This past November 4th saw two very important landmark elections.  The first election of that very exciting Tuesday went to Element Skateboard’s “Flow Footy Contest”, which put six of the sickest, relatively unknown skaters and their videos up against each other to award the undisputed winner with a once in a lifetime opportunity.  A skate tour with the Element team.  Imagine the kind of exposure he or she would get from this. 

The second big election of November 4th I’m sure needs no introduction.  The Jonas Brothers getting the number one slot on MTV’s TOTAL REQUEST LIVE.  How amazing was that for them?  They sure do deserve it after all the hard work and time they put in (to their hair). 

But back to the Flow Footy Contest.  Voting continued on until yesterday and after all of the votes have been tabulated, Nick Garcia won with 22%.  What an exciting time for Nick, and the Jonas Brothers for their wonderful achievements.  You can watch the Jonas Brothers here, and Nick’s winning re-edited Flow Footy video below.  Congrats! 

Oops, I forgot.  There were actually 3 important elections that day.  Congrats to everybody. 

MTV and Target teamed up with Ubisoft to present the videogame with a huge launch party this past Tuesday at one of Hollywood’s coolest SHINY SHIRT Clubs, on the ever so SHINY SHIRT street, Sunset Blvd. Shaun White was the guest of honor. And in perfect theme with the night, all was “White”… the ladies, REAL snow, an antler chandelier and even a polar bear! The venue was decked with a snow lodge feel, open bars, and Shaun White Snowboarding video game stations throughout for all to test drive.

MTV’s reality TV show’s whose IT list was out in full form. Audrina from The Hills (never heard of her), Tila Tequila (Myspace chick?), Kelly Osbourne (dating LUKE HOWELL) and pro skater, Bam Margera were just a few of the celeb faces seen out in the crowd supporting the new video game launch. Check out some pics HERE.

It was a sad, sad day when the Maloof Money Cup came to and end.  Probably one of the most unique skate park designs in the world, the park was used for a total of three days with plenty of outstanding skateboarding taking place.  As soon as P-Rod lifted that giant check above his head the skeleton of the park was already exposed.  Everyone’s heart was torn. 

Well I there’s a hero who surfaced from all of this.  I think during his time with the Maloof Money Cup, Rob Dyrdek must have be taking some serious interior design and architectural classes because with the looks of his new skate park named The Fantasy Factory, he pushes skate park design to the limits.  And with this sneak preview, you can definitely see how much influence Rob had in the design of the Maloof Money Cup skate park. 

With all of this skate madness, MTV along with Rob will be producing a reality TV show revolving around the Fantasy Factory.  I think the photos speak for themselves.  I don’t watch much TV unless they’re reruns of Saved By The Bell or CNN.  And I most definitely never watch MV.  But I will be watching this. 

Jamie Bestwick, Daniel Dhers and Ryan Nyquist at the 2007 AST Dew Cup Awards.

 
The AST Tour announced a wide-ranging agreement with Viacom/MTV Networks today that will result in the creation of a new joint venture named Action Sports Tour, LLC that encompassess the AST Dew Tour, the new AST Winter Tour and the Free Flow am tour. Action Sports Tour will operate all of the brands and will be co-owned by NBC Sports and MTV Networks.

So what does this mean for the AST Dew Tour this summer? The main events will still be broadcast on NBC but it’s still not announced if USA network will air the Firday/Saturday night episodes it has done for the last three years. MTV2 did have some AST programming last year but look for that to be expanded and now also include MTV. Also, there will an impact online, with AST.com still acting as the home of the overall brand, but perhaps more promotion and tie-ins from MTV’s online properties.

Keep reading for the full details in the press release. The 2008 tour will kick off June 19 in Baltimore with the Panasonic Open.

MTV NETWORKS & NBC UNIVERSAL ANNOUNCE ACTION SPORTS PARTNERSHIP ON AST

Competition, Music & Lifestyle to be Featured on MTV/NBC Joint Venture
NEW YORK – May 28, 2008 – MTV Networks Music Group, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and NBC Sports, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. today announced a wide ranging, strategic partnership to expand the AST (Action Sports Tour), a global, youth-focused, multimedia, action sports business that includes the AST Dew Tour, the AST Winter Dew Tour and the amateur Free Flow Tour into a global brand that spans MTV and NBC’s multiple screens. Van Toffler, President, MTV Networks Music and Logo Group and Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics made the announcement. Action Sports Tour, LLC, the company that will operate the business, will be co-owned by MTV Networks and NBC Sports.

