Theresa, our Regional Coordinator in NYC, passed along some footage of our Step It Up dancers jamming out to Michael Jackson recently.  I thought I'd share these unique clips with the YN community since this week has kinda sucked.  Lots of folks have passed away, including the legendary Michael Jackson (check out Debbie's post, which includes the two MJs facing off!).  I've done a lot of reflecting this week as a result of MJs untimely death.  Not sure if there's some sort of Universal quota that needs to be filled, but it sure seems crazy that folks are dying left and right this week (Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, and Walter Cronkite is reportedly in critical condition).

Anywho, I thought it was pretty awesome that our Step It Up dancers - a generation of young people who are the last to experience MJ while he was a live - bust a move to the greatest bust a mover of our time.

Rest in peace Michael Jackson from all of us here at YouthNoise/Playcity.

And don't forget the June 30th performances are right around the corner!  Here's the info:

 
1:00pm to 4:00pm         Finalist Tech Rehearsals

5:30pm                         Doors open for Competition                     

Hundreds came out this past Sunday for the Nike/LA84 Skate Park Dedication Ceremony in Pacoima, California.  P-Rod, one of professional skate boarding's premier athletes, came out along with his father, comedian Paul Rodriguez.

Youth from all around the community came out to witness an historic event at the Ritchie Valens Community Center (yep, the LaBamba legend!).  Upon arriving bright and early at the park, I soon realized that this event was more than just a cool skate park dedication ceremony involving the cutie pie that is P-Rod - it was about a community just outside of Los Angeles coming together for something special and long past due.

(oh and this shot too...can't help it.  P-Rod is foine!!)

(you go boy!  Walk it out...;-)

(doing what he does best!)

Since Sunday's event fell on Father's Day, it was even more special for folks like Paul Rodriguez Sr., who when talking about his son's success to a local television station, said "This is the best Father's Day gift I could've ever asked for."  His remarks certainly tugged at my heart strings because I lost my father just six months ago and this past Sunday was the first Father's Day without him.  I could empathize with Paul Rodriguez Sr.'s heartfelt sentiment.  It's not everyday you get to witness the special bond between a son and his father.  It was nice to see that connection between P-Rod and his dad.

Fortunately, however, I not only got to spend Father's Day chillin out with P-Rod and company, but mi familia came out as well to celebrate this historic event (as proven by my own mother, "Momma B," playing photog, snapping this one of a kind pic of me and Paul Rodriguez Sr.  Thanks, Mom ;-)

In another interview, Paul Rodriguez Sr. also talked about his feeling regarding his son's influence as a professional skater.

"He's a great role model especially for inner city youth."

Being that the population of Pacoima, California is largely Latina/o, it made sense why so many kids in attendance considered P-Rod - who in an interview with Link TV said that he began skating at 11 years old - as someone they could look up to and aspire to be like. 

When you consider that many lower income communities of color are in desperate need of some revitalization, it certainly helps the cause when two activist celebrities can put their name and face on a project so dear to many kids in the area.

During the dedication ceremony, Paul Rodriguez Sr. mentioned how the park itself would hopefully encourage local kids stay out of trouble and "away from gangs."  The purpose of the park also gives folks in the community hope and lets them know that they aren't forgotten in an era of Wall Street greed and rampant gang and drug related violence.

If Sunday's participation was any indication of long-term park attendance by kids in the community, then I'd say that Paul Rodriguez and his son's hope for a better and safer community might actually be realized.

Because in the end, this event was really about the kids and fellow skateboard enthusiasts.  One kid walked up to the YouthNoise table and gave us, the PlayCity team, an interesting perspective that perhaps many of these young kids share regarding their favorite past time.

"I'm not an athlete.  I just skateboard."

With his tight purple pants and black shirt, he--like the rest of his 'alternative'-dressing compadres--probably recognized in his own way that skateboarding is his only chosen refuge.  While the rest might be playing pick up games on the basketball court or hitting home runs across the street at the local baseball field, these kids skate - and boy can they skate their a**es off. 

For more photos, including action shots and celebrity pics, check out YN's Flickr page!

While they might not consider themselves 'athletes,' to me, they certainly have a unique ability to physically maneuver their bodies on those narrow pieces of rolling wood.  And coming from and athlete, I couldn't even imagine hopping on one of those things without twisting, spraining, or breaking something.

Not only are these kids athletes in my eyes, but they're also fortunate to have their own space where they can just be.

And because of that, big ups goes out to Nike, the LA 84 Foundation, P-Rod and fellow pro skaters, Paul Rodriguez Sr., the impeccable architects who designed the park, local city officials, and community members for making Sunday's event spectacular and dedicating this awesome space to a community that certainly deserves it!

The shin-dig was so awesome, in fact, that even the DJ had a blast!

