AT&T is replacing Verizon as the NBA’s lead sponsor in wireless telecom, one of the biggest-spending marketing categories both inside and outside of sports. The multiyear deal includes marketing rights across the NBA, USA Basketball, WNBA, G League and NBA 2K League. AT&T at the upcoming NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte will take over title sponsorship of the Slam Dunk competition from Verizon. AT&T will also be presenting sponsor of the All-Star Practice and Media Day. Verizon, an NBA corporate patron since '15 and a brand with seven NBA team sponsorships, will remain a content provider. It will focus on innovation, along with some content rights, until its current NBA deal expires.

NBC Sports Group has partnered with Rory McIlroy to launch GolfPass, a direct-to-consumer subscription service that bundles together the offerings of several of the company’s other golf and travel-related subscription programs while also providing on-demand instructional videos. McIlroy is the centerpiece of four original on-demand video series, which range from docu-series content to standard instructional pieces.

McIlroy unveiled the service on "The Tonight Show" last night, but earlier yesterday told THE DAILY he thinks it will help “bring the game of golf into the 21st century.” GolfPass is priced at $9.99 per month or $99 per year. McIlroy will sport the GolfPass logo on his bag starting next week at the PGA Tour Genesis Open. Read more about the new service in today's issue of SBD. 

The city of Boston today will host a Patriots Super Bowl victory parade that is "expected to attract about 1 million fans." The parade is set to begin at 11:00am ET and last "about an hour, ending at Government Center but without a rally on City Hall Plaza." This is the "same route the parade took" after the Patriots' last title in '17. Mayor Martin Walsh stressed that "no public drinking or marijuana smoking will be allowed." He also "asked fans not to throw beer cans or other projectiles, citing the cans that struck" Red Sox manager Alex Cora and the World Series trophy in November (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/5).

Patriots RB Sony Michel appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” last night with the Lombardi Trophy. Michel told host Jimmy Kimmel, “Be careful with it.” Kimmel: “Don't worry, I will not destroy the Lombardi Trophy.” Michel said after the game, “everybody headed for the party” where Snoop Dogg, Meek Mill and Ludacris performed. Michel: “My mom, she was the party pooper, she kind of got tired, so my dad had to take her back to the hotel. My dad wanted to get lit.” Michel said at the party, Patriots QB Tom Brady had his “own VIP area at the top, so I kind of felt like a fan. Everybody had their phones out so I just I pulled my phone out, even though I just got off the field with him.” Michel said of today's parade, “I’m just trying not to fall off the duck boat” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 2/4).

Bleacher Report today will debut the D. Wade World Tour collection, an "exclusive line of apparel designed to commemorate" Heat G Dwyane Wade's career. The T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, hoodies and hats are "intended to highlight major moments in Wade’s life and include images of him as a child as well as some of his career milestones printed on the back of the pieces." The line will be promoted through an ad and social media campaign by "both Bleacher Report and Wade that will include a concert tour-style photo shoot" (WWD.com, 2/5).

Bayern Munich and Fanatics entered into a long-term partnership designed to improve fans’ access to the Bundesliga club's apparel. The exact length of the deal, which will begin early this summer, was not revealed. Bayern Munich claims its U.S. fanbase has tripled from 13 million followers in '14, the year the club opened its North American office in N.Y., to 32 million currently. Fanatics Int'l’s portfolio includes the German FA (DFB), Chelsea, Real Madrid, ManU, Man City, Everton and the European Tour.

Pebble Beach Golf Links "absorbed a strong lashing over the weekend" ahead of this week's PGA Tour AT&T Pro-Am, as a "storm with high winds destroyed one hospitality structure and caused extensive damage." Winds reaching 78 mph "roared through the course" early Saturday morning and "ripped apart The View presented by Grey Goose," a hospitality structure on the front nine. The storm also "caused minor damage to some sky suites, knocked down a tree near the No. 17 tee and tore apart the giant video screen along the 18th green" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/5).

