The crowd here at the Home Depot Center is much lighter than it was yesterday. The limited slate probably has a lot to do with that, as does the absence of Moto X. Rally should be fun, but the only big draw today is the skateboard vert -- both legends and the regular finals.
Jaime and I split up as the legends event was about to end. He went to the VIP section, while I stayed in the media pen to make sure we got the riders if they went to one or the other. Most went to the VIP section, and when I went over there to meet Jaime it was packed. So packed that they wouldn't let anyone else in. It wasn't a big deal for me because Jaime was already there, but I felt bad for the fans who bought VIP passes and then couldn't get into the special section for the event they wanted to most. Kinda stinks.
Anyway, the workers are preparing the track for rally here within the soccer stadium, and the ramp looks nice and scary. I'll be interested to see how many fans we have in the stadium -- i.e., do a lot of fans just leave after the vert or do they stick around for the rally cars? I'm not sure on that, so we'll have to wait and see.
Victoria Beckham and kids were at the X Games. Which is no surprise to me, the Beckhams have been everywhere in L.A. since arriving.
I spotted the Beckhams coming back to the press box from the BMX vert finals competition.
Their car, a black SUV (probably David's Escalade) was pulled up to the front of the X Fest entrance and Beckham and kids (I spotted at least two, but I would imagine all three were there) were getting into the car. What drew my attention was that there was about six HDC security guards, one other person who looked like personal security and about 20 people snapping pictures with camera phones around the car.
At first I didn't know it was Beckham, but I told Ken Fowler that I thought it was Beckham. I was just joking, though.
Then I spot Victoria Beckham's blonde-doo through the rear window and knew it was her.
The personal security guard told the lookie-loos to please go away, that Ms. Beckham had done enough photos and the crowd began to disperse.
I know a lot of you are thinking "who cares?" -- I'm going "who cares?" -- but I bet a great majority of the people reading this blog, at some point while reading it, said, "that's cool" and nodded their heads.
I feel bad for those people that nodded their heads, though.
Jake Brown, otherwise known as "that guy who who took that scary spill" earlier this week at X Games, made a superstar entrance into the Home Depot Center during the Moto X racing qualifiers.
The crowd gave Brown a standing ovation as he walked, with the aide of a cane, to where ESPN's Sal Masekela was waiting to interview him. The interview got off to a rocky start as the audio went awry just as Brown uttered his first words. When the audio came back the crowd cheered as they were about to hear Brown speak for the first time since his 45-foot drop on Thursday.
The clip of his fall was shown on the big screen and the crowd reacted as if it had seen it for the first time. Saying "whoa" when Brown was shown falling backwards and "ouch" when he hits the ground and his shoes fly off.
Masekela asked Brown if he was done skating or if he would ever compete in the X Games again?
"I can't wait to comeback," Brown said.
The crowd went crazy. I went crazy. Brown, pimp-cane and all, went crazy, also.
The face of the X Games showed up for the Moto X racing event tonight at Home Depot Center. No, not Travis Pastrana, who failed to advance to the final in the event, but Jake Brown, the skateboarder who dropped an estimated 45 feet to the floor of the mega-ramp during the skateboard big air competition Thursday night at Staples Center.
Brown was released from the hospital earlier Saturday after suffering liver and lung contusions and fractures in his back and hand. He walked onto the field accompanied by fellow skaters Danny Way and Pierre-Luc Gagnon. Walking with the aid of a cane and with his right wrist in a brace, Brown was greeted with a standing ovation.
He thanked the crowd for their applause and told them, "I'm doing great, I'm still walking, so what more can I ask for.''
They showed some replays of his spill on the big screen and he remarked as he hit the floor, "Shoes everywhere, lights out.'' Good to see he still has a sense of humor.
He then walked to the top of one of the jumps and acknowledged the crowd again.
"I cant wait to come back,'' he said.
I have a feeling he'll be just as popular next year.
I'm here at the Skateboard men's best trick event, but I don't see the competitors. What gives?
Oh, nevermind. Tony Tave is here, but what about the others?
Anyways, I have a funny story to tell. I've been here @ the HDC since 10 a.m. But on my way to the velodrome I ran into two security guards (they were teenagers, though, so they might have been something else). They looked tired as they chowed down McDonald's food and I asked them, how long they been here?
"Since 5 a.m.," one says.
"We've been here for 17 hours," the other adds.
I don't know if it's true, it's too late for me to do the math. But it's crazy how long the day has been. And it's been longer for others, obviously.
I found out late yesterday that I'd been assigned to cover today's early events at the Home Depot Center. To which I replied, "what events?" There are only two events on the schedule and both are later tonight at Staples Center.
"Well, there's practice," I was told.
Practice? Practice!?!
I won't go into A.I. mode, but you can figure out what I did for the next 12 seconds.
But, boy, was I wrong.
Here I am at the HDC and there are a ton of things going on. Guys, we got you covered, believe me.
BMX Vert practice just ended, as did Moto X freestyle. But there is lots more than just the practice sessions going on.
Right now I'm in the press box, renamed the "media center" by X Games people, typing this blog. But as soon as I'm done I'm going to hit up this area that's just outside the stadium, where all the fans are mixing to see what's going on. Earlier, when I picked up my media credential, they had this band that was playing Green Day's "American Idiot" so that area seems to be party central.
The event that's left on the practice schedule here is the BMX park. Once that's over with I'll head to Staples to check out skateboard big air and Moto X best trick finals.
Dan Arritt (center), Times writer and O.C. native, has covered high school, college, the X Games and professional sports ranging from football to surfing in his two decades with The Times.
Jaime Cardenas (left), a Times intern and San Diego native who grew up in Tijuana with a passion for sports and writing, is a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton. He has covered the World Baseball Classic, soccer's Gold Cup and junior college and high school sports.
Ken Fowler, a Times intern and Long Island, N.Y., native who attends the University of Notre Dame, has covered Notre Dame football since 2005 as well as women's basketball, college soccer, fencing and, most recently, the Galaxy (the soccer team, not our part of the universe).
Jaime Cardenas (left), a Times intern and San Diego native who grew up in Tijuana with a passion for sports and writing, is a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton. He has covered the World Baseball Classic, soccer's Gold Cup and junior college and high school sports.
Ken Fowler, a Times intern and Long Island, N.Y., native who attends the University of Notre Dame, has covered Notre Dame football since 2005 as well as women's basketball, college soccer, fencing and, most recently, the Galaxy (the soccer team, not our part of the universe).