Why talk when you can throw a fist or two? (Getty Images)

Catching up with our year-long Fireball Cup competition, recognizing excellence in the field of NASCAR brawling. And check this out: our new leader has come from nowhere to take charge of the competition in just one race!

Recall our rules, which can and do change on a whim:

• Verbal/Twitter exchange; slightly aggressive driving leading to issues: 1 point
• Bumping cars in an aggressive, making-a-point fashion: 2 points
• Spin, non-critical: 3 points
• Spin, critical: 4 points
• Out of car, punches thrown: 5 points

Fireball Cup stats, Talladega and Darlington:

• Ryan Newman's crew going after Kurt Busch: 2 points
• Kurt Busch, screaming his head off over the radio: 1 point
• Busch, aggressively burning out through the 39 pit stall: 2 points
• Busch, ramming his car into Newman's on pit road: 2 points
• Busch, shouting at the 39 crew himself: 1 point
• Danica Patrick, spinning out Sam Hornish Jr.: 3 points
• Tony Stewart, aggressively mouthing off toward Talladega: 1 point

Which gives us current standings of:

This is lovely: Kurt Busch's radio from Saturday night's race in Darlington. Really, I have nothing to add. This is a [expletive]ing masterpiece. Much more on Kurt this week, trust us. This story ain't getting old any time soon.

[Via Jeff Gluck]

This is a little old, but we don't mind showing it, 'cause it just showed up in our inbox: Arnold Palmer sinking a 30-foot putt on the 18th in the second round of the Insperity Championship. ("Insperity"? Ugh. Branding gone amok. It sounds like a contender for a white-people baby name.)

ANYway, it's always good to see Arnie back in action on the course. A few more holes like this and he might be able to get a Tour card for the 2013 season. Maybe he could teach those two scrubs* playing with him a thing or two.

(*-That's a joke, son, just like the caption in this photo.)

You know, Kevin Na is taking a lot of heat right now for his slow play, but let's give him a little love for one of the best shots of the weekend: his hybrid shot off the cart path on the 18th hole. Crazy? Sure, but not quite as crazy as you'd think.

Over at CBS Sports' Eye on Golf, our pal Shane Bacon has a fine breakdown of Na's what-the-hell-was-he-thinking swing:

Na put the ball a little up in his stance, forcing him to hit up at the ball almost like you would with a driver off the tee. Instead of digging down into the ball like you might if you had to get it out of some thick rough, Na's hybrid didn't smack the pavement first and cause a wacky shot.

Indeed he didn't; Na's shot ended up just short of the green, and he ended up salvaging a bit of dignity from an ugly round. Plus, he inspired a barrage of weekend golfers to try the same thing, thus ensuring more investment in the game of golf when those clowns shatter their clubs.

Kurt Busch just wants to talk. Really. (Getty Images)

Saturday night's Darlington pit road altercation between Kurt Busch's boys and Ryan Newman's crew has resulted in fines and penalties for both sides. Here's how it shakes out, per a Tuesday ruling by NASCAR:

• Kurt Busch was fined $50,000 and put on probation until July 25 for "actions detrimental to stock car racing," including "reckless driving on pit road."

• Craig Strickler, one of Busch's crew, was fined $5,000 and put on probation through the end of the year.

• Tony Gibson, Newman's crew chief, is on probation until June 27 because of the actions of his crew.

• Andrew Rueger, one of Newman's crew members, was fined $5,000 and put on probation until June 27.

All of the penalties stem from the late-race incident in which Busch ran a burnout through Newman's pit stall, close to the #39 crew members, and subsequent postrace confrontations between both crews.

Busch wasn't docked any points, but it probably wouldn't have made much difference in his season anyway. After keeping himself

All right, this is cute: a roundup of all the stripes the Lady in Black dished out this weekend. Check it out as many of NASCAR's best drivers (yes, and Danica Patrick, you frothing Danica-is-horrible types) run up against the walls. And the walls maintain their undefeated record!

"The brakes went out, guys, I swear!" (Getty Images)Well, at least he didn't roll through the pit. Jimmie Johnson celebrates after winning at Darlington. But that's the boring real-life explanation. Have a little fun with this one, won't you? Best comment gets you a cupful of 48 smoke.

Kevin Na, takin' his time. (Getty Images)Welcome to the new season of Teeing Off, where Devil Ball editor Jay Busbee and head writer Jonathan Wall take a day's topic and smack it all over the course. Suggest a future topic by writing jay.busbee@yahoo.com, or hit us on Twitter at @jaybusbee and @jonathanrwall. Today, we tackle the horror that is slow play. Settle in.

Busbee: So this weekend we had another ... opportunity ... to ... see ... Kevin ... Na in action. And with him, he dragged along the albatross of slow play. We're told that it's the bane of the game, that it's worse than a beverage cart without any beer. Let's examine this topic today, shall we? Your thoughts on slow play, sir? Is it as much of a problem as its detractors suggest?

[Related: How sorry should we feel for Kevin Na?]

Wall: Slow play ... if there's one topic in golf that makes my blood boil more than any other, it's talking about Mr. Na and his slow play compatriots. Let's get this out of the way first: Slow play won't kill the game. Despite what some are saying, the PGA Tour won't disappear if guys play five-plus-hour rounds. But you have to wonder when tour officials are going to draw the line and starting taking some action against the worst offenders. This can't go on for much longer. I understand these guys are playing for million-dollar paydays each week, but it can't take you a minute to set up and hit a shot. Unless we're talking a double-breaker to win, guys need to assess the shot, step up, and smack the ball down the fairway. It seems so easy, you wonder why guys can't get it through their thick skulls. Hit the ball. Is it really that hard?