Have you ever considered trying a land sport such as motocross, and then thought, nah, I'll just stick to water? Well James Balzer probably should have, since a dirt bike crash left him seriously f-ed up. We're talking broken tib/fib, broken cheek bone and a lot of general contusions. I spoke to James a few days after his accident, and he sounded in good spirits, saying the thing he was most bummed about was "losing his girlish figure." The wakeskate world is bummed to lose one of its fastest rising stars just as he was about to burst, or at least I am. But never fear James is heading back to Canada to recover and will no doubt be back with Labatts-fueled fire before we know it.

In other news that you would only want to know so you can tell people you know, Aaron Reed is packing up and moving to Texas. His wife-to-be has another year of school to finish up before the couple will return to Claremont, tie the knot, and undoubtedly breed a whole herd of little rippers with a ton of pop. But for now, the shores of Claremont will be down one dude. Luckily there are a few others kicking around, so the scene should survive.