Axios

The 2020 Superbike World Championship season gets underway this weekend on Phillip Island, Australia.

How it works: The Superbike World Championship features modified versions of motorcycles available to the public, which differentiates it from MotoGP's purpose-built machines.

In late September, California passed a bill that allows college athletes in the state to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness (NIL) starting in 2023.

The state of play: Lawmakers across the country have introduced similar bills in the five months since then.

The Premier Lacrosse League has signed a title sponsorship deal with Ticketmaster, meaning the league will be known as the Premier Lacrosse League, powered by Ticketmaster as it embarks on its second season.

Why it matters: While the PLL's inaugural campaign was a success by almost any metric, ticketing proved to be a challenge given the league's tour-based model, which saw all six teams (now seven) play in a different city each weekend.

As Major League Soccer begins its 25th season, the league is financially stable and surging in popularity, and its 26 teams have gorgeous facilities and rapidly increasing valuations.

• It also continues to expand, with David Beckham's Inter Miami and Nashville SC set to debut this season as the 25th and 26th teams. Plans are in place to reach 30 franchises by 2022 — triple the number from 2004.

This weekend's Honda Classic kicks off the PGA Tour's "Florida Swing," a run of four tournaments throughout the Sunshine State that take up most of March.

Why it matters: Two years ago, the PGA Championship switched from its traditional August time slot to mid-May, meaning all four majors now take place in a 15-week span between early April (The Masters) and July (The Open Championship).

"Circus acts may lack the competition of sports, but [Cirque du Soleil's] shows are no less physically demanding. At times, they can require even more specialized athleticism," writes SportTechie's Joe Lemire.

By the numbers: During a catch-and-throw exercise for Messi10, a new show based on the life of soccer icon Lionel Messi, one performer experienced 15 times the force of gravity (15 G).

As February winds down, only one team in all of men's college basketball remains unbeaten: Division III Swarthmore (25-0), a tiny liberal arts college outside Philadelphia that's known more for its rigorous academics than its sports teams.

By the numbers: Swarthmore accepts just 9% of applicants and had a total enrollment of 1,647 students last year. For reference, Kansas, the No. 1-ranked team in Division I, enrolls ~30,000.

With the Summer Olympics scheduled to open in Tokyo in less than five months, organizers are grappling with the coronavirus outbreak — and facing questions about whether the games could be moved, postponed, or even canceled.

The backdrop: Japan has closed schools nationwide until late March, and the country's professional baseball league is currently playing preseason games in empty stadiums.