X IS WORD IN SAN DIEGO: ARE GAMES "ALTERNATIVE" ANYMORE?

          With the X Games starting today in San Diego and
     running for the next ten days, city and event officials are
     expecting to exceed last year's total attendance of 220,000,
     according to Tony Perry of the L.A. TIMES, who profiles the
     event.  Fran Richards, GM of Times Mirror's Skateboarding
     and Warp magazines, said, "The X Games legitimized our
     sports like nothing else had."  Perry writes that total 
     endorsement deals for some X Games athletes range from
     $20,000-$25,000, with "stars making much more."  Perry:
     "Along the way, X Games also have outlasted the purists who
     initially derided the affair as nothing but 'trash sport.'"
     Agent Bob Evans, who represents several X Games athletes:
     "It's almost ludicrous to even consider these alternative
     sports anymore" (L.A. TIMES, 6/19).  Four cities are vying
     for next year's Games: St. Petersburg, San Francisco,
     Seattle and Providence (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/19).