Florida Man Games return for Round 2 as teams vie to be the world's worst superhero
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Man Games are back for Round 2, as teams from around the state gather to prove they have what it takes to join the ranks of the world's worst superhero.
Following the success of last year's inaugural Florida Man Games in downtown St. Augustine, organizers have moved Saturday's event a few miles away to the St. Johns County Fairgrounds, where they expect to have room for more spectators and tailgating.
The games, which start a 9 a.m. and last all day, will be hosted by Florida comedians Josh Wicks Robinson and Kevin Flynn.
Poking fun at the state's reputation for bizarre stories, last year's teams competed in Florida-themed events like the Evading Arrest Obstacle Course and Beer Belly Sumo Wrestling. New events added this year include Hurricane Party Prep: Grocery Aisle Brawl and Human Beer Pong.
Ten teams from around the state, from Fort Myers to Pensacola, will compete. Last year's winner, team Hanky Spanky from St. Augustine, is returning to defend their snakeskin championship belt. Also competing this year is an all-female team called the Ball Busters.
Besides watching the events, guests will have a chance to get up to Florida Man shenanigans themselves. They will be able to interact with alligators from Gatorland and ride a mechanical alligator. The games will also feature a show by " Midget Wrestling Warriors" and lawnmower racing hosted by hosted by NASCAR driver Jeffery Earnhardt.
The 'Florida Man' phenomenon seeped into the nation's conscience thanks in part to a Twitter account that started in 2013 with the handle @_FloridaMan. The account touted 'real-life stories of the world's worst superhero,' sharing news headlines such as 'Florida Man Bites Dog to 'Establish Dominance'' and 'Florida Man Tried to Pay for McDonald's With Weed.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
7 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Merab Dvalishvili retains his 135-pound championship at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on
Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Merab Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O'Malley in the third round in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O'Malley. Dvalishvili had his number in the rematch in front of a packed crowd that included President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory. 'I'm on top of the world!,' he said inside the cage. He was the only 135-pound champion on the card who won his bout. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Kayla Harrison is now a UFC champion. Harrison tapped out 135-pound champion Julianna Pena with five seconds left in the second round to add another major championship in her fight career. No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain's Gemma Gibbons to win the women's 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018. The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot. She needed just three fights to become a champion. Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration. She then called out Amanda Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner. It appears a title fight with Harrison looms in UFC. Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked and the two went face-to-face. Nunes said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt. The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown. They had roared in delight hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.' Harrison left the cage after the win and hugged Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage. It wasn't the only nod to Trump's latest appearance at a UFC fight. UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview. Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision. 'We've got the President of the United States! We've got Mike Tyson,' Pyfer bellowed inside the cage. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Boxing returns to baseball's Fenway Park after 70 years in hopes to revitalize the sport in Boston
Boxing has returned to Boston's Fenway Park for the first time in nearly 70 years. 'Fight Night at Fenway' saw hundreds of fans gathered under the bleachers of the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball and the first professional women's boxing bout at the home of the Red Sox. (AP Video: Rodrique Ngowi and Robert Bukaty.)
San Francisco Chronicle
31 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tony Awards offer many intriguing matchups in a star-studded season
NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of singing androids. Two Pulitzer Prize-winning plays. A drunken Mary Todd Lincoln. A musical with a corpse as its hero. Romeo, Juliet and teddy bears with rave music. Not to mention George Clooney. Broadway has had a stuffed season with seemingly something for everyone and now it's time to recognize the best with the Tony Awards, hosted by Cynthia Erivo, set for Sunday night on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. Broadway buzz is usually reserved for musicals but this year the plays — powered by A-list talent — have driven the conversation. There's Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Othello,' Sarah Snook in a one-woman version of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and her 'Succession' co-star Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk in 'Glengarry Glen Ross.' (Clooney, Snook and Odenkirk are nominated for Tonys.) There were two Pulitzer winners — 2024 awardee 'English' and 'Purpose' from 2025 — but perhaps one of the season's biggest surprises was 'Oh, Mary!,' Cole Escola's irreverent, raunchy, gleefully deranged revisionist history centered on Mary Todd Lincoln. All three are nominated for best play, along with 'John Proctor is the Villain' and 'The Hills of California.' On the musical side, three options seem to be in the mix for the top prize: 'Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com about a pair of androids; 'Dead Outlaw,' about an alcoholic drifter whose embalmed body becomes a prized possession for half a century; and 'Death Becomes Her,' the musical satire about longtime frenemies who drink a magic potion for eternal youth and beauty. 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Death Becomes Her' and another musical nominee, 'Buena Vista Social Club,' lead nominations with 10 apiece. The 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, making it the highest-grossing season ever and signaling that Broadway has finally emerged from the COVID-19 blues, having overtaken the previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season. 'We're going through this strange period, which I would think someday we can draw the line from COVID to this, as you can draw the line from the early 1980s with AIDS to the explosion of big musicals again,' says Harvey Fierstein, who will get a special Tony for lifetime achievement. Audra McDonald, the most recognized performer in the theater awards' history, could possibly extend her Tony lead. Already the record holder for most acting wins with six Tonys, McDonald could add to that thanks to her leading turn in an acclaimed revival of 'Gypsy.' She has to get past Nicole Scherzinger, who has been wowing audiences in 'Sunset Blvd.' And Kara Young — the first Black female actor to be nominated for a Tony Award in four consecutive years — could become the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively, should she win for her role in the play 'Purpose.' Other possible back-to-back winners include director Danya Taymor, hoping to follow up her 2024 win with 'The Outsiders' with another for 'John Proctor Is the Villain,' and 'Purpose' playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, who won last year with 'Appropriate.' Other possible firsts include Daniel Dae Kim, who could become the first Asian winner in the category of best leading actor in a play for his work in a revival of 'Yellow Face.' And Marjan Neshat and her 'English' co-star Tala Ashe could become the first female actors of Iranian descent to win a Tony. Broadway this season saw a burst in alt-rock and the emergence of stories of young people for young people, including 'John Proctor is the Villain' and a 'Romeo + Juliet' pitched to Generation Z and millennials. Sunday's telecast, as usual, will have a musical number for each of the shows vying for the best new musical crown, as well as some that didn't make the cut, like 'Just in Time,' a musical about Bobby Darin, and 'Real Women Have Curves.' This year, there's also room for 'Hamilton,' celebrating its 10th year on Broadway. But the musicals 'BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical' and 'SMASH' didn't get slots. ___
