Quick Hits Archive: October 18 - October 24, 2007

Nov 09 2007 / Los Angeles, CA

 

 

October 24, 2007

New Website Round Ups
Published: 1:19 a.m. PT by Me

We've been noticing some new websites opening up shop recently (plus Thrasher's redesign) so we figure we might as well rope some of them together in one entry. Here they are...

• Tony Hawk has teamed up with the creators of funnyordie.com to create Shred Or Die (www.shredordie.com) which is shooting to be a one stop shop for Action Sports Videos. Given Hawk's mogul-like clout I can't see how this site won't start getting some exclusive video, but for now the site looks like it's filled with some basic material (minus the 'We Love Reef' clip...that one's nice). But the site features some new features for its video clips including "Jump Back 5 Seconds" and "Slow Motion" buttons (the latter made that 'We Love Reef' clip double the fun). To check out Shred Or Die head over here.

• Shredding Betty is a new online retailer that focuses on girl snowboarders and which features goods from Salomon, Arbor, Rome, Bonfire, Nikita, Neff, Von Zipper, Skullcandy and more. The site has a real smooth layout and is really organized with an events section as they also plan to organize future events to promote the site and its greater mission of promoting women in snowboarding. To check out Shredding Betty head over here.

• Snowboarding company Never Summer has relaunched their website with a more up-to-date layout that highlights their selection of boards (with a nice chart that categorizes each board according to the type of riding to be done on it), longboards, and clothing. To check out the newly relaunched Never Summer website head over here.

• Meanwhile Baker's still working on their website. We're waiting....

New Hollywood Film About Motocross Titled 'Metal Birding', Falconers Angered
Published: 1:01 a.m. PT by Cary

So I was playing word association with myself the other day and I was quite surprised by some of my answers (sexy - scurvy???), but none moreso than my answer of "Justin Guarini" to "Motocross". I mean I don't know if you know who Justin Guarini is or was but he was like the 2nd place finisher to Kelly Clarkson on the first season of "American Idol." He looked like a light-skinned black Sideshow Bob, but sang like an Effeminate Stacy. He also starred in that cinematic treasure 'From Justin To Kelly'... Take a look for yourself at Justin here and you'll probably remember.

But back to the story, see Guarini has NOTHING to do with Motocross but for some reason I associated him with the sport, which was really strange. Yet it seems I'm not the only one with this type of mental lapse because according to Daily Variety the producers of an upcoming motocross film have signed 'High School Musical' star Corbin Bleu to be in their film, entitled 'Metal Birding'. Bleu will star in the film as a motocross racer who "dreams of winning the Amateur National Championships, but must juggle his passion for the sport while struggling to support his family". The film will be helmed by the director of past televised treasures 'Renegade' and 'Kung Fu: The Legend Continues' which promises that this film will:

A) find its way into the straight-to-DVD bin
B) be utterly unwatchable to anyone with the faculties of cognitions and
C) spawn the newest teen sensation: "reading".

'Metal Birding' expects to start filming in November, the details of which can be found here.

Now if you're wondering what the deal was about the Justin Guarini thing and this 'Metal Birding' movie you must click all previous links. And if you still don't understand I failed at my job.

Plan B Hits Up Holland
Published: 12:32 a.m. PT by Me

Recently we've had a few skate companies like Girl/Chocolate post up footage from trips to Europe, well this time around its Plan B in on the European action as they've got up on their site a clip of the team in Holland (Netherlands for some people). The clip features P-Rod and others from the team taking on a canal-side bench as well as Amsterdam Skatepark. Much like the previous European clips that we've featured this one is pretty much on point and worth checking out. To view the clip head to Plan B's website here.

Creativity Online Finds Its Namesake In Girl Skateboards
Published: 12:06 a.m. PT by Me

Creativity Online has done a feature on Girl Skateboards. If you didn't know, Girl Skateboards (in my opinion) is one company that helped transform skateboarding when the company started in the mid 90s. Originally it developed as a dream team of skaters after Rick Howard and Mike Carroll left their previous dream team, Plan B, while peeling off the likes of Eric Koston and Guy Marino from their respective teams. The company then came out with their first video, 'Goldfish' which helped revolutionize skate videos by featuring quirky plots, cinematic style, and a real artsy vibe. After 'Goldfish' skate videos began to be thought of as skate films.

 

Fast-forward more than a decade and a half later and you have the Girl empire that consists of Girl, Chocolate, Fourstar, Lakai, Royal Trucks, and all other the companies that can be found under the umbrella site Crailtap. With this in mind Creativity Online has thus profiled the company for the outside world (though we gotta believe Spike Jonze involvement with the company has partly to do with it too) showing the impact of Girl on our "creative" culture. Check it out here, it's a good quick read.

October 23, 2007

Video Round Up: Teasers All Around....DC Snow's 'Mtn Lab 1.5' Teasers, Alien Workshop's 'Mind Field' teaser, Roxy's 'Labor Of Love' Teaser, and 'Strange Brew' teaser
Published: 2:52 a.m. PT by Me

• DC Snow's got a lot of mini trailers/teasers up for their upcoming Mtn Lab 1.5 featuting Eddie Wall, Devun Walsh, and other team riders. You can check out the clip on DC Snow's main page.

• Alien Workshop's got a real artsy teaser for their new video 'Mind Field'. Not much skating happens in it but it is reminiscent of Soviet Montage. So if you're a foreign film buff you'd probably appreciate it. You can check out the teaser for 'Mind Field' at Alien Work Shop Films' site here.

• A late but still needed addition: Roxy Snow's trailer for the all-girl snowboard video 'Labor Of Love' featuring team riders Sarah Burke, Torah Bright, Alexis Waite, and others (great music by the way). The film will be released November 1st so get your first dibs on the video via Cooler Magazine here.

• Skatenewspot.com has a trailer up for the film 'Strange Brew' which features a boatload of Canadian skaters taking advantage of their homeland and producing some nice tricks. Click here to see the trailer.

