If you’re visiting The Word On… for the first time, don’t get freaked out about lack of race coverage. If you want to read about the race, feel free to go here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here or here. Here, we focus more on the lighter side of moto, the world of action sports and the world in general. It's generally what you really want to know, in general. The Word On... We call it our bag of party mix: it's random and it's good.
Enjoy the treat!
Social Media of the Week
I don't know who "everybody" is but they must be pretty important because nobody has ever forget to thank them.
— Adam Cianciarulo (@AdamCianciarulo) January 11, 2015
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Tapping the next great rider(s) in this sport is far from an exact science. Injuries, off the track problems, and burnout, among other things, typically determine how far a kid will go. David Pingree sent me this email last week pointing out the Red Bull Jams athletes back in 2011. (Hint: They turned out to be pretty good.) Red Bull obviously knew that had something special with these four.
Faces at the Races
In a nod to our comrades north of the border at Directmotocross.com, we’ve dug through more than 1,000 photos from Simon Cudby at Phoenix to present some of the “Faces at the Races.”
INTEReSTING PIECE OF THE WEEK
We, as fans, have never been closer to professional athletes. Thanks to social media, we are ingrained in their day-to-days lives—if they chose to let us be. It’s created an open dialogue that often times turns ugly, though. Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams wrote a brilliant piece for the Medium last week on how athletes need to be cautious using social media and how fans can quickly turn vulgar. It’s worth your time, and maybe, just maybe, it will make you think next time you rifle off a mean-spirited tweet at a rider. From Williams:
"Ultimately, social media is a way to let people in, but if you’re not careful, there can be serious consequences. Once you tweet it, post it, or upload it, there’s just no putting the horse back in the barn. Players need to think about their futures — about their sons and daughters Googling them 20 years from now. I don’t want to have to try explain something to my daughter someday that simply can’t be explained."
Check out the entire piece here.
Random and Awesome
Where do we sign up?
PEICK COMMENTS ARE THE BEST
In case you missed it, AutoTrader.com/Toyota/JGR Yamaha's Weston Peick sustained a broken bone in his foot late in the main event Saturday in Phoenix. He had a screw inserted earlier this week to stabilize the broken bone and is questionable for round three in Anaheim this weekend. During his professional career, Peick has rarely missed time due to injury. It speaks to his toughness and durability, and fans have taken notice. We gathered some of the best comments on Peick’s toughness. Enjoy!
@litescript
@racerxonline whats it going to take to get @westonpeick sponsored by @OldSpice - that seems a natural fit! A petition? #manliness
johnnygreenbacks
Sucks to hear, but this is similar to me getting a hangnail. He went home and punched the bone for an hour to teach it to stop being such a pu***.
chubbychad
Weston Peick doesn't flush the toilet.... He scares the sh*t out of it.
RickA
Some men think they walk on water, Weston Pieck can swim through land
.JohnnyOwe
Weston Pieck made Chuck Norris cry.
Denny Stephenson @dbo360
Let me just state the obvious. Weston Peick is a beast. Had a screw put in his broken foot yesterday. He'll see you at A2 ladies.
randy0017
Weston will probably just take a dull butter knife and cut the bone out...then sew it back up with fishing line and a whale bone needle! He's that tough! Go Weston!!
@racerxonline YOU CAN THROW HIM INTO A PACK OF WOLVES AND HE WILL RETURN LEADER OF THE PACK !!!!! BADASSSSSSSSSSSSSS...
#THROWBACK
Last year, Anaheim 2 ran the retro theme with JGR/Toyota Yamaha and American Honda going all out with an ode to yester-year. Check out some of Simon Cudby’s shots from 2014.
Husky Scrambler is Coming to the US
Back in September, we told you about the Husqvarna 401 Concept bikes, but at the time nothing was official on a release. Well, according to Jalopnik, the 401 twins have “gotten the green light” and will be coming to the U.S. From Jalopnik:
There was never any doubt that Husqvarna was going to build the Vit Pilen cafe racer and Svart Pilen scrambler. They're both based on the Duke 390, which we're finally getting in the U.S. this year. And with a platform to build on, a renaissance at Husky, and a reborn bike market champing at the bit for something light, quick, and customizable, the 401s were practically a lock. But now we have confirmation.
Scrambler bikes are definitely #now. Check out the entire article on Jalopnik.com.
FROZEN RUSH DELIVERS
We often beat the drum of how innovative Red Bull events are. In reality, we probably don’t give them enough credit. They truly push the edge in action sports, and it’s something us fans should always be grateful for. Last week at Maine’s Sunday River Resort, they hosted the 2015 Red Bull Frozen Rush Event. You can catch the entire event on NBC Sunday, March 1. In the meantime, check out some highlights of the event where Bryce Menzies dethroned reigning champion Ricky Johnson (you may have heard of him). (Yes, that’s Weege on the call.)
Behind-the-Scenes
Each week, Yoshimura Suzuki puts together a pretty cool behind-the-scenes look at their program on race day. It’s a small glimpse into how a factory team and rider operate on Saturdays.
