SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Hes made 18,000 parachute jumps, helped train some of the worlds most elite skydivers, done some of the stunts for Ironman 3. But the plunge Luke Aikins knows hell be remembered for is the one hes making without a parachute. Or a wingsuit.Or anything, really, other than the clothes hell be wearing when he jumps out of an airplane at 25,000 feet this weekend, attempting to become the first person to land safely on the ground in a net.The Fox network will broadcast the two-minute jump live at 8 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. PDT) Saturday as part of an hour-long TV special called Heaven Sent.And, no, you dont have to tell Aikins it sounds crazy. He knows that.He said as much to his wife after a couple Hollywood guys looking to create the all-time-greatest reality TV stunt floated the idea by him a couple years ago.I said, `You wont believe these guys, the affable skydiver recalls with a robust laugh. They want me to jump out without a parachute. She said, `Oh, with a wingsuit. I said, `No, they want me to do it with nothing. We both had a good laugh about that.But in the weeks that followed he couldnt shake one persistent thought: Could anybody actually do this and live to tell the tale?Because if anyone could, Aikins wanted to be that guy.After all, the 42-year-old daredevil has practically lived his life in the sky. He made his first tandem jump when he was 12, following with his first solo leap four years later. Hes been racking them up at about 800 a year ever since.He took his wife, Monica, on her first jump when they were dating and shes up to 2,000 now. The couple lives with a 4-year-old son, Logan, in Washington, where Aikins family owns Skydive Kapowsin near Tacoma.Over the years Aikins has taught skydiving, taught others to teach skydiving, even participated in world-record stacking events, those exercises where skydivers line up atop one another as they fly their open chutes across the sky.He tells of having his chute tangle with others on a couple of those efforts and having to come down under his reserve parachute. In all, hes used his reserve 30 times, not a bad number for 18,000 jumps.This time, though, he wont have any parachute.If I wasnt nervous I would be stupid, the compact, muscular athlete says with a grin as he sits under a canopy near Saturdays drop zone.Were talking about jumping without a parachute, and I take that very seriously. Its not a joke, he adds.Nearby, a pair of huge cranes defines the boundaries where the net in which Aikins expects to land is being erected. It will be about one-third the size of a football field and 20 stories high, providing enough space to cushion his fall, he says, without allowing him to bounce out of it. The landing target, which has been described as similar to a fishing trawler net, has been tested repeatedly using dummies.One of those 200-pound (91-kilogram) dummies didnt bounce out. It crashed right through.That was not a good thing to see, recalled Jimmy Smith, the veteran Hollywood public relations man who, with his partner Bobby Ware, came up with the idea of having someone skydive without a parachute.Chris Talley, who had worked with Aikins on other projects and helped train him for this one, recommended the skydiver to the two Amusement Park Entertainment executives. He told them Aikins was arguably the only guy not only good enough but also smart enough and careful enough to survive this.Smith recalled how the three men gazed at each other with a look of foreboding after that dummy crashed through the net. Then they looked over at Aikins.Luke just said, `No biggie, thats why we test.Fox has had little to say about the stunt other than it will be broadcast on a tape delay, as is the case with all its live broadcasts, says network spokesman Les Eisner. It contains a warning not to try this at home.That would seemingly be difficult, as Smith and Ware had to scour a good part of the world, from Arizona Indian land to Dubai real estate, before they found what everyone agreed was the best place for Aikins to land.Hell come down in a dry, dusty, desolate-looking section of an old movie ranch north of Los Angeles where not that long ago Shia LaBeouf was battling Transformers.The drop zone, surrounded by rolling hills, presents some challenges, Aikins said, noting hell be constantly fighting shifting winds as he falls 120 mph (193 kph).Other skydivers have jumped from planes without parachutes and had someone hand them one in midair. But Aikins wont even have that.Why?To me, Im proving that we can do stuff that we dont think we can do if we approach it the right way, he answers.Ive got 18,000 jumps with a parachute, so why not wear one this time? he muses almost to himself. But Im trying to show that it can be done. Best Custom Shirts . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Wholesale Custom Shirts . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. http://www.shirtscustom.us/ . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Fake Custom Shirts .