X Games 15 Day Three - Welcome Back
August 1, 2009 – 11:37 pm PT by GregTags: Adam Dyet, Jamie Bestwick, Nyjah Huston, P-Rod, PLG, Ryan Sheckler, Scotty Cranmer, X Games 15 —
P-Rod and EK on Friday. No pics available yet for the final. Sorry. cr. Dom Cooley/Shazamm/ESPN Images
This was a busy, busy day for X Games. Final upon final, along with plenty of prelims. But the overarching theme was, for the most part, the return of former Gold medalists to the top of the podium…
WELCOME BACK P-ROD
Paul Rodriguez Jr. knows something about winning X Games Gold medals — he had back-to-back wins before two years of missing the top spot, including Silver last year. Throw in some Dew Tour wins and last year’s Maloof Money Cup and it’s been a good couple of years. In second, Nyjah Huston, barely 14-years-old, followed up this year’s Maloof win with a nice second-place win. Third was a bit of a surprise with Adam Dyet barely edging Rodolfo Ramos.
A good day for all. Except Ryan Sheckler.
BESTWICK IS BEST
I’ve used that headline about thirty times in the last three years — and it’s still correct.
SCOTTY MAKES YOU FORGET ABOUT DANIEL
In BMX Park, Scotty Cranmer was injured last year and couldn’t compete. Now we see what missed out on. He won here a few years ago and is still one of the most innovative riders. Daniel Dhers was trying to win #3 in a row, but considering Cranmer deserved to win in ‘07 (Daniel’s first) let’s say it has come full circle.
PLG REPEATS
Not much to say here. Without Shaun White doing Vert this year (Olympic training, you know) it’s just not as interesting.
BILKO BREAKS THE TREND
Blake “Bilko” Williams has been injured more times than we can count and that usually means he can’t compete at full strength. That wasn’t the case this year — good for us. Great for him. Give him the FMX. Gold Too bad he didn’t win yesterday, too. We love Twitch and a win for him would have been sweet, but there’s still time.
ME QUIERO TACO BELL
The X Games folks were kind enough to put some possible “storylines” in their press guide. Among the notable nuggets, the fact that Taco Bell has been a sponsor for all 15 X Games. Okay, I mentioned it. Where’s my free taco, dammit?
ME NO QUIERO HOME DEPOT PARKING
I clocked it — 31 minutes from my car’s $20 parking spot to the media tent. Nice. Of course, I probably could have gotten a spot in the tiny media parking lot if I went at dawn. At least I brought plenty of sunscreen this year.
On a positive note, the set-up made a lot of sense (Street outside? What a concept!) and the crowds were good. Let’s give ESPN some props for putting on a pretty good show, despite all my bitching.
