X Games 17: Aussie's grab Gold, Travis crashes and Raven deals.

Matt Buyten:New World Record, Step Up, 37 feet.X Games 17 in Los Angeles saw the Aussie's step into the spotlight as Jackson Strong scored BIG GOLD in Moto X Best Trick and Steve McCann ripped the BIGGEST run to win the BMX Freestyle BIG Air.  Strong "dug deep" to pull off the first Moto X front flip in smooth and stylie fashion to earn the crown.  McCann dramatically waited until the final run of the competition to roll his "kids bike" down the 80 foot ramp over a 70 ft gap and then above the 27 ft quaterpipe to pull off the double front, double whip combo and snatch victory.

A major bummer occured in Moto X Best Trick as  Superstar Travis Pastrana "laid it all out there" in an attempt to complete a 720 Toilet Paper Roll.  Travis had been working on the trick diligently in the foam pit...but admitted that he really wanted to "stick it on the dirt".  T.P. gave it his best shot, muscled it around but just missed resulting in crash landing.  The Pastranathon is now on hold as Yahoo Sports is reporting that Travis has broken bones in his right foot.  Pastrana's NASCAR debut is now on hold.  See a vid of the missed 720 here.  TRAVIS PASTRANA 720.

Strong goes toplessMoto X took over Staples center. Moto X Best Whip was decided by a text-in vote by the fans.  Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg took home the top prize with 27% of the votes.

  Matt Buyten set a new WORLD RECORD of 37 feet in Moto X Step Up.  He needed a "fist full of throttle" to defeat a very tough field ...as the bar keeps getting raised in Step Up...sort of like a high jump on a motorcycle.  Buyten captured his fourth X Games Gold Medal by " putting on my game face and charging it"   Asked to describe his thoughts during his time at 37 feet above the dirt, Buyten replied.."it's not safe, but I believe in my bike and I believe in horsepower".

The Stoke. Ryan Tershy..minutes after claiming GOLD in Skateboard Park.A new X Games star was born in Skateboard Park as 18 year old rookie performer Raven Tershy ripped his way to victory during the jam session format.  Tershy with a smooth and controlled style blasted the bowls, banks and vert features in the tricked out park on the event deck.  Tershy, an amateur from Santa Cruz topped last years Gold Medalist, Pedro Barros by one point and admitted he didn't stress the scoring "I just wanted to lay down the best run, I'm stoked".

Skateboard Park Podium. Ben Hatchell, Raven Tershy and Pedro Barros

BMX Freestyle BIG AIR...its really BIG.

Pedro Barros grinds it out in the park.

Matt Buyten .."it's not safe"

X Games CONQUERS the World

SuperStars of Action Sports. Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Ryan Shekler and Pierre-Luc Gagnon line up at X Games 17, L.A. nHow BIG can X Games get?  Pretty darn BIG.

X Games 17 kicked-off last night in Los Angeles with a star-studded press event and a benefit for the Jimmy V. Foundation on the event deck at L.A. Live.   ESPN's X Games has taken over downtown Los Angeles for the weekend (at least the area surrounding Staples Center) with eyes on GLOBAL DOMINATION. This is the fist time in 9 straight years in L.A. that the entire X Games will take place at one single location.  The course set-up and the logistical process defies comprehension.  ESPN and AEG are a formidable team.

ESPN a division of Disney, and sister station to ABC has announced plans for 6 Global events in 2013 (2 in the U.S. and 4 overseas) expanding their franchise to the world.  X Games 17 has athletes competing from 17 different countries, it will  broadcast 25 hours of live HD programming (more on-line) and the events will be shown in 192 countries and 232 million homes.   How BIG is the baby???  B----I----G.

AspenSpin will be living the dream..live in L.A.  We'll give you a first person account of X Games 17... along with plenty of photos.  Here's a few things we're keeping our eyes on.

PASTRANATHON:  Travis Pastrana, one of the most decorated (17 medal, 11 Gold) and most popular X Games athletes of all-time will be competing in 2 events in Moto X (Best Trick and Rally Cross).  In between the two comp.s he'll be taking a private jet to Indianapolis for a Nationwide race as he transitions his talents to NASCAR.  T.P. who said "I'm always under-prepared and over enthusiastic" seemed ready to tackle a BIG weekend. First up he's shooting for a 720 in best trick which will "take the monkey off my back".  Newly engaged to pro skateboarder Lyn Z Hawkins, Pastrana is working hard this weekend.

SKATEBOARD BIG AIR:  This event is extremely exciting ...and dangerous for the athletes.  An 80 foot ramp leading to a 70 foot gap followed by a 27 foot quarterpipe..... that's just sick.  JAKE BROWN will attempt a 3-peat in 2011.

BMX and SKATEBOARD STREET:  The course looks re-donk.  In the pre-game jam session, guys were going incredibly HUGE, just throwing it.  Raw street elements like stairs, rails, ledges and gaps make this a fun and super creative competition.  The best riders will win.

SHAUN WHITE:  AspenSpin loves Shaun White...there we said it.  Whether he's shredding the snow or skating vert Shaun White loves to compete.  Who says skiers and snowboarders can't get along.  Shaun White is probably the biggest brand in action sports...and he's also one of the most gregarious and professional of all the athletes.  The pressure that surrounds him...everybody wants a piece... would be unbearable for most people.  Shaun takes it all in stride.  He's friendly, he's funny and he's always nice to the kids. 

