2011 Go Pro Powder Video Awards

It was a packed house at Aspen's Wheeler Opera House on Friday night for the 11th annual Powder Video Awards, which rewards the best performances in ski films. A red carpet was rolled out for the occasion and the biggest names in freeskiing gathered under one roof.

Tom Wallisch and last year's pick Ingrid Backstrom won the 2011 Reader Poll, where fans vote online for their favorite skiers. Wallisch, who had a breakout year in 2009, is clearly the skier of the moment right now -- he also won Freeskier Magazine's 2010 Skier of the Year award. "I just can't believe I beat Seth Morrison," Wallisch said while accepting his award. "Seth has been my idol for years."

Morrison came in second in the men's Reader Poll, followed by Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Erik Roner, Simon Dumont, Bobby Brown, Tanner Hall, Sean Pettit, Sammy Carlson and Jossi Wells. Hall, who's been out for over a season with injuries and whose film Like a Lion won Best Documentary, said, "I can't believe I still made the top 10 after being out for 18 months."

In the women's Reader Poll, after Backstrom came 2011 Winter X Superpipe champ Sarah Burke (who wasn't there to accept her award because apparently she couldn't get into the over-packed theater; her husband, pro skier Rory Bushfield, accepted on her behalf). In third was 2011 Winter X Slopestyle winner Kaya Turski, and other Winter X superstars Jen Hudak and Grete Eliassen in fourth and fifth, respectively. "I'm just honored to be on the same list with all these amazing girls," Backstrom said.
Matchstick Productions' The Way I See It won Movie of the Year. Cattabriga-Alosa won Best Male Performance and Best Natural Air for his segment in TGR's Light the Wick. "I'm totally surprised," Cattabriga-Alosa said, even though nobody in the audience was surprised to see him win. Eliassen won Best Female Performance for her film Say My Name. "I just want to see more women in ski films," Eliassen said on the stage. Level 1 athlete Ahmet Dadali won both The North Face Breakthrough Performer award and Best Jib.

When Ian McIntosh accepted his award for Best Line in TGR's Light the Wick, he gave a shout-out to the heroes the ski industry has lost in the recent past. "Shane McConkey, C.R. Johnson, Arne Backstrom, Jack Hannan," McIntosh said, "I ski for you."

Ryan Villopoto wins first ever Supercross at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles

Dodger Stadium hosted its first ever Supercross event in Los Angeles to almost a packed house as the whole place was a buzz over the fact that the field was wide open and anyone could have taken first place. James "Bubba" Stewart was a fan favorite, but really know one could call anyone a true front runner.

After a dramatic intro, and a few pyrotechnics the main event was all that is was chalked up to be.  Brett Metcalfe takes the Holeshot! Team-mate Ryan Dungey is second, and Chad Reed goes down just a few feet after the first corner.

Leader Brett Metcalfe falls on the second lap in a right hand corner. Dungey takes the lead with Stewart closing fast. Kevin Winhdam next, then Justin Brayton, and Trey Canard (who crashed hard in his heat, but came back to win his LCQ). Reed is 19th.

Next lap - James Stewart has taken over lead! Dungey is second, Windham next, Brayton, Canard, Villopoto, Stroupe, Short, Metcalfe. Stewart is leading. Dungey is right behind him.and Villopoto is right behind Dungey. Villopoto has passed Dungey in lap 8.Stewart is out front by one second, Villopoto is second. Dungey is third. These top three are really, really close. Stewart slides out and goes down in a right hand corner Villopoto takes the lead Trey Canard moved into second! Dungey next, then James Stewart now in fourth. Stewart passes Canard. Villopoto out front Dungey is second. Then James Stewart, Trey Canard, and Justin Brayton. Reed has moved up to tenth. Towards the end of lap 15 - Stewart makes a pass on Dungey in a tight left hand corner. It's Villopoto leading on lap 16 now, Stewart next, Dungey chasing, then Canard. Ryan Villopoto takes the win! James Stewart a close second! Ryan Dungey is third.

