What a game, what a weekend! Congrats to Drew Brees and the Saints for their victory over Payton and Co. in Super Bowl #??. Danica made her stock car debut and finished 6th in the ARCA race at Daytona on Saturday and Kevin Harvick edged out his second straight victory in the Budweiser Shootout. Mark Martin and Dale Jr. will be on the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 and the rest of the field will be sorted on during the Gatorade Duels on Thursday. Here are the rest of the headlines…
San Diego Supercross – Check out TransWorld Motocross’ coverage of San Diego Supercross, where Davi Millsaps pulled off his first victory in nearly 2 years. The boys at TWMX were also nice enough to put together a gallery of the ladies of San Diego Supercross for those of us who didn’t want to sit in the rain, unfortunately it’s a pretty weak gallery. Where are the crowd shots? That’s where the hotties are. Anyway, I caught a bit of the coverage on Sunday morning and it wasn’t as muddy as I thought it would be and seemed to be a pretty good race in the final.
Local News: Thousands Visit Jade Buddha In Escondido – Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike descended upon the Phap Vuong Monastery in Escondido on Sunday to witness the unveiling of the Jade Buddha for Universal Peace, the largest Buddha ever carved from jade in the world. The statue is on the North American leg of its world tour. Monastery officials estimated that by 2 p.m., more than 10,000 visitors had participated in the event. The Buddha will be on display in Escondido through February 16th.
Local News: Animal Waste Used To Ward Off Protesters – An Oceanside animal hospital is using three large bins filled with animal feces set near the edge of its property to try to ward off labor-union members who have been picketing the place for months because the hospital used a nonunion contractor in some of its construction work. “We put it out there every day to discourage them,” said Lisa Hamilton, administrator of Mission Animal and Bird Hospital on Benet Road at Highway 76. She declined to discuss the matter further, saying inquiries were being handled by veterinarian Robert Cartin. “It smells awful,” said Abraham Bustamante of Carpenters Local 1506, pointing out the bins on Friday. Bustamante said the odor is so bad, particularly on warm days, that picketers often wear masks to filter the air they breathe.
Local News: Drunk Driver In Encinitas Rams Sheriff’s Deputy – A suspected drunken driver crashed into the back of a Sheriff’s patrol car late Sunday night in Cardiff, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy Steve Johnson had stopped at the intersection of South Coast Highway 101 and Chesterfield Drive when the crash occurred, said Sgt. William Dreyer. The deputy was taken to Scripps Encinitas Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and was later released. The driver of the car, Troy Otillio, 44, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, Dreyer said. Otillio was not injured in the crash, the sergeant said.
Olympic Athletes Confused By Social Networking Guidelines – There are some restrictions on what athletes can do online during the Olympics. According to the IOC Blogging Guidelines for the 2010 Games, athletes and other accredited people must keep their posts confined to their personal experiences. “You can’t act as a journalist if you aren’t,” says Condron. “You need to do things in a first person way.” Rule 49 of the Olympic Charter says that “Only those persons accredited as media may act as journalists, reporters or in any other media capacity.” The other most significant restriction on athletes posts is a ban on references to sponsors or advertisers who aren’t official Olympic partners. – I used to enjoy watching the Olympics as a kid but after being exposed to all these guidelines set forth by the IOC, I’m growing to despise them. At work, we’re one of their media partners so we have to deal with some of their ridiculous guidelines.
Danica Adds Daytona To Nationwide Schedule, NASCAR Premiere – JR Motorsports’ general manager Kelley Earnhardt has announced Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR and Nationwide series premiere this weekend at Daytona. Patrick, the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race, had considered not competing at Daytona because of the uniqueness of restrictor-plate racing and also the number of Sprint Cup drivers in the event. But having survived a spin and moving from the back of the pack to near the front during the ARCA race, Patrick felt as if she progressed enough to make her NASCAR debut on NASCAR’s biggest stage a day before the Daytona 500. “The ARCA race was a blast, and I’m not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing,” Patrick said.
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Escondido’s performing arts center might become a conglomeration of government offices and retail businesses if city officials follow through on a budget-cutting plan that would shut down the financially struggling facility, but such proposals face a wide variety of hurdles. City officials last week suggested that huge budget deficits might force them to close the arts center and several other city amenities, including a library branch and some parks. They said the arts center might stay open on a limited basis, but the possibility of completely boarding up the center, which receives $1.9 million annually from the city, has also been discussed. – 
The hum at Escondido’s legendary Del’s Barber Shop didn’t come from clippers yesterday but from a film crew shooting a Miller High Life commercial.
