Sunday, February 07, 2010
Sports

Drive fast, turn left

The Buzz: What's moving and shaking in the world of sports

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images
 Jimmie Johnson

Worried about the next six months of Sundays without football? At least the barren stretch begins with a bang. NASCAR revs back up with the Feb. 14 running of the Daytona 500, as Jimmie Johnson begins his drive for five (as in an unprecedented fifth consecutive title). Can 51-year-old Mark Martin, second to teammate Johnson last year, continue to drink from the fountain of youth in quest of his first-ever championship? Is time running out on four-time champ Jeff Gordon, he of the ailing back and just one victory since the end of the 2007 season? Will Dale Earnhardt Jr., 25th in the points last season, return to a point of relevance? And just what happens to IndyCar’s biggest star, Danica Patrick, who’s set to race in at least 12 Nationwide Series events as she makes the transition to NASCAR, after the director yells “Cut!” in her saucy and suggestive GoDaddy.com commercials? 

Run fast, dunk hard

NASCAR isn’t the only sport putting out its best on Valentine’s Day. The evening will conclude with the NBA All-Star game at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As of last week, more than 85,000 tickets had been sold, making it the largest attended basketball game ever. The Hawks will have two representatives, Joe Johnson and Al Horford, with the latter making his first appearance. With the Clippers’ Chris Kaman snubbed in the Western Conference and Horford edging out the Knicks’ David Lee in the East, the game will be played without a white American player for the sixth straight year. Which begs the question: Who is American hoops’ next great white hope? Considering the languishing careers of former lottery picks Adam Morrison and J.J. Reddick, he probably hasn’t even been born yet.