X GAMES WRAP-UP: FOR FANS, X HITS THE SPOT RECORD CROWDS AT X GAMES COULD BRING EVENT BACK NEXT YEAR.Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer You probably can start referring to the X Games X Games Sports medicine The official Olympics of 'extreme sports' sponsored by ESPN, held annually during the summer. See Extreme sports. as the M Games. As in mainstream, marketing and multitudes. No, they are no longer the X Games, as in extreme. The X Games this week in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, proved that. In four days of competition, it featured sold-out crowds for skateboarding, bicycling, in-line skating and motocross motocross Form of motorcycle racing in which cyclists compete on a closed course marked out over natural or simulated rough terrain. Courses vary widely but must be 1.5–5 km (1–3 mi) in length, with steep inclines, hairpin turns, and mud. stunts and races. Attendance records were set, sponsors are lining up to be a part of the action and cities are making pitches to hold future events. ``It was fantastic,'' executive director Jack Weinart said. ``Everything that happened was pretty positive.'' For the first time, events were on live television. The X Games made a splash with Matt Buyten continuing competition despite an obvious shoulder injury, Chuck Carothers' body varial A Body Varial is a freestyle skateboarding trick done on a skateboard where the skateboarder jumps up and rotates 180 degrees and lands on the skateboard riding in the opposite stance i.e. changing the front foot from left to right foot or vice versa. - which was the topic on MSNBC MSNBC Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company and ABC's Good Morning America Good Morning America is a weekday morning news show that is broadcast on the ABC television network. The show was adapted from The Morning Exchange, a morning show created by and airing on the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, and was launched nationally as - and Travis Pastrana's travails on a motorcycle. Scalpers even lined the streets surrounding Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box Center for Sunday's freestyle motocross and supermoto events, seeking $45 for $15 tickets. ``The goal next time is nobody will have to buy scalped tickets,'' Weinart said. Skateboarders glide around a tire in one television commercial, the games attracted entertainers as diverse as recording artists Lenny Kravitz and Tommy Lee and Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice. Companies such as Mountain Dew, T-Mobile, Taco Bell and Adidas eagerly paid to have their banners in opportunistic spots. Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Bucky Lasek, Bob Burnquist and Pastrana are becoming household names. Mainstream? Bicycle motocross, or BMX BMX abbr. bicycle motocross BMX Noun 1. bicycle motocross: stunt riding over an obstacle course on a bicycle 2. , is scheduled to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in China. Skateboarding also is angling to get included in the Games. ``To me, these are not traditional sports,'' said Weinart, who grew up following baseball, basketball and football. ``Traditional sports have rules that you must execute. In action sports, change is always evolving.'' At the X Games, skateboarder Sandro Dias completed a 900 spin for only the sixth time in history. BMX rider Mirra became the game's leading medal winner. He was the only two-time gold medalist, taking his medal count to 18. Ben Bostrom made a last-lap, road-racing pass to win the game's first Supermoto event. A Southern California crowd of 79,380 ventured to Staples Center, Home Depot Center, Long Beach Marina and Huntington Beach Pier The Huntington Beach Pier is a publicly owned pier located in Huntington Beach, California. At 1,853 feet in length, it is one of the longest public piers on the West Coast. (The longest is Oceanside Pier at 1942 feet). on Saturday, a single-day event record. The daily average was 42,618, up by an average of more than 3,000 than last year's games. On Monday, X Games officials said they did not have television ratings yet. There were glitches. Many people were shut out from watching the skateboard street and BMX stunt park competitions. Police kept viewers from getting into the area beside Staples Center for the street competition. There were seats for 2,880 people at the bike park. Thousands had limited views from the side. Hundreds were still lined up for a bleacher bleach·er n. 1. One that bleaches or is used in bleaching. 2. An often unroofed outdoor grandstand for seating spectators. Often used in the plural. seat when the medals were being handed out. No decision has been made for next year's X Games, but L.A. is again the leading candidate, which would break a tradition of changing sites every two years. ``I definitely want to see the X Games come back to L.A. next year,'' bike stunt dirt bronze medalist T.J. Lavin said. ``Los Angeles fans appreciate what we do and they kind of get it. They are more hip to sports like BMX.'' Weinart said Boston, Miami, Houston, San Diego, Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United States Rhode Island, island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. and San Francisco have made inquiries. Rhode Island, San Diego and San Francisco have been previous host cities. L.A. beat out Miami two years ago. Keith Lair, (626) 962-8811 keith.lair(at)sgvn.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Events such as Skateboard Vert Best Trick, with Danny Mayer shown at Staples Center, are moving into the mainstream. John Lazar/Staff Photographer |
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