Latest Update: April 27, 2001

Emap Takes Bids On US Pubs
Emap, which is seeking more than $720 million for the business, may receive bids offering only about $460 million. Guess who is in the lead? Yep, Primedia Inc., which is bidding with buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. The Ing and Er could be together at last.

Snowboarder Mag Cuts Online Staff
The word from San Clemente, CA is that Snowboarder Magazine's web editor was canned April 26, 2001 along with several other workers as "Emap trims the fat" and gets ready to dump Peterson Publications on someone (probably American Media). More as this develops.

Next Generation Wave Pool
Former Snowboarding Magazine editor Jamie Meiselman has been flying under the radar lately. Now, thanks to a story on Swell.com we all know the truth: he's been developing a wave pool that could bring surfing to the Heartland. Check out this story by Marcus Sanders.

Quokka Dead Soon
From all inside sources the word is that the "award winning" sport site Quokka.com will hit the skids later this week or early next. You know, it's really sad to see another useless, over-produced, VC funded, over-hyped, sport site bite the dust.

Shaun White in SI's Adventure Magazine
Sports Illustrated launched a new title this week called SI Adventure that hopes to capitalize on the whole outdoor thing (will yuppies still have enough money to travel after all the dot.carnage?) and Shaun White gets a short profile.

RIP Joey
No one has had a bigger effect on the music we all listen to today than The Ramones. They had a way of creating unbelievably catchy punk rock that changed the face of pop music. Now all that is over as Joey Ramone succumbed to cancer on Easter Sunday April 15. He will be missed.

Skateboard Mama Rides the Wind
In Santa Monica it's not strange to see a 77-year-old woman skating along with a sail. It's Liz Bevington and she never has to push because she's three sheets.

Hamilton is So "Extreme"
The LA Times gushes over recent ESPN Action Sports and Music Athlete of The Year Laird Hamilton's work at Teahupoo. It's a story we've all heard a hundred times, but it's cool to see a full profile in The Times.

Swart Gets Nailed in Hit and Run
Clive's Tim Swart decided to catch another powder day at LA's Mt. Baldy on Sunday April 8. "I was riding the trees all day and rode out of the trees onto the run and got hit," he said. Apparently two guys were racing. Neither stopped. The accident, which could have killed, Swart left him with a double compound fracture on his arm. An ambulance ride and surgery later he's got two plates and 16 screws holding his arm together. "Luckily I hurt something that can heal," he says. "It could have been so much worse."

Anna K. In the Sun
Okay, we don't usually post forwarded junk mail, but this time we just had to do it. Please forgive us for linking to these photos of Anna Kournikova. But we had too do it.

Late Snow Stokes Snowboarders
Two feet of snow in April? Yep, that's what resorts got a week and a half ago. (This isn't news as much as an archive of the event.)

Heckler Magazine Sold
(Full story now linked.) According to a story in the April 13, 2001 issue of the Sacamento Business Journal John Baccigaluppi and Sonny Mayugba have sold a majority interest in Heckler magazine (Nor Cal's core snow/skate magazine) to Sam Toll, a 38 yr. old entrepreneur who already owns three publishing-related businesses.Hey, maybe the second time is a charm.

Burton Files Suit Against Vans
In a painfully whiny press release (that appears to be written for third graders) Burton announced that they have filed suit against Vans/Switch for the company's unwillingness to pay the 3D disk licensing fee. "It sucks when you spend a lot of resources developing a technology, only to have someone come along and rip off your idea." Yeah, doesn't that just suck when someone like copies your algebra homework?

A Sack of Letters
We've now added a letters section to the Sack. If you have something to kick down, e-mail it in and it will be added to the small, yet strong, list of e-mail. We'll even link the hate mail.

ESPN Action Sports Awards
Swell's Evan Slater covered ESPN's celebrity back slapping event Saturday night at the Universal Amphetheater. Aside from calling it "a full house" (the place was a little over half full) and misquoting Metallica's Lars Ulrich (It was Absolut not Smirnoff), Slater turned in a great overview of the night's festivities, albeit one without the details of a certain traveling surf journalist's beer spilling encounter with Surf News editor Bill Sharp.
-Transworld Surf's story
-Wig Magazine Coverage
-Wig Photo Gallery

Who Gets Credit for The Photo?
The action sports photo community is in a bit of a "discussion" over Aaron Chang's XXL Big Wave photo win. Should Mr. Chang win the award for a photo that he did not frame, meter, or shoot? Shouldn't the person who shot the photos get the credit? What do you think? Click here to e-mail your thoughts and join the discussion.

How Do You Like China Now?
The Chinese have our "spies" and they're not too interested in letting them go. What does that mean for an industry that relies on cheap China labor for its profits? We don't know, we're just asking.

