Brazilian Riders and PED

A quick comment by J.W. Hart in response to questions that he has apparently been getting regarding Guillerme Marchi got my attention, and I wanted to discuss it here. J-Dub indicated that some PBR fans think that he is having his wrist shot up with steroids. I don't know what they are shooting Marchi up with, but this happens in every sport. I would venture to guess that 75% of the NFL athletes that suit up on Sundays get a shot in some part of their body to numb pain. This is no different than any of them.

I have no information, or reason to believe that any of the Brazilians are using steroids for injuries or for performance reasons. I think that it is probably a non-issue, long term. I do think that the negativity toward the Brazilians and the idea that they are doing something illegal to compete on the BFTS points to a bigger issue. I don't think that it is any secret that there are lots of PBR circles that aren't fans of the Brazilian riders for whatever reason. While I support the Brazilians, I do think that there are some bullriding cultural issues/norms that irritate "purists". I know there are several habits that irritate me.

Trust me, none of my reasons have anything to do with the fact that they aren't American, cause there are plenty of Americans that drive me nuts. It also doesn't have anything to do with the fact that they don't speak our language, have dark skin, etc. It does have to do with how they go about things relating to the sport, a lot of which I feel are a result of growing up in a different culture of bull riding.

I do think that some of them are starting to change their ways and are growing on me, but it is taking time. Renato and Valdiron, especially have started to do things the right way this season, but they fall back into the old Brazilian tricks from time to time.

1) Get out of the chute already!

This is something that absolutely drives me insane. Marchi is the worst, and some of the others follow his lead. Robson and Valdiron fall into the trap, although Valdiron has been much better this year. I have been happy to see Renato improving in this area, and the newcomer Silvano not falling into this act.

When Marchi is in the chute, I know that I can get a drink, grab a snack, or head to the restroom and I won't miss a thing. He soaps up his bulls and wears them out in the shoot, and it is obnoxious.

2) Take it easy on the Bull!

All of the Brazilians are guilty of this. They all cut their bulls in half.

Watch how many of their bulls lay down in the chute. This is a direct result of pulling the bull rope too tight and putting excess pressure on the bulls midsection. Bulls, horses, etc. all move toward pressure, so when the bull feels uncomfortable pressure on his stomach, his first reaction is to lay down. This is why is is so amusing to see the cowboys try to push the bulls in the chutes with their boots. The bull is naturally going to push back against the pressure, the complete opposite of the desired reaction.

There has been so much talk of Guillerme being so consistent, but in my opinion, part of the reason that he is so consistent is a result of the two items above. His bulls don't buck nearly as hard after he has been on them for twenty minutes in the chute and then cut them in half with his rope. Robson and Valdiron do the same thing when they have to get on really tough bulls that don't fit them very well.

This is probably a cultural norm in Brazil, but it is against what most would consider the "American" way of bull riding, which irritates some traditional bull riding fans.

3) Stop screaming in the camera!

This one is all for Marchi. Lots of bull riders celebrate in the arena. McConnel does his surf/dance, McKennon shadow boxes, and Ben Jones, well, I am not sure what you call it, but he celebrates. However, Marchi pointing and screaming in the camera drive me insane. This may be where the steroid argument comes from, because he seems so laid back between round, behind the chute, etc. and then he can't stop looking around for a camera and screaming when he makes a good ride.

Here's hoping that they continue to adjust to the bull riding culture in the U.S. and that we see less and less of these issues.

May Power Rankings

As we start our long summer break (more of my thoughts on this in a future post), I wanted to provide my opnion on the Power Rankings at this point in the season. When we get to Tulsa it won't really matter how the guys were doing in late April and early May, but let's see where we are.

Riders

1. Renato Nunes: After two consecutive months at number two, Renato finally takes over my number one spot. Other than a tough weekend in Wichita, he finished in the top five in every event in the last month, along with one event win, two round wins, and three more 90 point rides. He has a chance to set a PBR record for most 90 point rides in a season, and I wouldn't bet against him, at this point. He has been dynamic, consistant, and just flat dominant over the last three months. If Austin Meier wasn't there to keep him from winning two events, he might have run away with the 2010 race already. If he stays focused and healthy, it is going to take all that Meier, Briscoe, Mauney, and Marchi have to catch him.

2. Austin Meier: It is incredible how far Austin has come in just a year. He has three event wins in 2010 and has really come out of his shell in regards to his personality. It is fun to watch him become a star. Although he dropped from the #1 spot that he held in April, it wasn't due as much to his riding as how well Renato has been competing. Austin had an event win at Wichita, a top 5 at Des Moines, and a disappointing, but respectable, 12th place finish at Pueblo. He also picked up two more 90 point rides for his resume.