Kelly Slater's Writes Blog Entry Then Continues Living the Life We All Want
Published: 2:33 a.m. PT by Me

In an interesting coincidence (or maybe not), a few days after getting detained by Israeli Police after a scuffle with paparazzi, Kelly Slater has posted his first blog entry on World Pro Surfers detailing his trip to Israel. The blog has no mention of the incident with the paparazzi so it's more than likely the entry was written before the incident (though it's not entirely certain). Instead the entry talks about his participation in 'Surf For Peace', a charity event organized by American Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz to help unite Israelis and Palestinians through their mutual love of surf (which we detailed here), as well as about his post-Mundaka plans (watch the World Cup of Rugby in Paris, relax in California, head to Brazil). Slater than finishes up the entry by sharing his thoughts going into the Santa Catarina Pro including what he thinks it will take for him to eek out a World Title over Fanning, and a survey of the the rest of the field (including a short comment on Andy Irons).

This is definitely something to keep an eye on as Slater promises to post more entries and photos in the future, so check out Slater's blog at World Pro Surfers here. And in the meantime we'll remind you what they were fighting over this past weekend in Israel:

 

There Should Be A Quota On Retarded Inventions
Published: 2:09 a.m. PT by Me

T3 has an article up on another in a long line of motorized skateboards. This time it's the Rokit Science Boom 2 Borda (who in the hell named it that? It's got all the hallmarks of a douchbag's work) which claims to be a zero emissions vehicle. Apparently it reaches a top speed of 25mph (unfortunately not fast enough to speed yourself out of the regret of purchasing a Boom 2 Borda) and gets about 30 miles out of one charge (unfortunately not far enough to distance yourself from the self-hatred incurred over purchasing a Boom 2 Borda). Beyond all those exciting numbers the Boom 2 Borda is £449 (roughly $913) which means that if you purchased it you've probably spent 40 times more than what you paid for your girlfriend's birthday present and about $100 less than how much you've paid for the multiple subscriptions you have to "Men's Magazines".

Seriously though at some point I'll tire out from writing about these types of inventions and the people who would invent or purchase them. But that time is not now. I mean just watch the video they've included in the article . Bwahahahahaha...

Bam Margera Down Under
Published: 1:44 a.m. PT by Me

For the past week or so Element skaters Bam Margera, Tosh Townend, and Josh Rio had been down under touring cities in Australia including Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Manley for their Pick Your Poison Tour hitting up locals shops and meeting the locals. The tour just ended and almost immediately, as if they didn't know what procrastination meant, Element has posted up a huge gallery of photos (197 photos) from the journey featuring the crazy crowds, the crazy behavior, and the crazy accents (which you can't actually see but you can totally imagine). Oh and if you're a fan of 'Bam's Unholy Union' there's plenty of Missy pictures included.

To see the 'Pick Your Poison' tour photos head over to the Element gallery here.

Backyard Bang Goes Off With A (What's Another Word For Bang? Oh Yeah...) Boom
Published: 1:23 a.m. PT by Me

If you didn't catch our event notice for the Backyard Bang Rail Jam (which was here) or you just didn't care it's alright because Snowboard Mag has recap and a pretty big photo gallery posted on its blog from the event. The Bang, which took place in Portland, featured plenty of ice patches and puddles (as to be expected with Northwest weather) as well as appearances by Marc Frank Montoya (on the turntables too), Colin Langlois, Leanne Pelosi, Jamie Anderson and Chad Otterstrom. In the end Jed Anderson won the whole thing and took home $3,000 for his effort.

photo courtesy of Snowboard Magazine

For a recap and photo gallery of the Backyard Bang Rail Jam check out Snowboard Mag's blog.

Chinese Newspaper Covers Skateboaring, Muffled Hilarity Insues
Published: 1:00 a.m. PT by Me

We know this is another event that probably has little effect on you (unless you're reading from China) but there's the 2007 Coca-Cola Shanghai Showdown happening at the world's biggest skatepark, SMP Jiangwan Skatepark, this weekend and we thought it'd be interesting for you to check out a preview of the event from a local newspaper, the Shanghai Daily (in English). Obviously skateboarding does not have a foothold in Chinese culture the way it does in America and the article goes out of its way to display that.

In speaking of skating the article describes skating in this way: "Skateboarding can be an extreme sport, its players surfing on the concrete, or surfing on dangerous surfaces." (It's worth noting that the previous line is not a case of bad English - or Engrish as some like to call it - because the article is obviously written by a native or near-native English speaker)

Nothing much just something you can check out if you want. Oh yeah the actual event will feature Greg Lutzka among other skaters.

Travis Pastrana Sure Does Love Racing (Cars That Is)
Published: 12:49 a.m. PT by Me

As an update to something we've been following, the Rally America Championship is coming to a close October 26th with the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The point of interest in the event is the fact that the race (no pun intended) for the title is between FMX icon Travis Pastrana, DC owner Ken Block, and Andrew Pinker, with each of the three able to take the title with a win at the Rally (barring certain conditions). Currently Pinker is in the lead but as mentioned the title is in no way decided yet as Pastrana will be fighting for a chance to be the first ever to win back-to-back championships in Rally America history.

For more on the story (admittedly I don't know much about rally car racing) check out the official Rally America preview of the Lake Superior Performance Rally here.

Thrasher Magazine Updates Its Site
Published: 12:11 a.m. PT by Me

Just a quick note: Thrasher magazine has recently updated the whole format of its website. The new format allows for more features to be spotlighted (spotlit or spotlighted?) on the front page ("above the fold" in newspaper lingo) including a revolving door of sorts for the top story, a top video box, and more prominent features in general. So if you're a stickler for organization or were just bored you can head over to Thrasher's homepage and keep track of all the changes they've made.

October 22, 2007

Soven, Friday Win at Tigé Pro-Am in Mexico
Published: 12:44 a.m. PT by Me

Also taking part this weekend was the 2007 Tigé Pro-Am Wakeboard Championships in Cancun, Mexico. Phillip Soven continued his domination of wakeboarding scene in 2007 by taking another win, while Dallas Friday made her way back to the podium over the higher-seeded Emily Copeland Durham and Raequel Hoffman.

Check out the main results below...

