Latest Update: July 31, 2001

Costco's Brand of Aloha
Those price slashers at Costco recently stumbled on some great surfboards from Aloha. They're selling them for $199. Get them while they're hot. Of course, HIC, Sims, Morrow, and Rusty have all been there before.

A Mild Contusion
Looking for a laugh-a-day habit? Check out the latest frame Contusion, a one-panel cartoon ala Redmeat meats The Quigmans from the minds of Jaimie Muehlhausen and Roger Scarbossa (you know them from Swell and Swag). It will get under your skin.

Ben Gets His Tongue Clipped
After weeks of spilling every last detail of his life on the road, Ben Marcus (the World's Greatest Surf Writer) has been forced to curb his appetite for destruction. Apparently, his discussions of a trip to surf a far away place were getting in the way of his ability to write the story for the Primedia Action Sports Cartel. Funny that a big magazine photo editor would be worried about a little site like this.
-Click here for the latest update. Ben has now left Whistler, BC on Sunday and is headed north with no money and a dead battery.

Duke's Last Board Hits The Water
When a surfboard owned by The Duke went up for auction a week ago in Hawaii, we wondered who would buy it. Swell.com found out. It was Haleiwa Surf n' Sea surf shop owner Joe Green who paid $15,000 for the board and then took it out the next morning for a surf at Waikiki.

El Segundo Names Park After Boy
El Segundo council votes to name skate park after Joshua Gardner, 11, who was killed in a skateboarding accident in June. City hopes to raise awareness about safety and responsibility.

Holly Beck Goes Pro
She's the nation's top am, but at next week's US Open of Surfing Holly Beck will be competing as a pro for the first time. Holly even gets called "Anna Kournikova with a surfboard" by LA Times writer Mike Bresnahan.

David Nuuhiwa Turns 53
The "king of the noseriders" has a birthday and Rockin' Fig is there to get all the details in his weekly surf column from the LA Times.

Room For Older Pro Surfers?
XXL winner Mike Parsons says there's room in pro surfing for guys with more experience. At least that's what he said on TransWorldsurf.com.

Simmons Hoping for World Tour Spot
Ryan Simmons is currently in the number one spot on the PSTA tour, however, he dreams of making the big show. The US Open of Surfing this weekend, may give him a chance.

The Bicycle is Dead
Huffy's recent bid to takeover Schwinn drills this point home even harder: kids just aren't riding bikes anymore. Most have traded them in for skateboards, scooters, and Sony Playstations.

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2x
Activision has ported THPS 2 for Microsoft's new Xbox platform and so far everyone is stoked. Of course, we're all waiting for THPS 3 which should be out later this year.

Calgary Skatepark
It seems logical, but when city officials in Calgary, Alberta looked at the numbers they found that while only 7,000 kids played hockey more than 17,000 skateboarded. So, they did the smart thing and built the world's largest skatepark in Centenial park. Now people are traveling from all over just to ride the place.

Paterson Takes Billabong Pro
Jake Paterson became the first surfer to win back-to-back WCT surfing tournaments today when he defeated Taylor Knox in the Billabong Pro.

Microsoft Sponsors Vans Triple Crown
Microsoft has announced that it has signed on as a sponsor for the Vans Triple Crown Series. As part of the three-year partnership, Microsoft has secured the rights for the Xbox Pro of Freestyle Motocross, the Xbox World Championships of Skateboarding, and the Xbox Pipeline Masters of Surfing. Hello, Satan.

Skatelab World's Finest Skate Museum
Todd Huber gave up cigarettes in 1989 and says he needed a hobby. That hobby was collecting one of the largest groupings of classic skateboards in the world. Currently he has more than 2000 decks.

Damien Hobgood Advances at Billabong
There's nothing like hometowm coverage of far away events. Florida Today is keeping track of local heros, the brothers Hobgood and their progress at Jeffreys Bay.
-Local coverage of Jake Patterson
-Occy eliminated

Red Tide Roundup
We've been surfing in a rusty tub for what seems like weeks, and Swell's Marcus Sanders finally kicks down all the knowledge on exactly what we've been packing our nasal passages with the past few days.

Travels With Ike Update
The most recent Ben Marcus updates features stories of wild barefooters, BC Canada, rantings about Frank, and some excruciatingly detailed plans for the Russia trip. If you haven't been following along you also need to check out the July 16 update. It was written entirely by Ike the Cat and is gut-busting comedy.

Florida Getting Bad Rap
After the alligator attacks and a slew of shark problems Florida is worried that all this media coverage is going to hurt tourism. Kind of reminds me a little of that movie about the huge shark.

Surfer Challenges Gas Pipeline
Whiteplains, NY resident Ross M. Weale always dreamed of living near Pipeline, he just didn't know it would be Columbia (S.C.) Gas Transmission Corp.'s $700 million underground natural gas Millennium Pipeline. Now he's bummed.

