Blog: Brennan released, Waipio wins big, and a new generation dominates X-Games

This past weekend, many youngsters took a break from the outdoors and the perfect summer weather to sit in front of their TVs to watch their favorite skateboarder, BMX rider, or motocross athletes tear it up in the X-games 16 broadcasted on ESPN this past weekend. 

Fans in attendance and watching across the globe were in awe, as they watched tons of extreme sport athletes risk their lives, going for the gold, and doing the unthinkable.

Legendary skateboarders put their skills to the test including Andy McDonald, Bucky Lasek, and Rune Glifberg, who have been making a name for skateboarding since the 90s. However, a new hero for a new generation arose as 15-year-old Brazilian Pedro Barras took down the best of the best, taking home a gold medal in the street park competition. Barras won over the fans and judges, skating around the park course with great speed, huge airs, and spins.

One of the other big highlights was the motocross best trick event, with many riders pulling different variations of the back flip and making it look easy. It was Australia’s Cam Sinclair who won after landing a perfect double back flip (second rider to do it in competition), the same trick that almost killed him a year prior in Spain. And coming in a close second place was Robbie Madison, doing a “body varial”—spinning in a complete circle while his motorbike stayed still 75-feet in the air before landing.

The 2010 X-games were packed with breathtaking moments, both good and bad, as there were champions that were able to repeat, three-peat, and even four-peat and many up-and-coming athletes earning their first taste of victory.

Bringing things back down to the ground, the fall season is quickly approaching and that means baseball is still in season, even for a small group of sluggers taking their game to the next level. The Waipio little league team won the Hawaii State Little League Championship (10 to 11 years old division) last week. After pulling a title victory over Central East Maui, the win has given them a spot in the West Region Tournament in California. The winner of this tournament leads to a spot in the little league world series. The Waipio team is from the same ball club as the last Waipio team that won the World Series in 2008. Play of the West Region Tournament begins Friday, August 6 with the Championship game on Sunday August 15 televised live on ESPN2.

In other sports news, the NFL season is closely approaching with tons of fans in anticipation for kick-off. However, Hawaii has a reason to be just a bit sad, as it was announced officially this week that quarterback Colt Brennan was released from the Washington Redskins football team. After Washington received quarterback John Beck from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade for cornerback Doug Dutch, the decision of his release came shortly after. While Brennan was considered to be Washington’s future not all that long ago, he had been plagued with injuries. The Redskins decided it was best to part ways with the former Hawaii superstar. Brennan, surprised with Washington’s decision, fell behind number three quarterback Richard Bartel before the Redskins trade for Beck.

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to go for a run, swim, hike, play a pick-up game or just get out of your office, if you have one. Enjoy Hawaii and being healthy!