Pro Men's Final Standings
1. Phillip Soven
2. Danny Harf
3. Andrew Adkison
4. Trevor Hansen
5T. Rusty Malinoski
5T. Adam Errington
7T. JD Webb
7T. Daniel Watkins
9. Austin Hair
10T. Chris O'Shea
10T. Bryan Hutton
10T. Tino Santori
13. Chad Sharpe
14. Danny Thollander
15. Ricky Gonzalez
16. Randall Harris

Women's Professional
Finals Heat #: 01
1 Friday, Dallas - USA 56.11
2 Copeland, Emily Copeland - USA 54.89
3 Merritt, Raimi - USA 47.00
4 Hoffman, Raequel - USA 39.56
5 Hoffman, Shawna - USA 38.22
6 Jackson, Jenacee - USA 28.33

Professional Wakeskate
Finals Heat #: 01
1 Hansen, R. - USA 80.00
2 Taylor, Nick - USA 66.67
3 Grubb, Brian - USA 50.00
4 Balzer, James - CDN 36.67

Regulars Take etnies Surf GvR
Published: 12:09 a.m. PT by Me

There were other events happening this weekend other than the Dew Tour. One of the more exciting ones was in Oceanside, CA, where the etnies Goofy vs. Regular surf contest went down. The contest was easily won by the Regulars, who were led by team captain Evan Slater -- Surfing magazine's editor-in-chief. TransWorld Surf editor Chris Coté led the Goofy team.

There was a prize purse of $50,000 split among nboth teams. See the results below. Surfers marked with an * were selected by the team captains as the starting five for each team.

GvR Surf - Final Results - Oct. 21, 2007

Regular Team:

1. Team MVP Sebastian Zietz – $8,000
2. Jay Thompson – $4,500
3. Austin Ware — $2,000
4. Toby Martin – $1,500
5. * Cheyne Magnusson – $2,500
6. * Ratboy – $2,000
7. * Kieren Horn – $2,000
8. Chris Waring – $1,000
9. Noi Kaulukakui – $1,000
10. * Adam Virs – $2,000
11. Brandon Guilmette – $1,000
12. Jason Bennet – $1,000
13. * Sunny Garcia – $2,000
14. Kyle Knox – $1,000
15. Sean Marceron – $1,000

Goofy Team:

1. * Timmy Curran – $2,000
2. * Cory Arrambide – $2,000
3. * Mike Losness – $2,000
4. * Mike Todd – $2,000
5. * Tonino Benson – $2,000
6. Travis Mellem – $750
7. Eric Snortum – $750
8. Ricky Whitlock – $750
9. Matt Keenan – $750
10. Dylan Slater – $750
11. Josh Buran – $750
12. Jeremy Heit – $750
13. Ryan Carlson – $750
14. Kai Barger – $750
15. Jesse Merle Jones – $750

October 21, 2007

Dhers Takes BMX Park Finals in Orlando; Wins Dew Cup
Published: 3:19 p.m. PT by Me

Daniel Dhers has won the BMX Park finals at the PlayStation Pro in Orlando, the final stop of the AST Dew Tour. The win also gives Dhers the Dew Cup and the $75,000 payday that comes with that. Dhers edged Mike Spinner in a close final, winning by only half-a-point. Ryan Nyquist was in third-place, followed by the legendary Dave Mirra.

For more, you can look at our gallery here from the finals and the full results are listed below...

BMX Park Finals - 2007 PlayStation Pro
1st- Dhers, Daniel- 94.67
2nd- Spinner, Mike- 94.17
3rd- Nyquist, Ryan- 92.67
4th- Mirra, Dave- 90.33
5th- Enarson, Dennis- 89.67
6th- Canina, Diogo- 88.17
7th- McCann, Steven- 88.00
8th- Cooke, Allan- 87.50
9th- Darden, Rob- 86.50
10th- Tooker, Marcus- 85.00
11th- Harrington, Josh- 84.83
12th- Cranmer, Scotty- 83.50


Bucky Lasek Wins Skate Vert in Orlando; White Injured
Published: 1:56 p.m. PT by Me

Bucky Lasek showed why he was the Dew Cup champ the last two years by taking the PlayStation Pro in Orlando Sunday, but the win came in the shadow of an injury to this year's Dew Cup champ, Shaun White. White was injured while practicing after he had completed his first of three runs. He was knocked unconscious but was eventually able to leave under his own power.  He was reportedly diagnosed with a concussion on the scene and, according to Dew Tour officials, he was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Hospital for further tests and observation.

Even with the injury, White ended up in third behind Lasek and Pierre-Luc Gagnon.

Check out a gallery here from the finals and the full results below...

Skate Vert Finals - 2007 PlayStation Pro
1st- Lasek, Bucky- 95.50
2nd- Gagnon, Pierre-Luc- 94.00
3rd- White, Shaun- 91.00
4th- Macdonald, Andy- 88.25
5th- Furlong, Anthony- 83.75
6th- Postec, Jean- 83.25
7th- Taylor, Adam- 82.25
8th- Dias, Sandro- 71.75
9th- Burnquist, Bob- 68.50
10th- Mayer, Danny- 65.25


Dhers, Spinner Lead BMX Park Prelims in Orlando
Published: 12:34 a.m. PT by Greg

Daniel Dhers seems ready to capture his second straight Dew Cup thanks to his strong performance at the BMX Park Prelims at the PlayStation Pro in Orlando. Dhers edged Mike Spinner for the top qualifying spot with Ryan Nyquist and Scotty Cranmer close behind. Missing from the contest was Ryan Guettler, who was knocked unconscious during the BMX Dirt finals earlier in the day. He apparently recovered without hospitalization, but it wasn't known if he would take part in the contest.

The finals will take place Sunday afternoon and air live on NBC. Full results from the prelims are below -- the top 12 riders advance to the finals.

