Forget about baseball players who wanna go on strike or washed-up football players who don't know when to retire. The only athletes worth watching this summer are the ones at the 2002 X Games in Philadelphia. Here's some quick facts on this summer's most action-packed sporting event.
The X Events
More than 300 athletes compete in six sports at the X Games - skateboarding, BMX, wakeboarding, motocross, inline skating and speed climbing.
The X Women
For the first time at the X Games, women will compete in skateboard vert, skateboard park and freestyle motocross events. Cara-Beth Burside, Vanessa Torres and Heidi Henry will be among the favorites to take home medals in these events.
The X Kids
Kids are making their mark at all action sports events these days and the X Games are no exception. 14 year-old Dallas Friday will probably win a medal in women's wakeboarding and 14 year-old Tori Allen is one of the world's top speed climbers.
The Xcluded Skaters
The Street Skateboard event at this year's X Games is being held on the downtown streets of Philadelphia, outside of city hall. Pretty cool, huh? Not really... because the minute the Street competition is finished, police will once again be yelling at/harassing/arresting any skateboarders who try popping ollies or riding rails on those same streets. Even worse is the fact that politicians in Philadelphia just decided to close down Love Park, one of the city's most popular skateboard areas, and have yet to make good on a promise to build a new place for skateboarders.
X TV
The 2002 X Games arrive on your television set starting on August 17th. For a complete schedule, head to www.expn.com.
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