The NFL today announced it has exercised its one-year option with CBS, meaning the “Thursday Night Football” package will remain split between CBS and NFL Network. Sources said the deal terms are the same as last year’s, with CBS paying $275M for the rights and handling production of the series -- complete with its top announcing and production team -- even when it moves over to NFL Network. The new deal also contains a one-year option that the NFL can exercise for the '16-17 season. Just like last season, CBS will carry the package’s first eight games, which will be simulcast on NFL Network. The final eight games will be carried by NFL Network exclusively. The package includes 14 Thursday and two late-season Saturday-night games.

An added wrinkle of the deal will have the NFL and CBS develop new programming initiatives. Both CBS and NFL execs believe the net’s involvement in the series helped establish the NFL brand on Thursday nights. Through the season’s first eight games, when CBS carried "TNF" games and NFL Network simulcast them, the games averaged 16.67 million viewers, which to that point was the NFL’s second highest-rated primetime series to NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” CBS, partly because of several uncompetitive games, was forced to give a handful of make-goods to advertisers, when its 10.3 average rating fell short of its 12.0 ratings guarantee.

CBS basketball analyst Greg Anthony "was suspended indefinitely by CBS on Saturday after he was arrested on a charge of soliciting a prostitute" in a DC hotel room. The network in a statement said, "Greg Anthony will not be working again for CBS this season." Turner Sports "also suspended the TV commentator and said it 'will have no further comment.'" Anthony "had been scheduled to announce" yesterday's Michigan State-Maryland men's basketball game at Xfinity Center. There "was no mention of Anthony at the beginning or at halftime" of the game (AP, 1/17).

Fox Sports and NFL Media today debuted a streaming video offering, "NFL Field Pass on Fox," prior to the Packers-Seahawks NFC Championship Game. The service, which was offered for free and on an unauthenticated basis, delivered live streaming video from the field at CenturyLink Field for one hour prior to the 3:05pm ET game. Video was presented with no host or analyst audio, allowing fans to hear the natural sounds along with the sights from the field prior to game time. Field Pass was available on the Fox Sports Go tablet app, FoxSportsGo.com, the NFL Mobile from Verizon app, the NFL Now app and NFL.com (NFL).

Mercedes-Benz today "is kicking off marketing not for the model it will promote in a 60-second Super Bowl ad on Feb. 1, but for the fictional championship the spot will apparently depict." In this weekend's Merkley & Partners-created spots, Pro Football HOFer Jerry Rice "will host a faux sports talk show where guests debate who will win 'The Big Race.'" Mercedes "wanted its Super Bowl ad to have a relationship to the game, and as such created a campaign patterned around the Super Bowl itself, using the tropes of sports talk, endless predictions and anticipation for the event itself" (ADAGE.com, 1/16).

High-ranking Cubs execs yesterday confirmed that "delays in their ambitious" renovation of Wrigley Field "will prevent the popular bleacher section from being ready for at least five weeks of the season and perhaps longer." Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney at the Cubs Convention said that the left-field bleachers "won't open until May 11 at the earliest while late May is the target for the right-field bleachers." Safety issues "will prevent the center-field section from being open before May 11." There are "about 5,500 bleacher seats" at Wrigley, and "about 2,000 season ticket holders will be affected by the delay." Fans throughout the ballpark also "face the prospect of no wireless service the entire season" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/18).

Also at the Cubs Convention, team Chair Tom Ricketts "was told by a fan that people say that kids 'have more fun at U.S. Cellular Field' than at Wrigley Field." After a pause, Ricketts smiled and said, "Can’t be that many kids having fun at U.S. Cellular." The remark "was an obvious shot at the White Sox's attendance problems" (ESPNCHICAGO.com, 1/17).

The Raiders "are nearing a one-year lease extension to remain at O.Co Coliseum next season." Reps of the joint Oakland-Alameda County authority that operates the Coliseum said that they "were presented with the terms of a proposed extension on Friday and instructed their negotiators to hammer out a couple of remaining sticking points." Oakland City Council member Larry Reid said that the outstanding issues "were not substantial enough to jeopardize the extension" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/17).

