My secret mission to very, very slowly (like glacially) turn this into a hybrid skateboarding and soccer site progresses nicely… Here’s Post number 2 on Portland Thorns player and (2 time!) USWNT World Cup winner (!!!) Tobin Heath! After the Sweden-England match on Saturday there was a lot of analysis in advance of the final between USA and the Netherlands.  Fox aired this segment on Tobin Heath that was filmed in Portland at Commonwealth about 2 months ago. I’ve never seen a picture of Tobin on a skateboard, but here she is on S&A again, and according to Girls Soccer Network, she skateboards. The three minute segment is an odd one, to be sure. It starts off with her juggling in the flat and then out of nowhere she’s surrounded by Solid Gold dancers, and eventually, skateboarders. The voiceover is Heath talking about her connection to soccer, and  a skateboard connection is neither explained or explicitly shown. She’s an amazing player, and I love her and both of her teams, so it pains me to say this… It’s very stiff and awkward. I blame the creative director behind this. I get it, FOX has to have some flash and filler to show…

On the one hand, these are some valid points. On the other hand, the person who did this deserves nothing. [Source: New Westminster Record ]

You’re looking a billboards in NYC as part of a Girl is not a 4 Letter Word event celebrating Women’s History month. Girls skate too. Can there be any doubt? [Photo: Cindy Whitehead ]

Get all the distressing details here. Charlie Wilkins is not the idiot in the video shot during the protest. Every Portland skateboarder that has ever met Charlie Wilkins would likely vouch for him. I would. Help spread the word on social media. #notcharliewilkins. Update: The story was covered on local news KGW.

Skaters for Portland Skateparks held what I hope is the first of many Skateboard Swap Meets on Monday. It was free to enter, and setting up a table only cost a very modest $10 with a 10% of sales set as a suggested donation towards the Powell Blvd Skate Spot. The picture above was taken early on in the event, and it did get quite busy. As most other vendors there, I didn’t know what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it. I hope they make this a monthly or semi-monthly thing. I expect it become popular and quickly outgrow the space we were in at Luck Labrador Brewing. Minors were allowed, either because the event was in a separate room or maybe because it is also a restaurant. I unloaded a bunch of potential landfill from my basement. There was some interesting stuff there including boards from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, stacks of old VHS tapes, art, and shirts. Game Stolz had some of his own Oregon-pressed Chupakabruh Skateboards as well as these Vitamin Water-branded promo skateboard wheels that were from about 5-7 years ago. That stuff belongs right here on Skate and Annoy. Bonus:…

Huck Magazine recaps a history of homophobia in the skateboarding industry Brian Anderson coming out as gay doesn’t let skateboarding off the hook. The biggest news here is that Brian appears to be dating Rob Reiner.

Check out these fundraising stickers made in the style of vintage steel-wheeled skateboard decks. These stickers benefit the Troutdale skatepark efforts, and you can get yours in person at Cal Skate or by via Paypal to tylerjaycole at gmail.com. Please provide your mailing address and verify which sticker(s) you’re ordering and how many when making payment using Paypal… Small stickers are $2.00 each, Large stickers are $4.00 each. Here’s atop, use the “Friends and Family” option so there’s no service fee for Tyler, and all the funds can go towards the skatepark.

I saw a color version of this floating around Facebook, so I tried to track down the original which it turns out was done by Ben Jensen, and was not a specific response to sad events in Orlando. It’s been out for at least 9 months, and you can get them at Antique Skate as well as No Gods No Masters.

I find the title of Fox 4 of Kansas City, Missouri’s story amusing: “Young residents continue to build skating facility at Columbus Park despite knowing it will eventually be torn down.” Yes, you silly young residents, keep beating your heads against the wall. It’s another sanctioned DIY spot with planned obsolescence in it’s future. Sound familiar? The spot looks good, but what is it called? It seems to be in the middle of nowhere, yet somehow developers have their eye on the location. Get some while you can, you never know how these things will end up. Yes you do, but keep your dreams alive, young residents.

The Guardian has a short video on the challenges of skateboarding in Cuba, which although well done, is just about like every other one we’ve seen on the subject.  Public Radio International has a slightly different take on the situation, focusing on the difficulties facing girls who want to skateboard in Cuba.  According to a the trailer for Patinas Sin Fronteras En Cuba, Cuban skaters don’t want your pity, they just want access to skateboards. You have to imagine it’s about to get better now that relations between the U.S.A. and Cuba are more normal. You can help at Amigo Skate Cuba. – thanks to Everyone for the tips.