Thursday night's Allstate Sugar Bowl, which saw Notre Dame take down Georgia 23-10 at the Caesars Superdome, was played "among an increased security presence" with an announced attendance of 57,267 -- the smallest crowd for a Sugar Bowl playoff game or a BCS game held at the Superdome. The Superdome has a capacity of about 74,295 for football games (ATHENS BANNER-HERALD, 1/2). 

In New Orleans, Rod Walker wrote "for about 3 ½ hours Thursday, things felt a bit normal." The game "was a perfect distraction from what had happened just a mile away on Bourbon Street about 36 hours earlier." The Sugar Bowl was "delayed, but not denied." Walker: "The final score said Notre Dame won, but really the Sugar Bowl won for pulling this off a day after a tragedy" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 1/2). 

The heightened security around the Sugar Bowl included "closed roads around the Caesars Superdome, heavily armed police officers and bomb-sniffing dogs." The state police, the National Guard and state agencies sent officers to New Orleans, joining FBI agents as well as New Orleans police and law enforcement from other parishes who were "assisting with security in and around the Superdome" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 1/2). 

The city "called in lots of help, parking massive vehicles at almost every intersection" around the stadium. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office "lent some trucks," while the Department of Homeland Security "offered a tank and the fleet of soldiers who stood around it." Once inside, though, the game "felt a lot like any neutral-site playoff game" (WASHINGTON POST, 1/2).

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The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced there will be an increased police presence at Friday’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in the wake of the attack in New Orleans earlier this week. The department "declined to give specifics on what has changed," but CMPD spokesperson Lt. Crystal Fletcher said people will notice a "significantly increased presence" at Bank of America Stadium and "enhanced measures throughout the event" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/2).

Safety was also "a top priority" at Everbank Stadium for the Gator Bowl Thursday night, with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office "deploying officers on bikes and horseback, as well as K-9 units" (NEWS4JAX.com, 1/2).

The new-look College Football Playoff had significant financial ramifications for the conferences of the teams that made the field (or, in independent Notre Dame's case, the school).

Beyond the payout rewards for each round that go to the conference, individual teams receive $3 million to cover expenses in each round.

Payouts to conferences / Notre Dame:

• $4 million for each of the 12 teams that make the CFP.

• $4 million for the eight teams in the CFP quarterfinals.

• $6M for the four teams in the CFP semifinals.

• $6M for two teams in the CFP National Championship Game. 

Top earners for conference (through quarterfinals):

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The Nationals filed a petition Monday to "certify a ruling" from MLB's Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee that says the Orioles and MASN will owe "just under" $320.5M in television rights fees for the right to broadcast their games for the 2022 to 2026 seasons, according to documents filed with the Supreme Court of N.Y. While MASN has been the subject of lengthy litigation "for almost the entirety of its existence," a timely court ruling by N.Y. Supreme Court Judge Andrew Borrok and "no further pushback by the Orioles would ensure the two clubs have an agreement for the distribution of MASN’s rights fees in place for future seasons" for the first time since they began negotiations in 2012 (BALTIMORE SUN, 1/3).

Verizon for the first time will run a nationwide “FanFest” on Super Bowl Sunday, activating in all 30 NFL markets. The brand, which has been an NFL league sponsor since 2010, will use teams’ venues for free celebrations with F&B from local vendors, live local music and interactive games. There will also be meet-and-greets with former players like Tiki Barber, Emmanuel Sanders, Patrick Willis, Derrick Brooks, Jason Witten, Marshall Faulk, Jamaal Charles and Jason Taylor. In select markets, there will be Super Bowl LIX activities on the field. Each event will also feature tailgates and food prepared by local chefs, such as Stacey Weber in Arizona (who oversees culinary operations for the Cardinals) and Rocco Whalen, owner of Fahrenheit, one of Cleveland’s top restaurants. The Verizon Super Bowl New Orleans watch party (in the game’s host market) will take place at the Fulton Alley gaming parlor.

Momentum Worldwide will lead the experiential side of the activation for Verizon. Other agencies involved in the effort include Ogilvy, The Community, Turner Duckworth and Publicis (VM1). Verizon CMO Leslie Berland and Head of Partnerships Nick Kelly also were instrumental in bringing the concept to life.

Callaway Golf once again is stepping in to sponsor uninterrupted coverage of the PGA Tour's season-opening tournament in Hawaii. Callaway will sponsor the final hour of The Sentry from Kapalua on Sunday night across both Golf Channel and Peacock. This is the third consecutive yearCallaway has done so, and it comes as the OEM is releasing its new "Elyte" drivers this week. 

Callaway will have presenting sponsorship of the hour, starting around 7pm ET. Good Good Golf, the influencers who have more than 1.7 million YouTube subscribers and a partnership with Callaway, also will make an appearance on the coverage.