Outgoing MLB Commissioner Bud Selig last night was the featured honoree at the 12th annual Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation dinner and auction in L.A. Staged by White Sox Special Assistant Dennis Gilbert, the event drew more than 1,100 people and raised money for scouts who have fallen on hard times. The event, which included 11 Baseball HOFers, several team owners and execs, plus Selig’s successor, Rob Manfred, represented the closest thing yet to a public celebration of Selig’s tenure in office.

“The game has given me many of my best friends who have stood by me every step of the way,” Selig said. “As I prepare to take a different view of the greatest game in the world, I say to one and all of you a sincere thank you. It has been a privilege to lead this sport in my generation and I will be eternally grateful.” Selig’s farewell tour will move today to St. Louis, where he will receive an award from that city’s chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association named in honor of HOFer Red Schoendienst.

The Power Five conferences at yesterday's NCAA convention in Maryland "embraced new authority to provide unprecedented benefits for athletes, including the passage of a rule that will increase the value of athletic scholarships to pay for the full cost of attendance." The conferences sponsored a joint resolution on "modernizing the collegiate model" and the proposal to "pay full cost of attendance." Those proposals "passed overwhelmingly, by votes of 78-1 and 79-1, respectively." Boston College voted against "each issue." The nearly unanimous passage "was celebrated with light applause" (USATODAY.com, 1/17).

The NFL "has pushed back" against the NFLPA's lawsuit on behalf of suspended Vikings RB Adrian Peterson "with a Friday filing in U.S. District Court that argued it should be thrown out." The league argued that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "had the authority to suspend Peterson until at least April 15, under the league's personal conduct policy." The league also claimed that the CBA "gave Goodell the right to choose" former NFL Exec VP/Labor Relations Harold Henderson to serve as the arbitrator and "hear Peterson's appeal" (ESPN.com, 1/16).

NBC News has recruited Noah Oppenheim to lead the "Today" show "after a period of turmoil that included the firing" of Senior VP & GM Jamie Horowitz "after 10 weeks on the job." Oppenheim will take on Horowitz' role and "oversee both television and digital operations of the show." Horowitz served as ESPN VP/Original Programming & Production prior to his short stint at "Today" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/17).

Duracell, sponsor of the NFL and Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, began running a promoted tweet yesterday morning around its endorsements (THE DAILY).

Boxer Deontay Wilder last night became the first heavyweight champion from the U.S. since '06 by defeating Bermane Stiverne to win the World Boxing Council belt before a crowd of 8,463 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena -- "about half of what the place can hold if they squeeze" (L.A. TIMES, 1/18).

More than 6,000 MLB Cardinals fans yesterday "came to the opening of the three-day" Winter Warm-Up event at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/18).

At today's NFC and AFC Championship Games, women's-rights group UltraViolet will again "fly banners with a three-word message: 'Goodell Must Go.'" UltraViolet in September "flew banners at select games for multiple weeks in the immediate aftermath of the release of the Ray Rice in-elevator video" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/18).

UFC yesterday announced that it "has fined light heavyweight champion Jon Jones $25,000 for violating its Athlete Code of Conduct policy" after testing positive for traces of cocaine "during a random urine test" (ESPN.com, 1/17).

The Fire on Friday "announced an affiliation agreement" with a new USL Pro team in St. Louis to begin with the '15 season (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/17).

A source said that SAC Founder and Mets investor Steven Cohen has indicated he "won't bid" for the Nets "after his representatives met with bankers handling the team’s sale" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 1/18).

On the eve of the start of the '15 Australian Open, WME-IMG announced that it signed tennis player Nick Kyrgios for marketing and management representation (IMG).

