Are the X Games Too Extreme?

The freestyle snowmobiler, attempting a backflip last week at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, couldn't rotate his machine enough to land the maneuver. The skis dug into the lip of the slope, bringing the 450-pound snowmobile crashing down on him. The vehicle slammed into Moore's head and chest. The death of Caleb Moore is shining a spotlight on growing concerns over safety in extreme sports. After initially diagnosing Moore, 25, with a concussion after Thursday's accident, doctors soon discovered bleeding around his heart. He had emergency surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction on Friday, a day after the accident. He had brain complications, and his family issued a statement saying he was in critical condition and being closely monitored. The combination of quirky, hair-raising events that make up the X Games were once pushed to the distant margins of televised sports. But in recent years, some have been added to both Summer and Winter Olympic slates. On Thursday, a week after the accident, Moore died."They do train all year for this," said Dr. Christine Trankiem, a trauma surgeon at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. "But it's important for the folks watching at home to realize that these acts, while exciting to watch, are potentially life-threatening, limb-threatening and brain-threatening acts if an accident should occur."Moore's injury was one of several at this year's Winter X Games. His younger brother, Colten, suffered a separated pelvis in the same event. Freestyle skier Rose Battersby, a New Zealander, incurred a spinal fracture, and Icelandic snowboarder Halldor Helgason suffered a concussion. During one of the jumps on Sunday night, Australian Jack Strong was attempting a backflip on his machine when it got away from him. The runaway snowmobile crashed into a bank of fans. A young boy who hit his knee on a parked vehicle while trying to get away was evaluated and released. Other spectators avoided injury. Strong was not seriously injured. "We've worked closely with athletes, risk management specialists, sport organizers and event managers to ensure the safest possible conditions for athletes and spectators alike. Further measures are constantly being evaluated to ensure the safest possible experience for spectators," the network said in an earlier statement. One thing spectators won't experience: a drop-off of the X Games.