BASKETBALL

After agreeing to a two-year $35 million contract extension, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is now the highest-paid head coach in the NBA. Kerr’s annual salary comes out to $17.5 million. San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich makes more annually, but he’s the President as well as the head coach.

The Koch family is actively in discussions to acquire a stake in the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.

BASEBALL

Shohei Ohtani, who suffered an elbow injury and had surgery back in September, is making his debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. The two-way superstar will not pitch this season due to his surgery, but he’s been seen taking batting practice. No word yet on whether he’ll be ready to play in the Dodger’s regular season games in South Korea on March 20th and 21st.

BASKETBALL

Caitlin Clark set NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball career scoring record. The Iowa star surpassed former University of Washington guard Kelsey Plum’s previous record set in 2017 of 3,527 points. Caitlin currently has 3,569 points and needs just 99 more to break Peter Maravich’s NCAA record for most career points.

CORNHOLE

In a first for college sports, two Colorado high-school seniors received scholarships to play Division I Cornhole at Winthrop University in South Carolina.

FOOTBALL

One person died and 21 were injured when shots were fired during the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday. Police are still investigating the mass shooting.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced he’s letting go of defensive coordinator Steve Wilkes because “Wilk’s system didn’t align with what San Francisco ran previously.”

BASEBALL

Spring training is rolling along, and there’s a big controversy about the Major League Baseball’s New Jerseys, the Nike Vapor Premier. Players are complaining about the fit, look, and feel.

NIL

Michigan is hiring an on-campus executive general  manager to help with Name, Image, Likeness efforts for Michigan athletes.

BASKETBALL

The Orlando Magic retired Shaquille O’Neal’s number 32. This is the first time in franchise history the team has retired a number. Shaq was the #1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft and played for the Magic for four seasons. The other two teams Shaq played for and brought championships to (LA Lakers and the Miami Heat) retired his #32 jersey years ago.

BASEBALL

Jenny Cavnar broke the glass ceiling in Major League Baseball by becoming the first female primary play-by-play announcer in league history.

GOLF

Tiger Woods ended his long-term deal with Nike and announced his new partnership with TaylorMade Golf. His new line is called Sun Day Red (named after the red shirt he wears during the final round of tournaments).

FOOTBALL

Michigan had 18 players invited to the NFL combine, more than 5% of the total players (321)  invited to participate.

FOOTBALL

In a thrilling overtime, the Kansas City Chiefs barely edged out the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LVIII! The win marks the Chief’s third Championship victory in the last five years and the first back-to-back win since the 2004-2005 New England Patriots. KC Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (who won the game’s MVP award) delivered when it mattered most and cemented his status as one of the all-time greats.  Kansas City 25, San Francisco 22

With advertisers paying an average of $7 million for a 30-second ad, the focus wasn’t just on the game, but also on which ads were the most memorable. Here’s a sampling!

And, in a first for a Super Bowl, New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft sponsored an ad calling out antisemitism. The ad features 93-year-old civil rights advocate Clarence B. Jones. Jones is a former lawyer and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and drafted King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.

FOOTBALL

We’re all looking forward to Super Bowl Sunday where the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will battle it out at 6:30 pm ET for the Championship. Wagers on the game have hit a record $1.3 billion. And, in addition to the regular bets, there are many wagering on whether Taylor Swift will make it to the game (after her Tokyo performance) and whether or not she’ll cry. Not sure how that is even a bet, but it is. Platforms like ยูฟ่าเบท การเดิมพันกีฬาที่เหนือชั้น are buzzing with activity as enthusiasts place their bets, adding to the thrill of the most anticipated sporting event of the year.

On Sunday, Nickelodeon will air an alternate Super Bowl broadcast featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, and other Nickelodeon characters. Instead of paying $7 million for a Super Bowl ad on network TV, a company could advertise on Nickelodeon for a bargain $200-$300k.

On Thursday night, the NFL handed out the season’s prestigious awards. Baltimore Ravens quarterback, Lamar Jackson won the NFL’s MVP award for the second time. San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey took home the Offensive Player of the Year award, while rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans) won Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Texan’s defensive end Will Anderson Jr. won Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In other football news, retired Alabama coach Nick Saban is joining ESPN”s “College GameDay” as an analyst.

BASKETBALL

The National Labor Relations Board ruled that players on Dartmouth’s men’s basketball team are school employees and can vote to form a union. The decision changes the designation of team members from being “student-athletes” to “student-employees.” The designation allows the players to collectively bargain for such things as salary, working conditions, and travel arrangements. Dartmouth plans to appeal, but the vote to unionize ((which only needs a majority to pass) could take place within the month. The football team at Northwestern University attempted to unionize in 2014 but didn’t win out in an appeal.

FOOTBALL

Steve Belichick (son of Patriots’ former head coach and future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick) was hired away from his assistant position with the Patriots to become Washington Huskies’ new defensive coordinator.

FOOTBALL

NFL Head Coaching news:

The Washington Commanders hired Dan Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, as their next head coach. Quinn was also the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach from 2015-2020.

Mike Macdonald will take over for Pete Carroll as the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. At 36 years old, Macdonald is the NFL’s youngest head coach.

Now that all of the head coaching positions have been filled, many are scratching their heads wondering why Bill Belichick, one of the winningest coaches in NFL history, was overlooked. Here’s one take.

In honor of the Super Bowl and the famous relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, American Airlines and United Airlines have given special numbers for their flights to and from Las Vegas. For example, flight AA1989 (Kelce and Swift’s birth year) and AA87 (Kelce’s jersey number).