Well, Ortiz didn’t kid around, winning the contest and the Dew Cup, with P-Rod and Greg Lutzka close behind.  And our Mr. Sheckler?  Tenth.

Congrats on #1 Chaz — it must be great to be 14.

Video highlights below.

One year ago, Chaz Ortiz was making his first appearance on the AST Dew Tour at Orlando’s PlayStation Pro having qualified for a wildcard thanks to taking the Free Flow Tour title.  At only 13, he was competiting as an amateur.  This year, he won it all.

“I wasn’t expecting to win,” Ortiz said. “I came in here just wanting to have fun and I mean it all came together. To win it is ten times better.”

Ortiz didn’t just win the PlayStation pro, he dominated it.  Yes, Paul Rodriguez Jr. and Greg Lutzka were in it to the end, but Ortiz couldn’t be beat after landing almost every trick cleanly in the seven-minute jam session.

Three-time Dew Cup champ Ryan Sheckler, who led the race going into Orlando, was off of his game finishing well out of the running in the contest at 10th place and 3rd for the Dew Cup.

For the season both Sheckler and Ortiz won two stops (the other was won by P-Rod) but Sheckler’s poor showing in two contests made the difference.

P-Rod finished second in the contest and in the Dew Cup Race, followed by Greg Lutzka in third for the contest (and fourth for the Dew Cup).

Timmy Knuth, 17, who won this year’s Free Flow Tour amateur title in Salt Lake City last month, finished in fourth place today.

For more about the final and about the tour, check out AST.com.

Skate Park Final Results – PlayStation Pro
October 19, 2008 – Orlando, FL
1. Chaz Ortiz, Chicago, 92.75
2. Paul Rodriguez, Tarzana, Calif., 91.25
3. Greg Lutzka, Milwaukee, 86.75
4. Timmy Knuth (A), Melbourne, Fla., 82.10
5. Austen Seaholm, Anaheim, Calif., 79.60
6. Carlos De Andrade, Brazil, 77.00
(the following did not qualify for six man jam session)
7. Chris Mendes, Moreno Valley, Calif., 79.50
8. Rodolfo Ramos, Brazil, 78.75
9. Danilo Do Rosario, Brazil, 78.75
10. Ryan Sheckler, San Clemente, Calif., 78.00

A year after breaking onto the AST Dew Tour by winning the Free Flow tour Skate Park event at the Toyota Challenge, 14-year-old Chaz Ortiz has come full circle by winning the pro event this year.  Ortiz’s win sets up a showdown for the Dew Cup in Orlando next month, with Ryan Sheckler, Ortiz and Paul Rodriguez all in the running for the crown.

The scenario is simple:  If Ortiz or Sheckler win, the the Cup is theirs.  If P-Rod wins and Sheckler comes in second, they will be tied and a tie-breaker would have to be used.  If P-Rod wins and Sheckler comes in third or lower, P-Rod has the title.

After finishing first or second in each AST Dew Tour event this season, P-Rod finished in a surprising eighth.  Sheckler, who finished eighth in the Right Guard Open in Cleveland, stayed close to Ortiz despite skating with two damaged elbows.  Sheckler was definitely a crowd favorite for girls young and old alike.  He was also sporting some new tattoos saying “Fear” and “God” (read more here about that) and “Skate Life” (see that one in the video here).

The possible Brazillian invasion set-up by their domination of the Skate Park prelims didn’t pan out, though Rodolfo Ramos finished in third while Carlos DeAndrade took fifth.

 
Chaz Ortiz, who flows like water and nails all his tricks, does a rail dance. cr. John Swenson

Sheckler’s right elbow was tightly wrapped in a sling-like bandage to keep it bent. His permanently swollen left elbow, shown here, isn’t pretty. He will have both elbows surgically repaired after Orlando.  cr. John Swenson

Check out the full results below.

