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AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — NASCAR's most pop- ular driver won the sport's biggest race last weekend. It may not have been the most exciting news of the week, at least when it comes to fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr. A reluctant participant on Twitter for years, Earn- hardt burst into the Twitterverse this week with a flour- ish of revealing tweets that have given fans insight into his life they never knew before. ''I don't what I was thinking, why I didn't get on there earlier,'' Earnhardt said from Phoenix Interna- tional Speedway on Friday. ''It's a great way to tell people things you appreciate and it's instant.'' Earnhardt has had a Twitter account since 2008, when JR Motorsports signed up (at)DaleJr. Earnhardt had no interest in that end of social media at first, so the account sat dormant for years. That changed on Monday, a day after Earnhardt won his second Daytona 500 and posted a photo of himself with the trophy: ''Tonight seemed like as good a night as any to join Twitter. How is everyone doin?'' Earnhardt's Twitter account soared once he started typing 140 characters at a time, rising to more than 527,000 followers by Friday. ''It's been a very interesting follow, him getting cre- ative,'' fellow Sprint Cup driver Jimmie Johnson said. ''He must have been watching for afar for a while because he has the lingo down, attacking people, hold- ing up pretty well. He didn't enter as a rookie on Twit- ter, in my opinion. He's off to a pretty good start.'' It's certainly been entertaining and fairly revealing. Earnhardt participated in a Twitter chat with fans on Tuesday night and kept the tweets rolling this week, up over 130 by Friday morning. Among the revelations he's made on Twitter so far: —He always goes the speed limit, figuring he'd look stupid if he gets a ticket when he's supposed to be a professional driver. —If he had to eat only one food for a month, it would be barbecue. —His favorite car to drive is a midnight blue 76 Chevy Laguna. —The one topping he would want on a pizza is banana peppers. —His favorite style of racing is on short tracks such as Bristol and Martinsville. —Hanging from a fork in a tree near his house is the cockpit of Will Power's IndyCar from the crash in Las Vegas that killed Dan Wheldon. —His favorite color is orange. —His favorite band is the Matthew Good Band. —His favorite gadget is his iPad and JBL speaker. ''I'm still learning. There's still a lot of questions about the software, how to physically use it,'' Earn- hardt said. ''I never used it before. It's been fun to interact with the fans ... and it was enjoyable to be plugged in whenever you feel like it. I hope the fans have enjoyed it.'' The fans seem to and so have his fellow drivers, who have tried enticing Earnhardt to join Twitter for years. ''I, among many others have pushed him to do it,'' Johnson said. ''There's been a lot of people on social media, even the people who run Twitter have come to me to put pressure on him over the years and it just was something he wasn't interested in. As sharp as he is, as much time as he spends in the digital world, I knew when he got involved, he would love it.'' He sure seems to be so far. SAN JOSE (AP) — Just making it back to the NHL after a freakish accident nearly ended his career was accomplish- ment enough for San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Stalock. Setting a franchise record for longest scoreless streak and thriving on hockey's big stage has made the long, grueling rehabilitation worthwhile. Stalock's promising career nearly ended three years ago this month when Dwight King stepped on the back of his left leg with a sharp skate, severing his nerve. But after being forced to learn how to walk and skate again, Stalock is playing even better than he did before the injury and is a big part of San Jose's success this season. ''This has always been my goal,'' Stalock said. ''It's what I wanted to do from a young age. I didn't want the injury to prevent me from getting back. It was a goal for me to get back to this level. There were a lot of people involved in the situation, a lot of people who put in a lot of work and time to help me. I got lucky and everything kind of healed.'' The injury came just days after Stalock made his NHL debut when Sharks backup goalie Antero Niitymaki was sidelined by a groin injury. Stalock relieved starter Antti Niemi midway through a game