Sports are secondary when it comes to natural disasters.
Logistics and scheduling around college sports, the NFL, NHL and NBA have been impacted this week due to Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Sarasota, Fla., on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm.
As of Thursday morning, it had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. A storm surge warning remained in effect for parts of the eastern coast of Florida and the southern coast of Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Milton brought significant winds and destroyed the roof of Tropicana Field, home to MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, on Wednesday night. Leagues and teams are continuing to monitor how the storm progresses.
Here’s the latest.
MLB
No Florida teams made the MLB playoffs, but the league still felt Milton’s impact as the storm destroyed the Trop Field roof when it descended upon St. Petersburg, Fla., and the surrounding area.
The stadium was supposed to be used as a staging area for first responders. A Rays spokesperson told ABC News that no first responders were being staged there when the damage occurred and essential personnel who were there at the time were all accounted for and safe.
Many spring training facilities for MLB teams are located in the area, including that of the New York Yankees (Tampa), Detroit Tigers (Lakeland), Baltimore Orioles (Sarasota), Toronto Blue Jays (Dunedin), Atlanta Braves (North Point), Pittsburgh Pirates (Bradenton), Philadelphia Phillies (Clearwater) and Rays (Port Charlotte).
NFL
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ flight to London was “slightly” delayed, a team spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
The Jaguars are scheduled to face the Chicago Bears at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They expect to arrive later Friday than originally planned due to the hurricane.
Elsewhere, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers left the Tampa area early, departing Tuesday morning, ahead of Sunday’s game against the Saints in New Orleans. The team said it would relocate its operations to the New Orleans area for the week due to Hurricane Milton’s threat. The team typically practices at its training facility in Tampa.
That game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning canceled a preseason game against the Nashville Predators on Monday. That game was originally rescheduled from Sep. 27 due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, which caused significant damage in the area.
The Lightning face the Carolina Hurricanes in their regular-season opener in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday. The Lightning evacuated early to Raleigh in preparation for the storm, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
NBA
The NBA postponed one preseason game and canceled another. A game scheduled for Thursday between the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat was rescheduled for Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET. And Friday’s game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Orlando Magic was canceled.
College sports
Memphis-USF game postponed
Memphis and South Florida’s game, originally scheduled for Friday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., was postponed until 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The USF-Memphis football game will not be played on Friday evening.
For now, it has been rescheduled for Saturday at 3:30pm.
We will assess the conditions & overall situation after the storm has passed to determine if any further adjustments are necessary.…
— USF Football (@USFFootball) October 8, 2024
Coach Alex Golesh said there’s no playbook for the situation his program is facing. South Florida counts 31 players from what it considers the Tampa Bay area on its roster with at least 23 others from areas that could be impacted. Some have asked to bring water home to their families because the grocery stores are out. Others are trying to figure out how to take care of their dogs. Staffers have families. Many have young children. A few have pregnant wives.
“Things that are real-life situations that you’re pushing through,” Golesh said during a virtual media availability Tuesday.
Memphis, South Florida and the conference would reevaluate the game Thursday after the storm passed. The two teams don’t share an upcoming open date.
Golesh said everyone wants to play this weekend, but it might not be possible.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you, ‘Man, I feel like this football game’s going to be really important Saturday after what happens here Thursday,’” Golesh said. “What happens here Thursday could be as bad as anything this part of the country’s ever seen.”
Elsewhere around college sports
Other college football games in Florida, such as Cincinnati at UCF in Orlando, and North Texas at FAU in Boca Raton, could also be impacted, but scheduling changes were not announced as of Thursday morning.
As Hurricane Milton nears, we continue to monitor it closely.
Saturday’s game vs. Cincinnati is still scheduled for 3:30 p.m. but will be evaluated further once the storm has passed.
Please stay safe everyone! https://t.co/ckjgKIoHdp— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) October 8, 2024
That game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orange County. UCF football said Tuesday that schedule would be evaluated further once the storm passed.
UCF Athletics also announced scheduling adjustments Tuesday for volleyball, women’s and men’s soccer and men’s tennis.
North Texas-FAU is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Saturday at FAU Stadium, located about half an hour north of Fort Lauderdale.
Florida moved up its practice schedule Wednesday, and coach Billy Napier said the Gators might have to push it back Thursday “based off of what type of situation we have when we wake up in the morning.”
“Probably the most challenging part is a lot of these guys’ families are right in the thick of it down south,” Napier said. “There’s no question that we’ll have a lot of people that will be significantly impacted by this hurricane.”
Florida plays No. 8 Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
Soccer
Argentina’s national team, captained by soccer star Lionel Messi, left South Florida on Wednesday ahead of their match against Venezuela in Maturín, Venezuela, on Thursday.
The team trained at Inter Miami’s facility in Fort Lauderdale this week ahead of their World Cup qualifying games — one against Venezuela at 5 p.m. ET and another against Bolivia 8 p.m. ET on Oct. 15 in Argentina.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the travel schedule would be “difficult.”
“We will arrive just one day before the game,” Scaloni said, according to USA Today. “We have to make a stop because they are not allowing flights from American soil directly to Venezuela.
“These are things that do not depend on us. We have had bad luck with this situation. But the most important thing is the safety and health for the players and the rest of us.”
(Photo: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images)
