“It’s still early in conference play but we want to keep building momentum and playing well as we move through the season. We’re improving and we should be improving. Our best basketball is still ahead of us.” 

- Johnny Dawkins, Head Coach

UCF Men's Basketball

Around The Horn.

• UCF Men's Basketball came up with a big 107-104 win over Memphis at home on Wednesday night, in a double OT thriller.
• Exploria Stadium is set to host a pair of matches for the eighth annual SheBelieves Cup on Thursday, Feb. 16, with Japan set to face Brazil at 4pm, followed by the United States and Canada at 7pm. All four nations are set to take part in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup next summer and all four are ranked in the top 11 in the world with the USA at No. 1, Canada at No. 6, Brazil at No. 9 and Japan at No. 11.
• Five former UCF football players - running back Isaiah Bowser, offensive lineman Sam Jackson, long snapper Alex Ward, tight end Kemore Gamble and safety Divaad Wilson - will participate in the 77th Hula Bowl College Football All-Star Game set for noon Saturday (Jan. 14) at FBC Mortgage Stadium on the UCF campus.
• With their 109-106 Tuesday win over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Orlando Magic are fully entrenched in the second half of their season. Their first 41 games, in which they went 15-26, can be defined with many words or phrases, with the main one being patient progress.
• Exploria Stadium will host two of the most storied clubs in South America, as Brazilian side Vasco da Gama will take on Argentine side River Plate on Jan. 17. Tickets start at just $28.
• The Hilton Grand Vacations LPGA Tournament of Champions comes to town January 19-22. LPGA Tour winners and more than 50 celebrities, athletes and entertainers play the Tom Fazio-designed course at Lake Nona. Tour champions compete for $1.5 million in prize money and celebrities play to win $500,000.
• The Georgia Bulldogs scored 55 unanswered points and cruised to a 65-7 win over TCU on Monday night to win their second straight national championship. The Bulldogs are the first school to repeat as national champions since SEC rival Alabama in 2012.
• The 150^th Silver Spurs Rodeo returns to Osceola Heritage Park Feb. 17–19, 2023. Hosted every 3rd weekend in February, this event features all seven traditional rodeo events: bull riding, saddle bronc riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie-down roping, and barrel racing.
• Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin has been discharged from a Buffalo medical center, his club said Wednesday, after more than a week of hospitalization due to a cardiac arrest he suffered during a Monday Night Football game this month.
• Top athletes across North America’s “big four” sports are trying something new: farming. Joe Burrow, Blake Griffin, Kevin Gausman, Anders Lee, and around 20 other athletes are purchasing a farm in Iowa. The group will lease the land to farmers and seek a single-digit-percentage annual return on the total investment.

In The News.

• In a toast to the airport's largest project to date and a wrap to a busy 2022, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) celebrated the opening of Terminal C on Tuesday, Dec. 6, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. GOAA CEO Kevin Thibault welcomed local community leaders and airport partners to the event, which acknowledged the work of former board chairs and airport executives who first envisioned Terminal C.
• A new Brightline Train connecting south Florida to Orlando to open in 2023. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer says, “This new higher-speed rail service will serve as an important connector between south and central Florida.”
• Orange County Government announced the launch of ‘EPIC’, a program for English language instruction taught by UCF Global, that is tailored to the needs of working adults in the I-Drive corridor in September 2022. Orange County’s I-Drive Community Redevelopment Act Advisory Group had recommended an investment in English language instruction to support professional growth and retention. Through this unique model, hotel and resort properties within the International Drive CRA were invited to extend the opportunity to participate in three cycles of ESOL classes to their employees.
• The push for passenger rail that could link Orlando International Airport, SunRail commuter train, Orange County Convention Center, Universal Orlando Resort and the International Drive tourism district as soon as 2030 launched into reality on Thursday with a formal move to create an entity that would underwrite a big chunk of the project.
• The Orange County Library System held a special celebration over the weekend in recognition of 100 years of service, during which, it made an announcement that it would be bringing back a mobile book service, care of the Sorosis of Orlando Woman’s Club.
• SpaceX announced it could fly its next Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center as early as Saturday. The company completed a full-duration static fire at KSC’s Launch Pad 39-B on Tuesday for the company’s powerful rocket set to fly on the Space Force’s USSF-67 mission with a launch around sunset.
• The Park Avenue District is looking for an executive director to oversee the initiatives of the Florida Main Street program. On Nov. 30, the district was approved by the state as an apprentice in the program, which provides technical assistance in the revitalization and economic development of historic downtowns.
• Who turns 50 this year? See which attractions at Walt Disney World, Universal Resort Orlando and SeaWorld will mark significant anniversaries in 2023.

