Asteroid vs. Bushwacker

It was a disappointing end to an epic face-off. Asteroid hipped himself getting out of the chute with Cord McCoy and they chose not to buck him again. It was a good call, but it meant that we missed round two of the Bushwacker - Asteroid duel.  (And hats off to Cord McCoy for asking to get him back after the re-ride was called.)

The first contest, on Friday night, will be plenty enough to keep all of us speculating for some time. Here are the videos.

[Please check back later for a review of Rounds 5 and 6.]

*** Click here to get Rank by email. ***

Round Four at a Glance

Every year, the day after the rank pen, I have a small let down in my bull riding enthusiasm.  Then the Classic bulls come out to play again and I can’t wait.  But later I look at my day sheet and it is…blank!  Except for three scores and a lot of doodles.

Why?  Partly because, in this Finals, you can’t get a bull score to save your life.  They throw one up there every now and then, but it’s sparse.  By last night I was truly agitated about it and at some point I gave up.  Not to mention that they couldn’t get the rider scores up there for a while either.

[Some bitterness about the lack of bull scores used to be here, but I took it out.  So tired of bitterness...]

So this was another cranky evening for me, made sadder yet by the fact that my neck of the woods was in the middle of a major storm and the cable, internet, and phone went out right in the middle of J.B Mauney’s reride.  And it didn’t go back up until too late this morning to get my morning missive out to my loyal subscribers.  (Bless you if you are among them and if you want to join them, click here!)

So, no bull scores, no end of Round Four for me, no early morning score reviews, no nothin’.  Just a sad little story of discontent and disgruntlement.

But yo ho!  The cyber umbilical cord has now been restored.  Addicted are we?  I believe we are.

* * *

A couple of things that stood out for me last night:

• Rainbow seemed to be finally rising to expectations with a score of 44.25 on a very nice out with Elton Cide.

• Back Bender not only won the Classic Finals, but he has also been purchased (not clear whether in full or in part) by Jeff Robinson.  Congratulations to Kent Cox, who, ever since the Whiskey's Rebel incident, is one of my new heroes.

• Black Widow had the high bull score of the night with 46, followed by Jimeny Cricket with a 45.75.  Nice going.

• And Caleb Sanderson?  Again, if you predicted him, I buy you yet another cup of coffee.  He looked perfect.

• Luke Snyder’s view of the Asteroid - Bushwacker contest was interesting.  He wondered if the scoring might have gone differently had the bulls been bucked back-to-back, rather than almost ½ hour apart.  Along those same lines, I watched both bulls' outs about 20 times and I remained confounded.  I still think Bushwacker got it, on intensity and on the fact that he had more time on which to be judged, but those bulls are really hard to judge against each other.

• The mounting injury report now includes Joe Baumgartner who fell like a tree when hit by the horn of Class 6 Kat, resulting in a concussion, a chin laceration, and a few broken teeth.  It also included another concussion for Ben Jones, a separated rib for Elliott Jacoby, and whatever might have happened after high winds left me bereft of connection.

• On the good news front, Jason O’Hearn is out of the ICU and may be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

• Cody Custer did a very human and moving thing when Ben Jones went down.  After the medical team came out, he walked to Ben and put his hand on Ben’s foot and stayed there.  Prayer, laying on of hands, comfort, I don’t know what it was, but it was one of those moments that shows a man’s character. 

* * *

The five high-marked rides:

Stormy Wing - 90.25
Guilherme Marchi - 90.00
Rubens Barbosa - 88.75
Pete Farley - 88.50
Robson Palermo - 88.00

Event Average Race:

Here I've put the riders who moved up in the race in blue, the ones who fell in rank in red, and those with no change in black.  This is crunch time.

1 Caleb Sanderson 348.25
2 Rubens Barbosa 264.75 
3 Guilherme Marchi 264.5 
4 Robson Palermo 263.25
5 Silvano Alves 254 
6 J. B. Mauney 247 
7 Valdiron Oliveira 177.5 
8 Pete Farley 175.75 
9 Aaron Roy 175.25 
10 Jock Connolly 174.75


The World Finals title race:
1. Silvano Alves - 13161.50
2. Valdiron de Oliveira - 11111.50
3. Robson Palermo - 9727.75
4. Guilherme Marchi - 8483.50
5. Austin Meier - 8,130.75

Note: Last night Guilherme Marchi passed Austin Meier, taking fourth place.

High-marked bulls:  

Black Widow - 46 - (Lufkin)

Jimeney Cricket - 45.75 (Box K/Universal)
Poker Face - 45 (Box K/Universal)
Delco - 45.50 (Hebert)
Back Bender - 45.25 (Ackerman/Cox)
Bad Blake - 45  (Lightning C)

V-5 - 44.75 (Wilson/Foutch)
First Nation Sensation - 44.75 ((Girletz)
Pure Smoke - 44.50 (Ohl/Beshears)
Carney Man - 44.50 (Dakota/Berger)
Pandemic - 44.50 (Boyd/Floyd)
Rainbow - 44.25 (Circle T)
Sancho - 44 (Circle T)
Santiago - 44 (Clymer)
Charlie Bullware - 44 (Moreno)

Today's schedule:

All times are Eastern Time, all events live streamed except for the Round Five/Six coverage, which is on NBC.  Please check your local listings for NBC.

