Ke11y...wait, not yet, our math was wrong

[fantastic_damage]

I guess math is not the ASPs strongpoint.

http://espn.go.com/action/surfing/st...er-world-title

[supermodel159]

Somewhere Bobby M has a smile on his face.

[Hugh Conway]

This made my day

[HotTate]

Jamie O'Brien is having a field day with it on his twitter

[BraddA]

^^^ God. Ridiculous talent, stunning girlfriend, fairy tale pad at pipe, and no dependence on the ASP whatsoever. Why so butthurt all the time JOB?

[Hugh Conway]

Why so butthurt all the time JOB?

yeah, he should just kissass all the time like the most of tour.

[BraddA]

yeah, he should just kissass all the time like the most of tour.

As I said, he is in no way dependent on the tour, tour officials, touring pros, etc. The fuck does he care?

Ever polarizing aren't you? Perhaps you see a kindred spirit in him?

No but seriously, his whining has always bugged me. Our paths crossed a number of times as kids, and he was a whiner then, too. Maybe I'm just jealous...

[Hugh Conway]

nice name drop

[BraddA]

Minus any actual name

Edit: Nice redirect btw

[Ottime]

OMG. Kelly Slater is world champ. What a surprise after last week's fuck up.




To bad, as last Wednesday's waves were pretty epic. Today's? Well, they looked more like Ocean Beach.

[Smilin Steve]

well one things for sure and that is Kelly Slater was the youngest to win
and the oldest so far. and at 39 soon to be 40 he is still Ripping and winning
with little or no signs of being beaten.

[Hugh Conway]

seriously?

Brodie Carr, CEO of the ASP International, has resigned. In an email from the ASP, Carr was quoted as citing the ASP’s miscalculation error in determining Kelly Slater’s world title as his reasoning for leaving the ASP.

“It is my duty to accept responsibility for the recent calculation error that resulted in the premature crowning of Kelly Slater’s 11th ASP World Title,” Brodie Carr said. “The determination of the ASP World Title is the most important moment in professional surfing. Ultimately, the responsibility for every activity within ASP lies with me. Therefore, I have elected to resign my position as CEO.

this is the least of things that made the ASP look like asshats

[BraddA]

seriously?


this is the least of things that made the ASP look like asshats

I'll be watching for white puffs of smoke with baited breath. Bobby for prez... errr, CEO.

[Ottime]

seriously?


this is the least of things that made the ASP look like asshats

I don't follow pro surfing. Haven't since I was 16 or so. What is it that makes them look like asshats? I ask this in all seriousness, because the level of surfing in the contest seems way better than what I remember as a kid. It is not just the progression of the sport, but competitive surfers actually seems to surf, instead of the old three turns to the beach. I've been watching the last few contest, because I am home with my son, and in general, am impressed with the surfing going on. So what is it that sucks about the ASP?

[Hugh Conway]

As what?

Yes, there can be some great surfing on the heats. It's the reason I watch.

As a "professional" sports tour they aren't particularly professional which is what makes them look like asshats to me. For things this year
- banning someone for profanity
- fining surfers for not showing up
- persistently crappy judging
- crappy webcast software that hasn't much improved in 5 years (except for the heats on demand)
- boring slate of destinations for the "dream tour"
- poorly implemented format change/selection of surfers
Maybe it's partly except for Kelly there aren't many compelling US surfers who really give a crap about the tour and so it's a sea of interchangeably surfing brazzos and aussies with a few random others thrown in?

Was trying to think of a way to get more interesting surfing in the contest. Maybe each of 30 competitors surf in 5 3 man heats then rank on the best 5 waves of the contest or best 2 waves from 3 heats? It'd get more surfing and more interesting surfing, maybe, and less of the brazzo vs. brazzo boringness

[BraddA]

I'll leave this here... http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/as...testing_62452/

Interesting week for the ASP

[My Pet Powder Goat]

ha, drug testing for surfing?!? ...test for PE drugs only, not pot & coke.

[Piggity]

There goes the maui wowie market

[Ottime]

ha, drug testing for surfing?!? ...test for PE drugs only, not pot & coke.

Coke can ruin a line up almost as much as meth. Pot on the other hand tends to improve things. Alcohol as well.

[My Pet Powder Goat]

Coke can ruin a line up almost as much as meth. Pot on the other hand tends to improve things. Alcohol as well.

fuck not me. I burn before getting wet and i just flounder like a kook for 45 minutes, doesn't deter me tho. skiing i'm pro-to-go.

[Breakwater]

fuck not me. I burn before getting wet and i just flounder like a kook for 45 minutes, doesn't deter me tho. skiing i'm pro-to-go.

Seconded

[Hugh Conway]

Alcohol as well.

I'm a big fan of half the potential lineup being hungover or still too drunk to go surfing

[BraddA]

I'm a big fan of half the potential lineup being hungover or still too drunk to go surfing

Word. Some of my best sessions have been the morning after a holiday. New Year's Day, Christmas Day, the fifth of July: all great days to get out early. Granted I'm probably in pretty rough shape, but I'll take a headache and an empty lineup/mountain any day.

Edit: Wait, what thread is this?

[Ottime]

As what?

Yes, there can be some great surfing on the heats. It's the reason I watch.

As a "professional" sports tour they aren't particularly professional which is what makes them look like asshats to me. For things this year
- banning someone for profanity
- fining surfers for not showing up
- persistently crappy judging
- crappy webcast software that hasn't much improved in 5 years (except for the heats on demand)
- boring slate of destinations for the "dream tour"
- poorly implemented format change/selection of surfers
Maybe it's partly except for Kelly there aren't many compelling US surfers who really give a crap about the tour and so it's a sea of interchangeably surfing brazzos and aussies with a few random others thrown in?

Was trying to think of a way to get more interesting surfing in the contest. Maybe each of 30 competitors surf in 5 3 man heats then rank on the best 5 waves of the contest or best 2 waves from 3 heats? It'd get more surfing and more interesting surfing, maybe, and less of the brazzo vs. brazzo boringness

Yeah, as far as dream tour goes, maybe they should change the name. Having several big city destinations seems to make sense, as far as getting the fans out to the events. Not to many folks can make the trip to Fiji. Although, they did get pretty lucky in both NY and SF.

I have no idea about the judging, just because I have seen a few heats, here and there. But that is one of the hardest parts about subjective sports - consistency. As far as the brazzo thing, is it just that the US is not developing competitive surfers at the lower levels? Just curious about the new ASP. Still, it seems it will always hard to make surfing feel professional, because at the base of it, it is just too much fun. Sort of like free skiing.

And the drunks in the water. Gotta love them. Although, I once had a great tube session on Christmas Day after boozing and smoking all morning. I think a lot of it was luck, but I also think it loosened me up perfectly to just sit there and let goodness happen.

[Hugh Conway]

Looks like SC gets a bigtime tour stop next year:
http://www.stabmag.com/elliot/asp-wo...-2012-schedule

Still, it seems it will always hard to make surfing feel professional, because at the base of it, it is just too much fun.

that's where I'm at