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Custom Shirts China . Both players have lower body injuries that will keep them out of the lineup until at least January 31, which is the first game they can be activated from IR.Skys biggest year of golf coverage got up and running with a superb week at the Masters, and Ewen Murray pays tribute to Danny Willett and Jordan Spieth while offering advice to Tiger Woods. This is the first year Sky will broadcast all four major championships and The Ryder Cup from Hazeltine National in Minnesota. If the Masters tournament is anything to go by, 2016 will be a vintage year as the pictures are beamed live to our screens.What an amazing week in Augusta. A week we will remember for some time, and a week Danny Willett will never forget. Danny Willett was crowned Masters champion after a thrilling final day at Augusta At this point, Id like to congratulate Augustas chairman Billy Payne and his team for providing an idyllic setting for golfs most-anticipated event. Billy is the man who gave us back the Masters.There were some dull tournaments when the greens were too firm; gone were the roars that reverberate through the tall Georgia pines, gone was the excitement of birdies and eagles.No player could make a charge as the course dictated negative play, but Payne has moved on from those days and this years tournament was magnificent. Congratulations to Billy Payne for getting the course set up just right Some will remember this Masters as the one Jordan Spieth conceded, but it would be wrong to think that.Spieths win 12 months ago was based on brilliant play combined with a lethal putting stroke. This year, Jordan should be commended for challenging for the title while at loggerheads with his game.The finish to round three was damaging, his long game was in disarray, yet he kept himself in the tournament all the way to the 71st hole. Only great champions can do that.Its easy to shoot 66s when every department of your game is in perfect working order, but tough to grind out the scores when there are imperfections.Spieths only mental mistake was at the 12th on Sunday. Having bogeyed 10 and 11, the two hardest holes in Masters history, he gambled. His game was not in shape to do that. Jordan Spieth saw his five-shot lead disappear in the space of three holes A four there would not have been disastrous, pressing after the previous holes proved to be. He would still have had the lead with two par-fives to come. Spieth is one of the most impressive young men in sport, let alone golf. He is respectful of the games history as he is of his peers.He was a fine winner last year and in defeat this year, he was just as impressive. Painful as it is right now, he will learn a great deal from his disappointment. One must remember, Jordan is not 23 until July. There will be many halcyon days ahead in his career. Jordan Spieth saw his five-shot lead disappear in the space of three holes It was a privilege to see Danny Willett take the chance to win when it came. He took the Masters by the scruff of the neck and, when the door swung open, he charged through.Eighteen months ago in South Africa, Willett came of age. Decently placed after two rounds of the Nedbank Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club, the Sheffield star closed the tournament out with rounds of 65 andd 66.ddddddddddddThat is an extremely difficult course, yet once he got his nose in front, he never wavered. Willetts final-day 67 was one of the finest final rounds in Masters history From that day, Danny has been a different player. His ambitions raised, his expectations grander and after his thrilling win head-to-head with Andy Sullivan in Dubai, World Golf Championships and majors were next on his list.His final round of 67, made up of thirteen pars and five birdies, was a work of art and will go down as one of the best final rounds in major history. Yes, Jordan made mistakes, but that doesnt win the tournament for others. Willett won the Masters with golf of the very highest quality. Danny Willett and Nick Faldo are the only Englishmen to have tasted success at Augusta He joins Nick Faldo in being the only Englishman to own a green jacket.One can never be certain of anything in life, but I believe this is just the start for the new Masters champion. He will win again on the major stage, for he has everything required to do so.It was a superb event for members of the European Tour. Seven Europeans in the top ten, five of them from England. Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke would not be thrilled with his own performance, but will take heart in the display from what will be part of the nucleus of his side for September.It is an honour to be part of the Sky team to broadcast the Masters. Having Butch Harmon alongside me again was comforting. Now in his 70s, he retains his youth by coaching youngsters like Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson. Butch Harmon is not only a fine coach, he is still no mean player In the news last week there was an article stating Butch would be happy to spend a day or so with Tiger Woods and offer him some advice going forward. Not to coach him again, but just talk and help him in his rehabilitation of getting back out on the golf course.I have no idea how Tigers recovery is going, but if I was him and he is on course to return to tournament golf, I would take that opportunity with both hands.Butch is more than a coach. He understands every aspect of a tournament professionals world and he can still play. A fortnight ago he beat his age. I think he was quite proud of that as he told me the story on several occasions! Tiger Woods would be advised to give Butch a call Tiger, if your return is imminent, point your jet towards Rio Seco golf club in Las Vegas. There you will be in familiar surroundings and hear comforting words and experienced thoughts. You will leave there with the knowledge that the road ahead is clear.So one major down and three to go this year. Next up, its Oakmont in Pennsylvania. It will be hot and humid, the greens will be as undulating as Augusta and more than likely, quicker. Danny Boy goes there as the Masters champion. I can hear his words now and I echo them. Bring it on. What a start to the major season! Also See: Willett savours homecoming Who is Danny Willett? Opinion Golf on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '
