DYERSVILLE, Iowa – An investment group that includes Hall of Fame third baseman Wade Boggs has completed its oft-delayed purchase of the eastern Iowa farm where “Field of Dreams” was filmed and plans to begin turning it into a large baseball and softball tournament complex in the spring.

Go the Distance Baseball LLC said it closed on the deal last week for the 193-acre farm in Dyersville, paying sellers Don and Becky Lansing $3.4 million, plus interest. The Lansings originally listed their farm more than two years ago for $5.4 million.

Go the Distance plans to transform the state landmark into All-Star Ballpark Heaven, a 24-field youth baseball and softball tournament complex. Construction is expected to begin this spring, with the first tournament games scheduled for 2014, the Des Moines Register reported.

“We already have begun creating our team of architects, engineers and construction experts from Iowa who will lead the charge for developing All-Star Ballpark Heaven,” Denise Stillman, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Go the Distance plans to preserve the farmhouse and the rest of the site where the 1989 Kevin Costner movie was shot.

The sale ran into delays. Some residents filed a petition in September to block a zoning change needed to allow commercial use of the property. A judge later denied the request.

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Alzheimer’s in future of ‘Bravest’ voice

LOS ANGELES – After sparking widespread comeback chatter last year with his album “The Bravest Man in the Universe,” soul singer Bobby Womack has announced that he’s experiencing early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

“The doctor says, ‘You have signs of Alzheimer’s,”‘ Womack told the BBC’s Gilles Peterson in an interview on the latter’s Radio 6 program. “It’s not bad yet, but it’s gonna get worse.”

Womack, 68, admitted that he’s having trouble remembering things, including the name of Damon Albarn, who co-produced “The Bravest Man in the Universe” with XL Recordings chief Richard Russell. At October’s Q Awards in London – where Womack won the award for best album – he introduced the Blur/Gorillaz frontman as “Damon Osbourne.” (The singer first collaborated with Albarn on the 2010 Gorillaz set “Plastic Beach.”)

“That’s so embarrassing,” Womack said of the memory lapse. “Here’s a guy I work with – I would never belittle him like that.”

“The Bravest Man in the Universe” earned rave reviews upon its release.

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‘Who’ actors to be stamped into our minds

LONDON – The many characters in the science-fiction show “Doctor Who” will be zooming through time and space on the edge of letters in 2013.

Britain’s Royal Mail is marking the 50th anniversary of the popular show with a series of stamps featuring each of the 11 actors who have played the title role, known as the Doctor. Those featured include the most recent actor, Matt Smith, as well as past Time Lords such as David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston.

The series will also include a miniature sheet that brings together Second Class stamps featuring the Doctor’s time-traveling machine and four of his iconic foes – a Dalek, an Ood, a Weeping Angel and a Cyberman.

The stamps honoring the cult British television program will be available starting at the end of March.

– From news service reports


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