BMX legend Lavin helps out friends
Grateful and overwhelmed, BMX dirt bike legend T.J. Lavin is paying back an IOU to his community.
Lavin said he'll "never forget" the generosity that aided his recovery from a near-fatal crash last fall on what was to be his last public appearance.
Monday he hosts the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Southern Nevada Golf Tournament at South Shore Golf Club at Lake Las Vegas. Lavin's father died of lung cancer a decade ago.
In an interview this week, the MTV host of "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" revealed that he is splitting $600,000 raised at a December benefit put together by UFC president Dana White.
About $100,000 is going to his Monster teammate Paul Thacker, paralyzed in November while performing a snowmobile freestyle trick; BMX rider Gary Laurent, who broke his back days after Lavin crashed; and Stephen Murray, who broke his neck during a BMX event in 2007.
Lavin said he will split the rest with Ty Pinney, who suffered horrific injuries during BMX jumping in Lavin's backyard the day before Lavin's crash at the Dew Tour at the Hard Rock hotel-casino.
"I want him to know, 'You're with me,' " Lavin said.
The BMX stars ended up in the same trauma center room.
Lavin, 34, said he has been pushing Pinney so hard in their recovery workouts that "he's not answering the phone. He's ducking me."
Lavin estimated his recovery at 70 percent. Blurred vision is still an issue at times, and half of his face will remain numb until the nerves regenerate.
Calls from well-wishers continue on a daily basis. The biggest surprise was a guy who showed up at Lavin's home two summers ago.
An Escalade pulled in, and out of a door rushed two children, Pax and Maddox, big BMX fans. The guy following his kids was Brad Pitt.
"He was amazing," Lavin said. "He called me several times when I was recovering."
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Singer Gloria Estefan, rumored to be heading for a headliner residency at the Tropicana, showed up Wednesday for "The X Factor" auditions at the University of Miami. That's the show Simon Cowell has put together.
sightings
KSNV-TV, Channel 3, entertainment reporter Alicia Jacobs, texting during breaks as she emceed a fundraiser for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Red Rock Resort on Thursday, hours after a report in the R-J said she was leaving after 7½ years at the station.
MAY I RECOMMEND ...
Hugh Hefner and his son, Marston, celebrate their birthdays Saturday -- Hef's 85th and Marston's 21st -- at the Palms . After their 10:30 p.m. arrival at the Playboy Club, they will go up to Moon nightclub for a cake presentation.
THE PUNCH LINE
"The White House says we'll be staying in Libya longer than expected. I didn't see that coming. " -- David Letterman
Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.
