The First Game of the GridCard features a full slate of NCAAM basketball games, including four key conferences matchups: Purdue @ Ohio State, LSU @ Alabama, Maryland @ MSU, and Virginia @ UNC. A Saturday XFL game is also in the mix as the Tampa Bay Vipers visit the Seattle Dragons.
The NBA All-Star Game--which anchors the Second Game-- tweaked its format to honor Kobe Bryant. For the second year in a row LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named captains and selected their teams playground style, the King taking his teammate Anthony Davis with his first pick and Giannis choosing Joel Embiid with his. This year, however, the score will be reset to 0-0 after the first and second quarters, and the winners of the first, second, and third quarters will receive a $100,000 per quarter to donate to a Chicago-based charity of the captain's choice. The fourth quarter will not be timed. Instead, a target score will be set by adding 24 (Kobe's old uniform number) to the total of whichever team had the lead through three quarters. First team to the target goal wins.
Also on Sunday, NASCAR returns to the GridCard with the Daytona 500. Rickey Stenhouse is on the pole, starting just ahead of Chase Elliot and Denny Hamlin. Ohio State @ Iowa and Nets @ 76ers close out the Second Game on Thursday.