In Jacksonville, Don Coble writes NASCAR in '13 should "stand back and let Brad Keselowski become the face of the sport." Keselowski is "refreshingly honest and lacks a lot of the Madison Avenue polish that turned a lot of traditional fans away." He is "sure to be controversial, but the ride will be fun to watch." Meanwhile, Coble writes he hopes Dale Earnhardt Jr. "becomes more relevant" on the track this year. Earnhardt won one Sprint Cup race in '12 and qualified for the Chase for the Cup, but NASCAR "needs more from him." It needs him to "be a consistent threat every weekend and a legitimate contender for the championship" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/4).
BOWLED OVER: The PBA on Thursday unveiled team logos for seven of the eight teams that will be part of the PBA League when it debuts Jan. 19. The logo for the team owned by former NFLer Terrell Owens includes "TO" for his famous nickname, while the team owned by former NFLer Jerome Bettis has "Bus 36" on the hood of a muscle car. The team owned by Tennis HOFer Billie Jean King features "WTT" in her team name, representing Women's Team Tennis. Meanwhile, the logo for the team owned by comedian Kevin Hart includes red hearts (PBA).
KEEP IT ON THE D.L.? PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Mike Florio wrote with "only four minority head coaches and a dearth of minority assistants in key positions on offense" in the NFL, a developmental league would "go a long way toward filling the pipeline with coaches of all backgrounds and ethnicity." From time to time, "reports and musings surface of such an effort, but the thinking is that the NFL has decided not to do it because it wouldn’t be profitable." Even if it is not profitable, it is "part of the cost of ensuring that the game is grooming those with potential to become the best they can be, perhaps even better than some of the folks who currently rise to the top of the profession" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 1/3).
