Patrick’s star shines early and brightly
Early on in Fox’s Daytona 500 coverage Sunday, studio analyst Michael Waltrip announced that while the NBA had “Linsanity,” “We’ve got Dan-mania!”
Really? As Danica Patrick still is waiting to drive in her first Sprint Cup race, she already was a star on Fox on Sunday. It went right down to John Roberts, hosting what turned out to be a five-hour Daytona 500 Fox prerace show, announcing on-air that the race was canceled even as “history was supposed to be made today when Danica Patrick started her first Daytona 500.”
But don’t worry, Fox isn’t likely to overlook Patrick’s historical significance when its coverage starts today at noon ET.
In a taped interview with Patrick that led Sunday’s coverage, Fox lead analyst Darrell Waltrip told her she had “become the face of NASCAR.” (And “a pretty good face,” as Michael
Waltrip, his brother, put it in his lengthy debut as a Fox prerace analyst.)
Darrell Waltrip also told Patrick she was “a busy girl.” (Later Michael, noting he’d seen Patrick in the gym, said she was also “a strong girl.”) When Darrell noted to Patrick that she was about to turn 30, she replied she recently “found two gray hairs.” Later we saw Darrell persuade Fox’s It Girl to follow him on Twitter.
Darrell’s Daytona 500 prediction for Patrick, which presumably still holds: “I wouldn’t be surprised if she won the whole darn thing!”
Patrick, popping up again on Fox in the rain delay, sounded resolute: “These delays don’t mess with me.” And if they do, Fox can always put her on American Idol.
Say what? Mitt Romney, on Siriusxm Radio’s Daytona 500 prerace show Sunday, after being asked if he had a driver he was rooting for: “I do, but I’m not going to tell you.” OK. Also Sunday, Rick Santorum, whose campaign is a sponsor of Tony Raines’ car in the 500, said on ABC’S This Week that he discussed a game plan with the driver: “He’s sitting way, way back, letting all the other folks crash and burn, and then sneak up at the end.” Might work if the first Sprint Cup race was in Iowa. . . . NBC’S PGA Tour coverage Sunday included a closeup of Lee Westwood’s errant ball having landed in the back of a woman’s shirt. But it didn’t seem like she was trying to get away with anything, repeatedly telling Westwood, “I’m so sorry.” ... Charles Barkley, on TNT’S All-star weekend coverage Saturday, suggested bystanders Lebron James and Dwyane Wade wearing stylish glasses offended his fashion sensibilities: “I don’t like that intelligent nerd look they’re trying to get.” What’s left unclear is whether Barkley opposes all accessorizing. . . . NFL Network’s scouting combine coverage superimposed footage of quarterbacks Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and, from last year, Cam Newton running 40-yard dashes to create a visual comparison of their speed and also threw in anchor Rich Eisen running a 40-yard dash. Semi-amazing that the combine can be turned into sort of entertaining TV.
Heard of this guy? Jeremy Lin’s endorsement potential, Nielsen research says, for now tops the marketability of James and Kobe Bryant.
Nielsen’s N-score, meant to measure name recognition and likability and based on polling 1,100 consumers meant to resemble the U.S. population, gives Lin a score of 102. Bryant scores 90, while James gets 84. About 19% of the U.S. population has heard of Lin, Nielsen says, and of those 30% say they like him.
Lin’s name recognition isn’t close to Patrick’s. Nielsen found she’s recognized by 30% of the public. Thanks to Fox on Sunday, that’s probably higher.
Clip ’n’ save: Johnny Miller says Tiger Woods could win 30 to 40 more golf tournaments but won’t “even tie” Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major wins. The NBC analyst, appearing on the Golf Channel, said Woods could have a “second career” in which he’d get lots of wins. But Miller says eight years ago he wrote that Woods, who has won 14 majors, wouldn’t break Nicklaus’ record — “at the time, everybody thought I was smoking something” — and feels the same way now. “He’s lost his mojo or psyche or power,” Miller says. . . . Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, the first active player NFLN has used on combine coverage, on Peyton Manning’s future: “He’ll be playing football” somewhere next season, “I can assure you of that.”