Lance Armstrong goes 2.0

For the Giro D'Italia, Lance Armstrong has gone 2.0. He has stopped talking to the traditional media and is only providing press coverage through his Twitter or through the Livestrong site. This gives you the viewer/reader unprecedented access to Lance Armstrong and most importantly learn when he might consider cutting his hair. Rumors are flying from the NYTimes that Lance is just "testing" this 2.0 thang in a bid for the 2014 Texas Governor's race. Check this sample from after Stage 15 which kicked everyone's ass.

Lance and Levi Postrace Recap After Giro's Stage 15 -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

Rumorator interviews Hoon

If you haven't heard, I'm famous in Milwaukee evidently... At least according to the Rumorator. No he's not some infomercial kitchen appliance that steams and dehydrates at the same time, he's a snowboard, celebrity gossip guru. Who is he? What's his real name? Does he actually snowboard? No one knows. He's like The Spirit, Batman and Boy George all mixed in one person.

The infamous Rumorator recently caught up with me for one of his classic Sidebar interviews. Of course he shamelessly praised me to agree to do it and then picked the worst possible picture.

Here's an excerpt, but I highly recommend that you favorite, RSS or set your home page to the Rumorator blog. I hear he/she is blowing up faster than Perez Hilton's gerbil or 2 Girls, 1 Cup.

Sidebar interview #4: Hoon

Posted by: rumorator in Interviews

Name: Hoon

Current Gmail Status: REALLY wants to be in the water

Location: Boston-ish

Jobby Job: Blogger, Master of Hoon-o-nomics

I was at the Brewers’ game on Tuesday night and people were asking me about you. How did you manage to build a Brew City following?
For realz? I employ a series of doppelgangers who travel the world proselytizing the gospel of Hoon. Plus I use twitterTruly it’s amazing.I hear we’re big in liberia

What’s this shit about you hard-rockin’ the nike 6.0?
You know how it is. they say, hey we’re targeting the mass youth with some sneakers and t-shirts. i say sweet. they say can you help us get the word out? i say how many free diecuts are in it for me.

But you’re 36?
hey now…. you’re not going to publish that… are you? my internet age is 16… or at least that’s what i tell the ladies on facespace. grom4lyfe
nike6.0 is trying to reach out to anyone who acts like their 16, even better if they’re trying so hard and they’re 42… i mean 36 with a huge fat wallet to buy this stuff on steepandcheap

My internet age is 112, so we’re cool.
oh nice. so we like cancel out.

You’ve got a Hoon jr. on the way. Any chance you’ll name the wee one Rumorator?
Dude… you can’t let the cat out of the bag. if we have a girl it’s definitely named rumorator. if it’s a boy Shayboarder.

That kid will hate you!
sadly it probably will anyway. Mr. Bob Klein told me his kids think he isn’t cool. Bob friggin’ Klein, former Burton team rider and Agent to the snowboard olympic stars!you don’t get much cooler than that.

Read the rest of the scintillating interview here.

An Update from YES (we can) Snowboards - 2010

I was talking with some of the folks at YES (thanks JMZ, Sarah and Donny) and wanted to give a quick update from my last series of posts of this interesting little new brand.

You've probably seen these boards being tested by the likes of Shayboarder, etc. They also had a bit of a controversial stir over not being included in the TWS Good Wood test. All par for the course (and what we've come to expect) from the guys that brought you the Burton Uninc series.

The YES Crew has been very busy and are set to launch the limited edition, handpainted "by the bro's" and then a summer line-up called the "Monochrome" series. The Monochrome series takes its inspiration from the pioneers of the rac car industry. The third series will be the "Logotype" taking flight in the US at the end of August, early September.

Artwork will feature: "Philippe Douduit, world class photographer Jean-François Gaudinet, Atelier Indépendant, Paris Vincent Pages from Eroone Marc " Espirit " Tzp & many more"

The boards will come in a variety of colors with mixed up delivery to retailers. All boards are developed and manufactured at the Nidecker factory in Switzerland. They'll have a mix of twin tip and directional (see below); Use FSC-certified wood cores for the utmost "environmental respect"; Utilize CamRock Camber, stone-ground finishes, One Ball Jay wax and die-cut bases.

Sizes will include:

149 Rocker Twin-Tip

154 Rocker Twin-Tip

156.5 Asymetric Rocker Twin-Tip W/ Ultimate Grip

159 Rocker Twin-Tip

162 Directional / Twin-Tip, Rocker

Retail for the boards is slated to be around $399, but check the website for details. Distribution in 2010 will be limited to some key retailers and production will also be limited so you'll have to be on the ball to snag one of these suckas.

I'll be providing more details on the Asymetric Rocker with Ultimate Grip and an interview with their US Key Accounts Manager, Donny, shortly. In the mean time for more info, check out my interview on 5ones.com with JMZ.

Team Astana to change uniforms (again)

Midst rumored financial difficulties and potential sponsor changes, Team Astana will be doing a mid-Giro uniform swap. Earlier in the season, high-profile membes of Astana including Levi Leipheimer, Chris Horner and Lance Armstrong, raced the in the US Tour De Gila, using Armstrong's shop team, Mellow Johnny's uniform. One can only speculate what's next for the incarnation of this powerhouse team: USPS -> Discovery -> Astana -> ? Does this mean that all Astana gear will flood eBay at incredibly cheap prices? One can only hope as Daddy needs a new wind vest.