BMX Park Prelims - 2007 PlayStation Pro
1st- Dhers, Daniel- 93.67
2nd- Spinner, Mike- 92.67
3rd- Nyquist, Ryan- 92.00
4th- Cranmer, Scotty- 90.83
5th- Harrington, Josh- 89.33
6th- McCann, Steven- 89.17
7th- Canina, Diogo- 88.67
8th- Darden, Rob- 88.17
9th- Cooke, Allan- 88.17
10th- Enarson, Dennis- 88.00
11th- Mirra, Dave- 87.83
12th- Tooker, Marcus- 87.67
13th- Mast, Craig- 87.33
14th- Reynolds, Garrett- 87.17
15th- Wirch, Scott- 87.17
16th- Sieg, Dan- 87.00
17th- Dillewaard, Dave- 87.00
18th- Kiraly, Kevin- 86.83
19th- Whitton, Alistair- 86.83
20th- Laird, Mike- 86.17
21st- Young, Gary- 86.00
22nd- Foster, James- 86.00
23rd- Hunt, Brian- 85.50
24th- Gerber, Zachary- 85.33
25th- Wade, Morgan- 85.33
26th- Warden, Zack- 85.00
27th- Perry, Joshua- 84.67
28th- Mackay, Colin- 84.17
29th- Wallace, Ben- 83.83
31st- Marks, Joey- 80.67
32nd- Coleman, Austin- 79.00
33rd- Semling, Quinn- 76.00

Live (Or Not) From The Premiere Of Birdhouse's 'The Beginning'
Published: 12:09 a.m. PT by Me

After a star-studded world premiere in Hollywood for its new video 'The Beginning' what's Birdhouse's next move? Why posting pictures from the event on their website silly! Alright maybe not...because it's taken more than a few days for us to catch this but as mentioned Birdhouse has got a massive gallery of shots taken from the Hollywood premiere of 'The Beginning'. From riders like Willy Santos and Brian Sumner to the owner himself (Tony Hawk if you didn't know) the photos are stacked with Birdhouse stalwarts as well as the obligatory guests like Greg Lutzka and Braydon Szafranski. We'd like to say some variation of "you had to be there to see it" and "you have to see it to believe it" to get you to check out the gallery but we decided to just insert this link here instead.

photo courtesy of Birdhouse

October 20, 2007

Adams Wins FMX in Orlando; is Dew Tour's Athlete of the Year
Published: 7:55 p.m. PT by Greg

Nate Adams made it four out five in this season's AST Dew Tour by taking the PlayStation Pro in Orlando Saturday. Adams already won the Dew Cup last month in Portland but the win means he is this year's AST Dew Tour Athlete of the Year, an honor bestowed to the athlete who scores the most point over the length of the tour. Adams is the only athlete so far this season to win four of five stops, although Shaun White can match that Sunday in the Skate Vert finals. However, since White finished third in his only non-win tour stop, Adam's second-place finish means he is the Athlete of the Year. For the honor Adams takes home an additional $25,000 to go along with the $75,000 he wins for the Dew Cup and the $15,000 he earned for winning the PlayStation Pro.

Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg had a strong showing, ending up in second for the contest, followed by Todd Potter. For the Season, Adam Jones was second in the points race, followed by Mike Mason.   Check out a small gallery here from the finals.

FMX Final Results - PlayStation Pro 2007
1. Nate Adams, Glendale, Ariz., 93.17.
2. Jeremy Stenberg, Temecula, Calif., 92.33.
3. Todd Potter, Temecula, Calif., 91.50.
4. Jeremy Lusk, San Diego, Calif., 90.73.
5. Takayuki Higashino, Japan, 89.83.
6. Dustin Miller, Gardnerville, Nev., 89.67.
7. Wiley Fullmer, Chino, Calif., 89.67.
8. Mike Mason, Carson City, Nev., 89.50.
9. Mathieu Rebeaud, Switzerland, 88.87.
10. Myles Richmond, Cherry Valley, Calif., 84.00.

AST Dew Tour FMX Final Points Standings
1. Nate Adams, 475.
2. Adam Jones, 276.
3. Mike Mason, 257.
4. Jeremy Lusk, 256.
5. Todd Potter, 246.
6. Jeremy Stenberg, 217.
7. Wiley Fullmer, 193.
8. Myles Richmond, 186.
9. Takayuki Higashino, 180.
10. Beau Bamburg, 178.


Kelly Slater Detained By Police For Living Out Our Fantasies
Published: 7:06 p.m. PT by Cary

From the "I Would Have Done The Exact Opposite Files" comes news that Kelly Slater has been detained by police in Israel. Allegedly bodyguards for Slater got in a scuffle with photographers who were trying to take pictures of the pair together outside the hotel Slater was staying at with his Israeli supermodel girlfriend Bar Rafaeli. Photographers who were there called it a "brawl" but they're paparazzi so we take that with a grain of salt...actually with a whole salt shaker worth of salt. Reports say the scuffle broke out after Slater pushed one of the photographers causing the scuffle to break out. This isn't the first time the same Israeli supermodel girlfriend has been involved in a scuffle with photographers, a similar scene broke out last time she was in Israel with her then boyfriend notorious model dater and life coach Leonardo DiCaprio.

Now here comes my commentary: See if this was me we were talking about none of this hoo-hah would have ever happened because I would have been inviting photographers to take pictures of me with a supermodel. Hell I would have hired a town crier to follow us around and announce "Hear Yee! Hear Yee! This be Cary with his supermodel girlfriend Bar Rafaeli!" while ringing a bell and possibly carrying around one of those huge arrows those real estate people use for open houses. The town crier would also be wearing neon colors like he was a fan of electronic music or neon colors. But then again when has Kelly Slater ever listened to any of my advice?

To read more about Slater's run-in with the law check the AP report here. To see what all the big fuss is about with Bar Rafaeli just look to the right.

Greg Lutzka Takes Skate Park in Orlando
Published: 5:11 p.m. PT by Greg

The Sheckler Show sputtered to a stop in Orlando Saturday, with Ryan Sheckler losing in a close final to Greg Lutzka. Sheckler already clinched the Dew Cup in Salt Lake City but the second-place finish means 2007 is the third time in a row Sheckler will finish a Dew Tour with three wins. Of course, Sheckler was hoping to win all five tour stops, but Lutzka had other ideas.

Sheckler's may still be able to lock up the Athlete of the Year honors, depending on how Nate Adams finishes in the FMX finals later Saturday.   If Adams wins, he will be the Athlete of the Year.  With a second-place finish, Adams and Sheckler would be tied, leaving the door open for Shaun White to take the honor with a win Sunday in Skate Vert.

