Juan Pablo Montoya slammed into a jet dryer under caution and caused a fiery explosion. Montoya was driving well behind the rest of the field when something on his car broke, and he started sliding out of control toward the truck, which holds 200 gallons of jet kerosene, according to the huffington post.

The crash left Montoya unhurt, although he seemed to stagger around the infield grass. The driver of the truck had to be helped from the vehicle.

The incident plus rain suspended the Daytona 500. It was postponed more than 30 hours, rescheduled as a primetime event under the lights. Montoya’s crash led to an extended stoppage with 40 laps to go as the track was repaired. Driver Brad Keselowski killed time by chatting with fans about the stoppage on Twitter, presumably another Daytona first. After the restart, there were additional wrecks, including one that knocked Keselowski out.

The delay came so long after the 500 was halted for hours because of a pesky pothole in turn two. That one damaged the track so much that officials moved up a scheduled repaving to the track. It’s the latest mess to hamper NASCAR’s season-opening race.

The sorrow atmosphere was turned brighter in the following day as the race, one of the legendary events in the sport, was finally won by Matt Kenseth early Tuesday morning.

Team Chuck beat Team Shaq 146-133 in the Rising Stars College on Friday. Kyrie Irving contributed much for the victory. He made eight 3-pointers and finished with 34 points. In the other side Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson scored 20 points to lead Team Shaq. New York Knicks new icon Jeremy Lin presented two points.

The Cavalier’s Irving opened the game with an alley-hoop to George, and Minnesota rookie Ricky Rubio turned routine passes to his Shaq teammates into behind-the-back and between-the-leg looks. It was part of an acrobatic early tone that was fast-paced and allowed the next generation of stars to showcase their skills.

Different with when the Taiwanese Lin has presented much effort in under pressure hours and finally helped the Knicks beat Dallas, he played just nine minutes before heading to the bench midway in the second half and took just four shoots. Lin’s biggest highlight came early in the second half when he took a pass from Rubio and drove it underneath for a reverse lay-up.

Last year the game featured rookies facing off against sophomores. So, this is the first year in which rookies and sophomores have been together on teams. Former stars such as Shaquille O’Neal were also involved in the league and there was Charles Barkley serving as general managers and drafting the teams.

Braun breathed a public sigh of relief because he won’t be ditched for 50 games for testing positive for elevated testosterone, and apparently Ryan Braun’s reputation has been restored.

“We won because the truth is on my side,” Braun said as teammates listened from the stands at the Brewers facility in Phoenix. He stood alone at a microphone at Milwaukee Brewers spring training camp in Arizona and told MLB (Major League Baseball) what it could do while in drug testing program process.  Ryan

The very best legal advice possible supported Braun to win. The Associated Press had this as a report:

‘Braun detailed how the urine sample he provided on Oct. 1, the day the Brewers opened the playoffs, was not delivered to Federal Express until Oct. 3. Baseball’s drug agreement calls for samples to be delivered to FedEx on the same day they are collected.

And so, on Thursday night, the arbitrator with a Jedi’s name —  Shyam Das — ruled in Braun’s favor. It’s the first time an appeal of this nature at the major-league level has been sustained. And it’s pretty simple as to why. No mind tricks were necessary. Perhaps Braun’s legal team could have fought the suspension in other ways, but they didn’t need to. Braun had MLB dead to rights on the rules.

No matter what the sample collector did with Braun’s urine — even if he kept it safe in a special urine-only refrigerator with deadbolt locks and a pee guard dog — it doesn’t matter. The rules say he had to express the sample to the testing facility on the same day, and he didn’t.’

Braun has been privately telling Gaby Sanchez, the Marlins first baseman about the something wrong in drug testing. He told his friend and former University of Miami teammate that he was ‘wrongly accused’ over a positive drug test and said it to the public Friday.

“I am the victim of a process that completely broke down and failed,” Braun said one day after his 50-game suspension was overturned on appeal, calling it as the fatally flawed process.

Braun also showed his disappointment toward the fact in the judicial process– which put him as a part of a process where you’re 100 percent guilty until proven innocent and it’s the opposite of the American judicial system– and to the media which have leaked the inaccurate info.

