Hurricane Milton forces NFL, NHL and other sporting events to adjust game plans

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are planning to relocate to the New Orleans area to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Saints with Hurricane Milton expected to make landfall along Florida’s west coast.

The Bucs intend to travel Tuesday and spend the rest of the week out of state instead of practicing as usual at the team’s training facility in Tampa.

Milton strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane over the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and could make landfall in the Tampa Bay area Wednesday.

The NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning canceled Monday night’s scheduled preseason finale against the Nashville Predators. The game initially was rescheduled from Sept. 27 due to Hurricane Helene, which caused extensive damage in the region two weeks ago.

The Lightning open the regular season at Carolina on Friday. There was no immediate word on whether the team would evacuate to Raleigh, North Carolina, ahead of the storm.

The NBA’s Orlando Magic are on the road this week, playing at New Orleans on Monday night and at San Antonio on Wednesday.

College sports are being impacted, too, with UCF in Orlando announcing all home athletics events on Wednesday and Thursday have been canceled. That includes Wednesday’s volleyball match against Colorado, Thursday’s women’s soccer match against Arizona and the first day of the men’s tennis ITA Southeast Regionals on Thursday.

The school said Saturday's Big 12 home football game vs. Cincinnati is still scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Coach Gus Malzahn said the Knights plan to practice Wednesday morning before the storm’s effects are expected to arrive in the Orlando area.

“We’re trying to stay in our routine as best we can,” Malzahn said. “We’ll adjust with it. We’ll have a plan no matter what happens. We’ve been talking through that. I think the main thing planning-wise is making sure our players are taken care of and all the people in our program.”

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports