Quick Hits Archive: July 19 - July 25, 2007

Aug 16 2007 / Los Angeles, CA

July 25, 2007

Quiksilver Premieres Young Guns 3 in Huntington Beach Thursday
Published: 6:56 p.m. PT by Greg

Much of the surfing world is in Huntington Beach for the US Open of Surfing so what better time or place to premiere the latest Quiksilver flick "Young Guns 3" featuring Quiksilver surfers Dane Reynolds, Clay Marzo, Jeremy Flores, Julian Wilson, Ry Craike and Garrett Parkes, along with some guy named Kelly Slater, who will act as master and mentor to the other surfers.

The film follows the Young Guns crew traveling the world, finding the best waves and having a blast. The double DVD will be in stores next month.

Now fans can catch the world premiere tomorrow night in Huntington Beach for free (first come, first served) alongside some of the surfing elite (Slater and many of the other featured surfers should be there). After the premiere, musical guest Radio 4 will rock the house.

Here are the details:

Thursday July 26, 2007
Quiksilver Headquarters
15202 Graham St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
Doors open at 7:00pm

If you don't live in California and can't make the premiere, have no fear, there will be a few other dates to catch a free viewing:

7/28- Wave House, San Diego, CA
7/30- Ventura Theater, Ventura, CA
8/4- Shore Break Theatre, Narragansett, RI
8/6- DaKine Diego’s, Satellite Beach, FL
8/9- Parque Luis Munoz Rivera, San Juan, Puerto Rico

For more about the movie, check out the site. We also have the official trailer and TV sport below. Enjoy!





New Yorkers: Check out Zoo York's Upstate Tour This Weekend
Published: 1:19 a.m. PT by Greg

If you live in New York, you might be interested in Zoo York's Upstate Tour this weekend -- hitting Albany and Rochester. You will get a chance to see Zoo Yorkers Donny Barley, Kevin Taylor, Forrest Kirby, Anthony Shetler, Brandon Westgate, Ron Deily, and Matt Miller.

Here's the full sked:

July 28 – Albany, NY
Signing: TSX Skateshop @ 2:00pm

July 29 – Rochester, NY
Signing: Holler Skateshop @ 2:30pm
Signing: Krudco Skateshop @ 4:00pm
Demo: X-Dreams Skatepark @ 5:00pm

Thanks to the good folk (that's not a typo -- it's one dude) at the South of the North Blog for the heads up. For more Zoo York, go to the official site.


Ron Jon Surf Shop To Offer Sneak Preview Of Billabong's "Trilogy"
Published: 1:00 a.m. PT by Me

Residents of Cocoa Beach, Florida and nearby counties are gonna be some of the first to check out Billabong's new surf film "Trilogy" as Ron Jon Surf Shop has decided to host a sneak preview of the film at their Cocoa Beach shop on August 11th. The screening will be held at the store's outside parking lot so fans are advised to bring beach chairs, blankets, and any device (except alcohol) that'll make them comfortable outdoors.

For precise store information check Ron Jon's website. To find out more about the film "Trilogy" which features surfers like Taj Burrow, Joel Parkinson and Andy Irons check the film's official website.

LRG And Fit Bikes Collaborate On Bike Design
Published: 12:46 a.m. PT by Me

From Individual Sole:

Fit Bikes are one of the leaders of BMX bikes and they have just recently collaborated with LRG to come out with 19 bikes, which will sell for over $1,000 each. They are all OG styling from the 80s-90s with camo patterns mixed with Fit Bikes and LRG logos.

Check out this link for more pics.

 

Adidas Skateboarding Reveals Its '08 Spring/Summer Line
Published: 12:13 a.m. PT by Me

The people at Guillotine have wayyyyy early images of Adidas Skateboard's Spring/Summer '08 line. The preview includes variations on classic Adidas' sneakers such as the Gazelle, the Campus, and the Superstar, all of course designed with the skaterboarder in mind. While there's a sneak peak below you can catch the full line over at Guillotine.

July 24, 2007

Stephen Murray Update: Steadily Improving
Published: 6:12 p.m. PT by Me

In Denver Stephen seems to be taking the small steps needed to improve his condition. Here's the latest update from his family as posted on BMXTalk.com:

So much has happened since Stephen arrived its hard to imagine we have only been here in Denver for less than 1 week. Stephen's clincial team are amazing. His Primary Doctor has everything under control and is taking care of all the underlying problems Stephen has had in the last 4 weeks to enable Stephen to move forward and really start his rehab.

Stephen has seen an ENT consultant for his trach, gastroenterologist for his stomach problems, Respiratory consultant for his lungs, dieticians, speech and languate therapists besides his regular nurses, phyiso, occupational therapist. Everyone is so caring.

On Friday he had a 3rd tracheostomy as there was a problem with air leaking from the previous 2. This one is successful and has made his breathing so much more comfortable. In fact they started weaning him gently of the respirator on Saturday. They disconnected it for 2 mins and Stephen breathed on his own. Yesterday (Sunday) he breathed 4.5 mins on his own. This is an enormous feat and we are very encouraged and hope that each day he increases this more until finally he will be able to do without. Of course this takes time but we are hopeful that if everything goes to plan he will be off his vent in 4-5 weeks.

