Freestyle Moto-X Odds: We lay it on the line as to who is favored, and who is not, on the odds for freestyle moto-x glory at X 02 in Philly. No tears here, man, no feelings spared.

Freestyle:

1-1 Mike Metzger - The Godfather is back and watch out. The smart money says, "Meet the New Boss, same as the Old Boss." The man who basically invented freestyle looks to be coming back to take his rightful place, with his sights set on grabbing it by the throat and throttling both the stalwart OG's and pesky New Kids on the Dirt. He turned the world of freestyle moto-x on its head when he, oh, nailed a few dozen back flips as his way to celebrate the 4th of July, adding a number of variations as well, plus in events earlier this year has shown he has the full package of tricks. It'll be redemption time – IF he can keep himself from getting busted up before he gets to Philly. This is going to be fun.

3-2 Travis Pastrana* – The reigning, undefeated champ just can't be a favorite, notwithstanding the fact he has joined the upside-down gang to go along with what you can be sure will be a blistering cornucopia of tricks, all delivered in his trademark rapid-fire style the judges swoon for. Too many question marks though: a weird disease that is mainly known for killing pooches, a handful of snapped bones, plus ding dongs in the belfry, all drop him down from the top spot for the first time. Now, don't count him out. He is Travis, after all. Rumors abound that he's got some kind of varial up his gangly sleeve and he's nothing, if not fiercely competitive, plus he just loves to kick FMX butt once a year. Look for him to give Roger DeCoster and Team Suzuki, as well as his erstwhile mom and dad, heart failure as he goes full balls out to keep his record unblemished. We're calling podium, but no gold.

*Travis was hurt a week before X Games VIII and will not be competing in this year's competition.

4-1 Dayne Kinnaird – Yeah, that's right, near top o' the list even though you probably never heard of him. But if you were at the Cleveland stop of the ESPN Moto-X Championships and saw him ride, well, you couldn't forget him. He was en route to kicking Kenny Bartram's cowboy butt for the first time in a year or so when a crash on the last trick of his run left him with a broken elbow. The kid from Australia has the full package, great style, nasty tricks, and a lot to prove. The way the world is now, no back flip makes Gold a long shot, but look for this guy to make his mark in a big way.

4-1 Kenny Bartram – If The Cowboy visits his friend Travis' back yard and get the 360 business integrated in his run, well, what can you say but "YeeHaa!" and accessorize Kenny with a freestyle Gold to go with a roomful of trophies from his last year of dominating FMX. But, without it, he may not want to upstage his buddy, look for him to battle for silver, and probably take some medal home with that goofy sideways grin. Just pray for the love of God and all what should be right with the world that he shaves off whatever he was growing at the Cleveland stop of the ESPN Moto-X event. Osama bin Bartram is not a sight for children.

5-1 Nate Adams – The WFA world champ finds himself relatively long money due to the injury he incurred when trying to learn the back flip in Metz' backyard. Yeah, it looked easy, didn't it Nate? That ain't the song he's singing now with his tweaked clavicle. But, and this is a BIG but, if Adams does comeback in time, he's proven he can beat the best, stand the X Games pressure, deliver beautiful, heart-stopping flawless runs with all the big tricks. Now, if he can land a back flip without landing on his head, watch out all. He's got the goods; he might grab the Gold, too.

5-1 Brian Deegan – Gold at Winter X supercharged the main man of the Metal Mulisha. No back flip in this repertoire makes Gold a real challenge, but this is another of the OG's who will be able to deal with the pressure of what promises to be a technical course (rumored to be filled with a number of double-double combos) and he's been known to innovate. No doubt will put on a great show, count on that, and will likely fill a slot on the podium, but Gold looks out of his reach. Of course, we just heard something about him buying a BMX bike and looking to do some practicing, so who knows. And he won't be going to X dreaming of second place. It just ain't Mulisha style.

6-1 Drake McElroy – Charismatic, talented, raw. Drake, aka the Prince of Darkness, has the chicks and judges giving him the sweet eye, and the X Games could be his coming out to a larger national stage. He's got a great clean style, great big cajones and a great signature trick in his trademark Corpse Air. The best of the vanguard of the New Kids from the Reno area, Drake looks to make his mark, possibly go home with a medal, but Gold looks to be a season or so away. Not stardom, thought. That's this year, maybe this event.

7-1 Clifford Adoptante – There are those – like us – who believe that Cliffy should have been wearing Gold last year and Travis the silver, and frankly, not much chance this year he'll be wearing either. Now, he's not lacking the talent, but he has been injured recently and his trademark trick, the sidewinder, was not fresh last year and won't be any fresher this year (regardless of how far ahead of its time it may have actually been). Sans back flip and on the comeback from his ding, look for a classic slick run from Cliff, but better days lie ahead.

