Panasonic Open

What -- AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open Where -- Camden Yards sports complex When -- Through Sunday Tickets -- Available online through Ticketmaster or through M&T Bank Stadium box office. Four-day pass, $35; daily, $15; daily children (12 and younger), $5; premium, $100. TV -- Tomorrow, Sunday, 4-6 p.m., chs. 11, 4; tonight, tomorrow night, midnight-1 a.m. USA (tape) Web site -- astdewtour.com Today's schedule Gates open at 2 p.m. Outdoor festival 2 BMX park practice 2-5 BMX dirt practice 4-5 BMX dirt finals 5-6:30 SKB park practice 6:30-7:30 SKB park finals 7:30-9 Saliva concert 9-11 Tomorrow's schedule Gates open at 1 p.m. Outdoor festival 1 FMX practice 1-3 BMX park prelims 1-3:30 SKB vert practice 3:30-4:30 SKB vert finals 4:30-6 BMX vert practice 6:30-7:30 BMX vert finals 7:30-9 Sunday's schedule Gates open at noon Outdoor festival Noon BMX park practice Noon-1 BMX park finals 1-2:30 FMX practice 2:30-3:45 FMX finals 3:45-6

You really couldn't ask for a better kickoff weekend to the Dew Tour than this one. Baltimore played host to the Panasonic Open, the second straight year the tour's first stop came here, and fans flocked to the Camden Yards Sports Complex on a sunny weekend. And it looks as if they will have a chance to flock there again next year. The Maryland Stadium Authority signed two one-year contracts with the Dew Tour for 2008 and 2009. Having the Dew Tour return next year is contingent on the Orioles' schedule, but it appears the Panasonic Open is here to stay.

Six days. That's all it takes to turn the parking lot at Camden Yards Sports Complex into an action sports fan's dream. That's all it takes to build towering ramps, steep rails and huge mounds of dirt for athletes to perform gravity-defying tricks on. The Dew Tour's Panasonic Open starts today in Baltimore and will feature some of the best athletes on skateboards, bikes and motorcycles from around the world, battling for points and prize money....

Baltimore native Bucky Lasek delighted the hometown crowd, winning the Skateboard Vert event last night. Lasek's second run was strong, earning him a score of 93.75. Lasek, a two-time Dew Cup winner, was largely responsible for getting the Dew Tour to come to Baltimore. In last year's Panasonic Open, he took third while skating with an injured knee. Winning in front of his hometown fans was Lasek's dream. "This is huge redemption," he said. "It means a lot to me to come to my hometown and to put it down the way I did and to represent Baltimore the way it deserves to be represented.

Bucky Lasek figures that on television, the amazing tricks he performs on a skateboard look just like the feats kids glimpse in Spider-Man cartoons. But in person? "They can see there's no strings," he said. That's why the Baltimore native is so excited that the ASPT Dew Tour is coming to his hometown in June. For years, local skating, BMX and motocross lovers have had to catch their favorite performers on television. But finally, they'll be able to watch stars such as Lasek soar above the parking lots around M&T Bank Stadium in person.

After his run in yesterday's BMX park finals, defending champion Daniel Dhers thought his score wouldn't trump Michael Spinner's 92.67. Fortunately for Dhers, the judges disagreed and he took home the event's championship at the AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open at the Camden Yards sports complex. Dhers' score of 93.17 overtook Spinner, and Dennis Enarson's 90.17 was good for third place. Despite being the defending Dew Cup champion and coming into the finals ranked first overall, Dhers said he didn't feel any additional pressure.

Some of the world's finest skateboarders, BMX bike riders and freestyle motocross performers will show Baltimore their tricks when the Action Sports Pro Tour Dew Tour comes to town in late June for the Panasonic Open. The Maryland Stadium Authority outbid Louisville, Ky., for the June 21-24 showcase, said Harold Workman, chief executive officer for the Kentucky State Fair. The event will be held at the Camden Yards sports complex. Stadium authority, state and city officials will announce additional details at a news conference today.

Baltimore native Bucky Lasek delighted the hometown crowd, winning the Skateboard Vert event last night. Lasek's second run was strong, earning him a score of 93.75. Lasek, a two-time Dew Cup winner, was largely responsible for getting the Dew Tour to come to Baltimore. In last year's Panasonic Open, he took third while skating with an injured knee. Winning in front of his hometown fans was Lasek's dream. "This is huge redemption," he said. "It means a lot to me to come to my hometown and to put it down the way I did and to represent Baltimore the way it deserves to be represented.