12 p.m. Red Carpet Entrance
4 p.m. Round Five on NBC
11 p.m. Awards Banquet

Round Three at a Glance

Things didn't go well for the riders last night, with an impoverished ten rides.  However, it was always going to be a night that belonged to the bulls, and it did.  And as for the big race, I don't think it has a whole lot to do with Silvano Alves and Valdiron de Oliveira.  It's Silvano's to lose and he's not going to stub his toe now.  The real race, as we all know, is between Asteroid and Bushwacker, and I suspect that the energy in the millions of living rooms while waiting for them to buck was probably enough to power the country for a decade.

In contrast to the ten rides, there were 8 bulls with scores in the 44 point range, 4 bulls in the 45 point range, and one each in the 46, 47, and 48 point range.

I was surprised at the 48.5 score for Bushwacker.  Thought it was high compared to what he received for better outs earlier in the year.  But for raw power, he beat Asteroid last night.  On the other hand, Asteroid didn't have half a chance to show what he can do, and there was a hint of  "Let's make sure Bushwacker gets this title."  And Cord McCoy?  Did he do way better than you thought he would on Bushwacker, or what?

As for predictions...Cody Campbell?  Who predicted that?  I buy you a cup of coffee.    

I'm tired. Three nights of bull riding are wonderful, and today I woke up and thought:  I get to watch again tonight!  But as the days go by, the fan side of me is starting to win out over the reporter side.  So that's all I've got for you today, campers, except for the following numbers, and maybe a few pedigrees to follow later in the day.

And oh yeah, Doc Holliday?  I thought he was pretty good.

________________________________________

The five high-marked rides:

Douglas Ferreira - 91
Justin Koon - 89.75
Robson Palermo - 87.50
Cody Campbell - 86.75
Aaron Roy - 86.50

Event Average Race:

1. Caleb Sanderson - 260.75
2. J. B. Mauney - 247
3. Rubens Barbosa - 176
4. Robson Palermo - 175.25
5. Aaron Roy - 175.25
6. Jock Connolly - 174.75
7. Justin Koon - 174.75
8. Guilherme Marchi - 174.5
9. Fabiano Vieira - 172.25
10. Silvano Alves - 166.75

A sorry fact:  Jock Connolly, even though he is #6 in the event average, is sent home because he did not make the requisite dollars that a champ from another country has to make in the event in order to compete beyond two rounds.

The World Finals title race:

1. Silvano Alves - 12,974.25
2. Valdiron de Oliveira - 10,987.25
3. Robson Palermo - 9,439.75
4. Austin Meier - 8,130.75
5. Guilherme Marchi - 8,043.5
 
High-marked bulls:  

13/6 Bushwacker - 48.50  (Moreno/Oliveira)

781 Asteroid - 47.50  (Circle T)

404C Gunpowder & Lead - 46.25

070 Movin' On - 45.50  (Martinez/Hooper/Richards)
K14 Yellowjacket Jr. - 45.25  (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve/Rosen)
540 King Lopez -    45.25   (K bar C)
K55 Smackdown - 45  (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve/Rosen)

309 Spitfire - 44.75  (Boyd/Floyd)
3-687 PFI's Boot Daddy - 44.75 (Clark/Owen)
-8 Bring It -   44.50  (Berger/Struve/Box K)
W1 Buckey - 44.50 (Wentz)
924B Tennessee Honey - 44.50 (Circle T)
61 Moon 44.50  (Robinson/Baker)

601 Shepherd Hills Trapper - 44.25  (Circle T)

5081 Highway 12 - 44  (Robinson)

Another sorry fact:  61 Moon has become "Big Tex Trailers.com" and that is a tiny bit tragic in the name department.

Pedigree notes:


211 Iron Horse is a son of Western Hauler and a Hobo grandson.  On the dam side his grandsire is Naccarato's Oscars Velvet. (Do or Die Pro Rodeo)

034 Say When is is a Rapid Fire son.  His dam is a Bodacious daughter.  (Martinez/Hooper/Richards)

-8 Bring It is a Broke Back V grandson on the sire side.  (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve)

070 Movin' On is a Nelson-bred grandson of Automatic (Spook/CP 1 Kung Foo). On the dam side he is a grandson of Popeye.  (Robinson)

Quotes of the night:

"This is like Dumbo the flying bull."  (Ty Murray)

"You ride him tonight, you'll make history.  And that's the plan."  (Cord McCoy)

Today's schedule:

All times are Eastern Time, all events live streamed except for the Round Two coverage, which is on Versus:

3 p.m. Flint's Outside the Barrel Show
7 p.m. Red Carpet Entrance
9 p.m. Round Four on VERSUS
11:30 p.m. Post-event Press Conference
1 a.m. Round Five Draw

Round Four draft here.

*** Click here to get Rank by email. ***

Round Two at a Glance

A better showing last night, with 24 rides (as opposed to nine in Round One).  I was in a somewhat cranky mood throughout due to the absence of bull score announcing during the broadcast, but there were some good rides and some gutsy performances.  Here are a few of the things that stood out for me.

• Alves, Palermo, and Oliveira stumbled on Wednesday and stepped up last night.

• For Finals event average races, never count out the guys who have won the World Title in the past.  Witness Chris Shivers, Mike Lee, and Guilherme Marchi.

• Why I don't make predictions:  Who amongst us would have predicted Sanderson at the top of the event leaderboard and Mauney and Connolly in the top five? 

• Another reason why I don't make predictions:  Just for the heck of it, I picked ten guys I thought would make their rides last night. Half of them did.  Actually, that's not too bad.  Maybe I'll make some more tonight, but I won't be saying who they are.