3. McKennon Wimberly: Who knows where McKennon would be if he hadn't gotten hurt earlier this spring. He is really becoming a consistant rider, and if he can ride Yellow Jacket Jr. for 8.2 seconds, instead of 8.0 he is going to be a real factor in the world title race. He has improved his finish in each of the last four events as he was 18th in Nampa, 10th in Des Moines, 5th in Wichita, and 4th in Pueblo. If not for an unnecessary review in Pueblo he could have finished 2nd and added another 90 point to his credit. That ride may just be the fuel that pushes him into the fall and a chance to win the world.

4. Skeeter Kingsolver: Skeeter seems to have regained his early 2009 form. I feel like he really lost focus toward the end of last year, and into this season. Whether that was due to some of the factors that we saw on "Posse" last year (agents, sponsors, etc.), I don't know, but it seemed to affect him until the last month or so. Four straight top 20 performances, including two top tens (one of which was a top 5 finish) prove that. He has also notched two round wins and a 90 pointer on Super Duty in Des Moines.

5. Guillermi Marchi: This was tough. He and Jody Newberry have basically the same exact statistics over the last month. In this case, I will go with the former world champions resume to decide who makes the fifth spot in my list. Guillerme also had a 2nd place finish in Wichita with a round win and a 90 point ride, all in one weekend, to help his cause.

6. Jody Newberry
7. Valdiron De Oiviera
8. Travis Briscoe
9. Mike Lee
10. Robson Palermo

Honorable Mention: Stormy Wing, Harve Stewart, Silvano Alves, Ryan McConnel

Bulls

1. Chicken on a Chain: I don't know if Chicken can take full credit for his number one ranking this month. Renato has really helped him out by staying on for two big scores, one of which resulted in a round and event win for the top bull rider in my power rankings. Chicken put up three 45 point outs in the last month, and no bull seems to enjoy his job more than the great Chicken on a Chain. He may not have another world championship in him, but he is a lot of fun to watch.

2. Voodoo Child: He drops from the number one spot for the first time this year, and hasn't seemed as dynamic since L.J. Jenkins rode him in Glendale. He continues to be the favorite for 2010 Bucking Bull of the Year in the PBR, but he is going to have his hands full.

3. Major Payne: At this point he is definitely an eliminator type bull, but it is hard to ignore the scores he is putting up. He added two more 46's and a 45 in the last four events, and seems to be the high marked bull every time he is in the arena.

4. Real Moody: Three 45's in a row (Des Moines, Wichita, Pueblo short go's) put this bull into the top 5 of my rankings. Hope we get to see more of him as the year progresses.

5. Paycheck: This bull makes the top 5 based on one out. That probably won't happen very often in these rankings, but what an out it was. Briscoe covered him in an unforgettable 93.5 ride in the Nampa short round to win the event. It was his only out of the last month, but it was a 46 point effort that was worthy of this list.

6. Yellow Jacket Jr.
7. Soulja Boy
8. Super Duty
9. Spit Fire
10. Carrillo Cartel

Where have you gone?: Code Blue and Bones.

Wichita Controversy

Well it seems that the drama continues on the Built Ford Tough Series. Whether it is questionable re-rides, bad judging, World Cup rosters, or just the mention of J.B. Mauney's name, it seems to be a constant part of the tour in 2010. Wichita was no exception. The controversy about whether Travis Briscoe should have ridden in the short go is the topic of the week.

Travis has to come out and make his ride in that situation. Period. First, he missed out on the opportunity to pick up some valuable points that may impact who walks away with the million dollars at the end of the World Finals in Vegas. Second, he allowed the number one bull rider in the world (at the time) to have a chance to do exactly what Travis needed to do.

I know that lots of PBR fans will argue that Travis did the "smart" thing and that he was "taking care of himself, long term", but you don't win world championships by being smart. Kody Lostroh proved that last year, and now is a World Champion. Obviously, he is paying for it this year, but he has his gold buckle and nobody can ever take that away from him.

That buckle has to be worth way more than a bad knee, if you are going to win one. If Travis was dealing with an injury that was going to threaten his long term health any more so than he does on a weekly basis, just by getting on the back of a 3,000 pound animal does, then my opinion would be different. It's not, it's a knee injury, not a heart attack, stroke, etc. Get it taped up and COWBOY UP.

April Power Rankings

Since we have reached the halfway point of the season and with most of the guys having a week off, I thought that it would be a good time for April Power Rankings.

This installment will cover the events in Fresno, Albequerque, New Orleans, and Nampa.

Here are my current power rankings.

Riders:

1) Ryan McConnell - Apparently, if Ryan has his priorities straight, he should be the most consistent and dominant rider on the tour. He has looked insanely tough to get on the ground in the last month. He has run off four straight Top 5 finishes, and has one round win and one 90 point ride.

2) Renato Nunes - This was tough. Renato was so dominant in Fresno that it was tough not to put him at #1 just due to that one event. However, since then he has placed 8th at Albequerque, went 0-Nola, and then was 8th again at Nampa. I decided that McConnel's run of top 5 finishes was more impressive than Nunes' run of five straight 90's (only four of which were in the events I was counting in this ranking). The two round wins, one event win, and four 90 point rides are pretty hard to ignore, but Renato will have to settle for #2 for the second time in a row.


3) Guillerme Marchi - Guillerme is looking like himself again after his meltdown at the '09 Finals. Even with the bum wrist, he is remarkably consistent, and looks like he can ride anything they run in under him. Two top five finishes in the last month as well as 2 out of 4 rides in the short round push him ahead of Austin Meier and Mike Lee for third.

4) Austin Meier - The number one rider in the world standings didn't have his best month, but he has managed to ascend to the #1 spot and stay there for a few weeks, which is saying something this year. He has been hot and cold for the last month, and if he can be a little more consistent, he could spend the rest of the year higher in the power rankings than this. The weekend he had at Ty's event in Albuquerque was impressive. Two round wins, one 90 point ride, and, of course, the event win will help anyone's power ranking, but two Oh for the weekend events at Fresno and New Orleans kept him from being higher. He looked strong again in Nampa, continues to stay healthy, and I think Austin has to be one of the two or three best bets to have a new Jeffrey Scott buckle come November.

5) Mike Lee - Lee is back to riding the way PBR fans are accustomed. If he can stay healthy, he will be a factor in the world championship race. Top 10 finishes at Fresno, New Orleans, and Nampa show that his consistency is back, and his 90 point ride on Soulja Boy was impressive, but he needs to improve on his 1-3 short round performance if he wants to stay in my rankings.


Bulls

1) Voodoo Child - Not sure if this takes any explanation. He has had a huge year, and continued it this month with another 46 point out in Albuquerque. The gap between Voodoo and the rest of the field has narrowed, because we have only seen him once in the last month, but he is still the toughest their is in the game.

2) Code Blue- One bad out in a bad situation in a bad venue, and everyone wanted to bury the reigning champ. Then he shows up in New Mexico, throws up a 46.75 and follows it up with a 45.5 in NOLA. Like I have mentioned, I am not a huge fan of "eliminator" bulls, but I think that this one can be ridden for big points. He doesn't belly roll, he just has a different trip every time, which makes riding him very tough.

3) Braveheart- I am not usually going to put a bull this high in my rankings based on such a small sample, but wow. He got my attention in Anaheim with a 45.5 and then blew up in Fresno for a 47. Crazy bull numbers. He will be bucking in Vegas this weekend, so I can't wait to see how he follows that one up.

4) Chicken on a Chain - Chicken continues to be one of the best we have ever seen. Two 45+ outs in the last four weeks, and carrying Ross Coleman to a short round win in Fresno prove that.

5) Big Tex - Two 45+ outs show that Big Tex is still one of the toughest bulls around. He hasn't blown up for a huge score lately, but I feel one coming on.


Honorable Mention - Black Pearl, Super Duty, Yellow Jacket Jr., Smackdown, White Magic - It was really tough to leave any of these bulls off the list, much less all of them. Black Pearl continues to win cowboys lots of money, while Yellow Jacket Jr., and Super Duty have future star written all over them. White Magic has been around forever, but deserves mention for a very good month.

March Power Rankings

March Power Rankings:

Some of you might remember someone on www.pbr.com promising monthly power rankings. Well, that hasn't exactly happened, so I present the March power rankings, as I see it. I will try to do this once a month, but I have two kids and work full time (not writing for the PBR), so I can't make any promises.

This installment will consist of the three events we have had since the Iron Cowboy (A.I.C.). I will not take into account the Iron Cowboy Invitational, or any BFTS events before then, but I will take into account issues (injuries), or any other factor that may affect a rider going forward (That includes pressure Mr. Jordan Hupp). That is why you won't see Valdiron or Kody on this list, and also contributed to J.B. dropping out, as I think his elbow is hurt worse than we know.

In addition, I am going to judge the bulls differently that www.pbr.com. I enjoy the occasional eliminator, but I am going to give credit to the rank bulls who help put money in cowboys wallets, while still being as rank as the come. Also, when I judge the bulls, I will not consider any bull that hasn't been out in the time period that we are speaking of (Sorry Code Blue, Bones, etc.).

With that said, here are my current power rankings.

Riders:

1) Jody Newberry - I don't think it needs to be mentioned much more, what a great comeback this is. He is 7-10 A.I.C., has one 90 point ride, and an event win under his belt. He looks strong, healthy, and now, has a chip on his shoulder after J.W. snubbed him for the initial World Cup roster.

2) Renato Nunes - Did someone say World Cup snub. Adriano was a better bull rider than he is organizer of talent, cause this kid is on fire. He is only 5-10 A.I.C., but he has two round wins, and two ninety point rides in the last three events. He has a 3rd and 7th place finishes, and was a nasty out on Perfect Poison from making all three short go's.

