1. Great introductions. Remember last year? The weird guy and the motorcycles? The start to this year's show was huge and set the mood really well.
2. As with last year, one of the flaws of the bracket system is that it sometimes happens that riders who don't make a qualified ride can advance beyond riders who do make the whistle. There's no way to avoid that without revamping the whole basis of the event, but it's unfortunate that LJ Jenkins, one of the three guys to make two qualified rides, got eliminated in Round Two, while riders who hadn't made even one ride got to advance.
3. I really like Ty Murray. But he still doesn't have the clone thing down pat. Last time the clones were the sons of Panhandle Slim, and this time they were his brothers. Granted, it's complicated, but what it isn't is a familial relationship. So what are they, really? They are clone-mates to each other, but what are they to Panhandle Slim? They are genetic copies. Not sons, and not brothers, and well, not him, either.
4. Chute time: Valdiron was in there on Perfect Poison for two minutes. Not that it helped, but two minutes? Really? Valdiron is a good rider and from all accounts he is a nice guy. I would think better of him as a rider if he got out of the chutes faster.
5. Chute time: Steps in the right direction: J.W. Hart is down there pretty much every event now, and what he seems to be doing is supervising (not enforcing) chute time, telling the riders what to do to get out of there. The announcers ask Shorty Gorham what's going on every time any rider seems to take a long time in the chutes. And Shorty tells it like he sees it if he thinks there's no reason for the rider to be in there that long.
6. Not keen on the "bonus bull." Kind of a downer to win the Iron Cowboy and then have to end the night defeated.
7. Bushwacker vs. I'm a Gangster. Bushwacker is so dynamic and so intense. He's the rankest bull, no question. This time he turned right instead of left, but he does a similar thing every time: a couple of explosive jumps out of the gate and at the end of the second jump, just as he starts to turn, the rider is face down on the bull's head, about to pinwheel off. It's not hard to figure it out, but figuring it out won't help. As for I'm a Gangster, I can't even begin to figure out what that bull does, but it's so fast and so complicated that there's no chance anyone is going to stay on him any time soon.
8. The broadcast. There were obviously glitches with the clock and the bull scores. If there was ever a night to have the clock working and the bull scores posted, last night was it. BUT, the past few events have shown improvements. The behind-the-scenes stuff with the riders is really great and adds so much value to the show. Also last night, the hokey man's voice introducing the show was blissfully gone.
9. And last but not least, the Statue of Liberty could fit into Cowboy Stadium? They said that, and I looked it up, and it's hard to believe, but it's true.
