Dane Reynolds was eliminated by Hawaiian Roy Powers Wednesday in Round Three of the Rip Curl Pro at Winkipop.

Reynolds didn't go down without a fight, however. In typical Dane fashion he pulled one of the most spectacular moves of the day: a massive blow tail move that he elected to do rather than race down the line and try for a few more moves.

The move was impressive, but the judges were a little too hung up on the rest of the wave peeling off to digest it. Dane, you could argue, was underscored for the turn, but he deserved to lose anyway. He didn't have a great heat.

Then things got worse for Dane when beach commentator Toby Martin caught up with him in the parking lot. I've always maintained that hearing from the losers (in any sporting event) is far more entertaining, and Dane proved the point with one of the most uncomfortable looking interviews I've ever seen. Sometimes train wrecks can be fun to watch. Dane's awkwardness was pure comedy. My apologies for not quoting him -- but his facial expressions were far more interesting than his words -- and frankly, I was laughing too hard at his squirmy behavior to hear what he was saying.

Hats off to Toby Martin for chasing a number of these guys down though. Martin is great at putting his mates at ease and not afraid to ask pointed questions. Surfers tend to open up a lot more after they've lost. Once the game face is gone the true character is revealed. Fact is, Dane really is a bit confused. But that's why we dig him so much. You might say he's following Tom Curren's lead in that department.

Photo: ASP/Robertson