Look for more pix soon.

Ryan Sheckler the youngest gold medalist in X Games history (at age 13) holds court at age 21.

Jamie Bestwick a dominating force in BMX Vert shoots for a 5-peat.

Travis Pastrana: "Under prepared and over enthusiastic" for X Games and Nascar.Ashley Fiolek was born without hearing. That hasn't stopped her from winning the last 2 Golds in Moto X Racing

COMIC CON is like CRACK.

Cast of Napoleon Dynamite at Comic Con 2011Comic Con... the world just can't look away. You don't want to love it..but you know you do.  It's waaaaay more than comics.  Comic Con International is the largest celebration of popular culture in this universe...and beyond.  Popular culture might be America's most important and influential export...think Hollywood, TV, and Video Games, Animation...wow no wonder COMIC CON is like the Super Bowl of Pop.

Comic Con had it's roots in Detroit, Michigan in the 60's, founder Shel Dorf's home town. 1970 was the first official Comic Con, held at San Diego's U.S Grant Hotel with 300 guests.  Since then, @SDCC (twitter handle) has topped out at 130,000 people.  This year's 4-Day passes were sold out during last years Con.  The single day passes sold out within the first 8 hours on Feb 6.   We're not sure how they measure the Con, but the HUMONGOUS crowd is the best part of the show. The Cos-play ...or costumes are simply incredible.  Click COMIC CON is CRACK and COMIC CON (part 3) for pix.   It's impossible to see it all.  You'd need super powers to see 100's of panels, thousands of exhibitors, and hundreds of thousands of people.  The list of events is staggering. 

Comic Con 2011The thing that sets #SDCC apart from other events is the "FANDOM".  The passion, fervor and commitment of the Comic Con fan base is second to none.  We interviewed "Super 8", a group of seemingly normal women in their 20's who were first in line for Hall H, the 6,500 seat main auditorium.  These die-hards are so devoted  to Twilight, that they started the line on Sunday afternoon (for a Thurs opening).  The ladies were shoo-ed away by authorities, but allowed to begin camping out on Monday.  3 nights under the stars is a small price to pay for Twilight. Danny Devito at Comic Con

This was AspenSpin's second #SDCC so we're learning the ropes.  Our highlights include;

GAME of THRONEs Panel

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE Press Event

30 MINUTES or LESS ... movie sneak peak

MAXIM Party at Hotel Salomar

DEADLIEST WARRIOR Press Event

PREVIEW NIGHT on the Con Floor

SUSHI GIRL cast party

SHARK NIGHT 3D (crashed the party)

=======================================

SEE OUR PIX:

COMIC CON is CRACK +++ and +++ COMIC CON RULES

and COMIC CON (part 3).

=============================================

Wonder Woman helped promote Hippy Media at Comic Con

Angie Everhart and H.R. PuffenstuffSushi Girl cast partyStan Lee is the main man in the comic world.

Game of Thrones panel at Comic Con AspenSpin.com

Comic Con rules the World

Comic Con is a very difficult scene to describe.  The sheer enormity boggles the mind.  Basically its a conference that celebrates all forms of pop culture, comics, music, TV, movies, swag etc.   It's 4 days of madness in San Diego's Gaslamp District.  125,000 people infuse approximately $165 million into the local economy.  Hollywood brings their humongous publicity machine down the coast to get in front of their fanboys (and girls) and your creepy neighbor who still lives in his Mom's basement is here. 

Much more to come. AspenSpin snapped over 2500 photos in 2 days...here's a few of the best, click em, while we edit the rest.   

Click 4 pix   COMIC CON RULES. 

Del Mar: Where the Surf meets the Turf.

Historic Del Mar RacewayDel Mar  Racetrack is as "cool as ever".  It's where the surf meets the turf.  Opening Day 2011 was nothing short of spectacular as almost 47,000 souls ditched work to spend the day at the races.  Thoroughbred racing has a long and distinguished history in Del Mar, ever since Bing Crosby and his pals opened the track in 1937 and Seabiscuit ran there in 1938.  Known as a playground to the Hollywood luminaries like Ava Gardner, Red Skelton, W.C. Fields, Don Ameche, Dorothy Lamour and others.

Opening Day at Del Mar has become an incredible celebration over the years.  More about the party and the fashion and THE HATS than the actual racing, Del Mar is like the Kentucky Derby for So.Cal.  Check our SURF meets the TURF pix.   Getting to the track on opening day is always a challenge as the crowds of limo's, party buses and regular autos basically funnel into a single lane.  Aspen Spin hoofed it to the track through the back door from about 2 miles away.  Auto traffic was moving at approximately 1 mile per hour as the 2 pm post time approached.

Pre and Post parties in downtown Del Mar were numerous.  Drinking was voluminous and people dressed for success and to impress.  The Hollywood glamour seemed to be limited to the b-list, one of the "real housewives" was there and a couple of NFL QB's; Mark Sanchez and Aaron Rodgers.  We didn't make it to the Turf Club or the Winners Circle, but it was BIG fun in the grandstand.

Check the pix.  SURF meets the TURF.

Unbelievable Hats at Del Mar Opening Day. Click 4 Pix.Magnificent animals at Del Mar. Click for pix.Ladies of Del Mar.