The Red Wings host the Devils at 5:00pm ET on Sunday in the final game at Joe Louis Arena, and the cheapest ticket on the secondary market "is $262" (MLIVE.com, 4/8). Red Wings players and approximately 50 alumni will "walk a red carpet" before entering the arena "via the east entrance" beginning at 2:00pm ET (DETROIT NEWS, 4/6). A team spokesperson said there would be "enhanced security in place" throughout the day (MLIVE.com, 4/5).

The arena is "headed for the wrecking ball on or before Sept. 17," and between now and demolition time, city officials and owners of the Red Wings are "taking inventory of 36 years of memorabilia." A public auction for the city-owned fixtures is "in the works" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/9).

The DETROIT NEWS' Bob Wojnowski: "Wings' Home Much More Than Your Average Joe." Past and present Red Wings players talk about what Joe Louis Arena means to them. The DETROIT FREE PRESS writes the Joe, with its "15 million cubic feet of quirks," has "hosted it all, from Cups and rock shows and the 1980 Republican presidential convention of Ronald Reagan to the ... wackiest moment in figure skating history." The DETROIT NEWS: "Thanks For The Memories, Joe Louis Arena." Members of the FREE PRESS reflect on The Joe. NHL.com profiles the "Devoted Five," a group of employees who "have been at Joe Louis Arena for all 38 illustrious years."

Longtime NHL Kings broadcaster Bob Miller on Saturday night called his last home game, and his final call "was as exultant as the final call made at Dodger Stadium" by Vin Scully last year. Fans at Staples Center serenaded Miller with "chants, honored him by holding up placards, and scrawled messages on a wall outside the arena." Miller: "It was a great honor for me." Scully also gave a "heartfelt tribute" to Miller on the arena's video board (L.A. TIMES, 4/9). The Kings came out for warmups "wearing special No. 44 jerseys with 'Bob' on the back" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/8).

The L.A. TIMES' David Wharton: "Bob Miller's Retirement From The Kings Means The End Of A Royal Era In Los Angeles Broadcasting." The broadcast "mixed nostalgia with game action, a few favorite memories leading up to a stirring call -- both fists raised -- as the Kings scored the winning goal in overtime" (L.A. TIMES, 4/9). Miller calls his final game Sunday night against the Ducks (THE DAILY).

The fourth round of The Masters is underway, with the final pairing of Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose teeing off at 2:45pm ET. Golf Channel's Mike Tirico noted temperatures will be "in the mid-70s when the day is done," and the conditions are "probably not going to be what decides to eventual champion" ("Live From The Masters," Golf Channel, 4/9). The tourney is "wide open," as there are "six players within four shots of the lead, and eight more within five shots" (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 4/9). Everywhere "on the leaderboard from top to bottom, there's someone with the pedigree who can win" (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 4/9).

Masters participants are playing for $11M this week, an "increase of $1 million" from '16. The winner also "will receive" $1.98M, up from the $1.8M paid to Danny Willett last year (ESPN.com, 4/8).

Daniel Cormier defeated Anthony Johnson in the main card for UFC 210 on Saturday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, and the fight recorded a live gate of $2M, marking the highest-grossing sporting event in the history of the venue (THE DAILY). A "sellout crowd of 17,110" packed the arena, as "big-time mixed martial arts returned to Buffalo" for the first time since '95 (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/9).

Fans were "into the action all night" and could "feel the electricity of something new and exciting" in Buffalo. The BUFFALO NEWS' Bucky Gleason writes he hopes UFC "comes back to Buffalo sooner than later" (BUFFALO NEWS, 4/9).

Saturday's Missouri-Georgia baseball game drew a crowd of 33,025 to SunTrust Park, the "second-largest crowd in NCAA baseball history." It was the "first game to be open to the public at SunTrust Park" (MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL, 4/9).

The Braves play their first regular-season game at SunTrust Park on Friday, and the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION's Trubey & Tucker wrote of all the "corporate relocations the suburbs have taken at the expense of the city, not one is more symbolic than the Braves." Braves Chair & CEO Terry McGuirk, asked how important the relocation is in the history of the club, said, "Given my view over the history, certainly the Atlanta history, I think it [is] as important as anything we have ever done" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 4/8).

The Univ. of Denver beat the Univ. of Minnesota Duluth 3-2 for the NCAA Frozen Four title on Saturday night at United Center. The game drew a crowd of 19,783, the "second-largest" to watch a national championship game (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 4/9).

Meanwhile, the U.S. "beat Canada to defend its world championship" in women’s hockey Friday night at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. The game was "played before an evenly divided crowd of 3,917" (DETROIT NEWS, 4/8).

The ATP Memphis Open is leaving the city after a 41-year run and "will be relocated to Long Island" in '18, a source confirmed. Declining profits and a "failure to secure a title sponsor prompted New York-based GF Sports, which acquired the event in 2015, to move it." The tourney in recent years "found itself under new ownership and faced growing financial obstacles." A three-year deal with presenting sponsor ServiceMaster expired this year (COMMERCIALAPPEAL.com, 4/7). The relocated event will be the "newest sports attraction" at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The event "will be held" Feb. 10-18, 2018 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/10 issue).

Meanwhile, fans of Billy Joel are "livid after having to shell out $40 for parking" for his concert at the Coliseum on Wednesday night, which officially reopened the venue. Disgruntled fans "took to social media to express their frustrations" (NYPOST.com, 4/7).

