Latest Update: December 2, 2005

From The Sacklunch Boards
It's time to discuss the meaningful topics that we action sports professionals are lucky enough to mull over on a daily basis. We are truely blessed, aren't we?

Malik Joyeux Dies at Pipeline
It was a sad day on the North Shore as word spread that Malik Joyeux had gone down at Pipeline and never come back up. Our thoughts are with Malik's family, and friends.
- Pipeline death
- Tragedy at Pipeline

First Descent Into Boredom
Roger Ebert says the new Mountain Dew produced movie is "boring, repetitive and maddening about a subject you'd think would be fairly interesting: snowboarding down a mountain." We'll reserve judgement.
- Fucking rad
- A cold downhill slide
- Snowboarders flying high
- An avalanche of cliches
- Nothing to flip over
- Porno for snowboard freaks

ASP USA Interview
We don't know a whole lot about the politics of surfing (or dancing for that matter) but those who do say this is a great interview with ASP CEO Bodie Carr.

Nixon Evidence in Rape Case
A serial rapist suspect Daniel Aaron Lopez was arrested in Tucson, AZ wearing "a unique Nixon watch" that he had allegedly stolen from the home of one of his victims. The defense claims the watch is not that unique. Wait, isn't every Nixon unique in it's own special way?

Palmer Boardercrosses The Line
After a near death overdose last Memorial Day (you know, alcohol, coke, and 'scripts), Shaun Palmer appears to be clean and sober and making a play for the winter Olympics. I think we've heard this one before.

Way Up For Sportsman of the Year
Yeah, Danny Way has been nominated by Sports Illustrated magazine for jumping the wall. Yi-Wyn Yen thinks he's the bomb. See how stunts pay off?

Ain't Sayin' He's A Shoe Digger
Keith Hufnagel's new signature Huf Nike Gold Digger Dunk SB got rolling at the Huf store in SF last week. Nike sure knows how to hype, huh?

Stupid Snowboarding Bank Robber: Duex
Steven John Simmons, 26, a reported snowboard park worker at Mammoth Mountain was in Douglas County Jail on $250,000 bail and charged with robbery with a deadly weapon of the Minden, NV Bank of America. See what no snow does to people.

Oakley's Worst Product
When PC Magazine made a list of the "Ten to Avoid - the Worst Products of 2005" the Oakley Thump was number 10. "The poorly fitting earbuds chafe, the glasses feel flimsy, and the style is dated." But we still love those goggles.

Tony Hawk Helmet Cam
That's right for $99 you can get a Digital Blue Tony Hawk Crap Camera to strap to your helmet. Hey, at least it's encouraging kids to wear helmets.

Thrasher Turns 25
The magazine that chronicled punk rock, vomiting, and skateboarding has turned 25 and no one is more suprised than publisher Ed Riggins.

T.Hawk Attends Castello Fund Raiser
More than 2000 showed up to see Tony Hawk skate at the fund raiser for Taylor Costello, 14, whose father Eric died from a head injury in October.
- Hawk falls just like the rest of us

Another Skater Down with No Helmet
Rebecca Mead, 21, was skateboarding down a steep hill in Columbus, Ohio when she fell and hit her head on the pavement. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Surf Biz Rides Endless Wave
It seems there is no end in sight for the surf clothing industry. This analysis piece covers all the bases (including reference to the fact that Gordon Merchant's fortune has grown A$500,000 a day for the past year). Now, where did we put that screen printer?

20 Oz. To Freedom
Eddie Wall and Team America railed away with 20 ounces of pure gold by winning the Red Bull Rail Storm in London's Trafalgar Square on November 20, 2005. Damn, now that's a bling fest.

Lost Snowboarder Found
John Ryan, 31, was snowboarding though trees "trying to get to another lift" at Keystone when he got lost and ended up spending three days in the wilderness. Can someone please explain how you get lost at a resort?

Back Yard Snowboard Jam
Each year Jeff Bullert holds a "Pre-Turkey Day Rail Jam" in his Duluth, Minnesota yard. With five trailer loads of ice dust from a skating rink it was game on. We're bummed we missed it.