Cubs Chair Tom Ricketts is distancing the team from a series of emails that "appears to show" his father, TD Ameritrade Founder Joe Ricketts, "sharing and endorsing racist jokes and conspiracy theories." Some emails made generalizations about Muslims, and others "mentioned the faith of former President Barack Obama." Tom Ricketts said in a statement, "My father is not involved with the operation of the Chicago Cubs in any way. I am trusted with representing this organization and our fans with a respect for people from all backgrounds. These emails do not reflect the culture we’ve worked so hard to build at the Chicago Cubs since 2009" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/5).

Maroon 5’s poorly received Super Bowl LIII halftime show was perfect fodder for the late-night talk shows, with Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah saying, “I’ve got nothing against Maroon 5, but they made the Weather Tech commercials feel edgy” (“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central, 2/4). TBS’ Conan O’Brien said, “People weren't thrilled about Maroon 5. … The stage was designed to look like the letter ‘M.’ Apparently, the ‘M’ stood for, ‘Maybe we should have tried to get Beyonce.’ What about when Big Boi came out in a fur coat? That was from an animal that took its own life during Maroon 5” (“Conan,” TBS, 2/4).

The body art on Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine also got some notice, with CBS’ Stephen Colbert saying the singer “didn't ‘Levine’ much to the imagination, taking off his jacket, his under jacket and finally, his tank top to reveal a lot of tattoos” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 2/4). NBC’s Seth Meyers asked, “What can I say about the Super Bowl that hasn't already been written on Adam Levine's torso?” (“Late Night,” NBC, 2/4).

The deadline to "submit written comments" to the state of New York regarding the Islanders' proposed $1.2B arena development at Belmont Park "has been extended by three weeks" to March 1 (NEWSDAY, 2/5).

sports illustrated

The launch of the Rams' PSL settlement website "has been pushed back" to Feb. 16. The site was originally set to go live on Feb. 3 (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/5).

The 49ers Foundation today announced that on March 29-31, it will hold its Golden Gateway presented by Chevron event. The event was previously known as 49ers Foundation Winter Fest (49ers).

SI's commemorative cover celebrating the Patriots' latest Super Bowl championship will hit newsstands tomorrow: "Greatest Of All Teams" (THE DAILY).

"It’s better to hear that than hear a guy say we’re not going to spend any money. We better have a budget" -- Warriors President of Basketball Operations & GM Bob Myers, on co-Owner Joe Lacob's comment this week that the team will not be outspent (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/5).

"You should have patience. We want to build this right. We don’t want to go to the playoffs one year and sit back and everyone thinks, ‘Oh, they’re back.’ And then you keep trying to just survive" -- Dolphins GM & Exec VP/Football Operations Chris Grier, after the team hired Brian Flores as its new coach yesterday (MIAMI HERALD, 2/5).

"The relationship between New Orleans and the Saints is different than in a lot of NFL cities. We saw it with Katrina. It’s personal here. The feeling two weeks ago was the Super Bowl was taken from New Orleans. On Sunday, New Orleans took the Super Bowl back" -- New Orleans Times-Picayune VP/Content Mark Lorando, on the paper's "Super Bowl? What Super Bowl?" front page on Sunday (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 2/4).

“I thought the NFL’s ad was far more interesting than the game” -- CNBC’s Jim Cramer, on the NFL’s 100th season ad that aired during the Super Bowl (“Squawk On The Street,” CNBC, 2/4).

GOLFCHANNEL.com goes behind the scenes for Johnny Miller's broadcast farewell last Saturday, as all week he had been "steeling himself for the emotion of the three-hour telecast." Miller appeared to "enjoy the blend of nostalgia and live action," and he largely "held his emotions in check" for most of the day. But this was not "just another telecast."

Also: 

• There was "plenty of talk" about kneeling at Super Bowl LIII.
• Why Tom Brady has become the "greatest Boston athlete of all time."
• UConn applications rise when the school's basketball team excels. 

A steep, slippery slope: If @espn talent (@adnanESPN) can't share info w/ a reporter on bg, is co willing to enforce this across the ranks? And what about @espn reporters who live off such info covering leagues, players, et al.

