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A D V E R T I S E M E N T My Info
| Andy is Missed, Bruce Not So Much...Andy Irons surfed a heat yesterday. Since Andy's in the middle of a much-needed sabbatical from competition this kind of thing year passes for news this year. Truth be told, the elder Irons probably wouldn't be here if not for an appearance fee, and like a lot of veteran pros he shares some cynicism toward the ASP, but to his credit, when Andy Irons commits to something it's basically impossible for him to give anything less than his all.  Andy being welcomed back by the Huntington fans. All photos in this post by Michael Lallande/hurley.com Irons, like his foe Kelly Slater, is a competitor. A fierce competitor. And one thing fierce competitors can't do is roll over...for anything. Not a game of ping-pong, a poker game, or even a seemingly insignificant heat in average beachbreak slop. And while that trait is worthy of admiration, when left uncontrolled, it drives some competitors insane. Taking a page from Kelly, Irons has been working on some 'letting go' of his own during his break. Time will reveal whether or not he's successful, but he certainly looked sharp on Tuesday, and the fans on hand in Huntington Beach were genuinely thrilled to see him. If Irons can tap into a little of his 1998 magic (he won both the WQS and the ASP World Tour events held at the U.S. Open that year) and nab the $100,000 first prize, it'll seem to many like he never left. Bruce Irons, on the other hand, seems determined to make himself irrelevant as quickly as possible. He netted a little over 5 total points and finished last in his heat yesterday, leaving a group of hot young pro juniors watching more than a little miffed, "What happened to him? He didn't do a single turn." Of course, Bruce's whole image is predicated on him not giving a shit, which apparently sells shorts, but let's not forget he is Andy's brother. Bruce's wires have been crossed for years because he's far more competitive than he'd like to admit, even if he's a lousy competitor. When he rolls over like he did yesterday it only tangles the internal wires more.  Bruce Irons, looking for the nearest exit sign. But Bruce needn't worry. He is to Volcom what Occy is to Billabong, and the boys at Veeco HQ will give him three or four more years of screwing around before they force him to do the webcasting at the VQS championships, which, come to think of it, could be amusing. And for what it's worth we may see the better side of Bruce on Saturday in the tow-assisted expression session. He's also got a new video out which should reveal whether or not his surfing is reaching higher levels. Let's hope so. For a full event preview, click here. As for the recent headlines, here you go: 1. Nat Young eliminates Damien Hobgood and Sunny Garcia; the kid is ripping on his backhand, as predicted. 2. Austin Ware loses early; this is a blow to the Californian's WQS campaign since he was rated 12th coming in. 3. Kelly Slater's heat postponed; a fog delay and Kelly's late arrival from J-Bay means he's surfing today. 4. Owen Wright wins heat, to face Fanning and Machado next; in what is undoubtedly the most heavily stacked heat of this round Fanning and Machado will have their hands full with the man leading the WQS charge this year. 5. The swell is starting to show!; the chicks are scoring some prime HB conditions this morning. Slater is due to surf around 1:30 PM. Highlight reels below provided by Tom Aiello/Aaron Lieber/Hurley.com  Eric Geiselman looked solid.  Take your pick. Channels: Surf Freddy Patacchia Catches Up With Andy Irons in TahitiFred Patacchia is working double duty these days. When he's not out kicking ass on his fellow competitors, he can usually be found interviewing them for his new site, insurfnews.com. Lord knows there's a lot of down time on the tour, so it's good to see somebody doing something productive with it. Andy chats about what it will be like to come back next year (yes, he's leaning toward coming back) as the lowest rated seed, which will undoubtedly throw a wrench into somebody's plans. Irons will be squaring off early next year with guys in the Top 5 in the first and second rounds, which means things will get interesting quickly. For more, watch Freddy's interview. Channels: Surf Casualties Mount Early in Billabong's New Event Format TEAHUPOO, Tahiti (Monday, May 11, 2009) ' " Dane Reynolds looked to be in command during his Round One heat of the Billabong Pro. Entering the third event of the season the second-year tour star was hoping to recover from his early exit at Bells Beach, in Australia. Americans have pinned their hopes on Reynolds taking charge this year, especially after his solid rookie season, but his fans were dealt a serious punch to the gut Saturday when the kid from Ventura, Ca, was overtaken late in his heat by European star, Aritz Aranburu, who dropped into the set of the heat with just a couple minutes remaining and slammed the door shut on Reynolds. Channels: Surf 8th Annual Irons Brothers Pine Trees Classic Once again, to give back to the community they grew up in, Bruce and Andy hosted the Irons Brothers Pine Trees Classic at the their homebreak, Pine Trees, hence the name of the contest. It is a contest for the kids, or keiki, of Kauai. They get to surf some heats, eat some food, meet their heros, and of course, get some free stuff. Two lucky kids were chosen by the Irons brothers themselves, and given brand new JS surfboards for being the most well-behaved. Then Bruce, who is a soon-to-be-father, had this classic line, "We'll all be here next year so all you kids be good, listen to your parents and good things will happen!" Thanks to Volcom for the video and pictures. For more on the event go to www.volcom.com Channels: Surf A Fly In The Champagne Review I cruised over to Newport Beach last night to check out the much-anticipated premier of, A Fly In The Champagne, at the Lido Theater. It's the new Billabong/Quiksilver movie. Yeah that's right, Billabong and Quiksilver sponsored this movies because it's all about rivalries. And by rivalries I really only mean one, Kelly Slater and Andy Irons, and the battle for surfing supremacy. So much has been written and covered about these two, and the battles they've been through, so I'm not going to bore you with that shit. Well, actually I am because that's what the movie is about. Kelly's got nine titles, Andy's got three. Andy has a hot wife, Kelly's got a hot girlfriend. It goes on and on, but one thing is for sure, these two are not only two of most talented surfers in the world, they're probably the two most competitive as well. The last six world titles have been decided by one or the other, and they've fought against each other for last four and half years (Kelly was still retired when Andy won his first, and Andy gave up about half way trough the tour last year). This flick takes you back to those years, and gives you a look into what each was thinking. I think that's why they called it A Fly in the Champagne, kind of like when people say, "Man I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation," but since Kelly and Andy were winning so much it's champagne instead. The film brings you into some of their infamous moments. Like the time Kelly walked into the house Andy was staying at when they were in a heated title battle, or the time Andy beat Kelly in the final of the Pipe Masters. I was at the Volcom house for that, it was pretty, pretty, pretty rad. There's been a bunch, like the "Was Kelly Overscored?" heat at Bells, or their "Battle Under the Bridge" in Japan. Anyway, the film takes you through all that and then follows them on a trip to Indo with Pottz, Dorian and Ross Williams. So yeah, check it out when it comes out on DVD March 15th. Oh yeah, and if you ever come home from a movie premier after you've been drinking, don't attempt to kick what you think is a cardboard box and is really a bundle of fire wood. That's how you break your toe.  Channels: Surf | ||||||||||||||||
