Thoughts and commentary on the recently-completed third stop of the ASP World Tour...
 
- Kelly Slater is finished.  That is, for this year.  After finishing a disappointing 17th for the first three contests of the season, Slater's quest for a 10th World Title is over for the year.  Which means that you won't be seeing him at the World Tour's next stop in Brazil (for some reason Slater has never really done well there), and likely won't be seeing him at J-Bay or Europe either.  If Kelly Slater decides to surf competitively again this year, it'll be at two locations: Lower Trestles, and Pipeline.
 
Of course, given that Slater thrives the most when both himself and the tour has no idea whether he's going to retire, naturally you'll be seeing Slater announce early next year that he'll show up to Australia with no plans of surfing the tour full-time in a quest for a 10th World Title.  Meaning that during the middle of next year is when we'll be seeing Kelly Slater making his final march to walk away with a 10th World Title.
 
- Bobby Martinez deserved this.  You rarely, if ever, hear a bad thing about Martinez.  He doesn't do many interviews, he doesn't try to attract the limelight, and never have I heard the term "asshole" associated with Bobby Martinez.  In short, Martinez is an amazingly talented goofy-footer who keeps it real.  People tend to stereotype him as the "Gangster" of the World Tour because of his ethnicity, upbringing, and tattoos, but in reality he's one of the more genuine surfers on the tour.  Congratulations again to Bobby Martinez.
 
(Note: Don't feel sorry for Martinez just because he currently doesn't have a title sponsor.  If an athlete is sponsored by one of the energy drink giants - Red Bull or Monster - they're doing just fine.  Monster takes great care of Martinez, he's doing well without a major surf apparel sponsor.)
 
- The spoiled ASP surfers will get their wish, but if the old format was in play for the Billabong Pro Teahupoo, we would have seen the world's top surfers tackling even poorer conditions.  One of the perks of eliminating the extra round with three-man heats is reducing the number of days needed to hold a contest from four to three.  And this year's Teahupoo contest had some of the worst conditions witnessed at the locale.  Sure waves came through, but not with consistency, and it wasn't the Teahupoo surfers have grown to love.  The old format is coming back starting next month in Brazil, meaning less opening round drama and more security for surfing's bigger stars.
 
- Was Da Hui right in their criticism towards Billabong and the ASP?  With Billabong reducing the number of wildcards via tourney from three to one, many blasted the company for shutting out locals.  However, the locals thrive most with macking, pumping surf.  The smaller conditions for this year's contest were suited perfectly for World Tour surfers.  Locals wouldn't have had much of a chance.  Still, many questions remain regarding Billabong's unusual (and possibly illegal) monopoly on the competition scene at Teahupoo.