Blake Koch, a competitor in the NASCAR nationwide series, recently announced that he will be sponsored by the "I Am Second" campaign in his upcoming DRIVE4COPD 300 race at Daytona International Speedway in Florida on Saturday.

The "I Am Second" campaign is a Dallas-Fort Worth based Christian movement that uses events, films, books, and advertising to "to inspire people of all kinds to live for God and for others," according to its website.

"This sponsorship is a dream come true," Koch, who races car No. 24 for SR2 Motorsports, said in a statement. more >>

Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA team, died on Monday at the age of 80 after recently being hospitalized with an undisclosed type of cancer.

Buss has become known in the sports community as creating the Hollywood glamour image that is now associated with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bob Steiner, Buss's assistant, told multiple media outlets that the famed owner died at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Monday morning. more >>

Two members of the NBA community will be honored at the 2013 All-Star Breakfast in Houston on Saturday for their character, leadership and faith – both on and off the court.

Carroll Dawson, former Houston Rockets coach and general manager, and Michael Redd, a 2004 NBA All-Star, will be honored with the Jerry Colangelo Award and Bobby Jones Award, respectively, at the 8th annual breakfast. The breakfast takes place each year during NBA All-Star Weekend.

Dave Lower of Athletes in Action (AIA), the ministry that organizes the breakfast, says the media often highlights the negative off-the-court behavior of athletes, while those athletes who are making a positive impact on their homes and communities "fly under the radar." more >>

NBA fans across America think Oklahoma City Thunder's mercurial point guard and Western Conference NBA All-Star reserve Russell Westbrook is the most exciting active professional basketball player on and off the court.

A recent study by global information measurement company Nielsen and E-Poll N-Score looked at the most exciting active NBA players. The study ranked Westbrook as #1 for having the most game on and off the court.

Known as a tough competitor with a flamboyant sense of style, Westbrook is also famous for throwing tantrums in the heat of games. In a recent nationally televised regular season game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Westbrook got visibly upset after he turned the ball over on an offensive five-second violation. He blamed his teammate Thabo Sefolosha for the lapse and got incensed when Thunder head coach Scott Brooks pulled him out of the game. Westbrook flipped a chair in the aftermath of that decision and had NBA analysts like TNT's Kenny Smith questioning his emotional maturity. more >>

The GameChanger Coaches Leadership Summit, scheduled to take place in Dallas next week, will draw together dynamic speakers and leaders from the world of sports to encourage attendees to stand in the gap to help impact "a fatherless generation."

Influential figures like Tim Tebow, Joe Ehrmann, Gabrielle Douglas, Glenn Beck, Nick Vujicic and Pastor Derwin Gray of Transformation Church are among more than a dozen speakers lined up for the Feb. 18 event organized by the Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation (THSCEF).

Although the GameChanger summit is tailored for coaches, anyone in leadership and athletics is invited to attend. more >>

A team of NBA stars, headlined by nine-time NBA All-Star and Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade, will join forces with popular Lakewood Church Senior Pastor, Joel Osteen, to talk about family and fatherhood this Friday during the 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend in Houston, Texas.

The event, which will take the form of a panel discussion, will be held at Osteen's megachurch in Houston and will also feature Allan Houston, assistant general manager of the New York Knicks and former two-time NBA All-Star; Etan Thomas, retired NBA player, political pundit and children's advocate; and Carl Lentz, pastor of the fast growing New York City church, Hillsong NYC. Soledad O'Brien, CNN anchor, will moderate the event.

Some 24 million, or one out of every three children in America, live in homes where their biological father is absent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. more >>