Sports fans in the Bay Area may have to increase their TV subscriptions to watch their teams, as soon as the Sharks’ game this afternoon against the Red Wings in Detroit.

Beginning today, Comcast’s Popular TV tier will not include NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California, as those channels will be available only to subscribers on or above the Ultimate TV tier.

A Comcast spokesperson said Monday that the difference in price between the tiers is about $20 in the Bay Area and that, according to the company’s data, most subscribers who watch the regional sports networks are already on the Ultimate TV level. That tier of programming includes the league-run channels of the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL.

The company is running promotions in an effort to move sports fans from the Popular tier to Ultimate. Those who want to change their subscriptions can do so through their accounts on Xfinity.com or at Xfinity.com/upgradeTV.

Meanwhile, those in the Popular TV tier will no longer be subject to regional sports network fees. As more customers have canceled TV subscriptions with the rise of streaming, much has been made about the financial model in which those subscribers who don’t watch sports incur the cost of those fees along with sports fans.

NBC Sports Bay Area airs Warriors, Giants and some Bay FC games, while the Sharks and A’s are on NBC Sports California. A’s games are expected to remain on the channel in the Bay Area this season as they move to Sacramento, while Kings games air on the channel locally in the Sacramento market.

— Michael Nowels

MLB

Sasaki won’t sign with Giants >> The San Francisco Giants have officially added a future Hall of Famer to their starting rotation in Justin Verlander, but they will not be adding an up-and-coming pitcher with a Hall of Fame ceiling.

General manager Zack Minasian told reporters that the Giants met with Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, but Sasaki’s camp informed the team he will not be signing with San Francisco.

“We met with Roki in person and as of now we were recently told that we would not be his destination,” Minasian said.

Sasaki, who had a 2.02 ERA with 524 strikeouts across four seasons in Japan, can sign as early as Wednesday when the 2025 international signing period opens, but the right-hander is expected to take several days before making his decision.

While Sasaki, 23, will not be signing with the Giants, it’s still very possible that Sasaki joins the NL West.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays are finalists for Sasaki’s services.

The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers were also informed Sasaki won’t be signing with them.

Sasaki’s fastball tops 100 mph. He was 10-5 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games last year, striking out 129 hitters in 111 innings in a season limited by shoulder inflammation. He has a 29-15 career record with a 2.10 ERA over four injury-shortened seasons with the Marines.

— Justice delos Santos

Solano signs one-year deal with Mariners >> Former Giants infielder Donovan Solano and the Seattle Mariners finalized a $3.5 million, one-year contract.

The 37-year-old Solano hit .286 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 96 games with San Diego last year.

He is a .279 career hitter with 40 homers and 279 RBIs in 11 major league seasons with Miami (2012-15), the Yankees (2016), San Francisco (2019-21), Cincinnati (2022), Minnesota (2023) and San Diego.

WNBA

Texas man charged with stalking Clark >> Authorities in Indianapolis have charged a 55-year-old Texas man with felony stalking of Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark.

Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark beginning on Dec. 16, the Marion County prosecutor’s office wrote in a Saturday court filing. Jail records show Lewis is due in court on Tuesday.

Lewis posted numerous messages on Clark’s X account, according to an affidavit from a Marion County sheriff’s lieutenant.

In one, he said he had been driving by the Gainbridge Fieldhouse — one of the arenas where the Fever plays home games — three times day, and in another he said he had “one foot on a banana peel and the other on a stalking charge.” Other messages directed at Clark were sexually explicit.

The Associated Press named Clark the Female Athlete of the Year for 2024. After leading Iowa to last year’s national championship game, she was the top pick in the WNBA draft and went on to win rookie of the year honors in the league.

Men’s basketball

Auburn the new No. 1 in AP poll >> Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The AP men’s poll for its second stint at the top in program history, while fellow Southeastern Conference program Georgia is in the rankings for the first time in 14 years.

Bruce Pearl’s Tigers (15-1) claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign at the top. Auburn has been No. 1 only once before in the AP Top 25, during a three-week stint in early 2022, and is the third team to sit atop the poll this season.

Iowa State rose one spot to No. 2, reaching its highest ranking in program history, followed by Duke, Alabama and Florida.

Women’s basketball

No changes at top of AP’s rankings >> UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and USC kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25 women’s poll. The Bruins received 29 of the 31 first-place votes.

Cal (16-2, 4-1 ACC) moved from No. 24 to No. 18 after its 82-70 win over Florida State on Sunday.

Boxing

Fury announces his retirement >> Heavyweight Tyson Fury retired from boxing — again — one month after losing a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. Fury, 36, announced the decision in a video posted on his Instagram account.