New Year No Limits

"New Year No Limits" was an American television special that aired on ESPN during the New Year's Eve period (December 31, 2007/January 1, 2008). The program aired from 11:40 p.m. to 1:10 a.m. Eastern time and originated from the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joe Tessitore, Mark Schlereth, Cam Steele, and Jamie Little were the commentators.

On this show, freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison set a new world record for the longest jump in a motorcycle, jumping 322 feet, 7½ inches. He then made a second attempt, largely because his personal goal was 360 feet. He failed in that attempt, and in fact the second jump was slightly shorter.

Maddison jumped above a makeshift football field set up in the Rio's parking lot, which was used to provide a perspective of the distance.

The show was also scheduled to feature the first-ever backflip in an off-road truck, performed by Rhys Millen, best known for his skills as a drifting race car driver. However, he suffered a back injury in his final warm-up jump when the truck overshot safety barriers. Millen did speak to Schlereth by telephone.

In the original plan, Maddison was to have jumped shortly after midnight ET and Millen's flip was set for 3 a.m. ET. However, because of the overtime finish of the Chick-fil-A Bowl that preceded it, and as a safety precaution due to headwinds at the site, Maddison did not jump until approximately 12:45 a.m. (9:45 p.m. Dec. 31 in Las Vegas). "SportsCenter", which was set as interstitial programming, then followed at 1:10 a.m. ET and was re-run in its entirety in place of the canceled Millen stunt.

Angels and Airwaves performed at the end of the show.

Early promotions indicated that "New Year No Limits" was presented by MGM, the distributor of the upcoming mockumentary release "The Poughkeepsie Tapes". However, on the night of the show, it was simply presented as "New Year's Eve on ESPN" and no commercials ran for the movie. It is unknown why MGM chose not to advertise as promised.

External links

* [http://www.newyearnolimits.com Official show site]