Latest Update: August 24, 2003

(Editor's Note: If a story requires a login/password just enter: sacklunch into both fields.)

From The Sacklunch Boards
It's hard to believe that a silly question about which way to wear a hat has evolved into a discussion of Purina properly positioning a cat on a skateboard. Stranger still is that this is the most compelling thread we've had so far. Read and you will understand.

Sack The Vote
This week's poll: Burton is selling online. What do you think that means? Click here to cast your vote.

Great White Cruising San Onofre
Surfer Dave Schulte shot video of a great white cruising off shore at Trail One at San O over the weekend. "Over the past year I've seen that shark approach quite a few surfers, come very close to them without making any aggressive moves towards them," he said. Hmm.
-Another shark at Avila Beach

Rob Wells Dippity Does It
You've seem him as Robert Earl on the Tony Hawk Gigantic Skatepark Tour, as author of X-Treme Cuisine on the Today Show, now you can see Rob as a security guard getting shut down for a restroom quicky in a new hair-gel ad (directed by FLF Films guy Jerry Dugan). Be sure to watch the bloopers.

X Games Surfing A Dud On TV
After all the hoopla, the infighting with the ASP, the "defiant" surfers and Boost Mobile's big dick swinging, surfing finally made its debut at the X Games. Unfortunately, it has a format that doesn't make sense, teams no one cares about, two foot surf, and a three day TV schedule (tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of this game). The guys surfed impossibly well, but when the biggest slice of drama in a game is whether or not a coach is going to call a "time-out" you know something is terribly wrong. Street Luge, anyone?
-What do you think? Tell us in the Sack boards

Surf's Up At The Mall
Pac Sun's CEO Greg Weaver discusses with Time magazine exactly why they're doing so well with their 650 stores. What he doesn't discuss is how much control he has over the surf industry.

Burton Selling Out Online
It's taken them long enough but Burton has finally flown the finger to it's retailers with the launch of it's new website. They sell softgoods and accessories direct and give fans a list of online hardgoods dealers for the boards boots and bindings. Funny that they were too scared to sell hardgoods direct. Maybe next year.
-The humorous Burton press release

New Deal UK Warehouse Burns Down
The warehouse and new offices of New Deal UK, distributors of DC Shoes, etc. . . went up in flames last week in a fire that is still under investigation.
-BBC report on blaze
-Still investigating fire

Grind Sucks
You'd think with Tony Hawk's 900 Films involved, the new skateboarding movie Grind would have been at least okay. But it isn't. It is a slow, boring, horribly made film. Note to those responsible: read this book.
-Another cruddy movie
-Crude skateboard saga wipes out
-Lame try at extreme sports movie

Hill Brothers Phoning One In
The shoe/apparel business may be getting them down, but that hasn't stopped Stephen and Peter Hill from working on a new phone company called Artificial Intelligence Telco. Afterall they were on the board of Boost when it started.

Snowboarding Fugitives Caught
A couple who robbed banks and blew their money on snowboarding and stock investments were finally arrested today in South Africa. Nova Ester Guthrie, 28, and Craig Michael Pritchert, 41, who had been on the FBI's most wanted list for 8 years will most likey ride the pow no more.
-Craig's most wanted poster
-Nova's most wanted poster

Women Killed by Shark at Avila Beach
A 50-year-old woman who was "swimming with seals" in a black wetsuit was killed when a shark mistook her for a seal.
-Handcock college teacher killed by shark
-How to aviod a Great White attack

Drunken Snowboarder Gets 8 Months
Michael Wolff was drunk and snowboarding out of control when he plowed into three kids aged 5 to 6. And now, he's been given Colorado's stiffest penalty yet for a slope collision.

The Hex Games
In a decision that can only be described as odd, nine of the top surfers in the World have chosen to surf in the X Games even though the ASP will strip them of their rankings and not allow them to complete the rest of the tour. Should be interesting.
-Selling the soul of surfing

Parko Arrested for Beer and Donuts
The world No.4-ranked professional surfer Joel Parkinson was arrested on Wednesday night under Queensland's new anti-hooning laws after it was reported that he was doing donuts in his car at the Snapper Rocks carpark. Parko pleaded guilty to drink-driving.

Vans Loses $29 Million
Seems like it was only yesterday that Jay Wilson was in Cabo explaining to the surf industry how to market action sports to the mainstream. Guess we can scratch that one about building expensive concrete parks at malls and then charging kids an arm and a leg to skate them.

Primedia Shows Profit After Sale
The media giant owner of Surfer and Surfing magazines showed a profit this year thanks to the sale Seventeen magazine. The deal was so successful that they're considering selling off titles full time.

K2 Going Batty
K2, the fly fishing company, has just purchased Worth Inc. to add a line of metal softball bats to their quiver of products. Apparently, K2's inline skate customers needed the bats for protection.
-K2 purchases V2 Optics

Pissed Of In A Litigious Way
When Ed Templeton ran a shot of two women sitting on a park bench in one of his Toy Machine ads with the headline "I am gay in a happy way, not a sexual one" he didn't know that a Lesbian Illinois school teacher would be so upset at being outed in a skateboarding magazine that she would sue Toy Machine and Tum Yeto for $100,000.
-What the gay press is saying

The Book of Globe
Seems like everything keeps getting worse for the Australian shoe maker lately. Their stock is down to 34 cents and they're in a big Messman. To be frank, he left a few weeks ago but they're hoping to pull things together in North America by Valentine day.

Hunt and Beck
Everything you wanted to know about Boarding House North Shore star Holly Beck wrapped up in one profile. Yes, she's beautiful, smart, and can surf. It's just a shame that those traits make her such a novelty to the national media.

Leaky Leak at Billabong
Seems like someone passed around some information to the Australian financial press that "did not provide a proper reflection of the position of the company". Billabong asked market regulator the Australian Securities & Investments Commission to investigate the matter.

Billabong Denies Rumors
The company has been suffering a rash of talk lately with rumors of Gordon Merchant selling off his shares and even talk that current chairman Gary Pemberton is quitting. Both rumors were denied. Then again the last time the rumors were false, they were true.

Behind The Orange Door
With the Fox Nework's new show O.C. the whole nation can learn what the band fluf has been saying for years: all the assholes live in Newport.

Bad News Bearers
Little boys just don't like playing with their balls anymore. Little League numbers have dropped by nearly 13 percent in the last five years down to 2.2 million. And all those whiny major league team owners are worried.

Sims Hussein Family Pro Models
From a company who features porn stars and Gwar on their snowboard it was difficult to tell if Sims' Saddam, Uday, and Qusay pro models were real or not. Either way you know that George W would love to get a set of them for his daughters.

SF Magazine Pride
Just because all the new economy magazines are dead doesn't mean the SF magazine scene died with it. They still have Thrasher. Don't they?

Taj Burrow's Moby Shark
In a heat with Damien Hobgood at the Billabong Pro at J-Bay Taj saw the biggest great white he'd ever seen in his life. Or, at least, that's what he told Gary Pemberton.
-Quicktime video of Taj telling the story
-Shark attack during J-Bay Juniors

Snow Skate Fate
If you believe Forbes magazine then snowskates are the next big thing in winter sports. Then again, if you read Forbes you'd probably think Nike buying Hurley was a good thing.
-Snowskating featured in Microsoft's new Amped 2

ASR Not Down With LBC
According to Kevin Flanagan, ASR's tall guy, a survey showed that participants just didn't like getting shot at or stepping through raw sewage to get to the show.

Tony Hawk on MTV
TH will be a presenter at the 2003 MTV video Awards August 28, when a whole nation of kids will point at him and scream, "Hey there's a guy on TV pretending to be that video game dude."

Step Into What?
With a title that sounds more like a trip through the alley behind Liquor Barn, Dana Brown follows in his father's footsteps with his new surf documentary Step Into Liquid which features the usual suspects and could be the most beautifully filmed vision of surfing every captured.
-New York Times dissertation on surf movies

Stony Snowboarders to Ride Everest
In this journal, Stephen Koch and Jimmy Chin keep the world up-to-date on their climb with lines like "it was a perfect time to hang our prayer flags and perform a puja to the mother goddess, Everest. We hung the flags in the four cardinal directions, and offered food, drink, and smoke to the Goddess." Perhaps a little too much smoke, it appears.