Skate Park Final Results – Toyota Challenge
September 13, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – Ortiz, Chaz – 93.05
2nd – Sheckler, Ryan – 90.99
3rd – Ramos, Rodolfo – 85.99
4th – Lutzka, Greg – 84.75
5th – De Andrade, Carlos – 82.99
6th – Seaholm, Austen – 81.69
7th – do Rosario, Danilo – 79.75
8th – Rodriguez, Paul – 79.59
9th – Oliveira, Tulio – 79.25
10th – Colamonico, Kurtis – 78.75
11th – Dyet, Adam – 77.25
12th – Santos, Fabrizio – 72.25

AST Dew Tour: Dew Cup Current Standings
Skate Park Points

1. Ryan Sheckler, 338
2. Chaz Ortiz, 330
3. Paul Rodriguez, 323
4. Greg Lutzka, 285
5. Austen Seaholm, 240
6. Rodolfo Ramos, 217
7. Carlos De Andrade, 206
8. Danilo Do Rosario, 162
9. Fabrizio Santos, 161
10. Chad Bartie, 152

Skate Park Prelim Results – Toyota Challenge
September 11, 2008 – Salt Lake City, UT

1st – do Rosario, Danilo – 83.75
2nd – De Andrade, Carlos – 83.50
3rd – Seaholm, Austen – 81.75
4th – Ramos, Rodolfo – 81.25
5th – Dyet, Adam – 81.00
6th – Lutzka, Greg – 77.25
7th – Colamonico, Kurtis – 76.25
8th – Santos, Fabrizio – 75.50
9th – Oliveira, Tulio – 75.00
10th – Mendes, Chris – 73.50
11th – Brummet, Dayne – 72.50
12th – Corrigan, Danny – 71.75
13th – Parent, Thomas – 71.50
14th – Ramos, Wagner – 70.75
15th – Barr, Jason – 70.25
16th – Cudlipp, Chris – 70.25
17th – Bartie, Chad – 70.00
18th – Hendley, Tyler – 70.00
19th – Oliveira, Ricardo – 69.50
20th – Jones, Rodney – 68.50
21st – Fuenzalida, Danny – 64.75
22nd – Sereika, Christian – 63.50
23rd – Rogers, Jereme – 62.75

Ryan Sheckler had something to prove after a fall last month knocked him out of a top-three finish in the AST Dew Tour for the first time ever.  He came back today with a win at the Wendy’s Invitation on a street-style course, with AST Dew Cup points leader Paul Rodriguez close behind in second.

From there, the field thinned out pretty quickly, with Greg Lutzka and Chaz Ortiz following.  Sheckler was coming off a big win at the X Games, showing that the injury that plagued him during the Right Guard Open was having less of an effect.

With the win Sheckler climbs back into the Dew Cup race and finds himself less than 20 points behind P-Rod for the lead.  Sheckler already has three Dew Cups on his mantle and can secure his fourth straight by winning out, or if P-Rod stumbles at all. Chaz Ortiz is mathematically in the race, but would need to win next month in Salt Lake City at the Toyota Challenge to stay in the running.

Keep reading for the final results.

Skate Park Final Results – Wendy’s Invitational
August 22, 2008 – Portland, OR

1st – Sheckler, Ryan – 90.10
2nd – Rodriguez, Paul – 87.25
3rd – Lutzka, Greg – 86.45
4th – Ortiz, Chaz – 85.70
5th – Colamonico, Kurtis – 83.65
6th – Seaholm, Austen – 79.70
7th – Mendes, Chris – 77.25
8th – do Rosario, Danilo – 76.50
9th – Santos, Fabrizio – 75.00
10th – Fuenzalida, Danny – 71.75
11th – Oliveira, Tulio – n/a
12th – Brummet, Dayne – n/a

AST Dew Tour: Dew Cup Current Standings
Skateboard Park Points

1. Paul Rodriguez, 270
2. Ryan Sheckler, 253
3. Chaz Ortiz, 230
4. Greg Lutzka, 215
5. Austen Seaholm, 179
6. Rodolfo Ramos, 142
7. Carlos De Andrade, 141
8. Chad Bartie, 135
9. Fabrizio Santos, 125
10. Chris Mendes, 108

But if that’s still not strong enough for you, Eric Koston will join the tour in Portland.  Koston alone can raise expectations on anything he participates in.  Even if it were something as crappy as a choir boy contest.  This isn’t the first time he’s been participated in the Dew Tour — he was there waaaaay back in 2006 — but back then Sheckler was dominating the contests and considered the park courses his domain…  Oops.

Perhaps related to that, Dew Tour officials also announced a brand-new plaza-inspired street course vs. the BMX Park course from the first two stops.  Nice that they introduced that after the open qualifiers. I’m hoping to see some neon colored vert transitions.  Check out TWS for a peek at it.  It’ll be interesting to see how this improves/disrupts the choreographed. Hopefully this will earn the Dew Tour the respect they deserve.  Now go “Do The Dew!”

