gulati, who ran unopposed in the election, enters his third four-year term, having served in the role since '06. Meanwhile, MLS Timbers Owner Merritt Paulson and Florida State Soccer Association President Arthur Mattson were elected as new members of USSF's BOD. Paulson replaced former Toronto FC President & GM Kevin Payne, while Mattson replaced Richard Groff. Univ. of Miami President Donna Shalala also was re-elected as an Independent Dir, while Rocco Amoroso and Francisco Marcos were voted as Life Members (USSF).

A sold-out crowd of 20,856 saw Allen Iverson have his No. 3 76ers jersey "lifted to the rafters" of Wells Fargo Center last night. After a video tribute from former 76ers coach Larry Brown, team Owner Josh Harris "made a brief speech before Iverson took center stage" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/2). Iverson said, "I love y'all for accepting me and letting me be me, letting me make my mistakes, letting me learn from them, and letting me make this my home forever" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/2).

Four banners "greeted fans at the main concourse entrance," and photos of Iverson were plastered all around the arena. The merchandise stands "sold Iverson jerseys for $130, and lower level tickets were going for as much for $1,280 on Stubhub" about an hour before tipoff. The 76ers "wore special 'Iverson Forever' patches on their jerseys and Iverson’s 3 on their pregame warmup shirts" (AP, 3/1).

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver "put the kibosh" on Heat F LeBron James' black protective mask he wore Thursday night against the Knicks. While there is "no formal rule against players wearing black masks, the NBA requested that James wear a transparent mask while his broken nose heals." James said, "For the reasons that they told me, it didn’t make sense to me, but, hey, I’m just a player in this league and I will abide by the request of the NBA." He wore a "new opaque mask" last night against the Magic (MIAMI HERALD, 3/2). James said that league officials "wanted him to wear something that would allow opponents to see his face" (ESPN.com, 3/1).

Meanwhile, James' "Wastepaper Basketball" music video with NBC's Jimmy Fallon appeared last night on AmericanAirlines Arena's videoboard "between the first and second quarters" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/2).

NESN's Jerry Remy today will be back in the booth for a 1:05pm ET Spring Training game between the Red Sox and Orioles -- his "first time in his old spot since August, when his son, Jared, was arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Jennifer Martel" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/2).

The Rangers today are putting Russell Wilson team merchandise on sale "in advance of his visit" to Spring Training tomorrow. Replica home white jerseys and red and royal T-shirts with "Wilson" and "3" on the back will be available (MLB.com, 2/28).

A crowd of 8,547 attended Red Sox-Twins yesterday at the newly renovated Hammond Stadium in Lee County, Fla., bettering the "previous high mark of 8,366, set last season" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/2).

Brewers LF Ryan Braun yesterday "ignored loud boos" in a Spring Training game vs. the Dodgers (AP, 3/1). Meanwhile, Brewers single-game tickets went on sale yesterday, and the team said that fans "purchased 91,000 tickets, 4,000 more than last year" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/2).

The NFL "officially set the salary cap" for the '14 season at $133M per team, which is $10M "more than last season's salary cap" of $123M per club. The figure is also $6.7M "more than the original salary-cap projection" for the '14 season of $126.3M (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/28).

The N.Y. Times today runs several excerpts from Juliet Macur's upcoming book, "Cycle Of Lies: The Fall Of Lance Armstrong." The book will be released Tuesday by HarperCollins (N.Y. TIMES, 3/2).

As many as 200 sailboats will "dot the horizon in Biscayne Bay for Bacardi Miami Sailing Week," which begins today and runs through Saturday (MIAMI HERALD, 3/2).

Ticket sales for Wednesday's Mexico-Nigeria soccer match at the Georgia Dome "surpassed 54,000 Friday morning, guaranteeing the match will set a record for the largest soccer crowd in the history of Atlanta" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/1).

The Yankees-themed Broadway play "Bronx Bombers" "will end its short run" today, as the Circle in the Square Theatre "recently decided to nix" the production (SI.com, 2/28).

"It's an overblown issue because it's a small part of the game, and to the extent there are concussions it's a small part of that" – NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, on fighting in the league (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/2).

"I have no reason to believe that use of PEDs is widespread in the NBA, both because we test, and, No. 2, it’s not part of the culture of the NBA" – NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, on why he is not concerned about PED usage in the league (BOSTON HERALD, 3/2).

"There’s so much coming at you that you miss a lot of stuff. There’s a lot of great information and a lot of great comments" – NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., on what he likes about Twitter (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 2/28).

“If Mike Trout were an IPO, the line to buy shares would stretch from Anaheim to New York City” – The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan, on the Angels' All-Star ("The Sports Reporters," ESPN, 3/2).

"The NFL Begins To Wake Up" -- Headline to a N.Y. Times editorial Saturday (N.Y. TIMES, 3/1).

The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Stu Woo examines how the '13 America's Cup played out, as a "competition that was expected to be humdrum turned into one of the most remarkable ever." Team Oracle USA "had all the advantages," but in the early stages of the competition, "the richest and possibly most prohibitively favored team in the history of the world's most famous yacht competition ... had lost three of the first four races."

The GLOBE & MAIL's Sean Gordon asks whether the C$7.2M that Canada's sport funding program Own The Podium poured into its Olympics efforts was money "well spent." The COC's critics think that there is "too much emphasis on the top athletes" and "not enough emphasis on supporting the sports that will attract and create those top athletes."

Elsewhere:

• BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE: "Should You Let Your Child Play Football?"
• Taking a look at how a baseball player's image can impact his legacy.

Former Twitter Media Head of Global Operations Ben Grossman: "Feel like I saw @nascar #Daytona500 champ @DaleJr everywhere this week. Nice to see great PR people at work."

NHL Dir of Communications Nirva Milord: "These @nhlblackhawks @penguins knit hats are the top-selling #stadium series items."

Grantland's Ed Feng: "Pretty sure I just saw a little kid getting an autograph and picture with Nate Silver. Gotta love @SloanSportsConf."

Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald: "Tom Hunt, most recently Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s senior vice president of corporate partnerships, is D.C. United’s new COO."

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.