What You May Have Missed: 2008 Right Guard Open
July 21, 2008 – 2:35 am PT by GregTags: AST, Right Guard Open, Ryan Sheckler, Shaun White —
Yeah, we know, it’s hard to follow all of the action that goes on at the AST Dew Tour. That’s why we want to point out a few key things you may have missed this weekend.
OUCH
Injury is part of the game when it comes to action sports, but that doesn’t make it any easier when it happens. FMX rider Greg Hartman was critically injured on Friday when he crashed during a jump at the demo being put on. He was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for a collapsed lung and a brain hemorrhage but is expected to recover from his injuries.
Less devastating was the slam suffered by Ryan Guettler as he dropped in for his first run at the BMX Park finals. His first trick was going to be a 1080 but the landing went bad and Guettler landed face first. It brought back memories of Scotty Cranmer’s big slam in ‘06 in Orlando, though I didn’t see Guettler’s teeth skipping across the course. But you can bet he lost a few. But he was up and moving pretty quickly, so he should be in shape for the X Games.
There were some other big slams (James Foster in dirt) and minor ones, but one thing I think everyone can agree on is that the AST Dew Tour can do a better job of keeping people informed. Want to find out how Hartman is doing? Don’t check out the AST.com site. It’s as if it never happened.
SPEAKING OF…
Injuries… No one can forget Stephen Murray’s terrible accident from June 2006. It was great to see him in person at last month’s Panasonic Open and he was also in Cleveland for a special performance of TJ Lavin’s “Soldier,” We only got about thirteen seconds of video but that was great. Stay Strong, Stephen.
THE NON-INJURY
You’ve heard of the non-injury, right? It’s when someone falls, grimaces, then writhes around in pain. It looks like death is imminent. Paramedics are called in and the crowd holds its collective breath as the injured athlete is carted off the course…
Fast forward to an hour later: the athlete is up and walking around, miraculously healed. Amazing.
Our nominee for this event’s winner of the best non-injury: Ryan Sheckler. In the Skate Park finals on Saturday Sheckler was the last skater on the course before the jam session and needed a big score to land in the top six. After a fall things weren’t looking good so when he fell again, he had to quit because he apparently re-injured his “broken” arm. But by the time he was off the course he didn’t seem that hurt at all. Like I said, amazing.
SPEAKING OF… (PART II)
Ryan Sheckler. Am I the only one who noticed that the single Panasonic commercial featuring the golden one that aired about a dozen times each hour is sorely outdated? It was filmed in Dubai about 18 months ago and the now 18-year-old says he’s 17 in the spot. Even if they did new V.O., Sheckler looks all young and different (see the pic below from Dubai). Hell, that was even pre-tattoo…
Sheckler then and…
Sheckler now.
Panasonic, get your act together. Millions of screaming girls will thank you.
DEW CUP IS HALF EMPTY
Last year, five out of the six winners at the Right Guard Open also won at the Pansonic Open, and all five went on to win the Dew Cup (the sixth Dew Cup champ, Jamie Bestwick, didn’t win in Cleveland or Orlando).
This year, only two winners repeated: Daniel Dhers and Jamie Bestwick. With new winners in BMX Dirt, Skate Park and Skate Vert that means those races are pretty much wide open. And of course there was no FMX to be repeated.
So the early line is Dhers and Bestwick will repeat, with Bucky Lasek a good choice to win in Skate Vert since Shaun White, this stop’s winner, is expected to miss next month’s stop. Lasek won in Baltimore and second-place Pierre-Luc Gagnon had a meltdown in Cleveland and would have to win out to have a chance. And who’s the favorite in BMX Dirt? Nope, no chance for a prediction there yet.
And FMX… Well, does anyone really care? By the time it’s actually an event again in SLC we’ll forget who won the first stop (Blake Williams).
The full Dew Cup standings are at the end of this post. Read them. Digest them. Bet on your favorites.
BMX = BE MOST XCITING
Last year both BMX Park and BMX Dirt were pushing the envelope with new tricks and amazing races. This year, let’s add Vert back into the mix. Thanks to a healthy Chad Kagy, Jamie Bestwick has some real competition — and that’s no knock to Steve McCann and Simon Tabron, who can also show up at any given contest.
Mike Spinner kept Park at the forefront by landing the first-ever in competition quad whip during his first run in the finals. Unfortunately a fall kept him from claiming the top spot but that’s just because Daniel Dhers can throw out so many technical tricks that no one else even tries.
But there is one thing that shows, beyond a doubt, that the field is getting harder: the scores. For the first time ever eight finalists in both Park and Vert scored 90+. First time. In 20 events over four years. That’s big.
Throw in the prelims and the numbers are event crazier. In Dirt, a full 19 riders scored 90+ in the prelims (different format, yes, but still — that’s sick) though only nine made the cut — remember three riders on top of that were prequalified.
