Danica Patrick grabs Daytona 500 pole

By Nick Bromberg | From The Marbles

A year after making her Sprint Cup Series debut in the same race, Danica Patrick will lead the field to the green flag for the Daytona 500 after qualifying on the pole during Sunday's front row qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway.

It wasn't necessarily a surprise. Patrick posted the fastest speed of Saturday's two qualifying practices and ran slightly faster during her second qualifying lap on Sunday, knocking owner and teammate Tony Stewart from the provisional pole. She's the first woman to win a pole position in Sprint Cup Series history.

Patrick, who went out 8th of 45 drivers, had to withstand challenges from her other teammate, Ryan Newman, and Jeff Gordon, who will start alongside her on the front row. Patrick's speed was 33 thousandths of a second faster than Gordon's.

Perhaps most importantly, Patrick's qualifying run means she doesn't have to worry about qualifying for the Daytona 500 in Thursday's qualifying races. Patrick, who is running full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for the first time in 2013, was potentially at risk of missing the race with a poor performance on Thursday. While the odds of missing the race were slim – 45 cars are attempting to capture one of the 43 available starting positions – Patrick's performance Thursday has no bearing on her appearance in the 500.

Those two Budweiser Duel races set the field for the rest of the starting lineup for next Sunday's 500 mile race, with the first race setting odd-numbered positions 3-31 and the second race marking who will start in the even-numbered positions 4-32. The rest of the field will be filled out via qualifying speeds from Sunday's single car runs and provisionals.

Last year, Patrick officially started 29th, but was forced to start in the back of the field after crashing during her qualifying race and was caught up in a crash on lap three of the 500 after Elliott Sadler and Jimmie Johnson made contact. (If Patrick crashes again in Thursday's race and is forced to go to a backup car, she'll once again have to start in the back of the pack.) Patrick also started on the pole in last year's season opening Nationwide Series race, but crashed after contact with then-teammate Cole Whitt.

While some fans tire of all-things Danica Patrick, given her motorsports ubiquity, her qualifying effort guarantees to keep her in the spotlight for the next seven days leading up to the most famous race of the NASCAR season. However, as Patrick has garnered a lot of media attention in the recent weeks for her relationship with fellow driver and Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse, this time, the attention will be because of her success on the track. And no matter your opinion of her, that's a good thing.

David Beckham signs for PSG, agrees to donate entire salary to children’s charity

By Brooks Peck | Dirty Tackle

In the midst of the chaos of transfer deadline day, you might not think that a club already oozing high-priced talent signing a 37-year-old midfielder warrant much more than a passing mention. But when that 37-year-old midfielder is David Beckham and that club is Paris Saint-Germain, the news becomes the biggest spectacle of the day.

In a press conference scheduled for maximum exposure and broadcast live on the internet in the final hours of the January transfer window, Beckham was unveiled in Paris two days after training with Arsenal to work on his fitness (and pose for some pictures). But before you can wonder whether this was all for show and a carefully plotted marketing scheme since Beckham has been without a club since leaving the LA Galaxy after winning his second straight MLS Cup in December and PSG have been interested in him since 2011, Beckham announced he would make the ultimate gesture by donating all of his wages -- worth £150,000 ($237,825) a week, according to the Daily Mail -- for the duration of his brief five-month contract to a Parisian children's charity.

Said Beckham (via the Guardian):

    "We've decided on something that's quite unique," he said. "Throughout this time now I won't receive any salary: we've decided my salary will go towards a local children's charity in Paris, and that's one of the things we're very excited and proud to do.

    "It's something I'm not sure has been done before, but I'm passionate about children and the charity, so we came together and it's something special."

It's a wonderful gesture and one you don't see many athletes (or anyone else) -- even the ones as fabulously wealthy as Beckham -- ever doing. And after already winning over the public in Manchester, Madrid, Los Angeles and Milan, it's a great way to ensure he does the same in Paris whether he plays well or not. Beckham's final season in MLS was also the most productive of his six in the league, so he could still make something of a contribution to PSG on the pitch. But this short playing contract could only be the beginning of what he does for PSG.

    "I don't see that it's a short-term contract. It might be a short-term project for me playing, but there's a lot happening at this club with these owners. I might have only signed until the end of the season, but I consider myself to be part of the future of this club: in helping this club to grow and the French league to grow, and to help this club become one of the biggest powerhouses in football."

So, five months to sell a ton of shirts and then perhaps a position in the marketing department to follow? Only time and David's brand management team can tell.

"He's more than a player. A brand, a pop star," said Leonardo, PSG's director of football, in 2011.

Here's the splash page on PSG's official website. David Beckham is bigger than the Eiffel Tower...