How Hurricane Ian will affect sports this weekend
With Hurricane Ian bearing down on the Gulf Coast of Florida, leagues and groups are making selections relating to upcoming practices and video games. Hurricane Ian is at present forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast late Wednesday or early Thursday, as a serious hurricane with wind speeds better than 110 miles per hour.
The present observe of the storm brings it by way of Florida and into Georgia after which the Carolinas by way of the weekend, and whereas the observe of the storm might nonetheless change, there’s potential for main disruptions.
Consequently, many groups and leagues have begun making modifications to their schedules. Here’s a rundown of the modifications so far:
NFL
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are slated to host the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs on Sunday Night time Soccer. Forward of the storm, the Buccaneers traveled to Miami to carry practices on the Miami Dolphins’ follow facility.
Whereas a call relating to the sport itself has not been made, there’s a probability the sport might get moved out of the state. In line with a report from Jeff Darlington, the league has contingency plans in place to maneuver video games, and groups that journey abroad could make their stadiums out there in such a state of affairs. With the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings taking part in in London this Sunday, each venues might be an choice, with U.S. Financial institution Stadium in Minneapolis a possible alternative so assets in New Orleans might be diverted to Florida if crucial:
Thread: If the Bucs are unable to host the Chiefs on Sunday because of the affect of Hurricane Ian, the NFL is unlikely to make use of Miami as the brand new recreation website although Dolphins aren’t utilizing the stadium, per league sources. The Bucs would as an alternative be on the transfer once more…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 26, 2022
MLB
Main League Baseball has not introduced any modifications to the upcoming schedule, however a pivotal collection within the NL East might be impacted by Hurricane Ian. The Atlanta Braves, who path the New York Mets by only a single recreation within the division, are set to host the Mets for a three-game collection beginning Friday evening.
School Soccer
Quite a few faculty soccer video games have been rescheduled upfront of Hurricane Ian.
The sport for East Carolina and South Florida, which was scheduled to kickoff in Tampa, has been moved to Florida Atlantic College, on Florida’s Atlantic coast. That recreation is now scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
The Florida recreation towards Jap Washington, which was slated to kickoff at midday on Saturday down in The Swamp, has been moved to midday on Sunday.
South Carolina was scheduled to host South Carolina State at midday on Saturday, however that recreation has been moved to 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday evening.
Different video games to watch embrace Virginia Tech at North Carolina, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, N.C. State at Clemson, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, and Virginia at Duke, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday as nicely.
NHL
The Tampa Bay Lightning have moved a pair of preseason video games that have been scheduled for Wednesday (towards the Carolina Hurricanes) and Thursday (towards the Nashville Predators). The Lightning moved their coaching camp to Nashville, and can play Carolina on the street on Tuesday earlier than taking part in the Predators in Nashville on Thursday.
This will likely be up to date as additional schedule modifications are made.
