Skip to content

Snowboard Parks Becoming More and More Creative

snowboard parkSnowboarding began as a rebellious sport. Stepping outside the normal slopes, boarders would ride rails, benches, tables, and anything else they could find to grind. Those features have since been moved into the resorts and added to parks around the world and they are pretty much the norm for all snowboard parks.

To add the excitement and break the monotony, many athletes have taken to looking through scrap yards and junk yards to find new challenges. These new recycled materials are finding their way into the snow and on the hills as new obstacles for snowboarders to enjoy.

This winter at Sol Vista Basin at Granby Ranch in Colorado riders can now grind a 6ft tall satellite dish. Other mountains are using old chairlifts as obstacles. An old gondola has made its way to a park in California.

The new effort to reuse material has saved piles of junk from going to the junkyard and it is saving the resorts from having to buy brand new park equipment. Much of the new material can be had for really cheap or even recycled from their own leftover equipment.

The snowboarders like them as well because they offer a new and exciting challenge. And as more and more parks add more junkyard pieces, the park managers are going to have to become more and more creative to keep things fresh and fun. Any big piece that a kid can slide is fair game now!

If you are looking for the best snowboard deals then check out the best new daily deal site for snowboarders: SBSaver.com

Posted 28 November 2011 † admin § Extreme Sports ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Tebow and Broncos Win 5th Game in past 6

Tim Tebow and the Broncos did it again by winning their 4th game in a row and 5th of 6 since Tebow has been the quarterback. The Broncos now trail Oakland by one game in the AFC West after beating the San Diego Chargers.

Trailing late in the game, Denver tied it at 13 with 1:34 remaining. They had a chance to win it late, but had to settle for the 24 yard field goal after failing to pick up a first down.

The game went to OT and was back and forth for most of the 15 minute sudden death quarter. San Diego’s Nick Novak missed a long 53 yard field goal late in the period and left Tebow and the Broncos in prime position to move the ball into field goal range.

They promptly marched down the field, spurred by a Willis McGahee run up the middle for 24 yards which help setup the winning 37 yard field goal by Matt Prater.

Despite going 5-1 since being named the starter, John Elway is not fully sold on Tebow. He carried the ball 22 times for 67 yards and actually finished the game with a passer rating of 95.4

The Chargers slipped to 4-7 and are essentially eliminated from the playoffs, barring a miracle.

Find all of your favorite NFL football cards by buying cheap football hobby boxes online today!

Posted 28 November 2011 † admin § NFL ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

NBA Ends Lockout, Season to Begin on Christmas Day

NBA LockoutThe 149 day NBA lockout is most likely over. The players and owners came to a tentative agreement on Saturday and plan on starting the NBA season on Christmas Day.

“We want to play basketball,” NBA commissioner David Stern was quoted as saying.

The agreement is still subject to various approvals but if all things come together, the season will begin on December 25th.

Training camp will start in just over a week from now on Dec 9th and the season will be shortened to 66 games Three games will be scheduled for Christmas day, with Boston playing New York, Miami playing at Dallas, and the Bulls taking on the Lakers.

A majority of each side will need to vote on the agreement. The player union will have to drop their antitrust suit and reform the union before they can vote on the deal. The NBA will need votes from 15 of 29 owners, as the league currently owns the Hornets.

The players have been locked out for most of the summer and the two sides have battled all summer trying to come to a resolution. Up until just last week, it looked as though the season may be in total jeopardy.

If you love basketball and collect basketball cards, check out our selection of discounted basketball hobby boxes.

Posted 26 November 2011 † admin § NBA ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

Packers Bury Lions and Continue to Roll

aaron rodgersPackers Bury Lions and Continue to Roll with Thanksgiving Day Victory

The Detroit Lions kept dishing out hit after hit, but Aaron Rodgers shrugged off each and everyone, as he lead the Packers to another win – improving their record to 11 wins and 0 losses.

