ELLIOTT ALMOND has been an investigative sports journalist for three decades, working on the staffs of the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, and San Jose Mercury News. He has been recognized by such organizations as Associated Press Sports Editors, Best American Sports Writing, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists, and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times. A life-long surfer, Almond spent a good portion of his youth traveling the Southern California and Baja California coastlines searching for the perfect wave.