Here's your wakeup call -- a combination of newsworthy and/or interesting tidbits -- for Wednesday, February 27:

AUTO RACING

• It took four days for the first lawyer to emerge in the crash that injured more than 30 people at the Daytona 500. That long, eh? (AP)

BASEBALL

• Nice start to the 2013 season for Josh Beckett. (AP)

• Not so much for Josh Hamilton, though. (AP)

• Old friend Terry Francona names old friend Justin Masterson the Indians' Opening Day starter. (AP)

• Johnny Damon ain't too proud to beg . . . to no avail, unfortunately. (NBC's Hardball Talk)

• Giancarlo Stanton appears to be completely recovered from last week's beaning, if his first home run of the spring is any indication. (AP)
• How bad has baseball's problem attracting black players gotten? The Giants -- the team of Willie Mays and Monte Irvin, the second National League team to integrate -- have no African-Americans on their roster. (CSN Bay Area)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

• Down goes Indiana! (AP)
• And how did Minnesota pull off the upset? Well, Trevor Mbakwe set the tone early, and the rest of the Gophers followed suit. (NBC's College Basketball Talk)
• What's worrisome for the Hoosiers -- last night and going forward -- is that Cody Zeller didn't answer Mbakwe's challenge. (College Basketball Talk)
• It wasn't the only upset last night. Tennessee knocked off No. 8 Florida . . . (AP)
• . . . and Xavier beat No. 19 Memphis. (AP)
• There might have been an upset Monday night, too, but the Big 12 announced that the officiating crew made unspecified errors at the end of regulation as Kansas sidestepped Iowa State in overtime. "Appropriate measures," the conference warned, will be taken against the zebras involved. (AP)
• Mike Krzyzewski says it one more time: He's not coaching the U.S. Olympic team in 2016. (AP)
• Jim Boeheim once again turns on the charm after a Syracuse defeat. (College Basketball Talk)
• C. Vivian Stringer finally records her 900th career coaching win -- she needed five tries to get there -- as the Rutgers women defeat South Florida. (AP)
• Pitt's leaving the Big East after this season and its women team -- losers of 34 straight conference games after last night's 76-36 pounding at the hands of Connecticut -- probably can't wait to get out. (AP)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

• Man, Brett Musburger just can't stop drooling over Katherine Webb, can he? (NBC's Off The Bench)

GOLF

• Maybe you're worried about Rory McIlroy's slow start to the season, but he's not. (golfchannel.com)
• While you were watching Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan battle it out for the Match Play Championship on Sunday, McIlroy and Tiger Woods were having their own little one-and-one duel. But they're not saying who won. (AP)

HOCKEY

• Michael Ryder's going back to one of his old teams, but it ain't the Bruins. (AP)
• Simon Gagne's going back to his old team, too. (CSN Philly)
• A new realignment plan is emerging, though I suspect our Hockey Talk friends actually meant two conferences of two divisions each. (NBC's Pro Hockey Talk)
• Not much of a homecoming for Alexander Semin, was it? (CSN Washington)

PRO BASKETBALL

• Doug Collins finally reached his limit and let the Sixers have it -- publicly -- after they reached rock bottom with a 98-84 home loss to a Magic team that hadn't beaten a divisional opponent all season. (CSN Philly)
• And this Collins performance was something to see. (CSN Philly)
• But not to worry, Doug. Andrew Bynum's coming back, oh, any day now. Honest! (CSN Philly)
• Mitch Kupcak says a lot of the win-now moves the Lakers made this offseason were prompted by Jerry Buss' illness and their desire for another championship before he died. (NBC's Pro Basketball Talk)
• The Heat just keep on rollin'. (AP)
• The team that fights together, wins together. Right, Pacers? (AP)

PRO FOOTBALL

• First it was the Chiefs. Now it's the Cardinals who are interested in Alex Smith. (NBC's Pro Football Talk)
• Joe Flacco's agent insists Tom Brady's team-friendly extension with the Patriots will have no impact on whatever contract his client ends up signing. (CSN Baltimore)
• The Raiders are talking about to Mike Holmgren about a "leadership role" . . . (Pro Football Talk)
• . . . but, ah, is that such a good idea? (CSN Bay Area)
• If Houston wants to host another Super Bowl, it may have to tear down that eyesore next to Reliant Stadium: The Astrodome. (CSN Houston)
• Ex-Patriot Rosevelt Colvin is patting himself on the back for starting Brian Urlacher on the path to the Hall of Fame. (CSN Chicago)