ESPN Brazil seems to be snagging all of the great interviews lately with surfing’s biggest stars. First, Caio Salles of ESPN Brazil caught up with Kelly Slater at Bells Beach, where Slater revealed his goal of having wave pool construction started by as early as this summer. This time, Claudio Grillo of ESPN Brazil sat down with former three-time World Champion Andy Irons in one his most candid, revealing interviews since returning to the ASP World Tour after taking a year off.

Jadson Andre became the first rookie in four years to win an ASP World Tour event, defeating former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater to win the Santa Catarina Pro. The win by the Brazilian rookie moves Andre up to fourth in the overall ASP World Tour rankings, and an appearance in the finals vaulted Kelly Slater atop the ASP World Tour, the first time Slater has been ranked number one in nearly two years.

World famous Los Angeles radio station KROQ decided earlier this week to no longer broadcast morning surf reports by Rick “Rockin’ Fig” Fignetti, opting instead to go with automated surf reports provided by Surfline.com’s free RSS feed. The decision by KROQ’s management ends an era in terrestrial radio that lasted for over 25 years, further exemplifying the terrible state of terrestrial radio and proving once more that incompetency continues to run rampant with the vast majority of radio management.

Actor Dominic Monaghan , known among many things for his roles in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the TV show Lost, was on Jimmy Kimmel Live (one of this humble writer’s favorite television shows) Tuesday night to promote the final season of Lost and appeared on the set wearing a walking cast and using a cane. When Kimmel inquired about the injured foot, Monaghan revealed that he fractured his metatarsal bone surfing in Hawaii with Kalani Robb.

Note: This story is a special contribution from Nugable.  Go to his website for hilarious, insightful and honest surfing revelations.

There has been a lot of hype this year about the rookies and perhaps deservedly so. It’s a pretty strong class. But Taj and you are 1 and 2 in the ratings after two events. Does it motivate you to beat the younger guys?
It motivates me to surf well and keep progressing. It’s not personal. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings in the process. I used to like that secretly.

Prior to becoming the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach Champion for a record-tying fourth time, Caio Salles of ESPN Brazil caught up with Kelly Slater at Bells Beach to discuss, among many things, his ideas for improving performance surfing. One of the concepts Slater talked about is his direct involvement in the creation and expansion of wave pools.

Former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater defeated defending ASP World Champion Mick Fanning in clean conditions at backup location Johanna Beach to claim his fourth career victory at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, equaling Mark Richards’ record for most victories at Bells. The stage is now set for Slater to make an unprecedented run at a tenth World Title.

One of the many flaws with the ASP World Tour is the lack of objectivity when it comes to event coverage. A large reason for this is the ASP’s poor financial situation, which forces them to give individual event sponsors a heavy influence over major contest decisions. This frustration may have led to Hawaiian pro surfer Freddy Patacchia’s outburst during his post-heat interview at the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Patacchia was fined $1,000 by the ASP for heavily criticizing the beach commentating at the event, because he felt the commentators were giving his first-round opponent, Rip Curl team rider Owen Wright, too much favoritism.

Thanks in no small part to El Niño, this past winter the Pacific Ocean served up some of the biggest waves in recent history. A one-week span in December saw Mavericks firing heavy bombs, Kelly Slater catching waves at Todos Santos with Greg Long and Grant “Twiggy” Baker, and both Waimea Bay and Jaws serving monstrous sets. Combined with epic contest conditions and an early spring at Teahupoo, the tenth-annual Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards is serving up arguably its greatest list of nominees.

Note: This story is a special contribution from Nugable.  Go to his website for hilarious, insightful and honest surfing revelations.

First, I need to rant about something. Josh Kerr should be given a special wildcard in every event this year. Period. Take a wildcard away from the event sponsor at each stop. From what I understand ASP doctors misdiagnosed the severity of his ankle injury last season and he lost his spot because of it. He belongs on the Dream Tour. End of story.