Perils of Pipeline: Perry Perspective
Want to know what it's like at Pipeline during high season? Tamayo Perry got 50 stitches in his head this week that help explain it all.

Heddings and Rams Convicted
A Riverside County jury convicted professional skateboarder Neil Heddings of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his 2-year-old son. Neil's girlfriend Christine "Pinky" Rams, was found guilty of second-degree murder. Sadly, this was good news for Neil.

Burton Sponsors Collegiate Nationals
Next April 2000 collegiate athletes will compete in a "Gorge Games" style event in Reno, NV featuring kayaking, triathlon, boxing, volleyball, and oh, yeah, snowboarding. Burton is a major sponsor along with X Box and CSTV.com .
- The press release

Volcom Sells 5 Million More
VeeCo filed to sell 5 million shares of common stock with "proceeds going to the selling stockholders." It will only raise another $183 million. What!

The First Descent is the Cheapest
According to Mountain Dew's John Galloway they decided to produce a snowboard documentary when it was discovered that the price tag was in the same range as a 30-second ad for Pepsi. How's that for scale?

Banked Slalom: The First 20
Check out the clip from the documentary Platinum: The Legendary Banked Slalom 20 years and beyond. Or go to the premiere Nov. 18, 2005 in Seattle.

It's Apline, No One Cares
Michelle Gorgone is America's top Alpine snowboard racer, but most snowboarders don't even care. If you do, check out her profile.

Filmmaker Not Guilty For Death
Snowboarder Josh Chapman died in 2002 while riding a snowmobile through a wall of flames. Now a jury finds that filmmaker Jeremy Walter Deichen's is not responsible. On second thought, it doesn't sound like any responsible people were involved.

Amer Sports Consolidates Sourcing
Steve Millea, former President of Wilson Golf and Racquet Sports will head up an Asia-based "Sourcing Initiative" involving all Amer Sports brands (Wilson, Atomic, Precor, Suunto and Salomon). Sounds a little like a bottleneck.

Billabong Goes Flying
In a partnership with airport-based retailer Beachculture Billabong will add 19 stores including 15 in leading Australian airports, to it's retail holdings.
-Billabong opens outlet store in LA's Citadel

Jury Deliberates In Heddings' Trial
Pro skater Neil Heddings was on the witness stand for several hours during questioning regarding the death of his two-year old son Marty. Now it's in the jury's hands.
- Heddings trial continues

Old People Snowboard, Too
Another journalist is excited to discover that people over 20 snowboard. Big news day at the Mercury News apparently.

Mt. Baker Opens
The 2005 Northwest snow season kicked off Tuesday November 8 with, as one snow scribe said, "More shred celebs than the Team Challenged." Look who was first on Chair 6, again.

Seven and the Ragged Slater
He was the youngest. Now he is the oldest surfer to ever win a world title. Kelly Slater is seven times world champ. Amazing. Congrats and all that. Quiksilver must be happy.
- Slater speaks from Brazil

Texas Co. Buys X Games Parks
United Skate Parks of Dallas, a.k.a. Action Skate Parks has bought up all five of the formerly Vans then X Games Skateparks and plans to open more parks that will go out of business and lose investors tons of money, while keeping developers rolling in cash.

The Amnesiac Wore Burton
A man walked into a Vancouver, B.C. church Sunday November 6, claiming he didn't know who his is. He was wearing a Burton Hoodie and hat. And we thought that gear defined you?

80s Deck Revival
Collectors are after those brightly colored skate decks (from skateboarding's ugliest years) according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Chris Solomon is trading away.

Snowboarder Dies at Berthoud Pass
Samuel Teetzen, 32 of Devner, CO died in an avalanche that he and two friends triggered on Mines Peak near Berthoud Pass. Teetzen was not wearing a transceiver.

No You're Not Hardcore, Unless You Live Hardcore
Rome Snowboard's Josh Reid explains exactly what it takes to be a successful "core" snowboard brand in the New York Times Magazine . Apparently, the kids just love that rebellion stuff. (Thanks, notnow).

Snowboarding Hits "The Mainstream"
USA Today leaks a little news bit about how snowboarding is mainstream now. TWS's Kurt Hoy comments. (Check out the photo closely.)

