What To Watch For This Week In Florida Sports (April 14-20)

WATCH FOR the Tampa Bay Lightning to open the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay Times Forum.  The Lightning hold first round home ice advantage as the number three seed in Eastern Conference.  Some facts about the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s 2013-14 season.

• The Lightning finished in second place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division with 101 points
• Tampa Bay’s 46 wins this season tied a franchise-best (2010-11 and 2003-04)



• The winner of this series will play the winner of the Boston Bruins/Detroit Red Wings series in the Second Round of the 2014 NHL Playoffs
• The Lightning and the Canadiens met in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Tampa Bay sweeping Montreal four games to none en route to the Stanley Cup Championship
• The Lightning and the Canadiens played four times this season with the Lightning winning three of the four games, the only loss coming in a shootout.

Also WATCH FOR the Orlando Solar Bears continuing into the post-season. An affiliate of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs and AHL’s Iowa Wild and Toronto Marlies, the Solar Bears will face-off against the Cincinnati Cyclones in the Eastern Conference Kelly Cup Quarterfinals.  The best of seven series opens at the Amway Center Thursday, April 17 at 7pm.

WATCH FOR the Miami Heat‘s first-round NBA playoff fate to be determined as soon as Monday night or as late as Wednesday.

Should both the Heat and Charlotte Bobcats lose Monday night, then the Heat and Bobcats would be locked into a No. 2-vs.-No. 7 best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series that would open this weekend at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Without that scenario Monday night, the Heat’s first-round matchup will not be decided until Wednesday, the final day of the regular season, when they meet the Philadelphia 76ers in Miami.

The HEAT announced the return of its immensely popular promotional campaign: White Hot. HEAT fans everywhere are encouraged to embrace their role throughout the post-season by wearing white to support the HEAT in all daily activities, particularly HEAT Playoff game dates.

White Hot: The 2014 HEAT Playoffs will formally begin on Monday, April 14th with the launch of White Hot HEAT Week—the franchise’s series of community events and promotions.

WATCH FOR a couple of big days coming up in the northwest corner of the state as the Pensacola Ice Flyers celebrate their second consecutive SPHL President’s Cup Championship Tuesday night at the Pensacola Bay Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and fans can have their picture taken with Maverick – Pensacola Ice Flyers and the President’s Cup in Meeting Room A on the first floor before the ceremony.

The ceremony will begin at 6:45 p.m. and following there will be a full team autograph session on the west concourse.

The Ice Flyers’ 5-1 victory, Saturday night, against the Columbus Cottonmouths at the Columbus Civic Center clinched the Southern Professional Hockey League President’s Cup championship.

On Wednesday, the Pensacola Sports Association will host local businesses and sports organizers in Pensacola and surrounding areas in the second annual Sports Connection Expo. The event takes place at the Vickrey Center at 2130 Summit Blvd in Pensacola, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

The Sports Connection Expo provides avenues of communication between sports organizers and local businesses. PSA will act as host, providing a structured central location to bring interested parties together. Last year’s Expo showcased 28 sports groups, representing more than 50 different events, including Five Flags Speedway, the Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club, Softball Players’ Association, Santa Rosa Island Triathlon, Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, the Pensacola Hunter-Jumper Association, the First Tee of Northwest Florida, Pensacola Yacht Club, Special Olympics, to name a few.

New exhibitors already signed up are the Pro Watercross Tour (Jet Ski tournament), Pathways for Change Pensacola Mud Run 5K and Pensacola Table Tennis Club. Admittance is open to everyone. Businesses wishing to attend need only show up between 10 and 12 on April 16 – no RSVP is required.

WATCH FOR the Florida Firefighter Games make a Major Impact in Palm Beach County for two weeks in April and May, with the nation’s largest gathering of firefighters competing in sports.  The Florida Firefighter Games and its 3,000 participants will take place  from April 25 to May 10, 2014.  The Florida Firefighter Games is an Olympic-style competition dedicated exclusively for firefighters. This multi-sport event features over 30 different sports events, including soccer, flag football, softball, golf, basketball, volleyball, ice hockey, fishing, racquetball, bowling, billiards, and cycling.

