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Bryce Harper's "Pulp Fiction" T-shirt creates craze in Philly....Learfield IMG College names Andrew Judelson to lead national sales....U.S. Sen calls for college athlete compensation

Harper's "Pulp Fiction"-Themed Shirt Creates Craze In Philly

Phillies

Bryce Harper made his Phillies debut this afternoon against the Braves, and he was "sporting a black T-shirt featuring the Phanatic and Gritty in a 'Pulp Fiction' homage" as he entered Citizens Bank Park. The T-shirt "replaced the handguns featured in the bloody film with ... a hot dog gun and a t-shirt cannon." The shirt was made by Philadelphia-based South Fellini, whose official website "crashed due to the intense interest in the T-shirt." But the shop is also "selling it on its Etsy page for $25." Store co-Owner John Zito was "unsure how many shirts South Fellini sold Thursday, but said the store’s website logged almost 50,000 visitors before it crashed" (PHILLY.com, 3/28).

Meanwhile, Harper is donning a pair of bright green Phillie Phanatic-themed Under Armour cleats in his debut with the Phillies. Braves TV analyst Jeff Francoeur said, “You’ve got to make $300M to wear those.” Harper grounded out to first base in his first at bat (“Braves-Phillies,” FS Southeast, 3/28).

Andrew Judelson To Lead National Sales For Learfield IMG College

By Michael Smith

Learfield IMG College today announced that veteran sales exec Andrew Judelson will lead national sales for the newly merged company. Judelson’s title will be Exec VP/National Sales, and he will report to CRO Andy Rawlings. Judelson had spent the past six years overseeing national sales for IMG College and previously was a senior sales exec at WWE, U.S. Ski & Snowboarding and SI. Rawlings noted Judelson "has been consulting with us since the merger." Roy Seinfeld, who has carried the Exec VP title for national sales since '13, is now Senior VP/National Partnership Management.

U.S. Sen Murphy Calls For More College Athlete Compensation

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is the "latest and most prominent politician to push for increased compensation for college athletes." Hours before the Sweet 16 begins, Murphy today released a 15-page report titled "Madness, Inc." that outlines the "revenue the NCAA and its member schools produce." The report contains "no solutions for how college players should be more fairly compensated" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/28).

UNC Names Hanesbrands Its Primary Apparel Licensee

By Michael Smith

The Univ. of North Carolina selected Hanesbrands as its primary licensee for apparel products. The new agreement, brokered by IMG College Licensing on behalf of the school, covers UNC-branded men’s, women’s, youth and infant/toddler apparel. UNC did not have a primary licensee across apparel in the past. This deal does not impact UNC’s relationship with Nike and Jordan Brand as its uniform supplier. The agreement with North Carolina-based Hanesbrands provides an undisclosed minimum guarantee that ensures the university more than a 40% growth in apparel royalties.

JGR Extends With Longtime Sponsor Interstate Batteries

By Adam Stern
getty images

Joe Gibbs Racing announced a multiyear renewal with longtime partner Interstate Batteries that will extend their partnership beyond 30 years. Financial terms were not revealed for the deal, which includes six primaries on Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota, among other assets. This comes several weeks after JGR also announced an extension with fellow No. 18 primary partner Mars through '22, further underscoring the team’s status as one of the top two or three most well-funded outfits in the Cup Series. Interstate Batteries was the founding sponsor of JGR in '92.

Ginobili Jersey Retirement Drives Ticket Demand For Spurs Game

The Spurs will retire Manu Ginobili's No. 20 jersey after tonight's home game against the Cavaliers, driving up ticket prices on the secondary market. SeatGeek data shows an average resale price of $229 as of this afternoon, making it the most-in demand home game for the Spurs this season. It is the eighth hottest ticket for a regular-season Spurs game that SeatGeek has tracked. The average resale price for Spurs games this season is $89 (Preston Bounds, THE DAILY).

Hornets G Tony Parker is "among the scheduled speakers" for tonight's ceremony at AT&T Center, as are other former Ginobili teammates Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto. FS Southwest's Sean Elliott has been "tabbed to emcee," and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich also will speak (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 3/27). The Spurs also "teamed up with local artist Vincent Valdez to produce an archival digital print" in conjunction with the jersey retirement (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 3/26).

Speed Reads....

The Coyotes today will unveil a new DEK hockey rink at Grand Canyon Univ., the fifth such rink the team has helped open in the last two years. The Coyotes donated the full cost of the project to the school (Coyotes).

All 16 of the MLL Boston Cannons' regular-season games "will be televised on NBC Sports Boston" this year (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 3/28).

Miramar (Fla.) Mayor Wayne Messam, a former Florida State WR, today announced his "intentions to run for president" in '20, joining the "crowded field seeking to unseat" President Trump (TALLAHASSEE.com, 3/28).

The USA BMX facilities being built north of downtown Tulsa will "not be completed" until '21, meaning the city "will not be able to host the BMX Olympic Trials" in '20 (TULSA WORLD, 3/28).

The USL expanded its partnership with Opta, making it the official data partner of the league (Opta).

NBC Sports Philadelphia today debuted a new studio for its "Phillies Pregame Live" show at 2:00pm ET (THE DAILY).

Quick Hits....

“Some of the players think, ‘We need to change the structure, maybe it’s a strike, maybe we need to redo this entire contract the next time we sit down with owners’” -- CNBC’s Eric Chemi, on average player salaries dropping in MLB for the second year in a row (“The Exchange,” CNBC, 3/28).

"You don’t want to be all in this year and not be able to add players at the All-Star break and not be able to continue to build a team in 2020. So we managed our budget to that" -- Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio, on the club having money available to make player moves despite its franchise-record Opening Day payroll (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/28).

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Daily Download....

MLB Network is running this Opening Day ad featuring the music of Gary Clark Jr.

Channel Surf....

John McEnroe will appear on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" at 11:00pm ET.

Daily Digit....

77 -- Number of different beers the White Sox will serve at home games at Guaranteed Rate Field this season, making their selection "akin to that of a specialty beer bar" (SI.com, 3/28).