On a tragic Tuesday, after it was reported that Nick Bell, the Redshirt sophomore passed away after battling with skin cancer, there was another shocker for sports aficionados with news pouring in that champion surfer Andy Irons had died.

32 year old Andy Irons was a three-time winner of the World Surfing Champion and got extremely ill while he was on board a flight to his from the Hawaii home after a trip to the Caribbean.

The journey from Puerto Rico was ill-fated as the surfer’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He was reportedly suffering from dengue fever and had given the Rip Curl Pro event at Puerto Rico a miss after being ill throughout the weekend. Too sick to fly home, Andy Irons had to be taken off board at Dallas and was reportedly found dead in the Dallas hotel room he had checked into.

The champion surfer had first been diagnosed in Puerto Rico with the dangerous mosquito-borne dengue fever and received treatment in Miami, after which he sought to consult his doctor on Kaua’i.

Tuesday afternoon was a shocker for Bulldogs fans, for whom Nick Bell had played 16 games. Early in October, Bell had to undergo surgery for removing a mass on the brain. His battle with skin cancer was short-lived as he succumbed on Tuesday. He totted up 22 tackles in his career. His condition steadily went downhill at the Birmingham medical center of UAB. Fans and family are aghast at the twin tragedies in the sporting community.
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