Prince William among those paying tribute to beloved Leicester soccer club owner killed in helicopter crash

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images(LEICESTER, England) — British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prince William have led tributes to the owner of a famous Leicester soccer club who died in a helicopter crash after watching his team play.

Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died along with four others when the helicopter crashed in a parking lot outside the club’s stadium just after 8.30 pm on Saturday, the soccer club said in a statement.

Formal identification has not yet taken place, but the other victims are believed to be two members of his staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpar, and the private pilots Eric Swaffer and Izabela Rosa Lechowicz, police said.

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, was among the most high-profile figures to express his condolences over the weekend, saying in a statement that he was “lucky enough to have known Vichai for several years.”

“My thoughts today are with the family and friends of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and all the victims of the terrible crash at Leicester City Football Club,” he said. “He will be missed by all fans of the sport and everyone lucky enough to have known him.”

Prime Minister May echoed the prince’s sentiments.

“My thoughts are with those family, friends and supporters connected to the tragic crash outside Leicester City’s stadium on Saturday night,” she said.

Both Srivaddhanaprabha’s son and wife left a wreath for Vichai, a Thai billionaire, and the other victims at the club’s stadium on Monday.

A number of Leicester City’s current playing staff, including Ben Chilwell, Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel, have also expressed their shock over social media.

An investigation into the crash has been launched by the Air Accident Investigation Branch, police said. The inspectors will look into the flight data and engineering, operational and human factors that may have been involved in the incident, although their work may be made more difficult by a fire after the crash that damaged the helicopter’s in-flight recorder.

Though the details will not be officially known until that inquiry is complete, an eyewitness told Sky News that the accident could have been much worse were it not for the “heroic” actions of the pilot.

Sky Sports News cameraman Dan Cox was walking through the parking lot when he saw the helicopter overhead. He recalled that the aircraft was spinning and out of control.

“I don’t know how the pilot did it, but he seemed to manage to slow down the spinning rotation and it drifted off into the corner part of the car park,” he said. “It could have been so much worse if the pilot hadn’t done that.”

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha made his fortune by founding duty-free empire King Power in Thailand in 1989. The company became the biggest duty-free retailer in the country, and at the time of his death he was Thailand’s fifth-richest man with a net worth of $4.9 billion, according to Forbes.

Srivaddhanaprabha became a much-loved figure in the Leicester community after buying the football club in 2010, according to the club’s website. The club were promoted to the Premier League in the 2013-14 season. It then miraculously won the Premier League in 2015-16, despite being 5000 to 1 outsiders, in one of the greatest underdog stories in soccer history.

Phil Holloway, the editor of Leicester Fan TV, told ABC News that “to say the fans of Leicester City are shattered is an understatement.”

“We had never dared to dream before Vichai took over our club,” he said. “He has been an inspiration to us all. He has transformed our club from a local sports team into a global brand.”

Supporters have been invited to pay their respects at the King Power stadium.

“The primary thoughts of everyone at the Club are with the Srivaddhanaprabha family and the families of all those on-board at this time of unspeakable loss,” the club said in a statement.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Scoreboard roundup — 10/28/18

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
   
   INTERLEAGUE

 Final  Boston   5  L-A Dodgers   1
   
   NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
 Final  Golden State   120  Brooklyn    114
 Final  Utah           113  Dallas      104
 Final  Oklahoma City  117  Phoenix     110
 Final  L.A. Clippers  136  Washington  104
   
   NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
 Final  L.A. Kings      4  N-Y Rangers   3
 Final  N-Y Islanders   2  Carolina      1
 Final  Detroit         4  Dallas        2
 Final OT  Edmonton        2  Chicago       1
 Final OT  Vegas           4  Ottawa        3
 Final OT  San Jose        4  Anaheim       3
   
   NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
 Final  Philadelphia   24  Jacksonville    18
 Final  Kansas City    30  Denver          23
 Final  Pittsburgh     33  Cleveland       18
 Final  Cincinnati     37  Tampa Bay       34
 Final  Carolina       36  Baltimore       21
 Final  Washington     20  N-Y Giants      13
 Final  Chicago        24  N-Y Jets        10
 Final  Seattle        28  Detroit         14
 Final  Indianapolis   42  Oakland         28
 Final  L.A. Rams      29  Green Bay       27
 Final  Arizona        18  San Francisco   15
 Final  New Orleans    30  Minnesota       20
 New England  at  Buffalo   8:15 p.m.

   MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Final  Seattle    2  San Jose    1

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Brown Mark of Prince's band The Revolution admits he hated “Purple Rain”

Kevin Estrada Purple Rain is one of the most popular music films of all time, but one of its stars admits he hated it when he attended the premiere.

