A "raucous crowd" of 74,300 packed L.A. Memorial Coliseum last night for the Falcons-Rams NFC Wild Card game, the first NFL playoff game in the city since '94 (AP, 1/7). Rams fans "showed up in force" for the team's 26-13 loss to the Falcons, as the crowd marked the team's "biggest crowd of the year" at the Coliseum. For a team that "struggled all year with empty seats and an apathy from a town that didn't trust them," the first-round loss was a "true shame" (L.A. TIMES, 1/7).  Rams Owner Stan Kroenke after the game said, "In two years we'll be in a new stadium, and ... we can have a true home-field advantage like a lot of the teams do. We don't really have it now." Kroenke then quickly added, "I shouldn't say that because the fans were great" (USATODAY.com, 1/7).

Some former Rams players, including Pro Football HOFer Eric Dickerson, Torry Holt and Steven Jackson, "lined the sidelines." Celebrities "made appearances" and rapper Snoop Dogg "performed at halftime" (O.C. REGISTER, 1/7). Also in attendance were NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots Owner Robert Kraft (THE DAILY).

The Bills-Jaguars AFC Wild Card kicked off at 1:00pm ET, and the scene outside EverBank Field looked "like a home game for the Bills." Buffalo fans were "tailgating, singing and draining local bars of beer, leaving relatively little space for Jaguars fans." The Jaguars even had to "open the parking lots early because of the flood of Bills fans" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 1/7). One bar owner said that they have “never seen this many fans representing an away team” (WKBW.com, 1/6). There were “thousands upon thousands” of Bills fans in Lot X outside EverBank Field (TWITTER.com, 1/7). There were probably “over 20,000” in the lot (TWITTER.com, 1/7). ESPN's Sal Paolantonio said the "Bills mafia was out in force" last night at the team hotel ("Postseason NFL Countdown," ESPN, 1/7).

Jon Gruden called his final game at ESPN yesterday with Titans-Chiefs, and play-by-play man Sean McDonough called it an "emotional and bittersweet day" for the "MNF" crew. McDonough said Gruden was leaving a "great legacy" on "MNF" after nine years in the booth. Gruden, who is leaving to coach the Raiders, said, "These Chiefs fans have been on my case since I got here." McDonough: "It’ll be tough for a lot of us on the crew to be impartial when we go into those production meetings and see you next year" ("Titans-Chiefs," ESPN, 1/6).

Sean McDonough's goodbye to Jon Gruden. pic.twitter.com/y4nwgN1iRg

— '03 Kliff Kingsbury (@fearthe_beard11) January 7, 2018

President Obama "will make an appearance" and speak at the 12th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on Feb. 23. Obama “will discuss his time in office and the next chapter of his life." Other speakers at the conference include Celtics co-Owner Steve Pagliuca, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Fox' Alex Rodriguez (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/7). 

U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner's agent and sponsors promised her endorsements are safe after she failed to make the U.S. team for Pyeongchang with a fourth-place finish at the U.S. nationals on Friday. With seven sponsors and a place in NBC's promotional campaign, Wagner is among the most commercially active Olympians in years to miss the team. She has deals with Bridgestone, Dick's Sporting Goods, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Toyota and Zico coconut water, according to her agent, Lowell Taub of CAA Sports.

Several sponsors noted that Wagner's Bronze Medal from the '14 Sochi Games gives her value to marketers more permanence, regardless of this year's disappointment. Bridgestone will not pull any current television or other creative involving Wagner. Toyota's marketing plans won't change because of the news, spokeswoman Leigh Anne Sessions said.

For more from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, see tomorrow's issue of THE DAILY.

A crowd that "looked about the size of a sellout" turned out last night for the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! event at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta ahead of tomorrow's CFP title game. Temperatures were as cold as 27 ℉ "by the time Jason Derulo glided onstage" just past 10:00pm ET as the third and final act of the opening night. There was a "gorgeous ESPN structure assembled for VIPs at stage right" that kept the "focus on football even when music was in the spotlight." There was some "grumbling throughout the crowd" due to a "lengthy wait in between acts" (AJC.com, 1/7).

ESPN said it has addressed "inappropriate" comments made by Katie Nolan on Wednesday night regarding President Trump. Nolan appeared on Viceland's "Desus & Mero" comedy show Wednesday and called Trump a "stupid person," while also using an expletive. ESPN said it "looked into the totality of Nolan's comments," also noting it has "addressed it with her." Nolan yesterday "co-hosted the NFL Wildcard Live show for ESPN on Twitter" ahead of Titans-Chiefs on ESPN/ABC (AP, 1/6).

Canada beat Sweden 3-1 Friday night to take the Gold Medal at the World Junior Championships before a "Canada-heavy crowd of 17,544" at KeyBank Center (BUFFALO NEWS, 1/6). This marks the 17th time the Canadians have "stepped to the top of the podium at the tournament, which started play in 1977." The final was a "well played, exciting affair worthy of a gold medal platform" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/6).

