Quick Hits Archive: September 6 - September 12, 2007

Sep 21 2007 / Los Angeles, CA

September 12, 2007

Round Two Complete at Boost Mobile Pro; Burrow, Parkinson Ousted
Published: 5:36 p.m. PT by Greg

Round two of the Boost Mobile Pro went off thie morning as planned and the action was fast and furious, with two top-ranked surfers knocked out by wildcards.

Andy Irons kicked off action in the first heat by eliminating former world champ Sunny Garcia, but the second heat offered a big surprise as Taj Burrow, world-ranked number two (before today), was defeated by Dane Reynolds, 15.83 to 12.26. Immediately following World No. 5 Joel Parkinson was defeated by South African Jordy Smith.

"It was good to see Dane beat Taj in the last heat, he’s a good friend of mine," Smith said after the match. "It’s good to see the underdogs get up. I hope I go can all the way, I wouldn’t be here surfing if I didn’t thin I could go all the way. I enjoyed surfing against Joel, he’s one of my favorite surfers.”

For Burrow, any chance of taking the title in the Foster's ASP World Tour this year is likley dashed.

Action will resume tomorrow with Round Three, where Reynolds will take on current No. 1 world-ranked Mick Fanning. Smith will take on No. 3 Andy Irons. Rob Machado, another wildcard who won in round one, will face off against Kelly Slater.

BOOST MOBILE PRO ROUND 2 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Andy Irons (HAW) 14.66 def. Sunny Garcia (HAW) 10.77
Heat 2: Dane Reynolds (USA) 15.83 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 12.26
Heat 3: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.00 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.90
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 16.07 def. Luke Munro (AUS) 5.17
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) 14.50 def. Gabe Kling (USA) 11.00
Heat 6: Neco Padaratz (BRA) 14.17 def. Daniel Wills (AUS) 7.10
Heat 7: Troy Brooks (AUS) 13.66 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.16
Heat 8: Chris Ward (USA) 15.44 def. Trent Munro (AUS) 8.67
Heat 9: Pancho Sullivan (HAW) 13.17 def. Mark Occhilupo (HAW) 12.44
Heat 10: Shaun Cansdell (AUS) 14.50 def. Cory Lopez (USA) 11.87
Heat 11: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.90 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 10.83
Heat 12: Victor Ribas (BRA) 16.67 Luke Stedman (AUS) 13.77
Heat 13: Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA) 13.83 def. Phillip MacDonald (AUS) 13.66
Heat 14: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 16.50 def. Michael Lowe (AUS) 13.33
Heat 15: Royden Bryson (ZAF) 17.17 def. Bernardo Miranda (BRA) 13.94
Heat 16: Leonardo Neves (BRA) 11.54 def. Greg Emslie (ZAF) 10.83

Check out some video from the day below...


Surfer Poll Awards -- Full Results and Coverage
Published: 12:21 p.m. PT by Me

The Surfer Poll Awards went down last night in Anaheim, CA at the Grove Theater and everyone who was anyone showed up to take part. Even the few winners that couldn't be in country sent in videos and the only wrinkle was a few of the top vote-getters in the poll had to take off due to an early call for the Boost Mobile pro this morning (the contest has to go off, so watch it live at http://www.boostmobilepro.com/).

Anyway, the crowd was crazy and the the awrds show one of the more interesting you will see. After it was all said and done, Kelly Slater ended up on top for the Men (#13 in the last 15 or so years) and Sofia Mulanovich won for the Women (her third win in a row). "Young Guns 3" was the big winner in the movie category, followed by "Bra Boys."

One of the big highlights -- Jake Brown gets a standing O when introducing Worst Wipeout then gets greeted by a naked man who picks up the award for Bra Boy Richie Vas.  I didn't catch who it was but his excuse was , "If Richie was here this is what he would have done."  Crazy Aussies. 

Check out the full recap here then check out our extensive photo gallery. We'll probably have some more coverage soon, so check back. Until then -- enjoy what we've got!

September 11, 2007

'Life Of Ryan' Episode Three - The Drama Continues
Published: 2:22 a.m. PT by Greg

So episode three of "Life of Ryan" was on last night. If you watched it, you saw Ryan get ready for the Cleveland stop of the AST Dew Tour and fight some personal demons about his father's moving on after his parent's divorce. No girls, really, to speak of. No Taylor, no blonde beach beauties whose parents fear Ryan will be a bad influence.

If you didn't watch it, you don't have to since we have a recap for you here as well as a photo gallery from the episode. BTW, I saw Ryan at the ASR show this weekend and he was without his camera crew entourage... I guess in "real life" the season is already over. Or maybe ASR is too boring...


Last Results From Mexico X Games
Published: 1:21 a.m. PT by Greg

As promised, here are the final results from Mexico and its very first X Games. We already told you that Garrett Reynolds won BMX Street -- you also have Pierre-Luc Gagnon taking the win in Skate Vert and Greg Lutzka taking Skate Street. Below are the top three finishers in the finals from Sunday, then you can check out more details and a photo gallery of different shots from the overall event. We have a couple of sample photos below, too.


