Tennessee has hired UCF’s Danny White to be its new AD, the school announced this afternoon. White, who spent the last six years at UCF, takes over a UT program in transition after firing football coach Jeremy Pruitt amid allegations of NCAA infractions that included paying players. Former AD Phillip Fulmer stepped down this week as well. White’s first job will be to find a football coach. Parker Executive Search, which assisted UT with the AD search, also will work with White on the football coaching search.

White’s hiring happened quickly, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman told SBJ. A contingent of top school leadership, led by Plowman, along with President Randy Boyd and board Chair John Compton, flew to Orlando to meet with White yesterday. This came after a pair of video conference calls earlier in the week when UT first locked in on White as the lead candidate. By the end of last night, they had an agreement for White to be AD.

Plowman said White’s enthusiasm helped seal the deal. Plowman: “Danny said, ‘I grew up knowing about the brand at Tennessee and I would love to help that brand flourish even more.’ That gave me goose bumps. That’s what we were looking for. That was the ‘drop the mic’ moment for me.”

Packers Senior Advisor to Football Operations Ted Thompson, who "built the team that won Super Bowl XLV," died today at age 68. Thompson, who served as Packers GM from '05-18, revealed in '19 that he had been "diagnosed with an autonomic disorder." He never said whether a "specific disease or illness caused the disorder or whether the many tests he underwent revealed a cause." Thompson was "notable in Green Bay for his reticence." He seldom "talked to the media unless he had to, and at annual shareholder meetings, where he did have to speak, he never revealed anything about his football team." Thompson’s "legacy is strong." Before him, the "only men to guide Green Bay to a Super Bowl title were named Lombardi and Wolf" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/21). 

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero: "We talk a lot about the (former Packers GM) Ron Wolf tree, which continues to grow. Ted Thompson now really has his own branch of that tree" (“NFL Now,” NFL Network, 1/21).

LA28 has hired Cipora Herman as its CFO. Herman was the CFO for the 49ers from '12-16, and before that she served as VP/Finance and Treasurer for Facebook and Yahoo. Most recently, Herman has held board seats with ZipRecruiter, Mindbody and Overlay. She is also a philanthropic advisor for Athletes’ Voices, a program backed by Harvard’s Global Sports Initiative intended to better equip athletes to discuss societal issues and advocate for social causes. Herman began in her new role with LA28 yesterday.

As many as 12 companies "will be offering sports gambling in Virginia in the near future," but FanDuel "will be first out of the gate" after the company sent an e-mail to customers promoting launch today in the state. The Virginia Lottery, which handles the approvals, has listed FanDuel as an "approved permit holder." That status was attained "in part, by pairing with the Washington Football Team." MGM, DraftKings, Barstool Sports and Wynn, among others, "have applied for licenses but, as of Wednesday, at least one of those companies had not received word on its status," according to a source (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 1/21).

MLS kicked off its annual SuperDraft at 2:00pm ET today, with the virtual presentation streaming live on MLSSoccer.com. Expansion club Austin FC selected Virginia Tech MF Daniel Pereira with the first overall pick. Ahead of the draft, MLS Commissioner Don Garber in a widely distributed email addressed the coming season and the state of CBA talks with the players union. Excerpts are below:

• "There’s incredible energy around Austin FC, as the club has sold out its season tickets and will debut this spring in a world-class stadium. ... We will also open two new stadiums in Ohio for FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew SC."
• "The COVID-19 pandemic is still very much with us. ... There will be significant limitations on attendance this year. Unlike other leagues here and abroad, we are hit harder financially when our fans can’t attend."
• The MLS ownership takes the risk and financial losses from the pandemic this year. ... We presented our proposal to the MLSPA two weeks ago and look forward to receiving a response. We are ready to meet with the MLSPA and players in the coming days and reach an agreement" (THE DAILY).

The Predators said that a "limited number of tickets will be available to season-ticket holders for Tuesday and Wednesday's games against the Blackhawks." The team did not specify how many tickets would be sold for the two games next week but said it plans to "gradually increase attendance." Tickets for next week "will be sold in seating pods of two, a number that eventually could go up." Tickets are "not transferrable." The team will "use four criteria to weigh each season-ticket holder's ability to purchase tickets: Tenure, package type, number of tickets on the account and purchasing history of past lottery winners" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 1/21).