•  Injuries to worry about:  Jason O'Hearn (head and knee) and Jock Connolly (looked like his legs). 

• Excellent to see Crosswired have a good out.  Speckled Ivory never disappoints.  Copp Hou surprised me.

• I know that Whiskey's Rebel is hard to get out on, but I thought Tyler Thomson had a couple of chances that he didn't take the first time in there.  This is a good bull. I hope they can find a way to calm him down in there.  And I hate the halo.

• Still no sign of Erin Coscarelli. 

• Note to NBC dude:  When you interview someone through a translator you are supposed to look at the person you are interviewing, not at the translator.  You are not supposed to refer to the person you are interviewing as "he."  Basic etiquette, dude.  And please don't tell me you called Silvano: "Guilherme" after the final interview?  I know.  You did.  I will chalk that one up to an honest mistake, though a bad one.

• After Wednesday night's opener, I thought the PBR had realized that having that drill sargeant guy does not exactly convey "mainstream sport."  Alas, last night proved me wrong.  

• On the other hand, thank you to the PBR for getting the Round Two results up so promptly, for the live streaming, for the video in the Live Event Center for those who don't get Versus, and for doing a good job overall. That said, now we have the following department:

The department of "REALLY, IT'S IMPORTANT"

Half of this deal is the bulls, and probably half of us watch mostly because of the bulls, so please get us bull scores displayed prominently.  Last night the only bull scores posted were for the buckoffs.  The others were posted judge by judge, but it got a little old trying to tally those up.  I really don't understand why at some events they manage to post the bull scores and others they don't.  It's a mystery to me.  One I don't like!  (Told you I was cranky.)

The five high-marked rides:

Valdiron de Oliviera - 90.75
Rubens Barbosa - 90.75
Sean Willingham - 89.75
Aaron Roy - 88.75
Connolly / Lee / Duncan / Shivers - 88.25

Finals Event Average race:

1/2.  Rubens Barbosa - 176
1/2.  Caleb Sanderson - 176
3.  Jock Connolly - 174.75
4.  Guilherme Marchi - 174.5
5.  J. B. Mauney - 173.25
6.  Valdiron Oliveira - 90.75
7.  Sean Willingham - 89.75
8.  Aaron Roy - 88.75
9/10.  Ryan Dirteater - 88.25
9/10.  Mike Lee - 88.25

The World Finals title race:

1. Silvano Alves - 12,866.5
2. Valdiron de Oliveira - 10,987.25
3. Robson Palermo - 9,052.25
4. Austin Meier - 8,130.75
5. Guilherme Marchi - 8,043.5S9

High-marked bulls:  

Copp Hou - 44.75 (Lightning C)
Hee Bee Gee Bee - 44.75 (Boyd/Floyd)
Speckled Ivory - 44.50 (Circle T)
Cowboy Casanova - 44.25 (Mesa Pate)
Priceless - 44 (Page)
Crosswired - 44 (Page)

Pedigree notes:

603 Gypsy Boots (formerly known as Penguin) is a Wilfong bull (BW 72/2 over BW 341).  Grandsire on both sides is Wilfong's The Darkness.  The granddam is a Broke Back V daughter. (Robinson)

7312 Whitewater Trouble is a Whitewater grandson.  (Teague)

563 Heebee Geebee is by Kish's Winchester (Mr. T / Kish breeding) out of a Kish cow. (Boyd/Floyd)

22S Priceless is a Best Shot son with Houdini on the sire side and Kish's Lock &  Load on the dam side. (Page)

651 The Situation is a son of Hot Damn (who is also the sire of Amy's Pet and Damn Right). (Dakota Rodeo/Berger)

Cowboy up Moment:

Goes to Robson Palermo and J.B. Mauney.  I've had both of those injuries and can attest to the pain.

Quotes of the night:

"Ben has a tendency when he hits the ground to go to sleep."  (Shorty Gorham)

"You gotta be a cowboy. You gotta be tough. A cowboy's supposed to be tough. I try to be."  (J.B. Mauney)

"I know I'm capable of greatness."  Kody Lostroh

It was either, "I'm not getting out on that m-----f-----." or "I'm getting out on that m-----f-----."  Either way it was LJ Jenkins.  Followed by:

"Good thing we're on cable."  Craig Hummer

Today's schedule:

All times are Eastern Time, all events live streamed except for the Round Two coverage, which is on Versus:

3 p.m. Flint's Outside the Barrel Show
7 p.m. Red Carpet Entrance
9 p.m. Round Three on VERSUS
11:30 p.m. Post-event Press Conference
1 a.m. Round Four Draw

Round Three draw here.

*** Click here to get Rank by email. ***

Finals: Round One at a Glance

Poker Face

Here's a short review of Round One.  Please check back later for a full list of the high-marked bulls!

Only nine out of 43 riders stayed on last night, but the real story was the Classic bulls.  A few points of interest:

• Alves, Palermo, and Oliveira stumbled.

• Marchi came back from 6 broken ribs and a punctured lung to make an 86.50 ride on Mud Wasp, after an interminable number of minutes in the bucking chute on a bull who did not appear to be acting up.  Marchi is usually one to get out quickly, but last night, whether it was nerves or determination, someone should have been on him about it.  

• J.B. Mauney, LJ Jenkins, and Austin Meier got their game faces on.  

• Luke Snyder and Dustin Elliott took notable hits.  Elliott to the upper back and Snyder to the head/neck.  No word yet on their status for tonight.