The AAC on Friday voted to add Wichita State as a member for '17-18, and sources said that WSU "will pay" $2.5M to join the conference. However, WSU "won't actually pay that amount, as future league revenue ... will be withheld to pay for its entrance fee." WSU will "join the AAC in all sports except football, giving the AAC both a 12-team football and basketball league." Missouri Valley Conference leaders "will meet Sunday in St. Louis to discuss how the league will replace" WSU (ESPN.com, 4/7).

Cactus League officials said that "more than 1.9 million fans attended Cactus League spring-training games" in '17. The 1,941,347 fans "set an attendance record" for the 15-team league. Cactus League officials said that the previous record was 1,902,903, set in '15. The overall attendance record "includes games in the Cactus League's 10 ballparks, as well as two games" between the Cubs and Reds in Las Vegas that "drew more than 22,000 fans combined." The Cubs were the league's "highest-attended team for the fourth-straight season." The club "drew a record 251,899 fans" in 17 games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz., averaging 14,818 fans (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/7).

A source said that the U.S., Mexico and Canada are officially "going to announce a joint bid" for the '26 World Cup on Monday. The hosting rights are "set to be decided" in May '20. CONCACAF has "not hosted the World Cup since the tournament was played at nine U.S. venues" in '94, and the region "appears to be leading contender" for '26, when the event expands from 32 nations to 48 (AP, 4/8).

The NWSL Orlando Pride on Friday officially signed Brazilian women's national team F Marta, and sales of Pride tickets and jerseys "immediately spiked after the news broke." Marta will "join the Pride on a two-year contract with an option for a third, pending the receipt" of her P-1 Visa and Int'l Transfer Certificate (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 4/8). It is a "major coup for a second-year team with lots of ambition -- and for the NWSL, which needed the kind of star-power boost that the dynamic Brazilian will bring to the league" (SI.com, 4/7).

For the first time in Nevada, bettors will "be able to wager on the NFL Draft." Bettors "won’t be able to wager on which player will be the No. 1 overall pick." But they will "be able to wager on the total number of quarterbacks drafted in the first round" (REVIEWJOURNAL.com, 4/7).

A "modest announced crowd of 26,649" turned out to Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday for Florida State's spring game (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 4/7).

Basketball HOFer Wilt Chamberlain on Saturday was "honored with a sculpture" by the 76ers at the team's practice facility. The sculpture is "situated with those of Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham" (PHILLY.com, 4/8).

Dartmouth and Princeton will play a football game at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 9, 2019 as part of Dartmouth's "250th anniversary celebration" (AP, 4/8).

Miami police "briefly evacuated AmericanAirlines Arena" on Saturday after a bomb threat (MIAMI HERALD, 4/9).

A spot for Kaiser Permanente's "Train the Mind" campaign starring Warriors G Stephen Curry debuted on Saturday. The spot, "Overcome," is part of a campaign that will activate around the NBA Playoffs and also includes Clippers G Chris Paul (THE DAILY).

"Now is the time for golf to get hip. That's why I'm here" – Snoop Dogg, on his presence this week at The Masters (REUTERS, 4/7).

"If they would want to change it, I wish they could. In many ways I wish they would" – Basketball HOFer Jerry West, on his hope that the NBA will change to a new logo from his current image (SI.com, 4/7).

"No regrets. I got to build our organization with the help of some great people, and foremost for me, I got to watch my daughter grow up. She's 27 now, but I was there and I didn't miss a thing" – A's Exec VP/Baseball Operations Billy Beane, on if he regrets turning down the Red Sox 15 years ago to stay with the A's (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/9).

"I'm a little bitter about how my head stuff was treated and in no way shape or form should anyone have to deal with what I went through. Frankly, it's downright despicable. So anything I can do to help guys who have been in my situation, not just when I'm dead, but now" – Former NFLer Ryan Miller, on his time in the NFL and his decision to donate his brain for CTE research (DENVER POST, 4/8).

Another reason to love the Masters: No brand names.
Concession stand sodas are sold as cola and diet cola.
And American craft beer.

— RonGreenJr (@RonGreenJr) April 8, 2017

Could Cleveland, Chicago Cubs, AND Sergio Garcia all win the biggest title in the same 12-month span? #underdogsportsstories #themasters

— Garrett Johnston (@JohnstonGarrett) April 9, 2017

Fan wearing Cowboys hat asked Joe Gibbs for a pic. Gibbs turned fan's hat around and handed him a Redskins Super Bowl ring to pose with. 🤣

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 9, 2017

Auburn announces attendance of 46,331 for A-Day. That is the 6th largest for Auburn and ahead of lat year's 45,723 - on paper.

— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) April 8, 2017

The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE wonders if golf can "capture a younger audience?" Millennials "aren't playing golf -- and the golf equipment industry might be suffering the consequences." At the end of the day, golf's values "don't align with those of millennials ... and declining interest in the sport is a big reason golf retailers are struggling."

NEWSDAY examines how an exciting NCAA Women's Tournament has bolstered "interest in women's sports." When was the last time "all the sports junkies at work were talking about women's college basketball?" When was the last time social media was "blowing up with comments about women's basketball, when every prominent basketball reporter ignored the Warriors-Rockets game to tweet almost exclusively about a women's NCAA semifinals game?"

Elsewhere:

• How the Golden Knights are "setting the stage for pro sports in the desert."
• Joe Maddon and an ill St. Petersburg teenager "forge mutual inspiration."
• Embracing its roots "may be what NASCAR needs most."