The 1984 semi-autobiographical film about the life of Prince featured The TimeApollonia, and Prince’s band, The Revolution. The iconic Purple Rain album is one of the best-selling soundtracks ever, with over 25 million copies sold. The album earned two Grammys, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.

Brown Mark, bassist for The Revolution, played on the album and performed in the movie. He remembers he laughed when Prince first revealed his plans for the film.

“I didn’t believe it,” Mark tells ABC Radio. “I didn’t see how it was gonna work.” 

Mark remembers after he attended the premiere, he thought the movie was going to flop. “I watched it for the first time, and I hated it, but everybody loved it.” he recalls.

“I started to understand what it was that people were seeing in the movie, and why they loved it so much,” Mark continues. “It’s the music. It’s the energy. It’s this rags-to-riches rock story.”

The Revolution is a multi-racial band, and one of the keyboard players, Dr. Fink, says Prince wanted the movie to help create racial harmony.

“One of the main points of Purple Rain, in Prince’s vision, was to create this all-inclusive environment for all races, creeds, colors, men and women together, gay, whatever,” he tells ABC Radio.

“At that time, there was still some segregation happening on the airwaves,” he continues. “That’s where Michael Jackson kinda broke through with Thriller first. That paved the way for Purple Rain.”

The Revolution is currently on tour, playing songs from Purple Rain and other Prince albums.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts responds to criticism from Donald Trump: 'That's one man's opinion'

Harry How/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received word of an unexpected critic following his team’s loss to the Red Sox in Game 4 of the World Series: the president of the United States.

The Dodgers lost the crucial game, 9-6, and fell behind 3-1 in the series. Los Angeles blew a 4-0 lead in the game — a point not lost on the leader of the free world.

“It is amazing how a manager takes out a pitcher who is loose & dominating through almost 7 innings, Rich Hill of Dodgers, and brings in nervous reliever(s) who get shellacked,” Trump tweeted to his 55.4 million followers. “4 run lead gone. Managers do it all the time, big mistake!”

The manager-in-chief’s words of wisdom were received with skepticism from Roberts.

“The president said that?” Roberts asked reporters when told of the tweet in his postgame press conference. “I’m happy he was tuning in and watching the game. I don’t know how many Dodgers games he’s watched. I don’t think he was privy to the conversation. That’s one man’s opinion.”

Hill had thrown 91 pitches and 6 1/3 innings of shutout ball when Roberts removed him from the game. The L.A. bullpen proceeded to surrender nine runs, including one credited to Hill.

Roberts has been manager of the Dodgers since 2016. He holds a record of 287-200 in the regular season and 23-18 in the postseason. He had taken the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series for the first time since 1977-78.

Boston manager Alex Cora dismissed Trump’s criticism as well.

“Dave Roberts is a good manager,” Cora responded before leaving the podium.

Cora is a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, and was critical of the president’s response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.

“To be tweeting about 3,000 people [dying] and being efficient, it’s actually disrespectful for my country,” Cora told Mass Live in September after Trump questioned the hurricane’s death toll. “We see it that way. I know he probably doesn’t feel that way.”

Cora was wearing a T-shirt that read “Proud for Puerto Rico” during the press conference on Saturday.

As a Yankees fan, Trump was likely rooting against the Red Sox, as well. He was close friends with late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and may also have some lingering resentment for Roberts, whose stolen base against New York in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series set up a historic Red Sox comeback and the team’s first title in 86 years.

Trump doesn’t tweet about baseball much — Saturday’s tweet was sandwiched between praise for conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza and condemnation of the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh — but of course he’s made attacking the NFL a hallmark.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Scoreboard roundup — 10/26/18

iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
    
   INTERLEAGUE
 Final  L-A Dodgers   3  Boston   2, 18 Innings

   NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

 Final  Charlotte      135  Chicago     106
 Final  Toronto        116  Dallas      107
 Final  Golden State   128  N-Y Knicks  100
 Final  L.A. Clippers  133  Houston     113
 Final  Milwaukee      125  Minnesota    95
 Final  New Orleans    117  Brooklyn    115
 Final  Sacramento     116  Washington  112
    
   NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
 Final  Tampa Bay   3  Vegas      2
 Final SO  Carolina    4  San Jose   3
 Final  Winnipeg    2  Detroit    1
 Final  Colorado    6  Ottawa     3
    
   TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
 Final  (23) Utah   41  UCLA   10

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Super A-T-L: Jermaine Dupri producing free Super Bowl week concerts in Atlanta

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagicJermaine Dupri announced today he’s producing a series of free pre-Super Bowl concerts in Atlanta, which is hosting the game on February 3 at Mercedes Benz Stadium.