8-1 Tommy Clowers – There's no bar to jump over in freestyle and that means there's probably no medal in the offing for the TC in this discipline. Irrespective of his boatload of freestyle medals he's won at Winter and Summer X, and not to mention many of the ESPN Moto-X events, this is the year when Tommy's conservatism will prove his undoing. '02 FMX is all about innovation, risk, daring and hanging it out to where it may not be coming back. That ain't his style, so look for more of a catnap than a top hat for the Tomcat this year.

8-1 Ronnie Renner – While Clowers' stock may be down this year, expect Renner's to rise as he takes to the X Games big stage. Talented, cocky, even a touch of arrogant, he's been a blast of fresh air to FMX with his crowd pleasing, hip-shaking shenanigans, even if the Mulisha boys never applaud. But Renner is the real deal, the vanguard of East Coast riding, and he will surprise people with all around solid tricks and a definite shot at the podium. He'll soon be joining the big dogs as one of the elite cats in FMX, but X Games Gold will exceed his reach this year.

9-1 Kris Rourke – A big ol' question mark. Talent galore, puts in great runs under adversity, yet folds under great pressure. Kris will show up under the greatest of adversity and the greatest pressure, which is what the X Games is all about, right? He may just shock a few as there's a lot on the line for him: freshly married, he's hungrier than he's ever been and has a lot to prove both to sponsors and fans, as well as to his riding peers. When he's on, he's awesome, and he's awesome when he's cornered. Hard to picture him at the head of this field, and while we know he's thought a lot about the back flip, there ain't one inked on his resume quite yet. A dark horse, if you like the long money, but no doubt, Gold or not, he's going to remind people that he's still a force in this game.

10-1 Mike Jones – Yes, the official Madman of FMX will roll the thick-scarred body out there once more. He will ride...oh yes, he will ride. And he will finish his run to great crowd applause, because he is the people's champion. Can you smell what the Mike is cookin'? But when the noise has died down, the ticking hands of time will have had their say, and there will be no Gold to sooth the aches and pains of this valiant, battered warrior. But we'll all have a great time watching and we'll be cheering, too. (Note: Russell Crowe will be playing the part of Mike Jones when they make his life story.)

10-1 Doug Parsons – Slick, smooth, but no longer Sweet Dougie, now it's Punk Rock Parsons. Expect a harder edge to his riding and more chances to be taken. But he's one of those guys who makes it look too easy, and he's never on the vanguard of the new, just making the tried and true look sicker than ever. Respected and liked by all, not much chance he'll piss 'em off and freak 'em out and take the Gold they're all dreaming about. He's got a boatload of talent yet to explode.

12-1 Ronnie Faisst – He is the great paradox of freestyle – one of the nastiest looking creatures out there with his gold teeth and mondo tats, but in reality he's a rather nice, civil fellow and upstanding citizen. He's already won – his goal was to make it to X, not win the thing. Expect a nice clean run, sick Shaolins, and hopefully a killer kung fu routine to kick off his run, but nothing to do with any shiny medals.

12-1 Dan Pastor – The former WFA world champ is claiming that his year of tawdry girls and late night gin mills is behind him. No doubt it was worth it, but he's said to be back on the bike and riding like the sick freak that once brought him to the top. But he's always been more about season long consistency than putting together a mind thwacking run, and the comeback road usually had a pothole or two (and any hole with a pot could prove a distraction here) so expect a hot/cold performance boding better things in the future.

15-1 Trevor Vines – A sponsors dream if it's all about looks, responsibility and consistency. But he's one of the Original guys whose routine just hasn't been on the edge of late, and no one expects it to any time soon. He always rides like he plans to ride another day, and that ain't a bad thing, but it ain't a thing that wins you X Gold either. Plus, he says he was positively deflated when he saw Metz pull the back flip. He doesn't believe he's going to win this thing so why are we supposed to?

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Big Air

Even Money. Mike Metzger. Have to give full props to the man who has taken the backflip to another level, even if there's a host of sick talent out there who will huck themselves silly to try and grab the X Games gold. Metz not only mastered the backflip, but was the first to start pulling variations (no handers, no footers) AND his ramp set up was very close to what he'll see in Philly. Also, keep in mind that as of now Pastrana is not in this event due to his racing commitments, so that opens things up a bit more.