As part of the MTV Networks/NBC Universal alliance around the AST, MTV and MTV2 will provide lifestyle programming, targeted cross-promotion, multi-platform content and distribution, consumer products licensing and merchandising to the joint venture. NBC Sports will continue to produce extensive competition coverage of the AST tours and provide live network broadcasts and on-air promotion around AST competitions.

The addition of MTV and MTV2 programming for the AST nearly doubles what was already action sports’ largest annual television schedule. MTV and MTV2 will produce programming showcasing the AST competition as well as the lifestyle of some of action sports biggest names and those up and coming on the circuit. In addition, the music brands will highlight the musical aspects of the tour, with MTV2 spotlighting emerging local artists as part of the tour’s overall activities. In addition, MTV will build upon the AST’s significant digital reach on AST.com, adding more tools, enhanced community, functionality and video content for users to interact with and find out more about the latest news from the tour 24/7 and throughout the year.

“MTV pioneered the marriage of music, sports and lifestyle back in the early 1990′s” said Van Toffler, President of MTV Networks Music and Logo Group. “Today, by joining forces with NBC Sports on the AST, we’ll be giving our audience the chance to experience a next generation sports tour that covers it all.”

Ebersol said: “When we created the Action Sports Tour, we always hoped that one day MTV would be a strategic partner. The Tour will see immediate benefits from this alliance and is now uniquely positioned for long-term growth.”

In 2005, NBC Sports created and launched the Dew Tour, the first, season-long, nationally televised, competitive tour for the growing action sports of skateboarding, BMX and freestyle motocross with five events. The AST umbrella brand for the various Tours and businesses was introduced in 2007 and in April 2008, the AST’s first international event, the AST China Invitational, was contested in Beijing. Starting in December 2008, the three-stop Winter Dew Tour (snowboarding and free style skiing disciplines) for men and women will launch. The AST’s Free Flow Tour started in 2005 and creates local skate park competition opportunities for top amateur skaters and BMX riders to compete against the AST’s pro athletes.

“This is a terrific partnership that blends truly complementary reach and expertise. NBC Sports has demonstrated extraordinary vision from day one with the AST and coupled with the MTV and MTV2′s assets, the partnership will bolster the AST, and action sports as a whole, on so many levels,” said Wade Martin, AST President and General Manager.

Martin will continue in his current role and will oversee tour sales, marketing, business development and operations for the MTVN/NBCU joint venture reporting to its board of directors. Jeff Yapp, Executive Vice President of Program Enterprises for MTV Networks Music & Logo Group and Kevin Monaghan, Senior Vice President, Business Development, NBC Sports and Olympics, will be the lead directors from each company.

For 44 consecutive quarters, MTV has been the #1 rated cable network for the coveted 12-24 year old audience. MTV has a history in programming sports music and lifestyle, with such series and specials as “MTV’s Sports,” “MTV’s Rock N’ Jock” and the “MTV Sports and Music Fesitval,” among others. Its sister channel, MTV2 has the highest concentration of young males across all of cable. In addition, MTV Games and Harmonix launched “Rock Band,” in 2007 the wildly successful music-based video game.

The 2007 AST Dew Tour was the most watched action sports property globally, including an estimated 41 million domestic viewers consuming the combined 33 hours of AST programming on NBC Sports and the USA Network. The summer Dew Tour also has domestic distribution partnerships with NBCU’s Universal HD, Fox’s Fuel, Rush HD and Hulu.com, the Internet video sharing network. In addition, the summer Dew Tour is distributed in over 100 countries and available in 23 different languages on six continents in 280 million homes worldwide on Eurosport, Eurosport2, Fox Sports International, Extreme Channel, China’s CCTV and Fox/Fuel Australia, as well as on a variety of new media platforms including Broadband, Cable MSO Video-on-Demand. Sony’s PSP and Verizon Wireless. In 2007, NBC began live, international broadcasting of AST events through multi-year agreements with Eurosport2 and Fox/Fuel Australia.

The 2008 AST Dew Tour kicks off its fourth season in Baltimore June 19-22 with the Panasonic Open. The Tour resumes July 17-20 with the Right Guard Open from Cleveland. On August 21-24, Portland hosts the Wendy’s Invitational. The Toyota Challenge will take place in Salt Lake City on September 11-14 and the Tour concludes with the PlayStation Pro October 16-19 from Orlando. The first Winter Dew Tour begins December 18.

So after weeks of waiting the final two episodes of “Life of Ryan” have come and gone on MTV. If you’re interested in what happened (here’s a clue: he moves out) be sure to read our recaps from episode 14 and the season finale episode 15.

Official word is still forthcoming on whether there will be a season three of the series. It may come as soon as this summer. But judging from how these two episodes were unceremoniously dropped on Monday night who knows.

