PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Air Force veteran Larry Kummer never had an issue with his treatment at the Veterans Administration’s Bay Pines Medical Center in Pinellas County. That was until May, when a new doctor at the VA clinic in Bradenton cut off the only medication that stopped severe pain in his legs. It […]

Charlie McAvoy is back in Bruins camp. The Bolts At Fan Fest on Sunday, Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and General Manager Julien Brisebois spoke in front of the fans. After that, Vinik talked with the media. Bryan Burns has a transcript of that conversation. Does there start to become a point where it’s like, ‘Okay, we just need to do it?” ”Yes, of course, we all want to do it and win the Cup, but it’s hard. There are a lot of other good teams out there. Hockey is a very even sport. A lot of the prognosticators put us No. 1 to win the Cup back then, they have us with a 14 percent chance, a one-in-seven chance. A lot of other good teams, a lot of good stuff and bad stuff happens during the season, ups and downs. It’s part of sports and it gets in the playoffs and that’s magnified. It’s not an easy thing to do. We think if we’re one of the best teams year in and year out, we think that it’s inevitable and hopefully inevitable visits Tampa Bay in the spring.” Also at Fan Fest, Victor Hedman had some fun taking a shot at Nikita Kucherov. File this one away for use later this season. And if anyone wants to track Kuch’s beard length in comparison to his scoring this season, we will publish that article. Nikita Kucherov just flipped some snow over the glass onto Hedman while he and Stamkos are being interviewed in front of the fans. Kucherov forgot never to mess w/ a man w/ a microphone. Hedman: "He trimmed his beard because he didn't have a point in the first two scrimmages."— Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) September 15, 2019 The Prospects The Orlando Solar Bears joined the Lightning at Sunday’s Fan Fest. The two organizations seem committed to growing the sport of hockey in Florida and being more than just affiliates. We spent our Sunday Funday in Tampa! #BoltsFanFest #IsItOctoberYet pic.twitter.com/DbyVFqzgfH— Orlando Solar Bears (@OrlandoHockey) September 15, 2019 The Game As has been the theme lately, more Restricted Free Agents resolved their summer-long contract negotiations and rejoined their teams for training camp. The biggest name to sign yesterday was Charlie McAvoy with the Boston Bruins. The young blue liner looks like a legitimate first pairing defender and he signed an exceedingly team friendly deal at $4.9 million for three seasons. The contract is similar to the one Zach Werenski signed but McAvoy has been a better player than Werenski by most measures. Later in the day, Flames forward Andrew Mangiapane accepted his qualifying offer of one year at $715,000. While the Flames will be happy to have him in camp, this is likely a sign that the team and player were far apart in negotiations to the point where Mangiapane accepted his qualifying offer so that he could be an RFA again next season. The big difference will be that he’ll have arbitration rights. And he’ll be looking to have a big year so that he can make the Flames pay for not offering a better contract this time around. The deal is a small “prove it” deal, forfeiting term and money this season in exchange for a likely much higher AAV after Mangiapane gets a full season in the NHL. Although he will still be an RFA at the end of the deal, he will have arbitration rights, which could make his next contract a little bit richer. The AHL salary for the deal has not been announced, though it’s unlikely the Flames will send him down this season, if he even clears waivers in the first place. And finally, the Vegas Golden Knights officially opened the 2019 NHL preseason by beating the Arizona Coyotes 6-2. Max Pacioretty scored a hat trick and for points in total to lead Vegas. Adin Hill was in net for the Yotes for most of the game allowing four goals on 19 shots, which, let’s just call that preseason form. Preseason swings fully into gear today with eleven games on the schedule. The Lightning get started on Tuesday in Tampa with the front half of a home and home back to back against the Carolina Hurricanes. They’ll follow that with another home and home back to back against Nashville starting on Friday night.

Sarasota will be the site for the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships in 2022. The event will be held at Nathan Benderson Park, which is known for hosting world rowing championships. The decision to select Sarasota was made after the International Dragon Boat Federation held its world congress in late August, during its World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, according to an announcement. During the meetings, the Sarasota 2022 bid was presented…

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WESH) – A Florida woman and her four children have been missing for six weeks, according to authorities. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is searching for Casei Jones, 32, and four children: Cameron Bowers, 10, Preston Bowers, 5, Mercalli Jones, 2, and Aiyana Jones, 1. Jones and her children were last seen […]