Die Anpflanzler [DA] » Nishikori has been in

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Snow made NASCAR drivers Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. no-shows at Daytona 500 media day. Newman and Truex missed the kickoff to Speedweeks on Thursday because a winter storm and icy conditions affected travel in the South and East. Newman posted a message on his Twitter page that included a photo of his snow-covered farm and several buffalo: "Stuck in NC. Headed out to check on Farm. Buffalo are happy this am." The weather caused several other NASCAR drivers to alter travel plans to Daytona International Speedway. David Gilliland and David Ragan were supposed to fly down Thursday morning, but instead of gambling on being able to get to the airport and take off without any delays, opted to drive Wednesday. They got on the road before the heavy stuff wreaked havoc on roadways. "If we left probably 30 minutes later, we would have been in trouble for sure," Gilliland said. "There was a lot of stuff happening. But luckily it was all a couple of exits behind us. We saw all the ice, snow, the trees breaking while we were driving down I-77 there." Parker Kligerman also ended up driving. But the Sprint Cup rookie made a rookie mistake by getting a late start and didnt get to Daytona until the wee hours Thursday. "We didnt get out til the midst of the storm," Kligerman said. "We literally hit gridlock. ... We had the car completely iced over at one point. We had to find a deicer. It was a disaster. We got stuck a couple of times. There were four or five overturned semis." Some drivers and teams arrived in Daytona a day or two early to avoid the chaos. Six-time and defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, though, decided to chance it and travel early Thursday. He said the key was moving his private jet to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, which was better equipped to clear runways. "The trip from the hangar to the runway was pretty exciting," Johnson said. "They hadnt plowed any of that. I thought I was in an off-road truck for a while there, trying to get out to the runway." Aside from travel troubles, here are five things to know about media day: DEFENDING DANICA: Several drivers, maybe even most, defended Danica Patrick. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty said the only way Patrick could win a Sprint Cup race is if "everybody else stayed home." Patrick refused to fire back, politely saying everyone is entitled to an opinion. Her peers were more outspoken. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. said "it was a little rough on Danica" and added that "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." RETURN OF THE 3: The return of the iconic No. 3, the famed number the late Dale Earnhardt drove with Richard Childress Racing, was a hot topic. Childress grandson, Austin Dillon, will drive the black No. 3 for RCR. Dillon handled the attention perfectly, saying "the legend of Dale has lived on for a long time and is going to continue to live on forever. Dale Earnhardt is not just famous because of the number." Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose father died after crashing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, said hes "quite comfortable with how its going down and Im glad its back." STEWARTS REHAB: Tony Stewarts return to racing is down to hours. The three-time NASCAR champion has been out of a race car since crashing at a sprint-car event in Iowa last August and breaking his right leg. Stewart missed the final 15 races of 2013. He has been cleared to race and will be back in the car for practice Friday. "Its been the slowest off-season Ive ever had," he said. "Im ready to get doing something again." CHASE CHANGES: NASCAR drastically overhauled its Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by expanding the field, switching to a knockout-style format and placing more emphasis on winning. Johnson welcomed the tweaks. "I still think the way you win a championship is the same: youve got to win races," he said. "When we look around at sports, everythings changing. The Olympics look far different than they used to. The NFL is considering change. The world is changing. Our viewership is changing, so the sport has to change." GORDONS FUTURE: Four-time champion Jeff Gordon is talking retirement. Gordon said he is prepared to call it quits if he wins a fifth championship. "Go out on a high note," said the 42-year-old Gordon, who won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. Cheap Authentic Air Max . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . You can see all the action on TSN2 beginning at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. Chicago won two of three games during its stay at the United Center. The club began the homestand with a 5-1 win over Pittsburgh on March 1 and fell to Colorado on Tuesday before posting another blowout win in Thursdays tilt against Columbus. http://www.airmaxirelandcheap.com/ . The 18-time champions, who havent won the title since 1990, moved two points behind Arsenal after the leaders were stunned 6-3 at Manchester City on Saturday. Defending champion Manchester United trails Arsenal by 10 points after winning 3-0 at Aston Villa to avoid a third successive league loss. Air Max Ireland Sale .ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects. Air Max Ireland Cheap . "Im not doing enough to help them," Durant told The Oklahoman on Monday of his 28-9 team. "Im shooting too much. Im shooting too many threes. Im not helping them out at all.Novak Djokovic continues his quest to regain the world No 1 ranking with a World Tour Finals semi-final showdown against Kei Nishikori. The Serb saw his 122-week grasp at the top of the rankings ended by Andy Murray in Paris almost a fortnight ago, but he can reclaim the position depending on the outcome this week.First he must overcome Japans Nishikori and with a dominant 10-2 record in the head to head he will start Saturdays semi-final in confident fashion, especially after a week that has seen him return to somewhere close to top form. Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori have met in two finals this year - on Saturday they meet for a place in the World Tour Finals showpiece Djokovic lost his opening set of the week to Dominic Thiem last Sunday but recovered to win the match in three sets and followed up with another pair of victories over Milos Raonic and alternate David Goffin,He had to come through an epic content against Raonic, eventually prevailing 7-6 7-6 while he had little trouble against late replacement Goffin who was dispatched 6-1 6-2.Nishikoris last four place had already been assured after Murrays straight sets win over Stan Wawrinka earlier in the day. Having begun the week with a superb victory over Wawrinka, Nishikori lost his next two matches.Having pushed Andy Murray close in his second match before losing in three sets, he ended the group stages with another three-set defeat, losing to Marin Cilic in three sets on Friday night. World Tour Finals - Story So Far Novak Djokovic Kei Nishikori beat Dominic Thiem 6-7 6-0 6-2 beat Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 beat Milos Raonic 7-6 7-6 lost Andy Murray 7-6 4-6 4-6 beat David Goffin 6-1 6-2 lost Marin Cilic 6-4 2-6 3-6 John McEnroe talks about the price of ending the year as the world No 1 While world No 5 Nishikori has been in fantastic form this season, reaching hiis second and third Masters finals as well as his second Grand Slam semi-final, he will have to overcome a run of form against Djokovic that has seen him lose his last nine matches against the Serb.ddddddddddddDjokovic has won all five of their meetings this year, including victory in both the Canada and Miami Masters finals, while Nishikori has won just three sets in their contests since his last win, a memorable US Open semi-final success in 2014. Kei Nishikori has come as close as anyone to beating Andy Murray this week, losing in three sets in the group stage The pair have twice met at the O2, Djokovic winning in the group stage in both 2014 and last year where he was a 6-1 6-1 victor.The signs are ominous for Nishikori but the 26-year-old appears to be relishing the challenge against the very best these days and a win would see him beat his semi-final performance of his World Tour Finals debut a couple of years ago. Djokovic v Nishikori met in the Miami final earlier this year Djokovic v Nishikori met in the Miami final earlier this year As ever it will be a doubles match which kicks off the evening and after confirmation of their world No 1 ranking, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares will hope to book a final place when they face Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen.Murrays position as the year-end No 1 was confirmed when the French pairing of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Hubert lost their third group game of the week on Friday.Murray and Soares claimed the Australian and US Open titles and have won two of the three matches the pair have played.Follow all the action from the O2 on Saturday when the action begins on Sky Sports 3 from 12pm and 4pm or via our live blog here at www.skysports.com/tennis. 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