Weekend Wake Up: Durant’s Star Turn, Skaters’ Slips, Danica’s Slow Ride, UFC’s Cain’s Rise

The Durantula Strikes. It was supposed to be Tracy McGrady’s show, and he did a good job of living up to the New York spotlight. In his first game as a Knick, T-Mac scored 26 points, but had just seven in the second half and overtime. It was with a game-tying three to send it to that overtime that Kevin Durant stole the show. He hit that one, and then an elbow jumper with 16.6 seconds left in the extra period to put the Thunder up for good. His 36 points led all scorers. And he is the breakout star of this NBA season.

U.S. Skaters Slide. It could have been another great night for U.S. speedskating. But despite having Vancouver medalists Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ohno, J.R. Celski, and Chad Hedrick, and a women’s favorite (Kathryn Ruetter) all in action, the Stars and Stripes claimed just two medals, and neither was gold. Davis won silver in the 1,500 meters, and Ohno claimed bronze in the short track 1,000 meters, their fourth and seventh career Olympic medals, respectively. Celski and Ruetter both got tangled up in their races, though, and Hedrick “panicked” and came in sixth in an event that brought him bronze in Turin.

Starting Slow. So it might be a little while before Danica Patrick makes it to Victory Lane in a stock car. Her second Nationwide Series start went just a bit better than the first one: she finished the race this time. Still, she ended up in 31st place -- Kyle Busch won, in case you care -- and was lapped just 17 laps into the race. Everyone involved in her NASCAR career will be patient with Patrick. And they will need to be.

Velasquez Crushes Nogueira. Cain Velasquez entered UFC 110 with a chorus of critics wondering if his gaudy record would stand up to the sport’s elite. His swift knockout of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira probably shut those critics up. For one of those critics’ apologies and a full recap of UFC 110, check out The Rumble.

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