Surfer Poll Awards Webcast Tonight
Published: 12:51 a.m. PT by Greg

Yeah, just in case you were curious, there wasn't any action yesterday at the Boost Mobile Pro. It may go down today, which would be interesting since the Surfer Poll Awards are going down tonight in Anaheim and you can bet many of those at Trestles would make their way North to check out the festivities. We wrote about some of the nominees last week but if you want to follow along with the action, go ahead and do so at www.surferpoll.net from 7-10 p.m. The webcast will be co-hosted by Koa Smith and Jody Nelson.

Lat34 will be there -- we'll have photos and full coverage later tonight.

Dew Tour Gets Olympic Qualifier
Published: 12:22 a.m. PT by Me

Skateboarding isn't in the Olympics yet, but BMX Racing will be part of it next year. The AST Dew Tour is going to get into the action by hosting the only US BMX Supercross World Cup Olympic Qualifier at the Toyota Challenge in Salt Lake City on Sept. 22. The Toyota Challenge in San Jose actuallty offered a BMX Supercross race last year and winner Michal Prokop will be back to defend his win.

Read more about it here.

Timmy Curran's Debut Album Available For Free Download
Published: 12:01 a.m. PT by Me

Legendary surfer Timmy Curran has been playing live music for awhile now but he finally has a CD you can buy, or, if you're digitially inclined, download for free. To hear it, go to his official site. It's called word of mouth and there are 11 tracks. You can either download track by track or the entire album zipped up.

September 10, 2007

Garrett Reynolds Wins BMX Street in Mexico
Published: 1:54 a.m. PT by Me

More results are filtering in from X Games Mexico... Garrett Reynolds has won in BMX Street. Reynolds did recently place on the AST Dew Tour in Cleveland, but most other podium regulars like Daniel Dhers, Dave Mirra and Mike Spinner were not on hand...

1. Garrett Reynolds USA - 91.00
2. Aaron Ross USA - 89.44
3. Van Homan USA - 89.11
4. Corey Martinez USA - 88.44
5. Alistair Whitton USA - 88.11
6. Rob Wise USA - 87.89
7. Will Love USA - 87.78
8. Christian Balcameda ARG - 85.56
9. Josh Harrington USA - 85.22
10. Hector Garcia MEX - 83.11

Skate Vert and Street finals coming soon -- Pierre-Luc Gagnon took first in qualifying, followed by Sandro Dias and Rodrigo Menezes.

Why You Telling Me This News: Revolver Entertainment Signs Deal
Published: 1:19 a.m. PT by Me

Ok so the headline reads "Image Entertainment Signs Exclusive Sales and Distribution Agreement with Newly Formed Revolver Entertainment LLC, a Subsidiary of the Highly Acclaimed UK-Based Revolver Entertainment LTD" so you're probably thinking, "ehhhhh. NEXT." But what you might wanna know is that this means there will now be North American distribution for '3000 Miles: Gumball 3000' a film that follows Tony Hawk, Bam Margera, Ryan Dunn, Mike Vallely, and Mike Escamilla as they participate (again, for some of them) in the Gumball 3000 race. If you've ever seen the Jackass episode where they take on the Gumball race as well as European broadcasts of the race you should know that this is something you'll wanna catch when it comes out in November.

OK now you can continue on with your porn surfing.

After 'Skate' EA Plans To Self Destruct
Published: 12:33 a.m. PT by Me

Alright I thought this was kinda funny. An exec at EA Games in talking about expanding it's video game empire is thinking about producing Cricket and Badminton games. Traditionally EA Games has stuck with the traditional sports (Football, Futbol, Basketball, etc.) but as one can see with 'Skate' they are starting to go beyond that. But Badminton and Cricket?!? What after Magic Cards?

Get the word straight from the execs mouth here. Then begin laughing here.

Color Magazine's Skate Culture Photography Issue
Published: 12:03 a.m. PT by Me

Though you might not find it at your local newsstand/bookstore (since it's a Canadian mag) Color Magazine is something worth ordering, especially the current issue. This month (or actually 2 since it's a bi-monthly mag) they are focusing on photography with features on the photography of Flip pro Arto Saari (the dude that killed both his 'Sorry' and 'Really Sorry' parts), skatespot photography, C1rca pro Peter Ramondetta, and other good artsy stuff. And to make things better Geoff Rowley is featured on the cover. To order the magazine or just to catch a glimpse of what'll be in the actual pages head over to their site.

September 9, 2007

Round One of Boost Mobile Pro Complete
Published: 4:32 p.m. PT by Greg

The first round of the Boost Mobile Pro in Lower Trestles is complete and there were few surprises. No one is eliminated in the first round, so Andy Irons' surprising third place finish in his heat to Rob Machado and Kai Otton can be redeemed in round two. The same can be said for last year's winner, Bede Durbidge, who was bested by Adriano de Souza in his heat.

Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater had no problems with their heats, dominating early. Sunny Garcia, a last-minute replacement for the injured Damien Hobgood, finished second in his heat to Fanning. Other surfers who didn't win their first-round heat included Taj Burrow and Bobby Martinez.

You will probably see some action tomorrow and can watch it live on www.boostmobilepro.com.

The holding period for the Boost Mobile Pro (presented by Hurley, let's not forget) runs through Sept. 15.

BOOST MOBILE PRO ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Andy Irons (HAW) vs. Sunny Garcia (HAW)
Heat 2: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 3: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 4: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 5: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 6: Daniel Wills (AUS) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 7: Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 8: Chris Ward (USA) vs. Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 9: Pancho Sullivan (HAW vs. Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 10: Cory Lopez (USA) vs. Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 11: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 12: Luke Stedman (AUS) vs. Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 13: Phillip MacDonald (AUS) vs. Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 14: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) vs. Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 15: Bernardo Miranda (BRA) vs. Royden Bryson (ZAF)
Heat 16: Greg Emslie (ZAF) vs. Leonardo Neves (BRA)

ASR Day Two: Cole Wins Game of Skate
Published: 2:02 a.m. PT by Greg

The second day of ASR brought a great skate contest featuring some of the top street skaters doing their thing in the éS Game of Skate which was open to the public and followed by the global premier of éSpecial -- the first full-length DVD from éS in more than five years.

Chris Cole won the contest, taking $10,000, followed by Nyjah Huston in second (winning $5,000) and Mike-Mo Capaldi in third ($2,000).

Read more about Day Two of ASR here and then check out a gallery from Day Two.

Check out some of the photos below to see who was there...


Tabron Takes BMX Gold; Potter Wins Best Trick in Mexico
Published: 1:32 a.m. PT by Greg

Simon Tabron has proven once again that he is the best BMX Vert rider in the world not named Jamie Bestwick. Tabron dominated the competition with a 94.00 thanks to his trademark 900 while Jay Eggleston was within reach with a 92.67 and Zack Warden took bronze with a 91.33.

The Moto Best Trick came down to three Americans and had a similar finish to X Games 13. Kyle Loza, who won gold at X13, was second in Mexico thanks to his trick "The Volt," while Todd Potter took gold with the "Kamikaze." Third-place and bronze went to Jeremy "Twitch” Stenberg with a "Double Can Indie Flip” to "Heel Clicker” combination.

Get a full breakdown of the day's action here.

Sunday brings the finals for Skate Street and Vert, as well as Moto Step Up. You can watch some of it live on EXPN.com -- if you're lucky (I didn't seem to get it to work) and if you're bilingual, you can head on over to ESPN Deportes to read about all the action in Spanish.

Some photos are coming, too... Keep an eye on this space for when they come!

Hobgood To Miss Boost Mobile Pro; Sunny Garcia is In
Published: 1:13 a.m. PT by Greg

After injuring himself having some fun in Costa Rica, the world's No. 6 ranked surfer, Damien Hobgood, is going to miss the Boost Mobile Pro in Lower Trestles, which is expected to start today.

Former world champ Sunny Garcia will take his place, facing current world champ Mick Fanning in round one.

Hobgood's injury will also cause him to miss the next stop on the Men's World Tour, the Quiksilver Pro in France.

Read more, including some quotes from the players at hand, here.

Here are your first round match-ups. You can watch live on www.boostmobilepro.com.

Heat 1: Travis Logie (ZAF), Ricky Basnett (ZAF), Mark Occhilupo (AUS)
Heat 2: Danniel Wills (AUS), Ben Dunn (AUS), Trent Munro (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA), Adrian Buchan (AUS), Troy Brooks (AUS)
Heat 4: Dean Morrison (AUS), Luke Stedman (AUS), Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS), Adiano de Souza (BRA), Gabe Kling (USA)
Heat 6: Joel Parkinson (AUS), C.J. Hobgood (USA), Luke Munro (AUS)
Heat 7: Taj Burrow (AUS), Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS), Pancho Sullivan (HAW), Sunny Garcia (HAW)
Heat 9: Kelly Slater (USA), Cory Lopez (USA), Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 10: Andy Irons (HAW), Kai Otton (AUS), Rob Machado (USA)
Heat 11: Taylor Knox (USA), Phillip MacDonald (AUS), Shaun Cansdell (AUS)
Heat 12: Bruce Irons (HAW), Raoni Monteiro (BRA), Dayyan Neve (AUS)
Heat 13: Jeremy Flores (FRA), Bernardo Miranda (BRA), Victor Ribas (BRA)
Heat 14: Michael Campbell (AUS), Greg Emslie (ZAF), Rodrigo Dornelles (BRA)
Heat 15: Tom Whitaker (AUS), Leonardo Neves (BRA), Michael Lowe (AUS)
Heat 16: Chris Ward (USA), Josh Kerr (AUS), Royden Bryson (ZAF)

Tara Llanes Update -
Published: 12:18 a.m. PT by Greg

Tara Llanes had surgery on Friday to lengthen the rod already in place in her spine and was recovering from that surgery through today. Here's the latest update from her MySpace page:

Playing catch up on sleep throughout the day, Tara had some fun today, playing dress up with some sweat bands and sunglasses (sent by Smith) and spent some time with a special visitor, Cheri Elliott. Coach James also brought in a mini-basketball hoop with a Nerf ball so she can continue to work on that left-handed shot.

