CBS is shortening today's "Selection Sunday Show" to 90 minutes from two hours because of a leaked bracket last year, and it will be "frontloading the revealing of the bracket." CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus last week said a "vast majority" of the bracket will be released in the first 30 minutes. Turner President David Levy added that "most supplementary analysis and interviews will take place only after the bracket is revealed" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/12).

The Dominican Republic last night defeated the U.S. 7-5 in the World Baseball Classic before a crowd of 37,446, the "largest ever for a baseball game" at Marlins Park. The fans were "largely in favor of the Dominican Republic" and "provided a postseason type atmosphere" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/11). It was "hard to know by sight or sound which was the home team" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/12). The game had been "sold out for weeks." A "good number" of the fans "brought drums, horns and anything else that made noise" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/11).

ESPN.com's David Schoenfield wrote the game was "exactly the kind of dramatic affair the WBC needed to bring more attention to the rest of the tournament" (ESPN.com, 3/12). The WASHINGTON POST's Dave Sheinin wrote there was "no better advertisement for the WBC" than this game (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 3/11). The DETROIT FREE PRESS' Anthony Fenech wrote Game 7 of the World Series was the "loudest I had ever heard a stadium. ... until Saturday night" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 3/12).

Meanwhile, the U.S. "faces a precarious position" needing to win against Canada today to assure advancement in the tournament (ESPN.com, 3/11).

Warriors coach Steve Kerr's decision to rest G Stephen Curry, G Klay Thompson, F Draymond Green and F Andre Iguodala in a "game with potential playoff implications" against the Spurs led to a "disappointing outing Saturday for the fans clad in Warriors gear who had paid" to see the team's stars. Kerr: “I genuinely feel bad for the fans who bought tickets and came to see Steph or Klay or Draymond, but I have to do what I have to do. Our team has been through the wringer the last couple weeks” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/12). 

The game was a "nightmare for ABC's national broadcast" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 3/12). ABC’s Mark Jackson, was "appalled by Kerr’s move and called it 'the wrong message to send to fans'" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/12). ABC's Jeff Van Gundy said, "Once again the fans are told, you don’t matter. Pay us up front, we’ll take your money and then we’ll give you whatever product we want to." He added of the league's broadcast partners, "We’re supposedly partners with the league. We’re supposedly partners. We’re not. It’s one sided. We used to get access to players for paying a billion dollars" (USATODAY.com, 3/11).

UAB and the city of Birmingham have "put in a three-year bid to host the Conference USA Basketball Tournament." C-USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod said that bids for next year's tournament have "been in place and a decision could come before the May spring meetings." UAB has "hosted the last three men's and women's tournaments at Legacy Arena and Bartow Arena." MacLeod said that there "were 'multiple' bids out." However, she did "not say where they came from" (AL.com, 3/11).

The NCAA yesterday said that the eligibility of UCLA G Lonzo Ball is "not at risk," and he "won't face NCAA sanctions for his connection to a family apparel website that was using Ball's image." LaVar Ball, Lonzo's father, said that UCLA "asked the family to remove" his son's photo from the website bigballerbrand.com after the school "received a call" from rival USC. Before Ball arrived at UCLA, his family launched the Big Ballers Brand to "capitalize on the success of Lonzo Ball and his two brothers -- LiAngelo, a high school senior who has signed with UCLA, and LaMelo, a high school sophomore who has committed to UCLA." Lonzo Ball is a freshman and "projected as a top five pick" in the upcoming NBA draft (USATODAY.com, 3/11).

Tickets for the Braves’ opening night at SunTrust Park on April 14 "sold out within minutes" Friday, leaving many fans "frustrated and wondering where all the seats went." The Braves "wouldn’t say how many opening-night tickets in the 41,000-seat stadium were made available to the general public." Braves President of Business Derek Schiller said the number was “in multiple thousands." However, he "wouldn’t be more specific." Schiller said the game sold out within "about 20 minutes." On social media, many fans "complained that they were unable to get tickets despite attempting to purchase" at 10:00am ET sharp. Others "reported that they were able to purchase tickets, sometimes after multiple tries" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 3/11).

After being introduced on Friday, new Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said that the position "was a 'true calling' while vowing to be 'aggressive' in helping the struggling franchise return to prominence after falling to its lowest period in history." Pelinka: "We are going to deliver on [Lakers President Jeanie Buss'] challenge to us all to make the Lakers the greatest sports franchise in the world. That will happen." Former NBAer Kobe Bryant, who was Pelinka's client as an agent, made his "first public appearance around the Lakers since scoring 60 points in his final game last April" (ESPN.com, 3/10). With Bryant, Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and three members of the Buss family in attendance, Pelinka "gave a message every bit as big as the star power around him." Pelinka: "This L.A. platform and this Lakers brand, the Buss family and legacy of winning cannot be replicated" (L.A. TIMES, 3/11).

Minnesota United FC "projects attendance to exceed 35,000" for its home opener today against Atlanta United at TCF Bank Stadium. The team has already "sold more than 33,000 tickets" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/12). The temperature during the game "could be dipping into the low 20s." MLS said that that would make the game "one of the four coldest in MLS’s 21-plus years." There is a "60%-70% chance of snow" (SI.com, 3/10). If the temperature is below 20 at kickoff, the game will be the "coldest match in MLS history" (TWINCITIES.com, 3/10). 

Cold weather played a role around the league yesterday.

