February 29th update

Matt Kenseth wins fiery Daytona 500

• As reported on Monday, the Daytona 500, typically held on a Sunday, was postponed for a day. When it finally took place on Monday night (after further rain delays) the fireworks started.
• Something broke on Juan Pablo Montoya's car sending him careening into the Safety Car (the irony here is not lost on anybody). The Safety Car held 200 gallons of kerosene, which went spilling out of the car. Montoya and the driver of the Safety car were able to get away unharmed but the kerosene went up in flames and delayed the race. When the fire was out, the track had to be cleaned and repaired in order for the final 40 laps of the race to be run.
• Driver Brad Keselowski live tweeted the event, effectively tripling his Twitter followers during the fire delay. Danica Patrick (and a few others) ended her race in the 162nd lap when she got caught up in an accident brought on by the aggression by drivers trying to take advantage of the restart of the race after the fire.


All-Star game injury

• In the third quarter of the NBA All-Star game on Sunday Dewayne Wade fouled Kobe Bryant on a drive to the basket, hitting him in his face. Bryant had a bloodied nose, but nobody thought anything else of it at the time.
• However, it turns out Bryant had broken his nose and suffered a concussion from the foul. Bryant will be re-evaluated by doctors to see if he can play in the Lakers next game on Wednesday, but it's unusual for this to even be an issue in the first place because generally players do not try very hard in All-Star games, especially when it comes to hard fouls. Bryant’s Lakers teammates came out in defense of their superstar. Andrew Bynum said “ It was an All-Star game, I don’t understand what that was all about. It was crazy.”
• For what it's worth, Wade has apologized, saying that what's done is done and all he can do now is say he's sorry.

February 27th update

Daytona 500 rained out for first time

• The Super Bowl of Nascar, the Daytona 500, was supposed to take place Sunday, marking the beginning of the Nascar season, but the rain came down too hard, making it impossible for Nascar officials to clear the track up in time to start the race. The race will commence at Noon on this afternoon instead, making it much tougher for fans to catch the race.
• It was the first time in more than 50 years that the race had been postponed, and Jimmie Johnson summed it up with a good quote saying, I guess the deal [Nascar owner] had with the man upstairs was put on hold this year.
• It will still be a great race with lots of fanfare but there will be significantly fewer in the stands and it's expected that teams will have a rough time getting all the way across the country to Phoenix by Thursday for the next race since they would generally have left Sunday night but instead will have to leave late Monday afternoon. Carl Edwards, who barely lost the 2011 championship to Tony Stewart, has the pole (or leading) position when the race starts.


West Wins Climactic All-Star Game

• The Western Conference won the 2012 NBA All-Star game 152-149, the highest ever combined score in an All-Star game. Both Kevin Durant (for the West) and LeBron James (for the East) scored 36 points leading their respective teams. Durant won the MVP, most likely just because his side won. This game, that usually focuses on offense, saw much better defense being played towards the very end, especially by the East.
• The West had a major lead most of the game, and had a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter, but Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and James led a furious comeback and the East had the ball with 16 seconds left and a chance to tie or take the lead. Deron Williams missed a 3-point shot that would have given the East a lead and then Wade missed a last second 3 that would have tied the game at the buzzer.
• Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to move past Michael Jordan for first place on the All Star Scoring list. His 14 All-Star Game appearances is equal to Jordan as well, but still short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record 19 games.
• On Saturday, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love won the 3-point contest, and Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans won the Slam Dunk Competition.


As we approach March Madness in College Hoops, Sportico will be recapping the NCAA season.

Big Weekend in the Big 12

• Having two of the top 4 teams in the country (at least as of this weekend) the Big 12 arguably has the best chance to win a National Championship.
• We have previously written about Baylor, but the Bears have slipped recently allowing for Missouri and Kansas to jump to the top of the Conference. This past weekend these two teams played for the second time this season. Kansas avenged an earlier season loss defeating Missouri 87-86 in overtime. All three of these teams have good chances to make it through the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, and send at least one representative to the Final Four in New Orleans.
• While Kansas has been a national power for years on the College Basketball scene, Missouri is a relative newcomer, entering the top ranks for the first time in a long while. This success is built on an explosive offense and a very experienced roster. Of the 5 players who play the most, 4 are Seniors and the other is a Junior.