When NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood learned in November that his network would be back doing baseball, he immediately knew who he wanted as his play-by-play voice and the format for it. Viewers will get their first look and listen on Thursday when NBC has an opening day doubleheader. The prime time game between the two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers and Diamondbacks will be Jason Benetti’s debut as the network’s lead baseball announcer. Benetti will be the voice of “Sunday Night Baseball,” which moves to NBC and Peacock after 26 seasons on ESPN. He handled play-by-play for the “MLB Sunday Leadoff” package on Peacock in 2022.

Netflix’s forays into live sports have already been successful with the NFL and WWE. The streamer is hoping for another home run when its partnership with Major League Baseball begins with Wednesday night’s opening night game between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The opener is part of a three-event package for Netflix that also includes the Home Run Derby and Field of Dreams game. Netflix’s progression into carrying baseball games is similar to how it ended up carrying the NFL — successful documentaries that showed an interest from the audience to pursue it further.

The martial arts grandmaster and action star Chuck Norris has died. His roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy, sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents. He was 86. Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.” They didn't release details about his death. Before he would become a star in movies and on TV, Norris was wildly successful in competitive martial arts. His toughman image became the stuff of legend, sparking “Chuck Norris Facts” memes. He was also outspoken about his Christian beliefs and his support for gun rights, and backed political candidates for years.

NOME, Alaska (AP) — Former reality TV star Jessie Holmes cruised to a repeat victory in the Iditarod, the roughly 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer)…

Golden State coach Steve Kerr is now an Oscar winner. Kerr was one of the executive producers for “All the Empty Rooms,” which won the Oscar for documentary short. The 35-minute film chronicles how broadcast journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp told the stories of how families have memorialized the bedrooms of children killed in mass shootings. Kerr — whose father, then the president of American University in Beirut, was shot and killed in 1984 — has long spoken out about a need for common-sense gun regulation.