Fox Sports will "employ a Dual Skycam setup for its coverage" of this season's NFL playoff games, starting today with Panthers-Saints at 4:40pm ET. It will "mark the first time" that Fox Sports has deployed Dual Skycam technology -- which "complements the 50-foot bird’s eye view with lower-camera action that follows the play -- for an NFL playoff game." Fox "tested it out" earlier in the season, for a preseason game, and in Week 5 for Packers-Cowboys. Fox also plans to "employ the Dual Skycam for its coverage of an NFL Divisional Round game, and the NFC Championship game" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 1/5).

A parade yesterday in Cleveland following the Browns' 0-16 season drew a crowd "estimated between 2,500 and 3,200." The parade featured a pickup truck "sponsored by a funeral home with a casket on the back, a bunch of Browns-painted buses rolling along the way and sign after sign criticizing" Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam and the team's front office. Many fans "had bags over their heads" (ESPN.com, 1/6). The parade "will go down in sports history as the day thousands of fans braved negative wind chills to circle FirstEnergy Stadium and show their discontent with the team's 0-16 season." The parade "didn't read like a protest" but was a "hodgepodge of Cleveland characters and inside jokes" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 1/7).

Lithuanian professional basketball team Prienu Vytautas, which signed LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, has "withdrawn from the Baltic Basketball League this season and will instead play in the Big Baller Brand Challenge, a series of five 'friendly' games intended to get the brothers extensive playing time." The team "announced it will show each of the games on Facebook." A source said that Prienu expects the Balls "to generate" about $120,000 in revenue for the team, "including an undisclosed amount" Facebook is paying to show the Big Baller Brand Challenge games (ESPN.com, 1/6).

U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman took office Friday on an interim basis, and he inherits a number of "major cases and pending decisions." Among other cases, Berman -- replacing Joon H. Kim -- "will also supervise" the prosecution of the alleged college basketball corruption scandal, in which authorities "said assistant coaches, a former shoe company executive and others conspired to pay high school players in exchange for various commitments" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/5).

Wizards G John Wall has "agreed to a five-year endorsement deal with Adidas" after "testing shoe free agency over the past couple years" (TWITTER.com, 1/7).

An "announced crowd of 73,319" attended yesterday's Titans-Chiefs AFC Wild Card game at Arrowhead Stadium (K.C. STAR, 1/7).

Yesterday's North Dakota State-James Madison FCS title game drew an "official attendance" of 19,090 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco (TWITTER.com, 1/6).

NFL Senior VP & CIO Michelle McKenna-Doyle, an Auburn alumnus, has "pulled out of the search process" to become the school's next AD (AL.com, 1/5).

The Pistons "raised a $230,000 donation to UNICEF for hurricane relief efforts in Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico" (DETROIT NEWS, 1/7).

"I think dominance of the NFL in television is still very clear. ... We always want to figure out how to expand our audiences, and that's why we're doing things with Verizon, we're doing things ... with Amazon" -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, on the league's sagging TV ratings (ESPN.com, 1/7).

"We have 12 judges in a room that may or may not know a lot about football that are making determinations. I'm not sure the system doesn't need some (fixing). ... It appeared like it was a concerted effort to keep us a reasonable distance away from the top four to avoid controversy" -- Former UCF football coach Scott Frost, calling for changes to the CFP Selection Committee after finishing the season ranked No. 12 despite being the only undefeated FBS team (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/6).

"At this point I don't care who shows up. ISIS can show up, I don't care. As long as we win, that's the number one thing on my mind" -- Alabama LB Rashaan Evans, on President Trump attending tomorrow's CFP title game (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/6).

YAHOO SPORTS goes with the header, "The Luxury Tax Is Bad For MLB, And Is Already Destroying The Game." MLB's offseason can be "summed up with one image thus far: A tumbleweed blowing across an empty, dust-filled field." Baseball’s luxury tax has "undoubtedly" played a role in free agency "grinding to a halt." And the "worst part is that this is just the beginning." It is "only going to get worse from here." 

Elsewhere: 

• There will be disputes about the CFP even if it works.
• Why UCF stands for "Undefeated Champions Forever."
• Gender-equality movement could spark changes in sports.

Replay review is the worst thing to happen to the NFL and MLB. It sucks the life out of any big moment. Just awful. Love Al Michaels for calling it out!

— Kevin Burkhardt (@kevinburkhardt) January 7, 2018

Horrible way to start the playoffs. I hate to say it but this was not a good performance by the crew. Teams and fans deserve better.

— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) January 7, 2018

Sean McDonough may need ESPN The Throat Lozenge after that sequence. #TENvsKC

— David Barron (@dfbarron) January 7, 2018

PGA Tour would have to sell the rights to HBO, and HBO might have to put it on after midnight, but would subscribe to the director's cut edition of an 18-hole round with DJ and Pat Perez.

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) January 6, 2018

That parade is a joke don’t call yourself a true browns fan if you go to that thing! Going 0-16 was embarrassing enough as a player. That is like adding fuel to the fire and it is completely wrong!

— Emmanuel Ogbah (@EmanOgbah) January 6, 2018

Roger Goodell is taking selfies with fans at the Coliseum. pic.twitter.com/tBSb2RWUXp

— Lindsey Thiry (@LindseyThiry) January 7, 2018