With scores like that it’s great to see riders like Rob Darden, Drew Bezabson and Craig Mast making waves, too. Darden’s third-place finish in Park left perennial fave Ryan Nyquist on the outside of the podium looking in.
The only thing missing from Park is Scotty Cranmer, who is recovering from a broken foot. Hopefully he will be back for the next stop in Portland.
STEVE “THE MECHANIC” MCCANN
Yes, much has been made of Steve McCann’s incredible versatility and ability as he continually competes in Dirt, Park and Vert. While he’s done well in all three, he hasn’t done well in all three at the same time. Well, that all changed this time, as he made the finals for the first time in all three events — the first person ever to do so.
It was only due to some huge competition that McCann missed out on a podium in Vert and Dirt (he finished fourth in each) but in Park his 90.00 score was only good for eighth. Let there be no doubt — McCann is for real.
WEATHER MAN SEZ…
One thing worth noting is that while the wind did kick up off of Lake Erie, it was a dramatic improvement from last year when the BMX Vert Finals and FMX prelims had to run at midnight (plus the FMX finals were canceled). This time around the weather played much nicer with everyone and while wind was hard on the FMX demo, most other sports had no issue.
PEOPLE LIKE SPORTS
Attendance for the Right Guard Open was announced as 51,327 — impressive, but slightly off the 55K that were predicted to show. The number is also a slight decline from the 52,502 that showed up for the Panasonic Open in Baltimore last month.
I couldn’t find last year’s attendance for Cleveland, but the city had better hope it’s doing better than the tour did in Denver — after all, the economic impact is expected to be $10 million… Wait a minute, who cares.
SHAUN WHITE: CELEBRATE WITH CAUTION
Hell hath no fury like a Bucky Lasek scorned. As soon as the legend fell on his final run (and chance to catch Shaun White) in Skate Vert, White began his signature freakout celebration. You’ve been there before, dude, act like it. At least he didn’t say in an interview afterward “Not putting Bucky down…”
All that said, is it just me, or does it look like a little part of Bucky dies each time Shaun beats him?
AST Dew Tour Current Standings
BMX Dirt Points
1. Cameron White, 175.
2. Ryan Nyquist, 175.
3. James Foster, 134.
4. Dennis Enarson, 122.
5. Luke Parslow, 122.
6. Corey Bohan, 118.
7. Ryan Guettler, 116.
8. Diogo Canina, 99.
9. Rob Darden, 84.
10. Steven McCann, 78.
Skateboard Park Points
1. Paul Rodriguez, 185.
2. Chaz Ortiz, 160.
3. Ryan Sheckler, 153.
4. Greg Lutzka, 140.
5. Austen Seaholm, 118.
6. Rodolfo Ramos, 115.
7. Chad Bartie, 110.
8. Carlos deAndrade, 110.
9. Ricardo Oliveira Assis, 84.
10. Fabrizio Santos, 76.
Skateboard Vert Points
1. Bucky Lasek, 185.
2. Andy Macdonald, 145.
3. Bob Burnquist, 145.
4. Pierre-Luc Gagnon, 138.
5. Adam Taylor, 130.
6. Renton Millar, 122.
7. Shaun White, 100.
8. Danny Mayer, 88.
9. Sandro Dias, Brazil, 85.
10. Rodrigo Menezes, 85.
BMX Vert Points
1. Jamie Bestwick, 200.
2. Chad Kagy, 170.
3. Simon Tabron, 145.
4. Steven McCann, 136.
5. Kevin Robinson, 131.
6. Dennis McCoy, 122.
7. Jimmy Walker, 102.
8. John Parker, 98.
9. Jay Eggleston, 94.
10. Zackery Warden, 93.
BMX Park Points
1. Daniel Dhers, 200.
2. Mike Spinner, 160.
3. Ryan Nyquist, 130.
4. Steven McCann, 123.
5. Ryan Guettler, 121.
6. Rob Darden, 120.
7. Marcus Tooker, 102.
8. Garrett Reynolds, 101.
9. Craig Mast, 97.
10. Dennis Enarson, 90
FMX Points (through one event)
1. Blake Williams, 100.
2. Nate Adams, 90.
3. Mathieu Rebeaud, 80.
4. Thomas Pages, 75.
5. Jim McNeil, 70.
6. Adam Jones, 65.
7. Jeremy Lusk, 60.
8. Robbie Maddison, 55.
9. Nixey Danielson, 50.
10. Mike Mason, 45.
One Response to “What You May Have Missed: 2008 Right Guard Open”
I think you are being too tough on Sheckler. If you were listening during the time he dislocated his elbow, you can hear it “pop” back into place when the medic pushed it back into place.
Dont be a hater.
By LLL on Jul 23, 2008