**All photography by Tara L. Conley (other than the one taken by Momma B:-). 

We're just days away from the Nike Skatepark Dedication in Los Angeles.  Set to open this weekend, the brand new skate park will be a place where community members and fellow skater enthusiasts can enjoy a space of fun of their own.  You can read more about the site where the skate park will soon call home, including some exclusive 'before' shots, by checking out Jason's blog post.

I'll be heading back to Los Angeles this weekend to snag some interviews, photos, and footage of the upcoming event.  I'm interested in hearing more about how community members feel about the new park.  A little birdie told me that while most of the residents, including kids, teens, and adults are all geeked about the park, there are still some community members who aren't too excited about having a park apparently impose upon their neighborhood.  Here's askin, why not?

I'm sure I'll get more info on some of those, and other compelling stories.  So if you're in town definitely stop by the Ritchie Valens Community Center at 10731 Laurel Canyon Blvd.
Pacoima, CA 91331 for this historical event.  Oh, and did I mention P-Rod is gonna be there?  Mmmhmmm...

This week brought lots of inspiring, infuriating, and downright interesting stories in the sports/social justice/political world.  I compiled a list of a few stories that I thought ya'll would like.  So, without further adu, check the certified links.

• No surprise here:  Girls in cities like Los Angeles and New York "are the left-behinds of the youth sports movement" especially since a large majority of these young inner city girl are depended on by their families to "tend to their siblings or clean house."  And since there isn't enough money and resources to go around for girls' sports programs, these young female athletes wind up getting "very little" support.  Thankfully, there are cool organizations like Cooperative, Healthy, Active, Motivated, Postive Students (CHAMPS) that work to provide after school resources for aspiring athletes. (NY Times, CHAMPS).
• Apparently, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks that those rioting and protesting against his Presidential "win" is like losing a "soccer match."  He says, "Some people are sentimental and become excited. As I said, I compared it to a soccer match. Their team has not won in the match."  Eh, not really, Ahmadinejad.  You ever think that these folks are angry because they believe they're losing their freedoms?  A classic example of bad taste: using sports rhetoric to dismiss a country in, what appears to be, utter turmoil. (CNN).
• In NBA news, excited crowds will gather outside of Amway Arena tonight for Game 6 of the LA Lakers and Orlando Magic.  Nope, these folks aren't unlucky ticket holders, they're human rights activists.  Protesters plan to call out the multi-million dollar entity known as the NBA (and its Commissioner David Stern) for its "links with a global corporation that violates workers' rights and subjects them to sweatshop conditions."  Here's wondering what Sir Charles thinks. (Peter Dreier/Huffington Post).
• On a lighter note, and in tribute of this week's upcoming Skatepark Dedication in Los Angeles, check out this awesome video entitled "Motivational Longboarding."

• And just because track and field is, like, the most awesomest sports ever, here's a cool pic for your viewing pleasure.  Apparently, the sky is the limit. (Getty/Jezebel)

What's the best way to compete against a widely popular sports magazine that showcases half naked bodies (eh-hem Sports Illustrated)?  Showcase female and male athletes engaging in a sporting activity while in the nude and call it the "Body Issue." 

Simple enough, I guess.

This idea appears to be the marketing strategy for ESPN's The Magazine with its first "Body Issue" hitting newsstands this fall.  No doubt The Magazine will be competing with one of the most successful sports magazine on the shelf.  So while it might seem like a competitive ploy to feature naked athletes for profits and perhaps bragging rights over SI, The Magazine's editor Gary Belsky insists that "The magazine won't do anything that would compromise ESPN and Disney brands [The Magazine's parent company]."

The idea, see, is to "use equipment and pads . . . to obscure body parts" so that, in the very least, the photos won't tread soft porn territory.

Well, call me curious Georgia then because a gal like me is eager to see how the editors and photographers might strategically place a basketball on, say, a body like Dwight Howard's.  Yaozahs!

Photo courtesy of Dimemag.com

There's no arguing that back when humans were throwing rocks as shot puts, athletic bodies were, in and of themselves, considered masterpieces of art.  Dodai over a Jezebel, points out that the Ancient Greeks participated in sport while nude (although, while men might have participated in sports, it's been noted that women were forbidden to compete in the ancient Olympics and if they did 'play' a sport they might've worn something like this).  

But perhaps it's not so much the idea of naked bodies gallivanting around while engaging in sport that's shocking, but rather the titillation translating into profits that might rub folks the wrong way.

Only time will tell (October 19th, to be exact) if the "Body Issue" will prove to be a modern example of dignified art through sport or just another excuse to sneak a peak at Amanda Beard’s boobs.

Feature photo courtesy of ESPN "The Magazine"/Clint Clemens