DraftKings and FanDuel, the two largest daily fantasy sports operators, have agreed to merge, the companies announced Friday.The merger, pending regulatory approval, is expected to close in the second half of 2017. Until then, both sites will continue to operate under their respective brand names.Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but sources close to the negotiations told ESPN that it is basically a 50/50 split between the fantasy giants. Each company will have three seats on the board, with one independent director. At closing, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins will be the CEO of the new company, while FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles will become the chairman of the board.The name of the joint company has not been revealed. It will have headquarters in New York and Boston.We have always been passionate about providing the best possible experience for our customers and this merger will help advance our goal of building a transformational global sports entertainment platform, Robins said in the release announcing the agreement. Joining forces will allow us to truly realize the potential of our vision, and as a combined company we will be able to accelerate the pace of innovation and bring a richer experience to our customers than we ever could have done separately.Being able to combine DraftKings and FanDuel, added Eccles, presents a tremendous opportunity for us to further innovate and disrupt the sports industry. While both companies have accomplished much already, this transaction will create a business that can offer a greater variety of offerings, appealing to new users, including the tens of millions of season-long fantasy players that havent yet tried our products.The merger is expected to draw scrutiny, potentially from the Federal Trade Commission. FanDuel and DraftKings make up more than 80 percent of the daily fantasy marketplace, but they are looking to pool their resources to grow their customer base by tapping into the much larger season-long market, a source privy to the companies strategy told ESPN. An estimated 40 million North Americans play only season-long fantasy sports, eight times more than the number of those who play daily fantasy.The benefit of the merger to the consumer, an important test for regulators, will be increased overall competition in the marketplace, the source said. The source added that DraftKings and FanDuel will work together in a streamlined fashion to conquer regulatory hurdles, which have hampered both businesses. They believe it could further open the fantasy market to entrepreneurship.Some smaller fantasy operators also view the merger as an opportunity.Prior to the tumult of the past year, FanDuel and DraftKings were well on their way to becoming multibillion-dollar pillar business[es] in sports, said Jeremy Levine, founder and CEO of DRAFT, a competing fantasy site. There still will be massive business built in this space, but it wont be FanDuel or DraftKings individually. Due to the merger, the opportunity is now there for the few companies that were able to survive and strengthen in the past year.In the meantime, with legal fees and regulatory costs mounting, the merger between DraftKings and FanDuel was seen as a necessity by some investors. Multiple high-volume players told ESPN they stopped playing because of the increasing rake, the commission fee charged by the sites. Overall play on both sites was described as soft by players.DraftKings and FanDuel each have approximately 320 employees.FanDuel was launched in July 2009 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and rose to the top of the industry with an innovative, condensed version of traditional season-long fantasy sports. DraftKings came along three years later and quickly took aim at FanDuel, creating, at times, a hostile rivalry between the two leading operators and their CEOs.Both companies attracted large investments from media conglomerates and venture capitalists. They formed partnerships with professional sports leagues. The NBA has equity in FanDuel; Major League Baseball and the NHL are partners with DraftKings, along with 28 of the 32 NFL franchises.At their peak, the companies were each valued at more than $1 billion. But things changed in the fall of 2015.Heading into last football season, the sites unleashed massive marketing blitzes, flooding the airwaves with commercials touting million-dollar prizes. The two companies spent an estimated $750 million combined on ads, marketing and related expenses in 2015.The relentless advertising attracted a bevy of new users but also the attention of lawmakers and regulators.The scrutiny intensified after a DraftKings employee won $350,000 playing in an NFL contest on FanDuel. There were accusations the employee used inside information. An investigation by DraftKings found the employee did not use internal information that potentially could have given him an unfair advantage in submitting his winning lineup, but the damage had been done, and a firestorm of controversy ensued.In November 2015, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent cease-and-desist letters to DraftKings and FanDuel, eventually forcing the companies out of one of their most important states for several months. Alabama, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi and Texas joined New York in ruling daily fantasy violated state gambling laws.FanDuel stopped operating paid contests in Texas, but DraftKings filed suit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and continues to offer games in the state. Paxtons office said it would assess the impact of the merger on the pending litigation.Both sites are still involved in litigation against Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and also are contending with a consolidated class-action suit. They recently settled with Schneiderman over false advertising claims, agreeing