The retired slugger is grand marshal of Lakeland’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. parade.
Category: Sports
Posted inSports
LHS Football Coach Bill Castle Retires After 52 Years
His Dreadnaughts have won eight state championships, the most recent one last month.
Posted inRecreation, Sports
City Tentatively Approves $10 Fee For Athletic Field Use, Replaces Library Fees
The city gives and the city takes away. The City Commission this week unanimously voted to replace 10-cents-a-day late fees for library books, and also to begin charging youth athletic organizations $10 per child per season for sports participation on city fields, beginning in January. They will formally vote on the matters as part of […]
Posted inSports
Detroit Tigers Spring Training Schedule Reflects a Return to Normal
After their traditional opener against a local college team, the Detroit Tigers launch Spring Training 2023 at home in Lakeland on Feb. 23 against the Philadelphia Phillies and end at home on March 26 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Posted inA & E
City Negotiating Naming Rights for RP Funding Center
Is the RP Funding Center getting a new name? The city of Lakeland is currently negotiating naming rights for the performing arts/sports/convention center that opened as The Lakeland Civic Center in 1974, morphed into The Lakeland Center in 1996 and was rechristened as RP Funding Center in 2017.
Posted inSchools, Sports
Polk Schools Consider Offering More Sports, Especially for Girls
Polk County Public Schools is considering adding four sports to its lineup to stem a decline in girls sports participation.
Posted inPeople, Sports
Video Showing LPD Officer Andrea Smith’s Basketball Skills Goes Viral
Before Andrea Smith became a Lakeland police officer, she was a standout basketball player at Lake Gibson High School, Gulf Coast Community College and the University of South Florida. A video of her demonstrating her basketball skills in a 1-on-1 game with a local teen has gone viral on social media, Bay News 9 reports.
Posted inSports
Documentary Explores LHS 2006 Squeaker Victory Over St. Thomas Aquinas
Was the 2006 state title game between Lakeland High School and St. Thomas Aquinas (the Dreadnaughts won 45-42 in double overtime) the greatest high school football games ever? CBS and MaxPreps argue it might have been in a 16-minute documentary titled “The greatest game ever: Game of inches.” Keep scrolling to see the film:
Posted inEvents, Sports
Tigers, Orioles Cancel Today’s Final Spring Training Game
Today’s MLB Spring Training finale in Lakeland has been cancelled. The 1:05 p.m. game at Joker Marchant Stadium was cancelled in a mutual decision by the Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles because of a lack of available pitchers. Those who purchased tickets via the Tigers will be refunded. (Call the box office at 863-686-8075 or […]
Posted inSports
Detroit Tigers’ Abbreviated Spring Training Schedule Starts March 18
The Detroit Tigers’ Spring Training schedule, reduced to 19 games from the 33 scheduled before the players’ lockout, starts March 18 with a home game at Joker Marchant Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies.