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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Danica Patrick has a two-year-old photo of her in the car at Daytona, on the receiving end of two thumbs up from Richard Petty. "Its a back shot of his butt sticking out," Patrick said, smiling. It had been the extent of the interaction between the pair -- just a playful sign of encouragement from the Hall of Famer to one of NASCARs most popular drivers after she won the pole at the 2012 Nationwide Series race at Daytona. On Thursday, Patrick spent most of her appearance at the Daytona 500 media day brushing off criticism from The King that the only way she could win a Sprint Cup race was "if everybody else stayed home." She refused to fire back at Petty, a seven-time champion, politely stating that he was entitled to his opinion. Patrick handled the comments much in the same way she dismissed Kyle Pettys remarks last year that "shes not a race car driver." "It has nothing to do with where it comes from," she said. "The people that matter the most to me are my team, my sponsors and those little 3-year-old kids that run up to you and want a great big hug and say they want to grow up to be like you. Thats the stuff I really focus on." Patrick talked at length about almost every topic but racing for the second straight year to kick off Daytona. She spent her 20-minute session last year answering questions about her new relationship with fellow driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. This year, Stenhouse again was a hot topic, with people wanting to know: What are their Valentines Day plans? "I did say to him yesterday, Hey babe, I feel like I shouldnt be thinking about this because it should be your job, but would you like me to ask someone to make reservations at a restaurant?" she said. Odds are, the famous pair wont be asking the Pettys to join them for a bite to eat. Petty gave NASCAR plenty to chew on last week when he said Patrick only gets attention because shes a woman, but added that publicity is good for NASCAR. "If shed have been a male, nobody would ever know if shed showed up at a racetrack," Petty said. "This is a female deal thats driving her. Theres nothing wrong with that, because thats good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport." Stenhouse said he was proud of the way Patrick handled the media glare. "I would not be happy if it was about me like that," he said. "But I think shes proved she can drive these race cars. Shes got a lot to learn. Heck, Ive got a lot to learn." Maybe theyll figure out why the Pettys have been so petty toward Patrick. "I dont know what their problem is," Stenhouse said. "But, hey, they have opinions and they like to talk." Dale Earnhardt Jr., long NASCARs most popular driver, said Petty was a "little rough" on Patrick. "Danica deals with more criticism than anybody else has ever faced in the sport," Earnhardt said. "She goes by a different set of rules because of her gender, and thats unfortunate. It seems like shes always having to answer to something like that, and thats a pain in her butt. "And frankly its just got to get old." Patrick drew national headlines to NASCAR in her Daytona Cup debut last season when she became the first woman to win the pole and raced up front for much of "The Great American Race." She led five laps and finished eighth. She never came close to duplicating that Daytona success the rest of the season for Stewart-Haas Racing. Daytona marked Patricks best finish during a rough rookie year in which she averaged a 26th-place finish. Patrick was 27th in the final Sprint Cup standings. Her learning curve figures to be steep one. Six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said Patrick would need at least five years to really get a feel for handling a stock car. Even Patrick, who had one win in her IndyCar career, knows she has plenty to learn. Shes winless with one top-10 in 46 career Cup starts and had only one top-five in 60 career Nationwide starts. Shell run the Nationwide race at Daytona the night before the 500. "Stock cars are not my background," she said. "Ive done two full years. One in Nationwide. One in Cup. I still feel like Im figuring stock cars out, and will for a long time." Brad Keselowski, the 2012 Cup champion, said he respected Pettys stance on Patrick and added his comments to the mix. "But I think its a long ways to go out there and say someone will never win a race," he said. "I wouldnt want my name behind that comment. So I think I would probably give a little more time and see how that one plays out because there are races where I think she can win." Like Daytona. Or Talladega. Restrictor plate races where just about anything can happen and often lead to unlikely winners. But at any other track? "I havent seen any indications that would make me think anything different than that," Keselowski said. Enough about The King, lets get back to the boyfriend. "Thats so much more fun," Patrick said. "I havent really done anything on the race track. What would you ask me if there was no fun things like there are today?" Cheap Ravens Jerseys . -- Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night. Wholesale Ravens Jerseys .com) - Rajon Rondo turned in a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as Dallas claimed a 102-98 win over the Lakers on Friday. http://www.cheapravensjerseysauthentic.c...s-boykin-jersey. So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Cheap Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. Wholesale Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . - Defensive end-linebacker Mike Neal apparently is returning to the Packers.UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders traded veteran defenceman Andrew MacDonald to the Metropolitan Division rival Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday for a pair of draft picks and minor league centre Matt Mangene. The deal was announced one day before the NHL trade deadline and several hours before the Islanders played the Jets in Winnipeg. Philadelphia will host Washington on Wednesday night, following the afternoon dealing deadline. MacDonald will bolster the Flyers defence corps as they push for a playoff spot. Philadelphia, which also has former Islanders defenceman Mark Streit on the back end, is currently in second place in the Metropolitan, one point ahead of the New York Rangers and two points above the post-season cutoff. Streit, who spent time as MacDonalds defence partner with New York, was traded to the Flyers last June after serving as Islanders team captain. He then signed a four-year, $21 million contract less than a week after the deal, before he could become a free agent. New York is in a selling mode now, all but certain to fail in its bid to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The Islanders, who are last in the division, acquired a third-round piick in this years draft and a second-round choice in 2015, along with Mangene.dddddddddddd The Islanders had arguably the top available defenceman and forward in this years trade market. Leading scorer Thomas Vanek, acquired earlier this season from Buffalo, also is expected to be dealt before Wednesdays deadline. The 27-year-old MacDonald, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has four goals and 20 assists in 63 games this season. He leads the NHL with 198 blocked shots and is eighth in average ice time per game at 25 minutes, 25 seconds. In 295 career NHL games over six seasons, all with the Islanders, MacDonald has 17 goals and 72 assists. He was chosen by New York in the sixth round of the 2006 draft. Mangene, who will turn 25 on March 12, has three goals and three assists in 51 games this season with Adirondack of the American Hockey League. He was assigned to Bridgeport. Mangene played three seasons of college hockey at Maine, and had 16 goals and 34 points in his final season of 2011-12. He signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers in 2012 before being sent to Adirondack. In 92 career games with Adirondack, Mangene had 14 goals and 15 assists. 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