Dew Tour

As the Pantech Open draws closer and excitement begins to rise, even the casual sports fan will surely be making plans to check out the action. But if you're not a hardcore action sports fans, you may want to carve out some time to brush up on your Dew Tour dictionary. Here at the OC Blog, we've got you covered. Below are a few basic terms you'll be hearing throughout the Dew Tour weekend. SKATE -Half-pipe : A structure that typically has a flat bottom and curved sides and is used to do most of the gravity-defying tricks in skateboarding, as well as BMX. -Ollie : The action that propels the skater and the board into the air. It involves slamming the tail of the board, while simultaneously jumping and sliding your front foot up the grip tape towards the nose of the board.

After $1.1 million in Superstorm Sandy clean-up work, Ocean City is ready for Memorial Day weekend and beyond, said Mayor Richard Meehan. Even the damaged century-old Ocean City Inlet Fishing Pier, which was featured prominently in national TV storm coverage, will be opening Friday. Meehan will mark the occasion by making the first cast from the 489-foot structure. "People from all over the country watched as that angry ocean tore apart that pier. Now, it's back in business," the mayor said.

What -- AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open When -- Yesterday-Sunday Where -- Camden Yards Sports Complex Today -- BMX Vert final, 4:30 p.m.; BMX Dirt final, 7:30 p.m. Good Charlotte concert, 9 p.m. Tickets -- Available through Ticketmaster now or through M&T Bank Stadium on the day of the event. Four-day pass, $35; daily, $15; daily children (12 and younger), $7.50; reserved seating, $35; premium seating, $100. TV -- Friday, midnight-1 a.m. [USA]; Saturday, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. [chs. 11, 4]

Dew Tour Lasek takes second in shortened Skate Bowl Pedro Barros defended his championship in the rain-shortened Skate Bowl at the Dew Tour Pantech Beach Championships in Ocean City on Sunday, holding off Baltimore native Bucky Lasek . In the first-ever Mega 2.0 event, 12-year-old Tom Schaar threw down a front-side 180 melon over the gap and spun a 1080 out of the quarter-pipe to win with a score of 89.00. Second place was earned by New York native Elliot Sloan with a score of 87.00 by throwing a tail grab combo first with a 720 over the gap then with another in a 540 on the quarter pipe.

How do you like your water towers, naked or with an artful promotional message painted on the side? That's a question the Ocean City Town Council will consider at tonight's meeting, when a proposal to paint a logo on the Worcester Street water tower is expected to be on the agenda. Tourism officials are considering a request from Alli Sports, organizers of the Dew Tour, to paint the tour's logo on the side of the water tower. The logo would read 'Welcome to Ocean City, Proud Home of the Dew Tour" and would stay in place year-round.

The Dew Tour is ready to let it rip again this summer in Ocean City. The mayor and town council voted Tuesday night to approve the request for the action sports tour to return to the resort city Aug. 16-19. Alli Sports, organizers of the tour, plan a four-day event with competition in BMX, skateboarding and surfing, as well as a festival village and concert performance. Organizers say the event will be broadcast live on NBC and NBC Sports Network.  Last summer's event, the first time the Dew Tour was held in Ocean City, took place in July.

A record 73,000 fans watched athletes compete over four days in The Dew Tour's Pantech Open in Ocean City. The attendance broke records for the tour, becoming the biggest crowd in the history of the Dew Tour, according to officials from Ocean City and Alli Sports, organizer of the tour.  Ocean City officials said the weekend population of the Maryland resort town was more than 320,000, up about 7 percent from the corresponding weekend in 2010. “It was great to see all the families turn out to see these amazing athletes compete,” said Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan.

It's Dew time in OC and the town is kicking it off with some pre-tour festivities, starting with tomorrow's Commotion Down The Ocean at the Ocean Bowl Skate Park. The free event will feature amateur skateboard competitions plus an opportunity to gawk at some of the extreme sports celebrities in town for the Dew Tour aka Pantech Open. Appearances by athletes Bucky Lasek (of Dundalk), Andy Macdonald, Pierre Luc Gagnon, Adama Taylor, Elliot Sloan and other Dew Tour pros.

With a brilliant sun overhead and the ocean within yards, the Pantech Beach Championships landed in Ocean City Thursday. Enthusiastic Dew Tour fans packed the beach to watch competition in skateboarding, BMX bike riding and surfing. Even the practice runs were popular as onlookers lined up along the fence as early as 10 a.m. to watch athletes like 15-year-old Mitchie Brusco take on the BMX Mega 2.0. Some of the star Dew Tour athletes were out for the early morning practice, including skateboarders Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Andy Macdonald and Bob Burnquist.

The week ended and Michael Lohan still doesn't have a place for his party. Boo hoo. His much promoted party was so toxic it was canceled within hours of its announcement on this blog. In other news, the Dew Tour is expected to draw over 50,000 people to Ocean City this weekend. Even if is skateboarding is still prohibited by the city. Marquee Lounge was reviewed . The Don't Know Tavern settlement may not go to the plaintiffs' lawyer after all. Silver Spring's new Fillmore theater has an opening date, and Mary J. Blige will be on hand for the grand opening.