Tara is still feeling the effects from her surgery yesterday but continues to improve each day. You have no idea how much your messages, comments, emails, thoughts, etc. help and keep her motivated. Please keep them coming.

To support Tara through donations of any type, visit the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery website. To get updates on her condition, check out our update page as well as Tara's MySpace page.

A recent photo of Tara showing her strong spirit is below. More can be seen on her MySpace page.

September 8, 2007

X Games Kicks Off in Mexico
Published: 4:26 p.m. PT by Greg

In case you missed it, the first ever Mexico X Games is going on right now in Mexico City. It's not as crazy in terms of schedule as the regular X Games with BMX and Skate Vert and Street, along with Moto Best Trick and Step Up.

There's actually a simulcast of the action going on over at EXPN.com but the times are a little funky and the sound doesn't seem to work for me, which is just as well since I think it's in Spanish right now. Visually, it looks like they are holding it in a dark warehouse, with the ramp well lit and nothing else really visible.

I just sat through about an hour of this silent simulcast and apparently was watching a reply of yesterday's BMX Vert elimination round, despite the website saying new action was supposed to be underway.   I found this out after noticing that Simon Tabron led with exactly the same score, followed by everyone else showing up with the same score, including eliminated riders.  Ah.

The eliminations for BMX Vert and Skate Street happened yesterday and while they don't really matter in the long run (especially since as far as I can tell there were no real upsets), you can read what went down here.

Looks like the simulcast is back on to the Skate Street eliminations. I wish I had someone to bet $20 that Greg Lutzka will finish second...

I'll write more once I understand what's going on...

What's Going Down at ASR So Far?
Published: 2:21 a.m. PT by Greg

Friday was the kickoff of the September edition of the ASR tradeshow -- the biggest event in the industry when THOUSANDS of people and hundreds of companies descend on San Diego to plan what you will be buying for the next 6-12 months.

We'll have a little more detail about some of the stuff going down at ASR later, but we have a photo gallery from the floor that shows you what you're missing if you're on the outside looking in. We catch a few of the stars who were there Friday, as well as some of those within the industry itself. Throw in some cool booths -- well, you should just see it for yourself.

And just to whet your appetite, here are a few of the photos...


Quiksilver Makes It That Much Easier For Stalkers
Published: 1:33 a.m. PT by Cary

If you were ever really interested in smelling the aroma of Kelly Slater directly from Kelly Slater, Quiksilver is gonna make your day tomorrow (well if you live in Southern California that is). That's because Kelly Slater and fellow Quiksilver pros like Dane Reynolds, Jeremy Flores, Freddy Patacchia, and others will be stopping by Laguna Beach, California (the OC) to do their part in meeting and greeting, signing and "Hi"ing the locals. The pros are in town for the Boost Mobile Pro so Quiksilver figured it would be a good idea for the shindig to happen. Who knows what the pros really think.

The event starts at 6:00 pm at the Quiksilver Boardrider's Club. For more details check here.

Chocolate/Girl Releases European Tour Video
Published: 12:43 a.m. PT by Me

Do yourself a favor and head over to Crailtap.com to catch the 'We're Ok Eurok Tour' video the Girl/Chocolate team has put out. If you've seen any of the previous videos/films released by the Girl family of companies you know that they usually put out real top-notch stuff, from the skaters to the cinematography to the music (does Spike Jonze ring a bell?). Well this one's no different. With skaters like Jeron Wilson, Brian Anderson, Devine Calloway, and Sean Malto doing unbelievably clean runs you know you can't go wrong, plus it's shot beautifully...seriously when they talk about skate films they're talking about these guys.

To see the clip (it's a pretty large quicktime file though) head over here. Watch it twice like me if you have to. It's that dope.

USA Today's Travel Section Tackles Surf Spots In Hawaii
Published: 12:03 a.m. PT by Me

What started out as a good idea for an article might end up really pissing off local surfers, because USA Today (one of the most widely distributed newspapers in America,,,if you didn't know) has decided to cover some Hawaiin surf spots based on recommendations from local surfshop owners. Given that many locals don't really wanna see tourists from the Midwest stopping by to gawk at their hidden gem, we got the feeling that this article might not go over to well with certain locals.

Covered in the article are famous spots like the Banzai Pipeline and Castles in Waikiki, as well as places like Waipio Beach, Pohoiki Beach, and Launiupoko. Though these places are probably well known to Hawaiin locals they're probably still undiscovered fantasy lands for those who read USA Today like me. So if you are like me and need to learn where to get stared at awkwardly while in Hawaii study this article and the accompanying photo gallery/slide show.

