What... no flames?

With snowboard season just around the corner, I took a quick peek at some closeout websites where you can often score decent brand name gear for dimes on the dollar. I don't get to ride enough anymore to justify paying MSRPs for an annual outfitting and new quiver of boards—sadly, those days are over. But if I save a few bucks on boots, jacket and goggles, then I'll feel better about dropping real money on a new board.

Unless, of course, the boots are THESE hideous slush kickers...

I don't care what they cost—$82, instead of MSRP $200—I mean, come on... neon pink and blue with CAMO?! Why not just put some red flames on there as well, and maybe some reflective piping, so everyone can see your atrocious fashion sense at night?

These, apparently, were Jeremy Jones' idea. I know he's a freestyle icon and all that, but that doesn't mean he should get to shove around Burton's well paid product designers. It should be somebody's job to say "Um, no Jeremy, bro, those are UGG-LEE, and will undoubtedly end up—like like a Sarah Palin book—on a closeout website for an embarrassingly low price, sorry." Shouldn't it? Yes, it should. And that goes for his pro model boards too, which are also too stupid looking to purchase. Ever. At any price.

Every Boy

Maybe you like Jack Johnson. Maybe you like Donovan Frankenreiter. Maybe you don't, because the mellow/acoustic soulful surfer sound—while very enjoyable—is a little overplayed on the radio, or because it all just starts to sound a little too similar. That's okay... here is a solution.

Every Boy rubs a pleasant West Coast vibe with a little East Coast grit for a fresh, unique sound that makes you (me) smile. New York singer/songwriter Bruce Nathan pulled in some very talented musicians—from bands you've heard of—to back him on his freshman effort, and it's a polished affair full of good sounds and thoughtful words. It just released on iTunes today, and I recommend you get your iPod a little present. If you need to sample a few tracks first, click here. Enjoy.

Random observations

... about NYC, US Open, tennis & transportation.

~ The US Open is an amazing, high quality pro sports experience... as long as you're not too pinched by $7 hot dogs and the surly people that make and sell them.

~ When you can get a stadium packed with 23,000 tennis fans, PLUS Jack Nicholson, Lorne Michaels, Will Farrel, Gwen Stefani, Paul Simon, Bill Clinton and Stanley Tucci, something good is going on.

~ New York City is a tennis city and New Yorkers love tennis, and so the energy is high. The US Open belongs in New York.

~ (Some) NYC cab drivers are straight-up crazy, and won't hesitate to put your life in danger. And they still expect a tip.

~ NYC is a town that understands subways and public transportation. Bay Area/BART: take notes, get a clue... DO SOMETHING, you're an embarrassment to the paradigm of rail transit.

~ NYC is a town that understands cuisine. Just as easily as—and probably better than—dropping a fortune in the best French bistros in town, you can walk into a random pasta joint in Little Italy and ask for 2 Peronis and a plate of grilled anchovies that aren't on the menu. They don't even think about it: the answer is YES. (That was Holden's idea... brilliant.)

~ Virgin America is the newest cool/coolest new airline, and ordering drinks at will from the digital touch-screen on the seat-back is a feature I like. But don't expect the high speed internet to be fast.

~ Live, professional tennis is thing of great beauty, intensity, motion and emotion.

~ Six-foot-nine John Isner is a giant AND a giant killer. With towering serves and a cool head, he took down Andy Rodddick and cemented his status as the up-and-coming men's young gun.

~ Melanie Oudin may have been dismissed in the quarterfinals, but her run through the Open was the most exciting thing in women's tennis in a decade. And yes, I mean more exciting that Kim Clijster's return and surprise win, and certainly more interesting than a Sarena Williams meltdown. Melanie Oudin is the FUTURE of women's tennis in the US.

~ Roger Federer is unbeatable. His general perfect-ness and The Miracle Shot against Novak Djokovic in the semifinal proves that his game is more complex, developed and polished than any player in history.

~ Roger Feberer CAN be beaten, as proven by Juan Martin del Potro, who showed us that the impossible is possible by winning the five-set mens final and claiming his first Grand Slam title. Expect more.

A STAR IS BORN

Not since 17 year old Venus Williams stormed into the '99 US Open

and fought her way to her first Grand Slam final has women's tennis

seen a supernova like Melanie Oudin ('oo-DAN') illuminate the sky

above The US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

Her electrifying Round 4 victory today is merely the latest in a series

of dismissals of top Russian women. In order, she beat up on world

#4 Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova (#29) and today #13 Nadia

Petrova. In all of those matches, she lost the first set, only to come

back stronger and tougher to take the remaining two. And in all of

those matches, her competitors stumbled off the court, burnt out and

baffled at how their game fell apart.

Does she have the fuel and fire it takes to fight through the quarters and semis to reach the final?

BELIEVE IT.

The custom-made Adidas sneaks that Oudin wears say 'believe' on the heel.