Because of strict X-Games rules and restrictions, I was unable to videotape freely as I always do when I attend an event.  You know what I mean, like getting skaters in compromising candids that I can use to blackmail them for some free gear.  I’m shameless like that. Anyway I decided to leave the camera at home capture everything in my head.

I couldn’t make it to Day 1 of the X-Games due to the fact that I overslept so I missed all the big air and great slams that day.  Actually those slams were pretty bad to watch, on TV anyway.  Whenever there was a commercial during the “Family Matters” marathon over on TNT, I flipped it over to ESPN and I happened to catch Danny Way’s leg decapitation.  Unless it’s UFC or Jean-Claude Van Dam/Bloodsport type fighting, I’m not really into seeing other people get hurt.  Watching those “Faces Of Death” movies as a kid was actually kind of traumatizing.  So watching Danny Way get tossed around not once but twice like a rag doll was pretty bad.  Maybe not as bad as missing the last five minutes of episode twelve of the Family Matters marathon, but still pretty bad.  But considering he got back home after both slams, then good for him.

So hopefully attending the 2nd day of the event, I wouldn’t have to see any bad slams, live.   I had to pick up my credential first at the Home Depot Center and because all of the parking attendants are college students trying to make an extra buck, nobody could tell me where to find the credential pick up.  So I had to walk around the entire Cal State Dominguez Hills Campus in order to find the credential pick up.  Luckily I found this 30 year old 4’ 11” cholo with an amazing mustache and braided ponytail working one of the back entrances who empathized with me and let me cut through the back where all the moto cross guys hung out.  All he said to me was “Yo ey, watch out for the guys in blue ey”.  I lucked out meeting the guy because it began to get really hot out.

Once getting my credential I headed over to the Staples Center to catch the Men’s Final Street competition.  I would have to wait until Saturday for the Vert final.  But thanks to LA traffic, I arrived pretty late and got there just in time for the last street jam.  It took place over the double set with handrail.  I love going to skate contest because I feel like I’m a 15 year old again.  A 15 year old at an Aquabats concert with all types of groupies trying to get in with the band, except this time the band are a group of skaters.  The last qualifying five skaters in the final were Jereme Rogers, Greg Lutzka, P-Rod, Ryan Sheckler, Rodolfo Ramos, and of course last year’s winner, Chris Cole.

Not really knowing what happened in the earlier rounds of the street contest, there was no surprise that these six skaters were among the finalist considering you see them in almost any final they compete in.  The monopolize skate contests.  The three Plan B skaters did really well as usual but it’s really no surprise coming from them.  Jereme Rogers was doing everything switch and landing in smooth poses looking like a ninja keeping his balance.  P-Rod landed a high percentage of his tricks looking smooth like his dad in that film “Million To Juan”.  “Juan” of my favorite films actually.  Hahaha.  And then there was Sheckler, who probably didn’t even have to land anything or do anything spectacular and many eyes were still on him.  Not mine of course, but a lot of girls around me.  Every time he would go up to do a trick, I noticed three or four cameras taking photos of him, just him.  How sweet, hopefully they can develop those photos in time to put into their Trapper Keeper Binders.  Do they still use those?

The standouts for me were Greg Lutzka and Radolfo Ramos.  Sorry Chris Cole but you broke your board in the middle of the contest and that’s really rude to the spectators.  Greg Lutzka was incorporating more flip tricks and landing.  Then there’s Radolfo Ramos.  Damn this guy’s is sick.  Sorry Radolfo but I’ve never heard of him before.  He comes out of Florianapolis, Brazil.  There is nothing soft about his style.  You can really hear his trucks slam into the street obstacles.  It sounds like bricks are being thrown when he skates.  Plus he pulled one of the more impressive tricks down the double set.  A fakie variel smith grind.  I actually thought he should have won but giving first place to him is like giving Miss Universe to Miss Laos.

The results are as follows…

1.Ryan Sheckler / San Clemente, Calif.
2. Paul Rodgriguez / Northridge, Calif.
3. Greg Lutzka / Huntington Beach, Calif.
4. Rodolfo Ramos / Florianapolis, Brazil
5. Jereme Rogers / Los Angeles, Calif.

