Jordy Smith

There's a sports blog with a video clip on Yahoo! Sports titled "Jordy Smith pulls arguably the best surfing move ever. " The move is called a "rodeo flip," and it's kind of a combination of a flip and a reverse 360. I know it's a sick move because there are 1,390 comments at last count, and many of them just have one word to describe it: "sick. " It won't be long before Smith starts pulling off the rodeo flip in a competition, and of course, it's an assumption on my part that he hasn't already.

The Hurley Pro is underway this week down at Lower Trestles, with a new swell expected in the next couple of days, which should certainly increase the excitement in the water. Lower Trestles is widely known as one of the most high performance waves on tour, and with the likes of new school surfers such as Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith and young Aussie upstart Owen Wright, along with the veteran mix of surfers like Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and defending champion Mick Fanning, this is one event that will see plenty of fireworks going off in the water.

It's not often that the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked surfers in the world square off against one another but in Peniche, Portugal, that is exactly what happened. The finals showdown included No. 2 Jordy Smith going up against not only the top surfer but more importantly he was up against Kelly Slater, an almost immortal in the world of professional surfing. It had shades of classic No. 1 and No. 2 surfer battles, which in the past included Andy Irons versus Kelly Slater at the 2003 Pipeline Masters for the world title; Tom Curren versus Mark Occhilupo at Bells Beach for the 1985 world title; and who could forget the best rivalry of all time: Mark Richards versus Cheyne Horan with Richards winning all four of those world titles.

After a two-and-a-half month break, the ASP World Tour is back until July 25 at one of the world's most exciting surfing breaks in the likes of Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. After a stumble in the first event, finishing in equal ninth, Kelly Slater has rebounded in fine form since finishing with a win and second-place finish in the last event, and he now finds himself in a familiar place. Sitting atop the world rankings once again and gunning for a 10th world title, Slater is the clear favorite to add to the four titles (1996, 2003, 2005, 2008)

Well, so much for my call that Kelly Slater would continue his run of finals in the two previous events and win the 2010 Billabong Pro held at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. Instead, it was hometown hero Jordy Smith taking his maiden victory on the ASP World Tour in an electrifying final, with unsung upstart Adam Melling of Australia making his first final and skyrocketing up from a lonely 41st in the ratings up to 19th in the ASP World Tour. That's key for Melling, since at the mid-point this year the world tour will cut down to only the top 32 surfers qualifying and able to continue on, which seems absurd to me. Meanwhile, it is Smith who now finds himself ranked No. 1 in the world with six events remaining, going into one of the tour's most dangerous waves in the likes of Teahupoo, Tahiti, another venue that is tailor-made for the likes of Slater, who was upended in Round 3 of the Billabong Pro at Jeffreys Bay. Slater was taken out by local South African and giant killer Sean Holmes, who is known as one of the best surfers at J-Bay but was a wild card at the Billabong Pro, notoriously known for taking down some of the tour's biggest stars like Slater and former three-time world champion Andy Irons.

Last year, one might have called Brett Simpson's winning the U.S. Open of Surfing a Cinderella story: winning the biggest event in his backyard and becoming the first hometown local to win one of the most prestigious events on the World Qualifying Series tour. It certainly cemented his Huntington Beach roots and folklore. However, coming back and defending such a title while defeating fellow world tour stars of the likes of Kelly Slater (Cocoa, Fla.) in the semifinals and current No. 1-ranked surfer in the world Jordy Smith (South Africa)

Don't call it a comeback, because Andy Irons has been here before. Nineteen times, in fact, to go along with three world titles. But Irons' 20th win of the world tour might be not only the sweetest but also the most defining moment of his career. After taking a one-year sabbatical from the world tour due to burnout and a much-needed year of personal growth, Irons has stormed back, taking out the Billabong Pro for his 20th career victory on the world tour and skyrocketing up the world tour rankings to seventh place.

There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned dog fight, even in the world of professional surfing — and that is exactly what this year's world title race is beginning to look like. I'm just not sure that it includes Jordy Smith anymore. A semifinal clash of the titans between defending event champion and defending world champion Mick Fanning against surfing celebrity Kelly Slater saw a visibly upset Fanning question Slater's tactics and gamesmanship shortly after his defeat.

The Rip Curl Pro, which was held Wednesday at Peniche, Portugal, just completed Round 4 in punchy, rippable two- to three-foot waves at the backup venue known as Belgas. Surfers in the three-man, non-elimination round pushed the boundaries of high-performance surfing with current No. 2-ranked surfer Jordy Smith leading the way and setting up for a possible finish Thursday. Smith proved to be the in-form surfer of the day, netting a near-perfect 9.93 out of a possible 10 for an incredible aerial 360, which he completed on a good, clean right hander.

