Trick Is in Scoring, but Stenberg Wins Gold

Jeremy Stenberg’s “back-flip, no-footer, one-hander” earned him his first X Games medal -- a gold, no less -- as he emerged the winner Thursday evening of the Moto X best-trick contest.

But was it the best trick?

In the twilight outside Staples Center, 10 freestyle motocross stars competed in the finals and while Stenberg was certainly deserving of accolades, largely on the merit of the length of his jump and his execution, some of the others were a tad trickier and a few were downright scary.

Travis Pastrana, for example, unveiled a trick never before tried in competition: a back flip, during which he spun his handle bars the way BMX riders do, on a custom bike after spending $100,000 on research and development.

He might have stuck the landing too, had his front fork and wheel not fallen off upon impact.

He got a new bike for his second run and, needing a 92.21 to overtake Stenberg, spun a back flip and in midair, briefly raised and extended his right leg, and landed with no hands. He scored a 91.20 and earned the silver for his eighth X Games medal, four of them gold.

“We’ve had a lot of hiccups along the way, this being the most major of the hiccups,” Pastrana said, in reference to his attempted bar spin.

Nate Adams, with a flat-spin 360-degree back flip on his second run, scored 90.40 and took the bronze, his fifth X Games medal. He was in a dour mood afterward, claiming he “was beaten by two tricks that shouldn’t have beaten me.”

Kenny Bartram, like Pastrana, tried something never seen during a competition: a back flip while riding side-saddle, with his legs crossed and his left foot on the peg. The foot slipped just before he landed and he fell, but he stuck the landing on the second of his two runs, and scored an 89.40 to finish fourth.

If this wasn’t enough for the fans to digest, there were crashes enough to make them cringe.

Defending champion Chuck Carothers of Cleveland, Texas, closed the competition with the scariest spill. He was 30 feet in the air when he tried the same trick he won with last year: laying out over the seat, letting go, rolling over and resuming position on the seat before landing.

But he lost control of the bike during the descent, landed on his side upon impact, spun off and banged his head on the dirt. He was unconscious briefly before rising and lifting both arms as if to indicate he was OK. He was believed to have suffered a fractured shoulder.

That made Beau Bamburg’s crash landing on his front wheel, after he had under-rotated during a back flip, look comfortable by comparison.

In the end, though, the evening belonged to Stenberg. The resident of Winchester, Calif., was all smiles, his body intact, his status much loftier than after his previous X Games best: a fifth in the same event during the Winter X Games in 2004.

Though his maneuver -- a back flip with his feet off the pegs and a one-handed landing -- didn’t appear to be as difficult as some of the others, it was carried out on a 90-foot jump, making it the longest back flip in X Games history.

“I definitely think it made the difference with the judges,” he said. “That’s what they’re looking for: big air.”

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Temecula’s Brian Deegan, 30, pulled out of the best-trick competition, citing ill-effects from a freestyle motocross accident in late May, which resulted in the loss of a kidney.

“I told myself that if I did not feel 100% I would not compete, and I gave myself right up to the last day of X Games practice,” said Deegan, winner of the same event in the 2005 Winter X Games. “I don’t enter an event unless I feel I have a chance to win and I got to thinking that I was not ready to do a 360 on my dirt bike 40 feet high on a 100-foot jump.”

-- Pete Thomas

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BMX rider John Parker was knocked unconscious when he crashed his bike and hit his head during the BMX freestyle vert competition.

Parker was removed on a stretcher but regained consciousness and removed his gloves before departing in an ambulance to a local hospital.

“He’s fine,” said third-place finisher Kevin Robinson, who talked with Parker shortly after the accident. “They’re just going to keep him overnight for observation.”

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ESPN Deportes is broadcasting the X Games in Spanglish, a hybrid of Spanish and English, for the first time.

“I think it’s a great thing,” said Paul Rodriguez, 20, who won his second straight men’s street skateboarding title. “It’s good to see them doing this for minorities. Skateboarding is also kind of like a minority, so for them to give us respect is a cool thing.”

In total, ESPN will have nine announcers, 14 cameras, and 90 production and technical staff members dedicated to the Spanish-language broadcast.

“I think they’ll be happy with the coverage,” Rodriguez said. “Hopefully, it will get the kids into something constructive.”

His father, actor-comedian Paul Rodriguez, said ESPN’s efforts were commendable.

