Panthers to host Stars, Lightning in preseason
The Panthers will open their preseason schedule with a doubleheader at Nashville on Sept. 20 and finish with a home game against the defending Eastern Conference champion Lightning on Oct. 3.
The 2015-16 regular-season schedule is expected to be released this week prior to the NHL Draft, which is being held at the BB&T Center in Sunrise.
For the third season in a row — and the second in Nashville — the Panthers and Predators will play a day-night doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., with the second contest at 8.
Florida will play two of its six exhibition contests at home, on Sept. 22 against Dallas and then the preseason finale against Tampa Bay.
The Panthers will play four games on the road, the pair against Nashville, at Tampa Bay on Sept. 25 and at Dallas on Sept. 27.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
The Orange Bowl plans to announce this week that the University of Florida will play Oklahoma State and Florida State will play Florida Atlantic in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Dec. 19 at the BB&T Center.
BARRY JACKSON
BASEBALL
Nova Southeastern added its fourth professional signing after its record-breaking season. Zachary Westcott, a Weston product, signed a contract to play for the Lincoln (Nebraska) Saltdogs, an independent team.
“Honestly, it all happened so fast. One day I’m in Kissimmee coaching 14-year-olds, and the next I’m waking up at the crack of dawn to fly halfway across the country,” Westcott said in a statement. “Playing professional baseball has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember, but it was NSU that really turned that dream into a goal.”
Westcott was dominant during his senior year. The quick-working right-hander led the Sunshine State Conference in ERA against conference opponents with an astounding 0.70 mark, keeping league hitters to a .156 average.
FOOTBALL
USA Football announced that Miami’s Alex Barinaga is one of 28 game officials who were selected to officiate the 2015 IFAF World Championship, which will be held July 9-18 in Canton, Ohio.
The roster of officials represent 15 countries on five continents, with Barinaga being the only official from the United States.
The IFAF World Championship is a seven-nation football tournament held every four years that was established in 1999.
This year, the competition will include teams from Australia, Brazil, France, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United States.
This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Panthers to host Stars, Lightning in preseason."