Fingers crossed.

Also Stephen's blood count has been quite low and so today (Monday) they are giving him a blood transfusion which will stop him from being so lethargic and will bring the colour back into his cheeks and renew his energy. Amongst all of this he passed his swallow test today and had vegetable soup, ravioli, roast potato, melon and strawberries and 2 cups of tea and of course vanilla and chocolate icecream!

This has been a huge boost for him now that he can eat nornally again and they are hoping that if he continues to improve he may be able to actually speak again by the end the week.

I'm not sure whether it was eating which was the highlight of today or the fact that he had physio and used an automatic exercise bike for 6 mins. His eyes lit up as he watched his legs move with the pedals. The physio then took him to see the FES bikes. These are similar to exercise bikes except electrodes are attached to your legs which stimulate the muscles to move your legs themselves and pedal the bike. The physio there said that normally patients who used these bikes were not on a ventillator but if Stephen passed a stimulator test then she would start him off. Guess what. Test passed and Tuesday 10:00am he will start using these amazing machines. You have no idea how much this has motivated him he has never stopped smiling all afternoon.

We hope to continue with the updates about twice a week giving you a report on his progress.

Stephen has asked that we send his thanks for all your well wishes, he is amazed by the support that you all have shown and looks forward to your emails each day.

Thanks

The Family

Keep up with all the updates re: Stephen on our Stephen Murray update page and visit www.stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com to donate to help Stephen and his family.

John Dickson Proves Himself At The 2007 AmsterDamn Am Skate Competition
Published: 4:23 p.m. PT by Me

If you were looking to find the next Tony Hawk you might have been trekking across the Atlantic this past weekend, to the real city of sin: Amsterdam. That's where you would have caught Volcom's 2007 AmsterDamn Am skate competition, where young up-and-comers gathered to show their stuff and hopefully get more limelight. The contest consisted of a street event as well as a best trick competition, the results of which are shown below. For full coverage of the event check out the wrap up from the Skate Park Of Tampa crew and a photo gallery from the event.

Main Event Results:
12th – 100 Euros – Leander Geelhoed
11th – 100 Euros – Dustin Blauvelt
10th – 100 Euros – Sierra Fellers
9th – 200 Euros – Riley Hawk
8th – 300 Euros – Donovan Piscopo
7th – 400 Euros – Anthony Shultz
6th – 500 Euros – Justin Figueroa
5th – 1000 Euros – Shuriken Shannon
4th – 1250 Euros – David Loy
3rd – 1500 Euros – Alex Mizurov
2nd – 2500 Euros – Danny Cerezini
1st – 5000 Euros – John Dickson

Best Trick Results:
7th – 100 Euros – Justin Figueroa
6th – 100 Euros – Shuriken Shannon
5th – 100 Euros – Danny Cerezini
4th – 200 Euros – Leander Geelhoed
3rd – 300 Euros – Ruben Rodrigues
2nd – 400 Euros – Sierra Fellers
1st – 500 Euros – Dylan Perry

Oh and just in case you didn't notice the actual "next Tony Hawk" was there competing... well not quite but close enough, it was Tony's son, Riley Hawk.

Burton Announces Global Open Series Dates, Adds Canadian Open
Published: 2:12 p.m. PT by Me

The Burton Global Open Series just got more...global. Not only did Burton announce the 2007/2008 dates for the series, it also added a new event: the inaugural Burton Canadian Open held at the Canadian Olympic Park in Calgary. Thus the series that boasts one of the biggest payout in snowboarding ($100,000) will now have a calendar that looks like this for the '07/'08 season:

Burton New Zealand Open—August 7-11, 2007—Snow Park, New Zealand
Garnier Fructis Australian Open—August 21-25, 2007—Falls Creek, Australia
Burton Canadian Open—December 3-9, 2007—Canadian Olympic Park
Burton European Open—January 11-18, 2008—Laax, Switzerland
Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open—Feb 25-Mar 2, 2008—ALTS Bandai, Japan
Burton US Open—March 17-23, 2008—Stratton Mountain, USA

For more info on the events and the Burton Global Open Series in general check this update.

 

NY Times Covers Murray
Published: 1:56 a.m. PT by Greg

In our Right Guard Open recap we mentioned how the New York Times had a story about Stephen Murray and how his accident has exposed some of the issues with insurance in the action sports industry. It's certainly not the first story about the issue, nor will it be the last, but it did have an interesting quote from Skate Vert vet Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who didn't hold back on his thoughts.

“NBC is trying to do good things to raise money to help him out, but it shouldn’t even be an issue at this point, because he should have been insured by the event,” he said. “How are we putting our lives on the line at every stop like this and they can’t even have insurance for us in case something terrible like this happens? It’s garbage.”

It should be noted that Murray did have insurance and that the Dew Tour does require all athletes to have insurance before competing.

The article is definitely worth a read here. One bit that we didn't have in our original coverage (and which isn't noted in the article) is that Daniel Dhers followed Ryan Nyquist in donating his $15K in winnings to the Stephen Murray Recovery Fund (aka the Stephen Murray Family Fund).