“Despite the fact there have been many inaccurate, erroneous and completely fabricated stories regarding this issue, I’ve maintained the confidentiality of this process,” Braun said. “There’s never been a ‘personal medical issue,’ I’ve never had an STD many of the original stories reported by the original network have continued to live on and it’s sad that people continue to leak information that’s inaccurate.”

Jeremy Lin the Knicks’ primary point guard presented impressing 3-pointer shot Sunday afternoon and led the Knicks to the victory. The first American-born Taiwanese player scored 28 points and a career-high assist in the Knicks’ 104-97 victory over Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden. The mates Steve Novak made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter— three on assists from Lin and he had all of his 14 in the final period as New York won for the eighth time in nine games.

After the Mavericks closed the gap to 95-93, Lin hit another 3, this time over Marion, with 2:57 remaining. He closed the afternoon by stealing the ball from Nowitzki and sending a deep pass to Chandler for a game-sealing breakaway dunk.

“The game that he had, that’s ridiculous,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said. “It just seems like the harder the moment, the better he shoots the ball and makes big plays. He’s definitely fearless.”

“I think in the moment, I don’t really think too much about it,” Lin said with a smile. “But looking back, it’s like, I was watching them win the championship last year. And that’s obviously where this team wants to go.”

Tyson Chandler, who helped Dallas win the title last June, had 14 points and 10 rebounds. “I think this was the best team effort we’ve had all year,” Chandler said, adding: “We really have a balance now. You can see it will be that much better when we get Melo back.”

The Knicks have won eight of their last nine games, all since Lin became their primary point guard, and most of them without Carmelo Anthony, who injured his groin two weeks ago. They expected him to return Monday night against the Nets.

According to Daily Beast, Lin’s high school coach, Peter Diepenbrock, was also in attendance, and several of Lin’s friends wore T-shirts commemorating his rise from Palo Alto High School to Harvard to N.B.A. fame, smiling to the NBA star proudly. Fans chant and hold signs in support of New York Knicks’ Jeremy Lin during the second half of an NBA basketball game. Lin appreciates and respects the euphoria since his emergence as an NBA star, but he requested to the media for his family’s privacy in Taiwan.

“I just want people to respect the privacy of my relatives in Taiwan and I think hopefully this will get back to everybody because they need to live their lives as well.” Lin said.

The hall of fame catcher Garry Carter has passed away leaving memories of the exuberance he displayed on the field at 57-year-old. The Kid died Thursday at a hospice in the West Palm Beach, Fla., area after battling brain cancer.

Carter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last May, two weeks after finishing his second season as coach at Palm Beach Atlantic University. After Carter’s diagnosis, the Mets began playing a highlight reel of his accomplishments on the video board during games at City Field and posted this message: “Our thoughts are with you Gary. From your millions of fans and the New York Mets.”

Garry Carter’s family in home and field feel the death as huge loss. Kimmy Bloemers, Carter’s daughter, wrote on the family website to pour out the sadness.

“I am deeply saddened to tell you all that my precious dad went to be with Jesus today at 4:10 p.m.,” Bloemers said. “This is the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in my entire life but I wanted you all to know.”

“I believe with all my heart that dad had a standing ovation as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus,” Bloemers added. “Thank you all for loving my dad and my entire family.”

Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver had this to say about Carter, “Nobody loved the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. Nobody enjoyed playing the game of baseball more than Gary Carter. He wore his heart on his sleeve every inning he played,”

Carter’s bubbly personality and eagerness to excel on a ball field made him a joy to watch at the plate and behind it. Even his Hall of Fame bronze plaque at Cooperstown shows him with a toothy grin and bears his boyish nickname — the “Kid” forever. The Mets told his nickname ‘The Kid’ captured how Gary approached life.

“He did everything with enthusiasm and with gusto on and off the field. His smile was infectious. He was a Hall of Famer in everything he did.”

“Gary was one of the happiest guys in the world every day,” Mets teammate Mookie Wilson once said.