For a photo gallery of the Skate Park Finals action check out the gallery here and also check out the photo gallery from the Prelims here .

Skate Park Finals - PlayStation Pro 2007
1st - Lutzka, Greg - 90.83
2nd - Sheckler, Ryan - 89.58
3rd - Araujo Jr., Rodil - 85.08
4th - Santos, Fabrizio - 84.33
5th - De Andrade, Carlos - 81.92
6th - Ortiz (A), Chaz - 80.42
7th - Seaholm, Austen - 81.75
8th - Fuenzalida, Danny - 81.00
9th - Barr, Jason - 77.25
10th - Peterson, Mike - 76.50
11th - Ramos, Rodolfo - 75.25
12th - Parent, Thomas - ---


Parslow Wins BMX Dirt in Orlando; Nyquist Takes Dew Cup; Murray Profiled
Published: 12:30 p.m. PT by Greg

Luke Parslow has won the BMX Dirt finals at the PlayStation Pro in Orlando, FL, the final stop of the AST Dew Tour. But the real focus going into the day appeared to be the race for the Dew Cup -- the honor given to the best overall athlete over the tour's five stops -- between Ryan Nyquist and Cameron White. Nyquist won the first two tour stops but has stumbled since and was not at the top of his game Saturday, failing to complete the final trick of his first run and leaving the door open for Cameron White after scoring an average of 87.09 in his final two runs. White couldn't finish his first run and had a great second run. But he needed a win to take the overall Dew Cup and a score of 85.19 to take the lead. He failed to complete his third run allowing Nyquist to secure the Dew Cup.

The race for the Cup was forgotten during the second set of runs when Ryan Guettler fell while trying to land the double backflip. Guettler was knocked unconscious from the fall and was taken off the field on a stretcher after regaining consciousness. He did not require hospitalization but the medical staff was careful since Stephen Murray was paralyzed in June attempting the same trick. The crash came a day after T.J. Lavin suffered a compound fracture in his leg during the BMX Dirt prelims. Guettler was the number one qualifier on Friday thanks to landing the first-ever 1080 in a dirt competition and was expected to throw an amazing run during the finals.

Guettler was up and walking later in the competition but the medical staff did not allow him to complete his third and final run and were determining whether to clear him for the BMX Park competition, which will hold its prelims Saturday night.

Following the finals, Murray was honored with a special that featured the first look at his fateful run that resulted in his paralysis (the actual crash was not shown). Murray, his family and his fellow riders were interviewed about the crash and the aftermath. The TV package featured a look at Murray in Craig Hospital in Denver, where he is undergoing physical therapy.

In the extensive interview, Murray revealed that though he's been paralyzed below the neck, he was recently able to move his thumb and index finger.

"I'm a fighter, you know. I'm not going to believe that I'm going to be... a quadriplegic all my life" Murray said, "I don't think I'm ever going to compete again. But I just want to be there for my kids.. Be there for my 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.

Here's a full photo gallery and you can see some examples below and see the full results...

BMX Dirt Finals - PlayStation Pro 2007
1st - Parslow, Luke - 88.17
2nd - Enarson, Dennis - 88.09
3rd - Napolitan, Anthony - 87.83
4th - Doyle, Chris - 87.67
5th - Nyquist, Ryan - 87.09
6th - White, Cameron - 86.59
7th - Guettler, Ryan - 86
8th - Canina, Diogo - 85.42
9th - Ellis, TJ - 84.92
10th - Marks, Joey - 84.17
11th - Cooke, Allan - 84.09
12th - Nastazio, Cory - 81.67


Baker and Reynolds Get the Epicly Later'd Treatment
Published: 1:02 a.m. PT by Me

Fresh on the heels of our last (late) update regarding the Emerica Wild Ride Tour on VBS' Epicly Later'd comes two new episodes for the show. Episode 9 & 10 continues the focus on Andrew Reynolds with Episode 9 tackling Reynolds' early 20s, when Reynolds moved to L.A. and became the hard partying, out-of-control skater that characterized that era. He talks about what spurned his wild ways during that time and gives us his current view on alcohol and drugs (both of which figured prominently in his life at that time). Episode 10 covers the creation of the close knit association of free spirits we now know as Baker Skateboards. With insight from many of the team's riders, including Terry Kennedy and Brandon Szafranski, we get the picture of Baker as a company which all its riders would feel comfortable skating for for the rest of their lives, and where money most likely won't become an issue (all Baker skaters get paid the same amount, including Reynolds).

Added together the episodes (7 through 10) which focus on Reynolds makes for a great viewing for anyone interested in skateboarding and one of it's icons. Check the episodes out at VBS here.

Red Bull Gets Down & Dirty In New Jersey (As If They Had A Choice)
Published: 12:33 a.m. PT by Me

Red Bull has announced it's Down & Dirty BMX Contest in Ashbury Park, New Jersey coming November 4th. The event will gather some top BMX riders into groups of four to face off in a jam session-like contest on a course full of unique obstacles. The course will feature obstacles that are staples of a rundown metropolis (thus the "Down" and "Dirty" in the name of the contest) for the riders to do their thing on including a 54 foot articulated New York City bus with rails, an old taxi cab, and Jersey barriers. The event will also feature a best trick contest on the course so there should be lots of opportunities to see the riders get full use out of the obstacles.

The invited teams include:*
Team Animal - Nigel Sylvester, Mike Brennan, Tom White, Jared Washington
Team Zoo York - Edwin De La Rosa, Vinnie Sammon, Ruel “Wormz” Smith, Tyrone Williams
Team Electronical - Aaron Ross, Jimmy Levan, Chase Hawk, Jim Cielinski
Team Knuckle Sandwich - Corey Martinez, Seth Kimbrough, Danny Hickerson, Karl Poynter
Team UK - Bas Keep, Robin Felon, Dan Lacey, Bruce Crisman
Team Pirates - Van Homan, Chase Dehart, Dakota Roche, Mike Aitken

Plus additional riders Brian Wizmerski, Sean Burns, Garrett Byrnes, Darryl Tocco, Ian Schwartz, Brad Simms, plus local riders.