Dark clouds and a bit of rain was not enough to stop fans from packing the stands for the fourth and final day of the Pantech Beach Championships in Ocean City, but it was enough to delay the skate bowl final twice due to the rain-slicked surface of the bowl. The skate bowl final was delayed the first time after the first heat. Bucky Lasek took command in the first heat by throwing huge 540s and Mctwists to the delight of the packed stands. Zero Skateboards rider Ben Hatchell of Manassas, Va., was nipping at Lasek's heels using a more technical array of grind tricks.

Swimming Phelps' agent says photos didn't break IOC rules Could Michael Phelps ' 2012 Olympic medal haul of four golds and two silvers be in jeopardy because of his recent photo shoot with the French fashion house Louis Vuitton? Pictures of the retired Baltimore swimmer taken by Annie Leibovitz were leaked on the Internet late last week, apparently violating the International Olympic Committee's Rule 40, which says athletes can't promote non-Olympic sponsors from July 18 to Aug. 15. Punishments range from fines to the stripping of medals.

Half-way through the Dew Tour's Pantech Beach Championships in Ocean City, all eyes were on the skateboarding events Saturday afternoon. Thousands of fans were on the beach at Dorchester Street as defending champion Pierre Luc-Gagnon won the skate vert finals, with Baltimore native Bucky Lasek taking second place, followed by Sandro Dias in third. Lasek was leading going into the finals, but he fell on his last run. "I never got around to doing the round I wanted to because I kept falling toward the end of my run," Lasek said, adding that he loves bringing something new to the competition, like the boneless to invert maneuver that he pulled off after inventing it just last week.

With Chris Miller claiming the crown at last night's Skate Legends Bowl, the action at the Dew Tour's Pantech Beach Championships jumped into high gear on Friday in Ocean City. Walking down the boardwalk, the actions sports beachfront takeover was clear. Fans carried skateboard decks in hopes of getting an athlete's signature, small children skated in over-sized gear and skate shoes appeared to be more popular than sandals. The competition continued Friday with action in the Skate Vert semifinals and the BMX Vert Finals, both taking place later in the day at Dorchester Street and the beach.

With a brilliant sun overhead and the ocean within yards, the Pantech Beach Championships landed in Ocean City Thursday. Enthusiastic Dew Tour fans packed the beach to watch competition in skateboarding, BMX bike riding and surfing. Even the practice runs were popular as onlookers lined up along the fence as early as 10 a.m. to watch athletes like 15-year-old Mitchie Brusco take on the BMX Mega 2.0. Some of the star Dew Tour athletes were out for the early morning practice, including skateboarders Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Andy Macdonald and Bob Burnquist.

As Dew Tour launches the first day of competition in Ocean City, businesses on the boardwalk and beyond are amping up their efforts to attract customers as the influx of action sports fans hit the town. Local surf shop Quiet Storm on the boardwalk is going all in on making Dew Tour weekend their best of the summer. On top of the aggressive advertising that many of the local restaurants and vendors are using to let their presence be known, Quiet Storm is bringing in many of the competing athletes for signings and events inside the store.

Beginning Monday, Ocean City will be all about the Dew, Dew, Dew. That's the extreme sports Dew Tour, of course, which opens here on July 21. In preparation for what is sure to be a huge event, the city will start setting up the beachside venue, which will span the beach from north of the pier to Caroline Street, adjacent to the boardwalk. The set-up will include a vert ramp, skateboard bowl and a BMX park, plus a festival village. City officials said to lessen the impact to beachgoers, equipment for the set-up will be brought in during the early morning hours, from midnight to 6 a.m. However, construction will take place during the day and probably last right up until the event.

The Dew Tour aka The Pantech Open gets underway tomorrow on the beach in Ocean City. (If you stop in at the AT&T store at Ocean Gateway today from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., you can meet Dundalk's own Bucky Lasek.) Tickets are still available. General admission is $24 on Friday and $29 on Saturday and Sunday. Action zone tickets are $100 per day. And if you purchase a Fri-Sun ticket, you get Thursday admission free. Also, Pantech is giving away free tickets here. Admission is free to the festival village, the Friday night surf contest and the Saturday Kid Cudi concert.

As the Pantech Open draws closer and excitement begins to rise, even the casual sports fan will surely be making plans to check out the action. But if you're not a hardcore action sports fans, you may want to carve out some time to brush up on your Dew Tour dictionary. Here at the OC Blog, we've got you covered. Below are a few basic terms you'll be hearing throughout the Dew Tour weekend. SKATE -Half-pipe : A structure that typically has a flat bottom and curved sides and is used to do most of the gravity-defying tricks in skateboarding, as well as BMX. -Ollie : The action that propels the skater and the board into the air. It involves slamming the tail of the board, while simultaneously jumping and sliding your front foot up the grip tape towards the nose of the board.

The Dew Tour Pantech Beach Championships brings the action to Ocean City this week for the second year in a row. The extreme sports competition includes events in BMX, skateboarding and surfing all right on the beach. And that's "on the beach," not "at the beach. " The equipment is set up right in the sand at Dorchester Street. Huge ramps, cement bowls, vert ramps and much more, all silhouetted against the ocean. With this year's free admission, event organizers have aimed to involve more people than ever, allowing fans to go even deeper into the Dew Tour experience.