I recently got an email from the Rip Curl press bods entitled:

“How can Mick Fanning be 09 ASP World Tour Champion?”

That struck me as really, really harsh, especially coming from them. Aren’t they supposed to be supporting their guy? 

Plus, Mick surfs really well, amazingly well. A great surfer and an awesome competitor? It shouldn’t be that surprising that he’s in the running. Then I read down the email and saw it was in fact a list of possible scenarios regarding how the title could be won. So then I realized what they really meant was, “How Mick Fanning can be 09 ASP World Champ.”

It’s easily done. A simple typo. The other day I wrote xxxx instead of ‘can’t.’ It was really awkward. I won’t let that happen again.

Anyhows, here are a list of the Banzai Pipeline scenarios: 

– Fanning finishes 33rd through a 9th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 3rd or better to overtake.

– Fanning finishes 5th at Pipeline, Parkinson needs a 2nd or better to overtake.

– Fanning finishes 3rd at Pipeline, Parkinson needs win the event to overtake.

– If Fanning finishes 2nd or better at Pipeline, he will clinch the 2009 ASP World Title.

– If Lance Burkhard pulls Fanning’s leash because he ‘needs this win’ and Shaun Briley refuses to clear the water before the final, then the title will be awarded to Marlon.

Oh yeah, that dude with the bushy eyebrows on the cover of SE70 here, Joan Duru, is still on course for the 2010 World Title, and what I mean by that is that he’s passed 12000 points on the WQS. He’s in 9th, with the Republic of Ireland’s Glenn Hall in 13th.