With X Games coming up, the concern about insurance will not go away, though, as previously reported, X Games does offer supplemental insurance. The organization Pro Riders (ProRiders.tv), which is mentioned in the article, is trying to redouble its efforts to develop a "union" for riders from the main action sports. Even in Baltimore, before Murray's accident, Pro Riders was trying to make an impact (a photo from Baltimore is below). Last weekend, there were many more riders visibly supporting Pro Riders with stickers and patcheS. It will be interesting to see if this tragic event is the catalyst for an organization like Pro Riders to finally succeed.

Keep up with all the updates re: Stephen on our Stephen Murray update page and visit www.stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com to donate to help Stephen and his family.


Video: Kevin Robinson Preps for Big Air
Published: 1:49 a.m. PT by Greg

Seems today is K-Rob day on Lat34 -- after the vert vet scored fourth at the Dew Tour this weekend, you know he's looking forward to the X Games where he is considered a very strong contender in the Big Air competition. After all, won the debut of the event last year.

To prep (in addition to some fun at the pre-ESPYs party) Robinson and friends, including Chad Kagy, went to Bob Burnquist's house in SoCal to get some practice runs on his Mega Ramp. Red Bull, one of K-Rob's sponsors, took some video and we just happen to have gotten our hands on it -- check it out below!



More K-Rob below...

Phillip Soven Wins Wakeboarding Title in Portland
Published: 1:22 a.m. PT by Greg

At 18, Phillip Soven is showing that he's no longer the future of wakeboarding, but the now. Soven took the overall MasterCraft Pro Wakeboard Tour title by winning the competion last weekend in Portland over Rusty Malinoski. Last year's tour winner, Danny Harf, ended up equal 3rd with Adam Errington.

On the woman's side, Shelby Kantar got her first overall title by upsetting favorite Amber Wing in the finals. Wing was second in the overall standings as well, followed by Emily Copeland Durham.

Read more about his win here.

K-Rob, Sheckler, Pastrana Ads For X-Games
Published: 12:40 a.m. PT by Greg

Speaking of X Games, with the big event only nine days away you will be seeing more about it on this site and everywhere else but have you seen those ads? The "Original Works of Sport" ads combine animation with athletes like Ryan Sheckler, Travis Pastrana, and Ricky Carmichael in action. The Kevin Robinson one (below) is pretty funny, and I guess to marketing people this is a branding campaign worth discussing at great length. If you are interested in what they think, check out the story, but you can also check out the website for the "Original Works of Sport" campaign to see some interviews, etc. about the clips.

It's worth visiting the site to see the creepy Ryan Sheckler marionette in flash (pic at right)...

So heres the commercial featuring Kevin...



Buy it on Amazon or Walmart (don't laugh -- it at least has the right cover art!). Amazon is cheaper, though.

Relive the X Games Top Moments With New DVD
Published: 12:09 a.m. PT by Greg

A new DVD comes out today from ESPN featuring the best of the X Games, appropriately called "The Best Of X Games."

Depending on where you look. the DVD is chock full of either 113 or 172 minutes of X Games highlights, but expect some amazing footage from all of the big events, including BMX, Skate and FMX, an long lost events like Mountain Biking and Inline Skating...

Specifically you'll see Tony Hawk landing the 900 and Travis Pastrana doing the double backflip, plus many other memorable moments. There should be a ton to choose from...

Buy it on Amazon or Walmart (don't laugh -- it at least has the right cover art!). Amazon is cheaper, though.

July 23, 2007

Dew Cup Race - Current Standings
Published: 6:56 p.m. PT by Greg

Now that two stops have been completed in the 2007 AST Dew Tour it's a good time to look at the Dew Cup standing as athletes march on for a chance to win $75K. Just how important are these two stops? Well, for the first two years of the Dew Tour, 11 of the 12 leaders after two stops went on to win the Dew Cup.

The only one who didn't was Kevin Robinson, who led the BMX Vert standings after two stops in 2005 -- but only because Jamie Bestwick, the eventual winner, was not around for the first stop. Last year Travis Pastrana and Nate Adams were tied after two stops in the Dew Cup points race and Adams held on to win after Pastrana dropped out midway through the season.

That said, unless injury or other factors keeps one of the current leaders from competing, there's a pretty good chance the current lineup will be the same that takes to the podium in Orlando when the big checks are handed out.

The leaders are Shaun White (Skate Vert), Ryan Sheckler (Skate Park), Jamie Bestwick (BMX Vert), Daniel Dhers (BMX Park), Ryan Nyquist (BMX Dirt) and Nate Adams (FMX).   If you're keeping score, four of those guys won the Cup last year (White and Nyquist the exception).

You can see the full leaderboard Right here.

Cleveland's View of the Dew Tour
Published: 4:23 a.m. PT by Greg

The AST Dew Tour suffered through a difficult Sunday yesterday, losing one set of finals (FMX) due to the wind and having another (BMX Vert) delayed for hours.

