The NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning have left Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton to practice the rest of the week.
The Bucs departed Tuesday, relocating to New Orleans, where they'll face the Saints on Sunday. The Lightning left for Raleigh, North Carolina, on Monday night to continue preparations for their season opener against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
Milton, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is projected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday night.
The Lightning’s home opener against Carolina is set for Saturday night and is on as scheduled for now.
It's third time in the past seven years the Bucs have shifted operations to another area to avoid bad weather.
In 2020, they traveled to South Florida ahead of Hurricane Ian to practice at the Miami Dolphins' training facility before returning home to play the Kansas City Chiefs. When Tampa Bay's 2017 season opener against the Dolphins was postponed because of Hurricane Irma, the team chartered several planes to move players, coaches and families to Charlotte, North Carolina, to escape the storm.
At the college level, the American Athletic Conference announced that a football game between Memphis and South Florida at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa has been rescheduled from Friday night to Saturday. The conference plans to monitor conditions after Milton passes and adjust accordingly.
UCF's Big 12 home football game vs. Cincinnati remains scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff in Orlando.
The Knights rescheduled events in several other sports, including shifting UCF's home volleyball match against Colorado from Wednesday night to Sunday. UCF and Arizona changed the location of Thursday’s women’s soccer match from Orlando to Houston. With Arizona set to play at Houston on Sunday and UCF scheduled to play at Colorado the same day, the teams agreed to play Thursday’s match in Texas.
UCF's men’s soccer match vs. Marshall was rescheduled from Friday night to Sunday. Other college events postponed include a women's soccer match in Boca Raton between Florida Atlantic and Rice; it was to be played Thursday and now will be played on Oct. 17.
The LPGA Tour postponed the qualifying stage of its LPGA Q-Series that was scheduled for Oct. 13-18 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida. The tour said it would provide an update for the qualifying tournament after the storm passes.
“Our thoughts are with the entire Florida community as we prepare for the storm,” the LPGA said.
And in the NBA, a preseason game in Miami — which is not expected to feel hurricane conditions, but is likely to get strong wind gusts and several inches of rain — between the Heat and the Atlanta Hawks was pushed back from Thursday to Oct. 16.
Also, countless high school sports events scheduled around Florida were called off. In many counties, officials were waiting to see what would happen with football games scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno, AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson, AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP Sports Writer Fred Goodall contributed to this report.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense celebrates after linebacker Lavonte David, center, intercepted a pass by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Highway signage announces the impending arrival of Hurricane Milton and the evacuations zones on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Port Richey, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates with the bench after his goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period of an NHL preseason hockey game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — President Joe Biden is making a rare jump into the 2024 political battleground fray since taking a step back after ending his reelection bid.
He’ll campaign on Tuesday in Pennsylvania for a close ally after a stop in Wisconsin to spotlight a signature legislative achievement.
But as Biden makes a quick swing through the key states, two Democratic senators locked in competitive reelection battles are taking markedly different approaches to the outgoing president, whose approval ratings in a significant swath of the country remain in the pits.
Biden will be fully embraced by Democratic Sen. Bob Casey when he participates in a private campaign fundraiser in suburban Philadelphia for the senior Pennsylvania senator. But in Milwaukee, where Biden is spotlighting his administration’s efforts to replace the nation’s toxic lead pipes, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin was conspicuously absent.
“Democrats in tight races, for the most part, are calculating that the risk of embracing Biden far exceeds any reward that his efforts would bring to their campaign,” said Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in Pennsylvania. “There just aren’t many places where he can be of much help to Democrats in competitive races.”
Biden has spent scant time on the campaign trail since ending his reelection effort in July. That makes his stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — two tightly contested states that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump see as crucial — all the more notable.
Casey's and Baldwin's races are also seen as must-wins for Democrats who are trying to maintain their razor-tight control of the Senate.
Biden, after dropping out, pledged to campaign hard for Harris and Democrats. But as the campaign season has played out, he's largely stayed on the sidelines as he's remained a flawed surrogate for Harris and down-ballot Democrats.
Casey, running against Republican David McCormick as he seeks a fourth Senate term, has a long-running relationship with Biden.
Casey grew up on the same street as Biden in Scranton. Their families have known each other for decades, and he’s campaigned with Biden countless times, including earlier this year. Biden — a Delaware resident but a Pennsylvania native — has long claimed Pennsylvania as his own.
Still, Biden faces considerable skepticism amid pessimism about rising costs and doubts about whether at 81 he remains up to the job.
About 4 in 10 Pennsylvania voters had a favorable view of Biden and about 6 in 10 had an unfavorable view, according to a Monmouth University poll published in late September.
Baldwin was spending Tuesday on the other side of Wisconsin from Biden, attending campaign events and getting an award, according to her campaign and Senate office.
“Senator Baldwin had a previously scheduled event at a family farm in Eau Claire to receive the American Farm Bureau Federation’s ‘Friend of Farm Bureau’ award recognizing her leadership fighting for America’s hardworking farmers, growers, and producers," said Eli Rosen, Baldwin's communications director, in response to a query about why she was skipping the president's visit.
Biden’s favorability in Wisconsin has hovered around 40% for the past year and did not increase after he dropped out of the presidential race this summer, according to a recent Marquette University Law School poll.
Baldwin, who is seeking her third term, is facing Republican Eric Hovde, the CEO of a Wisconsin real estate development company.
She skipped four of Biden’s five appearances in the state this year, including two in her hometown of Madison, before he dropped out of the race.
However, Baldwin has appeared with Harris, including speaking to a crowd of more than 10,000 people last month in Madison.
“Baldwin may be able to skip a Biden event, but she cannot avoid the verdict of working families in Wisconsin when they head to the polls,” said Wisconsin GOP chairman Brian Schimming.
Biden's visit to Wisconsin, which has some 340,000 lead pipes, comes as the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday issued a final rule requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years.
Biden's 2021 infrastructure law provides $15 billion to find and replace the toxic pipes, a legacy the Biden White House says will have an impact on generations to come. Lead can lower IQ and create behavioral problems in children, and the administration believes the legislation will go a long way in removing some 9.2 million lead pipes carrying water to U.S. homes.
White House officials played down Baldwin's expected absence from the event, while noting that Wisconsin's other senator, Republican Ron Johnson, voted against the infrastructure law.
“Senator Baldwin is an amazing partner (to) this administration in leading the charge in the bipartisan infrastructure law,” White House deputy chief of staff Natalie Quillian said of Baldwin's absence from the president's visit.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, whose district includes Wisconsin’s deeply Democratic capital city of Madison, said Biden’s policies are popular in the battleground state even if polls show he is not.
“I don’t think that polling on Biden is based on what he’s done in office,” Pocan said. “The problem with some of the polls is overly simplistic. He looks old and people don’t want that in the White House, but he’s not running anymore.”
Pocan, who is not in a competitive race, also defended Baldwin not appearing with Biden.
“If you’re in a competitive race, you have your calendar,” Pocan said. “You have a strategy based on where you’re trying to get votes and you don’t change it when you have a surrogate come.”
Next week, Biden’s wife, Jill, is scheduled to campaign for Harris in Madison, Wisconsin, as part of a five-day effort by the first lady through the battleground states of Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Harris' campaign and the White House announced Tuesday.
Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press writers Linley Sanders and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden, left, and first lady Jill Biden walk to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden gestures to the media as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
President Joe Biden speaks at the top of the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
FILE - President Joe Biden, right, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris campaign at the IBEW Local Union #5 union hall in Pittsburgh, on Labor Day, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, with Col. Paul Pawluk, Vice Commander of the 89th Airlift Wing. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