Carter whose single for the Mets in the 1986 World Series touched off one of the most improbable rallies in baseball was immediately recognizable with curly, blond locks flaring out from beneath his helmet, and a rigid, upright batting stance. The Kid was an 11-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner. His bottom-of-the-10th single in Game 6 of the 1986 Series helped the Mets mount a charge against the Boston Red Sox and eventually beat them. Carter played nearly two decades with the Mets, Montreal, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the two decades career Carter played 2,296 games in his career and finished with 324 home runs and 1,225 runs batted in.

Carter has presented the durability and hard work and developed a reputation as a smiling assassin who delivered clutch hits and rock-solid defense.

“The Kid’s contribution to our National Pastime is big, but his heart was even bigger,” Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson said in a statement. “We’ll always remember his caring way, ever-present smile and strong devotion to family, community and the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

Rest in Peace the older brother of Amar’e Stoudemire. Hazzel Stoudemire,35,  died in a car accident early Monday morning in Florida. According to ESPNNewYork.com, The Florida Highway Patrol issued a report that said Hazell Stoudemire was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade north on U.S. 27 in Lake Wales, Fla., at a high rate of speed and collided with the rear of a tractor trailer at 1:42 a.m. ET. Hazell reportedly was not wearing a seatbelt and was declared dead at the scene. The highway patrol is continuing its investigation and police are awaiting test results to see if alcohol was involved in the accident.

After the incident the New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire also has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the Knicks. He was traveling to Florida to be with his family and would not be with the team for Monday night’s game against the Jazz in New York. There’s no certainty about the return date of Amar’e who is a former Mr. Basketball in Florida and went straight to the NBA out of high school.

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni knows he can take “whatever time he needs to take” and shows his sympathy. “I know he’s very close to his brother so my heart’s out for him.” He said. “He cherishes his family, he does a great job of maintaining all the relationships. Like I said, this is just a trying moment for him.”

“My thoughts and prayers and everything’s with him,” said D’Antoni, who also coached Stoudemire in Phoenix for the first six years of his career. “Whatever time he needs to take, he’ll take and we’ll get him back as soon as possible.”

Jim Calhoun has been suffering for several months from spinal stenosis, a spinal condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility. And it’s not enough. Now the disease also forces the fame basketball coach to take leave from UConn bench.

In Friday, Calhoun let people know about his health and how it disturb his activity. “The bottom line is I’m going to need some work done. In January the shooting pains were getting worse, and after one plane ride I couldn’t even get up. I tried to hide it. I’m taking medicine right now for the pain. They are waiting for things to quiet down, and I’ll meet with the doctor next week.”

“I had back pain like never before last summer, thought it was back spasms,” he said. “I saw a neurologist and he told me about scoliosis, stenosis and other things and that there could be things like a bone spur and that I could probably need something done at some point. I went for the physical therapy and it worked, but it started to lock up sometimes recently and it was worse.”

Calhoun also told the university president Susan Herbst about his condition but he had hoped to gut out the final weeks of the season.

“But it’s just so bad, even getting through practice,” Calhoun said. “Now I’m going to see what the next step is. The bottom line is I’m hurting.”

About 1 million people with chronic back pain suffer from lumbar spinal stenosis, in which the lower spinal canal narrows, putting pressure on the nerves. Those nerves cause back or leg pain that grows more acute when a person moves or stands. Doctors start by treating a person with steroid injections to reduce inflammation. Over time, these may grow ineffective, and often the next step is surgery.

Now, a Community Health Network physician offers a treatment called “mild,” which stands for “minimally invasive lumbar decompression.” Dr. John Swofford, a pain management specialist and surgeon, discusses the procedure. The mild treatment is done through a tube, smaller than a straw and about 7 or 8 inches long. The doctor make a small nick in the skin so they can insert this tube. They advance it using X-ray guidance and place it on the back of the spine. They use that tube as an access port to place some small instruments down, and then you remove portions of the thickened ligament on the posterior of the spine.

