ESPN to air marble racing, cherry pit spitting and more weird sports this weekend

ESPN to air marble(ˈmärbəl) racing(ˈrāsiNG), cherry(ˈCHerē) pit(pit) spitting(spit) and more weird sports this weekend

By Allen Kim

Got plans this weekend? Odds(ädz) are you don’t – most Americans are staying home – but no worries. ESPN has plenty(ˈplen(t)ē) of action to keep you entertained(ˌentərˈtān).

The sports network is bringing back “ESPN8: The Ocho” this Saturday with a promised(ˈpräməs) 11 hours of rarely(ˈre(ə)rlē) seen action.

Inspired by the movie “Dodgeball(ˈdäjbôl): A True Underdog Story,” which introduced the idea of a channel packed full of weird sports that typically don’t get broadcast on television(ˈteləˌviZHən), ESPN8 will air a mix of marble racing, robot fighting and cherry pit spitting beginning at high noon.

Saturday will mark the fifth time the faux(fō)-network gets on the air.

The network will begin with a live look at Thor(THôr) Bjornsson, better known as “The Mountain” from “Game of Thrones(THrōn),” as he attempts to deadlift a world-record 1,104 pounds. From there it’ll smoothly transition into arm wrestling(ˈres(ə)liNG), hamburger eating, stone skipping, Putt(pət) Putt, a marble run and something called “Slippery(ˈslipərē) Stairs(ste(ə)r).”

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/us/espn-ocho-spt-trnd/index.html