Sims Owner Builds 3-D Site for Pearl Harbor
Sims Snowboard financier, and former pro skateboarder John Textor of JesterDigital continues to take 3-D to the web when he launches a website for college roommate Michael Bay's new film Pearl Harbor. Cool, huh? Not if you're on a Mac.

Swell Planned It All Along
Swell.com cuts 20 more jobs including all of the Crossrocket staff and all but one of the Monsterskate staff while trying to swing a chain of retail stores. Through it all CEO Jeff Berg has played it off as part of a master plan. Unfortunately, Mr. Berg sounds a little too much like a kid who, after falling flat on his face, jumps up and says, "I meant to do that."

California's Last New Resort
About the only people who have ever heard of Westwood, California are crystal meth heads and loggers. That could all change as plans for Dyer Mountain Resort move forward. When completed the resort will feature a base village with a hotel and condominiums, single-family homes, three 18-hole golf courses, hiking and riding trails, water recreation on Walker Lake and a fly-fishing stream, as well as 600 acres of ski runs that will rotate around Dyer Mountain.

MTV Sued for Spraying Crap
Two 14-year-old girls have sued MTV after being showered in a spray of excrement during an event at Big Bear, CA.

Aspen Plane Crash Kills 18
It was a sad day in Aspen. The mountain had been preparing for it's spring celebration and a Gulfstream jet full of friends was on their way to a great weekend in Aspen. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the families and friends of those on the flight.

Hey, Look, More Sewage in OC
Seems like Orange County just can't get enough crap in their water. Sewage spills last Sunday and Monday caused the closure of about 1 1/4 miles of Orange County beach, including a stretch just north of Dana Point's luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Skateparks Just a Plot
The Seattle PI's Greg Johnson has it right: "Everyone knows skate parks are a corporate/civic plot to contain growing numbers of rolling rebels on boards with wheels." He goes on to pen a great overview of Washington State's public skateparks.

Skateboard Used in Attacks
Jerell Thomas of Skyway, Washington has been charged with second-degree murder for the beating death of Kristopher Kime during Seattle's violent Mardi Gras celebration. He was also charged with two counts of third-degree assault for using a skateboard to attack other people.
-Thomas pleads not guilty

Aspen loses last Shred of Dignity
Aspen Skiing Company finally pulls it's head out of it's ass long enough to open Ajax to snowboarding and by the amount of media coverage they got you'd think the Berlin Wall had come down again.
-CNN Coverage
-Aspen learns to play nice.

Woman Wins Snowboard at Dunkin Donuts
When 85-year-old Anna Fietel heard she won an enter-to-win DunkinÍ Donuts contest she was thrilled. And when she received new snowboard she really thought she was ready to head to the slopes.

Teen Killer Buys Snowboard for Trip
A week before Tim Courts and Robert Tulloch allegedly stabbed Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop to death Jan. 27 the former purchased an expensive snowboard he planned to use in Colorado.

Surfer Survives Shark Attack
Surf shop owner Richard Ellis, 40, was attacked while surfing off Nambucca Heads in an area known as the "V Wall". He underwent surgery to severe lacerations in his right calf yesterday afternoon, and is recovering in Coffs Harbour Base Hospital.

Parsons Wins XXL Big Wave Award
Mike Parsons' Cortez Bank wave landed him in the history books as the rider of the biggest wave of the 2001 winter season. For his work he took home $60,000 from the struggling retailer Swell.com.
-Big Wave Contest starts message board war

Census Shows that Hawaii Is Racially Diverse
Lifeguard Dave Yester has known if for years, but the Census department has finally figure it out: Hawaii is the most ethnically and racially mixed state in the United States and becoming more so. "Visitors become friends, friends become lovers and everybody becomes Hawaiian," said Yester, overlooking a diverse group of sun worshipers on this famed surfing beach on Oahu's North Shore. "It's the Hawaiian way."

Music World Honors Brian Wilson
Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Elton John, Ricky Martin and David Crosby and a host of other turned out at Radio City Music Hall to honor the founding member of The Beach Boys. Too bad heÍs out of his head crazy or he may have enjoyed the evening.

A Work of Staggering Luck?
Writer Dave Eggers, founder of Might Magazine, discusses the odd it is that his first novel/memoir was such a success. But does he snowboard or skateboard? Chances are no. He has, however, sold 300,000 copies to date.

Crossrocket Dead?
Alison Berkley Rests Her Case
Modart/BBC Breast Mold SF Opening
Caught In A Kenny Rogers Crossfire

Previous Bags o' Crapola:-
-March 30, 2001
-February 23, 2001
-February 6, 2001
-January 31, 2001

Special thanks: to Jim Romenesko's MediaGossip.com