NFL owners formally voted to approve nine-year extensions of their TV agreements with CBS, Fox and NBC through '22. The collective increase for the three networks is 7% per year throughout the deal, sources said. SportsBusiness Journal first reported the new deals last week. The vote guarantees that the NFL will remain on broadcast TV well into the next decade. The deal includes many components of TV Everywhere, which allows fans to watch games on most devices, including tablets (but excluding mobile phones) starting in '14.

The deal also allows for what the NFL is calling "flexible scheduling" for its Sunday afternoon broadcasters. CBS will broadcast some games from the NFC, and Fox will broadcast some games from the AFC. Starting next year, NBC gets the Thanksgiving night game that had been on NFL Network. NFL Network will expand its package of Thursday night games. It is not known how many games will be added to that package. NBC exchanged one of its wild card playoff games for a divisional playoff game. It is likely that ESPN will wind up with that wild card game.

Owners at their Dallas meeting also approved creating a new league-run venture capital fund, totaling about $32M of potential investment, also first reported in SportsBusiness Journal. The owners also unanimously approved the sale of the Jaguars to Shahid Khan.

The MLS Earthquakes have cleared one of the final hurdles in the approval process for a new soccer-specific stadium. San Jose Dir of Planning, Building & Code Enforcement Joseph Horwedel approved the team’s Planned Development Permit today after team officials presented plans for the proposed 15,000-seat stadium near downtown San Jose. City officials have 10 days to appeal the approval. Earthquakes President David Kaval said the permit allows the club to finalize the stadium’s final price tag and financing structure, as well as its design. Currently the stadium is estimated to cost $60M and will be financed privately.

“We now understand what the specifications of the stadium can be and what we can use it for,” Kaval said. “We can use it as a baseline to make [financing and cost] decisions.” Since September, Kaval has met with concerned residents who fear the stadium’s noise and traffic will disrupt the local community. Kaval said the team agreed to sacrifice concerts at the stadium to address concerns. “We’re closer now than we’ve ever been,” he said.

Ian Ritchie today was named Rugby Football Union CEO, leaving his position of All England Club CEO after six years. This comes six months after the RFU parted ways with John Steele. Ritchie was "believed to be on a salary"of US$465,000, or US$40,000 more than the RFU paid Steele. Ritchie's start date "still has to be agreed, but it is hoped he will be able to start work by March" (GUARDIAN.co.uk, 12/14). RFU acting CEO Stephen Brown will "revert to his role" as CFO "once Ritchie has served a yet-to-be-determined period of notice" (REUTERS, 12/14).

LOCOG today announced that it is "launching the first official ticket exchange for unwanted Olympic tickets" ahead of the '12 Games. Consumers who purchase tickets before Jan. 6 "will be able to resell their tickets" via www.tickets.london2012.com from Jan. 6-Feb. 3, but there will be "further opportunities to resell from Spring 2012." The seller will "receive the full face value of the tickets but if they remain unsold in the first phase the ticket holder will have the tickets returned to their account, although they will be able to sell them again in future windows" (TELEGRAPH.co.uk, 12/14). 

The Tigers are putting TigerFest, their annual winter fan event, "on a one-year hiatus" due in part to ongoing renovations at Comerica Park, "though their Winter Caravan will still go on as planned." The team has "sold out the event every January for the past several years," but the "combination of ballpark construction work and a busy weekend for facilities around metro Detroit left them out of options." TigerFest would have been scheduled for Jan. 21, and tickets "normally would have gone on sale around this time" (MLB.com, 12/14).

The NHL debuts the first installment of its new 10-episode reality documentary series “NHL 36” tonight at 6:30pm ET on Versus. Former HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg is producing the series. The 30-minute documentary program follows an NHL star for 36 hours both on and off the ice. Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane is the first subject. An NHL rep said the series will take a break for the holiday season and return in January, but a date and subject have yet to be named.

Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and discussed the process of getting the team its championship rings. ESPN’s Hannah Storm said to Cuban, “Now that the lockout is over, you’ve finally been able to … get some input from your players about the championship rings and what they want those to look like. You asked Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd how much they wanted to spend. They said between $150,000 and $200,000 a piece.”

Cuban said, “I was like, ‘Just get me another job and we'll be fine.’ The reality is that the league puts a limit on how much you can spend on all these things, because otherwise it would be a salary cap violation. So what I did was, just a few days ago actually, I had the guys look at a bunch of different designs, pick the ideas they liked and then put their own touch to it. … They all had their opinions. We pulled them all together and we’ve got a design. We won't be able to give them to the players on opening day, but we'll pick a special day and do it then” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 12/14).

The latest issue of Sporting News features college players from the Univ. of Alabama and LSU football teams with the header, "One More Time. It's LSU-Alabama In A BCS Heavyweight Rematch."

SI this week features Broncos QB Tim Tebow with the headline, "Tebow! Amazing, Incredible, Phenomenal, Mind-Blowing, Incomprensable, Unbelievable...."

Sporting News	Sports Illustrated

ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament Dir and former tennis player Richard Krajicek "has pulled out of the running to become chief executive of the ATP." Krajicek reportedly withdrew his name "because he felt he lacked the required support to land the job" (UKPA, 12/14).

The Maryland Jockey Club today unveiled the '12 Preakness logo for the 137th Preakness Stakes, which will be run May 19 at Pimlico Race Course. The '12 logo "depicts the horse and jockey as repeating stylized graphics with curved elements that convey movement" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 12/14).

U.K. Secratery of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jonathan Stephens said that the British government has spent US$1.26M "on tickets to entertain dignitaries and business leaders" at the '12 London Games (AP, 12/14).

"The game of golf needs help. We need to bring people into the game, and we need to keep them in the game. We need to think out of the box" -- Jack Nicklaus, on what needs to be done to grow participation numbers in the sport (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 12/14).

"I think it's going to be fantastic for them. I think it's something they'll have for the rest of their lives" -- NHL Rangers coach John Tortorella, on the team participating in HBO's "24/7" series ahead of the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 (Bergen RECORD, 12/14).

"I hope it won't be a harsh winter because it didn't look as though much progress had been made on construction of the hotel" -- French men's national soccer team coach Laurent Blanc, on having concerns about the Ukrainian hotel the team will stay in during the early stages of the Euro 2012 tournament (FIFA.com, 12/14).

Populous Business Development Manager Joshua Boren: "Still lots to do but solid progress re: California NFL stadium sagas: Santa Clara OKs finance plan for 49ers Stadium."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Shelly Anderson: "At what point does the safety of men's brains prompt real change in the NHL? Bloodthirst can't be that important, can it?"

SportsNet N.Y.’s Adam Zagoria: "Penn State must love the fact that Jerry Sandusky is wearing PSU athletic clothing every time he gets in or out of a police car."

Golfer Brittany Lincicome: "Thank you at @lpga and @KraigKann for asking me to be on a media/communications advisory board with them! I love helping my tour grow :-)"

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

EAG Sports Management CEO Denise White posted this pic of Raiders LB Kamerion Wimbley helping kids do some Christmas shopping as part of his first annual "Shop With a Jock" promotion.

Saints QB Drew Brees tomorrow morning will appear on "Sesame Street," where he will help Elmo explain the word "measure."

HBO will premiere the first of four "24/7 Flyers/Rangers: Road To The NHL Winter Classic" episodes at 10:00pm ET.

236,000 – Number of unique viewers on ESPN3.com for Saturday’s Real Madrid-FC Barcelona La Liga match, marking the site’s most-viewed men’s soccer game in '11 (ESPN Research).