X Games

ESPN's annual no-holds-barred X Games action sports showcase features four days of tricks and stunts. BMX bikes, skateboards and supercross dirt bikes battle for top honors in more than 25 competitions. Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A. Noon-8 p.m. Thu.-Fri., 11:15 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat., 2-8 p.m. Sun. $30-$45. (213) 742-7340.

The idea for the X Games, the latest edition of which begins Thursday in downtown Los Angeles, was hatched in a Connecticut bookstore by an ESPN employee in 1993. Two years later, the first X Games were held in Rhode Island and, looking back, the action sports event was rather whack. X Games officials looked upon the athletes they corralled, a so-called rebellious lot of adrenaline junkies, and remarked how crazy most of them looked. The athletes, in turn, glared at the "suits" embodying the so-called establishment and wondered if their talents were being appreciated or their image was only being exploited.

Jackson Strong considers this his first X Games. He participated in it last year, but he was knocked out during an event and can't really remember anything afterward. But after he pulled off the first front flip in the history of the Moto X best trick contest Thursday, helping win him the gold medal, he'll have plenty of good memories going forward. Strong said he has been working on that trick for about three years and he imagines it will only be topped in the future. "One day somebody is probably going to be doing a double front flip on a dirt bike," Strong said.

It's a trick Travis Pastrana has been trying to land for years. But Thursday at X Games 17 in downtown Los Angeles, the action sports star failed again and, worse, broke his right foot and ankle in the process, which puts into question his participation in other events this weekend. His injury occurred during the Moto X Best Trick final when Pastrana crash-landed on a dirt ramp in Staples Center after trying to flip and spin his dirt bike 720 degrees in the air, a trick he calls a "toilet paper roll.

Santa Cruz native Raven Tershy only finished two runs in the skateboard park finals, but those two runs were all he needed to win his first X Games gold medal. Tershy's total of 82 points edged the 81 of defending gold medalist Pedro Barros. "He deserved it," Barros said. "He skated the whole contest amazing ? It was a really good feeling to see my friend out there, killing it out there. " Barros opened the finals with two runs of 40 and 41, respectively, to take what appeared to be a commanding and decisive lead.

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.

People began asking for Mitchie Brusco's autograph when he was 3½ years old. But he couldn't write yet, so he asked his older sister Jessica for help. One night, they created his mark: the letter M with a skateboard drawn beneath it. He called it his "M. " "Why do they want my 'M?' " he would ask his mother, Jennifer, when people approached the Kirkland, Wash., native at skate parks after a run. Brusco didn't know it, but the people watching how he maneuvered on a skateboard as a toddler, they knew he would be a star.

X Games 17 fans, prepare to open your wallets. JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live is offering a weekend pass for a close-up of skateboarding, BMX, motocross and other adrenaline-packed competitions that run July 28 to July 31 in downtown Los Angeles. The package comes with three nights at the hotel, tickets to events, breakfast with X Games medalist Dave Mirra and more for a cool $3,000. See what I mean about the open-wallet policy? --The details: X Games 17 events will be held at L.A. Live, the Nokia Theatre, Staples Center -- all within walking distance of the hotel.

The X Games, the world's largest action sports competition, took a step toward increasing its global footprint Tuesday when ESPN officials announced it will double to six annual events beginning in 2013, with the new three events being held outside the U.S. The franchise, now in its 17th year, currently holds events in Los Angeles during the summer and in Aspen, Colo., and Tignes, France, during the winter. But under the new plan, four total events will be international. "It's absolutely great.