After the skate event, I decided to hang out for a bit at the Staples Center to watch some of the BMX Big Air event.  My man Greg and I went up to the press booth to check out the action but not much action was going on up there.  One of his contacts from Red Bull invited us up to their suite so we left the press area.  Greg and I went down to the suite to find a bunch of bald business looking executives in the Red Bull suite.  He couldn’t find his contact but it didn’t look like anyone really minded us being up there except for a couple awkward looks from one bald guy in particular.  But screw it, we made ourselves feel at home.  Greg started ordering drinks and I began eating their food.  The sandwiches were so delectable.  A few minutes later, Greg stepped out really quick to answer a phone call.  I was left inside talking to someone when seconds later, Greg taps my shoulder and tells me to get out.  We apparently got some false info and were in the wrong suite, obviously.  At least I got to eat.  Check back later for more coverage of ESPN’s X-Games.

Ryan Sheckler made history when he won the gold medal at X Games 9 in 2003.  He was 13 years old remains the youngest gold medalist ever.  Now he’s back on top after winning the Skate Street competition on Friday in Los Angeles over Paul Rodriguez and Greg Lutzka.

P-Rod has been on fire lately, with wins at the the Maloof Money Cup and AST Dew Tour’s Right Guard Open.  It was at the RGO that Sheckler reinjured his broken arm and fell out of the top 6 of an AST contest for the first time in his career.

Sheckler ruled two of the three jam sessions, stumbling slightly in the final stair obstacle, where Chris Cole (fourth) and P-Rod dominated.  But in the end Sheckler’s overall 92.00 would give him the honor.

Check out more about the win below plus full results.

Ryan Sheckler Dominates: Has Best Contest of His Life

“The fans make me skate better.” – Sheckler

LOS ANGELES- It was a hot day on top of the Event Deck at L.A. Live this afternoon as Sheckler, Cole, Paul Rodriguez and Greg Lutzka battled it out for one of the coveted podium positions in the Skateboard Street Men’s Final. In the end it was Sheckler who proved that he’s not only just a pretty face on T.V., but that he is also the best.

“This is the best contest I’ve ever won, the best I’ve ever felt, and the hardest I’ve ever skated.” he said with a smile.

Sheckler’s first heat, in which he earned himself a 94.00 (the highest score of the day), started off with a 180-kickflip off the 15-foot-high subway roof. He continued to one up himself a couple minutes later when he again impressed the crowd with a 360 kickflip off the roof. It was during the second heat though, that he got the crowd and his fellow skaters buzzing with excitement when he landed a caballero kickflip over the China gap.

Back in 2003 Sheckler was the youngest gold medalist in history, a title he still holds. Now, just barely an adult at age 18, Sheckler has regained the title of Skateboard Street champion.

“I’m in shock right now. I’ve been waiting since I was 13 to get back to the podium. I’m just at a loss for words,” he said.

Sheckler wasn’t going to clinch the gold without a fight from fellow skaters Paul Rodriguez, Greg Lutzka and Chris Cole. Cole was in the hot seat going into this competition as he was in the running for the first ever three-peat in Skateboard Street Men’s history. Although he was unable to put together enough of a run to reach the podium, he still finished in a respectable fourth place.

Both Rodriguez and Lutzka stayed on Sheckler’s heels throughout the three-heat final with consistent, big and technical tricks including Lutzka’s frontside frontflip off the roof of the subway station that helped earn him his bronze medal.

Silver medalist Rodriquez knew it would take a lot to compete against the stacked field today.

“Last year I gave up on my self before I even started the X Games. I came into this competition just super positive and told myself to go for it, and that’s what I did,” he stated.

The Men’s Skateboard action is just getting started. Check back tomorrow at 5:45 p.m. PT for the Men’s Skateboard Vert Final.

SKATEBOARD STREET  FINAL RESULTS
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at The Event Deck at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, Calf. on Friday, August 1, 2008. (Final Standings)

Rank – Name – Session 1 – Session 2 – Session 3 – Score
1. Ryan Sheckler – 94.00 – 93.00 – 89.00: 92.00
2. Paul Rodriguez – 89.75 – 90.25 – 92.75: 90.91
3. Greg Lutzka – 91.75 – 85.50 – 85.25: 87.50
4. Chris Cole – 88.25 – 75.75 – 94.00: 86.00
5. Rodolfo Ramos – 85.50 – 77.00 – 83.25: 81.91
6. Jereme Rogers – 75.25 – 69.00 – 87.75: 77.33

This year’s finals will only have six skateboarders, unlike last year’s field of 10, so that meant some big names missed the cut, most notably Nyjah Huston, who placed seventh.  Check out the full results below.