So what did Clevelanders think about the Dew Tour? Well, they weren't too happy about the cancellations, but so it goes.

"It sucked," said Nick Banks, 12, of Wellington. "We wanted to see everything, but it was still cool that they were doing tricks for us."

Banks referred to the runs that FMX competitors did instead of running the finals. Though the conditions were bad, they could still do basic tricks...

The location on the North Coast Harbor was mentioned in the article, but no mention that the Gravity Games successfully held events there in the past. Attendance was noted as 50,656 over four days -- less than the 76,000 who attended the 2004 Gravity Games.

Whether or not Cleveland will have the Dew Tour next year is still up in the air. Denver had the Right Guard Open in 2005 and 2006.

Read the article here....

And if you want more recaps on the Right Guard Open, check out our full recap, full of photos and more....

July 22, 2007

Simon Tabron Wins Mystery BMX Vert Finals at Dew Tour
Published: 10:24 p.m. PT by Greg

So the saying goes, what if they held a BMX Vert competition and no one watched? Well, apparently, Jamie Bestwick would lose a Dew Tour competition for the first time in a year.

The Dew Tour website has results of a BMX Vert final posted, but no announcement yet about when it happened or what actually went down to result in the odd results that are posted. Not that Simon Tabron isn't great -- but Jamie Bestwick 7th? Behind Francisco Zurita, even?  The loss, of course, means that Bestwick can't sweep the season, but in 2005 and 2006 he did lose one tour stop (actually, he missed one in 2005 and lost one in 2006 to, you got it, Simon Tabron).

Last we heard from the scene -- around 7 p.m. local time -- the place was empty and riders were leaving, etc.  But  since the the FMX Prelims were held on Saturday night around midnight, anything's possible.

Full results are below. No scores tallied for John Parker or Jimmy Walker, leading one to believe they might have missed the finals, as some riders were reported to have left.

We'll see if we can some photos from the Dew Tour on this one. We have some photos from eariler in the days as riders tried to start the competition before entering an indefinite rain delay. You can see that photo gallery HERE.

Full results...

BMX Vert Finals - 7/22/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Tabron, Simon	91.67
2nd	McCann, Steven	90.83
3rd	Kagy, Chad	90.67
4th	Robinson, Kevin	89.33
5th	Eggleston, Jay	88.00
6th	Zurita, Francisco	88.00
7th	Bestwick, Jamie	87.00
8th	McCoy, Dennis	83.33

Wind May Cause Cancellation of BMX Vert at Dew Tour
Published: 3:19 p.m. PT by Greg

It looks like the wind that played havoc with the FMX Finals today (and indeed led to their canceleation) may do the same with BMX Vert. The contest tried to start but the high winds first lef to scaling back the competition to a make-shift best trick comp, then to their postponement altogether.

As of a few minutes ago, an indefinite wind delay was called for the event and most of the athletes had left the compund (as well as fans).

More as it's announced.

FMX Finals Canceled at Dew Tour; Adams Wins Based on Prelims
Published: 10:35 a.m. PT by Greg

Some breaking news from the scene at Cleveland -- today's FMX finals at the Dew Tour has been canceled because of weather conditions -- the wind coming in off of Lake Erie. FMX had been plagued with problems and the prelims were moved from Thursday until this morning.

No word yet if the prelims will determine the winner of this stop. Those results are below, with Nate Adams placing first, Takayuki Higashino placing second and Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg returning to form in third.

NBC will still televise FMX during its TV broadcast today, though it will feature only demos and prerecorded content, Lat34 has been told.

UPDATE:  The prelims are the finals -- Nate Adams wins his second Dew Tour in a row...

Final results:

FMX Prelims/Finals - 7/22/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Adams, Nate	92.67
2nd	Higashino, Takayuki	91.67
3rd	Stenberg, Jeremy	90.50
4th	Mason, Mike	90.00
5th	Jones, Adam	89.67
6th	Bamburg, Beau	88.83
7th	Lusk, Jeremy	89.33
8th	Faisst, Ronnie	87.33
9th	Potter, Todd	86.00
10th	Richmond, Myles	84.33

Skate Vert - Full Results and Awesome Photos
Published: 2:45 a.m. PT by Greg

We told you all about Shaun White's amazing comeback in Skate Vert yesterday -- now you can get a recap and see some photos from the event.  Some great stuff.  Get the recap here and see the gallery here.

Also, here are the full results, so you can see where everyone else ended up in the standings.  Plus there are a few photos after the results to whet your appetite for the gallery.

Skate Vert Finals - 7/21/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	White, Shaun	90.25
2nd	Lasek, Bucky	89.00
3rd	Burnquist, Bob	87.00
4th	Glifberg, Rune	81.75
5th	Macdonald, Andy	80.75
6th	Ringstrom, Mathias	80.75
7th	Ueda, Lincoln	80.25
8th	Lorifice, Rob	79.00
9th	Gagnon, Pierre-Luc	72.00
10th	Mayer, Danny	61.75

BMX Park Results/Photos
Published: 2:35 a.m. PT by Greg

We promised you more, and now you have it -- we already told you that Daniel Dhers won, followed by Ryan Nyquist and Garrett Reynolds, but the link to the recap and full results are below -- the top six riders faced off in a final ride and their scores were averaged, so that's why Morgan Wade can be in #6 with a lower score than Allan Cooke and others.

