Lagging ticket demand continues to be a major storyline headed into tonight's Clemson-Alabama CFP title game in Santa Clara. Data from SeatGeek shows secondary prices are up slightly today, with few tickets below $200 anymore, whereas at one point they were below $150. As of 2:00pm ET Monday, the get-in price was $190. A day out from the game, the average resale price was at $334, the lowest for any of the five CFP championship tilts to date and well below last year's comparable figure of $2,222 for Alabama-Georgia in Atlanta. Day-of average prices could still top the previous low of $254 from the '16 game, which featured Alabama-Clemson in Glendale. From when the matchup was set in the CFP semifinals to Friday, ticket prices had fallen 72% on the secondary market. At presstime, about 38% of ticket shoppers are from California, by far the highest percentage for any state. Alabama (8.43%) and South Carolina (6.97%) are ranked second and third in this category, predictably.

Most years, a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2 would create all the buzz necessary for college football’s marquee event. But with these two fan bases having to travel across the country for another title event, secondary ticket prices are down, national hospitality sales are soft and many wonder if there will be empty seats at Levi’s Stadium. But the CFP remains steadfast with a mission to stretch beyond the sport’s Southern foundation and explore nontraditional markets. Read more from Michael Smith and Ben Fischer's report, "SBJ All-Access At The CFP."

Chevy is kicking off a "new advertising campaign" for the '19 Silverado truck model during the CFP championship game with a 60-second spot during ESPN's telecast titled, "A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock 'n' Roll." Chevrolet VP/Marketing Paul Edwards "declined to comment on whether the brand plans to advertise" during CBS' Super Bowl LIII broadcast in February. Edwards said, "We won't give a definitive answer for Super Bowl, but we have more surprises" (AUTONEWS.com, 1/7).

DC United has signed a multiyear local broadcast rights partnership with streaming platform FloSports. The deal, which will cover both English- and Spanish-language broadcasts, is FloSports' first with a team in one of the major five North American pro sports leagues. FloSports will air the club’s games on its newly launched FloFC.com soccer-specific vertical and also will feature original team programming and content. A base subscription to FloSports starts at $12.49 a month, although it is expected the team will offer a reduced rate package.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources said that the team will receive a rights fee from the Austin-based media company. DC United’s previous deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group saw the club sharing production costs as well as profits earned off ad sales. It has never received a rights fee in its history.

CCM Hockey inked a four-year extension with Oilers C Connor McDavid through '23. McDavid, who first partnered with the brand in '15, will collaborate with CCM to design his equipment. He will also participate in CCM’s community initiatives, support upcoming product launches and serve as a global ambassador for the brand. Other NHLers on the CCM roster of endorsers include Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares and Carey Price. McDavid also has deals with Adidas, BioSteel Sports Supplements and Canada-based bank CIBC (THE DAILY).

ESPN Deportes is celebrating its 15th anniversary today with an afternoon of live programming produced from Miami’s Wynwood Yard with hosts Pilar Pérez and Sebastián Martínez Christensen. The network has been cutting to its Wynwood Yard set during its news and information shows throughout the day. At 7:30pm ET, the network will produce a CFP Championship pregame show from the Miami art district. During the day, ESPN Deportes has aired short vignettes from on-air talent discussing their memories of the past 15 years.

Download the Deportes

Our sister publication, The Esports Observer, runs a regular briefing recapping the week that was in esports. This week: Envy Gaming raises $20M, adding new fuel to its esports teams, while two execs from the Activision Blizzard umbrella move to other corners of the entertainment industry.

Pacific Pro Football named former NFLer Ed McCaffrey Commissioner and former NFL Network VP Jamie Hemann CEO (Pac Pro).

Former MLBer David Wright will "transition to a role as a special assistant" to Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Sources said that it "will be a part-time role" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 1/7). 

The Pro Football HOF and NFL Alumni Association have partnered with PriceMDs to provide reduced costs and unlimited access to healthcare providers for former players (Pro Football HOF).

"I still feel young, but it still starts to kinda hit you. I still feel like it’s like 2006. I can’t believe it’s 2019. I feel like I’ve been on ‘GameDay’ for like 11 years maybe. Here I am finishing my 23rd year" -- ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, 49, on his broadcast career ahead of calling tonight's CFP Championship Game (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/7).

“Major League Baseball, and that means the ownership, has pretty much dictated that managers aren’t going to make ($5-6M a year) anymore in the game. That is just a fact” -- Cubs radio analyst Bruce Levine, on the contract status of Cubs manager Joe Maddon (“High Heat,” MLB Network, 1/7).

OK, folks. This will be the last Twitter post for awhile. I'm joining the ranks of the unemployed today. Been a privilege to cover so many great people and great athletes for 18 years on the Mavericks' beat. Wish them all the best. I'll resurface in a week or two with an update.

— Eddie Sefko (@ESefko) January 7, 2019

40 layoffs this morning @dallasnews. 20 in shrinking newsroom, I’m told.

— Barry Horn (@bhorn55) January 7, 2019

Few texts from sources around the league this AM per @rapsheet report on @gmfb of Bucs zeroing on Bruce Arians.

And it’s nothing against the decision or BA. Everyone loves BA.

It’s this — was it necessary to hire an outside consulting firm for a big fee to hire Bruce Arians?

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) January 7, 2019

#thistown:

The Washington @Nationals are emailing season ticket-holders, offering option to postpone season ticket payments if they or a spouse are a government worker affected by shutdown.

— Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) January 7, 2019

Hard to take any Hall of Fame seriously that inducts a blimp. https://t.co/dB8rlsmHeP

— Tim Dahlberg (@timdahlberg) January 7, 2019

Ahead of the CFP title game, Clemson and Alabama offer dueling hype videos.

$220,000 -- Size of the "largest reported" bet placed on tonight's CFP championship. The bet is on Alabama -5 at William Hill. The second-largest is "$110,000 on Alabama -5 at SuperBook" (TWITTER.com, 1/7).