It’s not only about Tom Brady the New England Patriots and Eli Manning the Giants in Super Bowl in this weekend. Two wonderful wives, Gisele Bundchen and Abby Manning also included in Super Bowl euphoria. The enthusiasm especially came from Bundchen.  The Versace and Dior model sent an email to friends and family asking them to support and pray for Tom Brady before the Super Bowl has sparked widespread ridicule in New York.

Gisele Bundchen writes: “Dear sweet friends and family. This Sunday will be a really important day in my husband’s life. I feel Tommy really needs our prayer, our support and love at this time.”

“He and his team worked so hard to get to this point and now they need us more than ever to send them positive energy so they can fulfill their dream. So I kindly ask all of you to join me on this positive chain and pray for him, so he feels confident, healthy and strong before this Super Bowl. Envision him happy and fulfilled experiencing with his team a victory this Sunday.”

In the other side, there’re other prayers that think the Giants’ pass rush will inflict too much pressure on Tom Brady Brady, while Eli Manning has been playing out of his mind.  The Giants also have Victor Cruz. The wife Abby Manning also tried to send positive energy to the famous quarterback and may have more in common than you would think.

Eli Manning, 31, met Abby McGrew, 27, at the University of Mississippi. He then married the college sweetheart in 2008 at the One & Only Palmilla in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with a small number of guests. Tom Brady, 34, and Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, 31, were set up by a mutual friend. According to People, the couple was married in 2009 in a small Catholic church in Santa Monica, California, near the beach. Family and friends gathered afterward in their Brentwood, California home. But it’s not the only one ceremony, they later had another small ceremony at Bundchen’s home in Costa Rica.

In 2003, Josh Hamilton, 30, was ditched from baseball because of drug and alcohol use. The fact that too much drug and alcohol almost ended his baseball career just couldn’t stop his addiction. Recently, the Ranger outfielder had a relapse with alcohol at a Texas bar on Monday. Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News told more about the moment by wrote:

‘According to individuals familiar with the episode, Hamilton drank alcohol on Monday night in an area bar. The circumstances that led to Hamilton’s use of alcohol could not be determined. In a statement, the Rangers said they were “aware of a situation, but we don’t have further comment at this time.” This was Hamilton’s second alcohol-related relapse in just over three years. In January, 2009, he drank to excess in a bar in Tempe, Ariz.’

Hamilton apparently didn’t really care of the consequences of he was seen drinking in an area bar. People believe the most public figure addict in sports would think twice by does not go to a bar in the town where he is best known without full knowledge that his exploits will become public in a matter of hours. Alcohol is just like his passion. Even tough he’s got the coolest job in the world w2and a newborn daughter and so very much, the 2010 AL MVP and four-time All-Star can’t beat the addiction. He’s getting more impulsive for alcohol and drugs. It’s not easy to battle the relapse. However, whether Hamilton needs rehabilitation or someone to baby-sit him, though that Hamilton understands that decision comes with consequences.

Chip Kelly canceled a recruiting trip to Sacramento related with a deal that would make him Chief Coach of the NFL franchise late Sunday night. So, now Kelly who has led the Oregon Ducks to Pac- 10/12 titles the last three years will be staying at Eugene.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to be optimistic that Kelly’s sudden change heart indicated the good deal at the end. Mark Dominik, the Buccaneers General Manager said,” His heart is with college football and Oregon and he’s no longer being considered.”

Kelly was being offered to take over the fired Raheem Morris duty as Tampa Bay’s coach and Kelly agreed attempting to finalize a deal.

But after the story broke nationally on Sunday night, Kelly seemingly changed his mind. So now the man who has  coached in the three BCS games in many years will back to his focus on Ducks and the looming February 1 national signing day. However, it shouldn’t disappointing the Buccaneers because they already have interviewed at least 8 candidates, including Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman, Former Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress, veteran NFL coach Marty Schotten Heimer and former Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, who has since taken the Miami Dolphin coaching Job.

Wade Philips, the former Dallas cowboys coach also included in the candidates list. But he cancelled an interview with Tampa Bay to concentrate on the Texan’s play off game with the Baltimore Ravens last week.