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Sunday, Jan. 15, 2:15pm ET

Weekend Rap .... Latest News .... Game On

NFL Continuing With Steelers-Chiefs Game Amid Wintry Weather

Tonight's Steelers-Chiefs playoff game will move forward despite wintry weather across the midwest. The NFL said, "We feel comfortable ... that we can proceed tonight without resulting in any negative impact on public safety resources" (NFL). The league on Friday pushed back the game to 8:20pm ET from 1:05 due to the storm, but ESPN's Josina Anderson said it "didn’t really materialize." Temperatures in K.C. this morning were hovering around 32 degrees with sleet. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio said Chiefs players were "able to take their own cars" to Arrowhead Stadium ("Postseason NFL Countdown," ESPN, 1/15). Meanwhile, the Steelers "moved up their travel plans by a couple of hours on Saturday to ensure they would arrive" in K.C. "ahead of the ice storms" (“NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition,” ESPN, 1/15).

Parking lots at the Truman Sports Complex, which houses Arrowhead, open at 2:00pm CT, while the club levels for the stadium will open at 4:00pm. Stadium gates "will open" at 5:00pm. Meanwhile, the decision to play the game in primetime "caused a spike in secondary-market ticket prices" (KANSASCITY.com, 1/13).

The WASHINGTON POST's Mark Maske writes the NFL postseason through six games "has been a snooze-fest." Maske: "Sunday’s Packers-Cowboys and Steelers-Chiefs games have to be better, don’t they? They can’t be much worse" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/15).

NFL Eyeing Primetime Slot For Future Sunday Playoff Games

Tonight's Steelers-Chiefs game is the first in the divisional round's history to be played on a Sunday night, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the league is "expected to consider doing this in the future." Schefter said he thinks future Sunday night playoff games would be "for Wild Card weekend and this (Divisional) weekend." Schefter: "This is a weekend where we have the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday. A lot of people don't go to work. Why not have a Sunday night game that draws an extra 10 plus million viewers?" He added, “The NFL is not there and they're (not) going to talk about this yet, but would it surprise anybody if we never saw another 1:00 divisional playoff game again?” ("NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition,” ESPN, 1/15).

Sources: Raiders To File Relocation Papers To Move To Las Vegas

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport cited sources as saying that the Raiders "will file relocation papers to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, putting the NFL in a completely new world." What this does for the Raiders is "officially starts the process toward their move." They had until Feb. 15 to "make this decision, and now they need a vote of 24 owners or 23 owners along with Mark Davis to approve this." That "should happen in the March league meetings." The Raiders plan to "stay in Oakland for probably at least the next two years, maybe three while their stadium is built so they hope they are going but if they do, it won't be right away” (“NFL Gameday First,” NFL Network, 1/14).

L.A. Fans Boo New Chargers Logo, Player At Clippers Game

The Chargers' first public presentation in L.A. "didn't go over so well" yesterday. During their game with the Lakers, the Clippers showed the new Chargers logo on the video screen, and the Staples Center crowd "promptly booed." After a few seconds, the screen cut to Chargers TE Jeff Cumberland, who "briefly waved but then was booed." Chargers Chair Dean Spanos, his wife, Susie, and two sons, President of Football Operations John Spanos and President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos, were also in attendance. Dean Spanos: "It really is great to be here" (ESPNLA.com, 1/14).

The Chargers will not use the much-maligned logo that resembled the Dodgers' official mark, and A.G. Spanos said, "If we make a mistake, we own it, learn from it, and move on" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/14).

Sources: Jim Irsay Tried To Hire Jon Gruden As Colts Coach

Sources said that Colts Owner Jim Irsay "pursued" ESPN's Jon Gruden to become the team's coach, but the "MNF" analyst "resisted the overtures." Sources added that Gruden turned down the offer in part "because of the coaching restrictions" of the NFL's CBA. Meanwhile, Irsay also "met with Peyton Manning," hoping he "would be interested in a front-office job." But that is "considered unlikely" (ESPN.com, 1/14). The idea that Irsay is "dissatisfied" with GM Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano "just picked up a whole lot of steam" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 1/15). The INDIANAPOLIS STAR's Gregg Doyel: "This is becoming fun. The Colts are a clown car" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 1/15).

Spurs-Suns Draws Largest Crowd For NBA Game In Mexico City

The Suns last night defeated the Spurs 108-105 at Mexico City Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 20,532, the "largest crowd to attend an NBA game in Mexico" (ESPN.com, 1/15). No matter the outcome, the trip to Mexico "would’ve been a huge success for the Suns from a business and relational standpoint, a team looking to establish deep ties in Mexico." Meanwhile, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had to "shoot down claims of a local businessman who said the Suns have agreed to play six games" at Mexico City Arena next season (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/15).

Fans Pack Downtown Clemson For Championship Parade, Celebration

An estimated 30,000 people gathered yesterday to watch Clemson's parade celebrating the football team's CFP championship, and after the parade ended, fans "flooded into Memorial Stadium for more festivities" (Anderson INDEPENDENT MAIL, 1/15). Around 70,000 "smiling, cheering football fans turned out" to celebrate the school's first national championship in 35 years. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney closed the 90-minute ceremony by "thanking all who supported and believed in him since his rise from interim coach to national champion" (AP, 1/14).