• Low bull scores, in my opinion, given the difficulty of the bulls.  Saving the big scores for the big guns?

• As usual, Classic bulls make for good bull watching and a low number of rides.

• Eye Candy is a really fast spinner.  I'm not usually a huge fan of just spinning, but he whips it around there.

• Reindeer sons Red Man and Mr. Feiger did the old man proud.  Ty Murray went on about Mr. Feiger, not seeming to know who's son and half-brother he is.  

• No sign of Erin Coscarelli.  NBC dude did pretty well.  Nothing against Erin personally, but I'd go with the NBC dude any day.

The five high-marked rides:

Caleb Sanderson - 88.5.
Ryan Dirteater - 88.25.
L.J. Jenkins - 87.5.
J. B. Mauney - 87.25.
Jock Connolly - 86.5.

The World Finals title race:

Silvano Alves - 12,782.5
Valdiron de Oliveira - 10,521.5
Robson Palermo - 8,949.5
Austin Meier - 7,995.25
Guilherme Marchi - 7,669

High-marked bulls:  

Back Bender 45.50
Bad Blake - 45.50

Santiago - 44.75
V-5 - 44.75
Red Man - 44.50
Train Wreck - 44.50
Betta Watchit - 44.25
Pandemic - 44
Pure Smoke - 44

Pedigree notes:

612 Eye Candy is a son of Boding (Broke Back V over Page 200-151) and a Wilfong bred cow. (Boyd/Floyd)

V-5 is a son of Valentine (Broke Back V over a Dale Lyons-bred cow).  His grandsire on the sire side is Whiskey. FYI, his name is also his brand number.)  (Wilson/Foutch)

17 Bois d'arc is a Splat Kat son out of a Justin McKee-bred cow. (Rawson)

L744 Geronimo is a Zorro son out of a Panhandle Slim daughter. (Lufkin)

0-1 Bono is a Houdini son.  On the dam side he is a grandson of Kish's Wolfman and Farris 51.  (Hadley Cattle Co.)

L704 Black Widow is a Spider Monkey son (thus A6 grandson). (Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo)

708 Delco is a son of Hot Stuff (Mossy Oak Mudslinger x Page 25-111).  His dam is a grandaughter of CP1 Kung Fu x Spook.  His dam is Hebert 310. (Hebert)

7473 Trickster's sire - LH124 - is a Trick or Treat son out of a Gunslinger daughter.  Trickster's dam is TBB 526, Kish breeding. (Teague)

20T Train Wreck is a Crazy Train son out of Page 25-140.  On the sire side he is a grandson of Boding (Broke Back V over Page 200-151) and Page cow 47-107 (who is a Copperhead daughter).  On the dam side he is a grandson of Mossy Oak Mudslinger and Page 25-124 (a Broke Back V daughter). (Page)

I tell ya, the more I do these pedigrees, the more I see Broke Back V's name come up.

As always, please let me know if I've missed anything there.  It's easy to get cross-eyed when you're looking at a lot of pedigrees.

Cowboy up Moment:

Gotta give it to Joe Baumgartner, who got hooked pretty good in the first ride and winced a little bit, but there he stayed.

Quotes of the night:

"There aren't any confidence-boosting bulls that we're going to see here."  (Ty Murray)

"If they pay me a lot of money here, you may never see me again." (Chris Shivers)

"I used to say I'd get on a mountain lion if Rob Smets was there protecting."  (Ty Murray)

Today's schedule:

All times are Eastern Time, all events live streamed except for the Round Two coverage, which is on Versus:

3 p.m. Flint's Outside the Barrel Show
7 p.m. Red Carpet Entrance
9 p.m. Round Two on VERSUS
11:30 p.m. Post-event Press Conference
1 a.m. Round Three Draw

Round Two draft here.

*** Click here to get Rank by email. ***

No Predictions

I don't make predictions anymore.  I don't make them because they are always wrong, and not just mine, but everyone's.  I mean, really.  Who predicted that Luke Snyder would win the Last Cowboy Standing, or Colby Yates would win the Iron Cowboy, or Renato Nunes would win the whole deal last year?  No one.

So instead of making predictions, I'm going to make up stories and you can pick the one you like, or make up one of your own.

Riders

Silvano Alves wins everything, as everyone is predicting.  He wins the World and he wins the Finals.  And it's a somewhat boring Finals because of that.  Not that he shouldn't win, or that he doesn't deserve to win, but a little bit of drama is a good thing.

or

It is a down-to-the-wire race between Alves and Oliviera, decided on the final ride of the last round.  That would be better.

or

Robson Palermo pulls it out of his iron will and makes a come-from-behind run at it, and steals everything while riding with a completely messed up shoulder.  Even better: a hero.

or

Someone unexpected, like J.B. Mauney or Chris Shivers or Luke Snyder, who can't possibly win the world title, cranks it up and wins the event with a bunch of massive rides.

or 

All three of those guys make a run for it and one of them wins the event at the last minute and goes down in history for riding an unridable bull for a massive score.

or
Someone loses it at the final ride based on a close call by the replay judge.  Video replayed for eternity with arguments on either side being smashed out on the message boards.  I'm right!  Judge is blind!  You're an idiot!  You're blind!