“Spanish is very diverse,” the elder Rodriguez said. “But ESPN is breaking ground. They don’t know what they’re doing, but nobody else does either. If ESPN says it’s hip, then it’s hip.”

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BMX rider Mike Escamilla set two world records in Wednesday’s practice session, according to Guinness World Records, on hand to document such feats.

Escamilla set the mark for longest BMX back flip at 62 feet 2 inches and the longest 360-ramp jump at 50 feet and six inches.

-- Jonathan Abrams

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Skateboarders are known for their ability to improvise on the run, but they usually attempt new tricks during practice sessions, not on national television.

Greg Lutzka, 21, of Huntington Beach invented a new move during the skateboard street final. It’s called a 270 switch front side blunt, and it involves a reverse three-quarter revolution from one side of the rail to the other, finished by grinding the tail of the board on the last part of the rail.

After several tries, Lutzka finally pulled it off on the eight-step handrail just after the second “jam session” expired.

Lutzka, who moved to Huntington Beach from Milwaukee about 18 months ago, cracked his board doing a front side 360-degree rotation during the final session, but held on for the best finish of his career.

“It was just so hot out there,” Lutzka said. “But I like the format, two runs and then the jam, that makes it a lot easier.”

Dan Arritt

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

X Games schedule

TODAY; EVENT; LOCATION

9 a.m.-noon; Wakeboard men’s and women’s practice; Marine Stadium

10-11 a.m.; Moto X supermoto practice; Home Depot Center

10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Aggressive inline vert demo practice; Staples Center inside

10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Skateboard vert women’s practice; Staples Center inside

10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Skateboard big air practice; Staples Center outside

11 a.m.-1 p.m.; BMX freestyle dirt practice; Home Depot Center

Noon-1:30 p.m.; Wakeboard men’s prelims; Marine Stadium

Noon-2 p.m.; Skateboard street women’s practice; Staples Center outside

Noon-5 p.m.; BMX freestyle park practice; Home Depot Center

1-3 p.m.; Moto X freestyle practice; Home Depot Center

1:30-2:30 p.m.; Wakeboard women’s prelims; Marine Stadium

2-3 p.m.; Skateboard street women’s finals; Staples Center outside

2-3:30 p.m.; Skateboard vert men’s practice; Staples Center inside

3-4 p.m.; Moto X supermoto practice; Home Depot Center

4-4:45 p.m.; Skateboard vert men’s practice; Staples Center inside

4-6 p.m.; BMX freestyle dirt practice; Home Depot Center

5-7 p.m.; Skateboard vert men’s finals; Staples Center inside

5:30-6:30 p.m.; Moto X step up practice; Home Depot Center

7-8 p.m.; Moto X step up finals; Home Depot Center

SATURDAY; EVENT; LOCATION

9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; Moto X supermoto seeding; Home Depot Center

9 a.m.-11 a.m.; BMX freestyle park practice; Home Depot Center

9 a.m.-11 a.m.; Skateboard big air practice; Staples Center outside

9 a.m.-noon; Aggressive inline vert demo practice; Staples Center inside

9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Skateboard vert men’s & women’s practice; Staples Center inside

10-10:40 a.m.; Wakeboard men’s finals; Marine Stadium

11-11:30 a.m.; Wakeboard women’s finals; Marine Stadium

11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; Skateboard big air selection session; Staples Center outside

11 a.m.-1 p.m.; BMX freestyle park finals; Home Depot Center

11 a.m.-1:15 p.m.; Moto X freestyle practice; Home Depot Center

1-1:45 p.m.; Skateboard vert women’s finals; Staples Center inside

1:30-3 p.m.; Moto X freestyle finals part one; Home Depot Center

2:30-3 p.m.; Aggressive inline vert demo; Staples Center inside

3-5:15 p.m.; BMX freestyle dirt practice; Home Depot Center

3:30-4:30 p.m.; Skateboard vert best trick finals; Staples Center inside

5-5:30 p.m.; BMX vert best trick finals; Staples Center inside

5:30-7 p.m.; BMX freestyle dirt finals; Home Depot Center

7-8 p.m.; Moto X freestyle finals part two; Home Depot Center

SUNDAY; EVENT; LOCATION

9 a.m.-noon; Skateboard big air practice; Staples Center outside

9:30-11 a.m.; Moto X supermoto practice; Home Depot Center

Noon-1:30 p.m.; Skateboard big air finals; Staples Center outside

1:30-3 p.m.; Moto X supermoto race; Home Depot Center