September 7, 2007

Sofia Mulanovich: Rip Curl Pro Girls Festival Champ
Published: 12:21 p.m. PT by Me

After a couple of slow days at the start, the 2007 Rip Curl Pro Girls Festival roared into action with three days of back-to-back action culminating in Sofia Mulanovich's triumph at the finals. Mulanovich (who had previously won the whole WCT shebang in 2004) took out Silvana Lima in the finals after Lima took the initial lead.

With Stephanie Gilmore and Chelsea Hedges having been knocked out in earlier rounds, the overall finish at the Festival had big implications on the current ASP WCT rankings. With her win Mulanovich moved from No. 6 to No. 3, while Lima jumped up to take the No. 2 spot. The third place finisher at the Festival, Samantha Cornish, now stands atop the WCT rankings despite being defeated by Mulanovich in the semifinals but 3 more events still remain on the Tour leaving things still up in the air.

RIP CURL FINAL RESULT:

Heat: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) 15.55 def Silvana Lima (BRA)14.00

RIP CURL FESTIVAL SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Sofia Mulanvich (PER)16.25 def Samantha Cornish (AUS)11.75
Heat 2: Silvana Lima (BRA) 13.75 def Amee Donohoe (AUS)10.00

RIP CURL GIRLS FESTIVAL QUARTERFINAL RESULTS:
Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) 12.00 def Melanie Redman Carr (AUS)9.25
Heat 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER)14.00 def Alana Blanchard (HAW)5.50
Heat 3: Amee Donohoe (AUS) 12.25 def Layne Beachley (AUS)5.00
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA)11.10 def Roseanne Hodge (ZAF)9.25

To read more on the finals action head over to the recap here.

'EA Skate' + 'Proving Ground' + Your Mother's Money = Wild West Showdown
Published: 10:56 a.m. PT by Me

As the release dates for 'EA Skate' (September 12th) and 'Tony Hawk's Proving Ground' (October 9th) draws nearer it might be fun to have a dueling banjos type deal with the commercials for each game...so here we go.

As you can see EA went with a more humorous approach while Activision highlighted it's gameplay/storyline, I guess it's up to you to decide which one you favor as I'm still plain out of luck rockin a Sega Dreamcast.

eS Game Of Skate Contest Webcast
Published: 10:11 p.m. PT by Me

In case you aren't gonna be able to hit up San Diego for the ASR you still will have a shot to catch the eS Game Of Skate Contest that will be happening at the convention. This is big because if you've seen the pro invite list you'd know it was something you'd have to see what with invitees like Eric Koston, Jerry Hsu, Marc Johnson, Greg Lutzka, and Chris Haslam. The webcast will begin at 1pm tomorrow, on the over at Reel Comp.

Reef Takes Over The Hawaiian Pro
Published: 10:11 a.m. PT by Me

Surf brand Reef announced yesterday that it was becoming the main sponsor for the Hawaiian Pro, the first leg of the Vans Triple Crown of surfing. The event will be taking place November 12 - 24 on Oahu's North Shore (Haleiwa to be exact) and will be a 6 star WQS event, which means beyond the Triple Crown implications it will also be a contest with tons of implications for pros trying to make the WCT, especially since it'll be one of the last WQS events for the 2007 season. Oh yeah did we mention the $125,000 prize purse for the event? All the more reason a boatload of pros are gonna focus in on this event.

For more info on the event and Reef's sponsorship of it check out the official announcement here.

2007 Surfer Poll Video Awards Nominees Announced
Published: 9:52 a.m. PT by Me

Less than a week away (September 11th) and they're announcing nominees now? Kinda cutting it close aren't they. Apparently it doesn't matter as Surfer Magazine just released the nominees list for the Video portion of the Surfer Poll and Video Awards. Among the categories we've got "Worst Wipeout" (with Laurie Towner, Richie Vas, Andy Irons, Daniel Couto, and Jason Frederico nominated), "Most Radical Maneuver" (Jordy Smith, Clay Marzo, Julian Wilson, Eric Geiselman, and Dane Reynolds nominated), "Best Male Performer"...you know what why don't you check the nominee page so I dont have to type all this stuff out.

Oh yeah also of note: X Games 13 Death-Defier Jake Brown will be a special guest presenter. Man -- to think that fall might have been one of the best things that's happened to him in his career.

Things To See At The ASR
Published: 9:13 a.m. PT by Me

So the ASR Trade Show starts today and beyond the basic show/convention center crawl there are gonna be lots of other things you might wanna catch before your time is up or your thighs are burning. Think of this as like one of those itineraries your moms used to draw up prior to a family vacation, which your pops invariably scrapped for a better (in his mind) plan, which naturally went awry.