A couple of names that were big in Baltimore, Mike Spinner and Dennis Enarson, didn't make much of an impact in Cleveland. Spinner was apparently sick and under the weather and didn't have the energy he needed to power through.

Check out a sample of the photos after the results -- but you will want to read the recap first then see the gallery here.

BMX Park Finals - 7/21/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Dhers, Daniel	93.92
2nd	Nyquist, Ryan	93.25
3rd	Reynolds, Garrett	90.75
4th	Harrington, Josh	90.75
5th	Mirra, Dave	90.25
6th	Wade, Morgan	87.58
7th	Cooke, Allan	90.00
8th	McCann, Steven	89.50
9th	Kiraly, Kevin	87.67
10th	Enarson, Dennis	86.83
11th	Spinner, Mike	86.33
12th	Canina, Diogo	83.17

July 21, 2007

Dhers Takes BMX Park, Nyquist Second
Published: 6:41 p.m. PT by Greg

Daniel Dhers has repeated as the BMX Park champ in Cleveland, followed by Ryan Nyquist in second. Garrett Reynolds rounded out the top three.

Here's -- a great gallery of photos from the competition.

Shaun White Has Amazing Comeback Win in Cleveland
Published: 1:30 p.m. PT by Greg

So if it wasn't clear before, the skateboarding world knows that Shaun White has truly arrived. After falling on his first two runs and injuring his wrist, White came through in his third and final run with a trick-filled bonanza, blasting past Bucky Lasek, who had a comfortable lead after two runs. 

Lasek had one final chance to catch White on the final run of the day, but fell on his first trick attempt after dropping in.

While White has won multiple tour stops in the AST Tour, this victory will likely rank as one of his sweetest, as he was completely stunned that he was able to pull out the win.

"I just dug as deep as I could.   I landed that run and I'm just in awe right now," White said after his win.

Most riders fell at least once, if not multiple times during their three run sets and White's injury seemed to indicate he would not repeat as skate vert champ after winning in Baltimore. Lasek finished the contest in second, followed by Bob Burnquist.

The obvious question is now:  Can Shaun White sweep the Dew Tour?

"That would be amazing for me.  I'm off to a good start so I don;t want to jinx it," he said.  "What a cool way to start off this whole tour for me."

We've got some great photos -- See the gallery here.


1.  Shaun White - 90.25
2.  Bucky Lasek - 89.00
3.  Bob Burnquist - 87.00
4.  Rune Glifberg - 81.75
5.  Andy Macdonald - 80.75

More, including photos, coming soon.   Below, a couple of photos from the skate vert prelims...


Taj Burrow Wins Billabong Pro
Published: 1:08 p.m. PT by Greg

Taj Burrow has edged Kelly Slater to take the Billabong Pro in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. The win makrs Burrow's second win on the Foster's ASP World Tour (following a win at Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro) and he's now ranked #2 for the tour following Mick Fanning, who he beat in the semifinals.

With his strong finish, however, Fanning continues to build up his lead to taking his first Foster's ASP World Tour title.

You can read a full recap of the final day of action right here and check out photos from the day's action here.

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Final Results:
Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.50 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 6.17

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Semifinal Results:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.67 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.17
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.83 def. Dean Morisson (AUS) 13.76

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Quarterfinal Results:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 17.33 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.50
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 14.93 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 12.34
Heat 3: Dean Morisson (AUS) 12.66 def. Andy Irons (HAW) 11.50
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 19.23 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.33

Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Round 4 Results:
Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.66 def. Taylor Knox (USA) 7.00
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.00 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 9.17
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) 15.83 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 11.10
Heat 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.66 def. Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 4.84
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) 13.66 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 6.13
Heat 6: Dean Morrison (AUS) 12.50 def. Bobby Martinez (USA) 5.17
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) 16.17 def. Luke Stedman (AUS) 12.23
Heat 8: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.00 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.53

Foster’s ASP World Tour Ratings after the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay:
1. Mick Fanning (AUS) 4860 points
2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 4286 points
3. Andy Irons (HAW) 3921 points
4. Kelly Slater (USA) 3840 points
5. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 3804 points
6. Damien Hobgood (USA) 3599 points
7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 3057 points
8. Daniel Wills (AUS) 2942 points
9. Dean Morrison (AUS) 2838 points
10. Travis Logie (ZAF) 2810 points

July 20, 2007

Ryan Nyquist Wins BMX Dirt Title; Donates Winnings to Murray
Published: 7:00 p.m. PT by Greg

Ryan Nyquist showed Friday night why he is considered one of the nicest guys in the sport of BMX. After winning his second AST Dew Tour stop in a row in Cleveland, he announced he was donating his winnings ($15,000) to Stephen Murray and his family. Murray, of course, was injured last month during the BMX Dirt finals at Baltimore's Panasonic Open, the first Dew Tour stop. After winning that contest, Nyquist was visibly shaken by Murray's accident and the full extent of his injuries weren't known. Murray was paralyzed and after several operations in Baltimore was recently transported to Denver for further treatment.