*Subject to change.

The event is free to the public and begins at 12 noon so make sure you keep that in mind if you got nothing to do that Sunday in November.

Get Inside Torah Bright's Pants...And Boots, And Goggles, And Jacket
Published: 12:10 a.m. PT by Me

This sounds kinda cool, Method.tv is running a contest in which you can win a complete Torah Bright setup from Roxy. That includes Board, Boots, Bindings, Jacket, Goggles, and yes her pants (no guarantee that she's worn any of it though - so bad news perverts). All Method asks you to do is check out each of their weekly Roxy video podcasts from September 3rd until December 10th, then answer a 15 question quiz on the podcasts, which can be found on Method's site.

The winner will be notified December 20th. Of course just completing the quiz correctly doesn't guarantee the prize (we're pretty sure there's some type of random raffling involved) but seriously can it be that bad, you'd be watching clips that you already would have watched or were interested in watching anyways. Then just answer some straightforward questions about what you just saw, you have the world to gain and nothing to lose. So try it out...the contest details, including the questionnaire and podcasts, can be found here.

October 19, 2007

Kagy Wins in Orlando but Bestwick Takes the Cup
Published: 7:09 p.m. PT by Greg

Chad Kagy has won the BMX Vert finals in Orlando at the PlayStation Pro, the final stop of the AST Dew Tour. For Kagy, the win shows a glimpse of what might have been had Kagy not broken his collarbone in August before during Big Air BMX practice at the X Games. The result was he missed one stop of the Dew Tour and didn't make the finals in the second as he wasn't full recovered. Kagy actually tied with Jamie Bestwick with a 92.67, with a tiebreaker going to Kagy. It was a crowded final, with Steve McCann ending in third and Simon Tabron in fourth, both ending with a score above 92.00.

The win was not without controversy, as during his first run Jamie Bestwick's pedal broke off as Bestwick dropped in, causing a spectacular fall and basically giving him a 0 score.  Had he been allowed to redo the run, he might have been able to break a tiebreaker.  Kagy also fell on his first run but finished more of it.

Despite the second-place finish, Bestwick wins the BMX Vert Dew Cup, but this does mean that for the first time in the three years of the Dew Tour Bestwick failed to win four out of the five tour stops.

Kagy and Bestwick weren't the only ones to have a fall.  Veteran rider Dennis McCoy fell hard and was knocked out and was taken to the hospital.  He was later released.

We have tons of photos here and for a recap check the official release here.  You can see some of the shots below.

BMX Vert Finals - PlayStation Pro 2007
1st Kagy, Chad - 92.67
2nd Bestwick, Jamie - 92.67
3rd McCann, Steven - 92.33
4th Tabron, Simon - 92.17
5th Robinson, Kevin - 90.33
6th Walker, Jimmy - 88.33
7th Parker, John -87.83
8th Warden, Zack - 87
9th Eggleston, Jay - 86.33
10th McCoy, Dennis - 82.67


Guettler Leads BMX Dirt Prelims Behind First-Ever 1080; Lavin Breaks Leg
Published: 4:56 p.m. PT by Me

Prelims at the BMX Dirt competition in Orlando ended with some bad news this afternoon as we got word that TJ Lavin (pictured) suffered a serious break in his leg during one of his jumps. Lavin usually does color commentary for NBC's Dew Tour broadcasts so obviously that's uncertain right now. We'll try to keep you updated with his condition, but as for now we're hoping for the best for Lavin.

In terms of the results, Ryan Guettler has finished first in the prelims in what has been one of the most unpredictable events for the whole dew tour. So far Ryan Nyquist (currently 6th in the Prelims, 1st in the Dew Cup standings) has been the only competitor to finish first in the BMX Dirt Finals twice at the Dew Tour while James Foster (3rd in the Dew Cup Standings) has been the only rider to take first in both the Prelims and Finals in the same stop. So the finals, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, are definitely something you got to keep an eye out for.

As for Foster, he missed the finals along with Corey Bohan, so both are officially out of the race.  Meanwhile, Ryan Guettler is not in the Dew Cup running but he still pulled out all the stops by landing the first-ever 1080 in a dirt competition, following his landing that trick in the BMX Park finals last month in Slat Lake City.  The trick gives Guettler an edge in the over contest but Nyquist still has his eye on the prize.

BMX Dirt Prelims Results - PlayStation Pro

1st Guettler, Ryan 95.67
2nd Enarson, Dennis 92.33
3rd White, Cameron 91.5
4th Marks, Joey 90.33
5th Napolitan, Anthony 90
6th Nyquist, Ryan 89.5
7th Doyle, Chris 89
8th Cooke, Allan 88
9th Parslow, Luke 87.83
10th Ellis, TJ 87.5
11th Nastazio, Cory 87.33
12th Canina, Diogo 87.33

Sheckler is God Good ; Skate Park Prelim Results From The PlayStation Pro
Published: 4:32 p.m. PT by Me

The Skate Park Prelims at the the PlayStation Pro picked up today after a weather conditions (read: rain) only allowed for partial heats Thursday evening. The Prelims finished up with - surprise, surprise - Ryan Sheckler taking the top spot, while Rodolfo Ramos finished behind in second and Fabrizio Santos rounded out the top three. The Skate Park finals will take place Saturday evening, and while Sheckler's already got the Dew Cup won, 2nd place is still up in the air as Rudolfo Ramos (currently 3rd in the Cup standings) looks to be breathing down Greg Lutzka's (2nd in the Cup standings, 8th in the prelims) neck.

Stay connected for more coverage from Skate Park at the PlayStation Pro.

