We reported a few months ago that Mixed Martial Arts would take over Atlanta Symphony Hall in January at an event titled “Brawl at Symphony Hall.” Of course, it never happened; the fights were swiftly canceled after angry reactions from arts patrons.

But “Brawl” organizers said in a press release today they’re “still considering legal action” after the cancellation, and they’re planning another bout in an unexpected venue, if not one with the high art cachet of Symphony Hall.

This time, they’re calling it “Beatdowns in the Ballroom” and the Ultimate Fighting event will feature Cortez Coleman, Douglas “The Phenom” Lima, Diego “The Octopus” Saraiva, Ethan Garrison and others in the Thomas Murphy Ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center, home to so-many bridal shows and pep rallies. The winner takes home a $10,000 prize.

Melissa Sanders, the director of public & media relations for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, said in an e-mail Tuesday that they have nothing further to …

Continue reading ‘Brawl at Symphony Hall’ returns as ‘Beatdowns in the Ballroom’: Ultimate Fighting at Ga. World Congress Center »

Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field. Chopper stays just as goofy. AJC file photo

So I’m perusing the Gwinnett Braves Web site last night and notice a jokey story about a wayward zebra heading to Coolray Field. Strangely, I get the zebra gag, but where is this Coolray Field?

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Turns out I missed the news from late last week that the Atlanta Braves signed a multi-million dollar deal with Marietta’s Coolray Heating and Cooling for naming rights to the Gwinnett ballpark in Lawrenceville.  That means Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field.

(For the record, last we knew, the zebra was safely under the care of UGA veterinarians in Athens. Maybe there was a stop in Lawrenceville on the way.)

The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed but based on the numbers available, it “puts the …

Continue reading POLL: Gwinnett Braves Stadium becomes Coolray Field »

Martin Prado goes into first base head first last September against the Marlins. I'm looking forward to baseball — and baseball weather — and lucky us, tickets go on sale next week. AJC file photo

Ahhh, as if to celebrate the return of 50- and 60-degree weather, I just saw that single game tickets for the Atlanta Braves go on sale Feb. 24. Baseball=spring=the end of my sweater-wearing, $200-gas bill, comfort food-binging misery, right?

Anyway, Braves tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. at www.braves.com/tickets, at the Braves Ticket Office at Turner Field, the Braves Clubhouse Store at CNN Center, at Publix Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

Opening Day at Turner Field is 4 p.m. April 5 when the Braves play the Chicago Cubs. Friday Night Fireworks will be back this year, along with All Star Sundays, when kids younger than 14 can run the bases after a game and anybody can get Braves alums to sign autographs in the Fan Plaza before the game.

And oh yeah! There will …

Continue reading Atlanta Braves single game tickets go on sale Feb. 24 »

Design submissions for the 2010 Peachtree Road Race T-shirt are due March 1. AJC file photo

Who’s got some design skills and the desire to be immortalized on the chests of 55,000 sweaty runners?

For you, there’s news: the deadline for the Atlanta Track Club’s 2010 AJC Peachtree Road Race t-shirt design contest is March 1. Here’s the entry form and contest rules.

The five finalists will be revealed March 21, the day online race registration opens and public voting to pick the winner will run through April 30. Of course, we’ll learn of the winning design at the July 4 race. The winning designer receives $1,000 and the four runners up receive $100.

Need a little inspiration? Here’s are the designs from the 2000s, 1990s, 1980s, 1970s.

Want to go? AJC Peachtree Road Race online registration opens 1 p.m. March 21. Printed Peachtree application will appear in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on March 28. The race is July 4. www.ajc.com/peachtree.

Continue reading AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt designs due March 1 »

Nuclear Cowboyz is at the Georgie Dome this weekend.

As Nate Adams and I talked on the phone, the 25-year-old motocross rider was waiting for a doctor to check out a ride-altering injury — a battered thumb.

“It’s a lingering injury. I dislocated my thumb and every time it comes out, I have to come get it treated,” he said. “It seems like such a  little injury, but you really can’t do anything without a thumb.”

Such is life on the road with Nuclear Cowboyz, the motocross show that comes to Philips Arena this weekend. He’s one of 16 “X Games-worthy” riders on stage during the two hour show, along with a lot of pyrotechnics and dancing women in skimpy clothes. This is a show aiming for the extreme — even with its spelling.

As Adams explains it, it’s the story of how freestyle riding grew, and became its own type of entertainment. (Here’s an interesting Associated Press story about whether motocross can become theater.)

