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‘INSIDE THE MAGIC’ goes behind the scenes on Shaquille O’Neal’s recent jersey retirement

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ORLANDO, Fla. Bally Sports, the network home of the Orlando Magic, will give fans an all-access look at Shaquille O’Neal’s recent jersey retirement on a new episode of “Inside the Magic.”

The special hour-long show is set to premiere on Bally Sports Florida and streaming in the Bally Sports app on Thursday, Feb. 29, at approximately 10 p.m., following the Magic’s game against the Utah Jazz and postgame coverage.

On Feb. 13, O’Neal became the first player in franchise history to have his number retired, as No. 32 was raised to the rafters at Kia Center. Host Kendra Douglas takes fans behind the scenes from that memorable day and night.

Former teammates Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott and Jeff Turner discuss what it was like playing with Shaq and reflect on the Hall of Famer’s transformational four-year stint in Orlando after being drafted No. 1 overall in 1992.

The episode also allows fans to re-live O’Neal’s jersey retirement ceremony, including speeches from Magic Chairman Dan DeVos, CEO Alex Martins and former coach Brian Hill.

Fans can tune in Thursday starting at 6:30 p.m. for the “Magic Live” pregame show ahead of tipoff between the Magic and Jazz shortly after 7 p.m. Postgame coverage will wrap up the action ahead of this new hour-long episode of “Inside the Magic.”

In addition to airing on Bally Sports Florida, all of the network’s Magic programming is available to stream on the Bally Sports app and at BallySports.com. Fans can log in and authenticate through their pay-TV provider or sign up for Bally Sports+, a streaming service within the Bally Sports app that gives local viewers direct access to their favorite hometown teams. For more information, go to BallySportsPlus.com.

“Inside the Magic: Shaquille O’Neal” replay schedule:

Thursday, 2/29

10:00 PM

(Premiere)

Friday, 3/1

3:00 AM

Friday, 3/1

9:00 AM

Friday, 3/1

4:00 PM

Saturday, 3/2

6:00 PM

Sunday, 3/3

4:30 PM

Monday, 3/4

11:00 AM

Monday, 3/4

4:00 PM

Wednesday, 3/6

11:00 AM

Wednesday, 3/6

4:00 PM

Wednesday, 3/6

11:00 PM

Thursday, 3/7

9:00 AM

Friday, 3/8

11:00 PM

Saturday, 3/9

3:00 PM

Sunday, 3/10

9:00 PM

Monday, 3/11

3:00 AM

Monday, 3/11

9:00 AM

Monday, 3/11

9:30 PM

Tuesday, 3/12

2:00 AM

Tuesday, 3/12

8:00 AM

Friday, 3/15

6:00 PM

Saturday, 3/16

9:30 PM

Sunday, 3/17

9:00 PM

Monday, 3/18

3:00 AM

Monday, 3/18

9:00 AM

Monday, 3/18

4:00 PM

Tuesday, 3/19

10:00 PM

Wednesday, 3/20

3:00 AM

Thursday, 3/21

10:00 PM

Friday, 3/22

3:00 AM

Saturday, 3/23

10:00 PM

Sunday, 3/24

3:00 AM

Sunday, 3/24

9:00 AM

Monday, 3/25

9:30 PM

Tuesday, 3/26

2:00 AM

Tuesday, 3/26

8:00 AM

Thursday, 3/28

9:00 AM

*Schedule subject to change

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Golf

The ANNIKA Golf Tournament Welcomes WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark

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Photo Credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News

BELLEAIR, Fla. (FNN) – The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair tees off Wednesday, 11/13 with a Pro-Am featuring WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark. The tournament runs Thursday through Sunday, as the LPGA golfers compete for their share of a $3.25 million purse, while also trying to secure their spot in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. It’s the fifth year of competition for this tournament, named after Annika Sorenstam, who is one of just two players to currently have a tournament named after her on the PGA Tour. Proceeds from this tournament benefit the ANNIKA Foundation, which aims to develop, empower, and advance young women around the world through golf and in life.

