Fast Break
FOOTBALL
EWU nets four All-Americans
The Sports Network selected four Eastern Washington University players for its All-America teams.
Sophomore wide receiver Aaron Boyce (shown above) was a first-team selection, while senior offensive guard was picked to the second-team. Junior defensive tackle Lance Witherspoon and junior defensive end Greg Peach were honorable mention picks.
BASKETBALL
Sonics or bust for Oklahoma City
Any alleged race for Oklahoma City between the Seattle SuperSonics and the New Orleans Hornets is over.
The Sonics won.
NBA rules state that once a team applies to relocate to a city, the league’s 29 other franchises have 45 days to apply to that same city. Clay Bennett, chairman of the Sonics’ ownership group, applied to relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma City on Nov. 2.
So if the Hornets, who rank last in the league in attendance in their full-time return to New Orleans after playing the bulk of the past two seasons at the Ford Center, wanted to come back to Oklahoma City next season they would have had to apply to the NBA in writing by Dec. 17.
“No one else applied in the 45 days after, so we’ll only review the Sonics’ application for this year,” said NBA spokesman Tim Frank.
The NBA’s seven-member relocation committee will make a recommendation to the board of governors in April. The board will then vote on the move no sooner than seven days and no later than 30 days after the recommendation is made. A majority vote is needed to allow the Sonics to move.
It’s unclear how the NBA will proceed given the Sonics’ pending federal court case with the city of Seattle, although a deferred vote is unlikely since NBA rules clearly state the vote must be made no later than 30 days after the recommendation.
AUTO RACING
Season of change for NASCAR
NASCAR officially unfurls its Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway today, but the second rebranding in four years of the premier stock-car circuit is only one of several significant shifts for 2008.
Testing for the Daytona 500 begins amid a flurry of recalibrated alignments between drivers, teams and manufacturers, and all will be adapting to a car making its debut in NASCAR’s biggest race on Feb. 17.
After a partial rollout last year, the bigger, boxier Car of Tomorrow will be phased in at all tracks this season, which promises a bevy of other momentous changes:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. joins Hendrick Motorsports, NASCAR’s most successful team. Joe Gibbs Racing switches from Chevrolet to Toyota, giving the Japanese automaker a championship-caliber team.
Defending Indy 500 and IRL champion Dario Franchitti will cross over to stock cars.