Bills QB E.J. Manuel has signed with Relativity Sports for representation. Relativity Football CEO and NFL agent Eugene Parker will represent him. He was formerly represented by Dimensional Sports (Liz Mullen, Staff Writer).

"We're comfortable that we could stop a team legally from moving if it didn't go through the process" – Steelers President and NFL stadium committee Chair Art Rooney II, on the league's insistence that teams looking at moving to L.A. follow its rules (L.A. TIMES, 1/17).

"The notion of a black coach, of a black GM -- you can't not be proud of that. We need to do a lot more, though, in the ownership ranks. That’s where I think there's substantial room for improvement" – NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts (“OTL,” ESPN2, 1/18).

"When I got here, there was more of an attitude of ‘you play through it.’ At least in the concussion area I think that has diminished substantially. That’s really a positive thing" – NHLPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/17).

"We've lost 16 motherf---ing games in a row. 26 out of 27. And I'm gonna get on a plane for that? I can take a cab to see them lose!" – Movie producer and Knicks fan Spike Lee, on why he did not travel to London last week to watch the team lose to the Bucks in their NBA Global Games matchup (YAHOO.com, 1/16).

"As I look back on it, I think that Pitt's in a good position to have a lot of great success in the future, and I'm happy about that" – Recently fired Pitt AD Steve Pederson, on being proud of his tenure at the school (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/18).

"Irsay is in this building more than damn near coaches. He’s basically always here. He always wants to have some type of interaction, just basically wants to just talk or just listen to what’s going on so when he comes into the game he feels like he’s not lost to what’s going on" – Colts DL Ricky Jean-Francois, on team Owner, Jim Irsay (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/18).

"I’d love to have Olbermann in a car one time and run his ass around the track and see what he says then" – NASCAR HOFer Rusty Wallace, on the ESPN host's repeated jabs at NASCAR (KGME-AM, "The Freaks With Kenny & Crash," 1/16).

The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH's Miklasz, Thomas and Hunn sat down for an interview with NFL Exec VP/Business Ventures Eric Grubman, who discussed several issues related to whether the Rams stay in the city or move to L.A. Grubman said of the NFL's relocation process, "I don't know how to gauge the probability of votes, but since I've been associated with the league, the league has made some tough calls to keep teams in their markets and to do things that are quite extraordinary to keep teams in their markets."

Former N.Y. Times editor Neil Amdur in a special to the MIAMI HERALD wrote Gatorade, which was created 50 years ago, "is acknowledged as the largest, most successful noncarbonated beverage brand" in the U.S. While its "identifiable plastic bottles with the bright orange cap are everywhere," the sports drink's history "is less well-known."

Elsewhere:

• As both a golfer and TV analyst, Johnny Miller "always let it rip."
• Money, time and energy that parents spend on youth sports "is probably misplaced."
• Few "are likely to come out" of the Kurt Busch domestic violence case "unscathed."
• Ex-Pitt AD Pederson's legacy: "everything from 'a visionary' to 'not very competent.'"
• Stake in Titan Fighting Championship offers Cash4Gold founder a "second act."
• Colts "on verge of another Super Bowl" thanks to "faith, tough decisions" and Luck.
• A visit to the "childhood home" of Muhammad Ali, who yesterday turned 73.

Tom Werner at Scouts Dinner jokes about how Bud Selig doesn't use email. "Korean hackers can't get to him!"

— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBJ) January 18, 2015

Michael Irvin arrives on NFLN "GameDay" set half-hour late. At least he showed up.

— bob raissman (@nydnraiss) January 18, 2015

Jerry Reinsdorf is one of the smartest owners in sports but he never forgot his humble beginnings which is another reason why I love him.

— Larry King (@kingsthings) January 17, 2015

So ESPN actually is playing the radio comments of Ray Lewis sounding like a lunatic about Tom Brady and the Tuck Rule?

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 18, 2015

Seattle designed its stadium to max noise to the point it's almost cheating. They succeeded! Gotta hear it 2 believe it. I root against 'em

— Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) January 18, 2015