“It means a lot, especially to make sure people from out of town leave with the right mindset of what Atlanta is about,” the “Welcome to Atlanta” rapper said during a press conference, according to Atlanta Magazine.

The So So Def CEO is producing six days of free family-friendly “Super Bowl LIVE” events at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, beginning on Saturday, January 26.

“[There’s no] no city musically like Atlanta,” he added. “No city has had a run the way that we have for this many years, with this much talent and this many artists. It’s really important to see that the committee paid attention to that.”

When news broke that Maroon 5 would be doing the halftime show — news that hasn’t been confirmed, by the way– there was an outcry for artists from the A-T-L to perform.

At today’s press conference, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said, “There might be some uprising in Atlanta if we didn’t have some representation.”

Dupri, who has produced hits for numerous stars, including JAY-Z, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, and Usher, says he wants his shows to capture the excitement the way another act from Atlanta did when it performed three sold-out shows in 2004 in Centennial Olympic Park.

“I just remember Outkast having a concert here and the energy in this area was crazy for that,” he said. “That’s the only thing I can think of at this point that reminds me of what I feel like this should be.”

JD has not announced yet who will perform at his free shows.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

Meek Mill, Van Scott, and Kim Kardashian to appear at Criminal Justice Reform Summit

Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for TIDALMeek Mill, CNN host Van Jones, and Kim Kardashian will be among the participants at the first Criminal Justice Reform Summit presented by Rolling Stone and Variety.

Jones will be the keynote speaker for the November 14 event at the Jeremy Hotel in Los Angeles, which will explore the failings of the American criminal justice system.

“Not only do we face a mass incarceration problem in the United States, but almost 60 percent of inmates currently in prison or jail are racial and ethnic minorities,” Jones says, “Uncovering the roots of this national issue and creating a diverse advocacy community is a huge step toward generating legitimate policy change.”

Mill is now free on bail and fighting for a new trial to prove that his 2008 conviction on gun and drug charges should be overturned.

The rapper initially served an eight-month sentence followed by probation. In November 2017, he was sentenced to two to four years in prison for parole violations, resulting in a wide public outcry. In April of this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted his release on bail.  

On Tuesday, Meek performed at JAY-Z’s TIDAL X: Brooklyn concert at Barclays Center in New York City, which raised money to support non-profits working for criminal justice.

Kardashian was invited to the summit because she met with President Donald Trump at the White House in September to discuss prison reform, and aided in the early release of Alice Marie Johnson, who spent 21 years in prison for a first-time drug offense.

Hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, who was the first host of MTV’s Yo! MTV Raps in 1988, will also serve as a panelist for the event.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

 

“Hit that super strut!” Ciara makes directorial debut with “Dose” video

ABC/Image Group LACiara is adding another credit to her resume: She makes her directorial debut with her “Dose” video,which she released today.

The Revlon Global Brand Ambassador co-directed the clip with veteran director Diane Martel and choreographer Jamaica Craft. Martell previously worked with the “Goodies” singer on her 2009 “Love Sex Magic” video, which featured Justin Timberlake.

Ciara posted the”Dose” video on Instagram and commented, “My 1st Time Co Directing A Video with my girls @JamaicaCraft and @DianeMartel So Proud! All My Groundbreaking Women Hit That Super Strut!”

The dance video was shot in a gymnasium at the Brandon Hall prep school in the A-T-L, and features a marching band, as well as a cameo by Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

“Dose” is Ciara’s third single this year, following “Level Up,” and Freak Me.” Her most recent album, Jackie, was released in 2015.

 

Drake, Cardi B and Travis Scott among “Ebony” magazine’s Power 100

EbonyDrake, Cardi B and Travis Scott will be among the honorees at Ebony magazine’s Power 100 Gala on November 20 in Los Angeles.

The Power 100 recognizes individuals who’ve had a positive impact on the African-American community. Ebony chooses leaders in the following categories: Entertainment & Arts, Community Crusaders, Disruptors, Innovators, Sports MVPs, Entrepreneurs, Power Players, and Women Up.

The list for Entertainment & Arts includes Barack & Michelle ObamaAlfre WoodardLuke Cage star Mike ColterScandal creator Shonda RhimesYara Shahidi from black-ish and grown-ish, and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins.

Stephen Curry from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, and tennis star Venus Williams are among the Sports MVPs.

You can view the complete Ebony Power 100 list here.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.