First up is the ASEC (Action Sports Environmental Coalition) 'Green Room' which is going to be an area set up to help educate/spread the word about environmentally friendly approaches to the action sports industry. Industry heavyweights like Hurley, Etnies, Quiksilver, Whole Foods Market, and others (not to mention lots of pros) will be on hand to take place in seminars, sessions, and even parties in the 'Green Room' (Room 6B of the Convention Area).

Another thing to keep an eye out for, though it will be offsite, is the premiere of Transworld's first ever surf film 'Tomorrow/Today'. The film will feature top pros like Dane Reynolds, Bobby Martinez, and others in a film, that according to Transworld, "Fuses animated dream sequences into reality, where the each surfer performs his repertoire of unbelievable tricks." The premiere, along with accompanying party/entertainment, will take place tonight at 8:00 at Hotel Solamar's JBar.

Also, something that we've already mentioned, Billabong will premiere it's highly anticipate 'Trilogy' at Copley Symphony Hall.

Lastly don't forget Juliette & The Licks performing live at ASR on Saturday afternoon.

Etnies Team Update
Published: 1:56 a.m. PT by Me

Etnies has put up a pretty comprehensive update on its BMX team including updates on Mike Escamilla ('Tonight Show' and 'LA Ink' appearances), Jamie Bestwick (at home resting after dominating the Dew Tour and X Games 13), Morgan Wade (likewise resting up for the Toyota Challenge), Taj Mihelich (hit up the Rebel Jam in Germany and a gay bar in Austin), among others. Go ahead and head over to the Etnies Blog to get actual details about the team, especially the Taj Mihelich/gay bar thing.

 

September 6, 2007

High Drama At Round 3 Of The Rip Curl Pro Girls Festival
Published: 1:23 p.m. PT by Me

After posting less than stellar early round scores Stephanie Gilmore, the ASP World No. 1, saw her time at the Rip Curl Pro Girls Festival in Spain come to a premature end as she was knocked out in Round 3 by WCT rookie Roseanne Hodge, who will move on to the Quarterfinals to face Silvana Lima. Similarly World No. 3, Chelsea Hedges, also saw an early exit in Round 3 at the hands (or the feet/board) of wildcard Alana Blanchard, who will continue on and face 2004 ASP Champ Sofia Mulanovich in the Quarterfinals. But the day wasn't all about upsets as both World No.2 Samantha Cornish and Layne Beachley came out unscathed from their Round 3 matchups and will head into the Quartefinals to meet Melanie Redman Carr and Amee Donohoe respectively.

QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:

Heat 1: Samantha Cornish (AUS) vs Melanie Redman Carr (AUS)
Heat 2: Sofia Mulanovich (PER) vs Alana Blanchard (HAW)
Heat 3: Layne Beachley (AUS) vs Amee Donohoe (AUS)
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA) vs Roseanne Hodge (ZAF)

For a full breakdown of the Round 3 action head over here.

An Update on Tara Llanes
Published: 3:22 a.m. PT by Greg

An update from Tara's friends and family is posted on her MySpace Page. A fund to help with her expenses is being set up but is not done as of yet. Here are some more details:

Tara's room is so full of gifts and flowers that there is barely enough room for the nurses and doctors. At this time, we ask you save your money for the "Road To Recovery Fund." We are currently setting up a website that will allow for you to send your contributions directly to Tara to cover all medical expenses. Although she is covered under insurance, there will be additional expenses. As mentioned previously, we are looking into the top rehab facilities to get Tara up and walking again. All donations will go directly toward her rehab such as personal care, various equipment, housing modifications, etc. We are told that our #1 choice of rehab facilities may run up to $2000+ per day.

For all you Southern CA friends, Missy will be organizing an event to raise funds that will cover non-medical expenses such as travel and day to day items for Team Llanes. There will also be opportunities to take photos and write messages to Tara that will be sent over all together. More details to come so stay posted!

And this update from Wednesday night:

It has been another long day, full of doctor visits and flower deliveries. Your support continues to bring a smile to Tara's face.

Sleeping has been tough because she is very uncomfortable but she was finally able to sleep for longer than an hour today. One of these days, she will hopefully sleep through the whole night.

We are still working on getting the "Road To Recovery Fund" website up and running. Continue to check back for the official announcement.

Also we've got an update on Tara's recovery process from her close friend and trainer/coach which you can read here .

 

We've set up a page where we will list all of the updates for Tara -- You can check it out.... We'll also post updates here, too...

Stephen Murray Update: Two Updates From Family
Published: 2:42 a.m. PT by Greg

There haven't been very many updates coming out about Stephen's recovery but brother Martin has posted an update written by Stephen's mother on BMXTalk.com:

It's been a while since we have done an update but there has been so much going on in the background.

Although we are in daily contact with Melissa regarding Stephen's condition, it's better to do an update when one of the family is visiting Stephen as all of Melissa's time is taken up with looking after Stephen's physical care and flying back and forth to California to see Mason and Seth. I have been busy with Stephen's benefit jam here in the UK and so this update is from our Mam, Cynthia.