If you want to watch the full episodes yourself on MTV, click here.

Some of you might have had a chance to see “Mat Hoffman’s Tribute to Evel Knieval” that aired on MTV during the Jackass takeover day awhile back. Well, as we already told you, the special is being released on DVD and you can buy it now and if you’re interested in some photos from the filming be sure to check out the Jackassworld website — they’ve been posting a ton (and we have a couple here for you – credit Michael Wong).

If you’re excited about getting a shirt, we have some good news: Lat34 has a FREE Rob & Big Threadless T to give away — all you have to do is fill out the entry form below and we’ll pick a winner on May 19.

You can enter as many times as you’d like, but only one winner will be chosen. If you can’t wait to see if you win, go ahead and buy the shirt at Threadless (you can see some more shots of the shirt there). And yes, for all you Bigs out there, a 3x is available.

Winning designer Daniel Blignault a cash prize of $2000, a a $500 Threadless.com gift certificate and a bunch of swag from MTV including an XBox 360 with a full Rock Band package and Rob & Big DVDs.

5. Winner. The winner will be available at www.LAT34.com after approximately two weeks after the Sweepstakes Period and posted for approximately one month after the end of that Sweepstakes Period and is also available by sending an e-mail to News@LAT34.com.

6. Sponsor. This Sweepstakes is sponsored by LAT34.com, PO Box 261771, Encino, CA 91426.

© 2008 LAT34.com. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The final two episodes focus on Ryan moving out of his house and making the final choices about who will be living there with him, along with a trip to Austria thrown in (check out the official recaps at the end of this post).

At the end of April MTV told Lat34 that the show would be back this summer.  Last we checked, the first day of summer is June 20th, but since “Iron Man” kicked off the summer movie season a couple of weeks ago, I guess that means summer has started.  Regardless, there has been no official confirmation of a third season but if it does come back it might still be this summer.  No guessing on our part this time around…

For more about the show, check out our full resource guide — it has recaps of every single episode.

Anyway, read the description of the upcoming episodes below…

Episode 214 “Tony’s Test” – premieres Monday, May 19 (9:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Ryan is one step closer to owning his first home when his offer on his dream house is accepted.  Now, the big question – should his friend Tony be one of his roommates?  At the invitation of Red Bull, Ryan says Auf Wiedershen to San Clemente for the Alpine delights of Austria.  He brings Tony as his guest, hoping that their time away will give insight as to their housemate compatibility.  Unfortunately, while Ryan works to charm one of his biggest sponsors, Tony can’t stop complaining at every turn.

Episode 215 “Finally on My Own” – premieres Monday, May 19 (9:30 p.m. ET/PT)
It’s finally time for Ryan to move into his own home.  As Ryan focuses on packing, his mom works diligently to make Ryan’s house a home.  Ryan soon realizes that by having his mom take on the responsibility of decorating, he is losing control over what he would like.  Meanwhile, Gretchen reveals that she and her boyfriend broke up, and Ryan is surprised when his dad shows concern.

photo credit: ewan burns/mtv

Update May 13, 2008:  Ummmmm.  Forget what I said below.  Read this instead.

It’s been three weeks since the last original episode of “Life of Ryan” aired on MTV and message boards on the official Ryan Sheckler site and fan sites have been full of viewers wondering when the show will return. After all, 15 episodes were promised and only 13 aired, not including the recap episode. First a series finale of “Rob & Big” replaced the show, then the return of bisexual MySpace love muffin Tila Tequila in “A Shot At Love 2 With Tila Tequila” took up residence in the 10 p.m. slot.

So what gives? Turns out the show will return in the summer, a MTV PR rep told Lat34. There’s no specific date but assuming a maximum 13 week run for “Tila Tequila” that would equal a July return. The show actually premiered in August ’06 so the summer is a familiar place for Ryan and given he will be smack dab in the middle of the AST/Maloof Money Cup/X Games there should be plenty of fodder for the new season.

To be clear, a third season has not been officially confirmed but there’s no reason the show would come back with only two original episodes, so fans can be pretty comfortable that the return will be of a full season of at least 13 episodes. Let the celebrating begin.

In other Ryan Sheckler news…

• The man himself finally turned over the keys to his Range Rover last Sunday to the winner of his fundraising campaign for the CCRF. Who won? A 17-year-old aspiring comedian named Drake Kemper. He raised nearly $40K. Here are some photos of Ryan on the red carpet at the event.
• Despite the show not coming back until summer, there is a “preview” of the next episode up on MTV. Watch it now and wait for three months for the show to come back.
• A new video on the official Ryan Sheckler site features Ryan talking about the Maloof Money Cup. We have it below, too.