to each pay $6 million. The settlement with Schneiderman, sources said, was one of the last hurdles before the merger could be completed.Nine states have passed legislation clarifying the legality of fantasy sports in the past two years. With the new laws came increased regulatory costs in the form of licensing fees and taxes. Theyve taken a toll on the companies finances and, along with legal costs, ultimately forced the merger, sources said.The New York Times reported both sites were having trouble meeting their day-to-day financial obligations, and multiple sources told ESPN that DraftKings and FanDuel were months behind on paying vendors and lobbyists. The merger, upon approval, would allow the companies to split legal fees and regulatory costs. Without it, some questioned whether they would survive.Up until recently, it seemed unlikely Eccles and Robins would be able to work together. They were known rivals and had different views on which direction to take the industry. DraftKings, for example, offers contests on golf and NASCAR, while FanDuel avoided those sports over legal concerns.They were the Jets and the Sharks, said Al Zeidenfeld, a high-level daily fantasy player and contributor to ESPN. You think the Jets and the Sharks would form one super neighborhood gang? No.Both platforms will remain separate and operational through the 2017 NFL season, while the deal is completed, the sites said.ESPN senior writers Don Van Natta and Darren Rovell contributed to this story. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Wyatt Teller Jersey . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.cheapbillsjerseyssale.com/?tag=julian-stanford-jersey-sale . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Vladimir Ducasse Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. Taron Johnson Jersey . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. CHICAGO -- The Kansas City Royals want to wait a week before deciding whether to shut down Lorenzo Cain. The outfielder may or may not agree.The Royals 6-5 comeback victory over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night was overshadowed by the unknown future of their former All-Star.Whit Merrifield hit a go-ahead two-run double in a three-run seventh inning and closer Wade Davis barely made it hold up in the ninth. The 2015 World Series champions remained four games back of Baltimore for the second AL wild card.But being without Cain could dampen those postseason hopes.Cain returned Friday from a sprained wrist, but was basically swinging one-handed. He was back sidelined Saturday, and while manager Ned Yost said before the game Cain will likely have to play through pain, Cain told Fox Sports Kansas City that it was highly likely he was finished for the season.After the game, a team spokesman said Cain had received a stem cell shot that didnt work and they wanted to wait a week to see if his wrist gets better.At his locker after the game, the spokesman repeated that news to Cain before he addressed reporters.Cain said nothing for a few seconds before declining to answer whether he thought he would return.Ive go to talk to some more people because we talked about something earlier, Cain said. Ill have to get back to you.Davis gave up a single to Tyler Saladino and a double to Adam Eaton to lead off the ninth before Melky Cabreras infield single cut the deficit to one.With the tying run on third and one out, Davis struck out Jose Abreu and Justin Morneau for his 23rd save.He got himself into a little bit of trouble, but that what he does best, Yost said. He just buckles down when he needs to and got big outs.Eric Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the first and Alex Gordon a solo shot in the fourth off White Sox starter James Shields. The struggling righty exited after six innings leading 4-3 before the Chicagos bullpen faltered.Chris Beck (2-2) was charged with three runs while giving up two hits and a wallk and getting one out.ddddddddddddavis was the last of five relievers after Edinson Volquez, who allowed four runs and nine hits over five innings.Kevin McCarthy (1-0) got the last out of the sixth for his first major league win.I still havent wrapped my head around the whole being up here yet, McCarthy said. My head is still spinning.Shields, who helped the Royals reach the 2014 World Series, allowed three runs and four hits. He avoided his 18th loss despite moving into the major league lead with 37 home runs allowed.I gave up two homers, but the other two hits were kind of just really weak hits, Shields said.Morneau doubled twice and drove in a run in a two-run fifth as the White Sox went ahead 4-3.Abreu drove in his 90th run and Saladino went 3 for 4 to leave him 9 for 12 in the past three games.Volquez allowed the leadoff batter to reach in all five innings, but the Royals overcame Chicagos 12 hits for their fourth win in 10 games.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: C Salvador Perez (wrist) returned after a two-game absence and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.White Sox: Manager Robin Ventura said its unlikely 2B Brett Lawrie, who last played July 21, returns this season. Lawrie remains in Arizona dealing with nagging knee pain after originally being sidelined with a hamstring injury. Its become a long shot at this point just because hes been out so long, Ventura said.MERRIFIELDS YEARMerrifield, a 27-year-old rookie forced into duty thanks to Kansas Citys numerous injuries, has driven in 21 runs in 60 games.It was big, Merrifield said. Happy I came through right there.MORNEAUS FUTUREMorneau, signed in June to a one-year deal, will decide after the season whether to try to play in 2016. Hes 35.Oh, hes got something left, Ventura said. He can play next year if he wants to.UP NEXTWhite Sox ace Chris Sale (15-7, 3.07 ERA) faces RHP Ian Kennedy (10-9, 3.76) in the series finale Sunday. 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