Bulls

Bushwacker wins bull of the year, as is hoped by many.  Asteroid does not do well with his time off, and needs more than two outs to get his awesomeness back.  Bushwacker's fans are vindicated.  They knew he was better than Asteroid.

or

Asteroid returns to form immediately and Bushwacker doesn't return to his early-season form.  Winner:  Asteroid.  Justice is served, his fans say.  The better bull won!  Outcry among Bushwacker fans.  Bushwacker was robbed!

or

They both do well, almost equally well, and one, of course, wins over the other by a fraction of a point.  No matter who wins, fans cry foul!  Judges play favorites!  The debate rages for years.

or

Smackdown comes out smoking and beats them both.  Go Smackdown!  Go awesome Katich bulls!

or

Bushwacker gets ridden.  And someone gets a 97 point score for it.

and

Next year they will do it differently and come up with a system that rewards a bull's entire season rather than deciding it on two outs at the Finals.

Those are my stories.  What are yours?

Click here to get Rank by email.

The View from Above

Just in case you ever wondered how it would feel to get lucky enough to see it from this angle, here's photographer (and fan) Susan Hanrahan's view from the chute seats on Sunday afternoon at the PBR's Hartford event.  Photographs and descriptions by Susan Hanrahan.

A Different Perspective

Everything looks different from above.  Everything feels different from above.  There is amazing and powerful energy that comes off the animals as they moved through the maze of pens, gates, and chutes.  The whole Chute Seat area moved as the bulls came in.

Organizing bulls

A job I would love to have!  As a bull lover, I spent at least a third of my time looking backwards to the bulls.  Watching them sort and move the bulls through the back pens, and observing the bulls who are so relaxed they are laying down and then others who can't stay still for a second.

Cowboy Prep

I enjoyed watching different Cowboys as they warmed up and put their ropes on their bulls.  Here is Cody Nance putting his rope on No Doubt.

Behind the Scenes

Here is TV host Craig Hummer and commentator Ty Murray.  So close we could almost reach out and touch them.  Reporter Leah Garcia ran by several times on her way around the chutes.  It was interesting to see a little of the work that goes in to the TV broadcast.

Prep in the Chutes

Here JB Mauney waits to get on Trips.  All the focus is on him - from Leah and the TV camera, to the stock contractor and fellow riders waiting to assist.  When it all comes down to it, it's more than the cowboy and the bull.

Power in Motion

Here is a shot of Kody Lostroh leaving the chute on Exotic Justin.  In the chute seats you feel the strength and power of the bulls as they leave the chute.  All of the cowboys actually jump back to avoid being kicked by the exiting bull, and at least six times we were hit with dirt and "atmosphere" from the powerful kick of the mighty beasts.

Bull Crush

King Lopez impressed me so much, watching him from above.  He is a handsome bull, regal and powerful.  Don't tell the others, but I think he is my new bull crush.

A Special Moment

Fabiano Vieria removed his hat and prayed over Who Dat before his ride.  This moment touched my heart and everything around me seemed to quiet, as I watched.

Click here to get Rank by email.

Columbus Notes

Columbus was, on the surface of it, a normal, not-so-remarkable event.  Silvano Alves won it, in a good close race.  Some guys made it into the Finals and some didn't.  The same was true with some bulls.

I'm usually all about the bulls, but this was one of those weekends that was really all about the riders.  It was about Silvano Alves, who is just getting it done.  About Valdiron de Oliveira, who is struggling.  About Cody Campbell, who passed Brendon Clark for the 40th spot in the Finals by virtue of simply appearing in Columbus and getting the $400 in appearance money.  About Cord McCoy who suddenly could ride a bull and look really good doing it.  About Shane Proctor, who aggravated the groin injury less than two weeks before the Finals and less than a month before the NFR.

These are three other riders that stood out for me this weekend.

How tough is Robson Palermo?

He rode two bulls and made both short rounds and didn't ride in either of them.  But at this point, he's heroic.  His damaged shoulder will be repaired two days after the conclusion of the Finals.  I've been through the torn up shoulder thing and by the time I got to surgery I could barely hold a carton of milk, never mind hold onto a bull (not that I ever held onto a bull with a good shoulder, either).  The man has steel for determination.  I'm a fan.

Why is Ben Jones being allowed to ride?

He led the event going into the Championship Round, picked a pretty good bull, got pulled down and hit his head against the bull's head.  His body flopped around a little bit before hitting the ground, whereupon he half-ran, half-stumbled to the fence.  He couldn't make it up the fence and appeared to go unconscious about halfway up it.  He had to be pulled and pushed up to get him out of the bull's way.

After the event, Craig Hummer said that the word from Tandy Freeman was that Ben was okay.  Really?  I'm no doctor but I'm in agreement with Ty Murray, Shorty Gorham, and whoever else thought that Ben was out cold the minute his head hit the bull.  There is such a thing as walking unconscious and in my opinion that's what he was doing when he made the run for the fence.  I like him as much as anyone does, but it is not fun to watch him anymore.  It's not fun to watch him ride and it's not fun to watch him dance.  He has a traumatized brain.  Enough is enough.

Smackdown?  Really?

J.B. Mauney.  Okay, I always say that I'm not a rabid fan and I'm not a hater.  Still true.  But this is a guy who does not complain.  He doesn't complain about being in pain, about not getting bulls that "fit" him, about not doing well.  He just goes about his job.  Who knows what's up with him, but one thing for sure, he is not whining about it.

On the other hand, why he picked Smackdown for his last short round bull, is a mystery to me.  All he really needed to do was get a score.  Pick a bull you can ride, get a score, and take your chances on how Silvano and Ben do.  Rather than pick a bull chances are you (or anyone else) probably can't ride, and hope for 90+ points if you do.  I know, I know...that's what he does.