2-1 Caleb Wyatt* The man who first rode away on a backflip on a 250 cc hasn't gotten the ink or accolades of Metz or Travis, but he's proven when it comes to pulling one, big, sick, psycho trick, he's right with them. And proven he can ride away. Word is he's up in the Oregon woods fine tuning his backflip on his dirt step up and building a ramp-to-dirt setup to mirror Metz'. Plus, and here's a Gold medal notion, there's word he's planning on doing a Hart attack and flipping forwards – basically a front flip on a bike. Whoa.

*Caleb was injured the week prior to X Games VIII and will not be competing in this year's competition.

2-1 Kenny Bartram. If the rumors are true, then Kenny looks like he may have some more metal to go with his Gold X from last year. The dirt birds are twittering that The Cowboy has been visiting his bro Travis' backyard and doing the inverted thing, however sans cameras or hoopla. Now, this is not confirmed, so without a backflip he'd be a longshot for gold, but still looking like a solid bet for the podium. Last year his Big Air win was later seen as something of a fluke, but then he went on to prove his doubters wrong by virtually sweeping the indoor moto-x season and moving up to the elite ranks of competitors.

3-1 Carey Hart. Sidelined and invisible from competition since last year's big crash in going for the backflip at Summer X, you simply have to believe a healthy Hart will show up in Philly with something big in his back pocket. He's never been shy about taking risks and laying it all on the line, so if a body variable is out there, look for Carey to give it a whack. Can't count him out of the backflip with a variation sweepstakes either. Whatever it is, count Carey in for something well worth watching – let's just hope with a safe landing.

4-1 Nate Adams. The current WFA world champion in Big Air will certainly pull something big and slick. But he's dealing with a broken clavicle from attempting the backflip in Metz backyard, a crash that easily could've been far, far worse. This year it's going to take a backflip plus something to wear gold, and right now Nate is more question mark than sure thing in this regard. Could easily crack the podium, but the World Champ will probably not have the X Games he dreamed of this year. He's a fierce competitor and determined 18-year-old, but Gold may just be out of his reach for now.

5-1 Brian Deegan. The main man of the Darkside finds himself in a tough spot. He likes the Big Air format – witness the Mandatory suicide at Winter X -- and as the only rider in the field to have actually won a Supercross race, there's no questioning his bike skills. But he's never been shy about saying he's never been excited about the backflip, so as of now it's not in his repertoire and that makes him tough to pick for Gold. Expect something new, something wild, but not enough to knock out the upside down gang.

6-1 Mike Jones. Word is he hurt his shoulder at a recent event in Spain, but no details available yet. Still, it's a safe bet Jonsey will turn up in Philly and will focus on this event to make his mark. He's been holding a secret trick up his sleeve for a year now, something about landing backwards, but hasn't found the time or place or cojones to pull something that just may not be possible or even rational to attempt. Of course, he just might try and just might stick it. If not, this veteran will still probably try something crazy as he extends his career towards an age when he should be watching his kid ride, rather than doing it himself. He deserves props for that alone.

6-1 Dayne Kinnaird. This psycho from Australia comes to Philly with a heavy rep for pulling heavy tricks. His Ruler is straight up sick, full extended and mind bending. Any previous year, and he'd be a lock for the podium and a good shot at Gold. But there's no backflip in his run and no rumors or word that he'll be bringing the trick with him. Expect him to light up the Philly skyline and make his mates Down Under proud.

7-1 Tommy Clowers. The Tom Cat will go big, be slick and pull very clean tricks. But unless he plans on pushing himself out beyond his comfort zone, he could sneak in a quietly grab a medal, but not much chance at gold.

7-1 Clifford Adoptante. The Flyin' Hawaiian is coming back from a recent injury, and while riding well, simply doesn't look to come up with something so entirely new and shocking that he'll stand atop the podium. He is said to have given the backflip a try some months back and came away disillusioned. His trademark sidewinder probably should have gotten him gold at last year's Summer X, but it won't do it here and now.

7-1 Doug Parsons. Punk Rock Parsons, as he now prefers to be known, has all the bike skills in the world. And he has a repertoire of big, sick tricks, all done quite respectably. But no single one that mind-freaking that it's going to earn X Gold.

7-1 Ronnie Renner. He's a breath of fresh air in FMX, but when it comes to Big Air, his overall slick style plays better in freestyle. He's not a b'fer and doesn't have the one trick that no else can do. He'll be solid, entertaining and go big. But he'll go home without Gold in Big Air.

10- 1 Jeff Kargola. The Ox is not shy about going big. And with this guy, who knows what will or could happen. He's a bit unhinged and game to try anything, but he's not a schooled, disciplined athlete, at least not yet. Can he materially go beyond his "Ox-ecutioner," once a cutting edge trick and now just a year later a fairly common staple of a run? Remains to be proven.