During the finals, all riders wore Stephen Murray "Stay Strong" shirts to show their support.

We have a great photo gallery HERE to check out!

Full Results:

Rank	Name	Score
1st	Nyquist, Ryan	91.08
2nd	Bohan, Corey	90.42
3rd	Parslow, Luke	89.67
4th	White, Cameron	88.92
5th	Napolitan, Anthony	88.58
6th	Cooke, Allan	87.00
7th	Foster, James	86.75
8th	Canina, Diogo	86.67
9th	Nastazio, Cory	85.59
10th	Marks, Joey	85.42
11th	Guettler, Ryan	83.25
12th	Ellis, TJ	82.25

Lasek, White Top Skate Vert Prelims in Cleveland
Published: 5:20 a.m. PT by Greg

Bucky Lasek showed that he is fast returning to form after skating in Baltimore with an injured knee (and still placing fourth) by finishing first in the Skate Vert Prelims in Cleveland's Right Guard Open -- his 91.50 was miles ahead of second-place finisher Shaun White's 83.75, but White won't need to worry -- busted tricks in his second run hurt him, and he's still going to be tough in the finals. Danny Mayer was a surprise #3...

Missing the finals again was Sandro Dias, who has really fallen off the radar following his season finish of No. 2 last year.

Here are the full result for the Skate Vert prelims -- top 10 advance to the finals.

Skate Vert Prelims - 7/20/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Lasek, Bucky	91.50
2nd	White, Shaun	83.75
3rd	Mayer, Danny	83.25
4th	Macdonald, Andy	82.75
5th	Burnquist, Bob	81.50
6th	Glifberg, Rune	80.50
7th	Gagnon, Pierre-Luc	79.50
8th	Ringstrom, Mathias	78.00
9th	Lorifice, Rob	77.75
10th	Ueda, Lincoln	76.75
11th	Brown, Jake	76.75
12th	Furlong, Anthony	76.50
13th	Taylor, Adam	74.25
14th	Dias, Sandro	71.00
15th	Dufour, Max	69.75
16th	Halterman, Buster	64.75
17th	Hendrix, Neal	64.00
18th	Postec, Jean	63.50
19th	Gentry, Chris	59.25
20th	Perelson, Alex	54.25

Stephen Murray Update: Settling In Denver
Published: 4:15 p.m. PT by Greg

Stephen has made the move and appears to be doing well in Denver so far. Here's the latest update from his family as posted on BMXTalk.com:

Stephen arrived in Denver on Tuesday morning after a comfortable flight with no hiccups - he had sweethearted his favorite nurse from Shock Trauma to travel with him to relieve his anxiety for the 5 hour journey. Although we were all pleased to leave the shock trauma unit in Baltimore, it was very emotional for the family as we had become attached to each and every member of the staff who worked there. They are a fantastic team, dedicated, committed and saved our souls and our sanity.

Anyway a new page is starting for Stephen and we are all looking forward to his road to recovery.

The first 2 days in Craig have been really hectic. After settling Stephen in, he has had every test he previously had in Baltimore plus more. The whole atmosphere is different.

There is no sense of 'life and & death' situations but more a sense of optimism and looking forward to the future.

Stephen has already had a whole tour of the hospital, had physio and occupational therapy but I think the most relaxing part was when he had his first shower for nearly 4 weeks and he fell asleep!.

The weeks ahead will be filled with lots of hard work and a determination to succeed.

Once again we would like to thank each and everyone of you for your support, we are sorry that we can't reply to every message but be assured that without your support and the support of the medical team in Baltimore and now in Craig Hospital we would never have been able to have coped in the same way.

Thank you all,
The Family

Lat34 also received an update from Stephen's mother-in-law Monika Giles-Freking:

His blood count was low due to being on the ventilator the entire airplane ride, but we lucked and out and it appears he did not need a transfusion. On Thursday he was still getting rest and they decided they needed to change the traque because the tube was too small and causing some problems with the back of his throat. That should have been done today. They also are getting him in the chair for 2 hours twice a day so he can start working on rehab.

Today they were supposed to test his diaphram to see if it was working properly which will determine how long it will take to get him off the respriator.

Melissa will be getting her apartment in the complex tomorrow so it will be easier for her to see and be with Stephen. Again, its a roller coaster ride. And it will take a while for him to get strong enough to start the more difficult journey of his rehabilitation.

His spirits are good and he's more alert.

Keep up with all the updates re: Stephen on our Stephen Murray update page and visit www.stephenmurrayfamilyfund.com to donate to help Stephen and his family.

Sheckler Wins Skate Park Title in Cleveland
Published: 3:45 p.m. PT by Greg

We'll be bringing you plenty of more details about this coming up, including photos, but Ryan Sheckler has won the Right Guard Open's Skate Park finals in Cleveland, OH.

The Skate Park prelims first had to be completed today due to being washed out by rain. It was good for Carlos De Andrade, who took the opportunity to find a place in the finals after jumping up to 3rd place in the qualifiers. Ryan Sheckler declined to take his second run since he was already locked into the finals in 6th place with his first qualifying run.

