Florida Sports Wire

  JACKSONVILLE ( Florida Sports Wire ) – Former Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp left-handed pitcher Dax Fulton became the fourth Jacksonville alumnus in as many days to make his major league debut when he did so on Wednesday for the Miami Marlins against the Balitmore Orioles at loanDepot park. Fulton filled a long-relief role for Miami, working 4.0 innings of relief. He yielded two runs on three hits with three strikeouts against a pair of walks in the Marlins’ 7-4 loss to the Orioles. Originally selected by Miami in the second round of the 2020 draft out of Mustang High School (Mustang, Okla.), Fulton reached Jacksonville for the first time during last season’s run to the Triple-A National Championship. He made four starts for the Jumbo Shrimp following a promotion from Double-A Pensacola, striking out 19 in 16.1 innings. He began the 2026 campaign with Jacksonville, making five starts out of seven appearances, and registering 24 strikeouts in 20.0 innings of work. The 2025 campaign w...

Special to Florida Sports Wire The Sporting JAX women’s team delivered a statement result on Wednesday night, defeating DC Power FC 1-0 on the road in the second-to-last match of their inaugural season, clinching a home playoff match in the process.  DeSmit Delivers Again  Sporting JAX found its breakthrough in the 33rd minute, continuing a season-long trend of timely attacking moments. Sophia Boman worked the ball into a dangerous area, setting up Baylee DeSmit, who made no mistake in front of goal.  DeSmit’s strike marked her 12th of the season, further cementing her role as one of the league’s most consistent offensive threats. The early lead gave Sporting JAX control, allowing them to dictate the pace and remain composed in a high-stakes environment against a DC side pushing to keep its playoff hopes alive.  Defensive Focus Pays Off   With everything on the line, Sporting JAX leaned into a disciplined defensive performance to protect the lead. Head Coach Sta...

  TALLAHASSEE  ( Florida SportsWire ) – Florida State and Georgia have mutually agreed to cancel the schools’ home-and-home series scheduled for 2027 and 2028. The Seminoles and Bulldogs are now in discussion to play a neutral-site matchup soon. “As we considered the effects of evolving scheduling mandates within both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Southeastern Conference, we have mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of both schools to cancel our home-and-home series scheduled for 2027 and 2028,” FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford said. “We are now discussing playing a future neutral-site contest, and we are optimistic we will get that done. Importantly, this change will not reduce the total home games on our schedule moving forward.” Florida State opens its 2026 campaign on August 29 at Doak Campbell Stadium against New Mexico State.

By Jeff Moeller, Jacksonville Sports Day If there is one certainty you can count on from the Jaguars’ draft, it is general manager James Gladstone did it his way. He made his mark with his shocking trade up for Travis Hunter last year that gave the Jags a less profile draft this year.  Gladstone has come under criticism from draft experts for his overall selections. His overall performance didn’t register high marks.  The Jags and Rams’ drafts were ranked at the bottom by many draftniks. Ironically, Gladstone’s front office roots were with the Rams. Do you doubt the Rams’ brass by envisioning Ty Simpson as Matthew Stafford’s replacement?  When you look at the Jags’ recent draft, there were some headscratchers.  Overall, it was a mixed bag. There was a prevailing theory that they had to fill the void left by running back Travis Etienne and linebacker Devin Lloyd. The Jags may have filled Lloyd’s spot, but they didn’t draft a running back.  Top pick Nate Boerkirch...

  By JEFF MOELLER, Jacksonville SportsDay JACKSONVILLE – Most Jaguars’ fans weren’t expecting a well-known draft pick at No. 56 unless the Jags picked up one of the quarterbacks still available. There also was the underlying feeling that general manager James Gladstone could pull off another draft blockbuster deal that he did last year with Travis Hunter. Without a pick in the top 50, this draft was about adding depth and finding a starter would be a longshot. Instead, the script continued with a rather quiet offseason for the team. Their biggest deal was Travon Walker’s extension and the re-signing of a number of veterans. Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen have worked to keep most of the current cast in place except for Travis Etienne, Devin LLoyd, and Andrew Wingard. Lack of cap space left them without the ability to shop as freely as they wanted. The Jags’ duo must have a plan in mind that we’ll have to watch unravel with the drafting of Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkicher...

SHREWSBURY, N.J. - The ECHL averaged, 5,018 fans per game during the 2025-26 regular season, marking the first time the League has surpassed the 5,000 mark per game since 1997-98, when the average was 5,013 per game. This is the fourth time in 38 seasons that the ECHL has exceeded 5,000 fans per game, with the all-time highest average of 5,312 occurring in 1994-95 and 5,273 in 1996-97. “Coming into the 2025-26 Season, our League goal was to surpass 5,000 fans per game,” said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. “The ECHL is honored to recognize this achievement and the growth of our 30 markets through the dedication of each front office team with the continued mindset to engage in our communities and provide hometown entertainment. This has led to more fans of our teams and the growth of hockey, to which we collectively say ‘Thank You’ to all of our supporters who make the ECHL atmosphere so exciting to be a part of.”  Among the highlights this season were two of the largest single game...

  North Division Semifinals (Best of Seven) #1 Wheeling Nailers (46-20-6) vs. #4 Reading Royals (36-26-10) Series Matchup Sheet Wheeling enters the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season off of its first division title since 2003-04 while Reading is in the postseason for the fourth time in five years. The two teams are meeting in the playoffs for the fourth time, with the Nailers coming out on top in two of the three previous series, including the last meeting in 2016. The Nailers went 46-20-6 in the regular season, and were one of three teams to win at least 22 games both at home and on the road. Connor Lockhart (21g-34a) and Brent Johnson (12g-43a) shared the team lead with 55 points. Johnson, who was named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team, led all ECHL defensemen in scoring this season. Taylor Gauthier was tied for the ECHL lead with a .929 save percentage and ranked third with a 2.09 goals-against average while going 21-9-5 in 36 appearances. The Royals posted a 36-26-1...