K2 Ships More Jobs To China
Looks like K2 will eventually fire just about everyone from their Vashon Island, Washington headquarters. They plan to lay off another 190 workers in the move to get their boards made even cheaper. Of course, this will probably be reported as another "restructuring."

K2 Names Idiot to Board of Directors
The only thing better than shipping all your production to China is putting a Class-A idiot on your board of directors. Maybe K2 management put former Vice President Dan Quayle on the BOD so they'd have someone to blame. It worked well for Daddy George. "We chose Dan Quayle for his China connections, his knowledge of the Asian landscape and his political savvy," said senior vice president for finance John J. Rangel proving he has no concept of the term "political savvy."

Bill Sharp Milks the Big Wave Lotto
In a run to knock Corky Carroll out of his position as the surfer who's made the most out of nothing, Bill Sharp has suckered yet another company (this time Billabong) into financing the third incarnation of his "big waves for money" ponzi scheme. Fortunately, the big media world just can't get enough of this stuff.
-As it appeared in TransWorld Surf
-The UK Sunday Times Coverage
-Japan Today coverage

Snowboarder Found Two Years Too Late
Park rangers searching for two missing climbers on Mount Rainier discovered the body of a snowboarder missing for over two years. Dr. William Tres Tietjen's body was found at 5,800 feet beneath a waterfall at the edge of the Nisqually Glacier. Click the link to learn exactly what not to do when snowboard mountaineering.

The Master of Disaster
Duane Peters named by Heckler Magazine editors as "the reason people hate skateboarders" is profiled in the OC Weekly. Read it and recognize.

Ha ha ha ha haaaaaa Wipeout
When he joined The Surfaris, Jim Pash didn't know what an impact the group's signature recording "Wipe Out" would have on generations to come. Nor did he know that it would someday become second only to Stairway to Heaven in driving music store employees out of their fricking gourds.

Swell Wins A Webby
It was a night of geeks and freaks in San Francisco at the Annual Webby Awards and guess who was there to claim the prize for best sports site? Yep, the Swell.com guys. Well at least Swell investors got something for their $20 million.

Teens Open Skate Shop
Matt Sexton and Adam Cowell, both 19, opened Hooligan's at 2101 Central Ave. in Ceres, CA and are catering exclusively to skaters, Hooligan's carries boards, wheels, posters, clothing and more.

Skateboarding Still Legal In Chino
Skateboarders will continue to rule the streets of the city at least until September, thanks to the City Council's decision. The council lead by the coolest major in the United States Earl Elrod, decided that the proposed ordinance was too strict. "I don't want to put an ordinance into effect that basically eliminates the fun that they're having in town," Elrod said. Why can't we all have a mayor like that?

The Pipeline Returns to Upland
Upland, California's proposed skateboard park will pay homage to its skating past with a full pipe. The park's plans call for a 24-feet in diameter, 24-foot-long aqueduct-style pipe that was featured in the Upland Pipeline.

Benicia Skateboarding Has A Friend
The Benicia skatepark was one of the first concrete parks to spring up in the post park era and after 14 year, the thing has seen better days. That's why Mike McDaniel of Verb DNA has spearheaded an effort to build a new skatepark in Benicia. If you would like to donate money or product to the mission you can send Mike e-mail at mike@verbdna.com or call him at (707) 746-0444 ext. 23

SF Gets Skatepark on the Pier
Pier 24, a little-used storage shed near the foot of the Bay Bridge, is set to be transformed into an indoor skateboard park -- providing one of the few hassle-free venues in San Francisco. The ramps are leftovers from the X Games which has packed up and moved on to Philly this year. One mans trash. . .

Soccer Mom Becomes Skate Mom
Mother Anna Gordon has traded in her soccar mom duties and become a skateboard mom. Now she's telling other moms what they can expect now that their kids are leaving the balls behind and picking up skateboards.

Woodward and Wall Street
Camp Woodward makes the Wall Street Journal. Yes, son, there is big money in "extreme sports" camps. And guess who is cashing in?

Surfrider Looks For Clean Waves
Jeff Duclos, co-chair of the Surfrider Foundation's Malibu chapter, would tell you, "the definition of 'clean' has totally changed." As the water quality in the Malibu Creek and lagoon has gradually gotten worse over the past 20 years, surfers faithful to the Malibu waters may have suffered the most."

Aspen Readies for X Games
"Being welcomed in Aspen is the surest sign of your eminent demise." Hunter S. Thompson didn't say it, but he should have. Less that a year after opening the slopes of Ajax to snowboarding, Aspen Ski Corp. is playing host to the 2002 X Games and going almost head to head with the Olympics. Will anyone care? Well, Aspen sure is excited.

If you've heard anything interesting lately send some e-mail

Previous Bags o' Crapola:
-July 5, 2001
-June 19, 2001
-May 9, 2001
-April 27, 2001

Special thanks: to Jim Romenesko's MediaGossip.com