Retail chain Belk today is expected to announce that it has agreed to be an official sponsor of the SEC and ESPN’s SEC Network, which launches Aug. 14. The new six-year relationship gives Belk the status of official retail department store of the SEC, with marketing rights to the conference's championship events. Belk also will receive exposure on the network’s new cable channel and digital platforms. ESPN, the rights holder for the SEC and owner of the SEC Network, sold the marketing and media deal.

Belk has been title sponsor of the Charlotte-based bowl game for the past three seasons and beginning this season, that game will feature a matchup of an SEC team against an ACC opponent. ESPN has already announced deals with Regions Bank and Dr Pepper that combine sponsorship with the SEC and the SEC Network.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) today is holding a hearing on the National Guard's motorsports sponsorships, targeting the branch's $88M NASCAR deal from '11-13 and $38M deal in IndyCar over the same period. McCaskill accused the Guard of "wasting a bunch of money on a very expensive sports sponsorship." Documents indicate that it is "unclear how many new recruits, if any, signed up" because of the NASCAR activation (USA TODAY, 5/8).

MLB's newest spot in its "For The Love Of Baseball" campaign stars Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw, highlighting the fact that he is the only left-handed pitcher ever to win two Cy Young Awards before the age of 26. The ad also showcases the accomplishments of Steve Carlton, Whitey Ford, Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn and others. The creative is available digitally and will appear throughout the season on ESPN, Fox, FS1, TBS, MTV2 and MLB Network. Player-specific spots will continue to roll out this season (MLB).

The May 17 Preakness Stakes "could draw near-record crowds to Pimlico Race Course" as ticket sales to date are up 15% from last year, when 117,203 people attended. Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas said that he is "aiming to attract more than 120,000 attendees." A record crowd of 121,309 attended the '12 race. Chuckas also expects 45,000-50,000 attendees for Black-Eyed Susan Day, a "full day of racing and music the Friday before Preakness" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/7).

Under Armour in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore alleged supplements brand Inner Armour is violating its trademarks. UA said that the Florida-based company "has been mimicking its advertising videos and in some cases dressing models in a mix" of Inner Armour- and UA-branded gear. UA has asked the company to "stop using the Inner Armour name before but it has refused," so the apparel company is "asking a judge to order Inner Armour to stop using the name and award monetary damages" (Baltimore SUN, 5/8).

The House Education and the Workforce Committee today is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the NLRB decision that Northwestern football players are employees and can unionize. U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), who will chair the hearing, "has made clear he thinks the NLRB's finding was wrong." The five witnesses slated to testify include Baylor President Ken Starr and Stanford AD Bernard Muir, while "no one from Northwestern or from the would-be union was on the witness list" (AP, 5/8).

The Louisville Division of the FBI is “investigating a potential online ticket and hotel package scam surrounding the Kentucky Derby.” The probe surrounds ticket purchases made through DerbyDeals.com (ENQUIRER.com, 5/7).

Campus Insiders announced its content is now available on Amazon Fire TV as well as Amazon's Kindle Fire tablets (Campus Insiders).

The Portland City Council officially "signed off on a plan to rename a major road serving the Rose Quarter" after the late Dr. Jack Ramsay (OREGONLIVE.com, 5/7).
 
The Coyotes have "re-upped their affiliation agreement" with the AHL Portland Pirates for one more year (AZCENTRAL.com, 5/7).

Chicago Football magazine last night held a “launch party” at the Chicago Sports Museum at Water Tower Place. The magazine and ChicagoFootball.com website are a joint venture between the Daily Herald Media Group, Shaw Media and the Chicago Sun-Times (Illinois DAILY HERALD, 5/8).

“Wow, I was nervous inside” – Dodgers RF Yasiel Puig, who was given a tour of the White House on Tuesday. The Dodgers were in DC earlier this week for a three-game series against the Nationals (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/8).

"I see brands coming back once the ownership is solidified. ... But it's too early to go all-in with the Clippers right now. The dust needs to settle" – Talent Resources Sports Principle & Dir David Spencer, on the effect of the Donald Sterling controversy on the Clippers (USATODAY.com, 5/7).

"A week after all the Donald Sterling nonsense, here you have an intelligent, caring, really a picture of what the NBA should be all about and he's focusing on friendship, family, teamwork, and of course, his mother. It was unbelievable" – N.Y. Daily News' Frank Isola, on the NBA MVP acceptance speech from Thunder F Kevin Durant ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 5/7).

