Speed Reads....

Pacers President Larry Bird has scheduled a news conference today to officially announce he is stepping down from his post (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/29).

VF Corp. has completed the sale of its Licensed Sports Group, which includes Majestic, to Fanatics (THE DAILY).

Indiana State and Under Armour have reached a multiyear deal to outfit the school's teams, effective July 1 (ISU).

Rogers and Bell today are “significantly raising fees for businesses with liquor licences to air TSN and Sportsnet channels, depending on a variety of factors -- like the number of TVs and the seating in their establishments” (TORONTO STAR, 4/29).

SB Nation has unveiled a redesign that includes a “revamped logo,” website layout and color palette (SBNATION.com, 5/1).

Marlins President David Samson and President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill “unveiled a large framed collage with pictures” of all 3,000 of OF Ichiro Suzuki’s hits in MLB and “presented it to him during a ceremony” prior to yesterday's game against the Pirates (MIAMI HERALD, 5/1).