The obscure motocross discipline of Enduro X got prime-time spotlight at the close of X Games 17 Sunday, and true to its billing, the new event proved a suitably bone-crunching affair entirely worthy of X involvement.

"It's pretty clear Enduro X is here to stay," said X Games host Sal Masekela.

The sport's biggest hero, Taddy Blazusiak of Poland, came-from-behind to win his first X Games gold medal after surviving an unplanned trip to the last chance qualifier in order to gain entrance to the main event. That was one more grueling race than he wanted.

More widely known as Enduro Cross, this very technical form of moto racing is much more crash-derby than Supercross, with riders battling for survival on what is essentially a brutal obstacle course. The track is filled with boulders, giant logs, ponds and of course a few jumps and tight turns that require exceptional strength, agility, and of course endurance.

Having said that, it's never going to be considered a pretty looking sport. Frankly, its ugliness is one of its most endearing characteristics, as the wipeouts are spectacular.

While speeds don't approach those found in the premier motocross racing series like Supercross (stadium) and outdoor, the hits are just as bad, and much more frequent.

While a fledgling American Enduro Cross series helped the sport gain the notoriety needed to earn X Games placement, it's much more popular in Europe, where riders like Taddy Blazusiak have been dominating it.

That said, the fledgling American tour is likely to attract more local talent now with Enduro X getting X Games attention. And for what it's worth, Americans Mike Brown and Justin Soule proved they can compete by taking the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Blazusiak's road to victory was hardly an easy one. In his first heat he failed to advance directly to the final after getting caught up in an early pile up, and later, thrown over the handlebars while trying to jump a log.

After winning the last chance qualifier he found himself in a tough final battle. Mike Brown jumped out to an early lead, but Blazusiak pounced on the outside of a critical turn when Brown got hung up trying to avoid another rider.

"It's been a great night--a long night," Blazusiak said afterward. "It took me a while to get to the main but we did it."

Blazusiak is just the third Polish athlete in X Games history to win a gold medal. The other two both came in the now extinct X Games discipline of speed climbing.

Top: Racers get tangled in the corner made of huge boulders in Enduro X, the newest motcross discipline in X Games. Below: Taddy Blazusiak of Poland came in as the favorite, but had to work harder than he wanted in order to take the gold medal. Photos: Gettyimages/How.

We really don't need another reason to admire surfer Bethany Hamilton. Her never-give-up attitude is the stuff of Hollywood scripts. The movie Soul Surfer, about her amazing comeback to surfing after losing her arm to a shark attack, has not only defied critics and netted a tidy profit, it's also earned her a new generation of admirers.

Many of her biggest fans are fighting their own battles. In the case of eight-year-old Kendall Curnuck, sadly, it's the life-threatening kind. The tiny little dancer from New York recently spent months enduring debilitating chemotherapy after being diagnosed with leukemia in January of 2010.

Since seeing the movie about Bethany's struggle, however, Kendall has had little problem finding the courage needed in her ongoing battle. And she got an extra dose of inspiration when Hamilton and the Make A Wish foundation sent Kendall and her family to Hawaii for a personal surf lesson. The whole thing was caught by ESPN cameras for their beautifully executed My Wish campaign. See for yourself.

Motocross champions like Chad Reed are used to flying more than 30 feet above the ground during races. Of course, having a 450cc bike with powerful shock absorbers helps cushion the landing. When riders are removed from their bikes in mid-air that's when things get scary.

That's exactly what happened to Reed during Saturday's Lucas Oil AMA Motocross Championship stop in Millville, MN. The current series leader had just moved into the lead when things took a dramatic turn for the worse. While entering one of the larger jumps on the track he lost control of his bike and was immediately thrown off during what became a terrifying launch. His body was tossed 35-feet in the air before coming down hard on a nearby embankment.

The whole incident rattled fans at the Spring Creek track. But Reed nevertheless got up and dusted himself off. Then he managed to jump back on his bike and finish the race. During the remaining laps he passed enough of the field to finish 14th, just enough for him to keep his grip on his overall series lead. Despite having the wind knocked out of him and receiving a good blow to the head, Reed says he suffered no major injuries and is ready for to race again this Saturday.

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Kelly Slater was in New York last week helping lay more PR groundwork for September's Quiksilver Pro and celebrating the release of the new Echo Beach book that was edited by former Surfing Magazine editor Jamie Brisick, who's spent the past 10 years living and writing in Gotham.

While there Slater gave a thoughtful interview to a press crew from the Hamptons, and the video they released is worth watching. If nothing else you'll get a good sense of where the 10-time-champion's head is mentally two decades into the most dominant athletic career in the history of sports. Yup, we said it again. Enjoy.

With Quiksilver forking out about 10 million for their ASP event in New York in September (and the huge circus sure to surround it) we can expect front man Kelly Slater to be doing his part to promote it...and the job got off to an early start with Slater appearing on Chelsea Lately last night. With nothing left to prove, the champ seems to be enjoying himself in this role. See for yourself.