Sports

The offseason is upon us, but many questions linger heading into the 2023 season. With a new year right around the corner, here are some big, big things to ponder.

How 2022 ended: Two words best describe not just the way the season ended for Chastain but also the entire season as a whole: outstanding and surprising. Few people likely expected the Florida watermelon farmer not only to earn his first two career Cup wins but also to reach the Championship 4 season finale and finish a close runner-up to champion Joey Logano.

The start of the 2023 season is still more than a month away, but already NASCAR has recorded its first winner of the year. NASCAR’s float, themed “Always Forward,” won the award for Most Outstanding Depiction of National Treasures & Traditions as chosen in the 2023 Rose Parade on Monday in Pasadena, California.

The Class 5A No. 23-ranked Heritage Jaguars jumped out to a big early lead and entered the holiday season on an upbeat note last Tuesday, cruising to a 63-22 victory over Arlington Seguin at the new HHS Arena in District 8-5A girls’ basketball action.

FRISCO — Another short week for the Dallas Cowboys, another chance to keep alive their chances of catching NFL-leading Philadelphia in the NFC East. The Cowboys (114) visit Tennessee on Thursday night, which means the one victory needed by the Eagles to dethrone the defending division champs can’t happen until three days later.

FORT WORTH — Sonny Dykes was nearing the end of a season as an off-field offensive analyst, and pondering his next move. Fired from his previous head coaching job and with three young kids at home, the son of longtime college coach Spike Dykes even considered a career change after more than two decades in football.

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki stood with his son Max, both ready to push the lever that would unveil the statue of the retired Dallas Mavericks star outside the team’s arena. It already had been revealed that the statue depicted Nowitzki’s signature one-legged fadeaway jumper.

How 2022 ended: Hamlin was just two points shy of advancing to the Championship 4 for the fourth consecutive season, a feat erased by Ross Chastain’s absurd move around the Turns 3 and 4 walls at Martinsville Speedway that propelled him past Hamlin at the checkered flag. That didn’t erase a stellar playoff run for the No.

The sanctioning body announced that Richard Petty will ride atop its historic float “Always Forward” that celebrates NASCAR’s 75th anniversary and the upcoming Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum. The parade, which will be held on Monday, Jan. 2., is part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses which also features the famed Rose Bowl Game.

The main event of the exhibition race held inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum expands for the Feb. 5 race as the field will increase to 27 cars, bumped up from 23 in last year’s inaugural running.