Another Missing Logo
In an recent Foundation Skateboard Company ad featuring Gareth Stehr the eS logo that should have been squarely on the heel of Gareth's Accel shoe is strangely missing from the image. Is this more evidence of Photoshoppery?

Bad Boy Art Boards
Damien Hirst makes some arty surfboards that are up for auction in Newquay. At least it's not the pickled head of Bob Hope .

At the End of His Leash
Daniel Fraunhofer's widow and her lawyer have decided that what killed her husband while he was surfing was not a blow to the head, but the fact that his leash broke and he was left "with nothing to float on." They are suing Stay Covered and the surf shop that sold it to him. Fortunately, they won't win.

It's Elemental at Becker
Seems like the car popular with middle aged, practical, women in comfortable shoes is also popular at Becker Surf and Sport. Honda and Becker have partnered on in-store displays and vehicle appearances by the Element. Mike Bill probably doesn't know it, but this deal will make his store much more popular with 43-year-old lesbians. . . and Transworld's Liam Ferguson.

Stupid Geezers on Board
Fourteen surfers in St. Ives, UK surfed into the world record books by riding a wave on a single, giant 37 foot long surfboard. Seems those Limeys love nothing better than paddling for a wave with their noses buried deeply in another chap's ass.

Deftones Say No Logos
While trying to rally So Cal fans to come to a video shoot scheduled for Simi Valley's Skate Lab the Sacramento based band told it's fans to come be in the video, but "No Hurley, Billabong, Volcom, Vans, Puma, Adidas, etc. . . . " Ouch.

Walk This Way
Huntington Beach induced seven new people into the Surf Walk of Fame including Surf Pioneer Mike Doyle, Surf Champion Martin Potter, Woman of the Year Marge Calhoun, Surf Culture heroes Larry "Flame" Moore and Tom "Y" Morey, Local Hero Chuck Linnen and special Honor Roll winner Michele Turner of HB's Sugar Shack.

Coldplay Singer Plays Cold
Looks like Chris Martin will be able to avoid an Australian court appearance if he agrees to pay for the damages he caused to a freelance photographer's car after he caught Jon Lister taking pictures of him surfing and proceeded to smash the car's windshield and let the air out of all it's tires. Is Martin that embarrassed of his surfing?

LeRoy Grannis Show in London
One of the coolest photographers in surfing has a show currently called Surfing Ð the Golden Year' at the Proud Gallery Camden, Greenland Street, London NW1 (020 7482 3867) until September 6. We just miss seeing him knee paddling way, way on the outside.

Matt Warshaw Rubs One Out
Ever wanted to read a New Yorker style article on surf wax? Well, now you can and your Sam George and Steve Barilotti quotes get thrown in for free. There's just nothing like interviewing all your journalist friends for a story in the LA Times.

Snowboard Message to the Mormons
When Ski Utah (a marketing organization for Utah Ski resorts) wanted to know what was up they flew in the crew from TransWorld to "hip them up" to the new world order. But will it work?

Oooh Baby Baby it's A Fran's World
The former publisher of Transworld Skateboarding Fran Richards has launched a new youth culture markeing firm in La Jolla, CA called Modern World.

Alloy Buys a Piece of Delia's
CCS's parent company paid $50 million for all outstanding shares in the 60+ store retail chain Delia's in an effort to suck up every dollar teens have to spend on clothing, skateboards, and BMX bikes.

Tony Hawk All Read
Tony Hawk is the spokesperson for Morningstar Foods' and the American Library Association's Get on Board and Read @ your library, a program developed to gear up interest in reading among America's teens. Seems all the kids want to do these days is play video games. Way to play both sides, T.

Free Park More Popular
When the genius' in Carol Stream, IL decided to begin charging admission to the skatepark to help offset the cost of a park monitor the strangest thing happened: kids quit skating at the park and the monitor had no one to monitor. The park is free again.

Nike Buys Converse
Globe Falls Even Lower
Quiksilver Takes Time Square
When Life Gives You Lemons

Previous Bags o' Crapola:
-July 11, 2003
-June 11, 2003
-May 6, 2003
-March 13, 2003