Auto racing
DAYTONA SHOOTOUT DIDN'T MEET EXPECTATIONS: There was a tangible sense of electricity surrounding the first event of Speedweeks, a race everyone expected to be so rough-and-tumble that NASCAR's relaxed rules toward aggressive driving would most certainly be tested.
Instead, Saturday night's exhibition Budweiser Shootout felt more like a cease fire.
The bumping and banging that's become the trademark of Daytona and Talladega wasn't too intense until the closing laps. The slicing and dicing of drivers weaving through the field seemed minimal.
And the opportunity to dazzle fans with a spectacular Daytona 500 preview was lost.
"It wasn't nearly as crazy as I thought it would be," said fifth-place finisher Denny Hamlin. "You would've liked to have seen a little bit more excitement."
That's because NASCAR all but promised as much by lifting the restrictions on bump-drafting and giving drivers the "Boys, have at it" to mix it up more on the race track. Series officials had progressively squeezed out bump-drafting -- the practice of one car shoving the car in front of it to push each other through the field at Daytona and Talladega -- but decided to let the drivers police themselves after complaints of sterilized racing at NASCAR's fastest two tracks.
So it seemed logical that the no-points Shootout would be the perfect opportunity to see just what NASCAR would allow.
After all, the drivers seemed fairly feisty in the first practice of Speedweeks, when contact between Hamlin and Mark Martin triggered a seven-car accident that ruined several race cars. The second practice wasn't clean, either, as bumping between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch led to the first of Busch's two weekend wrecks.
But come actual race time, it all felt fairly calm.
JR MOTORSPORTS MULLING PATRICK DECISION: Danica Patrick is expected to announce today if she will enter the Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.
JR Motorsports has said it will be up to Patrick to decide if she wants to make her NASCAR debut in the Feb. 13 second-tier series race at Daytona, and she wanted to wait until after her stock car debut to make a final decision.
After she rallied from a midrace spin in Saturday's ARCA race at Daytona to finish sixth, the buzz has been growing that Patrick will indeed enter the Nationwide race. Tony Eury Jr., her crew chief and part of the ownership group at JR Motorsports, said he would speak to Patrick on Sunday to make a decision.
"The cars are ready if that's what she wants to do," he said. "If not, then we'll come down with somebody else. But it would a real pleasure for her to do it."
Pro golf
STRICKER NO. 2 IN WORLD RANKINGS: Steve Stricker has won the Northern Trust Open for his fourth victory since May to move to No. 2 in the world ranking.
Starting the final round Sunday with a six-shot lead at Riviera, Stricker never had it easy. He led by only two shots after five holes, and still didn't feel as though he had the tournament wrapped up until he tapped in for a 1-under 70. He finished two ahead of Luke Donald.
Donald had all the momentum on the front nine until missing consecutive putts inside 10 feet. He never got any closer the rest of the day and closed with a 66. Dustin Johnson had a 66 and J.B. Holmes shot 67 to tie for third.
In other pro golf news, Miguel Angel Jimenez defeated Lee Westwood on the third hole of a sudden death playoff Sunday to win the Dubai Desert Classic.
Westwood missed a 5-foot par putt on the third playoff hole to leave Jimenez with a 4-footer for the win, which he calmly sank for the 16th victory of his career.
Women's tennis
VU FALLS TO BRADLEY: Valparaiso opened up the home portion of its 2010 spring season on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 5-2 decision to Bradley at Matchpoint Tennis Club in Griffith.
Valpo (0-2) hung tough in doubles, posting a victory at No. 3 as Katie Bilyeu and Stephanie York teamed for an 8-5 victory against Kennedy Scott and Brigitte Graf.
College bowling
CRUSADERS GO 4-0: Eleventh-ranked Valparaiso (54-36) went a perfect 4-0 in action Sunday on the final day of competition at the Shrewsbury Invitational in St. Louis, leapfrogging into a tie for third place in the final standings. Freshman Nicole Hamilton was named to the All-Tournament Team after posting a 192.7 average, good for fourth among all tournament bowlers.
The Crusaders' 4-0 record on Sunday gave them an 8-6 record over the three days of tournament action, tying them with No. 5 Central Missouri for third place out of the eight competing teams, seven of which are ranked in the nation's top 15. No. 8 Nebraska took the team title with an 11-3 mark.
"I was very pleased with how we competed today," Crusaders coach Stephen Anthony said in a news release. "As a team, we were focused and got key contributions from everyone."
