Florida Sports Wires

Photo Courtesy IMSA/Florida Sports Wire Photo by Henry Massey/Florida Sports Wire Photo by Henry Massey/Florida Sports Wire Photo by Henry Massey/Florida Sports Wire Photo by Henry Massey/Florida Sports Wire By Holly Cain SEBRING – Porsche Penske Motorsport wins again. It’s certainly become an enduring refrain at IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races for IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship fans in recent seasons with the legendary make and famous Penske Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) team claiming its second consecutive Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race victory Saturday – its third overall at the historic track (2008, 2025). The only real question on this warm, sunny, Florida spring day was which of the Penske team’s two Porsche 963s would take the checkered flag first at the venerable Sebring International Raceway. And that wasn’t fully settled until the dramatic final hour of the day-long race. Together the two Penske team cars combined to lead for all but 60 of the 343 total laps....

TAMPA – The University of South Florida men's basketball team announced today that head coach Bryan Hodgson has accepted the head men's basketball coaching position at Providence. In his lone season in Tampa, Hodgson delivered the most successful campaign in program history. South Florida tied the program record for wins, posting a 25-8 record, captured the American Conference regular season and tournament championships — earning two new banners for the Yuengling Center rafters — and returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012. "Coach said he would come and win championships, and he delivered on that promise by leading the most successful season in the history of our program," said CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins. "This year's team earned not one, but two championship banners for the Yuengling Center rafters, and we're forever grateful to our student-athletes, Coach Hodgson, his family, and his staff. We did everything within reason to try...

FLORIDA SPORTS WIRE ORLANDO – Orlando City SC and head coach Oscar Pareja have mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately. Assistant coach Martín Perelman has been appointed interim head coach following Pareja’s departure. “I want to thank Oscar for the dedication, leadership and professionalism he brought to our club,” said Ricardo Moreira, Orlando City SC General Manager & Sporting Director. “He delivered one of the most significant moments in Orlando City’s history with the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and helped establish the competitive foundation that has propelled us forward, highlighted by our active club-record run of six straight playoffs appearances, which is currently the longest streak in MLS. At the same time, we believe this is the right moment to take the Club in a new direction as we look to the next phase of our growth and ambitions. We are grateful for everything Oscar has contributed and wish him nothing but success in the next chapter of his career.”...

  By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire For the Jaguars, the time is now. They’ll get back into action Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas against the hapless Raiders, who have lost four of the last five games and stand at 2-5. The last time the Jaguars went to the West Coast they were involved in a tight battle with the 49ers, and they dug down deep to pull out a rather unexpected victory. That catapulted them into their epic Monday night victory over the Chiefs, and the Jags were suddenly in the discussion with the league elites with their 4-1 record.   Unfortunately, their stay at the top was short lived, as they suddenly slipped through a trap door. A London loss to the Rams, and a flat game against the Seahawks left them at 4-3, and those postseason aspirations now  have a longer route. Then there’s the Colts at 7-1, and they’re not going away anytime soon. Daniel Jones has a solid line in front of him, arguably the league’s best running back in Jonathan Taylor, and a ...

  Florida Sports Wire (Jacksonville) NEW YORK — Fantastic finishes and thrilling comebacks are the norm in the NFL this season, as there have been 24 games to feature a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, the most-ever through the first five weeks of a season.  Seven teams – Carolina, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New England, San Francisco, Tampa Bay and Tennessee – accomplished the feat last week, the most in a single week since Week 15, 2022. Last week also featured four teams – Tennessee (18 points), Carolina (17), Denver (14) and Jacksonville (14) – to complete comebacks of at least 14 points and win, tied with Week 13, 2013 for the most 14-point comebacks in a single week in NFL history. Two additional teams – New Orleans (11 points) and Washington (10 points) – completed comebacks of at least 10 points. The six wins by teams after trailing by at least 10 points also ties the most in a single week all-time, with the most recent occurrenc...

  By Jeff Moeller, Florida Sports Wire (Photo Courtesy 49ers /  Dylan Goodman The Jaguars’ 3-1 start can mainly be attributed to their defense that has a league-leading 12 turnovers this season. Under new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, the Jags’ defense has found new life. Through their first four games, there have been plenty of contributors. Linebacker Devin Lloyd, who is off to a great start, had two picks against the 49ers last Sunday. On offense, though, there is one player who has outshined the others. And it is not Trevor Lawrence, whose game picked up after a slow start in his first three. Travis Etienne. And he is the path to finally fulfill his potential. The 26-year-old tailback is having a banner year as the third-leading rusher in the game with 394 yards and an average of 98.5 per game. His 48-yard touchdown scamper against San Francisco was a key to victory and part of his 124-yard afternoon. Etienne has averaged 6.1 yards on his 65 carries. ...