After the first two heats, Ryan Sheckler placed first with a 91.50, followed by Austin Seaholm with an 89.00. Greg Lutzka battled back after a tough first run to score an 83.75, but it was not enough to make the top six, which went on to the jam to close out the finals.

The jam was wild with Sheckler coming alive as he normally does.-- after the Jam 1 scores, Sheckler had a commanding lead -- scoring a 94.75 in the jam. That gave him a six point lead over second place Carlos De Andrade.

Check out a huge gallery HERE!

Final Results (including jams)

1. Ryan Sheckler - 94.00
2. Rodolfo Ramos - 87.92
3. Carlos De Andrade - 86.18
4. Kurtis Colamonico - 85.67
5. Austin Seaholm - 83.25
6. Mike Peterson - 79.08

Rest of the finalists

7. Greg Lutzka - 83.75
8. Jereme Rogers 79.50
9. Rodney Jones 79.00
10. Dayne Brummet - 77.50
11. Chris Cudliff - 75.00
12. Jason Barr - 74.25

Qualifiers (finished 7/20)

1. Greg Lutzka
2. Rodolfo Ramos
3. Carlos De Andrade
4. Austin Seaholm
5. Chris Cudliff
6. Ryan Sheckler (only one run)
7. Dayne Brummet
8. Mike Peterson
9. Kurtis Colamonico
10. Rodney Jones
11. Jereme Rogers
12. Jason Barr

Missing the finals (again) was Paul Rodriguez.


Marks, Guettler Lead BMX Dirt Prelims
Published: 1:00 p.m. PT by Me

After being delayed from the previous day due to rain, the BMX Dirt prelims took place this morning in Cleveland for the Right Guard Open. Some bg changes on the leaderboard after some brand new names made the cut -- well, not so brand-new, but just some returning faces.

One thing to note -- last year's Dew Cup winner in dirt Anthony Napolitan was back to form, coming in 4th, after missing the finals last month after injuring himself in prelims. Also good to see Joey Marks at the top of the board, followed by Ryan Guettler.

Here's the results of the prelims -- with the finals coming tonight...   Top 12 advance.

BMX Dirt Prelims - 7/20/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Marks, Joey	92.17
2nd	Guettler, Ryan	90.67
3rd	Nyquist, Ryan	90.00
4th	Napolitan, Anthony	89.83
5th	Canina, Diogo	88.67
6th	White, Cameron	88.50
7th	Parslow, Luke	87.83
8th	Bohan, Corey	87.83
9th	Cooke, Allan	87.50
10th	Ellis, TJ	87.50
11th	Foster, James	87.33
12th	Nastazio, Cory	87.33
13th	Enarson, Dennis	87.33
14th	Dillewaard, Dave	87.00
15th	Wade, Morgan	86.67
16th	McCann, Steven	86.17
17th	Young, Gary	86.17
18th	Gerber, Chris	86.00
20th	Darden, Rob	85.00
21st	Clark, Michael	84.50
22nd	Laguna, Ricardo	84.00
23rd	Searls, Dane	82.33
24th	Foster, Brian	81.17
25th	Mackay, Colin	80.50
26th	Cleveland, Michael	80.00
28th	Wirch, Scott	73.33
29th	Doyle, Chris	73.33
30th	Hult, Josh	70.17

Soggy Start to AST Dew Tour Causes Delays, Headaches
Published: 1:27 a.m. PT by Greg

Okay, in Baltimore, it was rain -- in Cleveland, rain played hell with the first day of action at the Right Guard Open (stop #2 of the AST Dew Tour). First, the FMX prelims were moved (to Friday), then the rain let up enough for the BMX Vert prelims and, soon after, the Skate Park prelims to start. The BMX Vert prelims were able to be completed (unlike the weird situation in Baltimore where the prelims were moved around because of wind) but Skate Park was called off as rain came with a couple of skaters left to complete their second heat (including someone named Ryan Sheckler). So "officially" results are not available for Skate Park. And then because of the rain BMX Dirt and Skate Vert prelims were moved to Friday.

According to the weather gods, tomorrow should be partly cloudy with about 20% chance of rain, but Saturday and Sunday should be clear and sunny with 0 percent chance of rain.

Even though the Skate Park prelims didn't officially finish, we have TONS of photos from the event, covering a bunch of skaters including Sheckler, Jereme Rogers, Greg Lutzka, Paul Rodriguez, Fabrizio Santos, Carlos De Andrade, Kyle Berard, Kurtis Colamonico, Nilton Neves and Baltimore surprise Mathieu Therres, just to name a few.

It's so big, we have TWO galleries, one HERE and one HERE.

And we have some photos below, too... Like I said. TONS.   All photos cr. Michael Nakonachny | © 2007 Lat34.com...