On to the big show

The last regular-season event of the year is now behind us.  Now we'll see who's got game.

Click here to get Rank by email.

Bulls & Bloodlines: Columbus

46+ bulls:

K55 Smackdown - 46.25 (Dakota Rodeo/Berger)

45+ bulls:

-8 Lincoln Electric's Bring It - 45 (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve)

44+ bulls

68 Lil' Red Kat - 44.25 (Boyd/Floyd/Larue)
325 Hot Stuff - 44.25 (Page)
K41 Wild n' Out - 44.25 (Berger/Struve)
52U Midnight Mood - 44 (Page)
23 Stretch Armstrong - 44 (Page)
13T Little Snake - 44 (Page)
C66 Black Attack - 44 (Page)

Broadcast bull talk:

Pretty good.  Bull scores posted nicely, lots of bucking pattern analysis.  

Pedigree facts for a few of the high-scoring bulls:

52U Midnight Move is a Smooth Move son out of a Super Dave daughter. (Page)

23S Stretch Armstrong is a Stretch son (Broke Back V out of Page breeding) out of a Shorty daughter. (Page)

13T Little Snake is a Mudslinger son (Page 01/Broke Back V daughter) out of a Hotel California daughter.

325 Hot Stuff is a Mudslinger son (Page 01/Broke Back V daughter) out of a Broke Back V daughter. (Page)

-8 Bring It is a Broke Back V grandson on the sire side. (Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve)

As usual, let me know if I've misrepresented anyone.

Making the Finals roster:

Whiskey's Rebel, Lil' Red Kat, Yellow Jacket Jr, and Hot Stuff passed Cody Lambert's test this weekend and will be in the Finals.  Commotion, Pearl Snap, and Wake Up Call did not make the cut.  The Situation's status has yet to be determined.

But really, the bulls have it so much better than the riders do.  No pressure for them.  They don't care if they make the Finals.  They don't even know what the Finals are.  Probably they'd just as soon go home and eat grass.  

And speaking of Whiskey's Rebel

Oh man!  They've haloed him!  Yep, the big guy who almost made it over the top of the chute two weeks ago is wearing a ring around his horns.  This bull has a really interesting face and from a purely aesthetic point of view, the halo must go.  I vote no halo, and I am prepared to occupy Las Vegas.

Click here to get Rank by email.

Columbus by the Numbers

Top five, event average:

Silvano Alves
Ben Jones
J.B. Mauney
Robson Palermo
Cord McCoy

90 + rides:  0

89+ rides:  0

88 + rides:  4

46+ bulls:  1 (Smackdown)

45+ bulls: 1  (Bring It)

44+ bulls:  7  (See Bulls and Bloodlines for the list)

Number of riders with 4 rides:  1

Number of riders with 3 rides:  2

Number of riders with 2 rides:  6

Number of riders with 1 ride:  10

Number of riders with 0 rides:  21

Number of riders going into the first short go with zero rides:  1

Number of riders going into the Championship Round with only one prior ride:  5

Number of riders placing in top 10 of the event with only one ride:  3

Number of times I cringed over Robson Palermo's shoulder: Every time he got off a bull, and that would be four times. He's having surgery two days after the Finals end, and the a fact that he is riding at all gives me vicarious pain.

Number of times the term "bubble bulls" was used:  Oh God, it must have been 20.

Most money won:  $35,970

Riders winning no money:  21

Number of bulls that used to be called something else:  I have given up on this. I used to be able to keep track by brand numbers, but the explosion in name changes (from sponsorships) now makes it nearly impossible.

Number of bulls with sponsorship names:  8

Number of bulls with names they'd get beat up for if they were in seventh grade:  I am leaving this one up to you this week.  Email me with your picks!  (Email address is in the left column.)

Number of the week:  0  (The number of events left until the World Finals in Vegas.)

Other number of the week:  5,500 (The number of points up for grabs at the World Finals.)

Hartford by the Numbers

Top five, event average

Fabiano Vieira

Douglas Duncan

Kody Lostroh

LJ Jenkins

Mike Lee

90 + rides:  2 (Duncan on Chocolate Thunder - 90.75 - Vieira on Who Dat - 90)

89+ rides:  0

88 + rides:  1

46 + bulls:  1 (King Lopez)

45+ bulls: 3 

44+ bulls:  10

Number of bull scores under 40:  9

Reride options:  9

Total number of rides (out of 140):  49

Number of riders with 5 rides:  1

Number of riders with 4 rides:  1

Number of riders with 3 rides:  3

Number of riders with 2 rides:  6

Number of riders with 1 ride:  19

Number of riders with 0 rides:  10

Number of riders going into Championship Round with only one prior ride:  0

Number of riders placing in top 10 of the event with only one ride:  0

Most money won:  $39,985

Riders winning no money:  10

Number of bulls that used to be called something else:  1

Number of bulls with sponsorship names:  9

Number of those bulls belonging to Jeff Robinson: 7

Bulls and Bloodlines: Hartford

46+ bulls:

540 King Lopez (K-C/Sparklin Acres) - Championship Round

45+ bulls:

540 King Lopez (K-C/Sparklin Acres) - Round Four

L37 YoYo - 45 (Cornwell)