Hi,

After being away from Stephen for 5 weeks, I had expectation of this visit being more relaxing than when I was here in Denver the last time. How wrong can you be! I arrived late on Friday evening and Stephen was in good spirits although he had just started having some issues with secretions from his lungs. By Saturday evening he was started on steroids and antibiotics as the the secretions from his lungs had become infeced and he was having difficulty with his breathing and there was concern that he may be at risk of pneumonia.

On Sunday morning the steroids had started doing thir job by loosening up the mucous in Stephen's lungs but the problem with this was that these secretions were so thick that it was difficult to suction them oot of his trach. As the day progressed Stephen had a choking fit which was horrendous and which left him totally exhausted. The good news was that he didn't have a pneumonia but has been diagnosed with Asthma and it was this which was causing his breating difficulties. Monday saw a more settled day but he still was having trouble with tightness in his chest.

To add insult to injury Stephen has had to have 2 wisdom teeth and 3 molars extracted today! All these teeth had vertical fractures which were caused by the impact of his head when he crashed in Baltimore. Today he is allowed no visitors and will remain heavily sedated. Of course this is a temporary setback but it halts his progress for all the other therapies such as physio, occupational health etc. It looks like he may have to remain in rehab longer than expected. This is so frustrating both for him and the family as we all want him home as soon as we can.

Stephen's mind is so strong. He is becoming so more aware of what his body needs and what he needs to do to continue weaning from the ventilator and how to control his nerve pain. He is on so much medication I am surprised he has an appetite but he still manages to eat Cadbury's Chocolate Digestive biscuits!

A couple of other sad events have happened in the short time I have been here. One of Stephen's respiratory nurses also works at the children's hospital here in Denver. Whilst she was ther last week she went into a room of an 11yr old boy who had a huge poster of Stephen on his wall. She told him that she was 'working' with Stephen (as he didn't know Stephen was injured) and this boy told her how much he loved Stephen and followed him. He asked her to give Stephen a sticker which he had out of a magazine.

The nurse came back, told Stephen the story and Stephen was starting to put together some souvenirs for her to take back to him. The next day Stephen's nurse came in and told Stephen that this poor little boy had passed away. It's so sad. However, Stephen has decided that he wants to become involved with the children's hospital in Denver and I am going to speak to them on his behalf and to get together some BMX mags, stickers, souvenirs etc and send them over.

The other sad event is Tara Llanas, the mountain biker. As you are probably aware she crashed at the weekend and is paraylsed from the waist down. Tara's mum, friend and trainer came to Craig Hospital yesterday where I met them. It looks as if Tara will do her rehab here, when there is a bed available, so Stephen and her will be able to spend some time together. I am sure that this will be motivational and positive for both of them.

Hopefully the next few days will be calmer but who knows. Your perception of rehab is just physio and general therapy but there are still so many other clinical issues that need to be taken care of. Once Stephen has recoveered from his oral surgery I really hope he will be physically strong enough to continue weaning off the ventilaor which will give him such a better quality of life and then perhap his body will have the strength to start and respond again.

Thank you all once again for your good wishes and support, it means so much.

Cynthia

We also received an update from Melissa's mother, Monika Giles-Freking.

Stephen's spirits are as good as can be expected. His doctors tried to wien him off of the ventilator too quickly and with his zest for doing whatever it takes to get better, it did more harm than good I am afraid. As of this writing, he is able to breath on his own for about 8 hours a day. Until he is completely off, his rehab is taking longer than expected.

Melissa is at his side, as well as Paul. Martin and his dad visited in August and his mom Cynthia is expected to come back to Denver in the near future. Melissa has brought his son Mason to visit which brings Stephen much joy. Stephen’s other son Seth remains at the babysitter's since school has started and he has begun Kindergarten.

Stephen enjoys the visits from friends and loves to hear from all of his friends and fans via the Internet. Please, please continue to send him best wishes. As you can imagine, Melissa has not been able to work since the accident. I cannot emphasize how important it is to keep the Stephen Murray Foundation up and running. Whatever anyone can contribute would be greatly appreciated.

On a more personal note....Stephen's accident has changed our lives forever. Never think it can't happen to you. Take each day like a gift (that is why they call it "the present"). Be grateful for what you have. It can be taken from you in a split second.

Thank you for your prayers.

Monika Giles-Freking

Given the news about Tara, she couldn't more right.

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.

Shaun White's Birthday: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Published: 1:56 p.m. PT by Me

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know this is the third story we've done about the red-haired one's magical growth into a man by reaching 21 years of age. But when details and photos keep coming out, what are we supposed to do, ignore it?

Now it looks like we don't have to depend on any slezy gossip sites to take us inside. Turns out one of the Tomato's big sponsors, Volcom, takes you inside of the big dinner and party. What was on the menu, you ask? Well, check out the photo below. I'll take the Rib Eye, thank you very much.

Anyway, I'm not going to go into a ton of detail except to say that this has the most photos and the most info about what went down. Yes, all of the naughty bits have been overlooked (one assumes), but that is to be expected.

