X games

LOS ANGELES -- 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.

ASPEN, Colo. -- Shaun White soared in and out of a 22-foot halfpipe, performing every trick in the book at top amplitude. Another jaw-dropping practice session he made look routine.

"Who is that chick?" he heard someone ask during his workout with women's snowboarders.

When White disclosed the case of mistaken identity, Gretchen Bleiler didn't hesitate for a joke at his expense. "Her hair is so flowing!" she exclaimed. "Her pants are so tight!"

The "Flying Tomato" isn't hard to miss at the Winter X Games, which continued Friday and run through Sunday on Buttermilk Mountain, where White remains a larger-than-life figure, indisputably the crown jewel of an action-sports empire he has helped construct.

Snowmobiler Levi LaVallee intended to ring in the New Year with a daring jump of more than 300 feet in front of a live national audience.

Instead, the Winter X Games star will spend a mellow night on the sofa, hoping to stay awake long enough to watch the ball drop at midnight if his banged-up body permits it.

Quite a drastic change in plans.

Considering what happened, Lavallee's not complaining.

While training for the latest edition of the "Red Bull: New Year. No Limits." daredevil series that was set for New Year's Eve, LaVallee lost control of his snowmobile high in the air and landed violently on his side, bouncing down the landing ramp. He broke ribs, cracked his pelvis, collapsed one lung and punctured the other.