Update from Johan Bruyneel (Yes, they'll be riding the Tour. No they're not sure about Vinokourov) and a little more commentary on the Giro at VN.com

A random smattering of gossip on Road Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Snowboarding, Surfing and More

So it's May, and we're getting ready for our impending baben. But I wanted to share the latest and greatest gossip from the world of sport (or at least the sports I happen to care about). Buckle up, stay tuned and keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground.

Road Biking or skinny dudes in spandex
3-time Paris-Roubaix winner, Tom Boonen gets busted again for an out-of-competition positive for cocaine. The prediction is that he'll be given a six-month suspension as it's his second time. He may also be slapped with fines for "shameless conduct" as well. Of course, he'll miss the Tour De France again. It's a true shame that one of the best sprinters, if not one of the best of breed riders, will miss the chance to show his stuff on the biggest stage of biking. The big S has got to be BUMMING. This is the second year in a row that they can't capitalize on Boonen's wins especially with Boonen's use of Specialized Roubaix in Paris-Roubaix. Of course, when you check Tomboonen.com, it's all smiles and accolades. I guess they're not quite up-to-date on things...

Mountain Biking or the ugly stepchild of biking (which is a subsection of the sporting world)
GT bikes has announced the first winner of the Golden Race Series. The winner of each race gets to use a GT Marathon or Zaskar hardtail, hang out with The Gold Diggers (GT cheerleaders) is just one of the perks associated with being the Golden Bike winner. In addition, each Golden Bike Winner will receive an-all-expense-paid trip for two to the next race in the Golden Race Series, a $250 SUGOI gift certificate, a starring role in the online ad campaign, and support from a dedicated professional mechanic at that race – but only if the Winner agrees to defend his title on the Golden Bike at the next race in the series. Want to experience the Gold Diggers without the dirt and sweat? You can get customized cheers (a la Gillette Game Day, Tag, Axe, etc.) from the Gold Diggers. I just wish they upped the production and share value on this execution.

Snowboarding (what the hell? It's summer now?)
Here's some snowboarding gossip for you. The economy is seriously messing with professional snowboarding and sponsorships. A list of who's "off the team" includes: Travis Kennedy from Forum (now getting some flow from TechNine), Tadashi Fuse (rumored to be on Rome now), Freddy Kalbermatten, Heikki Sorsa and Tzra (Trevor Andrews focusing on his music career) from Burton. Potentially also Mads Jonsson, but I haven't really heard anything about Mads. To add insult to injury, Cody Rosenthal was hurt at Super Park 13. Help a brother out as he doesn't have health insurance and needs your help. On a bright note, rumor is that Nitro snowboards snagged 3 Good Woods: Less than $400, More than $400, Women's more than $400... I'm thinking Swindle, Rook and Runway.

Surfing (hang ten brah)
Thomas Meyerhoffer and Mark Kelly of GSI have created an innovative new longboard. Meyerhoffer's history in innovative design is long and impressive with stints at Apple, IDEO, Nike and Porsche. He is responsible for helping bring the iMac to life, peripheral vision and helmet outriggers in Smith googles, Flow Step-in snowboard bindings, new cell phone and furniture designs. Now he's turned his attention to his first love, surfing. The boards have dimensions and curves that mirror Pamela Anderson's dimensions, but supposedly the boards take the maneuverability of a shortboard and combine it with the ease and length of a longboard. “As a designer I believe in the proportions and function of nature,” explains Thomas. “If you change a shape in one direction, the flow-on effect undoubtedly changes it in the other.” The shape is pure crazy, but the idea makes you go: Huh. Then you say, I wanna try that.

Happy Cinco De Mayo: Time to Get Your Green On

Hey all. In honor of Cinco De Mayo, I thought I'd post a link to the "Top 100". This list is basically a list of 100 different organizations, people, ideas, etc. that are doing some imaginative, creative, tree-hugging-ive and other cool stuff for their fellow human beings, mother earth and just general good karma.

Take a look. Some of my favorite peeps like: Flatbread, 7th Generation, Grain Surfboards, IDEO, Surfrider and Patagonia are on the list. Whoa, sorry Lance. There's no Livestrong.

Do you agree? Disagree? Who did they miss? Not sure who this dude is, but he seems happy in a sorta creepy, I'm high sorta way.

Snowboard Virgins Free Snowboard Contest Winner Announced

Props, kudos, shakas, cheers, bows, saluds, and golf claps go out to Mr Snakehappy2 aka Jake G. Jake won a free snowboard from Sierra Snowboard and a big grip of Mountain Dew Voltage to fuel him as he rips through his summer.



Jake chose a Burton Supermodel 152 as his prize (I hear the Burton pipe team including Dew tour vets Kelly Clark, Hannah Teter and Shaun White rocks Supermodels in the backcountry, may be when their boards get lost by the airline, but probably not).

Here's Jake's award-winning entry. Jake hold your head high as you claim your title of Master Boarder of the Snowboard Virgins.

Honorable mentions go to Anton aka Anton Borovets and Fowl Play aka Jason Fowler, who will also receive some schweet Mountain Dew schwag and some stuff from the Hoon closet of promo crap. I'll be posting their videos sequentially over the next week.

Keep on keepin' on and soon enough it'll be snowing again. I'm headed surfing. Peace!

If Travis Rice Was Your Team Manager

Willie from Bluebird just annouced that T.Rice is the new team manager for Bluebird. Here's his recession-busting, swine flu thoughts on the current Bluebird team. Check Willie's blog for more details here.