Saturday, Dec. 17 Today’s Weather: Hi:  75 Lo:  65 Mostly Sunny TEAM ARRIVALS: Marshall Arrival Marshall Arrived via Charter at Tampa International Airport this afternoon.  When the buses rolled up to the Renaissance Vinoy Resort a large supportive group of Thundering Herd fans were on hand to greet the Marshall team. Mike Hamrick, Marshall Athletic Director: "We had a nice trip down this afternoon and are excited to be in St. Petersburg for what we feel will be a wonderful experience for our student-athletes." Doc Holliday, Marshall Head Coach: "Our kids and staff are excited to be in St. Petersburg for this bowl. A trip like this is a reward for the program, but our guys know that we also have a tough challenge ahead against a very good FIU team on Tuesday." Ryan Tillman, Marshall Right Tackle: "We can go outside and enjoy the weather down here, that's for sure. We're happy to be here and we'll be ready for FIU Tuesday night." FIU Arrival FIU departed from Miami following a morning practice and headed north to St. Petersburg with a caravan of buses.  An enthusiastic group of fans were at the Hilton Bayfront St. Petersburg entrance to meet the  Panthers. Mario Cristobal, FIU Head Coach “If we could we’d play the game right now. We’ve had a great week of practice with a lot of anticipation. We’re very excited to be in St. Petersburg and excited about the opponent we are facing.” Pete Garcia, FIU Executive Director of Sports & Entertainment “We’ve been waiting for this moment for months and we’re very excited to finally get here and start the bowl week. We’re looking forward to having a successful game and having a lot of fun.” T.Y. Hilton, FIU WR “We’re very happy to be here, especially it being in Florida. It means a lot to us that our fans will be able to come and support us.” TEAM CRUISE ESPN welcomed the coaches, student-athletes, official party members, and spouses for a scenic cruise Saturday night which departed from the Renaissance Vinoy Resort boat dock in downtown St. Petersburg.  The official traveling parties of both teams had dinner and enjoyed a cruise along the Bay on the Starlite Cruise Ship. ESPN LINEUP CHANGES ESPN announced that Danny Kanell will replace Craig James as the color analyst for the ESPN TV broadcast of the 2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg and will join the team of Mike Patrick (play-by-play) and Jeaninne Edwards (sideline reporter). Kanell, who had been scheduled to provide analysis for ESPN Radio, has been replaced by Charles Arbuckle. Arbuckle will join play-by-play announcer Rob Stone and sideline reporter Chris Rix on the ESPN Radio broadcast. What’s Happening --  on Sunday, Dec. 18 Weather Forecast: Hi:  74 Lo:  65 Mostly Sunny Chance of Rain: 10% Team Practices at Tropicana Field: Marshall (9:00 am - 11:00 am), FIU (11:30 am - 1:30pm) Beach Bash at TradeWinds Resort:

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

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Media Contacts: Jeffrey Kamis, Trifecta Team, [email protected] or 813-784-3642; Rachel Margolis at ESPN; [email protected] or 860-766-2798