SI has named Colin Kaepernick as the ’17 recipient of its Muhammad Ali Legacy Award, recognizing him for his social activism and philanthropic work. Kaepernick will be honored Dec. 5 in Brooklyn during SI’s Sportsperson of the Year ceremony at Barclays Center. SI’s Legacy Award was created in ’08, and renamed in honor of Ali in ’15. “There will be never be another Ali, but few athletes have followed his example as fully as Colin Kaepernick,” said SI Exec Editor Stephen Cannella. “In this noisy political and media environment, it’s easy to forget his core message: that all people in this country deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and recognition of their civil rights. Too often that message has been lost in the debate over how it is expressed. Colin has sacrificed much in the name of that message.”

Joining Kaepernick at the SI ceremony will be 76ers C Joel Embiid, who will receive the Rising Star Award recognizing the best up-and-coming athlete; recently retired MLBer Carlos Beltran, who will be recognized with the Hope Award, which honors athletes giving back; and Lynx F Maya Moore, who will be given a newly created Performer of the Year award for her play leading the team to this year’s WNBA title. The Sportsperson of the Year Award itself will be announced early next week.

The NCAA has chosen Chicago-based Intersport to advise its ongoing consideration of a possible role in esports. Intersport was chosen from an August RFP seeking outside help after the NCAA BOG began discussing esports earlier this year. Intersport’s esports group is led by Kurt Melcher, who previously founded one of the earliest collegiate esports programs as Associate AD at Robert Morris Univ.

The RFP asked the winning agency to “provide options for the NCAA to activate within the esports landscape in a manner that aligns with the organization’s values.” Those options were to include a proposed timeline, partnerships, investments and financial commitments that would be required to execute any plan. The NCAA faces deep skepticism from the world of esports, which believes its bureaucracy and amateurism rules would be a bad fit with competitive gaming.

The South Point Hotel & Casino "has been named title sponsor" of next September's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the first event in the '18 playoffs. The multiyear deal "underscores a longstanding partnership" between LVMS and South Point Owner Michael Gaughan that "dates to the speedway’s construction" in '96 (KTNV.com, 11/30).

Meanwhile, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Awards take place at The Wynn, Las Vegas, tonight at 9:00pm ET on NBCSN (THE DAILY).

The Dodgers and concessionaire Levy Restaurants have announced a long-term extension of the partnership throughout Dodger Stadium, effective immediately. Terms of the deal were not announced. Levy began working with the Dodgers in ’00 and took over full ballpark concessions in ’05. The news comes on the same day the Giants announced they are parting ways with Centerplate regarding concessions at AT&T Park (THE DAILY).

DC collected more than $30M in FY '17 from its Nationals Park fee, and the ballpark bonds "could be paid off" as soon as '26, a "decade earlier than required." At $31.1M, the FY '17 ballpark fee haul is "more than double the minimum" $14M "required under the stadium financing law to cover the bond debt service." And in FY '18, estimates show DC will "collect even more" -- $33.9M. The fee revenue "fluctuates year to year, but is generally" in the $30-40M range (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/30).

“SportsCenter” will no longer air on ESPNews between 7:00-11:00pm ET after tonight as part of ongoing changes to the network’s flagship brand. The show will continue to air on the channel from 10:00am-1:00pm on Sundays during the NFL season. ESPNews in the 7:00-11:00pm window will now air a rotation of ESPN/ESPN2 studio shows from earlier in the day, including "Around The Horn," "PTI" and "OTL." ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor/Studio Productions Norby Williamson, who oversees “SportsCenter,” posted the news on the ESPN Front Row blog yesterday following the latest round of layoffs at the net (THE DAILY).

