X Games

* What happened Sunday: Danny Way, 32, won his third consecutive big-air gold medal at the Home Depot Center after nailing consecutive back flips over the 50-foot gap and following with massive Christ airs on the 27-foot quarterpipe. They were the first successful back flips ever completed in skateboarding at the X Games. Way scored 93.75 on his first back flip but bettered that with a 95.00 after straightening his legs while upside down on his second back flip. Jake Brown scored 93.

After 17 X Games and 21 medals, it makes sense that Bob Burnquist would know what it takes to win gold. Burnquist proved that again Friday night in the Skateboard Big Air competition, landing two 540-degree turns in his fourth run to earn a score of 92.66 points. "It feels great," Burnquist said. "It's a dream. I never thought I'd be holding it down this long. " Burnquist landed two of the only six runs to include two successful tricks. Defending gold medalist Jake Brown failed to land a single run as he attempted a backflip over the 70-foot gap, and 14-year-old sensation Mitchie Brusco never even got to attempt his famed 900. In Brusco's final four runs, he failed to land his jump over the gap preceding the quarterpipe.

An event-by-event look at opening weekend of the X Games: * SURFING When: Today, final, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Huntington Beach Pier The competition: Surfing has always been thought of as an individual sport, man versus nature, with nobody to depend on but yourself. That will change with the debut of surfing in the X Games and the unfolding of a new team format, called the Game.

Not only were they invited into the Olympic family, but they also were practically pulled through the doorway by the International Olympic Committee, begged to join the winter party. Snowboarding gave the IOC that desired crampon hold against television-ratings slippage and an increased presence in the youth market. In return, the Winter Olympics gave snowboarding just enough mainstream polish. So, what to take from the sport's fourth turn at the Winter Olympics? The verdict from the first week in Vancouver suggests that it's a win-win relationship for this seemingly mismatched couple, the X Games vibe and the old-school IOC. "That's what always happens -- it's like when your favorite indie band hits it big," said Peter Foley, the U.S. snowboard coach.

It was just a matter of time before the conversation wound around to Winston Churchill. Two questions, really. That's the charm of interviewing snowboarding and skateboarding star Shaun White. You can design a well-thought-out plan of chatter, but that would be predictable and boring, two words not belonging in any sentence with White's name. Option two: Let White seize the conversation and run with it, taking the talk where it needs to go. This onramp led to Churchill when talk moved to the inevitable hangover facing almost all athletes after a hugely successful turn — and in this case, a double McTwist 1260 by White in Vancouver, Canada — and resulting in a gold medal for the snowboarder in the halfpipe at the Olympics.

Skateboard Schedule Friday -- Street Best Trick final, 2-3 p.m., Staples Center; Vert final, 7:30-9 p.m., Staples Center. Sunday -- Vert Best Trick final, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Staples Center; Park final, 1-3:30 p.m., Staples Center. The Competition The vert event has become a cornerstone of the X Games, featuring competitors in a massive 13-foot half pipe constructed of wood, screws and Skatelite.

The last and winning run in the BMX Big Air competition may have been only the third most dramatic Thursday night. Last year's silver medalist, Steve McCann, landed a double front flip followed by a double tailwhip in his final run to raise his high score to a 91.6 and claim the gold medal. Fellow Australian Vince Byron took second even though he broke his handlebars after his second run. "I was thinking, 'You better not screw this up Steve,'" McCann said of his approach to his final run. "You don't work all year to come crash.