Through rain and wrecks, on Daytona's longest day, this was a drought Dale Earnhardt Jr. was determined to end. NASCAR's most popular driver won the Daytona 500 for the second time - a decade after his first victory - to snap a 55-race losing streak dating to 2012. The victory Sunday night ended a streak of futility at Daytona International Speedway, where he finished second in three of the previous four 500s. ''Winning this race is the greatest feeling that you could feel in this sport besides accepting the trophy for the championship,'' said Earnhardt, who climbed from his car in Victory Lane and hugged every member of his Hendrick Motorsports crew.

Baseball's new guidelines regarding home plate collisions will be released on Monday. MLB executive vice president Joe Torre made the revelation Sunday after wrapping up a series of meetings to discuss expanded replay with the 15 teams that conduct spring training in Florida. The former New York Yankees manager did not provide specifics about the plate-collision rule except to say baseball wants to curb intentional contact. ''If nothing else on that play, we want to eliminate those very vicious hits where you target the catcher as opposed to home plate.'' Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon said there doesn't appear a radical change to existing guidelines, noting catchers still will be able to block the plate if the ball arrives in time.

LeBron James watched from the bench in a stylish gray suit, and with the game deadlocked at halftime, he took off his necktie. Stout defense plus Chris Bosh's outside shooting and a boost from Miami's reserves helped the Heat overcome the absence of their MVP on Sunday to beat the Chicago Bulls 93-79. ''We were missing a pretty big man,'' Dwyane Wade said. Former NBA No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden replaced James for his first NBA start since December 2009, and reserves Chris Andersen, Michael Beasley and Ray Allen helped the Heat pull away in the second half.

Over the last few weeks, as opposing defenses keyed in on him, Michigan's Nik Stauskas has remained patient, hesitant to force anything at the offensive end. Then Michigan State came to town - and that all changed in a big way. Stauskas scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half, repeatedly making contested shots from the perimeter to help the 20th-ranked Wolverines to a 79-70 win over the 13th-ranked Spartans on Sunday. Michigan rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and wrested first place in the Big Ten from its in-state rival.

Sweden center Nicklas Backstrom failed a doping test for a substance found in an allergy medication and was withdrawn from Sunday's hockey final at the Sochi Olympics. Backstrom, who plays for the Washington Capitals in the NHL, was scratched just before the game began and had to watch Sweden's 3-0 loss to Canada on TV. Sweden coach Par Marts was critical of the IOC's timing, saying Backstrom was tested in connection with the team's 5-0 win over Slovenia last Wednesday, but he was only told 20 minutes before the final that his center couldn't play. ''It's like kindergarten.'' Asked about Merts criticism of the doping process, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, ''We will not comment on any potential process until it has concluded.'' NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly issued a statement saying the substance Backstrom tested positive for was not on the league's list of banned substances.