“The show tells the story of how the tricks came up. We …

Continue reading INTERVIEW: Nuclear Cowboyz motocross rider Nate Adams »

Nice view! ING Marathon runners crossed Jackson Street last year. Registration is open now for the race. AJC file photo

Deep in the heart of winter, we must be eager to get outside. A press release yesterday from organizers of the ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon said race registration is 20 percent higher this year than it was at this time last year.

The March 21 races take 18,000 runners past Atlanta landmarks and through neighborhoods like the Old Fourth Ward, Inman Park, Decatur, Druid Hills, Virginia Highland and Midtown. (For those looking for a lighter race, the Publix 5K and Kids Fun Run is March 21 in Grant Park.)

And that’s not the only thing happening March 21: that same day, online registration for the AJC Peachtree Road Race opens at 1 p.m., open to 45,000 runners. Another 10,000 runners will be randomly selected from all applications, including the paper ones printed in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on March 28. We’re already starting to hear about some …

Continue reading ING Marathon registration rolling, Peachtree starts March 21 »

A view of the Atlanta Boat Show in 2006

I spent a lot of time on boats as a kid. Kids in Michigan do that kind of thing.

As a result, I also spent a lot of time at boat shows, debating the pleasures of floating against the pleasures of speed and ogling the boats that seemed to dwarf our house.

Reading about the 48th Atlanta Boat Show in “Atlanta Boat Show goes green, extreme” opening at the Georgia World Congress Center today, it sounds exactly the same — tons and tons of boats.

Well, and cooler gadgets. And more nods to the parents towing their children behind them.

You know what we didn’t have at the boat show when I was a kid?

Extreme anything:

Extreme Rail Jam is new this year, bringing in several championship wakeboarders, including Andrew Adkison, to perform the sport’s daring feats over a 30,000-gallon pool. 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Jan. 13-14; 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Jan. 15-16; noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Jan. 17. Andrew Adkison performs at 1 p.m. Jan. 16 and 2 p.m. Jan. …

Continue reading Atlanta Boat Show — now with wakeboarders! — opens »

Braves outfielder Nate McLouth signed a ball for fans last June. Expect a lot of autographs to be going on during the Atlanta Braves Community Caravan tour Jan. 30-Feb.11. AJC file photo

Well before the first pitch of the season, the Atlanta Braves are touring the southeast to sign some autographs and build some buzz for the 2010 season.

The Braves just announced that from Jan. 30-Feb. 11, they’ll have players, coaches, executives and broadcasters signing autographs and talking baseball at Academy Sports + Outdoors stores as far as Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.

In Georgia, they’ll be stopping in Athens, Macon and Evans, near Augusta. A schedule sent to media said Braves will be making community appearance and signing autographs around Atlanta on Feb. 1, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8, but those events and more specific locations haven’t yet shown up on the schedule of Community Caravan stops.

It also doesn’t say yet who will stop at which location, but expect those …

Continue reading Atlanta Braves to tour towns through Community Caravan »

Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong surrounded by onlookers during the Tour de Georgia in 2005. AJC file photo

The 2010 Tour de Georgia is off, canceled late last month after bike race organizers failed to find a big-time sponsor in this rough economy. This is the second year without the race, upping the risk that it will never come back.

A story by AJCer Jim Tharpe, “Can Tour de Georgia bike race be saved?” goes into more detail about its economic impact here ($30 million per year) and what the race needs to make a comeback ($3.5 million from sponsors.)

Suwanee 2nd graders cheer on the pack of competitors during the 2008 Tour de Georgia. AJC file photo

For six years, the race was a blockbuster. It had a great reputation as a precursor to the Tour de France and hundreds of thousands of spectators watched. It went on hiatus last year, and organizers announced in December that they’d cancel the 2010 race, too, because of the economy.

When the race is on, it gets money flowing, …

Continue reading What do you miss about the Tour de Georgia bike race? »

The Johnstown High School marching band from Johnstown, Ohio marches in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Parade on Thursday afternoon. AJC/Elissa Eubanks

Peach Drop family activities have been running downtown all day, and music will start in a few hours.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Parade finished up a little while ago, and the bowl game will start in a few hours.

Offices are emptying as people head home to prepare for parties.

What are your New Year’s Eve plans? Share your experiences in the comments.

Happy 2010, everybody!

For instant updates, follow @insideaccess on Twitter.

Continue reading Atlanta New Year’s Eve: what are your plans? »