Kyler Murray in a statement posted on Twitter today said that he is "planning to pursue football, not baseball," a decision that puts the A's in a "tough spot." Because Murray signed his contract with the baseball team in '18, the A's "will not receive a compensatory first round draft pick" in the '19 MLB Draft. The A's, who were "not mentioned in Murray's announcement on Twitter, were caught off guard by the timing" of Murray's tweet. Murray reportedly will return $1.29M of the $1.5M the A's gave him last year (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/11).

pic.twitter.com/kGePeWhrId

— Kyler Murray (@TheKylerMurray) February 11, 2019

The Browns today signed RB Kareem Hunt, "adding a tremendous talent to their roster but also exposing themselves to criticism locally and nationally during what had otherwise been a quiet offseason for the organization." Hunt was cut by the Chiefs in November after video emerged of a violent altercation with a woman. He "will be suspended by the NFL," reportedly for "at least six games" (OHIO.com, 2/11). Hunt "remains ineligible to play or practice while he is on the commissioner's exempt list." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell prior to the Super Bowl said that the league "was still investigating three separate off-field incidents involving Hunt" (USATODAY.com, 2/11).

"The Boardroom," a new sports business-themed show from Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's Thirty Five Media, debuts today on ESPN+. Durant said of the series, “It’s just me and my peers taking advantage of the opportunities we’ve had in our cities and starting to do the things we’re passionate about outside of basketball." ESPN’s Jay Williams, who hosts the six-part series, said Durant is "vulnerable enough to be in the room with some brilliant minds, and the beautiful part about KD is he doesn’t come across as preachy" (“Get Up,” ESPN, 2/11). Durant: “A lot of athletes are doing great things off the playing field and it should be recognized. So many different brands have turned into huge businesses, and I just want to give the fans an inside look” (“GMA,” ABC, 2/11).

Durant, Kleiman and Williams will grace the cover of the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine, set to hit newsstands Friday (THE DAILY).

The NHL has signed a partnership with Oak View Group Int’l to support the league’s sponsorship sales in Europe. OVG Int’l President Sam Piccione will lead the company’s efforts to build the NHL’s roster of partners and selling the NHL’s different assets, which will include the league’s Global Series games it plays in Europe. The NHL will again return to the continent this coming season, with tentative plans to have preseason events held in Switzerland and Germany, a season-opening game in Prague and two other regular-season games in Stockholm.

Patricio O’Ward, one of the "brightest young talents in the IndyCar paddock," has "decided to part ways" with Harding-Steinbrenner Racing less than a month before the NTT IndyCar Series season opener. While O’Ward "didn’t provide any reason for the split," there have been "rumblings all offseason that Harding-Steinbrenner was struggling to find budget to field its two car operation." O’Ward "won nine of 17 races last season" in the second-tier Indy Lights circuit and "podiumed in four others" (INDYSTAR.com, 2/11).

USA BMX has signed a deal with the Mongoose bicycle brand to bring science, math, engineering and technology training to U.S. schools in a joint program that is projected to reach 225,000 students in '19. Also, Mongoose has hired nine-time USA BMX amateur national champion and USA BMX Foundation Marketing Coordinator Justin Posey as a sponsored rider and education ambassador. The Mongoose bicycle brand is owned by Pacific Cycle, a division of Montreal-based Dorel Industries.

Texans DE J.J. Watt has been named grand marshal for Sunday's Daytona 500, becoming the first NFL player to hold that distinction (Daytona Int'l Speedway).

The Galaxy will unveil a statue of David Beckham on March 2 at Dignity Health Sports Park. Beckham will also be inducted into the club's Ring of Honor (Galaxy).

MLL reached a three-year renewal with Source One Digital for the company to remain as its official sign provider (MLL).

The Marine Corps Marathon signed a five-year partnership extension with medal manufacturer Always Advancing (THE DAILY).

Shell Rotella has signed on as the official oil of the upcoming '19 PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour (Shell).

"Knowing what I know, my hope tank is on E" -- Panthers S Eric Reid, on whether he is hopeful Colin Kaepernick is signed this offseason (TWITTER.com, 2/11).

"The public strongly really believes, ‘Hey, these players are making too much as it is,’ so ownership basically has the public on their side, and it’s a PR nightmare almost for the players' side where they are not going to be able to garner the same sympathies" -- ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, on the numerous high-level unsigned MLB free agents (“OTL,” ESPN, 2/11).

ESPN wins battle for @CassidyHubbarth, per @nypostsports.

Interesting piece to Hubbarth staying: new 1/2 hour Twitter pregame show called “Hoop Streams” that'll air before showcase Saturday NBA games on ABC https://t.co/rvobiDsFNv

— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) February 11, 2019

Former Nets and Sixers GM Billy King is joining Brian Elfus’ agency, @elfussports. King will be focused on growing the agency’s coaching and front office division.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 11, 2019

Per its latest quarterly 8-K filing, Meredith Corp. says it expects to "finalize" the sales of Sports Illustrated, Money and the ad tech company Viant by the end of the fiscal year, which will be June.

— Alex Weprin (@alexweprin) February 11, 2019

Per @NHLPA, on this day in 1957, the original Players’ Association was formed, led by Ted Lindsay and Doug Harvey. The organizing players were blackballed, traded and shunned by owners. #ThePlayers #Heroes pic.twitter.com/mfWNvgb8kn

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) February 11, 2019

If, instead of slots and pools, what if Oakland could've gone to Murray last summer and said "what's it gonna take to get you not to play for Oklahoma this fall?" Keeping in mind that, before this past fall, Murray's NFL stock was nothin' like it is now.

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) February 11, 2019

FC Cincinnati will unveil their MLS uniforms at 7:00pm ET at the Music Hall Ballroom, followed by a panel discussion with players. 

Hawks Vice Chair Grant Hill offers an inside look at the updated State Farm Arena in this 360-degree video from the NBA.

24.05 -- Terabytes of data used by Super Bowl LIII attendees, a new record. Fans used "nearly 50 percent more data in Atlanta than they did in Minneapolis during Super Bowl LII" (ADWEEK.com, 2/10).