🌱 UT Hockey Team Ranked No. 1 + Tampa Named 'Best Sports City 2021' + Hillsborough Hiring

Morning, Tampa! Let's get you started this Tuesday with everything you need to know going on today in town.

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First, today's weather:

A heavy thunderstorm. High: 73 Low: 57.

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Here are the top five stories in Tampa today:

1. The University of Tampa hockey team is off to a 16-1-1 start and ranked number one out of 153 teams in the Collegiate Hockey Federation. The team will play South Florida on Sunday, January 16th at Amalie Arena after the holiday break. (ABC Action News)

2. Hillsborough County needs to fill more than 70 jobs managing critical infrastructure, therefore the county is offering free specialty training while getting paid to workers. The on-the-job training to earn industry certifications comes with a starting wage of $15 per hour. (WFLA)

3. More than 5 million Floridians plan to travel for Christmas. That represents a 35% increase from 2020, according to AAA. The travel giant says the busiest travel days will be between December 23rd and January 2nd. AAA also shared the best and worst travel times during the holiday season with Patch. (Patch Florida)

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season due to a MCL sprain in Sunday night's game against the Saints, according to reports. (WTSP)

5. Tampa has been named the Best Sports City of 2021 by the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) following a year filled with titles and accomplishments. Tampa set a record for fan engagement as it welcomed 34,831 fans per session at the Super Bowl Experience, according to SBJ. (That's So Tampa)

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Today in Tampa:

• Annual Holiday Luncheon With City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor at Columbia Restaurant. (11:30 AM)
• Zumbini at Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex. (11:30 AM)
• Celebrations Around The World at Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative. (5:30 PM)
• Couples Cooking: Cheers And Beers at Publix Aprons Cooking School of Citrus Park. (6:00 PM)
• Trivia Tuesday at Armature Works. (6:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Tampa Bay Lightning wants to know what’s the best holiday movie? The team shared some thoughts. (Facebook)
• Enjoy Christmas in the Wild at ZooTampa every night through December 30th (except the 24th and 25th) and enjoy light displays, festive live entertainment, treats and much more. (Facebook)
• In observance of Christmas Day, City of Tampa offices will be closed on Friday, December 24th and Monday, December 27th, 2021. (Facebook)
• Tampa Parks & Recreation teamed up with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful last week to plant 40 new trees at David E. West Park. (Facebook)

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That's it for today! See you all tomorrow morning for another update.

— Carlos Hernandez

About me: Hello my name is Carlos Hernandez and I am a food writer with over 10 years of experience in the industry. I write the food blog Carlos Eats (http://www.carloseats.com) and also contribute to several newspapers and magazines with food-related blogs and articles.