Skate Park Prelims Results - PlayStation Pro

1st Sheckler, Ryan 92.25
2nd Ramos, Rodolfo 87
4th Santos, Fabrizio 85.5
5th De Andrade, Carlos 84.25
6th Ortiz, Chaz 83.75
7th Seaholm, Austen 82.75
8th Lutzka, Greg 80.75
9th Fuenzalida, Danny 79.25
10th Parent, Thomas 79
11th Barr, Jason 78.5
12th Peterson, Mike 78.25
13th Fernandez, Chad 77.5

The Free Flow Skate Park Finals At The PlayStation Pro
Published: 3:28 p.m. PT by Me

Hidden in the midst of all the Dew Tour action from the pros at Baltimore all the way to Salt Lake City was the fact that the AST Free Flow Tour was also running alongside the big boys. Well now that the Dew Tour has hit its finale in Orlando with the PlayStation Pro the youngins from the Free Flow tour have gotten a chance to show their craft off on the main stage with the Free Flow finals. First up was the Free Flow Skate Park finals which was won by 13 year-old wonder Chaz Ortiz. Could he be the next Nyjah Huston? One of the guys from Banquet seems to think so.

Keep up with what happened with our photo gallery from the Free Flow Skate Park Finals in Orlando here.

Ride Snowboards: Drunken Sailors' Favorite Company
Published: 1:44 a.m. PT by Me

How would you like to save your mom some money yet piss her off at the same time? If you're interested and live in Seattle, Ride Snowboards is offering you the chance to do both come October 24th with their 'I Love Ride Tattoo Party'. The premise behind the party is that Ride will offer a free snowboard to anyone willing to go under the needle and get "I Love Ride" tatted on their body. For some that's a hefty price to pay but for others the real dollar price of a snowboard is as hefty if not a heftier price to pay, and to make it just that much easier to take them up on their offer Ride is allowing participants a choice of where on their body they would like to get inked. It can't be any worse than that time I agreed to make out with that trucker for dibs on an order of fried zucchinis, now that was hefty (in ways you could only understand if you were there).

So if you don't care much about your skin (I'm looking at you pimply Tom) and it sounds like a good deal to you head on over to the 'I Love Ride Tattoo Party' at 88 Keys 8pm next Wednesday with $5 (cover fee), and if it doesn't sound that appealing you can still go for the video premiere of Ride's 'Cut and Paste' as well as the drinks and bands. Details of the event can be found on the flyer here (click for to enlarge).

'Black And Blue Volume 2' All For You (Haiku by Me)
Published: 1:19 a.m. PT by Me

We linked to a trailer for Vox Footwear's 'Black and Blue Volume 2' a little while ago and mentioned that if you were interested in the video to look for it at your local boardshop for purchase....You can disregard that statement now. That's because Vox is offering the video up for download at their website. 'Black and Blue Volume 2' features skating by the Vox team including Ricky Oyola, Dan Drehobl, and Adrian Mallory among others, separated into short segments such as DIY, Out Of The Blue, 60 Seconds With..., and Border Check, acting sort of like a check-in with the team to see what they've been up to. The video is in Quicktime format and is roughly 200 MB (20 minutes of footage), so if you have to do a little cleaning up in your harddrive before you try to download it go do that (we know you and your 'erotic video collection' are hard to separate, but still this one's worth it). To download 'Black and Blue Volume 2' go to Vox's homepage here.

Sponsor Updates: Jereme Rogers And Danny Cerezini Join Silver Trucks
Published: 12:56 a.m. PT by Me

Just like when the Yankees hit the offseason and you know they're gonna pick up some good players even though they already have their share of good players, Silver Trucks has added Jereme Rogers and Danny Cerezini to their already impressive team of skaters. With a list of skaters that now include Rogers, Cerezini, Nyjah Huston, Rob Dyrdek, Paul Rodriguez, and Brandon Biebel among others, Silver seems to be determined to snatch up the best of young talent in the skate game. Check their home page for official "Welcome To the Team" banners.

'That's (Duane Peter's) Life'
Published: 12:32 a.m. PT by Me

For those who don't know, Duane Peters is a skateboarding legend credited with creating a lot of tricks (mainly pool/bowl tricks) and being one of the main influences for the punk era of skateboarding. He's also lived a hardcore life full of drugs, rock and roll and we're assuming sex, as the lead singer for various punk bands throughout his life. Director Jim Dziura has created a documentary on Peters focusing on the Peter's (along with his wife designer Corey Parks) goal of getting sober, called 'That's Life'. The film is still currently in production but a 9 minute teaser/trailer has been released via Dziura's website and it's pretty interesting. Check it out here.

Artwork That Makes Good Bike Frames
Published: 12:02 a.m. PT by Me

Here's another item in the long line of high-end/designer bikes that's been coming out recently. This time around it's a collaboration between La Carrera, United Front, and bike manufacturers Colnago courtesy of United Front's Matt George. The frames (which number at 33 for each model) were designed by graffiti legends Futura and Stash as part of their upcoming art exhibitions in Canada. As you can see these aren't your average bike frames which is something we would expect from the names attached to the product. For more info on the project head to Matt George's blog at Nimnim.

 

 

October 18, 2007

Skate Vert Prelims At PlayStation Pro
Published: 6:56 p.m. PT by Me

Though he's already secured himself a Dew Cup win with his showing last month at the Toyota Challenge it seems Shaun White isn't taking a stop off and is still looking to go all out at the PlayStation Pro as Prelims wrapped up today with White scoring a strong 87 to top the field. The fight for second in the Dew Cup race is still going strong though as Pierre-Luc Gagnon holds a thin lead over Bob Burnquist going into the finals. As of now Gagnon looks to be in good position finishing 3rd at the prelims compared to Burnquist finishing 6th, but we're still going to have to wait until the Finals Sunday to see how it all shakes out. Stay tuned for more coverage of Skate Vert at the PlayStation Pro.

Skate Vert Prelims Results - Toyota Challenge

1st White, Shaun 87
2nd Lasek, Bucky 85.5
3rd Gagnon, Pierre-Luc 83.25
4th Macdonald, Andy 82.75
5th Postec, Jean 82.5
6th Burnquist, Bob 81.5
7th Mayer, Danny 80.25
8th Dias, Sandro 80
9th Furlong, Anthony 79.75
10th Taylor, Adam 77.75

BMX Vert And FMX Prelim Results From The PlayStation Pro
Published: 2:14 p.m. PT by Me

Action kicked off today in Orlando for the last stop of the AST Dew, the PlayStation Pro, and the first set of results are in for the prelims in BMX Vert and FMX, and it looks like the leaders of the pack (Bestwick and Adams) are still the leaders of the pack. Check here for a photo gallery from the FMX Prelims in Orlando. 

