Roll out the barrels

After a couple of false starts -- maybe the waves weren't good enough -- ESPN2 finally airs the surf documentary "Down the Barrel" on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Yup, right in the middle of the first NFL slab of games. So at least TiVo it on the big screen for delayed gratification.
Shot in what's called "crystal clear high definition," filmmaker and Cardif surfer Steve Lawrence uses narrator Eric Balfour ("24," "Six Feet Under") to focus on Kelly Slater's quest for an eighth world title.
Surfers Rob Machado, Joel Parkinson and Kalani Robb also add their voices to the narrative that takes the viewer into the lifestyle, danger and drive of the sport.
Called "one of the most ambitious surfing films ever made," this doc has already won two Awards of Excellence from the Accolade Competition and is nominated for three Surfer Magazine Poll Awards (Cinematography, Documentary and Movie of the Year), which take place on Tuesday.
Go to this link at EXPN to see a trailer.
(And after the documentary airs Sunday on ESPN2, stick around for some real football when the U.S. men's national team faces Brazil in one of them friendly things at Soldier Field in Chicago at 1 p.m. ... just what Bears fans want to see on opening weekend)
And so you never can say we don't point out something good the competition has done, here's a piece by the LA Times' Pete Thomas on Slater's future plans on fighting the enemies of the high seas -- poachers of whales and dolphins.