Lads of spring

Baseball isn't the only sport that holds its spring training in Florida, which annually receives a tourism boost when the boys of summer are roused from their winter slumber and head south.

Visit St./Pete Clearwater is banking on an influx of fans of the world's most popular sport — soccer — thanks to the presence of several Major League Soccer clubs in the area over the next few weeks.

Two MLS squads, D.C. United and Philadelphia Union, hold their preseason training in Clearwater, and this year they're being joined by a third club, the New York Red Bulls. The Bulls will train at the Oldsmar Sports Complex from Jan. 22 to Feb. 3 and then head to Tucson, Ariz., to complete the remainder of the preseason schedule.