Multiple venues throughout Palm Beach County will be utilized to accommodate the variety of sporting events.   Seminole Palms Park, Royal Palm Beach Commons Park, Okeeheelee Park, Northwood University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Cardinal Newman High School, Palm Beach Skate Zone, Green Acres Bowl, and several golf courses will serve as anchor facilities.  The Hilton Palm Beach Airport is the host hotel and will serve as a venue to indoor sports.

The Florida Firefighter Games is one of the largest sporting events in the United States solely dedicated to firefighters and the influx of visitors will create a major tourism and economic impact.  This event has taken place in Palm Beach County on two previous occasions (May of 2004 & 2007) and consistently generates over 1,500 hotel room nights and nearly a million dollars in visitor spending for its host community.  

The Weekly “What to Watch For in Florida Sports,” is compiled by the Florida Sports Foundation, the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization. Follow the Florida Sports Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter #fla_sports. Visit http://www.flasports.com for more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the vibrant sports industry in the Sunshine State. Florida is Where The World Comes to Play.

What To Watch For This Week In Florida Sports (March 10-16, 2014)

WATCH FOR Bracketology to take on new meaning this year for Central Florida, as NCAA® March Madness® is coming to Orlando!

Both ESPN and CBS Sports’ brackets have the Florida Gators playing in Orlando as a #1 seed. Other teams that have shown up on mock brackets playing at the Amway Center include Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth.

The top-ranked Gators finished the SEC Regular season with a perfect 18-0 record and enter the SEC Tournament with a 29-2 overall record.  The Gators first round opponent in the SEC Tournament will be either Texas A&M or Missouri on Friday.  Florida, along with 67 other teams, will learn their March Madness destinies on Sunday, March 16 with the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field.

The PASSION of March Madness will be on display at the second and third round of the 2014 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Championship March 20th and 22nd at the Amway Center. Lower bowl tickets are sold out, but a limited number of seats in the upper bowl still remain. Single session tickets start at just $66 and are available for a limited time. Providing entry to 2 games, single session tickets are just over $30 per game.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship will attract thousands of fans from across the United States to Central Florida, generating millions in economic impact for the region. The event is expected to generate nearly $10 million of economic impact for the region. In addition, the international and national exposure generated from the media and live telecast will be immeasurable for Orlando and Orange County.

For general tournament information visit www.CentralFloridaSports.org/ncaa. The championship games are hosted locally by Stetson University, Central Florida Sports Commission, and Orlando Venues, in partnership with the City of Orlando and Orange County.

WATCH FOR a 14-turn, 1.8-mile IndyCar track to be completed in Downtown St. Petersburg for the Firestone St. Petersburg Grand Prix.  Once complete, race cars will screech alongside the waterfront at 170 miles per hour with more than 100,000 racing fans eager to catch a glimpse of crunching metal or cutthroat competition expected to attend.

The race, which will be held March 28-30, will go along an Albert Whitted Airport runway, wind around the Dalí Museum and up First Street SE, then snake around Pioneer Park and down Bay Shore Drive. Its creation requires 20,000 feet of steel-reinforced concrete barriers and 44,000 feet of chain-link fencing.

It is broadcast on four channels in 200 countries, bringing plenty of exposure to the area. “That’s something that you really can’t buy, that kind of attention,” said Vice Mayor Kanika Tomalin.

WATCH FOR the third stop of the March PGA Tour swing through Florida this week at the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort – Copperhead, in Palm Harbor.  At the first two stops, the Honda Classic, in Palm Beach Gardens, and the World Golf Championships in Miami, Russell Henley and Patrick Reed each walked away with more than $1 Million in winnings.

Among those battling for the total purse of $5.7 million this weekend is Jordan Spieth, who used Innisbrook as a springboard to last year’s Rookie of the Year season.  He leads a lineup featuring 10 of the top 30 in this week’s Official World Golf Ranking. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and No. 11 Matt Kuchar also are committed.