Rodgers tossed 2 TD passes as the Packers built a handy lead and held on in the end to win 27-15. Ndamukong Suh was ejected in the third quarter which didn’t help the Lion’s defensive cause.

The Lions took several hard shots, and even late hits, in an attempt to knock Rodgers out of the game, perhaps their only chance of winning on Thursday. The Lions used that tactic to beat the Packers last season.

The Packers, who are defending Super Bowl champs, are now 11-0 for the first time ever. They’ve won 17 in a row dating back to last season. They are well on their way to matching the 16-0 regular season record of the 2007 Patriots.

Detroit, who started the season at 5-0 have now dropped to 7-4 and must continue to fight in order to make a playoff appearance.

Suh was ejected in the third quarter for stomping on the arm of Evan Dietrich-Smithm although he denied that it was on purpose during post game press conferences. Replay showed that it was pretty obvious that he stomped on the arm as he walked away.

Find Aaron Rodgers football cards and Ndamukong Suh when you buy football hobby boxes at the internets #1 source for boxes and sets of football cards at the best prices around.

In other NFL action, the Cowboys beat the Dolphins in a thriller and the 49ers battled the Ravens in the night game in the battle of the Harbaugh brothers.

Posted 25 November 2011 † admin § NFL ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Is Kyle Orton Heading Back to Chicago?

kyle orton bearsKyle Orton left Chicago to replace Jay Cutler in Denver. Could he now be heading back to Chicago to replace the injured Jay Cutler?

The Denver Broncos cut ties with Orton on Tuesday, which gives Tim Tebow the clear cut starting job for the remainder of the season and leaving Brady Quinn as the #2 quarterback on the roster. It also opened up the possibility for Orton to head back to Chicago, the team that traded him to Denver several years ago for Jay Cutler.

Cutler was hurt this past Sunday and his season is likely over as he has to get surgery for a broken thumb, which he injured after trying to make tackle following an interception.

According to sources at ESPNChicago, the Bears plan to put in a waiver claim for Orton. Ironically, the Bears visit the Broncos on Dec. 11. The current backup to Cutler would be Caleb Hanie and he is ready to go if the Bears do not sign Orton.

According to John Elway, “We thought it was best for the Broncos at this time as well as for Kyle to catch on with a different team.”

Orton went 6-21 in his last 27 games with the Broncos, after winning his first 6 games. He did pass for over 3,000 in his past two seasons with Denver, after starting his career in Chicago with the bears.

If you are searching for football hobby boxes this Christmas season, check out FootballHobbyBoxes.com.

Posted 23 November 2011 † admin § NFL ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , ,

Cy Young Winner Verlander Wins MVP Award

justin verlander mvp

Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is the first pitcher in 25 years to be voted the Most Valuable Player – adding the award to the Cy Young award that he already took home last week.

He received 13 of 28 first place votes and 280 overall points to top Jacoby Ellsbury who placed second in voting with 242 points.  Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, and Miguel Cabrera rounded out the top 5 places in the MVP voting for the American League.

“Not even in my wildest dreams had I thought of this,” Verlander said.

Verlander went 24-5 on the season with a league leading ERA of 2.40 and 250 K’s – the equivalent of the pitching triple crown, as he led the league in wins also.  He was the unanimous winner for the Cy Young award for the AL.

In 2006 Verlander was the AL Rookie of the year so he is only the 2nd player in history to win all 3 major awards.

Other pitchers to win MVP and Cy Young in the same year were Newcombe (1956), Los Angeles’ Sandy Koufax (1963), St. Louis’ Bob Gibson and Detroit’s Denny McLain (1968), Oakland’s Vida Blue (1971), Milwaukee’s Rollie Fingers (1981) and Detroit’s Willie Hernandez (1984).

Some voters could not go along with the notion of voting a starting pitcher as the MVP, with one writer leaving him off the ballot and one writer voting him in the 8th spot.  He still won, despite those feelings.

When he received the news, Verlander described his emotions as “pure elation, really.”  He went on to say that “it was just a weight off my shoulders.”