• MLS postponed the Revolution's home opener against Orlando City "because of cold temperatures" in the Boston area. The league "rescheduled it for Sept. 2, which is during one of FIFA's international breaks" (ESPNFC.com, 3/10). 
• The FC Dallas-Sporting KC match was the "coldest one played at Children's Mercy Park" since the '13 MLS Cup. Temperatures fell "below freezing during the match after a morning of snowfall" (K.C. STAR, 3/12). 
• The game-time temperature of the Toronto FC-Union match was "32 degrees, making it the coldest Union home game in the franchise's eight-year history" (PHILLY.com, 3/11).

Pennzoil and Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced Pennzoil as title sponsor of the spring Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at the track starting in '18 (NASCAR). The announcement comes "just two weeks" after Pennzoil revealed it would "continue to be primary sponsor" of Joey Logano's No. 22 Team Penske car through at least '22 (FOXSPORTS.com, 3/10). Pennzoil will "replace Kobalt Tools and Lowe's Home Improvement, which has served as title sponsor for the past seven years" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/11). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted that the track's new fall race in '18 is "open for sponsorship." Pockrass: "Got to figure if Kobalt wanted to stay, it would have continued w/spring race" (TWITTER.com, 3/12).

Gold medal-winning U.S. boxer Claressa Shields on Friday scored a fourth-round TKO in "historic fashion" in front of a sell-out crowd of 1,000 at the MGM Grand Detroit. Shields' fight against Szilvia Szabados for the vacant Women's NABF Middleweight Championship, which was shown live on Showtime, marked the "first time two women have headlined a boxing match on premium television" (MLIVE.com, 3/11). Shields: "I put on a good show." Shields added that her "brash-but-engaging attitude could help her become the type of star the sport could definitely use" (AP, 3/10).

Sources said that Fox Sports would like Cowboys QB Tony Romo “to be an analyst, replacing John Lynch,” who left to become the 49ers GM in January (ESPN.com, 3/10).

The Mets and Marvel Entertainment are teaming up for a Mets P Noah Syndergaard-Thor bobblehead on July 22 (Mets).

Bay Hill Club & Lodge yesterday unveiled a “13-foot, 1,400-pound, larger-than-life” statue of Arnold Palmer ahead of next week's PGA Tour event at the course (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 3/12).

The Hockey HOF on Friday unveiled a “nearly 8-foot statue” of the late Gordie Howe. His sons, Mark and Marty, “participated in the ceremony” (AP, 3/10).

 

"When you're out on the West Coast, it's very obvious. Our games start later. A lot of the media and the people that are bracketologists, they don't even watch our games. They just get the internet. They're in bed by 10 p.m. East Coast time and our game's just starting or maybe it hasn't started yet" – USC men's basketball coach Andy Enfield, on what he perceives as East Coast bias in the media (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/10).

"The feedback I've gotten on Twitter is, 'Don't get hurt out there.' Our fans are rooting for the Giants. They want to make sure I'm going to be healthy for the Giants, and they don't care as much about the WBC" – Giants SS Brandon Crawford, on how the ambivalence of some U.S. players toward playing in the WBC reflects the mixed signals they receive from fans (ESPN.com, 3/10).

"What I say doesn't make much difference. These guys (NASCAR and track officials) have to decide it. If we don't like it, we don't have to show up. But I'll tell you one thing -- they start hurting our commercial value with these schedules, then you'll see me put my hand up" – Team Owner Roger Penske, on his concerns about shortening Cup weekends (AUTOWEEK.com, 3/11). 

The ARIZONA REPUBLIC's Michael Knight wrote NASCAR's leaders believe the sport can "rise back to the levels it enjoyed" in the '90s and '00s. Since '05, the Cup Series TV audience is down 45% and grandstands have been "dismantled at tracks that had overbuilt during the boom times." NASCAR Chair & CEO Brian France must confront what he calls "more complex" issues than those before him to bring NASCAR back. USA TODAY's Rob Miech writes about NASCAR's attempts to expand its reach in Las Vegas. 

The N.Y. TIMES' Michael Powell wrote that when Rutgers joined the Big Ten the sun "seemed to burn brighter." However, the school's athletic department has "run an annual deficit" of at least $20M since '06. Its current deficit is "slightly larger than the sum of all the deficits in every other Big Ten athletic department."

Elsewhere:

• Is the Sacramento city suite at Golden 1 Center a benefit?
• Not everyone is happy with the Tim Tebow Show.
• Analyzing the shift in NHL coaching the past 50 years.
• How can sports in America be fixed?
• Fred Manfra reflects on his time calling Orioles games.
• Former NFLer Ryan Leaf shares the story of his career.

Love Pac-12 Tourney in Vegas...entire arena gasped when Oregon missed last-second free throw that would have allowed it to cover spread.

— Bill Plaschke (@BillPlaschke) March 11, 2017

For the first time @ValsparChamp is a sellout. Tickets and parking sales, both online and at the gates have been suspended for Saturday.

— Valspar Championship (@ValsparChamp) March 11, 2017

now Sage Steele is doing the "it's a double standard and I'm so disgusted by this" shtick so let me change the channel

— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) March 12, 2017

The Philly Phanatic is on an ATV accompanied by a giant pig in a chef’s hat. They’re shooting hot dogs into the crowd.

— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) March 12, 2017

Charles Oakley, last seen court side in Cleveland, goes to more Knicks road games than Phil Jackson.

— Marc Berman (@NYPost_Berman) March 12, 2017

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs announces that the 408 will now become Arnold Palmer Expressway. pic.twitter.com/Iym7dBvT44

— Arnold Palmer Inv. (@APinv) March 11, 2017

Fox Sports parodied Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" with the help of several players from Big East schools ahead of the conference's men's basketball championship yesterday.