Somewhere in Puerto Rico, the Rip Curl Pro Search is gearing up to start at a still-mysterious location, with the world's best surfers ready to converge on the island paradise of warm weather and fun waves. Stop No. 9 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search will have a waiting period from Oct. 30 through Nov. 10 and potentially bear witness to Kelly Slater winning an unprecedented 10th world title. This could turn out to be one of the greatest feats in sports history, right there with Lance Armstrong's seven consecutive Tour de France victories and Roger Federer's all-time Grand Slam victories record.

There's a sports blog with a video clip on Yahoo! Sports titled "Jordy Smith pulls arguably the best surfing move ever. " The move is called a "rodeo flip," and it's kind of a combination of a flip and a reverse 360. I know it's a sick move because there are 1,390 comments at last count, and many of them just have one word to describe it: "sick. " It won't be long before Smith starts pulling off the rodeo flip in a competition, and of course, it's an assumption on my part that he hasn't already.

Somewhere in Puerto Rico, the Rip Curl Pro Search is gearing up to start at a still-mysterious location, with the world's best surfers ready to converge on the island paradise of warm weather and fun waves. Stop No. 9 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Rip Curl Pro Search will have a waiting period from Oct. 30 through Nov. 10 and potentially bear witness to Kelly Slater winning an unprecedented 10th world title. This could turn out to be one of the greatest feats in sports history, right there with Lance Armstrong's seven consecutive Tour de France victories and Roger Federer's all-time Grand Slam victories record.

It's not often that the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked surfers in the world square off against one another but in Peniche, Portugal, that is exactly what happened. The finals showdown included No. 2 Jordy Smith going up against not only the top surfer but more importantly he was up against Kelly Slater, an almost immortal in the world of professional surfing. It had shades of classic No. 1 and No. 2 surfer battles, which in the past included Andy Irons versus Kelly Slater at the 2003 Pipeline Masters for the world title; Tom Curren versus Mark Occhilupo at Bells Beach for the 1985 world title; and who could forget the best rivalry of all time: Mark Richards versus Cheyne Horan with Richards winning all four of those world titles.

The Rip Curl Pro, which was held Wednesday at Peniche, Portugal, just completed Round 4 in punchy, rippable two- to three-foot waves at the backup venue known as Belgas. Surfers in the three-man, non-elimination round pushed the boundaries of high-performance surfing with current No. 2-ranked surfer Jordy Smith leading the way and setting up for a possible finish Thursday. Smith proved to be the in-form surfer of the day, netting a near-perfect 9.93 out of a possible 10 for an incredible aerial 360, which he completed on a good, clean right hander.

There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned dog fight, even in the world of professional surfing — and that is exactly what this year's world title race is beginning to look like. I'm just not sure that it includes Jordy Smith anymore. A semifinal clash of the titans between defending event champion and defending world champion Mick Fanning against surfing celebrity Kelly Slater saw a visibly upset Fanning question Slater's tactics and gamesmanship shortly after his defeat.

After an amazing display of surfing and waves at Lower Trestles, the ASP World Tour finds itself in the south of France for event No. 7 of 10 for the Quiksilver Pro. Kelly Slater, who once again put the rest of the tour on notice that the king of surfing is alive and well with his dominating win at Lowers, slipped up in his first round heat, totaling a mere four points for his two-wave average for the heat. Yes, I did say four points, in a first round that saw challenging, big and closed-out waves for most of the competitors.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The king is still the king – of surfing, that is. Kelly Slater still stands atop the world tour rankings, after being in devastating form all week and taking the Hurley Pro title for the fourth time in the last six years. Slater was so dominant, in fact, that he found a rare stand-up tube during his final against Bede Durbidge, who defeated Slater here in the 2006 final. Other standout surfers during the event included defending event champion Mick Fanning and No. 4 world-ranked surfer Dane Reynolds, who were upended in the semifinals, finishing equal third.

The Hurley Pro is underway this week down at Lower Trestles, with a new swell expected in the next couple of days, which should certainly increase the excitement in the water. Lower Trestles is widely known as one of the most high performance waves on tour, and with the likes of new school surfers such as Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith and young Aussie upstart Owen Wright, along with the veteran mix of surfers like Kelly Slater, Andy Irons and defending champion Mick Fanning, this is one event that will see plenty of fireworks going off in the water.

Don't call it a comeback, because Andy Irons has been here before. Nineteen times, in fact, to go along with three world titles. But Irons' 20th win of the world tour might be not only the sweetest but also the most defining moment of his career. After taking a one-year sabbatical from the world tour due to burnout and a much-needed year of personal growth, Irons has stormed back, taking out the Billabong Pro for his 20th career victory on the world tour and skyrocketing up the world tour rankings to seventh place.

Last year, one might have called Brett Simpson's winning the U.S. Open of Surfing a Cinderella story: winning the biggest event in his backyard and becoming the first hometown local to win one of the most prestigious events on the World Qualifying Series tour. It certainly cemented his Huntington Beach roots and folklore. However, coming back and defending such a title while defeating fellow world tour stars of the likes of Kelly Slater (Cocoa, Fla.) in the semifinals and current No. 1-ranked surfer in the world Jordy Smith (South Africa)