Congrats to Justin.

If you collect baseball cards, your best bet to find a Justin Verlander game used card or Justin Verlander rookie card is to buy baseball hobby boxes. Follow the link for some sweet deals.

Posted 22 November 2011 † admin § MLB ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , , , ,

Sidney Crosby Scores in Debut

sidney crosby returnsWell it didn’t take long for Sidney Crosby to make his presence felt once again.  Through the first two periods of Monday night’s game, Sid had scored a goal and had two assists.

Playting for the first time in 10 months, Crosby weaved past the defenders and beat the goalie with a backhand shot to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead early – less than 6 minutes into the game.

The goal was Crosby’s first goal since Dec 28th of 2010 and he hasn’t played in a game since Jan 5th when he began having concussion like symptoms after a hard hit in the previous game.

Later in the game Crosby would add assists on goals by Books Orpik and Evgeni Malkin, to give Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead.

Last season, Crosby had a 10-point lead in the scoring race when he was injured. Even though he missed half the season, Crosby still finished 32nd in the league scoring race.  This game has been highly awaited in the Pittsburgh area and some think it rivals the return from retirement of Mario Lemiuex in the year 2000.

If you like hockey and collect hockey cards, check out this site for great deals on hockey hobby boxes – you might even be able to get a hold of a Sidney Crosby rookie card.

Posted 22 November 2011 † admin § NHL ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , ,

Oklahoma State Heartbreak in Ames

oklahoma state footballTragedy was followed by disappointment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Friday night, November 18th, in Ames, Iowa.  On Thursday, the university lost revered women’s basketball coach Kurt Budke, his assistant coach Miranda Serna, and two others in a plane crash in Arkansas during a recruiting trip.

On Friday night, they probably lost any chance of playing for the BCS college football championship with a loss to the Iowa State Cyclones. There can be no doubt the heartbreak of Thursday night, reminiscent of a similar Oklahoma State tragedy in 2001 when two players on the men’s basketball team and eight others involved in the program were killed in a plane crash, had an effect on the team.

Nevertheless, the Cowboys appeared to be comfortably in control with a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter, when the Cyclones erupted with 17 unanswered points to tie the game at the end of regulation play to send it into two overtimes.  Oklahoma State didn’t seem to have an answer on defense for the passing of freshman quarterback Jared Barnett, who completed a staggering 31 of 58 passes, and the rushing of Barnett, Jeff Woody, and James White.

The Cyclones rolled up an impressive 568 yards of total offense and 33 first downs against the second ranked team in the nation, and surprisingly became bowl eligible against a team that had every expectation of playing for the national championship on January 9th in the Superdome of New Orleans.  Offense has been the forte and defense the downfall for the Cowboys this season, and it is that inconsistent defense that will keep Oklahoma State from playing for the top prize in college football.

The Cowboys appeared to be off and running toward another “ho-hum” win leading to the grand prize.  Sophomore linebacker Shaun Lewis got things started off early in the first quarter with a 70 yard interception return of a Jared Barnett pass for a touchdown.

The Cowboys and Cyclones traded a field goal and a touchdown midway through the second quarter, before Brandon Weeden found his favorite target, All-American wide receiver Justin Blackmon, for a 27-yard touchdown strike with a little over five minutes left in the half. When Weeden found wide receiver Tracey Moore for another touchdown grab early in the third quarter, it looked like just the cushion Mike Gundy and staff needed to begin to prepare for what looked like the last roadblock between them and January photo shoots in New Orleans: the Oklahoma Sooners in Stillwater on November 27th.

Maybe looking ahead was the problem.  Although Brandon Weeden was characteristically superhuman with 476 yards passing, he apparently didn’t look closely enough at the Cyclone secondary, and finished with 3 interceptions and an end to the championship hunt.

