37-year old Melissa "Missy" Giove was a very powerful force to be reckoned with in the downhill biking scene. Back in 1994 she was the world champion, she followed up with World Cup season titles in '97 and '98, and she dominated national titles from 1999-2001 before finally deciding to hang up her bike shorts in 2003. But it wasn't until this week, however, that Giove truly reached the bottom of her hill. The former sport's hero was busted in Saratoga Lake, NY, by DEA agents who linked her and her associate, Eric Canori, with a stash that included more than 387 lbs of marijuana, $1 million in cash, and a money counting machine.

According to DEA spokeswoman Erin Mulvey, the agents were tipped off by an Illinois police officer who, earlier in the week, pulled over a woman hauling a truck and trailer filled with roughly 220 pounds of marijuana. Digging deeper into the case, agents completed the delivery of the trailer to the Albany area, where, according to the DEA, Giove, along with her associate, Eric Canori, picked up the vehicle and the trailer.

From there, Giove allegedly followed Canori to his home, where the two unloaded the giant stash. Agents later discoverd more than 150 pounds of pot and $1 million in cash in a closet and basement of the home.

Perhaps foreshadowing where things are heading, during court on Thursday's detention hearing public defender Tim Austin claimed that the drugs and money were planted, possibly by police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Bellis had asked for no bail, saying the pair were flight risk, but Judge David Homer cited their lack of a criminal history and family and business ties as reasons for offering a bail of $500,000. Of course, the best quote of this whole ordeal so far came from DEA agent John P. Gilbride, who was playing on Giove's fame when he told reporters "Drug trafficking can lead you downhill fast."

South African surfer Jordy Smith is was the talk of the surfing world last year. The highly-touted rookie on the ASP World Tour became one of the highest paid surfers in the business back in 2008. But when he failed to produce any solid results he was being blasted by his critics. But after a late run toward the end of the year, Mr. Smith has clearly turned things around. Now he's not only silencing his critics, he's converting them into fans. The reason? Well, for starters he came out of the gate firing this year. He's now rated 6th place in the world, with no signs of slowing. But it's his most recent accomplishment that has the surfing world buzzing, as Jordy was the first to pull a maneuver that was simply unimaginable just five years ago.

Surfing pundits are now weighing in on this high-flying rotating-flip into a reverse 360, and most are referring to it as the most high-performance maneuver ever executed on a wave. One thing's for sure, surfing is getting incredibly acrobatic. See the evidence for yourself...

Last week was a productive one for surfing's progressive movement, with a rash of ground-breaking acrobatic maneuvers being stuck all across the globe, each netting its own unique result. Things got started in Sumatra, where South Africa's Jordy Smith, the second-year world tour star, was busy filming with the Red Bull crew and enjoying his break in the contest schedule. Smith is no stranger to high-flying aerial variations, but the Rodeo Clown he pulled in the afternoon at Macaronis last week was immediatly being hailed as the best ever executed. It even managed to impress Smith (see below.)




Word had apparently traveled fast, because days later San Clemente's Pat Gudauskas pulled the same move a few island chains over, in the Maldives. The only difference being Gudauskas pulled his while in a competition, which was a first in ASP history. Not content with that, apparently, Gudauskas pulled another one in the Final while trying to claw his way back into contention for the SriLankan Airlines Pro title. Alas, his incredible performance still wasn't enough, because Australian acrobat Owen Wright was averaging ridiculous amounts of hang time in each heat. Wright has now siezed control of the WQS rankings with his very agile aerial antics.

This is undoubtedly a sign of things to come, as the pro surfing world braces itself for the inevitable post-Slater era, which could technically begin in roughly ten days, when the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro waiting period begins. Slater has made no secret of the fact that he's not likely to show up. His three lackluster results this year have essentially put him out of world title contention. Naturally, anyone with skin in the pro surfing game will be missing Slater's irreplaceable presence. Pro surfing is facing enough serious headwinds without his departure. Hardcore fans are hoping Rodeo Flips and their high-altitude derivatives can do for surfing what the three-pointer did for the NBA, and what steroids did for baseball (hey, it was still fun to watch before we knew for sure.)

GrindTV news, Septemeber 14, 2009 - In a clash some ASP officials are calling the "best finals ever" young Aussie Owen Wright, 19, narrowly edged California's Pat Gudauskas, 23, by a score of 19.23 to 18.93 to take top honors at the coveted Sri Lankan Airlines Pro, the 6-Star Prime held at the legendary Pasta Point in the Maldives. With his victory, Wright also took over the top spot on the WQS rankings by jumping past countrymen Daniel Ross in the quarterfinals to start his day. The young Austrailan has already surpassed his goals that he set out to start the year, and is now reassessing. "At the start of the year, I was focusing on winning the ASP Pro Junior season in Australia and doing a few WQS events to get the experience, but now I'm definitely looking to win the WQS and qualify for the ASP World Tour," Wright said.

