Central Florida Sports

Fourteen players on the Florida State roster and seven from Michigan will get to enjoy their season finale close to home. But the Orange Bowl matchup will mean a lot more to one player in particular. FSU star running back Dalvin Cook, a former Carol City optimist and Miami Central High School standout,...

Toughness takes different forms in the NBA. Successful teams overcome physical and mental fatigue — something the Orlando Magic failed to do Wednesday night. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back and their first game at Amway Center following a successful road trip, the Magic were outplayed...

There will be a lot of firsts Saturday night. When the Seattle Sounders travel to BMO Field to face Toronto FC at 8 p.m. in the 2016 MLS Cup, it will be the first time two teams that were not original members of the league compete for the title. Seattle joined MLS in 2009 and Toronto became the...

Members of Orlando City's two recognized supporter groups, The Ruckus and Iron Lion Firm, gathered at the construction site of the club's future stadium downtown Wednesday night for a vigil to honor the Chapecoense plane crash victims.

UCF Knights

It was the end of one era but a beginning to another for Jacksonville University Christian School running back Otis Anderson Jr., on Friday at Camping World Stadium. Anderson finished off his high school football career by helping University to another Class 2A state championship in the same town...

Gabe Luyanda said UCF fans can expect a linebacker who "always fights, goes hard and never gives up," when he takes the field for the Knights next season. Luyanda is the Knights' latest commitment to the 2017 recruiting class, which has 20 prospects now pledged to the group, comitting to UCF on...

FSU Seminoles

Florida State lost its second recruit of this recruiting cycle to Alabama on Thursday when Fort Lauderdale Boyd Anderson safety Daniel Wright flipped on his commitment to the Seminoles. Wright announced via his Twitter account @_Wright3470 with a note that read, "Throughout this journey there has...

Florida State is making Jim Harbaugh’s wish come true. But the Michigan coach might have to be careful for what he wishes for. The Seminoles plan on sending Osceola and Renegade to perform their pregame ritual before No. 11 FSU (9-3) faces No. 6 Michigan (10-2) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. It...

Florida Gators

UF tailback Jordan Cronkrite is transferring, ending a frustrating sophomore season when he went from a starting role to little role at all with the Gators. Cronkrite's decision, first reported by Ryan Bartow of 247Sports, is of little surprise and reflects the failings of the team's four-tailback...

Dr. Phillips and Miami Southridge, who meet in Saturday night's Class 8A football final, have already played each other in Orlando this year, but without helmets. The Panthers beat the Spartans 28-14 in a heated 7-on-7 game on June 4 in UCF's high school passing tournament. There was trash talk...

NFL

Larry Fitzgerald is a future Hall of Famer who has moved inside as he aged, becoming the Arizona Cardinals' slot receiver. Fitzgerald, who is completing his 13th NFL season, is unusual for that position because of his size, at 6-foot-3, 218 pounds.That's why he's a matchup nightmare for just about...

From Our Blogs

Javian Hawkins isn't exactly a household name among the top college football prospects in Florida. His anonymity won't last long, however. Hawkins burst on the scene this season as one of the go-to players for Cocoa High after transferring from Titusville Astronaut. He put an exclamation point...

Bruce Judson and Juwan Armstrong had a nice homecoming Thursday night at Camping World Stadium. The Cocoa High seniors, both of whom moved from Jones for their freshman years of high school, saw their Cocoa careers culminate in a Class 4A state title as the Tigers defeated Jacksonville Bolles 31-17....

Pahokee football was finally back in what Blue Devils fans believe to be its rightful position Thursday after winning the Class 1A state championship game over Baker 34-21 at Camping World Stadium. The Blue Devils had become a mainstay atop the Florida high school football world. They won five...

With the announcement on Wednesday that USF football coach Willie Taggart will be headed to Oregon, several Bulls commitments are left to ponder their future. Local recruits Bruce Judson Jr., Emare Hogan and Demetri Burch were not shocked by Wednesday's news, but all three are now left trying to...

National sports

Suspended Oakland Raiders pass rusher Aldon Smith met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday in hopes of being reinstated from his substance-abuse ban. A person with knowledge of the meeting said Smith sat down with the commissioner and other league staff to make his case to be allowed back...

Dexter Fowler is headed from the World Series champions to their biggest rival. After helping the Chicago Cubs end their long championship drought, he finalized an $82.5 million, five-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday. Fowler fills the last big hole left in the Cardinals lineup...

There is an argument to be made that the AFC West is the best division in the NFL. There is little argument to be made that the Chiefs are the class of it. After dispatching the Raiders on a frigid night at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs are tied with them for the lead at 10-3 with three games left...

Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is being pursued by Florida Atlantic to become the Owls' next head coach, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday night. Kiffin and the Owls have had dialogue, said both people, who spoke on condition of anonymity...

Russia's sports reputation was ripped apart again Friday when a new report into systematic doping detailed a vast "institutional conspiracy" that covered more than 1,000 athletes in over 30 sports and corrupted the drug-testing system at the 2012 and 2014 Olympics. The findings were handed over...