Active Fighters Cited
During a product toss at a demo at the Active Ride Shop in San Dimas, CA two men got into a fight over a skateboard. Both were cited and released. But no mention of who got the board.

Heddings On Trial
The trial of pro skater Neil Heddings and his girlfriend Christine Rams are being tried for the death of their two-year-old son Marcus.

Skating's Brazil Nuts
Yes, believe it or not vert skater Lincoln Ueda is Brazilian and he's just one of a dozen great skateboarders from the country of perfect asses. Or something like that.

Surfer Radio
In The Lineup goes off Wednesday's at noon PST and it's solid: if you like surfing and talk radio. They also post a MP3 giving us one more reason to join the "podcasting" revolution.

Media Surf War Heats Up
Transworld Surf won the Publisher's Cup surf contest against Surfing magazine on Friday Oct. 28, 2005. It was the game format and the crew from O-side edged out the OC crew by half a point.
- Surfing claims a rip-off

Primedia To Sell More Titles
According to "an informed industry observer" Primedia is in active discussions to sell parts of it's 120 title enthusiast group. Is ASG on the block or not? We don't know.

Volcom Up
Operating income at the VeeCo was up 58 percent in the third quarter as sales and profit margins expanded. Shares were up 12 percent to $32 a share in after hours trading. Youth in favor of economic growth, indeed.

Giant Robot Food
The guys at Giant Robot have added a restaurant to their empire of the rising sun. It's called GR-eats. Can you really eat action figures?

Ride Washington ?
The Northwest Winter Sports Foundation has hooked up new license plates in Washington State that say, "Ski & Ride Washington." Too bad there's a skier on them or we might ante up.

Primedia Splitting Business?
Rough times for ASG parent Primedia. Their CEO has left the building, and now they're thinking about splitting up the company. The street isn't very happy about it.
- Trading halted on Primedia after 28 percent drop to $2 a share

Costello Dies Skateboarding
Eric Costello, 34, fell while skateboarding in one of the large bowls at the Scotts Valley Park on October 22, 2005. Reports say he was wearing a helmet, but there "may have been a problem with the strap." He was flown to the Regional Medical Center of San Jose on Saturday, but died Monday. He leaves behind a 14-year-old son. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.
- skater dies after accident
- Costello memorial October 30
- skaters look for answers

Jason Lee's New MTV Show
"Earl Star" Jason Lee is set to lauch a new show on MTV called Please Buy Our Skateboards Stereo Sound Agency, a "retro-style variety show" which is expected to air late next year.

Secret Billabong Payment?
Allegations of a secret $750,000 payment made to Billabong chief executive Derek O'Neill five years ago overshadowed the company's annual meeting Oct. 21. Chairman Ted Kunkel said the allegations had been found to be false. Other than that, great meeting.

K2 Blasted By Paintball Collapse
While revenues and earnings have risen over the past year, K2 took a big hit with paintball's tanking. The Motley Fool investigates.

Hey, eesa New Underwear Company
Former Burton employee Stephen Cleary is trying to launch essa, a new long underwear company for snowboarders. But he's finding it challenging. Ah, yeah. We bet.

Andy Mac Boards Half-Off
Vert skater Andy Macdonald is selling his Mac Zon skateboards on Amazon for $39.99. He says he's doing it to get more people into skateboarding. . . ah, or maybe just trying to sell them any way he can.

Ramp Jammed in Fullerton
A 13-year-old's skateboard ramp (in his parents back yard) has been closed down for two months while city officials try to figure out if it's legal or not.

Snowboarding's Dumb and Dumber
When Aussie snowboarders Anthony Prince, 20, and Luke Carroll, 19, decided to rob a WestStar bank in Vail they didn't plan to well. Now they're doing five years. Be sure and check out the slideshow.

Snow Media Beach
Why do all the snowboard magazines call South of LA home? The San Diego Union Tribune's Michelle DeCrescenzo tries to figure that out by interviewing TWS's Kurt Hoy, and Future's Tracy Anderson and Dano Pendygrass.