  By Mike Bonts, Jacksonville SportsDay JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Florida Sports Wire)— The Carolina Panthers’ own mistakes on offense hurt them in a 26-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL regular season opener. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw his 70th career touchdown pass on a six-yard completion to tight end Hunter Long. Lawrence also recorded 19 completions. Carolina QB Bryce Young threw an interception and fumbled in the first half, turnovers that led to 10 Jaguars points. Carolina trailed 10-3 prior to the 76-minute delay because of lightning in the Jacksonville area. Following the weather delay, Travis Etienne Jr. popped a 71-yard run. Three runs later, the Jaguars were in the end zone with a 17-3 lead. Etienne Jr. registered 143 rushing yards. Brian Thomas Jr. also ran for a six-yard score for Jacksonville. The only points for the visitors were on a 48-yard field goal by rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald, until Young hit Chuba Hubbard for a touchdown pass i...

JACKSONVILLE ( www.jaxsportsday.com )  - North Florida men's soccer (2-3-4) played an eventful River City Rumble match on the road with a 1-1 draw against Jacksonville (2-5-2) on Saturday evening. After 72 minutes of play, the Ospreys were the ones to break the scoreless tie with Joaquin Acuna dishing a perfect pass to Luc Granitur for the score on the run.  Just 10 minutes afterwards, JU's Mason Duval (Andres Perez de Gracia)  responded with a goal with a header on a free kick placed in the top right corner of the frame to force a draw. The Ospreys head back to their home stadium for another weekend of conference play against FGCU on Saturday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. The Dolphins will continue conference play and head to DeLand, Florida, on Saturday, September 30, to take on Stetson. The match will begin at 7 PM.

(Photo courtesy Dallas Cowboys) By Mike Bonts, Florida Sports Wire DALLAS – What may be a preview of things to come, an aggressive Jacksonville Jaguars offense took control in the first half and scored twice late for a 28-23 NFL preseason win over the Cowboys in Dallas Saturday night. Jaguars’ quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw nine yards to Christian Kirk on a fourth and three to put the Black and Teal on the scoreboard first. The Jaguars went for two. Zay Jones caught a pass across the back of the end zone. “We have a lot of depth. Since I’ve been here, it’s definitely the deepest we’ve been. I would argue at every position, but definitely at receiver. We have a lot of good players. It’s going to be tough when it comes down to the end on who’s getting those last spots. We’ve got a lot of really good players," Lawrence said after the game. Jacksonville third string QB Nathan Rourke ran and threw for two fourth quarter touchdowns. The CFL product finished 9 of 17 passing for 153 y...

By Mike Bonts JACKSONVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com ) --  The Jacksonville Icemen announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Brendan Harris and defenseman Jacob Panetta for the 2023-24 season.     Harris, 27, returns for his third season with the Icemen where he recorded career highs in points (49), goals (15) and assists (34) in 56 games played last season.    The 5-9, 175-pound forward was acquired by the Icemen from the Wheeling Nailers during the 2021-22 season and went on to post 30 points (12g, 18a) in 39 regular games, and led the Icemen in playoff scoring that spring posting eight points in eight appearances.     Harris registered seven points in 19 games with the Nailers near the end of the 2020-21 season.   Prior to beginning his professional career, the Henderson, Nevada resident finished second in scoring with 23 points during his senior season at Bemidji State University in 2020-21.  He completed his fo...

NASHVILLE (www.sportsdayjax.com)  –  After taking a three-run lead in the second the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp offense fell silent as the Nashville Sounds plated five unanswered runs in a 5-3 win Wednesday night at First Horizon Park.   The Sounds (49-41, 9-7) tied the game in the third after falling behind 3-0 in the second.  Abraham Toro  started the inning with a double and went to third on a single from  Keston Hiura .  Skye Bolt  walked, loading the bases and  Alex Jackson  singled off Jacksonville (41-50, 9-8) starter  Ronald Bolaños  but an errant throw to first allowed two runs to score to cut the deficit 3-2. Bolt went to third on the error and he scored on a sac fly from  Patrick Dorrian , tying the game at three.   Nashville took the lead in the bottom of the sixth.  Monte Harrison  and  Luis Urias  worked consecutive walks and a double-steal put runners on second and third. Harrison sco...