The top four in Supercross point standings so far - Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, and Trey Canard finished top four in tonight's Supercross Main Event. And they put on quite a show.

Brendan Lutes/TransWorld Motocross

Watch XSS Coverage of the AMA Supercross now on www.xtremesportsshow.com

Nuclear Cowboyz are Back!

Feld Entertainment's Nuclear Cowboyz tour is back for a new tour this season: Watch for backflipping fireballs Nixey Danielson and Jimmy Fitzpatrick in the second half of the theatrical show when the 2011 tour debuts this week at Baltimore's 1st Mariner Arena, January 14 and 15.

"We have a scene called 'The Fire Scene' where there's big bursts of flame going off and at the end two riders go out 'Great Balls of Fire' style," says Mike Mason, who stars as one of the Soldiers of Havoc, a mythical tribe of freestyle motocross warriors battling the Metal Mulisha for supremacy in a post-apocalyptic world. "It's definitely a big step up from last year in every way. We've got up to four riders flipping off a ramp at the same time side-by-side, big trains of whips, big trains of flips, and pyro all over the place, not to mention dancers and dudes doing parkour right in the middle of it all. It's going to blow some minds for sure."

The 12-stop Nuclear Cowboyz tour is produced by Feld Entertainment, the folks behind the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Monster Jam, and other big tent-style arena events. The show is directed by choreographer Barry Lather, better known for his work with artists like Michael Jackson, Usher, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, P.Diddy, Ciara, The Pussycat Dolls, Sean Kingston, Jason Derulo, and Gwen Stefani, and for extravagant performances for the Superbowl halftime special, Grammy Awards, and MTV Awards.

Motocross legend Micky Dymond is working behind the scenes as the show's stunt coordinator, and says his biggest challenge is impressing hardcore FMX fans while also keeping everybody else entertained.

FMX riders Beau Bamburg, Ronnie Faisst, Jimmy Fitzpatrick, Derek Garland, Derek Guetter, Taka Higashino, Adam Jones, Jim McNeil, Mike Mason, and Dustin Miller are all returning to the tour for its second year, and Nixey Danielson, Jeff Kargola, Brody Wilson and quad rider Colten Moore are new to the show.

The Nuclear Cowboyz tour runs January through April with stops in Baltimore, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Columbus, Houston, Tampa, Kansas City, San Diego, Ontario, Tacoma, and Glendale. For tickets and more information visit nuclearcowboyz.com.

Shaun White has been confirmed to compete in both Slopestyle and SuperPipe at Winter X 15

Better late than never, Shaun White has been confirmed to compete in both Slopestyle and SuperPipe at Winter X 15 later this month. White has been competing and medaling in both events in the Winter X games since 2002. Sean has fifteen Winter X medals, with 10 golds divided evenly between Slopestyle and SuperPipe.

White placed first in both Slope and SuperPipe at WX 2009, but decided not to compete in Slopestyle last season in order to concentrate on halfpipe and winning Olympic Gold. White trained for the Olympic season in a private halfpipe with a foam pit, emerging with the infamous double cork that badly injured rival Kevin Pearce and changed the face of pipe competitions forever. However, while White dominated every pipe event he entered last year.

Torstein Horgmo, who won the Breckenridge Dew Tour slopestyle event in December and is arguably the man to beat, landed the first triple cork this summer. And guys like Air & Style Beijing winner Sebastian Toutant have been busy adding every double cork 10 and 12 variation under the sun to their trick repertoires. Meanwhile, White spent his summer skateboarding -- competing at the X Games (where he won silver) and the Dew Tour (where he won three out of four events) -- which he followed up this fall with a promo tour for his new skateboarding video game.

White has more Winter X slopestyle medals than any other competitor in WX history -- eight total, while runners up Kevin Jones and Andreas Wiig are tied at four each  we will see how he fairs this year after a summer of no training.