The Curse Is Gone: Fans Swarm Chicago For Annual Cubs Convention

Friday marked the official start of the Cubs Convention, and fans "charged through the main ballroom doors of the Sheraton Grand Chicago" more than two hours before the event's start. During the opening ceremony, cheers "could be heard through the multiple levels of the hotel as each player was being introduced, with a crescendo of appreciation rendered after recently retired David Ross -- the last player introduced -- brought the championship trophy on stage" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/14). 

The Commissioner's Trophy is on display at the Cubs Convention, the "latest stop on the award's regional post-Series tour before it winds up in the team's new offices, in the building now under construction next to Wrigley Field" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/13). The Cubs will visit the White House tomorrow (Mult., 1/13).

Ringling Circus Announces It Will Close Operations In May

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced that the show "will close forever in May." Declining attendance "combined with high operating costs, along with changing public tastes and prolonged battle with animal rights groups all contributed to its demise." Feld Entertainment Chair & CEO Kenneth Feld said, "There isn't any one thing. This has been a very difficult decision for me and for the entire family." Ringling Bros. has "two touring circuses this season and will perform 30 shows between now and May." The Feld family "bought the Ringling Circus" in '67 (AP, 1/14).

Speed Reads....

A sellout crowd of 71,155 watched the Falcons beat the Seahawks yesterday in what could be the final football game at the Georgia Dome (THE DAILY).

Sources said that Ohio State AD Gene Smith "will replace" Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez on the CFP selection committee (ESPN.com, 1/13).

A crowd of 16,432 turned out to Fenway Park last night for Northeastern-New Hampshire, the second "Frozen Fenway" college hockey matchup of the day (SEACOASTONLINE.com, 1/14). A crowd of "about 6,000" watched the Maine-UConn matchup earlier in the day at the ballpark (PRESSHERALD.com, 1/14).

The SEC begins its "We Back Pat" week today, honoring late Univ. of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. The annual event "brings awareness and encourages funding for the Pat Summitt Foundation, which supports Alzheimer's research and caregiving." The SEC "set aside the week in 2012 and donated $100,000 to the cause that first year" (KNOXNEWS.com, 1/14).

The Big South Conference yesterday officially unveiled its "Where Winners Are Made" brand identity (Big South).

Quick Hits....

"I'll let you ask the league office about that. I don't know how they pick where he goes. ... The league office determines where he goes and I don't know the factors that go into that. ... Owners don't extend invitations" – Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell being in attendance yesterday for Falcons-Seahawks instead of Patriots-Texans (BOSTON HERALD, 1/15).

"There’s really no reason that I can see right now that would draw me elsewhere" – Warriors G Stephen Curry, whose contract is up at the end of this season (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/15).

"I don’t think it is (the right move), but I’m a Charger fan that wants the team in San Diego. I have no idea what’s happening on the business side of it, but I obviously would like to have had them stay" – Lakers coach Luke Walton, a San Diego native, on the Chargers' move to L.A. (L.A. TIMES, 1/15).

Sunday Comic....

A sneak preview of SportsBusiness Journal's weekly editorial cartoon:

Weekend Hot Reads....

The ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH's Benjamin Hochman pens a column for the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE under the header, "From St. Louis To San Diego, With Sympathy." At first, not having an NFL team in San Diego will make "Sundays suck." Hochman: "There is no 'we.' The Chargers are now a 'they.'" Being left by an NFL franchise feels "piercing and personal." In the short term, St. Louis got through the fall by "finding some smiles" and making its favorite team "Whoever Is Playing The Rams." Hochman: "And our favorite team often wins."

The BOSTON GLOBE's Jim McCabe profiles PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who hails from nearby Belmont, Mass. Monahan has an "uncanny ability to connect," and an "innate ability to make an immediate impression." Some will "suggest that Monahan is in the right spot then, because like any pro sports league, the PGA Tour is facing changing times." But to "naysayers who see a media landscape that is altering by the hour and a calendar that is jam-packed, Monahan smiles."

Elsewhere:

Twitter Me This....

Channel Surf....

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski will voice an animated version of himself on tonight's episode of "Family Guy."

Today's Back Pages....

The Weekend Rap offers today's back page sports covers from some of North America's major metropolitan tabloids:

 N.Y. Post  N.Y. Daily News Newsday   Boston HeraldChicago Sun-Times

Hit The Ground Running: The Week Ahead

THE DAILY's Week Ahead Jan. 15-22

SUNDAY
• NFL Playoffs – Packers at Cowboys
• NFL Playoffs – Steelers at Chiefs
• Kick Your Game Sneaker Expo – Brooklyn-Stuy Dome

MONDAY
• ATP/WTA Australian Open begins

WEDNESDAY
• Baseball HOF Class of '17 announced

THURSDAY
• PGA Tour CareerBuilder Challenge begins – Stadium Course (La Quinta, Calif.)

SUNDAY
• NFC Championship game – TBD, 3:05pm ET
• AFC Championship game – TBD, 6:40pm ET

Note: Events are subject to change. Information about upcoming events can be sent via email to calendar@sportsbusinessjournal.com.