The 1:00am ET editions of ESPN's "SportsCenter" and FS1's "Fox Sports Live" both led with Clippers-Thunder and Wizards-Pacers, followed by NFL Draft coverage and Seahawks CB Richard Sherman signing a new contract. The coverage of the NFL's off-season marquee event aired before highlights of Penguins-Rangers Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 3, which FS1 aired about 24 minutes into their broadcast and ESPN aired about 27 minutes into theirs.

ESPN's Keith Olbermann aired his "world's worst" persons in sports: Former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda for saying he hopes Clippers Owner Donald Sterling's girlfriend V. Stiviano "gets hit with a car." Olbermann also criticized MLBAM for "wiping out a series of popular baseball podcasts" on iTunes because of possible trademark infringements, and an Orioles fan who was narrowly missed by a foul ball because he was not paying attention to the game.

ESPN's Adam Schefter: "Regarding Draft Day: will tweet behind-the-scenes notes and added perspective to complement, not spoil, ESPN's broadcast."

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde: "Happy Draft Day -- the real thing, not the movie, not the 8 millionth mock. Never has more hot air been expended leading up to an event."

SportsOneSource analyst Matt Powell: "I doubt if Nike will re-sign with Man U. Performance has been poor and price is too high to get any return on investment."

UPS Senior Project Lead/Sponsorships & Events J.W. Cannon: "Dumb #sponsorship things only I notice: Lumber Liquidators are sponsors of the final tournament in 'Dodgeball' & skate off in 'Roll Bounce.'"

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.

The Washington Post's Dan Steinberg posted this image of Nationals Principal Owner Mark Lerner (left) attending last night's Wizards-Pacers Game 2 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Supreme Court Decisions.”

“On December 20th, 1956 the court’s ruling on Browder v. Gayle went into effect, bringing an end to this 381-day event.”

South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” last night where he discussed the upcoming NFL Draft. Fallon said of possibly being the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft, "We knew you’d win. I mean, are you a millionaire right now?” Clowney replied: “Not yet, I’m still broke. … I’m living at home with my mom.” Fallon added, “You’re probably nervous, but what are you going to do when you get millions of dollars?” Clowney said, “I haven’t thought about it yet. I’m going to buy her a house" (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 5/7).

Last night's edition of NBC's "The Tonight Show" aired a segment called “Tonight Show Meet The Players 2014 NFL Draft Edition.” The segment featured some of the top NFL Draft prospects appearing on stage with host Jimmy Fallon. Fallon said of Clemson WR Sammy Watkins, “Sammy’s such a good receiver, he can even catch a pass from Tim Tebow.” Fallon said of Auburn OT Greg Robinson, “Greg doesn’t let anyone get through, which has earned him the nickname ‘The Obamacare Website.’” North Carolina TE Eric Ebron told the audience, "Make sure y'all follow me on Twitter." Fallon said, "Eric is a better tight end than Kim Kardashian in Spanx." Fallon said of Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater, “Teddy Bridgewater has already made history. He is the only NFL Draft pick named after a Chris Christie scandal.” Fallon said of TCU CB Jason Verrett, “Jason’s so quick he once intercepted the coin toss” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 5/7).

NFL Network's Rich Eisen appeared on NBC's "Late Night With Seth Meyers" last night, and said of the NFL Draft: "It is an odd event, in a way. … It's basically names being read out at a podium once every ten minutes and fans can't get enough of it, which is great." Host Seth Meyers noted Eisen started a "tradition ten years ago at the NFL Combine" of running the 40-yard dash. Eisen added, "In my suit and tie." Meyers asked, "How does this tradition start?" Eisen: "Just like most things in television, out of pure boredom." Eisen: "I asked (NFL Network's Terrell Davis) how fast he thought I could run the 40 if I went out and did it right now in my suit and tie. He laughed like you just did. I took that as an affront and I went down and I ran it in a very, very slow 6.77 seconds." ... Eisen said his time this year was his fastest and "normally at the Combine you don't see someone run out of their pocket square. That's how fast I was" ("Late Night With Seth Meyers," NBC, 5/7).

CBS’ David Letterman: “Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in all of baseball, he retired. They named a street after him up in the Bronx because he retired. I thought that was great. … Since I announced my retirement, they have named a dumpster on Ninth Avenue after me. … Let me just tell you about Don Rickles. He is considered to be America’s master of insult. Well, then there’s Donald Sterling” (“Late Show,” CBS, 5/7).

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel: “The curious case of Donald Sterling and his female companion V. Stiviano deepens. She is now reportedly being investigated on extortion charges for allegedly asking Sterling for payment, in exchange for not releasing more damaging audio recordings. … Blackmail is Donald Sterling’s least favorite kind of mail” ("Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 5/7).

“What is The Montgomery Bus Boycott?”