The fourth and final stop on the March Florida swing is the Arnold Palmer Invitational, played at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, March 20-23. Now in its 36th year, the annual event is a boon for Central Florida, bringing in more than $20 million in economic impact for the region and more than 120,000 attendees. In addition, the event brings national exposure to the region, which helps further market Orlando as a destination not only for theme park attractions, but also for golfing and other amenities.

WATCH FOR the 32nd Annual USA Powerlifting Florida State Championships, to be held at the Bay Oaks Recreation Center in Fort Myers Beach, this weekend.

The competition will feature 86 of the best female and male powerlifters from the State of Florida. Divisions range, in male and female categories, from Teen (14-18) to Masters (40-79).

Among the athletes scheduled to compete are Florida International Senior Games & State Championships gold medalists Helen Hankerson, of Seffner, Ocala’s Marietta Roberts and Michael Paugh, of Cape Coral.

WATCH FOR the third weekend of Florida Grapefruit League stadiums to host near-capacity crowds.  Last weekend, Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 saw over 130,000 fans flock to 18 game statewide under sunny skies and 80 degree temperatures.

This weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays host the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and Boston Red Sox, Sunday, at Charlotte County Stadium in Port Charlotte. 

After the Monday, March 10 schedule of games, more than 560,000 fans have attended 88 games in the 2014 Florida Spring Training season for an average of 6,377 per game.

The Weekly “What to Watch For in Florida Sports,” is compiled by the Florida Sports Foundation, the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization. Follow the Florida Sports Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter #fla_sports. Visit http://www.flasports.com for more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the vibrant sports industry in the Sunshine State. Florida is Where The World Comes to Play.

What To Watch For This Week In Florida Sports (August 5-11)

WATCH FOR professional soccer to be in the headlines for the next few days in Florida.  The International Champions Cup is being played tonight and tomorrow night at Sun Life Stadium in Miami with eight of the most recognized teams in the world playing in the final matches of the Cup. The championship features Real Madrid against Chelsea and there’s three more games on the schedule.

On Aug. 6 and 9, the Orlando City Soccer club will make its case before Orange County authorities, hoping to secure $20 million in surplus tourist tax money to support the first phase of a stadium project in downtown Orlando. Organizers say that Orlando’s popularity and the potential facility’s ability to attract a variety of events — soccer and otherwise — will appeal to commissioners and politicians who prefer to invest that tax revenue in projects that will keep the tourists flowing in.

WATCH FOR Sarasota to move forward as an international hub for the sport of Rowing. Southwest Florida received, on Monday, a tentative — but promising — nod from rowing’s governing body to host the 2017 World Rowing Championships, the sport’s largest competition apart from the Olympic Games. The event will be held at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota.

WATCH FOR the Jacksonville Sharks, one of four teams remaining in the Arena Football League Playoffs, to advance to ArenaBowl XXVI in Orlando with a win in the American Conference Championships.  The Sharks defeated the Tampa Bay Storm in the first round of the playoffs and meet the Philadelphia Soul, Saturday night at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, in Jacksonville.  The winner advances to the ArenaBowl in Orlando’s Amway Arena on Saturday, August 17.  The Arizona Rattlers meet the Spokane Shock in the National Conference Championship on Saturday with the winner advancing to Orlando.

WATCH FOR the medal count of Florida senior athletes at the 2013 National Senior Games to move past 200 as the last results come in from the Games.  As it stands now, Florida’s contingent of 568 athletes won 195 individual and eight team medals.  With all of the different events and age groups, track and field and swimming athletes totaled 103 medals, with 57 medals coming on the track and in the field and 46 coming in the swimming pool.  Give the 2013 Florida medal winners page a look to see the successes of Florida senior athletes at the 2013 National Senior Games, held July 20-August 1 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Weekly “What to Watch For in Florida Sports,” is compiled by Florida Sports Foundation Director of Communications, Nick Gandy. Follow the Florida Sports Foundation on Facebook and on Twitter #fla_sports. Visit http://www.flasports.com for more information about the Florida Sports Foundation and the vibrant sports industry in the Sunshine State. Florida is Where The World Comes to Play.