Monday Sports Update

Hockey will probably be officially dead for this year as of Wednesday. Who cares?

Jimmie Johnson won the Bud Shootout Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway and is definately one to watch for next Sunday's Daytona 500.

If you've never watched a stock car race, let me recommend something to you. This Thursday beginning at 10:00 am PST there will be two qualifying races for the Daytona 500 (they'll be broadcast on the FX Network). There will be approximately 26 cars in each 150 mile race, and although 39 of the 53 cars entered are already locked into the race, the only hope for the remaining cars is to race their way in for the remaining 4 spots. In other words, 10 guys are going home without a chance to race in the 500 if they don't finish well on Thursday, and given that last place in the 500 pays over $200,000, these guys will be making some desperate moves to ensure a good finish. Desperate moves can make for a big smoking pile of metal and rubber when the cars are running 195 MPH a few feet from one another. These races will be entertaining.