Monument to stay, even though Elvis, famed building have left

Indianapolis The last building that Elvis left may be gone, but some fans are doing their part to make sure it’s not forgotten.

When Elvis Presley took the stage at Market Square Arena during the summer of 1977, no one knew it would be his last show.

On June 26, the 25th anniversary of that concert, a group of Presley fans will dedicate a historical marker at the site where the arena stood until it was demolished last year.

The marker will bear an inscription in bronze reading “Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has left the building” atop a granite column.

Presley died Aug. 16, 1977, from heart disease worsened by prescription drug abuse.

Actress pulls no punches in describing her boxing talents

Cleveland Meg Ryan learned how to throw a few punches for her role as a boxing manager.

“I was so pathetic,” she said during a break from filming “Against the Ropes.”

“When you watch it, it looks like a brawl. But there is a science and art to it,” she said. “In the ring, it is so pure and stripped away. But around the ring it is political, dirty, funny.

“It’s a metaphor for Hollywood. It is the red-light district of sports.”

To help with her role, Ryan said she read books on boxing, including those by authors Norman Mailer and Joyce Carol Oates.

Seeking a new world order

London Former Soviet leader Mikhael Gorbachev would like to help build a new world order, but warned against attempts to Americanize cultures across the world.

Addressing more than 1,000 business leaders in Harrogate, northern England, Gorbachev also said Friday that world leaders were struggling to keep up with rapid change.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we wasted a lot of time after the end of the Cold War. Today, we have to build a new world order step by step.”

Gorbachev, who was president of the Soviet Union from 1985 until it collapsed in 1991, also said anti-globalization sentiment stems from a desire to preserve unique identities and cultures.

King of all boxing promoters next title for shock jock Stern

Atlantic City, N.J. Don King, watch out: The self-proclaimed King of All Media is now a boxing impresario.

Syndicated radio host Howard Stern staged his “Brawl at the Taj Mahal” on Friday, pitting show regulars “Stuttering John” Melendez and Crazy Cabbie in a five-round amateur fight that drew a boozy, sellout crowd of more than 4,000 people at $100 a ticket.

The scrappy 5-foot-8-inch, 175-pound Melendez the crowd favorite dominated the 6-2, 262-pound Cabbie from the start, winning a unanimous decision.

Afterward, Cabbie claimed victory and said he wanted a rematch.