Daytona Beach, Fla. ? Here’s something to consider: Maybe Danica Patrick is a pretty good race-car driver.

She certainly has her detractors, the ones who have dismissed her as nothing more than a well-marketed, attractive female who has tallied all of one victory in five seasons of IndyCar racing. So she of course was written off long before she ever climbed into a stock car with the intention of giving NASCAR a spin.

Her critics rolled their eyes at her intentions.

So what would make anyone think Patrick would do any better?

Well, she did.

Patrick bumped and banged her way through the crash-filled ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway, where she successfully dodged one of the sloppiest events in recent memory. She pulled off a masterful save on a slide through the infield grass, fell to the back of the field and still managed to drive her way to a sixth-place finish.

So it came as no surprise that after taking a day to catch her breath, Patrick decided she should indeed make her NASCAR debut this weekend in the second-tier Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

She previously had been praised for declaring Daytona not the right place to make her NASCAR debut, but after holding her own in the ARCA race, everyone anticipated the about-face that came Monday.

“Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process, but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do,” she said. “The ARCA race was a blast, and I’m not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing.”

She’ll get it, too. Saturday’s race is a big-boy race, with more than half the field expected to be Sprint Cup Series stars. They’ve won nine of the last 10 Nationwide races at Daytona.

College basketball

Two OU players cited

Norman, Okla. — Two Oklahoma basketball players were cited for allegedly shoplifting at a Sooner Mall department store in Norman.

Police spokeswoman Jennifer Newell said Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger were ticketed for petty larceny Saturday night and released.

Newell said Monday the citation was written by a security officer in Dillard’s. She said according to the ticket, the security officer reported seeing Fitzgerald and Pledger about 8:50 p.m. concealing shirts inside a blue, plastic bag.

Team spokesman Mike Houck said the situation would be handled internally.

KU men runaway No. 1

The Mountain West Conference is doing some serious climbing.

A league that has always had to fight for respect as it tries to join the ranks of the power conferences, the 11-year-old Mountain West had three teams in the Associated Press’ Top 25 on Monday, one more than the Atlantic Coast Conference and three more than the Pac-10.

Kansas (22-1) remained the runaway No. 1, receiving 55 first-place votes from the national media panel. Syracuse (23-1), which received eight first-place votes, moved up one spot to become the fourth No. 2 in as many weeks.

Nebraska women rise

Unbeaten Nebraska (21-0) moved past Notre Dame to No. 3 on Monday in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll. Nebraska trailed the Irish in the poll by 27 points last week.

UConn remained No. 1 for a record 38th straight week. Stanford remained second with Notre Dame falling to fourth — despite winning twice this past week — and Tennessee checked in at No. 5.

NFL

Browns release Stallworth

Cleveland — Donte’ Stallworth will get the chance to resurrect his NFL career, but it won’t happen in Cleveland.

The Browns released the troubled wide receiver on Monday, wasting little time after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that Stallworth would be reinstated following the Super Bowl.

Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season by Goodell after he pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida. He spent 24 days in jail.

Colts favorites in 2010-11

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts are favored to win next year’s Super Bowl, according to odds released Monday by BetUS.com.

Indianapolis is a 7-1 favorite, followed by the Chargers (8-1), Saints (9-1) and the Patriots (10-1).

Raiders hire ex-K.C. aide

Alameda, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders have hired longtime NFL defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast as an assistant.

The team did not say what Pendergast’s role would be when announcing his hiring Monday. Pendergast was let go last month as defensive coordinator in Kansas City.

NBA

Cavs plug water fountains

Cleveland — Citing concerns over swine flu, the Cleveland Cavaliers said Monday that all drinking water fountains have been removed from Quicken Loans Arena to reduce the spread of bacteria and communicable diseases.

Kaman to replace Roy

Los Angeles — Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman will replace the Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy (injured hamstring) in this weekend’s All-Star game.

Pacers shelve Foster

Indianapolis — Indiana Pacers center Jeff Foster will miss the rest of the season due to a back injury.

MLB

Lee’s foot recovering

Seattle — Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Cliff Lee is recovering from minor foot surgery and will be limited when pitchers and catchers report to Seattle’s camp in Arizona this month.

Lee had surgery Friday in his native Arkansas to remove a bone spur that broke loose and was floating in his left foot. He will return to all normal baseball activities over the next two to three weeks.

Schumaker, Cards agree

St. Louis — Second baseman Skip Schumaker and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a $4.7 million, two-year contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.

Yankees sign Thames, Winn

New York — Marcus Thames agreed Monday to a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees, who also finalized a $1.1 million, one-year deal with Randy Winn to give themselves more left-field options.

Tennis

Soderling wins in return

Rotterdam, Netherlands — Robin Soderling won his first match of the year Monday, beating Florent Serra, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round of the ABN Amro indoor tournament.

NHL

Gainey steps down as GM

Montreal — Bob Gainey stepped aside Monday as the Montreal Canadiens general manager and was replaced by assistant Pierre Gauthier in a surprising front-office shake-up for hockey’s most storied franchise.