The ANNIKA Award (Photo credit: Mike Brodsky, Florida National News)

The field of 120 includes Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu, Lydia Ko, Brittany Lincicome, and many more top golfers. Annika Sorenstam will particpate in the Pro-Am, but the appearance of Caitlin Clark has certainly boosted ticket sales, and helped to sell out tickets for the Women’s Leadership Summit, where Clark spoke Tuesday.

Back-to-back hurricanes knocked down 40 trees and left twenty inches of rain on the fairways and greens for days. But the course is ready for this weekend’s tournament.

If you’d like to check out the tournament, visit www.theannika.com for tickets and additional information. Be sure to follow www.FloridaSportsChannel.com and www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

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Porsche Reveling in GTP, GTD PRO Title Sweeps

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (IMSA Wire Service) – Not long after the celebration subsided last month at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the question arose.

When was the last time Porsche won manufacturer championships in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in the same year in different classes with a factory team and a customer team?

“It’s not often, that’s for sure,” joked Urs Kuratle, Porsche Motorsport’s director of Factory Racing LMDh.

The illustrious German automaker won the manufacturer championship last month in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class at the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans on the strength of its two Porsche Penske Motorsport factory entries. At the same time, Porsche won the manufacturer championship in the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class with the help of AO Racing, its top-performing customer team in GT classes.

The unusual accomplishment embodies Porsche’s wide-reaching influence and success in the history of endurance racing. The significance of the accomplishment didn’t hit Kuratle at the October finale until competitors began congratulating him.

“It took me a while to realize what we just achieved on the whole thing,” he said. “Sometimes you realize it only from the reaction of external people who congratulate you. … It takes everybody a while to realize something like this.”

The GTD PRO championship reflected Porsche’s rich history of customer racing and its other programs and ladder series, including Porsche Carrera Cup North America that competes under the IMSA umbrella.

“It’s becoming that big and that much a part of the history of Porsche that the marketing purpose still is clearly there,” said Volker Holzmeyer, president and CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America. “Porsche is a sports car manufacturer. The best way to prove that is to have success on the track. If your customers have success on the track, it’s an even better story.”

This unusual chapter in the company’s history began in 2022, when Porsche engineers began the task of sorting out the new LMDh car that would fill the GTP class in IMSA and the Hypercar class in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the 2023 season.

“We had experienced people on board, but we had to bring them together as a group,” Kuratle said. “We were working quite intensively throughout last year. Toward the end of last year, we already could see in IMSA as well as in WEC, some success on track.”

Almost immediately, reliability became the primary issue. The hybrid-based car was unlike anything Porsche had produced. It was fast when it wanted to be, but a pain when it didn’t.

“We were not famous for being the most reliable team or the most reliable car for a number of reasons,” Kuratle said of the ’23 season. “That was something we worked really hard at during the offseason. Then we won Daytona this year. I’m not saying we overcame all of the problems yet but the reliability was a huge step.”

The footings for that step showed in late 2023, when Porsche Penske Motorsport’s No. 6 and No. 7 cars finished first and second at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was clear the new Porsche 963 had considerable speed, setting the path for this season.

“The biggest chunk of it was reliability and structural changes within the team,” Kuratle said. “The smallest part probably was performance, but it was there, as well.”

As Kuratle mentioned, Porsche came out of the gate strong in 2024, with the No. 7 entry winning the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January. It kick-started a season that saw the No. 7 accomplish the rare feat of leading the team and driver championships from start to finish, adding one more win (Watkins Glen) and five additional podium results along the way. The No. 6 Porsche, with two wins of its own (WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Road America), placed second to its sister car in the GTP championship.

On the GTD PRO side, the challenge for 2024 was finding a new partner to replace Pfaff Motorsports, which went with McLaren for the 2024 season. Porsche, which had won GT class championships three of the previous four years, found a solid match with AO Racing.

Trouble is, it was facing some stout factory teams.

“That’s what makes us really proud,” Holzmeyer said. “With a factory effort, you put a little money in it and you control everything. I wouldn’t say it’s easier, but for a customer team to accomplish that, it really comes from the heart.”