44+ bulls

415 Cool Spot - 44.75 (K-C/Folds/Strickland) - Round Three
73 Buck Wild - 44.50 (C'N Stars) 

5 Chocolate Thunder 44.50 (Bird)

7473 Trickster - 44.25 (Teague) 

694 Dark Shadow - 44.25 (Wolf Creek) 

415 Cool Spot - 44.25 (K-C/Folds/Strickland) - Championship 

521 Who Dat - 44 (K-C) - Round Three

521 Who Dat - 44 (K-C) - Championship Round

20 Haunted Hotel - 44 (5G Farms)

7312 Whitewater Trouble - 44 (Teague)

Pedigree facts for a few of the high-scoring bulls:

415 Cool Spot is a Harley son (Pole Cat grandson) out of a Broke Back V daughter. (K-C/Folds/Strickland)

L37 YoYo is a Raspberry Wine grandson on the sire side. (Cornwell)

694 Dark Shadow is a Hobo son (Spook/CP1) out of a White Sports Coat daughter.  (Wolf Creek)

7473 Trickster's sire - LH124 - is a Trick or Treat son out of a Gunslinger daughter.  Trickster's dam is TBB 526, Kish breeding. (Teague)

373 Hard Times is a Chaos son (WSC/Houdini daughter) out of a Rafter 7R cow (Spook/CP1). (Currey Creek)

7312 Whitewater Trouble is a Whitewater grandson.  (Teague)

73 Buck Wild is a Black Pearl son out of PH422 (a Bad Bob daughter). [Thanks to the commenter who sent this.]

As usual, if there are any lineage errors just let me know.

Bull of the weekend:

With the two highest bull scores of the weekend, it's King Lopez.

Stock contractor of the weekend:

With 6 out of the 13 top bull scores of the weekend, it's K-C.

Opinion: Points vs. Money

The PBR standings are determined by points.  In each event riders get the points they score in their rides, in addition to bonus points awarded for winning a round, or a night, or an event, placing second or third, and so on.  In the current world standings, which includes 71 riders, the points range from 11,869.50 (Silvano Alves) on down to79.50 (Marco Eguche).  Never heard of Eguche?  Me neither.

You've probably heard of Paolo Crimber (84.25), Josh Koschel (583), and Cord McCoy (690.25), though.

So there we go along, happily adding points and advancing in the standings (or not) and then - whammo - here come the World Finals and everything changes.

Suddenly it's no longer how many points you have.  It's about how much money you have won, because the top forty money-winners get to go to the World Finals.  The rest don't.

Now in most cases, while money and points don't correlate exactly, it comes pretty close.  Luke Snyder is the top money-winner with $283,419, but he is only 10th in the standings.  He won the Last Cowboy Standing, so he's up there.  The top three riders in points are the next three after Luke in money.

So the race at the top continues to be about points.  The World Champion will be determined by points.  The World Finals winner will be determined by points.

But it gets dicey farther down the line, closer to the cut off for the Finals, where, if you are near the 40-man cut-off line, suddenly the race is definitely about dollars.

For example, Harve Stewart is 43rd in standings but has won $24,090, more than Brendan Clark (34th), Jason O'Hearn (35th), Cody Campbell (37th), Pete Farley (38th), Kasey Hayes (39th), and Elton Cide (40th).

Eight riders who fall below the 40th rank have earned more money than Hayes (39th), including Cord McCoy, who is in 50th position in points but something like 45th in money.

This is how it's done in rodeo, and so it's not a big surprise that it has carried over into the PBR, but from the standpoint of most sports, it makes no sense.

As Ty Murray said yesterday, at this time of year the race at the bottom – to win a position at the Finals – becomes as interesting as the race at the top.

But either have have the race be determined by money or have it be determined by points.  Don't switch from one to the other right when it matters the most.

Coming up tomorrow:  Touring Pro dollars vs. Built Ford Tough dollars

________________________________________________

Click here to learn three ways to stay in touch with Rank!

________________________________________________

PBR Notes: Charlotte

We're in the home stretch now, with only two regular season events left before the Finals.  Here are a few things of note about this weekend's event in Charlotte.

• This was a North Carolina event, chock full of North Carolina bulls from two of the premier stock contractors / breeders in the bull riding world, Jeff Robinson and Tom Teague.  Also in the home state of Jerome Davis, J.B. Mauney, Shane Proctor, Josh Faircloth, and Brian Cantor (and I'm probably missing a few).  That's a nice weekend for a state that is the sole pocket of bull riding gold on the east coast.

• It was one of the two-day events that continue to plague me with the decisions about whether to listen to the event live on the PBR Event Center, or wait to watch it on the broadcast.  I end up doing both, which is not a great way to partake of bull riding, since you already know the results.  "Wait," I tell myself, and then I don't.  

• The east coast bulls were the highlight of the weekend.  I always enjoy seeing new bulls and Teague bulls never disappoint me.  Gypsy Boots (Robinson) and RFD HD (Teague) were standouts among the bulls we don't get to see every weekend.  Hopefully we will see both of them more in the future.  

• With no 90+ point rides, only one 89+ point ride, no 88+ point rides, and all others under 88, it was a little bit lacking in the ride department, which makes for a somewhat dreary bull riding.

• Ben Jones finally removed himself from competition following what appeared to be a episode of unconsciousness after hitting the ground in his first out.  We wish him well and a full recovery.