Give the Cyclones credit.  Paul Rhoad’s crew did an impressive job of shutting down Texas Tech’s high-flying offense in Lubbock late in October, and stood strong in a triple-overtime win against Iowa early in September.  They’ve earned their post-season bowl ticket, and look for the Cyclones to make more noise before the ball drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Posted 22 November 2011 † admin § College Football ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: ,

Maurice Jones-Drew Does His Best Lebron Impression

Maurice Jones-Drew thought he was being cute on Sunday afternoon, as he taunted the Cleveland fans with his first touchdown of the day.

James burned his bridges in the Akron and Cleveland areas of Ohio when he made his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavs for the Miami Heat two summers ago.

Lebron James made the powder toss famous as he began each game by sprinkling powder on his hands and tossing it in the air to the delight of the crowd.  On Sunday, the fans of Cleveland weren’t laughing or cheering as Drew scored the first touchdown of the game to go up 7-0.  As he entered the endzone, he mocked the Cleveland fans by re-enacting the James powder toss into the air.

Howeever, on this day – Jones-Drew took his Lebron James impression a bit too far.  Like James, he got off to a hot start, but when the pressure built and the game became close in the fourth quarter, Jones was nowhere to be found, as the Brown’s defense held on for a 14-10 victory.

lebron powder toss

James powder toss during happier times

Posted 21 November 2011 † admin § NFL ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , , , ,

Who Wins In the NBA Lockout?

NBA LockoutThe owners and the Players of the National Basketball Association are involved in a lengthy dispute that threatens to cancel the season.

The issue revolves around revenue sharing of the $3 billion that is collected annually and the structuring of the salary cap. The debate has  been on-going for several months and was originally begun  on July 1, 2011, when the owners instituted a work stoppage. Although discussions have continued, contentious issues have kept the two parties apart, and the latest news about the NBA lockout indicate that the situation has degenerated to the point where all preseason games and the first six weeks of the 2011–12 season through December 15,  have already been cancelled.
The league claims an annual loss of $300 million and wished to reduce players salary and institute a hard salary cap that would reduce the amount that teams were allotted for salaries from $58 million to $45 million. The  players union  has steadfastly disputed those figures and remain opposed those changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Despite proposals and counter proposals, there has been very little progress made toward a resolution and in fact, The lockout entered its 141st day on Friday November 18 with little hope on the horizon and no  immediate discussions scheduled.  The National Basketball Players Association, is the union that represents the players has been disbanded and two lawsuits have been filed against the league. The antitrust suit filed in, California was assigned to U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti with the first hearing scheduled for March 9, 2012, a date that is unlikely  to save any of the 2011-12 season.
The revised CBA, that players turned down on Monday, proposed a 50-50 split of basketball related income between the owners and players, replacing the  53 – 47 advantage that the players enjoyed, and would have provided for a 72-game season that would have begun on Dec. 15.

A glimmer of hope, to salvage the season, may be realized with the attorney who is representing the players hoping that litigation may not be completely necessary and both sides may return to the bargaining table.  Meanwhile, many of the star players in the league are considering options of playing elsewhere, until the situation is resolved.

The latest news about the NBA Lockout indicate that the NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki is entertaining offers to play in his native country of Germany for the entire season.
Others such as  both Luol Deng, who is a naturalized British citizen, and  Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, who holds  American, French and Swedish  citizenship, are also looking toward Europe as the lawyers are involved. Unfortunately with lawyers involved, discussions and litigation, may become lengthy, and protracted.

The biggest loss, however appear to be attributed to the fans, who  may be denied the opportunity to enjoy, their favorite pastimes.It is unfortunate, that the fans who contribute the majority of income that is derived in the NBA have absolutely no say in the matter.
There appears to be a consensus among the fans who remain divided as to alliance, but all seem to be wishing and hoping that the issue be resolved as soon as possible. Some players responded star players such as Kobe Byrant and LeBron James are traveling around the country, playing in 4 on 4 tournaments.

Posted 21 November 2011 † admin § NBA ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , , , ,