UCF tried its hardest to get the upper hand on top C-USA team Tulsa, but it just wasn’t to be, falling short, 55-50.

Keith Clanton had 17 points. Marcus Jordan had 10 points and 5 assists.

The rebound battle likely marked the game, with Tulsa leading 31-26. Also the Knights failed at the 3-point line, going 0-for-12.

Next up for the Knights, they head up to East Carolina on Tuesday night, then Memphis next Wednesday. The women’s team hosts Tulane today at 2pm.

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Just a reminder, the baseball team is warming up for its first series on Friday, February 19, where they will host Savannah State for three days. Single-game tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for kids, seniors and UCF faculty/staff. Groups of 20 or more can attend for $3 per person. There are also flex-pack tickets starting at $25, and season tickets are $150 for adults, $99 for kids, seniors and UCF faculty/staff. (36 games, that’s $4.17/game for adults, less than $3 for kids/seniors/staff)

The Titans kicked off the action again in Week 3 of the NLL season. It was a Night of Legends, a get-together of some of the greatest players in the game.

But in the end, the Titans dominated the match, beating the KnightHawks, 13-8.

Jordan Hall had 4 goals and 1 assist. Ryan Boyle had 2 goals and 5 assists. Casey Powell had 3 goals and 2 assists.

The Titans won 15 of the 25 faceoffs, and were 3/6 on power plays (Rochester was just 1/8 on PP).

Attendance was still pretty good at 7,367, not a terrible drop-off from opening night. Hopefully success brings more people out, though.

Last night marked the local debut of the Titans’ mascot, Titus. Just a large padded costume with a fully-concealing helmet, in the same tradition as Knightro for UCF. Local stuntman Drunky the Bear of The Monsters in the Morning (WTKS Real Radio 104.1) also made an appearance during halftime, and got cross-checked by a couple players from the UF/FSU lacrosse game before the main event for failing to score on them.

The Titans have two games next weekend: at Colorado next Friday, and at Philadelphia next Saturday. Then they are off the following week, before returning home on Saturday, February 20, to host the Boston Blazers.

The crown jewels of two legendary lacrosse families are set to collide tonight as the Orlando Titans host the Rochester KnightHawks. The match is being billed as “Night of Legends”.

Orlando has Casey Powell, while Rochester has forward/midfielder Gary Gait, 42 years old, who is second on the NLL all-time scoring list with 618 goals. Paul Gait, his brother, is a distant third at 410 goals. Paul is now Rochester’s head coach.

For comparison, Casey Powell, who hasn’t played near as long as Gary and is 9 years younger, has 181 goals to date in the NLL.

It’s sure to be an exciting night. The game itself begins at 7:35, but is preceeded by a varsity lacrosse match between Florida and Florida State, which begins at 4pm. Anyone who bought a ticket for the Titans game can get into the college game.

I have decided to close the forum. Nobody was using it.

If anybody ever decides to actually read the blog, it may come back.

Not much going on today, besides UCF men’s basketball away at Southern Methodist tonight.

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I got a Facebook e-mail message today from the Baseball in Orlando group led by FL-8 candidate Armando Gutierrez. They are looking for a grassroots exploratory committee of ten Facebook members. Their only real requirements are (a) live in Orlando and (b) have 100 Facebook friends in Florida.

They are also trying to get 10,000 fans overall on Facebook.

Personally, I’m beginning to think the best this thing can do is put pressure on Tampa and St. Pete to find a place for a new stadium for the Rays. I believe they can’t make it in the long run at Tropicana Field, but Tampa Bay is the best place for them. They need to be on the Tampa side of the Bay.

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Arena Football One is starting to look more and more like the true successor to the Arena Football League.

The Utah Valley Thunder, the af2 team in Salt Lake City, has assumed the AFL name of the Utah Blaze. They exercised the right given to them by AF1′s purchase of the Arena Football League’s assets in bankruptcy court last month.

UCF’s baseball team is launching their season this weekend with a pep event this Saturday night, January 30, at Jay Bergman Field. The event will occur immediately following the UCF men’s basketball game vs. Tulsa at UCF Arena.

The basketball game starts at 5pm. The gates at Jay Bergman Field, which is directly behind UCF Arena, will open at 7pm.

The event itself is free admission, but you can buy a meal ticket giving you your choice of hamburger or hot dog, chips and a soda for $5. Meal tickets enter you into a drawing at the end of the night for team prizes.

