Before ESPN's B3 event kicks off in Anaheim, CA next Friday I should recap what went down at last year's events. Two B3 events were held last year, the first took place in Lake Havasu, AZ and the second in Louisville, KY. Both featured the world's hottest up-and-coming riders, inliners, and skateboarders all competing against each other for the chance to go to the Summer X Games.

2000 Stop 1: Lake Havasu, AZ
The first stop on the qualifying tour was the desert paradise of Lake Havasu , Arizona. It was a weekend filled with live music, spring break festivities, and the world's best skaters, inliners and riders hitting the ramps and parks in front of more than 31,000 spectators.

In a near re-creation of the 1999 Summer X Games the In-line competition was dominated by Japanese brothers Eito and Takeshi Yasutoko who brought home the gold and silver respectively. Aaron Feinberg, one of the sports pioneers, took the silver in the Street competition but was followed closely by Jeremy Pennacchhini. In the women's competition Fabiola da Silva eradicated the field in both the Street and Vert competitions.

In Skateboarding Vert Bob Burnquist of Sao Paulo, Brazil skated away with the gold medal after putting together a nearly flawless run with a laced with his unique style. Skateboarding Street was full of surprises with Pat Channita, of Garden Grove, CA taking first place. Pat, who can be described as a "true" street style skater, was closely followed by Andy Macdonald of San Diego, CA and Danny Way of Encinitas, CA, who both skated with high velocity and amplitude.

In Bicycle Stunt Street, Canadian Jay Miron took the gold medal with a flawless run packed with 360-degree tail whips and insane big air. Dave Osato and Ruben Alcantara rounded out the top three. England's Jamie Bestwick, one of the sports new superstars, flew into first place in the Bike Vert competition. He was followed by Mat Hoffman and Jay Miron, both of whom are already legends in the sport.

Stop 2 Louisville, KY B3
Home of the 1999 X Trials, Louisville, KY is quickly becoming known as a hot East Coast skate spot. Altogether more than 94,000 people attended the three-day event making it the most attended X Games qualifying event in history.

In-Line skater Mike Budnik took first place in the In-line Vert competition, a victory that has long been in the making. Fabiola da Silva took first place in women's vert again as she prepared for the X Games. This competition marked the first time in X Games history that the women competed alongside the men. All three medalists in the Aggressive In-Line Street competition are relatively new faces to competition and represent the next generation of the sport.

In Skateboarding both Pat Channita of Garden Grove, CA and Bob Burnquist of Sao Paulo, Brazil repeated their first place performances from Lake Havasu and again skated away with gold medals. The obvious question on everyone's mind is who, if anyone, can de-throne these skate powerhouses.

Bike Stunt featured two stellar runs by Canadian Jay Miron earning him a gold in Vert and silver in Street. Living legend Mat Hoffman showed the people of Louisville that he's still a force to be reckoned with in the bike stunt world by riding away with a Vert silver medal. Dave Mirra, winner of eight X Games gold medals came in 3rd. In the Street competition Dave Osato came in first, earning his first victory in a professional contest since 1995. Bruce Crisman took third, giving him his first medal ever in a professional contest.

Alright, now you're up to date. Next up for the B3 extravaganza is Anaheim, California, March 23-25. Make sure you're there, and don't say EXPN didn't prepare you for everything to come.

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