Florida Sports Wire

SAVANNAH, Ga. (www.jaxsportsday.com) — The Florida Panthers and Savannah Ghost Pirates announced  that they have extended their affiliation agreement through the 2028–29 season. The 2026–27 campaign will mark the third season of the partnership between Savannah and Florida. “We are extremely excited to continue our partnership with the Florida Panthers and the Charlotte Checkers,” said John Thompson, Executive Vice President of Zawyer Sports Savannah. “We want to thank the entire Panthers organization as we continue to build success over the next three seasons.” Through its first two seasons, the affiliation has helped develop several players in Savannah, including goaltenders Cooper Black and Kirill Gerasimyuk, who are nearing their NHL debuts.  It has also seen Evan Cormier, the Ghost Pirates’ goaltender for the past two seasons, raise the Stanley Cup with the Panthers in 2025. “The Savannah Ghost Pirates have been a tremendous partner in our player development pipeline, an...

JACKSONVILLE (www.jaxsportsnews.com) – Former Ponte Vedra High School standout Cameron Reed was the beneficiary of a 54th-hole stumble by rising Tocoi Creek High School junior Ambrose Kinnare, which led to Reed securing a one-shot victory in the 65th playing of the JAGA Jacksonville Amateur Championship presented by Pinnacle Financial Partners at Sawgrass Country Club. With Reed having finished in the second-to-last group at 7-under par, Kinnare strode to the final tee holding a one-shot lead at 8 under. A pulled tee shot that ended up in the water lining the par-5 18th hole initiated a debacle that ended in a double-bogey and a flip of the two names atop the leaderboard, with Reed capturing Northeast Florida’s most prestigious amateur golf title. Entering third-round play, Reed was three shots off Kinnare’s lead, in fifth place. His deficit grew to six shots through the first eight holes before the script began to flip, with Reed reeling off birdies on five of the first seven holes on...

WORCESTER, Mass. (Jax Sports News.com) – Cam Cannarella notched a career-high four hits but the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp suffered their 10th consecutive loss in a 6-5 defeat to the Worcester Red Sox on Friday at Polar Park. The setback marked the first time a Jacksonville (50-48, 8-16) club has lost 10 straight games in its recorded history (2005-present). The Jumbo Shrimp fell for the 14th time in the last 15 games; 10 of those defeats have come by just one run. Jacksonville led 2-1 when Allan Castro led off the fourth with a single. Bradley Blalock (1-8) then walked each of the next three hitters to force in the tying run. Nate Eaton’s sacrifice fly put Worcester (49-46, 13-11) ahead 3-2. Mickey Gasper started the fifth with a double. He scored two batters later on Brett Harris’ RBI single. The Jumbo Shrimp answered in the sixth. Agustín Ramírez led off with a walk against Sam McWilliams (2-1). Andrew Pintar replaced Ramírez on first after a fielder’s choice before stealing second ...

  PONTE VEDRA BEACH (SportsDay Media) – Four-time PGA TOUR winner and founder of NB3 Foundation, a national, award-winning Native-led nonprofit, Notah Begay III has been named the recipient of the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company, honoring his character, sportsmanship and commitment to charitable giving. Begay III, 53, will be honored Tuesday, August 25, at the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony in conjunction with the 2026 TOUR Championship. Golf Channel will televise the ceremony as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-8 p.m. ET at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta. “Notah Begay III has always used his platform to make a meaningful and lasting impact, particularly within his Native American communities, and that ongoing work no doubt reflects the values of character, compassion and leadership that define the Payne Stewart Award,” said PGA TOUR CEO Brian Rolapp. “The PGA TOUR is proud to recognize Notah as the 2026 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award presen...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (SportsDay Media) – The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were swept on Sunday in an 11-2 loss to the Rochester Red Wings at ESL Ballpark. The Red Wings (56-38, 11-10) opened up the scoring with a massive third inning. Jumbo Shrimp (50-44, 8-12) reliever Amos Willingham (0-2) issued a leadoff walk to Riley Adams before Cayden Wallace singled. Maxwell Romero Jr. followed with an RBI single for the game’s first run.  Christian Franklin then walked to bring up Abimelec Ortiz, who crushed a grand slam to make it 5-0. Two batters later, Andrew Pinckney doubled before scoring from second on a passed ball. Pinckney walked with one out in the fifth and Trey Lipscomb singled. Joey Wiemer brought in Pinckney with an RBI double before consecutive RBI singles from Adams and Wallace made it 9-0. Jacksonville got on the board in the sixth. Kemp Alderman led off with a double. After a strikeout and an error, he scored on Gage Miller’s RBI single. Rochester added their final two runs in t...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Special to Jax SportsDay) – Home runs from Andrew Pintar and Graham Pauley were not enough for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in a 7-2 loss to the Rochester Red Wings in Friday’s series opener from ESL Ballpark. After Pintar’s homer tied the score at one in the top of the third, the Red Wings (54-38, 9-10) took control of the game in the bottom of the third. Jumbo Shrimp (50-42, 8-10) starter Bradley Blalock (1-7) issued a leadoff walk to Abimelic Ortiz to start the inning.  A ground out pushed Ortiz to second before Andrew Pinckney socked a double to plate Ortiz and put Rochester in front. Trey Lipscomb followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1. The Red Wings added on in the fourth. Phillip Glasser led off with a double. He scored on Christian Franklin’s RBI triple. A Yohandy Morales RBI ground out widened the gap to 5-1. In the fifth, Riley Adams clubbed a long home run to give Rochester a 6-1 advantage. The Jumbo Shrimp answered in the seventh inning on a long ...

  B y Jeff Moeller, Jax Sports Day A year ago, Travis Hunter made as big a splash as when the Jaguars first took the field in 1995. Jacksonville shocked the league and the football world when they moved up in the draft to make Hunter the second overall pick last season. His Heisman Trophy added to the hype.  Expectations were sky-high, and the Jags had a potential two-way player who could certainly make a difference in a club who was looking for a major gamechanger.  Hunter had the ability to excel offensively and defensively. He was viewed as the player that could put them over the top, and take some pressure off Trevor Lawrence. Hunter initially discovered the difference between college football and the NFL. But he did begin to adapt. Ironically, Hunter went down in practice after he had his most productive game of the season with a seven-catch, 101-yard effort against the Rams. He also proved he could play corner when he had as good a game on the other side of the ball...