BMX Vert Prelims Results - Toyota Challenge

1st Bestwick, Jamie 93.5
2nd Tabron, Simon 92.5
3rd McCann, Steven 91.67
4th Kagy, Chad 90
5th McCoy, Dennis 89.83
6th Walker, Jimmy 89.67
7th Robinson, Kevin 89.17
8th Parker, John 88.33
9th Eggleston, Jay 88.17
10th Warden, Zack 86.67

FMX Prelims Results - Toyota Challenge

1st Adams, Nate 92.67
2nd Stenberg, Jeremy 90.67
3rd Potter, Todd 89.83
4th Higashino, Takayuki 89.83
5th Miller, Dustin 88.17
6th Rebeaud, Mathieu 87
7th Mason, Mike 90.83
8th Lusk, Jeremy 87.5
9th Fullmer, Wiley 87.33
10th Richmond, Myles 84

Finals for BMX Vert will be held tomorrow, while the FMX Finals will take place Saturday. Check back here for more results/coverage of the PlayStation Pro.  

Todd Potter in the FMX Prelims.  Cr. Tim Hubbard

Jamie Bestwick in the BMX Prelims - cr. Tim Hubbard

Andrew Reynolds Featured On Episodes 7 & 8 Of Emerica's Wild Ride On Epicly Later'd
Published: 1:56 p.m. PT by Me

I know we're a bit late on this but episodes 7 & 8 are up of Emerica's Wild Ride on VBS' Epicly Later'd. These episodes focus on Andrew Reynolds with Reynolds sharing his thoughts about touring (he isn't up for the whole camping thing) episode 7 while episode 8 kind of goes through Reynolds development from a fresh faced kid that was tearing everything up to the experienced pro that's still tearing everything up. Episode 8 is definitely one to watch if you're a fan or Reynolds or of skating history, with tons of old Reynolds footage as well as a pretty candid comment from Heath Kirchart about them coming up together on Birdhouse. To check out both episodes 7 & 8 head over to the Epicly Later'd Episode Guide here . Also keep an eye out for episodes 9 & 10 which should continue on with the Andrew Reynolds chronicle (*psst* he deserves all the chronicling he gets).

Chad Muska and Mick Fanning Share Their Trade Secrets (Well Kinda)
Published: 1:11 p.m. PT by Me

You know that feeling of listening to certain music in order to pump yourself up or to get you in the mood prior to going out to skate/surf/snowboard? It's something you'll find that is common for most athletes regardless of sports, though it just so happens that athletes in the "traditional" sports usually listen to some god awful music. That's not the case with skater Chad Muska and surfer Mick Fanning as they've shared with EXPN some of their favorite tunes to listen to. In Chad Muska's case it comes in the form of a list of 5 albums he feels are must-haves, for Mick Fanning it's in the form of an interview about what music he leans on to get him going, and in both cases the choices are pretty dope (ODB's 'Return to the 36 Chambers' for Muska, Hanson's 'MmmBop' for Fanning). To get an idea of the music playing inside each of these athlete's heads check this article for Chad Muska and this article for Mick Fanning.

Creature Skateboards Looks To Follows In The Footsteps Of Jonas Salk
Published: 12:28 p.m. PT by Me

Remember those lame razor scooters that were being ridden around by those lame people (including lame businessmen and lame fratboys at my college) just a few lame years ago? If you don't that's a good thing, if you do then we're sorry, and if you actually had one then we're extra sorry, because you were one of those lame people. Well if you belong in the latter group Creature skateboards is here to help you with their Save A Life Rehabilitation Plan. The "plan" calls for any current owner of a razor scooter to head over to Santa Cruz Skatepark on October 30th to hand over their instrument of lameness in exchange for a Creature complete or deck "no questions asked" (hahaha). Only the first 12 to give up their razor scooters will get a complete, after that it's only decks, but either way think about it why burden yourself and your children's future with the possibility of being spotted with a razor scooter? The event (which is quite possibly one of the greatest skate events ever conceived) starts at 12 noon, so if you're itching for that free complete get their early but also not too early that you'd be spotted holding a razor scooter for longer than several minutes.

Fanning Can't Lose Foster's ASP Crown, Can He?
Published: 4:07 a.m. PT by Me

Now that the Billabong Pro Mundaka has finished there are only two events left on the Foster's ASP World Tour, the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil and the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Hawaii. That means the oddsmakers have come out to do the math on what Mick Fanning needs to do to win the Foster's ASP Crown. The answer? He has to show up.

Okay, perhaps it's not that simple, but let's put it another way -- he basically needs to end up equal 33rd place twice, and have Taj Burrow or Kelly Slater win both events in a row. There are some crazy scenarios where Taj Burrow could win without winning either event if Fanning places really, really badly. If you want to really look at all the scenarios, check this out. But take our word for it -- Fanning can't lose.

Harris Joins Quiksilver's Wake Team
Published: 2:27 a.m. PT by Me

Apparently Quiksilver has a wakeboarding team and it has signed Randall Harris to be part of it. Harris joins Collin Harrington, Jeff House, and 13-year-old amateur rider Jacob Valdez as part of the team.

Harris, a veteran wakeboarder, has staged an impressive comback after leaving the scene for several years, culminating with his winning the "2007 Wakeboarding Magazine Wake-Rider of the Year" and "2007 Alliance Magazine Rider of the Year" awards this year.

For more about Harris and Quiksilver, read this.

Remember: The Dew Tour is Here!
Published: 12:44 a.m. PT by Me

Not that you need much reminding but the 2007 AST Dew Tour comes to a close this weekend in Orlando with the PlayStation Pro. Action starts today with the Free Flow Tour finals in Skate Street, along with several qualifying events. The first final will be BMX Vert tomorrow evening (catch it on USA network at midnight).

Lat34 will have a constant steady drumbeat of coverage, including current results, photos and witty banter for you to check out. So stay tuned.

Older Archive: Octover 11 - October 17, 2007