The PGA of America opens the PGA Merchandise Show today in Orlando by rolling out a three-year sponsorship with Cadillac that makes the brand the official vehicle of the PGA of America, PGA Championship, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the sponsorship includes on-site activation rights, hospitality and a media buy on CBS and ESPN. Cadillac will also be prominently on display at each of the Championship merchandise shops.

The PGA of America last year was without an official auto sponsor after Mercedes-Benz did not renew its deal. For Cadillac, the deal marks a return to golf after the brand in '16 ended its title sponsorship of what was the WGC-Cadillac Championship. The deal also comes after BMW signed on in November as a Ryder Cup worldwide partner for the '20 and '22 Ryder Cups.

Oilers GM & President of Hockey Operations Peter Chiarelli "was fired" last night following the team's loss to the Red Wings, and the news "should be announced at a press conference" this morning. Oilers brass "met post-game" last night to discuss their next move, led by CEO & Vice Chair Bob Nicholson. Chiarelli was in the "fourth-year of a five-year contract." Oilers Assistant GM Keith Gretzky will "assume many of Chiarelli’s duties in the next few weeks," with Nicholson being "more involved until they find a new GM" (SPORTSNET.ca, 1/23).

AAF

Aramark has signed a multiyear deal to be the venue merchandise concessionaire and e-commerce provider for the fledgling Alliance of American Football league, which kicks off in San Antonio on Feb. 9. Aramark will operate venue retail at the eight AAF markets that include Birmingham, Orlando, Memphis, Atlanta, San Antonio, San Diego, Phoenix and Salt Lake City.

CHIP GANASSI RACING

AdventHealth will be the primary sponsor of Jamie McMurray’s No. 40 Chevy during next month’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona Int’l Speedway. The company also will be a partner of a new fitness initiative with Chip Ganassi Racing. The private faith-based health care company, formerly known as Florida Hospital, rebranded at the start of the year and bought naming rights to the upcoming NASCAR Speedweeks at Daytona to help spread awareness about the move. That includes a $1-2M remodeling of AdventHealth’s injector entrance at DIS. The company also completed a media buy with Fox to get mentions during the broadcast of the Clash on Feb. 10.

MLL will hold its '19 Collegiate Draft at the NASCAR HOF in Charlotte on Saturday, March 9. The event is free of charge to attend and will be broadcast live by Lax Sports Network, with streaming scheduled to start at 7:00pm ET. The league is working with New York Lizards Owner Andrew Murstein, the Majority Owner of Richard Petty Motorsports, to create fan experiences around the event. This will be the first MLL Draft held in March. The Ohio Machine hold the first overall pick. 

Warriors G Stephen Curry appeared on CBS’ “The Late Late Show” last night, participating in the segment “Backboard Basketball” with host James Corden. While wearing a backboard and basket on his body, Corden said Curry told him there are "not many people who could pull this off and still look cool.” Curry: “I just wanted to boost your confidence." Meanwhile, Curry talked about filming a Burger King commercial as a child with his father, Dell, noting, “I remember being really salty that Burger King gave us cold fries on set. We’re promoting y’all's brand, at least give me some hot fries. It was fun. It was my first time doing anything like that in front of a camera, and to do it with your dad was pretty special" (“The Late Late Show,” CBS, 1/23).

Daytona Int’l Speedway will announce Olympus America Inc. has acquired the naming rights to the photographers’ room in the track’s media center. The deal comes a few weeks after Las Vegas Motor Speedway sold naming rights to its media center to ThriveHive (Adam Stern, THE DAILY).

The Mountain West Conference BOD approved a resolution asking the NCAA to stay the course by removing from its books any prohibition to conduct NCAA championships in states with legal sports books (MWC).

Digital trading card app Quidd has signed a deal with Panini and the NBA (Quidd).

“As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music" -- Baseball HOFer-elect Mariano Rivera, who would always walk out to the metal band's "Enter Sandman" (N.Y. POST, 1/23).

"There is a 100 percent chance that there will be a major gambling scandal at an institution of higher education in the United States in the future. These kids are in a very vulnerable spot. You have one major scandal and it will be an enormous good-will loss for these schools" -- Former NBAer and U.S. Congressman Tom McMillen, on sports betting and its impact on college athletics (BALTIMORE SUN, 1/23).

“Norway and Canada are fighting over who has the world's tallest moose statue. They have been feuding ever since Norway crushed Canada in Olympic curling" -- CBS' Stephen Colbert (“The Late Show,” CBS, 1/22).

ESPN.com goes with the header, "Secret Sauce: How Seattle Is Planning To Create The Perfect NHL Franchise." Interest in the team "feels limitless," and Seattle leadership members have "challenged themselves to create a perfect team, blending a new level of fan engagement with a cutting-edge arena that could integrate seamlessly into one of the fastest-growing cities in America." The objective now is "laying out the dream with broad strokes, and filling in the details."

Also: 

• Super Bowl LIII halftime show "opts for diversity over controversy."
• Digging into potential obstacles for Talking Stick Resort Arena upgrades.
• Why "Beat L.A." is "strictly for Celtics-Lakers," not Patriots-Rams.

Congrats to Mariano Rivera on joining Bruce Springsteen as the only humans with 100% approval ratings from the Baseball Writers' Association of America

— Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) January 22, 2019

Walked past the @NYGolfCenter on Park Avenue tonight. @nikegolf beginning their re-roll out of @TigerWoods promotion. #pgatour #golf

— Jeremy Schilling (@jschil) January 23, 2019

NFL refs: We are the worst when the stakes get higher.

Australian Open line judge: Hold my beer, mate.

— Scott Michaux (@ScottMichaux) January 23, 2019

Incredible gambling prop for #SuperBowl: How many commercials will have a dog in it? - Over 5.5 (-115)/Under 5.5 (-115) 😂

— Dave Cordero (@davecordero) January 23, 2019

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

Predators D P.K. Subban’s new NBC Sports Digital series, “The P.K. Project,” debuts.

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Comic Strip Title Characters.”

“These two were named for a European ‘theologian who believed in predestination’ and a ‘philosopher with a dim view of human nature.’”

Last night’s edition of NBC’s “Late Night” featured the segment “Ya Burnt” where host Seth Meyers talks smack about various topics. Meyers: “First up, skiing! Skiing, the sport that combines everyone's two favorite things: frostbite and broken bones. Hey, skiing, if I wanted to see something go downhill quickly, I’d just go back and watch the second season of ‘Lost. Side burn, ‘Lost.’ Also, people who love skiing, we're going to have a problem if you ask me to hit the powder and you don't have cocaine” (“Late Night,” NBC, 1/23).

“Who are Calvin and Hobbes?”