A mix-up over memorabilia has created hurt feelings with Dale Earnhardt Jr., while his former team claims it's all a misunderstanding. Earnhardt said yesterday he's upset that all signs of his stint at Dale Earnhardt Inc. allegedly had been removed from the shop. He originally said he didn't care.
But at the first day of testing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt said time to think about it had made him mad. He said the team members that were part of his Daytona 500 victory and two Busch Series championships should be recognized at the shop.
"It sort of hurt my feelings that it's sort of a hack at even the guys that are still there and have worked on that car," Earnhardt said. "To not see the accolades or any sort of appreciation for the work that they did, and they're still there."
The absence of Earnhardt-related items was noticed by media who attended a luncheon at DEI last week. Earnhardt left his late father's company at the end of last season, and he will drive for Hendrick Motorsports this year. But Max Siegel, president of DEI, said that the team has Earnhardt memorabilia on display and "about nine of his old cars" had been moved off the showroom floor to make room for the luncheon.
Former Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve has parted ways with longtime manager Craig Pollock, who guided most of the former world champion's career. Villeneuve, who has left open wheel to pursue a career in NASCAR, said he no longer needed a manager to handle his affairs.
Larry Smith, who led Southern California to the Rose Bowl three times and won 143 games with Tulane, Arizona, USC and Missouri, died yesterday in Tucson, Ariz., after a long bout with chronic lymphatic leukemia. He was 68.
The WNBA players union neared ratification of a new six-year contract with the league in a deal that includes increases in wages and a dual salary-cap system. The collective bargaining agreement includes an increase in the maximum salary from $93,000 to $95,000 this season, with $2,000 increases each year.
Michelle Wie, 18, will begin the season in Hawaii for the fifth consecutive year, this time against the women. Wie accepted a sponsor's exemption to play in The Fields Open in Kapolei, hopeful of getting her career back on track after a troublesome season of injuries, missed cuts and withdrawals. The Fields Open, where Wie tied for third two years ago, is Feb. 21-23 and is the second event on the LPGA schedule.
• Tiger Woods couldn't beat himself in the TV ratings. In the first network coverage of the year, CBS got a 4.6 overnight rating from the final round at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., where Woods led by as many as 11 shots before winning by eight for his fourth consecutive Buick Invitational title. It was golf's highest rating since the PGA Championship in August, but still down 18 percent from the Buick Invitational a year ago.
The head coach of Howard University's men's team was arrested in Virginia after police said he used the Internet to solicit a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sexual purposes. Joseph Okoh, 40, was arrested Friday and charged with one felony count of using a communications system to solicit a person under 15 years old with lascivious intent.
The Penn State men's program recorded its 800th win in school history with a 3-0 victory against Mount Olive College at University Park, Pa.
Russell Baze rode two winners at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., leaving him three from becoming the first thoroughbred jockey to win 10,000 races. Hall of Famer Baze already is thoroughbred's winningest jockey. He surpassed Laffit Pincay Jr.'s record of 9,530 in December 2006.
• Donato Hanover beat Deweycheatumnhowe easily to win harness racing's 2007 Horse of the Year honors. Winner of his first 11 races this year before a loss in the season-ending Breeders Crown, Donato Hanover received 157 of the 191 votes by the U.S. Harness Writers Association. Deweycheatumnhowe, who earned 2-year-old trotting colt of the year for his 10-for-10 record, was second with 13 votes.
First Published: January 29, 2008, 5:45 a.m.