❤️ Giving Thanks Ryan Newman Is Alive

Ryan Newman’s health was the only thing that mattered after the 2020 Daytona 500. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The Daytona 500 avoids tragedy, and we give thanks for Ryan Newman’s health ... an inside look at Kobe Bryant the coach — and the dad ... and WWE Backstage prepares for an epic night of extraordinarily large gentlemen. Frankly, it is hard to know what to write today and how to make sense of it all, but, given that the topic is the Daytona 500, it is best to start with the only thing that matters. Ryan Newman is alive. We don’t know exactly what comes next, and this is no time or place for aimless speculation. But he survived. Whether you followed every intense lap of Monday’s 500 — delayed from Sunday afternoon due to inclement weather — or didn’t see a moment of it and don’t have any interest in NASCAR, the chances are that Newman’s name reached your eyes and ears and thoughts late yesterday. For a couple of horrifying hours, it seemed like sports could be faced with another tragedy, after the veteran driver was involved in a fiery wreck on the final lap of a contest that he was in contention to win. [STORY IMAGE 1] The visuals did not look good. Following contact with Ryan Blaney, who was attempting to push his fellow Ford into a better position, Newman’s Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 smashed into the wall just beyond the start-finish line and flipped upside down. Just behind, Corey LaJoie could see nothing but smoke and had no time to slow, and plowed straight into Newman at full speed, contacting the weakest part of the car, the driver’s side window, tossing the car into the air again. Newman’s car slid down the track on its hood, sparks flying everywhere, before coming to rest with fuel pouring perilously close to the existing flames. Black screens quickly went up as he was removed from the vehicle. FOX decided not to air his retrieval from the car for reasons of sensitivity. Someone wrote that NASCAR held its breath; extend that to a far wider sports community neither braced nor ready for more loss. It took a couple of hours for news that brought some relief. Newman was in a serious condition at Halifax Medical Center but not a life-threatening one. A few weeks after one sports icon departed in Kobe Bryant, there had been fears that Daytona would see its first fatality since another all-time great perished in 2001. [STORY IMAGE 2] “The night bore an eerie similarity to the afternoon, 19 years ago almost to the day, that Dale Earnhardt died on the final lap of the Daytona 500, victim of a vicious head-on crash into the wall above Turn 4,” wrote Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee. “Then as now, emergency crews tended to the wrecked vehicle as a celebration unfolded a little ways down the track. Then as now, crews brought out ominous screens to block the view of the cars’ interiors. Then as now, (FOX’s Mike) Joy spoke in precise, measured tones about the celebration and the wreck. Then as now, the ambulance rolled off in the direction of the same hospital.” NASCAR is a thrilling sport. Up close, it is a cacophonic explosion of color and noise. It is fueled not just by extraordinarily powerful machines and technology but by the passion of the fan base that turns up, year after year, and lives and breathes the sport. It is forged on the ingenuity of the crews and on the wits, intelligence and, more than anything, the absolute bravery of the men and women who step into the vehicles and push them to the absolute limit. [STORY IMAGE 3] And, because the nature of the contest is a combination of raw speed and of stretching those boundaries, there is danger. It is part of it, and the racers all accept it. It is a choice they make, and it is one we should both respect and be aware of. It is, if we are being truthful, part of what makes the racing so entertaining, the spectacle so electrifying. “It was a phenomenal race all the way until we came into the (end) over there,” FOX’s Jeff Gordon, a four-time series champion, said. “Safety has come a long way over there. Sometimes, we are reminded that it is a very dangerous sport.” Newman’s accident and the apparent possibility of a disastrous outcome was all the more jarring because our expectations have shifted. You don’t see ambulances on the track so much these days. You don’t see much call for those black screens. Important changes have been significant in mitigating the danger. Helmet technology, enhanced neck support, a safety cage, a cushioning effect for wall collisions: all have been instrumental in providing a safer environment. [STORY IMAGE 4] “That NASCAR hasn’t had a fatality in its three national series since Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500 has conditioned fans and those in the industry that every wreck is survivable,” FOX’s outstanding NASCAR expert Bob Pockrass said. “That even the vicious hits don’t do more than bruise. “But everyone in the grandstands saw the reality, as Newman’s crushed car initially caught fire while upside-down. They saw safety workers hold up screens as they put him in an ambulance, which then sped to leave the track to Halifax Health Medical Center.” From there, it was a waiting game. Sometimes there isn’t much to say except to be thankful. In those tortuous hours there were images flooding social media of Newman doting upon his two young daughters, a gut-wrenching extra twist. Finally, the snippet of news came. Ryan Newman is alive. That’s all there is for now. It is enough. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Bob Pockrass, FOX Sports NASCAR Insider: “Hopefully, Newman makes a full recovery. And hopefully, NASCAR takes a look at the style of racing it has promoted at Daytona and Talladega and see if it needs to change its aerodynamic package — there seems to be only so much they can do on the high-banked superspeedways — to keep the thrills along with the wheels on the ground and the drivers safe.” Victor Mather, New York Times: “By then, the result had become an afterthought. Hamlin edged Blaney in a photo finish to claim his second consecutive Daytona 500 win. Unaware of Newman’s injuries, he and his team celebrated on the track and in the pits. Hamlin later apologized once word of the severity of the crash reached him. ‘I had absolutely NO IDEA of the severity of the crash until I got to victory lane,’ he wrote on Twitter. ’There’s very little communication after the finish and i had already unhooked my radio. It’s not anyone’s fault.’” Ryan McGee, ESPN: “Anyone who was in Victory Lane on Monday night watched Hamlin very closely, how he interacted with everyone he talked to, afraid that one of those people would be the one delivering the bad news to Hamlin and, by connection, us: that Newman was gone. Thankfully, that day in 2001 was the last straw for NASCAR. Thankfully, The Intimidator's death forced the governing body to finally implement a long-overdue safety makeover of its race cars. And thankfully, no one has died in one of NASCAR's three national touring series since that day.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Cam Newton’s status with the Panthers is uncertain at best, [so SB Nation’s Christian D’Andrea looks]( at the 5 best destinations for the QB based on 5 different criteria. - As MLB teams report to spring training, [Mike Axisa at CBS Sports undertakes]( the fun exercise of ranking each player in the league at every age, from 21-year-old Juan Soto to 40-year-old Albert Pujols. - After a sophomore setback, Jayson Tatum has become everything the Celtics need him to be, [Rob Mahoney details at The Ringer.]( [THE BRADY HUNCH] [THE BRADY HUNCH] We might not know where Tom Brady will play next year, but how he’ll get there is starting to take shape. [According to NBC Sports’ Tom E. Curran]( negotiations between Brady and NFL teams will begin “in a couple of weeks” — likely during or “immediately after” the NFL Combine at the end of the month. Moreover, Brady isn’t expected to engage in a “Free Agency Tour”; instead, Curran reports the future Hall of Famer could try to hold meetings with his suitors in one location. Are you thinking what we’re thinking? BRADY BACHELOR! [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( May the world never stop sharing Kobe Bryant content. This one will bring tears to your eyes, but it’s absolutely worth 90 seconds of your day to watch the Black Mamba coach up Gigi and her teammates, sharing his knowledge and supporting the girls in equal measure. We miss you, Kobe, and we’ll never stop missing you. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] No. 1 Baylor vs. Oklahoma (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET) The Bears put their 22-game win streak on the line in a conference battle with a Sooners squad they’ve defeated four consecutive times. WWE Backstage (FS1, 11 p.m. ET) Who’s ready for beef?! NXT North American Champion Keith Lee makes his Backstage debut just days after his epic hoss fight with Dominik Dijakovic, and Mark Henry joins the panel for the first time, as well. PBC Press Conference: Wilder vs. Fury II (FS1, Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. PT) This weekend’s rematch between these two heavyweight titans is going to be epic, and the press conference could be just as fun. Tune in for all the jawing live on FS1 Wednesday afternoon. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Penn State to win, both teams to score 80+ points: +3500 The NBA’s on a little bit of a break after All-Star weekend, but there’s still plenty of basketball action on the docket. The No. 9 Nittany Lions are -300 favorites on the money line to take down Illinois, but that’s not the wager we have our eyes on. Instead, why not root for all of the offense (and a Penn State win) getting 35-to-1 on your potential ticket? A new FOX Sports app and website is coming. 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