Jamie Bestwick, Chad Kagy Lead BMX Vert Prelims
Published: 12:32 a.m. PT by Greg

As for the BMX Vert prelims, here you go -- Jamie Bestwick finished comfortably in first, followed by crowded field, with only one change in the riders making the finals in the Cleveland competition vs. Baltimore's Panasonic Open last month (the first stop of the AST Dew Tour). Kevin Robinson stayed on his bike, making the cut at number seven in the prelims, while Zack Warden, who thrilled the audience last month by landing a new trick at the Panasonic Open, missed the cur in number 12. Also missing the cut, Koji Kraft in number 11 and Austin Coleman in 20th.

Riders will have a long time to wait for the finals, which will close out this year's Right Guard Open on Sunday, July 22, at 5 p.m. ET -- the finals will not be televised and unless a webcast is announced, the only way to enjoy Jamie Bestwick's probable victory will be through photos, video clips and the written word.

Here are full results from the BMX Vert Prelims...

BMX Vert Prelims - 7/19/2007
Rank	Name	Score
1st	Bestwick, Jamie	92.00
2nd	Kagy, Chad	90.00
3rd	Eggleston, Jay	89.50
4th	Zurita, Francisco	89.17
5th	McCann, Steven	89.00
6th	Tabron, Simon	88.67
7th	Robinson, Kevin	88.50
8th	McCoy, Dennis	88.00
9th	Parker, John	87.33
10th	Walker, Jimmy	86.83
11th	Kraft, Koji	86.83
12th	Warden, Zack	83.33
13th	Williams, Danny	80.33
14th	Snowden, Ben	80.17
15th	Branham, Jason	79.50
16th	Coleman, Austin	79.33
17th	Jovel, Jorge	76.33
19th	Mancuso, Mike	75.33
20th	Haugen, Tom	70.00

Guess What - J-Bay is Off
Published: 12:04 a.m. PT by Greg

Contest organizers have decided Firday will not be the final day of the Billabong Pro Jeffrey's Bay -- understandable with inconsistent swells. At least this time the call was made around 7 a.m. local time, instead of 12 noon -- so Mick Fanning's march to the title will have to wait one more day....

Tomrorow night, as we tune into USA's coverage of the AST Dew Tour on midnight we will have one browser open to (hopefully) watch the end of the contest. Otherwise, there's always Sunday...

July 19, 2007

State-Of-The-Art Training Complex For The Snow Sports Breaks Ground
Published: 7:45 a.m. PT by Me

If you're really serious about your snowboarding and/or skiing you might wanna start making plans to move to Utah. That's because the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) has broken ground on an innovative new $22.5 million sports complex in Park City. The complex will feature snazzy new things like state-of-the-art training equipment as well as a full roster of expert staff, from physical therapists to biomechanists to sport psychologists, all working full time to help the athletes at the complex.

The move is intended to make Park City, and Utah in general, a greater mecca for those involved in the snow sports. For more coverage of the complex and event check the full story here.

Quiksilver Premieres "Young Guns 3" July 26th in Huntington Beach
Published: 7:25 p.m. PT by Me

Got nothing to do July 26th? Why not spend some time at the beach getting some free food, and kickin' it with top notch surf pros and fellow surf enthusiasts? Quiksilver is giving you the chance to do just that as it premieres its newest film, "Young Guns 3" which features up-and-coming surfers like Dane Reynolds, Clay Marzo, Jeremy Flores, Julian Wilson, Ry Craike and the youngest of them all, Garrett Parkes, along with eight-time world champion Kelly Slater. You can even stick around for the live performance by Radio 4 after the screening.

For more info on the event and the background behind the "Young Guns" film series check this link or head over to Quiksilver's home page so you don't miss out.


Danny Way Missing the X Games
Published: 4:55 a.m. PT by Me

As was expected, Danny Way is not going to compete at the Big Air event at X Games 13 next month, meaning for the first time, someone other than him will walk away with the gold in the contest.

At the DC King of LA Skate event earlier this month, Way said he was preparing to have surgery on his ACL. And while he has actually participated in the Big Air event without an ACL in the past (in 2006) and with a broken ankle in 2005, he seemed unlikely to do so this year.

With Way out, Bob Burnquist, who has a megaramp in his yard, becomes the heavy favorite in the event.

Still No Action at J-Bay
Published: 3:41 a.m. PT by Me

Contest organizers once again waited until noon local time before calling off the day's action at the Billabong Pro in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. There are three days left in the waiting period and organizers are confident they will be able to fit in the action in the next day or two.

Here are the Round 4 match-ups for the Billabong Pro

Heat 1: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Taylor Knox (USA)
Heat 2: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 4: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Dean Morrison (AUS)
Heat 7: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
Heat 8: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)

Oakley Preps Wake Film "Push Process"
Published: 2:13 a.m. PT by Me

Oakley is preparing the release of their latest film, the wakeboarding flick "Push Process" -- it will feature Oakley athletes Keith Lyman, Aaron Rathy, Andrew Adkison, Amber Wing, George Daniels, Danny Hampson, Dallas Friday and Jack Blodget -- all of whom contributed to the film more than as just participants.

The movie will premier on November 10 at Oakley Headquarters in Foothill Ranch, California.

Visit the official site for more about the movie.

Older Archive: July 11- July 18, 2007