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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins signed dependable forward Tommy Novak to a three-year contract extension on Friday.
The deal, which begins during the 2027-28 season, carries an average annual value of $4.65 million.
The 29-year-old Novak collected 16 goals and 26 points in 82 games last season while helping the Penguins return to the playoffs following a three-year absence.
Novak, who bounced between the second and third line during his first full season in Pittsburgh, had been scheduled to become a free agent next summer.
The extension instead keeps him in the fold for the rest of the decade and positions him to be part of the club's nucleus as it transitions out of the twilight of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang era.
Infantino out on equity plan
GENEVA -- FIFA President Gianni Infantino is abandoning his divisive plan to sell World Cup profits to private equity after receiving pushback from all corners of the soccer world.
Infantino's decision came after his senior adviser who sat on a White House panel resigned and Asia's soccer body joined Europe and North America in opposing it.
"Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place," Infantino said in a statement on Friday. "Our purpose has always been -- and will always be -- to unite and improve. As a result, this proposal will not proceed."
Infantino had proposed creating a $20 billion company to run the World Cup with private investors including the Kushner family, but drew backlash that grew every day since Tuesday's announcement.
UEFA's 55-member nations agreed to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions over Infantino's plan on Thursday. North America's CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation also said they opposed the plan.
"Some things are simply too important to sell," UEFA said in a statement.
NY state sues gambling site
New York officials sued prediction market platform Kalshi for potentially billions of dollars on Friday, calling it an "illegal, unlicensed gambling operation" that includes sports wagering as the state seeks to halt its operations and force the company to forfeit its profits.
New York joins a growing number of states filing lawsuits against Kalshi and other companies in a dispute with President Donald Trump's administration over who regulates the fast-growing prediction market. Kalshi and other platforms argue they are federally licensed and regulated, and states have no authority to govern them.
Prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket allow trading on the likelihood of a wide range of events such as sports, politics, news and even the weather.
New York claims Kalshi has failed to obtain a license from the state Gaming Commission and skirted its obligation to pay taxes like licensed casinos and mobile sports gambling platforms do.
Elsewhere in sports:
– A Nashville chancellor granted a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other basketball players Friday giving them a fifth season of eligibility and the NCAA cannot keep any of them out of the transfer portal. I'Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court heard motion arguments July 22. She ordered the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10.