Washington-based manufacturer Axe Bat has completed a licensing agreement with the Tucci Lumber Bat Company, allowing Tucci to produce and sell Axe Bat’s patented axe-shaped handle bats to pro players. The deal is the third licensing agreement for Axe Bat following prior ones with Victus Sports and Dove Tail Bats. Axe Bat counts three dozen MLB players among its users, including Red Sox RF Mookie Betts and Astros CF and ’17 World Series MVP George Springer. Tucci users include Blue Jays SS Troy Tulowitzki and Giants 3B Pablo Sandoval.

The G League Greensboro Swarm tonight will "display the logo of sponsor LendingTree on their jerseys for the first time" in their 7:00pm ET tipoff against the Northern Arizona Suns. The Swarm and Hornets are "one of three sets of NBA teams and G League affiliates to share partner logos on their jerseys" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/30).

L.A.-based film production company Argent Pictures has added Saints QB Drew Brees, Spurs G Tony Parker, Pro Football HOFer Derrick Brooks and Mavericks Assistant VP Michael Finley as partners (COMINGSOON.net, 11/30).

Adidas toady reached new multiyear partnerships with 16 USA Volleyball athletes (Adidas).

Kingston Technology's HyperX brand will become the official gaming headset partner of the Mavericks and its future NBA 2K League team (HyperX).

"If the NFL is giving you that platform -- and to be quite honest, they're even amplifying that voice -- why would you protest during NFL games?" -- Former NFLer Anquan Boldin, on the hope from the league that the social justice agreement will curtail some of the players' protests during the national anthem (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 11/30).

"It’s a process that we are years into. It’s not just something we’ve approached for days, weeks or months" -- Rangers President of Baseball Operations & GM Jon Daniels, on the team's strategy to acquire Japanese P/OF Shohei Ohtani, who is expected to draw interest from all 30 MLB clubs next month (WSJ.com, 11/30).

The Golf Channel website seems to have crashed.

Related: Tiger teed off 10 mins ago.

— Stina Sternberg (@StinaSternberg) November 30, 2017

Interesting move by the Miami Open tennis tournament moving from Key Biscayne to Hard Rock Stadium. Part of the tournament's attraction was the luxury appeal of Key Biscayne. Curious to see how this is continued in an NFL stadium.

— Alicia Jessop (@RulingSports) November 30, 2017

Late 80s Bo was a sports cultural moment for Gen-Xers for a reason. His athletic gifts were such that he could turn cynics slack-jawed - the Bo Knows commercials worked because you could actually believe he could do all those things.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) November 30, 2017

Rough week for Tennessee football...but last night I mindlessly put regular gas in my fiancé’s diesel car (Google it- it’s BAD).
So who’s the real loser here?
Answer: All of us. 🤦🏼‍♀️

— Molly McGrath (@MollyAMcGrath) November 30, 2017

Nice production value for this Stadium campaign in Mission Valley today from @GoAztecs... pic.twitter.com/tiE2JIlKNR

— Jack Cronin (@JackCroninPXP) November 30, 2017

This week four years ago, the Cobb County (Ga.) Board of Commissioners by a 4-1 vote "approved a memorandum of understanding" that would finance $300M worth of construction on the Braves' new $672M, 41,500-seat ballpark. Braves President John Schuerholz after the vote said, "This is a most significant and historic day for our franchise."

Other stories from this week in '13:

• Kobe Bryant signs $48.5M Lakers extension, "remains NBA's highest-paid player."
• Jon Bon Jovi expresses interest in buying the Bills.
• The Bobcats commit to purple and teal color scheme with Hornets rebrand.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford will speak at a Charlotte Sports + Business event at the NASCAR HOF tomorrow from 7:00-9:30am ET. The event is free and open to the public. 

Actor Jim Nabors died today at the age of 87. Nabors was a staple at the Indianapolis 500, singing "Back Home Again In Indiana" prior to the running of the race for 36 years, most recently in '14. 

71% -- Amount of Americans who would like President Trump to stay out of the NFL controversy surrounding protests during the anthem, according to a Seton Hall Sports Poll (THE DAILY).