MEN’S SKATEBOARD STREET SELECTION SESSION
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at the Event Deck at LA LIVE in LOS ANGELES on Thursday, July 31, 2008.

Chris Cole, last year’s Skateboard Street gold medalist, is pre-qualified for Friday’s Final. (Top five advance to the final.)

1. Ryan Sheckler / San Clemente, Calif.
2. Paul Rodgriguez / Northridge, Calif.
3. Greg Lutzka / Huntington Beach, Calif.
4. Rodolfo Ramos / Florianapolis, Brazil
5. Jereme Rogers / Los Angeles, Calif.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
6. Adam Dyet / Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Nyjah Huston / Davis, Calif.
8. Darrell Stanton / Long Beach, Calif
9. Sean Malto / Kansas City, Kan.
10. Sierra Fellers / Whitefish, Mont.
11. Leo Romero / Fontana, Calif.
12. Nick Dompierre / New Bedford, Mass.
13. Mark Appleyard / Burlington, ON Canada
14. Eric Koston / Los Angeles, Calif.
15. Nick Trapasso / Phoenix, Ariz.
16. Johnny Layton / Murrietta, Calif.
17. Terry Kennedy / Long Beach, Calif.
18. Billy Marks / Corona, Calif.
19. Corey Duffel / Walnut Creek, Calif.

If there is any doubt that Paul Rodriguez is taking his skating seriously this season, it was gone Saturday after he clinched the Skate Park finals at the AST Dew Tour’s Right Guard Open.  The win follows his Maloof Money Cup victory of last week.

While P-Rod’s win was huge, two other stories dominated the day.  One was the continued emergence of Chaz Ortiz as a dominant skater this season and the other was how, for the first time in AST Dew Tour history, a skate park final jam session went down without Ryan Sheckler.  Shecker, who prequalified for the finals, needed a strong score to make the jam session and instead fell hard mid-run, injuring his arm and stopping the competition.

Viewers of the live webcast got to witness the fall, though the feed was cut almost immediately after the fall, returning about two minutes later with replay footage of the injury.

It was the first time this season the AST provided a live webcast of the finals, allowing fans across the globe to tune in.  All in all, the quality of the webcast matched the TV broadcast with the added bonus of every skater getting screentime.  The only negative?  The standard definition webcast took an HD picture and squashed it even though there was space in the player to show an HD picture.  Oh well.

The legendary Chris Miller was on hand to provide commentary along with Paul Zitzer, giving Kenan Harkin the ability to hang back and only jump in with obvious questions.

Between Sheckler’s fall and the start of the jam session, the webcast spent a good amount of time watching the skater as he was looked at by medical staff and spent time with his father, Randy, who appeared to be consoling him.

The injury proved to be a slight distraction as the top six skateboarders, led by Ortiz, took to the course for a seven-minute jam session to close out the contest.

Ortiz began his day with a flawless first run that included a late backfoot flip, while Sheckler was a full 10 points behind in fifth.  By the time Ortiz was ready to do his second run, he was still in first and Sheckler was out of the top six with a big score needed to make the jam session.

Before Ortiz started his second run Sheckler told him, “I’m so proud of you.  So sick.”  Then he added, “Can you do my run for me?”

Ortiz went on to have a solid run, including a sick kickflip frontside feeble, but a couple of stumbles left his first run his top score going into the finals.

The jam session was packed with solide tricks from everyone, though P-Rod and Ortiz were obvious frontrunners and Ortiz delivered some huge tricks including a frontside bluntside big spin out.

When it was all said and done, P-Rod pulled out his first-ever AST Dew Tour win, followed by Ortiz, Rodolfo Ramos and Greg Lutzka.

With his already-impressive history, P-Rod’s place at top should be no surprise, but Ortiz’s time may be around the corner.

“He’s probably going to be one of the best skateboarders to come,” Sheckler said of the 14-year-old phenom.

Skate Park Finals – 2008 Right Guard Open
July 19, 2008, Cleveland OH

1. Paul Rodriguez Jr. – 90.75
2. Chaz Ortiz – 90.70
3. Rodolfo Ramos – 88.50
4. Greg Lutzka – 85.85
5. Rodil Araujo Jr. – 83.60
6. Carlos De Andrade – 77.45