Okay, enough about that. See some of the photos below and then check it out.

X-Games Bandit Follows In Shaun White's Footsteps, Repeats In Freestyle Robbery
Published: 2:02 a.m. PT by Me

The nerve of this guy: apparently the "X-Games Bandit" (who we talked about here) has hit his fourth bank in a month in Central California. Though successful in robbing banks the "Bandit" might not be as successful in conspicuous consumption because despite having already robbed 3 banks prior, the "Bandit" was still riding a skateboard the 4th time around. At this point shouldn't he have already upgraded vehicles? And how is it that security/police/authorities are letting him get away at no more than 20 mph? Are these robberies happening in a town of human-sloth hybrid species? Or is the police force being led by the 96 year old Matlock? This story is just full of questions and question marks. See if you can help me solve the riddle of the "X-Games Bandit", clues hidden here.

Example #595010 Of Celebrity Looking Awkward
Published: 1:33 a.m. PT by Me

Last time around we had Courtney Cox looking awfully gawky on a surfboard (remember Jennifer Aniston's bikin? That was for the boys). This time around we have Hollywood superstar (I almost wrote douchebag) Ashton Kutcher looking roughly the same on skateboard. Luckily it's not a longboard yet something must be said about the fact that it looks like he used that skateboard to roll out of the J. Crew catalog he was stuck in. I mean look at the shoes, and his sleeves are rolled up like he's gonna handle some business. My guess is that business will involve mediocre romantic comedies with formulaic story arcs. Hey that's just my guess but it happens to be edu-ca-ted. Oh yeah it looks like Cameron Diaz is throwing some oranges at him, probably in some "quirky" plotline explained here.

Seattle Weekly Covers The Growing Christian Skate Movement
Published: 1:09 a.m. PT by Me

As skateboarding has grown in the past decade to the level it's at now (check the new 'EA Skate' commercials, or 'Life Of Ryan') there has been an increasing drive to mix the activity of skateboarding with religious evangelism. Just as with music we have seen evangelicals start branding a whole new "genre" of skaters with their Christian beliefs. Seattle Weekly has thus gone out to cover this growing phenomenon and the teens that are involved in the movement, focusing on the 'Skate Church' of West Seattle.

Regardless of your opinion on the matter the article is an excellent read to get an idea of what's happening out there in terms of the mash-up of skating and religion. For the full (quite long) Seattle Weekly article head over here.

The Never Ending Search For The Cool Alert: Ready Amongst Willing
Published: 12:57 a.m. PT by Me

Check out Ready Amongst Willing, the new clothing/skate brand that's offering shirts like the one you see below. They're a brand that intends to represent skateboarding as something other than just an activity. In their words, they "exist as a brand to tell the story of our lives as skateboarders." Sounds pretty amibitious right? Check out their website to see if they follow through on their promise.

New Charges Brought In Emery Kauanui Jr.'s Murder
Published: 12:44 a.m. PT by Me

San Diego prosecutors have added charges to the 4 men accused of beating professional surfer Emery Kauanui Jr. to death on the night of May 24th. The new charges stem from previous alleged assaults perpetrated by the 4 men, in addition to charges brought against a 5th man who was involved in Kauanui Jr.'s death but not originally charged. The men are said to have been apart of a small local gang, "The Bird Rock Bandits".

Kauanui Jr.'s death occurred as a result of a spilled drink that escalated into a bar fight between Kauanui and the accused. Eventually the fight continued at Kauanui's home where the accused had followed Kauanui which led to Kauanui's death.

Emery Kauanui Jr., who was 24 at the time of his death, was a local surfer who was sponsored by San Diego's Liquid Foundation Surf Shop and took part in multiple local contests as well as some in Hawaii.

For more on the charges brought check this link, for more information on the original incident go here, and to learn more about Emery Kauanui Jr. click here.

Headzone. Apply Directly To The Forehead. Directly To The Forehead? Directly To The Forehead
Published: 12:19 a.m. PT by Me

You know about Bob Knight? He's that insane college basketball coach (famously/formerly of the University of Indiana Hoosiers, now of Texas Tech Red Raiders) that just looks like he's an assault waiting to happen. Yeah you know him. Remember how he used to yell at his players like some rabid half-man-half-beast-100%-ass? He even got busted for choking one of his players.

Well now surfing coaches are gonna have the ability to channel Bob Knight themselves thanks to Mark Ellis, the creator of Headzone. Headzone is a waterproof helmet that has a built in radio receiver and headphones that will allow surfing coaches to broadcast their "suggestions" and "techniques" to their surfers out in the water. Usually surf coaches had relied upon hand signals and such, where the sheer assholery of any asshole messages would have been lost in the translation. Well not anymore.

To read up on this fascinating technology check this link. I wonder if the helmets will allow novice surfing kids to hear the tearing up of their child like enthusiasm for the sport? I just wonder.

Older Archive: August 30th - September 5, 2007