New Mexico State has fired AD Mario Moccia in the wake of a report from the New Mexico attorney general criticizing Moccia "for not doing enough after sexual assault and hazing allegations rocked the school’s men’s basketball program." Amber Burdge, the school's deputy AD for strategic initiatives and leadership, will serve as NMSU’s acting AD effective immediately. Moccia was hired in 2015, and his time as AD was "marred" by two incidents within the men’s basketball program during the 2022-23 season. In November 2022, former player Mike Peake shot and killed a UNM student in self-defense. Then, in February 2023, the basketball team canceled its season early after the sexual assault and hazing allegations brought against two former basketball players came to light. NMSU went on to settle a civil lawsuit with two former players for $8M, and at least two other players and a student manager have filed a separate civil suit, which is ongoing, alleging they too were victims of sexual assault (ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL, 1/2).

Professional Bull Riders will make its 18th visit to Madison Square Garden from Friday through Sunday, and ticket sales are up 16% from last year’s events, when nearly 39,000 people attended, organizers said. PBR has also reached a five-year renewal with Boot Barn that includes the PBR Unleash The Beast (Official & Exclusive Western Wear Retailer) and the Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour (Official & Exclusive Western Wear Retailer and Official & Exclusive Boot). PBR has also renewed partnership deals with Air Force Reserve, Can-Am, Cooper Tires, and Wrangler (PBR). In honor of the Austin Gamblers winning the 2024 PBR Teams Championship, the team will be ringing the NYSE Opening Bell on Friday. On the podium at the NYSE will be team owners Egon and Abby Durban, coach Michael Gaffney and riders Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco, Dalton Kasel and Lucas Divino  (SBJ). 

ESPN's newest late night show, "They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce," is set to debut Friday night on ESPN and ESPN+ at 1am ET from Union Transfer in Philadelphia. The show will be in front of a live audience, and the format will see Kelce and his guests discuss NFL topics and storylines. In addition to ESPN and ESPN+, clips from the show will be posted on ESPN YouTube in real-time, while the full episode will be available on the Jason Kelce channel on YouTube presented by ESPN on Saturday mornings at 8am. Replays will air on ESPN2 (ESPN).

The T’Wolves & Lynx are looking for a Partnership Sales Senior Dir. The Minneapolis-based position is responsible for leading efforts to identify, cultivate, and secure corporate partnerships along with collaborating with other departments to design partnership packages that align with the business objectives (T’Wolves & Lynx).

The T’Wolves & Lynx are looking for a Partnership Marketing Manager. The Minneapolis-based position is responsible for managing day-to-day operations of Lynx partner accounts, partner with sponsorship contacts to develop and implement sponsorship platforms and including actively contributing to revenue goals by driving the renewal of current sponsorships, identifying upsell opportunities, and supporting the development of new revenue streams (T’Wolves & Lynx).

U.S. Soccer Federation is looking for a Senior Dir of Media Partnerships. The Fayetteville-based position is responsible for overseeing the strategic relationships with all domestic and global media partners, foster senior partner relationships to understand business goals and objectives, and leading collaboration with media partners and internal stakeholders to ensure the best-in-class delivery and presentation for the brand across all matches and federation initiatives (U.S. Soccer Federation).

The Bengals are looking for a Corporate Partnership Account Manager. The Cincinnati-based position is responsible for establishing a strong relationship with partners and having a understanding of marketing and business goals, and further current and new business sales efforts by actively collaborating with corporate partnership sales team to identify revenue opportunities utilizing existing and newly-created partnership inventory (Bengals).

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TGL on Friday is announcing more broadcast partners in China (Shinai Sports), Latin America (Claro), South Africa (Super Sport) and Southeast Asia (BeIN Sport) that will give the product distribution in 113 countries and territories. TGL debuts on Tuesday on ESPN at 9pm ET (TGL).

"I think 2030 and '31 are in consideration with the NFL right now, and we certainly expressed our interest to have them back as soon as they want to come" -- Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill, on when Las Vegas could host another Super Bowl (LAS VEGAS SUN, 1/2).

The New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE goes with the header, "Marcus Freeman leads Notre Dame to Sugar Bowl win, continues historic playoff run for Black coaches." No Black head coach has ever won a college football championship in Division I football, and no Black coach had ever even coached a game in the College Football Playoffs until two weeks ago. Now, with just four teams remaining, a Black coach is "guaranteed to reach the championship game" in Atlanta on Jan. 20. Will it be Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman or Penn State’s James Franklin? 

Also: 

• Gene Frenette: Miami, FSU are latest examples of how college sports are broken.

• How Ravens WR Rashod Bateman helped a sneaker artist battling cancer.

• Jim Alexander: Intuit Dome is unique, yet follows an L.A. tradition.

"Four of these discovered in the early 1600s were given the names of lovers of a mythological deity."

"What are the moons of Jupiter?"