Snowboarder carries extreme burden

Hospitalized father's legal troubles heavy on Fresno X-Gamer's mind

By MAREK WARSZAWSKI

last updated: January 25, 2008 03:49:45 AM
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When pro snowboarder Andy Finch starts sliding down the halfpipe at this weekend's Winter X Games, he knows his wife, Amber, will be at the bottom cheering him on.

Finch knows his mother, Joanie, will be home in Fresno watching on television, crossing her fingers that her 26-year-old daredevil son doesn't get hurt.

And Finch knows his father, Cliff, will be lying in bed at the Palo Alto veterans hospital, battling constant pain and partial paralysis on his right side -- and facing attempted murder charges back in Fresno.

Soon, most of the country will also know about Cliff Finch's ordeal.

One of the world's top snowboarders and a 2004 Olympian, Andy Finch has long been adept at launching his body in the air and making it spin two or three times before landing.

But since that September day when his father was shot seven times by police officers after leading them on a high-speed chase across Fresno, Finch has had to learn a new technique: how to perform those aerial maneuvers while keeping his mind grounded and focused on the task at hand.

"It's pretty easy not to think about my dad when I'm over in Europe, but here it's going to be a little bit different," Finch said Wednesday by phone from Aspen, Colo. "It's going to be a little more real."

Things will get a lot more real Saturday evening as Finch prepares for his qualifying run in men's superpipe. That's when ESPN is scheduled to broadcast a feature story on Finch and his family situation.

Cliff Finch, who police said shot at officers before they returned fire, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and evading police and posted $125,000 bail. A pre-preliminary hearing is scheduled today in Fresno County Superior Court.

Although Andy Finch said doctors have not determined what caused his father's behavior, some family members believe Cliff Finch might have been suffering from a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder from his days in Vietnam.

Andy said, "He, to me, was the dream father -- what every kid would love to have. That's what makes this so tough.

"My father respects the police. In his right mind he'd never do anything like that."

Part of the ESPN feature was filmed at Fresno's Veterans Administration hospital, where Cliff Finch was in recovery before being transferred to Palo Alto last week to take advantage of that facility's spinal cord injury unit, and part of it was filmed at Andy Finch's house in Truckee.

The feature will be seen not only by the millions of households that subscribe to the cable sports network but also live at the Winter X Games on several Jumbotron screens stationed around the halfpipe.

"It's going to be on right before I ride," Finch said. "That'll be a little weird."

Those thoughts are echoed by fellow Fresno native Eric Asistin, a friend of Andy's who will be in attendance this weekend in Aspen.

"If it were me, I'm not sure I would've done (the ESPN feature)," Asistin said. "But this is Andy we're talking about. He finds the good in any situation."

Despite the mental strain, Finch is enjoying one of his best seasons in pro snowboarding. The 1999 Bullard High graduate is ranked second in the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour standings.

Finch earned one of the biggest victories of his career Jan. 5 in the halfpipe at the O'Neill Evolution in Davos, Switzerland. The following weekend, despite a badly bruised lower back, he placed fifth at the Burton European Open in Laax, Switzerland.

A man of deep religious convictions, Finch credits his faith and the support of his wife, Amber Shelhamer, with keeping him focused on his career through difficult times.

Known for his reckless, go-for-broke style, Finch said he will keep a recent promise he made to his father about taking it easy in practice this week.

After earning a silver medal at the 2005 Winter X Games, Finch has since been unable to compete in the finals because of injuries he suffered during training runs.

"Every year I do something silly that busts me up a little bit," he said. "It's a habit I've got to break."

Finch said the 8-inch diameter bruise on his lower back, which caused him to miss a week of filming in France with his main sponsor, Rip Curl, will be 100 percent healed when he competes in the elimination round Saturday evening.

The finals are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

"The X Games are definitely on my list of (contests) I want to win," Finch said. "I only have a couple left, and this is the one I really want."

This year, there's even more incentive than usual.

http://www.modbee.com/sports/outdoors/story/191092.html