DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Danica Patrick has a two-year-old photo of her in the car at Daytona, on the receiving end of two thumbs up from Richard Petty. "Its a back shot of his butt sticking out," Patrick said, smiling. It had been the extent of the interaction between the pair -- just a playful sign of encouragement from the Hall of Famer to one of NASCARs most popular drivers after she won the pole at the 2012 Nationwide Series race at Daytona. On Thursday, Patrick spent most of her appearance at the Daytona 500 media day brushing off criticism from The King that the only way she could win a Sprint Cup race was "if everybody else stayed home." She refused to fire back at Petty, a seven-time champion, politely stating that he was entitled to his opinion. Patrick handled the comments much in the same way she dismissed Kyle Pettys remarks last year that "shes not a race car driver." "It has nothing to do with where it comes from," she said. "The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors and those little 3-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you. Thats the stuff I really focus on." Patrick talked at length about almost every topic but racing for the second straight year to kick off Daytona. She spent her 20-minute session last year answering questions about her new relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This year, Stenhouse again was a hot topic, with people wanting to know: What are their Valentines Day plans? "I did say to him yesterday, Hey babe, I feel like I shouldnt be thinking about this because it should be your job, but would you like me to ask someone to make reservations at a restaurant?" she said. Odds are, the famous pair wont be asking the Pettys to join them for a bite to eat. Petty gave NASCAR plenty to chew on last week when he said Patrick only gets attention because shes a woman, but added that publicity is good for NASCAR. "If shed have been a male, nobody would ever know if shed showed up at a racetrack," Petty said. "This is a female deal thats driving her. Theres nothing wrong with that, because thats good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport." Stenhouse said he was proud of the way Patrick handled the media glare. "I would not be happy if it was about me like that," he said. "But I think shes proved she can drive these race cars. Shes got a lot to learn. Heck, Ive got a lot to learn." Maybe theyll figure out why the Pettys have been so petty toward Patrick. "I dont know what their problem is," Stenhouse said. "But, hey, they have opinions and they like to talk." Dale Earnhardt Jr., long NASCARs most popular driver, said Petty was a "little rough" on Patrick. "Danica deals with more criticism than anybody else has ever faced in the sport," Earnhardt said. "She goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. "And frankly its just got to get old." Patrick drew national headlines to NASCAR in her Daytona Cup debut last season when she became the first woman to win the pole and raced up front for much of "The Great American Race." She led five laps and finished eighth. She never came close to duplicating that Daytona success the rest of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Daytona marked Patricks best finish during a rough rookie year in which she averaged a 26th-place finish. Patrick was 27th in the final Sprint Cup standings. Her learning curve figures to be steep one. Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Patrick would need at least five years to really get a feel for handling a stock car. Even Patrick, who had one win in her IndyCar career, knows she has plenty to learn. Shes winless with one top-10 in 46 career Cup starts and had only one top-five in 60 career Nationwide starts. Shell run the Nationwide race at Daytona the night before the 500. "Stock cars are not my background," she said. "Ive done two full years. One in Nationwide. One in Cup. I still feel like Im figuring stock cars out, and will for a long time." Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, said he respected Pettys stance on Patrick and added his comments to the mix. "But I think its a long ways to go out there and say someone will never win a race," he said. "I wouldnt want my name behind that comment. So I think I would probably give a little more time and see how that one plays out because there are races where I think she can win." Like Daytona. Or Talladega. Restrictor plate races where just about anything can happen and often lead to unlikely winners. But at any other track? "I havent seen any indications that would make me think anything different than that," Keselowski said. Enough about The King, lets get back to the boyfriend. "Thats so much more fun," Patrick said. "I havent really done anything on the race track. What would you ask me if there was no fun things like there are today?" College Jerseys . Bach, a 59-year-old German lawyer, was elected Tuesday as president of the International Olympic Committee. He succeeds Jacques Rogge, who stepped down after 12 years. Bach, the longtime favourite, defeated five candidates in a secret ballot for the most influential job in international sports, keeping the presidency in European hands. Authentic NCAA Jerseys . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. https://www.cheapncaajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . The Rangers centre left early in Game 1 with an upper body injury after being checked by Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and has not played since. Brassard told reporters after practice that he was good to go. That brought a smile to the face of Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. NCAA Jerseys . Just ask last seasons Supporters Shield winners, the New York Red Bulls, who were resoundingly defeated last weekend by a rampant Vancouver Whitecaps in a match which produced two contenders for MLS Goal of the Week from Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales. NCAA Basketball Jerseys .com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action.VANCOUVER - This time, the Toronto Argonauts did not squander a big lead. Ricky Ray threw for two touchdowns as the Argonauts beat the B.C. Lions 40-23 in CFL action Friday night. Toronto made amends for a loss in Calgary last weekend, when they led by a wide margin early only to suffer a late loss. "Last (game) we had a big (29-10) lead going into halftime, and we couldnt come away with the victory," said Ray. "And tonight was the same thing. It gives us a lot of confidence especially coming off of last weeks loss." Toronto posted only its third win over B.C. in 14 meetings since 2008. "We played a lot better as a team," said Ray. "We didnt have a lot of costly mistakes out there as well as turnovers and penalties." The Argos (4-8) gained sole possession of first place in the East Division as they snapped a four-game losing streak. "It was a great job of coming back from a difficult loss last week," said Argos coach Scott Milanovich. "I thought we played well at times in all three phases and, most importantly, protected the football." The Lions (7-5) suffered their first loss in three outings as their home record dropped to 3-4. Rookie LaVon Brazill, Steve Slaton, Curtis Steele and Chad Owens — who returned after missing two games with a leg injury — scored Torontos touchdowns as the Argos led from start to finish. Torontos remaining points came via kicker Swayze Waters and a safety conceded by B.C. Waters was successful on three long field-goal attempts. His second, from 53 yards out, was the longest in the CFL this season. "I didnt know that. The most important thing is that it went in," said Waters, who also connected from 45 and 50 yards. Ray completed 24 of 33 passes for 284 yards. B.C. quarterback Kevin Glenn had a comparable night as he also threw a pair of touchdowns and racked up 291 passing yards while completing 21 of 36 attempts. Glenns efforts were hampered by an early interception aand untimely penalties from the usually disciplined Lions as they committed 13 infractions for 131 yards.dddddddddddd "We didnt make enough plays — no momentum," said Glenn. "We got into a groove too late. That pretty much sums up the whole game." The Lions got touchdowns on receptions from Emmanuel Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham, and another score on a one-yard plunge from backup quarterback John Beck. Kicker Paul McCallum accounted for the other B.C. points. The Argos were solid throughout, showing few signs of fatigue after they stayed out west instead of returning home following a tough loss in Calgary last weekend in which they squandered their largest lead in their history. One series after the Lions got on the scoreboard from a McCallum missed field goal attempt, Ray threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Owens that staked the Argos to an 18-1 lead. "Obviously, its nice to have (Owens) back in the lineup," said Ray. "He puts so much pressure on the defence." "Scoring is great," said Owens, who left the game for a while in the second half. "Youre helping your team out. But just being out here, it was exciting." Thanks to Owens touchdown and a late second-quarter Waters field goal, the Argos led 21-9 at half-time. They stretched their lead to 30-9 early in the fourth quarter before the Lions started a rally that was too little, too late. Notes: Former Lions Jamie Taras and Brent Johnson were inducted into the clubs ring of honour and had their jerseys retired. … Brazills TD was the first of his CFL career. He was signed by Toronto in August. … B.C. defensive back Ryan Phillips played his 173rd consecutive game after his status was in doubt because of a hamstring injury. … The Argos have only one road game remaining, at Montreal on Nov. 2. … Lions receiver Courtney Taylor will require surgery on the foot he injured last weekend against Winnipeg and could be lost for the season. ' ' '
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