WME has signed Heat F LeBron James for all entertainment and acting projects, the agency confirmed. At WME, he will be represented by a team of agents throughout the TV, film and literary divisions. James will continue to be represented for marketing endeavors off the court by Fenway Sports Group and for on-court work by Klutch Sports Group. James’ business manager Maverick Carter will continue to oversee all of his business relationships.

James had been represented by CAA for entertainment as well as on-court work. But James and Rich Paul, James’ friend who had been working at CAA Sports as an agent, left that agency in September '12. Paul later founded Klutch Sports Group and signed James as his first client. CAA had some entertainment projects involving James at the time he left and continued to work to finish those projects, but there has been no official relationship between James and CAA for 18 months.

WME has never formally represented James before but has a previous relationship with James, as WME co-CEO Ari Emanuel was involved in the ESPN special, “The Decision,” in '10 about his choice to join the Heat.

Michael Phelps is returning to the pool tomorrow, but no one knows what he's going to wear. The Olympic swimmer's endorsement deal with Speedo ended at the end of last year, and they have parted ways. He had worn Speedo in competition since signing with the company in '01. Speedo confirmed that the partnership ended in a statement, saying, "When Speedo signed Michael to his first endorsement deal at age 15, becoming his first-ever sponsor, we believed that he had the potential to change the sport of swimming forever. He has certainly achieved that, becoming undeniably the most successful Olympian of all time. ... Though the partnership with Michael has ended, he will always be a part of Speedo's history and we wish him well in the future."

Read the full story.

The NFL schedule, which will be released tonight, will feature “two significant changes in the league’s flexible scheduling procedures.” Games reportedly will now be flexed into NBC’s “SNF” as early as Week 5. Flex scheduling previously did not start until Week 11. The NFL said it would limit the number of flexed games between weeks 5-10 to two. As it previously announced, the league plans to “cross flex” games between CBS and Fox. That will allow, for example, some NFC games that usually are on Fox to be on CBS, giving games a bigger audience (NFL.com, 4/23).

Fox Sports President & COO Eric Shanks this afternoon said there "couldn’t have been a better fit" than Joe Buck and Greg Norman to anchor the net’s first foray into pro golf. Shanks formally introduced Buck and Norman, who will both make their debuts in the golf broadcast booth with the '15 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay outside of Seattle. They also will call the U.S. Women’s Open, the U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Amateur at the least.

Norman said joining Fox was an easy decision to make. “What Fox has done with delivering out-of-the-box coverage in sports has been second to none,” Norman said. “They get it. They understand how to reach down to an audience and up to an audience.”

Fox Coordinating Producer Mark Loomis said the net will need between eight and 10 voices to fill out its broadcast team, but did not set a timetable for doing so. Though it will not take over rights to USGA events until next year, Fox will have a presence at Pinehurst covering June’s U.S. Open for nightly recaps on “Fox Sports Live.” “We’re going to spend the week there and go through the mechanics the best we can,” Buck said. “I’d like to be at an event where we’re behind the ropes and seeing how they’re doing it.”

Castrol today formally announced a multiyear extension of its NFL sponsorship agreement, with Castrol Edge retaining its designation as the league's official motor oil sponsor through March '17. Castrol first signed on as an NFL sponsor in '10. The brand will retain category exclusivity in the motor oil and related lubricants field (Castrol). Castrol also renewed its deal with Vikings RB Adrian Peterson. Castrol Integrated Marketing Dir Carolyn Eckert said that activation going forward "will focus more on proprietary content, along with increased digital and mobile activation" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/14 issue).

The Orioles today announced a series of license plate auctions being held on the official team website in honor of the club's 60th anniversary. All of the plate's feature the team's cartoon bird logo. Today through April 30, Maryland residents can bid on plates ending with the numbers '66, '70 and '83, in honor of the club's World Series championship seasons. Beginning May 5, remaining plates numbered 1955-2014 will be auctioned off (Orioles).

Edelman U.S. President & CEO Mark Hass is "leaving the independent PR giant in July" and will be replaced by Russell Dubner, President of Edelman's N.Y. office. Hass said that the "timing of his departure is tied to Edelman's fiscal year, which ends in July, as well as the shop's 'succession plan.'" Hass "has been in the lead U.S. role for two years" and prior to that was president of Edelman China. Before joining Edelman five years ago, he served as CEO of Publicis Groupe's MSLGroup (ADAGE.com, 4/23).

Edelman's notable sports clients include the NFL Fuel Up To Play 60 initiative, Kellogg's for its Olympic marketing, Penn State and NYRR (THE DAILY).

Dollar General today announced that it will serve as the primary sponsor for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' Indianapolis 500 entry driven by Jacques Villeneuve, who is returning to the race after a 19-year absence (Dollar General).

Speedo USA today announced a extension of its sponsorship of U.S. swimmer Natalie Coughlin through '16 (Speedo).

UCLA Athletics today released preliminary renderings of its new Football Performance Center created by ZGF Architects. The renderings and a promotional video can be viewed at UCLAFootballFacility.com (UCLA).

SI this week features Tigers P Max Scherzer on the cover with the header, “Mad Max’s $144 Million Bet” (THE DAILY).

“We've all drawn our swords” – NCAA Exec VP/Championships & Alliances Mark Lewis, on the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit (CBSSPORTS.com, 4/23).

“They’ve always been slightly ahead of the crowd. One poor season won’t affect that” – London-based sponsorship consultancy Synergy Managing Dir Dominic Curran, on not expecting Manchester United’s sponsorship revenue to be negatively impacted by its worst season in decades (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/23).

FoxSports.com's Jimmy Traina: "Wow. NFL going to flex scheduling in Week 5. That will definitely cause some anarchy."

Washington Post's Dan Steinberg: "Seat Geek says Wiz secondary market prices have gone up 92 percent since last week, the biggest increase in the NBA. Avg sale today $190/per."

RedEye's Matt Lindner: "A #Northwestern official told me Chris Chelios bought 500 tickets so students can attend Saturday's women's lacrosse game at Wrigley free."

NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "So cool of @RGIII to come check out @nascar @RIRInsider this weekend. He's a true professional, this will be great for fans of both sports."

ESPN's Michele Steele: "Arian Foster says he endorses products that align w his values - declined opp involving McDonalds 'they're dishing out diabetes daily'"

PR consultant Joe Favorito: "Quietly largest county in US w/o pro sports has lured 2 properties; #Dleague team for @Knicks & @NYCFC training facility. Kudos @RobAstorino."

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

MLB.com's Carrie Muskat captured this image of Cubs ushers and security personnel donning birthday hats ahead of today's celebration of Wrigley Field's centennial.

Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi will throw out the first pitch of the Yankees-Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

The city of Miami Beach will host a town hall meeting at 6:00pm ET to discuss how the proposed MLS stadium at PortMiami could impact the city and MacArthur Causeway.

With the start of the MLL season coming this weekend, league partner and licensee Stylin Strings put out this series of videos promoting its custom dye jobs for lacrosse heads bearing the marks of various teams.

Univ. of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari will appear on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" at 11:30pm ET.

UConn C Stefanie Dolson, who was selected in the first round of last week's WNBA Draft by the Mystics, will appear on NBC's "The Tonight Show" at 11:35pm ET.

23 – Out of the 50 U.S. states, the number in which Heat F LeBron James was the most-searched-for athlete on Google from April '13 through April '14, according to data compiled by BESTTICKETS.com. James "dominates the competition," while next in line is Broncos QB Peyton Manning, claiming seven states (BESTTICKETS.com, 4/21).