From a Wall Street Journal story by Alexandra Bruell headlined “New York Times to Close Sports Desk, Rely on the the Athletic for Daily Coverage”:

The New York Times said it is dismantling its sports desk and will rely on the Athletic for its daily sports coverage, part of an effort to further integrate the publication it bought for $550 million last year.

Current sports staff will be offered other roles within the Times newsroom, Executive Editor Joseph Kahn and Deputy Managing Editor Monica Drake said in a memo to staff.