Second Thoughts

Nothing Evel about these Vegas jumps

Travis Pastrana jumps the Caesars Palace fountain on a motorcycle Sunday in Las Vegas.
Travis Pastrana jumps the Caesars Palace fountain on a motorcycle Sunday in Las Vegas.

Honoring the man who paved the way for dozens of daredevils, Travis Pastrana succeeded in triplicating Evel Knievel's iconic motorcycle jumps Sunday night.

Donning his own Knievel-like costume, Pastrana, 34, used an Indian Scout FTR750 to jump 143 feet to clear 52 crushed cars, 192 feet over 16 Greyhound buses and concluded the "Evel Live" event on the History Channel by jumping 149 feet to clear the fountains at Caesars Palace.

Pastrana, who is nearing the end of an impressive career as a stunt showman and professional motorsports competitor, admitted he was nervous leading up to the event, which began in an empty lot behind Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paris Las Vegas and Bally's Las Vegas.

"This is all about Evel, and the coolest thing about this whole thing, all of Evel's family is out here," said Pastrana, whose outfit included a white jumpsuit with the blue V and white stars, a cape and high heel dress boots. "This is the home of the most iconic jump, one of the most iconic events that has ever gone down. And to end at Caesars Palace, to have a chance to jump the fountain.

"It's not the longest jump but it's definitely the hardest."

After his first two jumps over the cars and buses, Pastrana had a police escort while riding the same motorcycle along Las Vegas Boulevard all while popping wheelies and stopping to high-five and shake hands with fans.

Pastrana jumped the fountain in the opposite direction Knievel did. With the area much more built out than it was on New Year's Eve in 1967, Pastrana had less space for his approach, leaving him a shorter distance to reach approximately 70 miles per hour before takeoff.

Knievel, who died in 2007 at age 69, came up short on his attempt at jumping the fountain, hitting the knuckle just before the landing ramp and losing control. He flew head first over the handlebars and tumbled along the pavement, crushing his pelvis and fracturing several other bones in the process.

To the rafters

The Anaheim Ducks will retire the numbers of two of their greatest players -- Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer -- during the upcoming season.

Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli announced the honors for the two Hockey Hall of Famers on Monday. Teemu Selanne's No. 8 is the only number previously retired by the Ducks, who are heading into their 25th NHL season.

Kariya's No. 9 will go into the Honda Center rafters on Oct. 21, and Niedermayer's No. 27 will be raised Feb. 17.

Kariya spent his first nine NHL seasons with the then-Mighty Ducks, including seven seasons as Anaheim's captain and six seasons alongside Selanne in a prolific scoring duo. Kariya, the first draft pick in franchise history, also helped the Ducks to their first Stanley Cup Final in 2003.

Kariya is still Anaheim's fourth-leading career scorer with 669 points.

Niedermayer spent his final five NHL seasons with the Ducks, scoring 264 points while providing sturdy defense and leadership during a stellar stretch of franchise history. He was the Ducks' captain for four years, and he set the single-season franchise scoring record for defensemen while leading Anaheim to its only Stanley Cup title in 2007.

Niedermayer's number was retired in 2011 by the New Jersey Devils, where he spent his first 13 seasons and won three Stanley Cup championships. He remained with the Ducks as an executive and coach after his retirement as a player with Anaheim in 2010.

Sports on 07/10/2018

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