Weekend Watch List: Race is on in Daytona; Heat, Magic back in action

Published Feb. 20, 2015 11:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Hana Ostapchuk

It's off to the races this weekend as the biggest race of the year kicks off a weekend full of events -- Truck Series on Friday, Xfinity Series on Saturday and the grand finale, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon.

Off the track, the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat are getting back into the swing of things after the All-Star break, and the Heat dove right in with their complex three-team trade -- made minutes before the trade deadline on Thursday.

As for our college teams, March Madness is around the corner, leaving the once-ranked Miami Hurricanes scrambling to improve their resume should they require an at-large bid in Selection Sunday.

Here's a closer look at what to watch for in the Sunshine State this weekend...

FRIDAY, FEB. 20

NBA -- Pelicans at Magic, 7 p.m. (FOX Sports Florida)

NBA -- Heat at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. (Sun Sports)

NASCAR -- Daytona Truck Series, 7:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

Spotlight: Friday night's game will be the third and final meeting for the New York Knicks and Heat for the season. The Heat have won both previous games this season, winning 86-79 at Madison Square Garden in November and 109-95 back on Feb. 9. When the Heat returned to practice after the six-day All-Star break, Dwyane Wade was back on the court for practice Wednesday and Thursday and expects to play vs. the Knicks. Chris Bosh, however, remained back in Miami to undergo tests after feeling ill the past several days. The Knicks will be without Carmelo Anthony, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Additionally, Amar'e Stoudemire has been waived since the last time the two teams played.

SATURDAY, FEB. 21

CBK -- Florida at LSU, 1 p.m. ET

CBK -- Miami at Louisville, 2 p.m. ET

NASCAR -- Daytona Xfinity Series, 3:30 p.m. ET (FOX Sports 1)

NHL -- Panthers at Senators, 7 p.m. ET (FOX Sports Florida)

NBA -- Pelicans at Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET (Sun Sports)

NHL -- Lightning at Coyotes, 8 p.m. (Sun Sports)

Spotlight: The Miami Hurricanes and No. 12 Louisville Cardinals will meet for the second time this month on Saturday afternoon. In their last meeting on Feb. 3, Chris Jones scored 16 point to lead the Cardinals to a 63-55 victory over the Hurricanes. Miami sophomore Davon Reed hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points in the loss. Fourth in the ACC, the Cardinals head into Saturday's matchup coming off of an upset loss to Syracuse 69-59. Since Miami's loss to Louisville, the Hurricanes have won three out of the past four games, including their most recent 76-52 win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday night.

SUNDAY FEB. 22

NASCAR -- Daytona 500, 1 p.m. ET (FOX Sports)

NBA -- 76ers at Magic, 6 p.m. ET (FOX Sports Florida)

NHL -- Panthers at Penguins, 6 p.m. ET (FOX Sports Florida)

CBK -- FSU at Virginia, 6:30 p.m. ET

NHL -- Lightning at Avalanche, 7 p.m. ET (Sun Sports)

Spotlight: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the defending Daytona 500 champion and has looked stout during Speedweeks, scoring a victory in Duel 1 on Thursday. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, in what may be his final start in the Great American Race, starts from the pole, while another Hendrick driver, Jimmie Johnson starts second. Johnson won Duel 2 on Thursday night.

NEWS OF NOTE

-- The Heat acquired point guard Goran Dragic from the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, announcing a three-team trade that also included the New Orleans Pelicans. Goran and his brother Zoran were traded to the Heat in exchange for two first-round draft picks and forward Danny Granger. Forward Shawne Williams, center Justin Hamilton and point guard Norris Cole were sent to the Pelicans.

-- Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan unveiled his proposal for a new two-story practice facility as part of the entertainment and business district upgrades of Jacksonville's Shipyard's on Tuesday. Although Khan offered no estimate on how much the project would cost or when it would begin, he noted that the construction would be a "game-changer."

-- The Orlando Magic have chosen to keep James Borrego as their head coach for the remainder of the season. Additionally, they hired a new assistant, Igor Kokoskov, to help Borrego lead the team into their final 26 games of the season.

-- The Florida Gators snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday night when freshman forward Devin Robinson slammed home the winning points with 2.1 seconds left against Vanderbilt. The Gators defeated the Commodores 50-47.

-- Lightning defenseman Nikita Nesterov made his first NHL goal in Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Kings, giving the Bolts a 1-0 lead at 12:11 of the first. Nesterov was recalled from the Syracuse Crunch in December.

-- The Tampa Bay Rays announced their 2015 promotional giveaways, and they include player bobbleheads, Gumby, Evan Longoria rubber ducks, parking passes and kid activities. The Rays also announced that single-game tickets for the regular season home games will go on sale on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.

TWEET(S) OF THE WEEK

On Saturday night, 19-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine became the second-youngest player to win the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest next to Kobe Bryant. Although LaVine beat Magic guard Victor Oladipo, both players posted perfect scores of 50 at the start of the night. Viewers took to Twitter to express their opinion on Oladipo's musical entrance and impressive 540 dunk.

Oladipo didn't stop at the All-Stars when he posted this second part of his Frank Sinatra rendition.

You can follow Hana Ostapchuk on Twitter @HanaOstapchuk or email her at HANAMARIE13@AOL.COM.

share