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Payton Titus - Sports Reporter
Payton Titus

Sports Reporter

When your parents find inspiration for your name on the back of Gary “The Glove” Payton’s Seattle SuperSonics jersey, you have no choice but to pursue a career in sports. It feels fitting that in my 20th year (same as the number that graced Payton’s green and yellow uniform) I end up here for my first summer internship on the sports desk. I was raised by The Independent Florida Alligator, where I covered Gators softball, Gators football and served on the editorial board. If I’m not working, you’ll likely find me blasting Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” and serenading my cat or tending to my plants.

  1. New Rays reliever JT Chargois excited to be part of ‘the real deal’
    Yesterday• Rays
    Recently acquired JT Chargois made an impressive debut for the Rays Friday, working a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
  2. El veloz Trayvon Bromell, ejemplo para nuevas generaciones
    Jul. 29• CENTRO
    Trayvon Bromell, fotografiado en los Campeonatos del Mundo en pista cubierta de 2016 en Portland, Oregon.
  3. How an Oklahoma, Texas move to SEC could impact other Gators sports
    Jul. 27• Gators
    SEC commissioner Greg Sankey speaks to reporters during the NCAA college football Southeastern Conference Media Days Monday in Hoover, Ala.
  5. How Trayvon Bromell’s Olympic success is inspiring his childhood neighborhood
    Jul. 26• Sports
    Trayvon Bromell, pictured at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon,
  6. All-female Rays-Orioles broadcast crew makes history, looks optimistically to future
    Jul. 21• Rays
    Alanna Rizzo does a sound check before the Rays' game against the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday at Tropicana Field. The game was the first in MLB history to feature an all-female broadcast crew.
  7. Rays top draft pick Carson Williams ready to go after signing for $2.35 million
    Jul. 21• Rays
    Rays top draft pick Carson Williams was excited to be at Tropicana Field on Tuesday, and to be signed.
  8. Tampa’s Erriyon Knighton is Tokyo bound. So what do his classmates think?
    Jul. 20• HomeTeam
    Erriyon Knighton, center, finishes third in the men's 200-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials last month in Eugene, Ore. Noah Lyles, right, celebrates after winning ahead of Kenny Bednarek, left, and Knighton.
  9. Alanna Rizzo on Rays-Orioles all-female broadcast crew: ‘It’s not anything new for us’
    Jul. 19• Rays
    Alanna Rizzo, left, delivers a report before a 2018 game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies in Denver as then-Dodgers left fielder Matt Kemp looks on. Rizzo on Tuesday night will be part of Major League Baseball’s first all-female broadcasting crew.
  10. Tampa Bay to join national wheelchair football league
    Jul. 14• Sports
    Athletes pushed through a 20-minute aerobic spin around a wide series of cones during tryouts last weekend for the expansion USA Wheelchair Football League team in Tampa.
  11. Meet the more than 60 Florida athletes that will represent Team USA in summer Olympics
    Jul. 14• Sports
    Gibbs High grad Trayvon Bromell is heading to the Tokyo Games after winning the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
  12. Spotlight finds Clearwater swimmer Bobby Finke as Tokyo Olympics approach
    Jul. 13• Gators
    Bobby Finke gets ready to compete in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials. He ended up winning the event to qualify for Tokyo.
  13. Another day in Tampa Bay, another boat parade celebrating a Stanley Cup
    Jul. 12• Lightning
    Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn drives a jet ski while holding the Stanley Cup as teammate Nikita Kucherov gestures to the crowd while celebrating the Lightning’s Stanley Cup victory with a boat parade Monday in Tampa.
  14. How a Tampa family beat cancer between back-to-back Lightning Stanley Cups
    Jul. 9• Lightning
    Becca Sloan, left, and her mom, Melisa Capri, stand outside Amalie Arena before the Lightning took on the Islanders in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup semifinals June 21.
  15. Elite 8: Lightning join exclusive back-to-back Stanley Cup club
    Jul. 8• Lightning
    Lightning captain Steven Stamkos hoists the Stanley Cup after the Lighting defeated the Dallas Stars in last year's final.
  16. How female athletes and women’s sports can benefit from NIL
    Jul. 6• Gators
    Eight-time All-American Alyssa Baumann, a Florida gymnast, could join other high-profile female athletes in good position to capitalize on their name, image, likeness.
  17. Fans keep Amalie Arena buzzing when Lightning are at home or away
    Jul. 6• Lightning
    Lightning fans gathered at a watch party at Amalie Arena to view Game 4 against the Canadiens, looking on in disbelief as Tampa Bay team lost in overtime.
  18. What we do and don’t know about name, image, likeness regulations at smaller colleges
    Jun. 27• Sports
    One of the top junior college players in 2020-21, Tallahassee Community College's El Ellis may already have the clout to profit off his name, image and likeness before playing a game for Louisville. He also has amassed a healthy number of followers on his social media accounts.
  19. In wake of strong outing, Rays’ Shane McClanahan seeks first win in nearly a month
    Jun. 26• Rays
    Rays left-handed starter Shane McClanahan allowed only a run on three hits in six innings last Sunday in Seattle. He starts Saturday afternoon against the Angels at Tropicana Field.
  20. Meet Kim Shaw, the Tampa Bay Inferno’s 55-year-old quarterback
    Jun. 25• Sports
    Quarterback Kim Shaw, 55, is in her 20th season playing women’s tackle football in Tampa.
  21. Rays play it safe in placing Taylor Walls on injured list
    Jun. 25• Rays
    The Rays' Taylor Walls talks to teammates in the dugout during the third inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox Thursday at Tropicana Field.
  22. Meet the Inferno, Tampa Bay’s unbeaten women’s tackle football team
    Jun. 24• Sports
    Quarterback Kim Shaw, right in white, huddles with her Inferno teammates during a recent practice.
  23. Rays banking on making new reliever Matt Wisler better
    Jun. 12• Rays
    Matt Wisler, pictured, will be added to the active roster Saturday, taking the place of lefty Ryan Sherriff, who was optioned to Triple-A.
  24. Rays’ Ryan Yarbrough ready to get back on mound vs. Orioles
    Jun. 11• Rays
    Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough bumps fists with catcher Mike Zunino after the sixth inning of a game against the New York Yankees on June 3. Yarbrough went the distance that day.