The '21 Arnold Palmer Invitational will allow a limited number of fans for the March 4-7 PGA Tour event at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando. Attendance will be limited to 25% of capacity, and multi-day tickets will not be available. Single-day general admission tickets will be available Friday-Sunday, while no fans will be allowed for practice rounds or Pro-Ams earlier in the week. Presenting sponsor Mastercard will offer cardholders a $5 discount on tickets (Arnold Palmer Invitational).

HBO's “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” will kick off its 27th season on Jan. 26, with monthly episodes airing on HBO and available to stream on HBO Max. The debut episode will include features on Nike’s Oregon Project, athletes dealing with long-term COVID symptoms and a police officer-coached Minneapolis high school football team. The network is also launching “The Real Sports Podcast,” which will expand on the show’s stories as well as dig into archival segments. Real Sports segment producer Max Gershberg will host the bi-weekly podcast, which will feature new interviews, excerpts and behind-the-scenes details.

Anderson is the first White Sox player to appear on the video game's coverRBI Baseball

White Sox SS Tim Anderson has been selected to "grace the cover of the new installment of the R.B.I. Baseball video game series" (MLB.com, 1/21).

The NHL announced a multiyear deal with Tipsport, which will see the Czech Republic-based company become the first official sports betting partner of the league in Europe as well as the official sportsbook in Czech Republic and Slovakia (Mark J. Burns, THE DAILY). See more in SBD Global.

Philippine rum brand Tanduay is now an official partner of the Bucks. The two brands signed a three-year partnership agreement following Tanduay's entry into the Wisconsin wines and spirits market last year (Bucks).

The Independent American Association K.C. T-Bones are being "renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues" (AP, 1/21).

Panasonic Avionics Corporation and IMG have agreed to extend and expand their long-standing relationship to deliver live sports content to airlines. The companies have signed an agreement giving Panasonic Avionics all international in-flight rights to Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra (Panasonic).

The National Basketball Retired Players Association launched its latest initiative in providing professional services to its members by teaming up with Career Services Manager (CSM) by Symplicity (NBRPA).

“This year we’re kind of playing in the blind. We’re just experimenting with a few things. But look, I’m confident in the NBA, I’m confident in the board of governors. Adam Silver is going to do a great job. I wish this was something that (could) be prevented ... and I think if guys follow the rules and regulations we’ll have lesser numbers” -- TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal, on the obstacles the NBA season is encountering (“Today,” NBC, 1/21).

“Even though the result might not be where the league wants it to be at this point in time, I know the league is working tirelessly to do its best every single year. … The league is going to get it right” -- New Jets coach Robert Saleh, the NFL's first Muslim head coach, on the lack of minority hirings in the NFL (Mult., 1/21).

Capitals coach Peter Laviolette says four COVID-19 protocol players -- Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov -- are in quarantine and he believes they'll miss the next four games.

— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 21, 2021

Stuff like the Capitals' situation is why it's hard to predict anything this season.

You could be struggling, role into Philadelephia and the Flyers have an outbreak. All of a sudden, you're playing the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) January 21, 2021

The buyout for White plus the salary for Fulmer and the buyouts for former AD John Currie ($2.5M) and former Chancellor Beverly Davenport and former football coach Butch Jones ($8.2M) have led more than one prominent UT booster to tell me they will never donate to UT again.

— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) January 21, 2021

NCAA rules Notre Dame committed recruiting violations when ex-assistant met with a prospect July 1 at his high school in Seattle, an impermissible contact. ND gets 1 year probation, 7-day off-campus recruiting ban, ex-assistant gets 6-month show-cause. First time for the Irish.

— Dick Weiss (@HoopsWeiss) January 21, 2021

WWE utilized a lighthearted tone and a local news format to cover some seriously big news on the WrestleMania sites for the next three years: '21 at Raymond James Stadium, '22 at AT&T Stadium and '23 at SoFi Stadium.

ESPN's Joe Tessitore will appear on ABC's "Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune" at 8:00pm ET.

Shaquille O'Neal will be a guest on NBC's "The Tonight Show" at 11:35pm.

Fox' Joe Buck will appear on the syndicated "Ellen DeGeneres Show."

3,350 -- Total square feet of video display area on the new center-hung scoreboard at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Pacers).