Gator soccer opens its season, Gator football continues practice, high schools have preseason classics, baseball and more in our Friday Sports Update…
** The Gator soccer team opens its regular season tonight by hosting Miami. Florida is a preseason pick to win the SEC and is ranked in the top ten nationally. It is also the 20th season for Gator soccer and coach Becky Burleigh has been the coach for all of them.
** The Gator football team winds down its preseason camp as Sunday begins a game week preparation for the Idaho Vandals next Saturday.
** Several Gators are named to the preseason Coaches All-SEC Team. Dante Fowler and Vernon Hargreaves III were named to the first team while offensive lineman Chaz Green is a second team selection.
** High school football teams in the area have preseason classics tonight. Hopefully, weather will be better than it was last night for the games which were affected by lightning.
** In the NFL, Jacksonville faces Detroit tonight in an exhibition game. Tampa Bay is at Buffalo Saturday and Miami hosts Dallas.
** In baseball, David Price comes back to his old team, the Tampa Bay Rays, and pitches against them as a member of the Detroit Tigers; he was good, but the Rays won the game 1-0. The Rays now play Toronto this weekend.
** The Atlanta Braves whipped Cincinnati 8-0 and will play the Reds this weekend. Miami was idle and the Marlins begin a weekend series with Colorado.