10-1 Dan Pastor. The former WFA freestyle champ is on the comeback trail. But even when he was on his championship run, he was always more about a lot of really good tricks, not one bad-ass mofo that stopped hearts and turned hair gray. He's a really good rider, maybe even one day a great one. But he hasn't demonstrated that Big Air is where his strength lies.

10-1 Ronnie Faisst. This Metal Mulisha rider will fill out the field with solid, old school tricks and bring a dash of OG tats and style to the competition. He will impress with his flexibility on his Shaolins. But he won't be doing something no man or beast has ever seen before and that means the kid from Jersey won't be wearing gold.

12-1 Trevor Vines. No doubt, Trevor from Wherever has the skills to go as big as the biggest. He just doesn't seem to want to put it out there so far it may not come back. His trademark materials, Sterilizers over big gaps and such, gets the crowd going, but the sport has moved to another level and Trevor needs to show everyone he's still on that cutting edge.

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Step Up

Even Money. Tommy Clowers. While TC may no longer be the ultimate in freestyle or big air, going back to the first Step Up in 1998 in Costa Mesa, he's been the master of this discipline invented by the boys at LXD. TC somehow finds his own line and can manhandle the bike sideways when the going gets tough. The higher the bar goes, the better he seems to get. And he's fearless. And ferocious about defending his Step Up gold. As close to a sure bet as you can get.

3-1 Brian Deegan. Previous medallist in this event, he proved he can scratch it out with the Tomcat when he's motivated – witness his dusting of TC at the Cleveland stop of the ESPN Moto-X Championships with the bar over 30 feet. Those mad bike skills come right into play. Of course, Deegan can also be easily distracted, so ability or not, he's likely for the podium, a bit of gamble for Gold.

4-1 Jeremy Stenberg. Former WFA World Champion in this event, he'll be coming to X focused just on going high and clearing the bar as it's his only discipline of competition. And he wants it bad. When on, he can leap with the best of them (and is one of the few who can he has beaten Clowers), but he's wildly inconsistent and you just never know with a true free spirit like Twitch. Could he win? Absolutely. Will he? Who knows.

4-1 Ronnie Renner. The current WFA champ in this event won his title with consistency, winning or finishing top 5 in ever Step Up he entered. But he remains unproven when the bar starts skying, and the OG's like Clowers and Deegan keep pinning it and blasting off. He had his chance to make his mark at the Cleveland event, but the three-man battle of Renner-Clowers-Deegan became a Clowers-Deegan head-to-head when the bar passed 30 feet. Renner loves the spotlight, and it never burns brighter than at X, so it'll be a question of how bad he wants it when it counts for all the marbles.

5-1 Kris Rourke. Former medallist in Step Up, it's the same old story with Kris: which Rourke is going to show up? The power riding, confidant "Rock" or the Kris who somehow finds a way not live up to the obvious, enormous potential. . If you're looking for a good longshot bet, this could be it. We shall see.

6-1. Jeff Tilton. Full Tilt seems to have learned something about this event from being Clower's roommate, and he has emerged as a top player in Step Up this season. He's studied the event and is proud of his ability in it. Still, he's a longshot to take gold, but could slip in there for a medal if a couple of the lead dogs stumble.

6-1 Doug Parsons. Mad bike skills means Punk Rock Parsons could surprise folks. He's done well in Step Up in the past, though has never won.

6-1 Caleb Wyatt. The backflipper is also pretty darn good overall rider, and has been a consistent top ten in step up. Look for him to finish there again, maybe top five. His mind will be elsewhere.

8-1 Mike Metzger. The Godfather will be thinking about bigger things than this high jump, but anything is possible with this guy.

8-1 Benoit Milot. This Canadian rider was consistent all year long in ESPN Moto-X events and will be coming to Philly with something to prove. He won't be leaving with Gold, and not likely a top three, but he will definitively give it go, eh.

10-1 Ronnie Faisst. Solid rider, good guy, consistent in Step Up, but not a real threat for an upset.

10-1 Kenny Bartram. A great rider who just never has seemed to take Step Up too seriously. He's got bigger Big Air fish to fry at Summer X, so don't expect him to lay it on the line here.

10-1 Jeremy Carter. Coming back from his injury at X a year ago, it's great to see Jeremy back on the bike. He has been a top five guy in this discipline, but that's about all you can expect this year.

10-1 Justin Homan. The CPA from Oregon only qualified in Step Up, and no doubt he'll give it his all. He's just never proven himself to belong to the elite in the past, so can't expect it now.

15-1 Daniel Hall. The Aussie sensation will go for it, mate! Won't go that high, but he will go for it.