For a second straight summer, trucks will roll into downtown Baltimore and dump tons of dirt between Oriole Park and M &T Bank Stadium. Youths marked by droopy haircuts and droopier pants will congregate from miles around. Motorcycles will soar into the view of drivers passing on Interstate 395. The Action Sports Tour Dew Tour will be back in town on the third weekend in June with a raft of celebrity skateboarders and BMX bike riders in tow. The Panasonic Open (June 19-22) will kick off the five-stop action sports tour.

You really couldn't ask for a better kickoff weekend to the Dew Tour than this one. Baltimore played host to the Panasonic Open, the second straight year the tour's first stop came here, and fans flocked to the Camden Yards Sports Complex on a sunny weekend. And it looks as if they will have a chance to flock there again next year. The Maryland Stadium Authority signed two one-year contracts with the Dew Tour for 2008 and 2009. Having the Dew Tour return next year is contingent on the Orioles' schedule, but it appears the Panasonic Open is here to stay.

It's a typical afternoon at Charm City Skate Park. It's damp, dark and humid inside, and young skateboarders, drenched in sweat, filter in and out. The front door swings open and a lanky 22-year-old saunters in. He wears a beige shirt with "IT'S MY PARTY" printed in charcoal black. His black jeans are snug, and the faded black hat he's wearing backward holds down matted, wet, brown hair. Some younger skaters look starstruck when he enters. It's not surprising: These days, the skater known as "Gumbie" has star status at Charm City and beyond.

Six days. That's all it takes to turn the parking lot at Camden Yards Sports Complex into an action sports fan's dream. That's all it takes to build towering ramps, steep rails and huge mounds of dirt for athletes to perform gravity-defying tricks on. The Dew Tour's Panasonic Open starts today in Baltimore and will feature some of the best athletes on skateboards, bikes and motorcycles from around the world, battling for points and prize money....

For a second straight summer, trucks will roll into downtown Baltimore and dump tons of dirt between Oriole Park and M &T Bank Stadium. Youths marked by droopy haircuts and droopier pants will congregate from miles around. Motorcycles will soar into the view of drivers passing on Interstate 395. The Action Sports Tour Dew Tour will be back in town on the third weekend in June with a raft of celebrity skateboarders and BMX bike riders in tow. The Panasonic Open (June 19-22) will kick off the five-stop action sports tour.

After his run in yesterday's BMX park finals, defending champion Daniel Dhers thought his score wouldn't trump Michael Spinner's 92.67. Fortunately for Dhers, the judges disagreed and he took home the event's championship at the AST Dew Tour's Panasonic Open at the Camden Yards sports complex. Dhers' score of 93.17 overtook Spinner, and Dennis Enarson's 90.17 was good for third place. Despite being the defending Dew Cup champion and coming into the finals ranked first overall, Dhers said he didn't feel any additional pressure.

Here was Bucky Lasek, the hometown draw and Baltimore's biggest action sports star, trying to decide which bum knee was more deserving of the blame: the left knee, the one suffering from cartilage issues that will cause him to have surgery tomorrow, or the right knee, which had to compensate its counterpart. "I paid the price today. It was bruised; it was tight. I had no power," said Lasek, 34, about the knee that bothered him in the skateboard vert finals of the Panasonic Open yesterday.

Yesterday is a day that Mathieu Therres will not soon forget. The Dundalk native had barely advanced to last night's AST Dew Tour Panasonic Open skateboard park final , finishing last among 12 qualifiers Thursday night. To say he stepped up his game in the finals would be an understatement. Therres, 21, finished fifth after an impressive performance in front of a rowdy crowd at the Camden Yards sports complex. Therres, who goes by the nickname "Gumbie," was as surprised as anyone that he did so well.

It's a typical afternoon at Charm City Skate Park. It's damp, dark and humid inside, and young skateboarders, drenched in sweat, filter in and out. The front door swings open and a lanky 22-year-old saunters in. He wears a beige shirt with "IT'S MY PARTY" printed in charcoal black. His black jeans are snug, and the faded black hat he's wearing backward holds down matted, wet, brown hair. Some younger skaters look starstruck when he enters. It's not surprising: These days, the skater known as "Gumbie" has star status at Charm City and beyond.