— jamesmiller (@JimMiller) February 4, 2019

According to DC Solar bankruptcy filing, among potential claims (of money owed to): Chip Ganassi Racing-$4.31M, ISC-$1.025M, Kansas Speedway-$750K, Phoenix Raceway-$750K, Richmond Raceway-$750K, Talladega Superspeedway-$750K, Americrown(ISC food)-$750K #nascar

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 4, 2019

My betting odds for the Daytona 500 are 200/1 😳😳 Not sure how (we had a shot to win last year, always ran well at speedways, and our LFR team is gonna be strong this year) but either way could be one heck of a pay day for some people lol

— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) February 4, 2019

Joe Ricketts doesn’t have any role with the Cubs, but his association to the team is clear. The unearthed emails are abhorrent, the sentiments unforgivable, the beliefs so ignorant as to be laughable, were they not so bigoted. Will be interesting to see how the team handles this. https://t.co/ar4eE1IYHd

— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) February 5, 2019

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

The Long Beach Grand Prix will host a press conference at 1:00pm PT to announce a new title sponsor. Acura is expected to win the rights.

A brief hit on the stories you need to know ... Subscribe on iTunes ... Check out our podcast home. 

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “The U.S. Senate.”

“An 1890 resolution by Senator Aldrich was killed by this, the very technique it sought to limit; a 1917 rule set some boundaries on it.”

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel: “Welcome to Hollywood, home of the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. Did they win? I got bored and turned the TV off. What a game it wasn't. It was more an Adequate Bowl than anything. The Patriots beat the Rams 13-3, which coincidentally 13.3 was also Rob Gronkowski's blood alcohol content. This was the lowest-scoring game in Super Bowl history. The most dramatic moment of the night came between Harrison Ford and a dog. The game was so slow, the Patriots dumped Gatorade on Bill Belichick just to wake him up. ... For those who admire the artistry of punting, it was quite an evening” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 2/4).

NBC’s Jimmy Fallon, “While you guys were clapping, the Rams punted six more times. … (Sunday) night was Super Bowl LIII, and 53 is also how many people stayed awake for the whole thing. ... The Rams did set a new record for punts. This is the first time I've ever seen a punter on the sideline breathing into an oxygen mask” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 2/4).

TBS’ Conan O’Brien said the Super Bowl was "hard to watch … and I have been a life-long Patriots fan." O'Brien: "What is the opposite of a nail-biter? It was a nail-grower. I thought I was watching a baseball game. … Even if you're a fan, they've won six Super Bowls. I think they should take a season off. They should backpack through Europe. They should get to know themselves” (“Conan,” TBS, 2/4).

CBS’ Stephen Colbert: "I hope you all had a great Sunday. If you did, you did not watch the Super Bowl, because it sucked" (“The Late Show,” CBS, 2/4).

Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah: “It was like both teams' offenses were boycotting in support of Colin Kaepernick. I mean, congratulations to the Patriots and Tom Brady, who now has more rings than Johnny Depp” (“The Daily Show,” Comedy Central, 2/4).

CBS’ James Corden: “It was the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history and the lowest rated in 10 years. It was less of a Super Bowl and more of a, Just Okay Bowl. ... I don't want to hear one more word from Americans about how soccer is dull and no one ever scores the rest of my life.” Corden said of Patriots QB Tom Brady and WR Julian Edelman going to Disney World, “They do know they can still go to Disney World even if they lost? I’ve never won the Super Bowl. I’ve been to Disney World like six times.” Corden said Edelman "had a good time" at Disney World, but he "kept running into trouble with those signs that say ‘You must be this tall to go on the ride.’” More Corden: “Brady is the only person who could win six Super Bowl rings, be married to a supermodel and still somehow manage to look like a virgin” (“The Late Show,” CBS, 2/4).

NBC’s Seth Meyers: “Patriots Owner Robert Kraft was seen at the Super Bowl victory party last night wearing a large diamond chain around his neck that said ‘Champions,’ and Rob Gronkowski was seen wearing one that said, ‘If found, my address is 242 Maple Street’” (“Late Night,” NBC, 2/4).

“What is a filibuster?”