How Hurricane Milton is impacting Florida sports

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night as a major hurricane, taking a path through the center of Florida that will affect the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas, per The Weather Channel.

Coming off the heels of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, the state is bracing for an even worse storm which is causing some changes to sporting events scheduled for this weekend.

The University of Central Florida (UCF), which plays at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, is still scheduled to play Big 12 opponent Cincinnati on Saturday. The team practiced Wednesday but head coach Gus Malzahn told the Daytona Beach News-Journal things are "kind of up in the air" as of Wednesday.

"We're trying to stay in our routine best we can. We'll adjust with it," Malzahn said. "No matter what happens, we'll have a plan."

The American Athletic conference announced Tuesday that Friday's scheduled matchup between Memphis and South Florida in Tampa Bay has been moved to Saturday.

The Florida Gators (Gainesville) and Florida State Seminoles (Tallahassee) are both on the road at No. 8 Tennessee and Duke respectively this weekend. The Miami Hurricanes are on their bye week.

There are no home NFL games in Florida this weekend. Tampa Bay and Jacksonville are on the road at New Orleans and Chicago, respectively. The Miami Dolphins are on a bye week.

In the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning canceled their final preseason game against the Nashville Predators on Monday in order to prioritize hurricane evacuation and preparation efforts.

Monday's game was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 and postponed due to Hurricane Helene. Tampa Bay will begin its regular season on the road at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

Both the Buccaneers and Lightning evacuated the area earlier this week to practice out of state.

The NBA's Orlando Magic have an away game at San Antonio on Wednesday and are scheduled to return home for Friday's preseason bout with New Orleans. There are currently no plans to postpone that game.

The Miami Heat's preseason game against Atlanta was pushed back from Thursday to Oct. 16 due to expected high winds and rainfall.

The Tampa Bay Rays, whose season already ended, are aiding the relief efforts. State officials have turned Tropicana Field, home of the Rays, into a base camp with the playing surface covered with thousands of cots for first responders to sleep.