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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In Florida and Arizona, it is a rite of spring for Major League Baseball teams and their fans. Spring training kicked off this weekend. Now, each club has its loyal followers, but arguably among the most diehard root for the team from the North Side of Chicago. The Chicago Cubs continually sell out games, even though the team hasn't won a World Series since 1908. Nick Blumberg from member station KJZZ in Phoenix talked to some fans at the team's first spring training game of the year.

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RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The wide world of sports moves fast and if you don't keep up, sometimes you get left behind. That is what happened this past week in Buffalo, New York. Lindy Ruff, the coach of the Sabres - that is Buffalo's hockey team - he was fired during his 17th season leading the team.

And that got NPR's Mike Pesca thinking. He joins us now.

Hey, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello, Rachel.

MARTIN: So you're thinking about coaches?

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DON GONYEA, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Don Gonyea. Time now for sports.

It is officially springtime in the world of sports. Baseball is back. And the NFL Combine has commenced, plus the justice department makes a big move in the case against disgraced cycling star Lance Armstrong. NPR Sports correspondent, Tom Goldman, joins me now. Good morning, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi Don, how are you?

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

There is some legal news in American sports as well today. The Justice Department announced it will join a whistleblower lawsuit against Lance Armstrong. The suit was filed by one of Armstrong's former teammates on the U.S. Postal Service cycling team. And for more, I'm joined by NPR's Mike Pesca. Hey, Mike.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. Oscar Pistorius is free on bail. That's after a dramatic four-day hearing that's gripped South Africa. The star athlete with two prosthetic legs is accused of murdering his girlfriend. And the bail hearing was a tense battle over whether the killing was premeditated murder or a tragic accident. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports now on today's bail decision by the magistrate.

It took Danica Patrick 45.817 seconds to circle the track and win the pole position for the Daytona 500. It'll take about four hours to determine who wins the famed race that starts the Sprint Cup season at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

By taking the No. 1 slot, Patrick made history as the first woman to win a pole in NASCAR's elite division. And she made some people wonder whether the pole position — and her light weight — might give her an advantage.

Tim Tebow has bowed out of a promise to appear at the opening of a new megachurch in downtown Dallas whose pastor has been criticized for making derogatory remarks about non-Christians and homosexuals.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

NASCAR drivers start their engines on Sunday for the first time this Season, at the Daytona 500. And all eyes will be on the woman leading the pack at the starting line. Danica Patrick will be the first woman to start in pole position for any race in the history of NASCAR's premier Sprint Cup Series. Patrick's milestone comes at a critical time for NASCAR, which has seen a steep decline in ticket sales over the last few years and has some big TV contract negotiations coming up.