It’s interesting how the so-called extreme sports bleed back over into the Olympic movement. Thinking snowboarding, short-track speedskating, in the Winter. Triathlon, open-water swimming and, now, BMX, in Summer.

BMX is short for “bicycle moto-cross” … the pedaling version of motorcycle motocross. Riding over rough terrain.

Basically, we’ve got 16 men and 16 women out there going down a massively steep start, and then banging and flying their way over a bunch of hills. Like the kids do in vacant lots.

Somebody has crashed out in literally every heat so far, and that would be nine, to this point. Nobody hurt, that I can tell …

I’m guessing the young people who find track stultifying, and swimming dull … will like this.  It’s fast (high speed, and only about 36 seconds per race), it’s semi-violent and it’s trendy and accessible.

Word is, a skateboarding competition — type, not clear — will be part of the Olympics program in 2012, at London. The odd part about it is … it apparently will be overseen by the bicycle federation — Union Cycliste Internationale — “because it has wheels.”

A couple of journos I know were talking about skateboard, and threatening it to boycott it, in 2012, because it’s a “trash” sport … but it may be as mainstream, by 2020 or so that we’ll think it’s been around forever.

Anyway, if you wonder what your next new Olympic sports will be … watch the X Games. Something from there will go mainstream, given the time.