Florida Sports Overview

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Basketball action in Jacksonville

Photo Credit: Visit Jacksonville

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The Jacksonville Jaguars are one of three NFL teams in the Sunshine State.

Photo Credit: Visit Jacksonville

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Action at a Jacksonville Jaguar football game.

Photo Credit: Visit Jacksonville

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Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on game day.

Photo Credit: Lauren Tjaden

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Fans of all ages get into the football- fever-fun, as this boy at a Gator game demonstrates.

Photo Credit: Lauren Tjaden

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You can tell who these fans are rooting for at this spring training baseball game.

Photo Credit: Lauren Tjaden

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Fans cheer for the Tampa Bay Rays in a baseball spring training game.

Photo Credit: Lauren Tjaden

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The St. Pete Times Forum is home to the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team.

Photo Credit: Visit Tampa Bay

Take the fuss out of the fun with this Sunshine State Sports-at-a-Glance Guide.

It’s indisputable.

The Sunshine State is a spectator-sports Mecca, boasting an abundance of football, baseball, basketball and hockey – but it can be confusing to sort out. What sports are played in what seasons? What teams play in what locations? Relax and prepare to get your game on; this sports-at-a-glance guide does the homework for you.

Football

The NFL’s regular season is 17 weeks long. It begins the first full week of September and runs through late December or early January. During it, each team has one bye week (a week without playing a game) and plays 16 games.

At the end of each regular season, six teams from each conference face off in the NFL playoffs, a 12-team, single-elimination tournament resulting in a championship game. In 2011, the Big Game will be held in Miami on Feb. 6. Florida’s NFL Football Teams are the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Sunshine State is a spectator-sports Mecca, boasting an abundance of football, baseball, basketball and hockey.

Florida bowl games include the Capital One Bowl and the Champ Sports Bowl in Orlando, the Progressive Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, the Discover Orange Bowl in Miami, the Outback Bowl in Tampa, and the Beef O' Brady's Bowl in St. Petersburg.

The best known Florida college football teams are theUniversity of Florida Gators (based out of Gainesville), the University of Miami Hurricanes , and the Florida State University Seminoles (based out of Tallahassee).

Baseball

Major League Baseball’s regular season consists of 162 games – 163, if there’s a tie. It generally begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the first Sunday in October. The playoffs are in October or early November. Florida’s MLB teams are Miami’s Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Baseball spring training runs from late February to early April. During the 2009 spring training season, 289 games were played in 15 Florida locations, providing ample opportunity to cheer-on top teams like the Phillies, Yankees and Reds for small change. Here’s a guide with links to all of them.

Basketball

NBA action starts with preseason exhibition games in October. The first week of November marks the start of the regular season, which runs until mid-April and consists of 82 games. The postseason, or playoffs, begin in late April, following a tournament format, until all but one team in each conference are eliminated. The final playoff round is a best-of-seven series between the conference winners known as the NBA Finals, held in June.

Florida’s NBA teams are the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.

Hockey

The NHL season is divided into three parts: an exhibition season in September, a regular season from the first week in October through early to mid April, and the postseason playoffs – for the coveted Stanley Cup – from April through early June. Florida’s NHL teams are the Florida Panthers (based out of Sunrise) and the Tampa Bay Lightning.