Wright certainly has the judges conviced that he belongs in the big leagues. After the final head judge Perry Hatchet said he considered the final one of the top five he's ever witnessed. While others in attendance claimed it was the best they'd ever seen. The two aerial aces went at each other with some of the most impressive stunt flying ever seen in competition. Wright struck first, landing two aerials on the same wave, and mixing in some serious hard carves, scoring a 9.83 out of a possible 10 points on his second ride of the final. Gudauskas responed with an 8.94 on his backhand, but fell at the end on what some beleive was going to be a 10-point ride.

When Wright struck again, earning a 9.40 via another aerial assault, Gadauskas suddenly found himself in the dreaded combination situation, which left him no other option but to swing for the fences. So that's what he did. Earlier in the event Gudauskas pulled the first ever rodeo flip in WQS competition. With nothing to lose he decided to go back to that well during the second half of the final. His first couple of attempts went haywire upon landing, adding serious tension for those watching. But then, in the final five minutes Guduaskas found the perfect ramp he was looking for...this time, after some speedy set up turns he lined up his takeoff perfectly and executed another stellar inverted twisting-flip. The move netted him a perfect 10 points out of 10, and put him right back into contention in the closing moments. Though Wright hung on to win, Gudauskas felt good about making Wright earn the win.

"You know, I feel like I've won the event even though I lost," Gudauskas said. For that incredible effort he catapulted all the way to number 7 in the WQS ratings, from number 27. California's Austin Ware also managed to jump 20 slots up the rankings, to 15 from the 35, after his impressive equal 3rd place finish. Ware had an solid run, defeating notables like Drew Courtney and Leigh Sedley before losing to an unstoppable Wright in the second semifinal.


Australia's Daniel Ross and Brazil's Jadson Andre finished 5th and 3rd respectively, but along with Owen Wright, have taken a very firm hold within the Top 5 of the ratings. Ross remains in second place, but has widened his lead over everyone nearby except for Andre, who's jumped up to the number 4 slot. California's Brett Simpson is still managing to cling in the Top 5, but with only two strong results, he's 1500 points behind the guys in front of him, which means he's on much shakier ground.


While the visibility of this event was low due to lack of a huge sponsor and the fact that it happend while most of North America was sleeping, the message conveyed by the progressive surfing was clear. Performances are heading to new heights, literally. Gudauskas summed it up best when he was asked about the standard of surfing afterward. "I think surfing's heading to exciting places with these moves." We think he's right.


Results of the $145,000 SriLankan Airlines Pro, 6-Star Prime WQS Event

1. Owen Wright (AUS)
2. Pat Gudauskas (USA)
= 3. Austin Ware (USA), Jadson Andre (BRA)
= 5. Dantas Wiggolly (BRA), Romain Cloitre (FRA), Daniel Ross (AUS), Leigh Sedley (AUS)


WQS Rankings After the SriLankan Airlines Pro

1. Owen Wright (AUS)
2. Daniel Ross (AUS)
3. Adam Melling (AUS)
4. Jadson Andre (BRA)
5. Brett Simpson (USA)
6. Joan Duru (FRA)
7. Pat Gudauskas (USA)
8. Travis Logie (ZAF)
9. Blake Thornton (AUS)
10. Marco Polo (BRA)

GrindTV News, Saturday June 13, - Conditions permitting, Australians Owen Wright and Daniel Ross will face off in the quarterfinals of the Sri Lankan Airlines Pro today in the Maldives. Like all 6-Star Prime events, the massive points on tap in the Maldives will have a dramatic effect on the overall rankings. Wright and Ross entered this event ranked 3rd and 2nd respectively, and with current tour leader Adam Melling long gone, both are looking to climb. The only other surfer in the entire top 20 of the WQS rankings to make it into the quarterfinals is Brazilian Jadson Andre. The dynamic goofyfooter entered ranked in the number 5 slot.


While Wright and Ross will be facing each other in the next round, Andre will be taking on France's latest star, Romain Cloitre, who is undoubtedly the biggest surprise. Cloitre entered this event ranked 58th, but he's been impressing everyone all week. Meanwhile, the Americans still have some hope resting in Pat Gudauskas and Austin Ware. Gudauskas got on the judges good side just two days ago, pulling the first-ever rodeo flip in competition during his Round of 48 heat. Both he and Ware will be climbing out of the ratings cellar after ho-hum starts to the season, but neither surfer, regardless of how well they do here, is likely to rest afterward. They both know there's a lot of season left on the schedule.


After defeating Cory Lopez to get into the Quarterfinals, Gudauskas now faces Brazilian Wiggolly Dantas. Should he win he'll face the winner of Jadson Andre and Romain Cloitre for a shot at the Finals. Ware's road, meanwhile, looks a little tougher, at least on paper. If he can get past Australia's Leigh Sedley in the quarters, he'll face the winner of the Wright vs. Ross clash for a shot at the final.