AO put together a remarkable season with its No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R – three wins in 10 races, a team championship and driver championship by Laurin Heinrich – to secure the manufacturer championship for Porsche, which embraced the team’s keen dinosaur-themed liveries.

“It was a genius idea,” Holzmeyer said. “They’re getting the new generation excited about racing. This will help us – maybe not next year, but in the future. Everybody needs to thank them for that, even the competitors. If you saw the lines at the autograph sessions, it was all young kids and families.”

So, while the past – including the most recent part of it – is on everyone’s minds, the future is in Porsche’s immediate plans.

“We will always have customers who want to race the IMSA program with our products and stay within the product family,” Holzmeyer said. “For next year, I don’t see any reasons why the success story shouldn’t continue.”

(Photo of Porsche Penske Motorsport team courtesy of Porsche Motorsport)

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Sports

Bucs Face Week-to-Week Challenges After Loss to 49ers, Focus on Defense and Recovery During Bye Week

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Buccaneers Head coach Todd Bowles on loss

TAMPA, Fla. (FNN SPORTS) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to recalibrate after a tough loss to the San Francisco 49ers, who pulled ahead in a 27-14 game. Head Coach Todd Bowles addressed a variety of challenges following the game, emphasizing defensive improvements, team resilience, and injury updates. As the Bucs enter their bye week, Coach Bowles spoke on using the break to regroup, recover, and reduce costly mistakes.

Injury Update: LT Tristan Wirfs

Bowles reported that star left tackle Tristan Wirfs sustained a low-grade knee sprain and will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. The bye week offers valuable recovery time for Wirfs and other injured players. “We’ll see how he feels after the Bye,” Bowles said, hopeful about Wirfs’s potential return in the near future. With Wirfs out, backup LT Justin Skule is expected to step in.

Defensive Setbacks and Tackling Woes

One of the key points of focus for Bowles was the team’s need for improvement on defense, particularly in tackling. “We definitely have to tackle better,” he stated, noting that despite some strong moments, the Bucs struggled with consistency in the second half. He emphasized that it’s a shared responsibility between players and coaches to find solutions and reduce errors.

The Bucs have recently faced issues with wide receiver separation against their defensive backs, which Bowles attributed to a mix of factors, including inexperience. “We’re playing with guys that are getting their first taste of full-time action,” Bowles noted, adding that the team must be cautious but still aim for effective zone coverage.

Addressing Offensive Struggles and the Impact of Injuries

In discussing the recent struggles in the passing game, Bowles highlighted that the Bucs have been affected by the absence of key All-Pros, affecting offensive flow and chemistry. “They did a good job slanting down,” Bowles observed, crediting the 49ers for their successful defensive strategy. Despite setbacks, Bowles expressed confidence in the team’s capacity to adjust and improve, given time.

Mindset and Approach Going Forward

The bye week provides a chance for the Bucs to rest, reset, and strategize for the rest of the season. Bowles affirmed that the team is working to avoid a “doom and gloom” mentality. “If we come back thinking the schedule is easier, we’re going to lose every last game,” he warned. “We have to take care of us and do what we need to do to win regardless of the opponent.”

Bowles assured fans that there is no need to bring in new players; instead, he believes that eliminating mistakes and sticking to the fundamentals will turn close losses into wins.

Key Takeaways:

  • Injury Report: LT Tristan Wirfs is week-to-week with a knee sprain; Justin Skule is expected to step in.
  • Defense Focus: Bowles stressed the importance of tackling improvements and minimizing wide receiver separation.
  • Offensive Chemistry: Bowles acknowledged offensive challenges due to key absences but expects recovery over time.
  • Positive Outlook: Despite recent struggles, Bowles is optimistic about the team’s ability to improve post-bye week.

What’s Next:

With a bye week in their favor, the Buccaneers aim to regroup and recover as they look forward to the remainder of the season. Coach Bowles and his coaching staff will focus on strategic self-assessment and adjustments needed for success in the weeks to come.

 

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