Matt George To the Rescue
Ben Marcus breaks down the transmogrification of Matt George in a pleasantly rambling LA Weekly story on the work he and Bill Sharp are doing with Surfzone Relief Operations.

Shark Bite in NorCal
Megan Halavais, 20, was surfing Salmon Creek beach in Sonoma County when a 14-foot shark bit her leg, but released after Megan "hit the shark on the tail." Luckily, she got spit out and is doing well.
- Bodega Bay shark attack

Love Park Designer Dies
Ed Bacon the visionary urban planner who designed Philly's Love Park and then became one of the strongest supporters of skateboarding in the park died at 95. He may not have skated, but no doubt he was a skater at heart.

Supremely LA
The LA Weekly's Jonathan Craven visits Berto Liechty and the crew at the West Coast outpost of Supreme. Yeah, it's cool, huh?

Burton Envy?
Fortune Magazine just released a list of the top 25 people we most envy, and Jake Burton is right in there with Tiger Woods, Paul Allen, Jon Stewart, Gwen Stefani, and Bob Costas. Really?

Quik Targets Below The Street
"The world's leading outdoor sports lifestyle company" said yesterday that its 2006 earnings would not reach Wall Street estimates. Shares of Quiksilver were down 6 percent in after hours trading.

Volcom Calls a Conference
The newest public company in our family will host a third quater financial results conference call on October 26, 2005 at 1 PM PST. You can listen at Volcom.com if you're into that sort of thing.

Pac Sun Gets Lingerie Lady
Wendy Burden was recently appointed COO of Pacific Sunwear where she brings her six years of experince at Victoria's Secret to bear on the action sports mall market. Saucy.

Billabong Surfs The Rockies
Following their shops in Vail and Park City, Utah resort real estate company Intrawest will open a Billabong store on the Pearl Street mall. Another in Aspen may follow. We guess letting someone else run their stores couldn't hurt.

Former DC Marketing VP At New Job
This is old news (we're trying to keep up, seriously) but Mark Woolsey is no longer at DC*Quik and has taken a new job at American Sporting Goods. Apparently they own Avia and some other stuff.

Whistler Power Grab
On November 19 Whistler, B.C. residents are voting for mayor and town council and look who's moving in on politics: Camp of Champions owner Ken Achenbach and Doug Lundgren. Powder to the people.
- The Achenbach platform

DC Has A Secret
72andSunny (the agency behind DC's James Lipton TV ads) has created a series of ads for DC Girl titled "I have a Secret". Apparently, snowboarder Erin Valverde's secret is that she enjoys gazing wistfully at her own ass in the mirror.

Cool Runnings Snow
Burton Snowboards has dropped into a head-to-toe sponsorship of the China Olympic snowboard team. "China has some of the best athletes and best mountains in the world," said Jake Burton. We hear they also have some really "efficient" manufacturing facilities as well.

New Editor at TransWorld Skate
Former Strength Magazine editorial crew member Carleton Curtis recently signed on as Managing Editor of TransWorld Skateboarding and people seem to be happy about that.

Mammoth W?
Starwood Capital the company behind the W Hotel chain (among others) recently scooped up Mammoth Mountain resort form Intrawest and the McCoy family for something in the $300 millions range.

Lib-Tech's Planker Wankers
This isn't the first time Mike Olson has made skis, however, it is the first time he's made "narrow ass snowboards sold in pairs" as part of the Quiksilver-Rossignol family.

A Flame Goes Out
Throughout his 30 years behind the photo desk of Surfing, Larry “Flame” Moore did more than just select photos; he was a inspiration and mentor to a whole crew of surf photographers. He will be missed.
- PDN story on Flame

Icer Icer Baby
After all the SF hoopla the Icer Air in San Francisco went off pretty well. But according to the SF Chronicle, there were some problems.
- A "slapdash, poorly run and downright dangerous even"
- SF Neighborhood finally back to normal

Future Snowboarding Webs Up
Hawk Secret Park Tour Attacts Police
Tow Skis To the Rescue
Gnu Movin' To Mormon Country

Previous Bags o' Crapola:
- September 20, 2005
- September 14, 2005
- July 7, 2005
- May 11, 2005