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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?" Bobby Bradley Indians Jersey . Toronto dropped a 7-2 decision to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday afternoon, with only a pair of late runs preventing a second straight shutout loss. Josh Willingham belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Kendrys Morales hit a bases-clearing double in the seventh as the Twins took the rubber game of the three-game series. Tyler Clippard Jersey . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/2028u-franmil-reyes-jersey-indians.html . -- Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh says he isnt going to change what he does on the field. Bob Feller Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, sources said Manuels college coach Jimbo Fisher told teams he didnt think Manuel had the tools to be an NFL starter. Francisco Lindor Indians Jersey . Louis Cardinals. He was 48. The commissioners office said Bell died in his home state of Ohio. Bell had not been feeling well over the weekend and had been scheduled to see doctors later Monday at the Cleveland Clinic.PHOENIX -- How dare the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate in "our" swimming pool? That was the general sentiment of indignation after Adrian Gonzalez and 20 or so other Dodgers left the champagne-soaked visitors clubhouse and jumped into the iconic Chase Field pool in jubilation after clinching the NL West title in Phoenix. The Dodgers insist they meant no disrespect, but that pool in the right field corner of Chase Field is as close to a landmark as the ballpark has. Arizona utility infielder Willie Bloomquist and Sen. John McCain are among those who took to Twitter to decry the Dodgers for a perceived lack of respect. "Congrats to Dodgers for winning the west -- they earned it on the field," Bloomquist wrote. "I just wasnt raised to boast in your opponents face." McCain had a bit more vitriol, perhaps the common vernacular of politics in Washington these days. "No-class act by a bunch of overpaid, immature, arrogant, spoiled brats!" McCain decried. Feel free to imagine the responses that one generated. There is, of course, plenty of history here. The most obvious was that June 11 incident at Dodger Stadium, when Arizona right-hhander Ian Kennedy grazed Yasiel Puig in the face with a pitch, then plunked Zack Greinke in his recently injured left shoulder.dddddddddddd And the result? All heck broke loose. The big-time brawl resulted in eight suspensions by Major League Baseball, the longest a 10-game ban for Kennedy, who later was traded to San Diego. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Dodgers took off on their amazing run from worst to first about that same time. There also was that early-season game in Arizona when fans in so-called "special" seats right behind the backstop were told to change out of their Dodgers apparel or move. And theres the general backdrop of the not-so-free-spending Diamondbacks trying to keep up with the seemingly unlimited cash of the new Dodgers ownership. "This game knows no names," warned Arizona outfielder Adam Eaton, also via Twitter. "What goes around comes around." Perhaps Dan Bickley, Arizona Republic columnist and local radio host, had the best idea: The Diamondbacks should hold a ceremony to empty and cleanse the pool of this evil, maybe even call in actor Bill Murray in a HazMat suit a la "Caddyshack." ' ' '