By ,
Published September 18, 2017
There will be football in Tampa this weekend, and the Buccaneers will finally get to start a season delayed by Hurricane Irma's wrath.
The Bucs announced that they will be able to host the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa Bay couldn't play at Miami as scheduled in Week 1 because of the storm.
Buccaneers CEO Brian Ford says "hosting the game is important to us, as Tampa Bay has been through a lot over the past few days.
Also, No. 22 South Florida is resuming practice Tuesday and will play host to Illinois on Friday, also at Raymond James.
USF athletic director Mark Harlan says "we are confident that Friday's game can proceed safely as scheduled without impacting the recovery efforts."
UCF is hosting the National Guard this weekend, and not Georgia Tech.
The Knights will get a second consecutive weekend off from football games because of the effects of Hurricane Irma. UCF was scheduled to host Georgia Tech on Saturday but that game has been called off and will not be rescheduled. The school, located in Orlando, is using its stadium as a staging ground for 1,000 National Guard members and 250 vehicles needed to assist with Irma-related recovery.
UCF also couldn't play this past weekend against Memphis because of the storm.
UCF athletic director Danny White says the Knights are "honored to host the National Guard and play a part in helping our community and state recover from Irma."
Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury, who was UCF's AD from 2012 through 2015, says he agrees with the move and that recovery from the hurricane "should be and is the top priority for UCF and the entire state of Florida at this time."
Miami and Florida State, like UCF, are also going to miss two straight game weekends because of the storm.
Florida International has called off its football game at Indiana on Saturday because of ongoing effects of Hurricane Irma.
FIU has canceled all of the school's planned games through Sunday, including men's and women's soccer, golf and volleyball.
It's still unknown when FIU will be able to leave Birmingham, Alabama, where its teams have been for nearly a week to get away from Irma. And Irma actually found the Panthers there; tropical storm conditions from the remnants of Irma were hammering Birmingham on Monday night.
FIU and Indiana will try to defer the game to a different season.
Indiana says it will try to find a new opponent to play at home on its Oct. 7 bye date.
Miami Central's football team held practice Monday afternoon. In a parking lot. In Las Vegas.
Add that to the list of Hurricane Irma stories.
The high school team played Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas last weekend, and hasn't been able to return to Miami because of the storm. So the team has stayed in Vegas, getting meals from local restaurants and even logistical help from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Central coach Roland Smith says "this is what makes America great. And I'm just thankful for Las Vegas, Nevada -- the entire community -- for taking care of us while we are stranded here."
Bishop Gorman officials say they are picking up Central's hotel tab.
Central running back James Cook says "it's a great feeling to be on the road, but we have family back home we want to get to."
Six percent of the membrane on the retractable roof at Marlins Park will need to be replaced after the season because of damage from Hurricane Irma.
The team made the announcement on Monday, saying that damage was to the rubber and plastic membrane on a facing panel of the roof, which weatherproofs the roof structure. The ballpark had no flooding or water damage.
The Marlins' next home series beginning Friday against Milwaukee may need to be rescheduled, but not because of the roof. A decision on whether to change the schedule will hinge on local government efforts to recover from Irma, including the availability of police and fire rescue, a person familiar with the situation said.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/hurricane-irma-notes-bucs-usf-games-confirmed-for-tampa-this-weekend-ucf-fiu-games-canceled