Stay Engaged.

• The 38^th Annual Downtown Orlando MLK Holiday Parade on Saturday, January 14, 2023. The theme for the parade celebration is “It Starts with Me: Cultivating a Beloved Community Mindset to Break the Cycle of Injustice." The parade begins at 10am at the Downtown Orlando Courthouse and ends at Lake Eola Park at 1pm.
• The City of Winter Park will celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and promote family heritage during the 21st Annual Unity Heritage Festival, Jan. 15 and 16, at Shady Park in Hannibal Square.
• Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is bringing back its Fly With an Astronaut special-interest tour later this month. The first featured NASA veterans will be Mark Lee and Brian Duffy. The experience includes a catered lunch at the visitor complex, where the guest speakers/astronauts talk about their experiences, followed by a Q&A session.
• Epcot International Festival of the Arts will be taking place Jan. 13-Feb. 20! Let creativity shine with the trifecta of fabulous: artistic cuisine, visual arts and live entertainment. Browse the works of new and established artists, enjoy Disney songs from award-winning Disney on Broadway musicals, and indulge in creative culinary masterpieces. 
• It’s a new year, which means it’s time to celebrate the local brew scene with yet another Orlando Beer Week. This year’s celebrations are scheduled to kick off on Saturday, Jan. 21, with a special party in the Milk District, and will run through Jan. 29, with events popping up all across the city.
• The Osceola County Fair is back Feb. 10-19, 2023, at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, and it's sure to be bigger, better, and more fun than ever before.
• Florida residents can get free admission for their preschoolers (ages 5 and under) to SeaWorld Orlando theme park and Aquatica water park for the remainder of 2023. The deal is good for unlimited admission to the attractions through Dec. 31.
• Florida Residents can save up to $65 on select multi-day tickets at Universal Orlando theme parks when buying online. Click here for current offers.
• Florida residents can save big while visiting Walt Disney World Resort theme parks. Click here to view the current list of special offers.

Congratulations to GO Sports Board Member Justin Kinsey (West Lakes District Market Street) who was recognized on the court as an 'Orlando Magic Diversity Game Changer' at a recent Orlando Magic home game.

GO Sports President & CEO Jason Siegel presented at today's I-Drive Chamber of Commerce luncheon, pictured here with Board Member Chris Mueller (Hilton Orlando).

Congratulations to our friends and partners Jon and Betsy Hughes (Track Shack) and past board chair Faron Kelley (Disney Sports and RunDisney), who celebrated the 30th Anniversary of WDW's Marathon Weekend earlier this month.

GO Sports President & CEO Jason Siegel presented to hoteliers from multiple Rosen hotel properties as part of the Rosen Community Connection Series, pictured here with Janice Abrew-Coriano and David Wood from Rosen Hotels.

New Corporate Partner.



BRIGHTLINE TRAINS

Brightline is the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail service in America. The company currently serves Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, with stations in Aventura and Boca Raton opening at the end of 2022 and its Orlando station beginning service in 2023. 

For more information, visit

https://www.gobrightline.com/

https://www.gobrightline.com/orlando

Thank you for supporting sports tourism in Greater Orlando!

Fun & Games.



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