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Stars in the Lone Star State
by Eric Kirkwood
Like all good things, it is time to bring this amazing 2006 LG Action Sports World Tour series to an end. Today’s festivities culminated in the skateboard vert finals. The competition was above and beyond any expectations as these warriors battled it out with the knowledge that $30,000 in cold hard cash hung in the balance.
Jean Postec, Anthony Furlong and Bucky Lasek are nothing short of amazing, however the pressures of such a high level of competition catch up to everyone at some point and tonight, their numbers came up . . . unrealized runs plagued all three and the end result was bottom of the heap. Cheers nonetheless boys. We’ll see you next season.After struggling through his first two runs, Mathias Ringstrom was able to pull it together in his final run. He pulled out his signature impossible lien air as well as some well tweaked grabs, flips and liptricks.
Buster Halterman had a ridiculously good run that landed him in 6th position (which shows just how stiff the competition was tonight). Highlights of Buster’s run included unique and utterly breathtaking indy and stalefish 540s, blasted frontside and backside grabs and the butteriest backside lip in the business.
PLG, while still healing from a split kneecap (surgery, rehab, etc.), was able to skate to a respectable finals placing. No stranger to the smoothness, Pierre flowed through the whole run and aside from a few inches lost here and there, was in usual good form. Backside 540s and Mctwists were interspersed between nice big airs and fliptricks including a nollie heelflip indy, heelflip indy, kickflip mute, cab flip mute and liptricks to boot.
Bob Burnquist . . . pretty, pretty, PRETTY! Bob keeps the audience on the edge of their seats with a “hold on at all costs” style full of originality and creativity not to mention good energy. His rodeo 540 is insane and is executed all in one place (no traveling), just amazing!
Andy Macdonald had three full runs . . . MACHINE! Andy worked a run jammed with big grabs, lots of technical flip tricks and the lot. He skated his third run with even more power and verve than his first two adding body varials to 540s, busting a nollie 540 and generally being “the MAC daddy”.
Tas Pappas and Sandro Dias took first and second respectively. Tas and Sandro’s runs couldn’t have been more different . . . which makes it even more impressive that they tied (broken by their second best runs). Sandro is the most bionic skater alive! Bob Burnquist has mentioned that he is in awe of his ability to do a whole run without a hint of tiring. Sandro’s whole run was nine foot plus and between his 540 onefoot, alley-oop 5, high speed back smiths and bodyjars and the gnar-jar (a 540 to bodyjar), he was the ultimate crowd pleaser.
It was a big question mark as to what Tas could make happen when he dropped in for his third run . . . What he could do was WIN! Mr. Pappas looked like a man possessed as he burst across the ramp in a ball of white hot intensity. Backside 540s, Mctwists, fakie 540s, a 720 and a trick generally saved for best trick competitions – a varial flip mute grab backside 360 . . . that’s a lot of trick!
Congratulations too all the competitors and thanks for making this such an amazing final!