against Phoenix on Feb. 1, 2011, and earned the win when the Sharks rallied from three goals down to win 5-3. Stalock was sent back to Worcester of the AHL after that game to get some action before he was supposed to rejoin the Sharks in Boston. But fate intervened late in the third period while Stalock was on his stomach covering a loose puck. King tried to jump over the goalie but landed with one skate on the back of his leg instead. Stalock was taken out of the game and the team's medical staff determined that the nerve that controls movement and feeling in the lower leg, foot and toes had been severed, putting Stalock's career in doubt. ''I don't think anybody was putting a percentage on him coming back,'' said Sharks assistant general manager Wayne Thomas, who oversees the coaching of goalies in the orga- nization. ''The feeling was more negative from doctors and people in the know with that type of nerve injury. It was sev- ered. He had no feeling in his calf and foot.'' After two operations back home in Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic, Stalock had to wait until the nerve grew back. He needed to wear a brace on his leg for nearly four months and had to learn how to walk all over again. It was about eight months until he could wear skates again and finally got back out on the ice. ''That's when I realized that I was actually recovered and I was seeing positive growth,'' he said. ''That was big.'' Stalock finally got back into a game Jan. 21, 2012, for the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL and spent the rest of that season and most of last season in the minors. He still carries around evidence of what he has overcome in the form of a six-inch scar on his leg and he struggles to keep his balance on uneven surfaces. Luckily for Stalock, the ice is flat and he looks even bet- ter there than he did before the injury thanks to extensive off- ice work with Sharks goaltender development coach Corey Schwab and Thomas. ''It was a lot of movement and we worked on a lot of leg stuff and tried to get stronger and better balance and all that,'' Stalock said. ''It wasn't the most fun, but I can say today it was the most beneficial work that I put in.'' Stalock began this year as the backup in San Jose to Niemi and has slowly earned his teammates' and coaches' trust and more playing time with his performance before the Olympic break. ''Guys know his story, they understand where he's been, and they get excited about playing for him,'' coach Todd McLellan said. His deft stickhandling and aggressiveness playing the puck gives a different element to the Sharks and takes pres- sure off the defensemen as they try to advance out of the defensive zone. The 26-year-old Stalock is 9-4 with a 1.77 goals against average in 17 games and was at his best during a stretch late last month when he posted consecutive shutouts against Florida and Winnipeg. That was part of a record-setting stretch of playing 178:55 without allowing a goal, 7:37 longer than the previous franchise record set by Evgeni Nabokov in 2009. Stalock's stellar play has allowed McLellan to sit Niemi more often as he has already missed more than twice as many games this season as he did a year ago. McLellan has said Stalock will continue to get playing time down the stretch of the season as he has become an inte- gral part of the organization. ''It could have been a catastrophic injury,'' Thomas said. ''It turned into a really good story.'' 1B Weekend March 1-2, 2014 Sports Tehama Tracker Saturday's schedule WRESTLING NSCIF Masters Championships in Red- ding NBA Minnesota at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Sunday's schedule NBA Golden State at Toronto, 1 p.m. NHL San Jose at New Jersey, noon Monday's schedule NBA New Orleans at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Sports on TV Saturday AUTO RACING 8 a.m. FS1 — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, practice for The Profit on CNBC 500, at Avondale, Ariz. 12:45 p.m. ABC — NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Blue Jeans Go Green 200, at Avondale, Ariz. BOXING 6:45 p.m. HBO — Champion Orlando Salido (40-12-2) vs. Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0-0), for WBO featherweight title; super middleweights, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (47-1-1) vs. Bryan Vera (23-7-0), at San Antonio GOLF 10 a.m. TGC — PGA Tour, The Honda Classic, third round, at Palm Beach Gar- dens, Fla. Noon NBC — PGA Tour, The Honda Classic, third round, at Palm Beach Gar- dens, Fla. 7:30 p.m. TGC — LPGA, HSBC Women's Champions, final round, at Singapore 2:30 a.m. TGC — European PGA Tour, Tshwane Open, final round, at Centurion, South Africa GYMNASTICS 10 a.m. NBC — American Cup, at Greensboro, N.C. MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 8 a.m. ESPNU — UMass at Dayton 9 a.m. ESPN — Cincinnati at UConn ESPN2 — Vanderbilt at Tennessee ESPNEWS — USF at Rutgers 10 a.m. ESPNU — N. Iowa at Indiana St. 11 a.m. CBS — Louisville at Memphis ESPN — TMissouri St. at Wichita St. ESPN2 — Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Noon ESPNU — Auburn at Alabama NBCSN — Saint Joseph's at St. Bonaventure 1 p.m. CBS — LSU at Florida ESPN — Syracuse at Virginia ESPN2 — Illinois at Michigan State ESPNEWS — UCF at SMU 2 p.m. ESPNU — Northwestern at Nebraska FS1 — Creighton at Xavier NBCSN — La Salle at Fordham 3 p.m. ESPN — Kentucky at South Car- olina ESPN2 — Saint Louis at VCU 4 p.m. ESPNU — Iowa St. at Kansas St. 5 p.m. ESPN2 — UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis 6 p.m. ESPN — Kansas at Oklahoma St. ESPNU — Houston at Temple 7 p.m. ESPN2 — Gonzaga at Saint Mary's (Cal) 8 p.m. ESPNU — Cal Poly at UC Irvine 10 p.m. ESPNU — CIAA Tournament, championship, teams TBD, at Charlotte, N.C. (delayed tape) MEN'S COLLEGE HOCKEY 4 p.m. NBCSN — Penn St. at Minnesota MOTORSPORTS 4:30 p.m. FS1 — AMA Supercross, at Indianapolis NHL HOCKEY 5 p.m. NBC — Pittsburgh vs. Chicago, at Soldier Field SOCCER 6:55 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Chelsea at Fulham 9:25 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Liverpool at Southampton WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 9 a.m. FSN — UTEP at Rice 10 a.m. FS1 — DePaul at St. John's Noon FS1 — Creighton at Marquette 5 p.m. FSN — Iowa St. at Kansas Sunday AUTO RACING Noon FOX — NASCAR, Sprint Cup, The Profit on CNBC 500, at Avondale, Ariz. GOLF 10 a.m. TGC — PGA Tour, The Honda Classic, final round, at Palm Beach Gar- dens, Fla. Noon NBC — PGA Tour, The Honda Classic, final round, at Palm Beach Gar- dens, Fla. MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10:30 a.m. NBCSN — George Mason at George Washington 11 a.m. CBS — Marquette at Villanova 1 p.m. CBS — Ohio St. at Indiana 3 p.m. ESPNU — Georgia Tech at Florida St. 5 p.m. ESPNU — Stanford at Arizona 6 p.m. FS1 — Oregon St. at UCLA NBA BASKETBALL 10 a.m. ABC — New York at Chicago NHL HOCKEY 9 a.m. NBC — Philadelphia at Washing- ton 1 p.m. NBCSN — Heritage Classic, Ottawa vs. Vancouver, at BC Place Stadi- um 4 p.m. NBCSN — Boston at N.Y. Rangers SOCCER 8:25 a.m. NBCSN — Premier League, Cardiff at Tottenham WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 10 a.m. ESPN — Duke at North Carolina 11 a.m. ESPN2 — Nebraska at Purdue 11:30 a.m. FS1 — West Virginia at Baylor 1 p.m. ESPN2 — Vanderbilt at Kentucky Monday MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Noon FS1 — Preseason, L.A. Angels vs. Arizona, at Scottsdale, Ariz. MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN — Notre Dame at North Carolina ESPNU — Savannah St. at NC Central FS1 — Xavier at Seton Hall 6 p.m. ESPN — Kansas St. at Oklahoma St. ESPNU — NC State at Pittsburgh NHL HOCKEY 5 p.m. NBCSN — Buffalo at Dallas SWIMMING Noon ESPNU — SEC Women's Swim- ming and Diving Championships, at Athens, Ga. (same-day tape) 1:30 p.m. ESPNU — SEC Men's Swim- ming and Diving Championships, at Athens, Ga. (same-day tape) TENNIS 6 p.m. ESPN2 — Exhibition, BNP Paribas Showdown, Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray, at New York WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 4 p.m. ESPN2 — UConn at Louisville 5 p.m. FSN — Texas Tech at Oklahoma AP photo In this January file photo, San Jose Sharks goalie Alex Stalock deflects a shot-on-goal against the Los Ange- les Kings during the second period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif. Stalock has worked his way back from a severed nerve in his leg that nearly ended his career three years ago to thrive in the NHL. Stalock overcomes adversity to star for Sharks Earnhardt going fast, furious on Twitter BOYS BASKETBALL The Mercy Warriors (9-19) fell to the Chester Vol- canoes (23-4) on the road Thursday, 80-62, in a North- ern Section CIF Division VI quarterfinal game. AP photo Dale Earnhardt Jr. raises the trophy in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup series auto race Feb. 23. Corning High playoff basketball coverage is online at redbluffdailynews.com