ESPN Action Sports

Want to check out the X Games live and in person? Now is your chance. Tickets for the upcoming X Games Los Angeles 2012 go on sale Thursday, May 24 from all Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster.com/xgames and the STAPLES Center Box Office.

The X Games come to Los Angeles from June 28 to July 1, a month earlier than usual.

Tickets will also be available on the days of the event based on availability and can be purchased at the STAPLES Center Box Office in X Fest during the following times. Check here for a complete box office schedule.

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Ford teammates Brian Deegan and Tanner Foust discuss the testing they've been doing with their cars and crews before the Global RallyCross season begins Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C.

Watch the video above to learn more about Deegan and Foust's preparations and anticipation for the GRC season.

Global RallyCross driver Stephan Verdier made the rounds at ESPN and shares his excitement about the new season, which starts Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C..

Watch the video above to learn more about Verdier's "Motorcity"-themed car, the X Games and the GRC season.

Verdier also answered questions in a live chat with SportsNation.

Last year at X Games 17, Jackson, N.J. BMX Park rider Scotty Cranmer was on my very short list of favorites to win BMX Park, which he had done in the past (in 2006 and 2009). Scotty came up just short at XG17, grabbing the bronze medal, and followed that up grabbing the year-end Dew Cup for 2011. But it's a new year now, and Scotty seems poised to return to the top of the X Games podium.

In the above video, Cranmer runs through some recent developments in his life, including the addition of a new backyard mini ramp to his home. If you've ever seen Scotty ride a contest, then you know that he pedals wide open at whatever obstacles are in his way. And he seems to have taken the same approach to his mini ramp, allowing for enough flat to get at least one crank in between transitions.

Jeremy Stenberg's new freeriding film "Twitch's 420% All Natural" was released Tuesday through the iTunes Store, just three weeks after its world premiere in Newport Beach, Calif. The film, directed by Jay Schweitzer and produced by Powerband Films, features Stenberg and a posse of riders including Nate Adams, Andy Bakken, Tyler Beremen, Vinnie Carbone, Mike Mason, Jeremy McGrath, Dustin Miller, Dan Pastor, Todd Potter, Ronnie Renner, Myles Richmond, Daniel Sani and Brody Wilson.

Stenberg has said he hopes to transition away from FMX competition to focus on freeriding and filming, and hopes the statement he's making with the new film will help make a post-competitive career possible for himself and for other top freeriders. We caught up with him for more on the film and his future plans.

ESPN.com: You've said before that you've always wished that FMX riders could just go out freeriding and making films and make a career of it, separate from the competition scene, the way some of the top skateboarders and snowboarders have been able to. Now that your "Twitch's 420% All Natural" is getting out in front of the world, how well do you feel the film will help you toward that goal?
Stenberg: I don't know if I've achieved it yet or not, but I know I've put in a solid effort and that is still my ultimate goal. I feel like this film is a step in the right direction, that's for sure.

There isn't a single contest shot or metal ramp in the film and every jump is either natural terrain or something we shoveled out by hand, with one or two exceptions where we used a bulldozer. I grew up freeriding and that's what most of my buddies grew up doing, and I wanted to make sure this movie was truly about freeriding. It's a documentary about what we do when we're out there having fun and not just putting on a show for a crowd.

Last weekend at the Sammy Carlson Invitational at Mt. Bachelor, Ore., former Winter X Games gold medalist Tanner Hall returned to his first competition since injuring both knees three years ago.

"Today is all about fun for me, just feeling the vibe and getting back in the start gate with all of my friends," Hall said about competing at Mt. Bachelor last weekend. "I'm just trying to find the zone again, my first step coming back."

Hall placed fourth in the big air contest, a more than respectable finish for a guy who's been benched since 2009 (his last contest was the February 2009 Winter Dew Tour). At SCI, he threw a double backflip off the jump and did a flatspin 540 on the wallride.

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Disney XDStephan Verdier, who was fourth overall in 2011, shows off his new "Motorcity" paint scheme for GRC.

Global RallyCross driver Stephan Verdier rolled through ESPN to promote the new season that starts Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., and he answered your questions in a live chat Monday at SportsNation.

Verdier, who finished fourth overall Global RallyCross in 2011, is a veteran rally driver and a former downhill and speed skier. Besides rally driving at summer X Games, Verdier also has competed in Skier X at Winter X Games 2002. For the 2012 Global RallyCross season, Verdier will be teaming his Rhys Millen Racing No. 12 car with the new Disney XD animated series "Motorcity" as a sponsor.

Click here read the transcript of Verdier's chat.

C.Van Hanja/ESPN ImagesWant to see this live? Get pre-sale tickets to X Games 2012.

Friends of xgames.com have a chance on Monday to purchase tickets to X Games Los Angeles 2012 before they go on sale to the general public.

Tickets go on sale to the general public starting May 24, but you can take advantage of this special pre-sale opportunity starting at 10 a.m. PT Monday. Simply log onto Ticketmaster.com/xgames and enter the code FANOFX to get your choice of seats before everyone else.

X Games LA takes place June 28-July 1 in Los Angeles.

As the AMA Pro Motocross season is set to start Saturday, Ashley Fiolek discusses her preparations for defending her women's championship this season.

The genetically inclined songwriting of X Games host Sal Masekela is now available online, with the release last week of "The Sound of Alekesam," the first full-length record written by the action sports personality.

The 10-track album is the result of 10 weeks in a recording studio a year ago, working with producer Sunny Levine. Levine's father, Stewart Levine, produced critically acclaimed albums with Masekela's father, Hugh Masekela, a jazz great exiled from his native South Africa as his music reflected the conflicts of Apartheid during the 1950s and '60s.

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