• With Marchi being out with an injury, Austin Meier has advanced to 4th place in the PBR standings.  With Palermo injured and likely to miss a couple of events, and Meier only a few hundred points behind him, Meier has his chance to move up even further. His riding has started to improve in the past couple of events.  As we saw last year with Renato Nunes, a lot can happen at the end of the season.  I think it's going to be Alves and Oliveira down to the wire, but wouldn't it be nice to have a dark horse to root for?

Scroll down to read Bulls and Bloodlines and Charlotte by the Numbers.

And just a reminder:  If you want to receive Rank by email, sign up in the form in the right column.  It's free and your email is never used for any other purpose.

Be sure to visit Rank's Facebook page and click "like" to become a fan!  (You can also click the "like" button on the Facebook icon in the right column.)

Charlotte by the Numbers

Top five, event average:

Douglas Ferreira
Harve Stewart
Valdiron de Oliveira
Austin Meier
Brendon Clark

90 + rides:  0

89+ rides:  1

88 + rides:  0

45+ bulls: 6  (See Bulls and Bloodlines for the list)

44+ bulls:  5

45+ bulls in the event owned by Jeff Robinson or Tom Teague:  6 (all of them)

44+ bulls in the event owned Jeff Robinson or Tom Teague:  4 out of 5 (Circle T had the other one.)

Number of bull scores under 40:  6

Reride options:  3

Total number of rides (out of 101):  29

Number of riders with 4 rides:  0

Number of riders with 3 rides:  1

Number of riders with 2 rides:  5

Number of riders with 1 ride:  14

Number of riders with 0 rides:  20

Number of riders going into Championship Round with only one prior ride:  4

Number of riders placing in top 10 of the event with only one ride:  6 (7th, 8th, 9th, and a three-way tie for 10th)

Most money won:  $37,015

Riders winning no money:  20

Time Austin Meier spent on Deja Blu:  1.72 seconds, which I'm pretty sure is less than you-know-who spent on him.

Number of Indy circuits I watched waiting for Saturday night's broadcast: Maybe three before I got bored and dizzy.

Number of times I almost wrote Charlottesville instead of Charlotte:  A few.  I once had a bad boyfriend with a good dog in Charlottesville, so it tends to come to mind.

Number of bulls that used to be called something else:  Near as I can tell, 5.  The most prominent of which was Hank, who is now called Blue Emu's After the Pain.

Number of bulls with sponsorship names:  10

Number of bulls with names they'd get beat up for if they were in seventh grade:  1.  This is very subjective and I urge you to send me your votes for this category if you feel I have missed any.  The only bull that might be in trouble this weekend is Poster Boy, but it's marginal.

Bulls & Bloodlines: Charlotte

46+ bulls:

718 Rango 46 (Robinson)

45+ bulls:

6220 RFD HD 45.50 (Teague)
070 Movin' On 45.50 (Robinson)
603 Gypsy Boots 45.25 (Robinson)
404C Gunpowder & Lead 45.25 (Robinson)
603 Gypsy Boots 45 (Robinson)
6258 Bad Medicine 45 (Teague)

44+ bulls

529 Mood Swing 44.75 (Robinson)
924B Tennessee Honey 44.75 (Circle T)
H50 Hank (After the Pain) 44.75 (Robinson)
6220 RFD HD 44.25 (Teague)
156 Get-R-Done 44 (Robinson)
7473 Trickster 44 (Teague)

Broadcast bull talk:

Last week, bull scores up after every ride.  This week, not.  Last week, quite a bit of bull talk.  This week not so much.  Last week, happy.  This week, banging my proverbial head against the proverbial wall.  And we don't want that.

A few high-scoring pedigrees:

718 Rango is a Playboy Skoal son.

6220 RFD HD (previously known as Out of Control) is sired by Night Life (Houdini over MS 0).  The dam is a Kish's Winchester daughter.

7473 Trickster's sire - LH124 - is a Trick or Treat son out of a Gunslinger daughter.  Trickster's dam is TBB 526, Kish breeding.

6258 Bad Medicine's sire is Real Deal.  His dam is a Mr. Juicy daughter.

603 Gypsy Boots (formerly known as Penguin) is a Wilfong bull (BW 72/2 over BW 341).  Grandsire on both sides is Wilfong's The Darkness.  The granddam is a Broke Back V daughter.

[As usual, if there are any lineage errors just let me know.]

Bulls I liked:

I'm going with a few that caught my eye:  Rango, Gypsy Boots, and RFD HD.

Gypsy Boots also gets the best-name-of-the-week award.

RFD HD gets the "coolest-looking-bull" title.  Black bull with a big hump and one horn, and then the bottom half of him looks like he was dipped in cream.

Very Strange Looking Bull Award


He's 961, either Southern Wine or Charmayne's Wine, depending on where you look.  He's a black-and-white speckled, orange-headed muley.  It's the orange head that does it, but he can't help it.

Click here to read more about the Charlotte event.

Commentary and Controversy

Coming tonight from Rank:   Live commentary on Rank's Facebook page! I will be watching the event on Versus, commenting on Facebook, and hopefully you will be commenting back.

The idea is to have a conversation about what is going on as it is going on.

You have to have a Facebook page and I think you might have to"like" Rank's page in order to comment.

Night One Summary:

High rider scores:

Douglas Ferreira 89
Harve Stewart 87.50
Jared Farley 87
Brendon Clark 87
Valdiron de Oliveira 86.75
Josh Koschel 87.75

High bull scores (44+):

603 Gypsy Boots (Robinson) 45

6220 RFD HD (Teague) 44.25

7473 Trickster (Teague) 44