National entertainment

The new facility is purpose-built to help American climbers compete on the international stage and prepare for the Olympics Author: John Burgman Publish date: Oct 10, 2019 Over the past several months, as the specifics of how climbing will work at the 2020 Olympics have come into focus, members on the American national team have been hard at work training the requisite combined disciplines of bouldering, lead, and speed. The competitors’ singular goal has been to qualify for the Olympics—and one of them, Brooke Raboutou, has already done that. The new facility that has continually aided members of the team in their Olympic ambitions is the National Team Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Competition fans have known about the Training Center for quite some time, but only vaguely. When USA Climbing announced last year that it was relocating from Boulder, Colorado, to Salt Lake City, the first public mention of the facility’s plans was made: … [Read more...] about An Inside Look at USA Climbing’s National Team Training Center

Mike Tyson is ready to talk to your ears off about MMA.The former heavyweight champion is set to join the Professional Fighters League and host the new series “Mike Tyson’s New Fight Game: The PFL” that will debut this week on the league’s YouTube channel and other digital platforms before the playoffs start Friday.Tyson will conduct interviews with fighters, and musicians, entertainers and other famous fans of mixed martial arts. Tyson will be joined on “Fight Game” by co-host Sean O’Connell, the PFL ESPN play-by-play announcer and PFL 2018 light heavyweight champion.The 53-year-old Tyson holds the record as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title. ___More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports … [Read more...] about Former champ Tyson set to take a bite out of MMA coverage

Czechs are paying their last respects to Karel Gott, the country’s most popular pop singer who died last week.Thousands of mourners are queuing in a long line to pay tribute and lay flowers at his casket, which is on display Friday at the Zofin palace on an island in downtown Prague.Gott released some 300 albums starting in the 1960s and sold tens of millions of copies in his country, the Soviet Union and elsewhere in the Communist world.But he was also a rare example of a pop singer from eastern Europe whose music became popular in some Western European countries, especially in West Germany. Gott died Oct. 1 at age 80 in his home in Prague. … [Read more...] about Czechs pay last respect to pop singer Karel Gott

A one-time FBI informant-turned-Detroit drug lord will be released from a Florida prison earlier than expected.The Detroit News reports that Richard “White Boy Rick” Wershe Jr. is scheduled to be freed Aug. 17, 2020. His original April 2021 release date has been moved up for good behavior.The 50-year-old Wershe spent three decades behind bars in Michigan on drug charges. He was paroled in 2017 and sent to Florida to serve time for a 2006 conviction involving a car-theft ring while he was imprisoned.Wershe was already an FBI informant at age 14 and helped convict several Detroit drug kingpins. But he was arrested in 1987 with 9,000 grams (317 ounces) of cocaine and $30,000 cash. His story is told in the 2018 movie “White Boy Rick” starring Matthew McConaughey. … [Read more...] about ‘White Boy Rick’ scheduled for early Florida prison release

Universal Orlando is opening a stunt show based on filmgoers’ favorite amnesiac ex-CIA assassin.The Bourne Stuntacular, which opens next spring, is based on the Jason Bourne film franchise that has starred Matt Damon, Jeremy Renner and Julia Stiles.Universal officials said in a news release Tuesday that the show will have stuntpeople performing with high tech props in front of an enormous LED screen that gives the illusion they’re on a globe-trotting chase.The show is opening at Universal Studios Florida in the former location of the Terminator 2: 3-D attraction. … [Read more...] about Universal opening stunt show based on Bourne franchise