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Speaking of men’s basketball, sophomore guard A.J. Rompza is starting to be recognized. He is currently fourth in all of Division I with 2.9 steals per game this season. In conference play, he leads Conference USA with 3.2 steals per game.

Before their home game versus Tulsa this weekend, UCF travels to Southern Methodist this Wednesday.

UCF star junior forward Emma Cannon was suspended for last night’s game against UTEP for an unspecified team rules violation.

It certainly didn’t help matters. UCF lost to the Miners, 77-67. Chelsie Wiley had 29 points, and D’Nay Daniels had 20, but the rest of the team only had 18 points combined. Angelica Mealing had 8 points and 10 assists.

The ladies come home and take a much-needed week off before hosting Tulane in non-conference action this Sunday afternoon at 2pm. The game will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports. Hopefully Emma hasn’t ruined a chance to be displayed on national television.

I have decided to re-name the site.

There is nothing changing with this site except the name. From now on, the name of the site is Sport Club Orlando. The Twitter and Facebook will be updated soon.

This site will remain dedicated to the team sports of Central Florida. The name will reflect the nature of my mission, to promote Orlando’s sport culture.

WFTV reported Friday night about a man who is putting investors together to bring an MLB team to Orlando.

Yes, you heard right. Major League Baseball.

This isn’t the first time Orlando and MLB have been put together in the same sentence. Orlando was a finalist for the 1993 expansion (the Orlando Sunrays bid) that went to Miami, and a semi-finalist for the 1998 expansion that went to Tampa Bay.

That man, Armando Gutierrez, claims he is assembling investors to purchase a team for relocation, and build a privately-funded baseball stadium somewhere in Orlando. Possible sites include the Citrus Bowl (not the stadium itself or a replacement of it), Disney, the Convention Center and the area around the airport (likely near the Beachline/417 interchange).

Armando Gutierrez is also the Republican candidate challenging Rep. Alan Grayson, Democrat, for the 8th Congressional District in 2010. The report also featured favorable comments from County Commissioner Linda Stewart, who is running for Orange County Mayor.

WFTV (not Gutierrez himself) mentioned the Milwaukee Brewers as a possible team to relocate to Orlando. For their part, the Brewers have dismissed this idea as ridiculous. The station probably got the idea because they used stock baseball footage that just happened to be at the Brewers’ new stadium, Miller Park. They also used stock footage of the Minnesota Twins, who are opening a brand new ballpark, Target Field, this season.

Gutierrez has opened a basic website and a Facebook page for the proposal.

On a personal note, there is really only one feasible team to move to Orlando: the Tampa Bay Rays. They don’t have a decent stadium, and have run into trouble trying to get a new one built. The Oakland Athletics are also a possibility since their new stadium proposal has run aground, but that would just hurt the Rays due to their proximety. The feasibility of having two teams so close geographically, especially both being American League teams, isn’t very high. There are no other teams that both (a) have an old or otherwise unsuitable stadium and (b) have actually shown a willingness to move. (Obviously, the idea of moving the Cubs or the Red Sox is ludacrious, even moreso than the Brewers.)

If Gutierrez is serious, we may be seeing the Orlando Rays by the end of the decade. It would certainly save me the trauma of changing team affiliation, and I would be down for season tickets especially if they get a retractable roof. But until any firm details emerge, I personally choose to take this merely as a pipe dream.

Gutierrez is meeting with some of the possible investors this coming week.

Not a good day for the Orlando sports scene.

First, the UCF men’s basketball team ran into a buzzsaw, getting creamed by world-beaters UTEP, 96-59.

UTEP rode the momentum of being the first team in four seasons to defeat Memphis this past week. They out-scored us 52-18 in the second half. This is also their first-ever win in Orlando. Randy Culpepper alone scored 39 points against the Knights.

After that bad a collapse, heads need to roll. And they better roll quick before our game Wednesday night at Southern Methodist.

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As for the Titans, they were beat at Boston, 13-9. The Blazers put us away with a 4-1 fourth quarter.

Casey Powell, Ryan Boyle and Mike McLellan each had two goals. Jordan Hall had four assists.

Orlando comes home this coming Friday to host the Rochester KnightHawks. Game time is 7:35pm at Amway Arena, and from what I understand tickets are getting hard to come by.