3) L.J. Jenkins - Wow, what a show he put on in Glendale. He destroyed all misconceptions about picking "rideable" bulls in the short go draft. He is 5 for his last 9, with a round win, event win and a 94 point ride. Granted, they were all due to one ride on Voodoo Child, but it was that good of a ride. The confidence gained should catapult L.J. in the next few events.

4) Austin Meier - It seems that Austin is pressing a little since Bad Boy Mowers put their logo all over his gear, but he still had a pretty good run A.I.C. He is 5-9 with one event win, one round win, and one 90 point ride thanks to Carrillo Cartel. That is all Gilbert's bull has been doing though is putting money in guy's pockets. More on that later.

4) Ben Jones - The crazy dancing, no teeth having, Australian managed to fight his way into the power rankings in the matter of two rounds in Kansas City. He went back to back 90's on Kabookie and RFD-TV to sneak his way in. He has been 4-10 since Arlington with only one round win, but it was enough due to the injuries to Valdiron, Kody, and Marchi (although Guillherme is coming on strong).

Bulls

1) Voodoo Child - Do I need to even explain. He is as rank as they come without being an eliminator. He bucks hard and spins hard every time, but if you really bring it, he can get you a once-in-a-lifetime score. Just ask L.J. Jenkins. Since the Iron Cowboy, he has two outs, and both were over a 46 bull score. Game Over.

2) Black Pearl - I was beginning to have my doubts about this bull in Arlington, but when I went back and watched the Touring Pro event in San Antonio, and then saw him put up a 46 in St. Louis, that was put to rest. He is a monster, and if anybody can stay on him at the BFTS level, he is going to bring a mid 90's score like he did for McKennon in San Antonio.

3) Carrillo Cartel - What a two week stretch for Gilbert Carrillo's #1 bull. He carried two straight Bull riders to event wins, and threw in a round win for Renato Nunes in the process. This bull continues to buck harder and harder and spin faster and faster. I don't know how much better he can be, but he is pretty darn good right now.

4) Chicken on a Chain - Still going strong after all these years. He put up two 45 point outs in the last three events and carried Dustin Elliot to a 92 in Glendale, only to have Dustin get trumped by L.J.'s 94 point masterpiece on Voodoo.

5) Spit Fire - Like I said, I am not too big on eliminators and this bull has had that reputation. However, he is starting to get a little more predictable, and I think someone might decide that they are going to keep going at him until they beat him, a la L.J. He put up a 45+ and a 46 bull score in his two outs since Arlington, so he is plenty worthy of a top 5 power ranking.

Iron Cowboy - Part 3

What needs to change and how I would do it



Besides the obvious things from my Part 1 post (start time, concert, etc.), there two aspects that I would like to discuss in more detail. One is the reride situation, and the other is the format of the event itself.


First, re-rides and replays have to be part of the competition. There is a reason for both during the regular events and there is a reason for it in this format, as well. Have a pen of the best ABBI bulls as the re-rides. Start promoting the younger bulls on a big stage.

Second, the format needs to be tweaked. Twenty four riders was too many, in my opinion. There was a lot of discusssion about the fact that all forty should have been invited, but I disagree. I think that this event needs to be version of other sports all-star games, the best of the best.

Let's move this event to the start of the second half (after the summer break) and narrow it down to the Top 15 from the first half of the season. The 16th spot will be filled after the top 4 Touring Pro riders go head to head at the beginning of the night. This does two things. Introduce the top young riders to a huge crowd and give them a chance to build an immediate following. Two, it fills time, since there will be fewer out with only the top 16 in the tournament.

Once we have the 16th rider, everyone rides, and similar to the NBA dunk contest, the best 8 scores advance (ties are broken by rider score). This will eliminate the aggravation of Kody Lostroh riding for 88 and going home, while others fall off their bulls and move on (at least for the first round).

Now we are down to eight. Here is where I am torn. Do you start the head to head format at this point, or go one more round with the top 4 scores advancing? Personally, I would rather see the top 4 advance before the head to head is introduced.


Once the final four is in place, there is an intermission (which is where the concert would come in), so that the guys can take an hour break or so, then they ride head to head for the Iron Cowboy buckle.


I am sure that not everyone will agree with this format either, but I think that it addresses some of the issues with the event.


Since it is pretty clear at this point that the "Iron Cowboy" isn't going away, I hope that the PBR can make some adjustments, so that it becomes a great event.


God Bless Cowboys.

Iron Cowboy - Part 2

What parts of the Iron Cowboy should stay in place?

In my opinion, there are some aspects of the Iron Cowboy event that should continue in order to make the event successful.

This event needs to be held in Dallas, and specifically at Cowboys Stadium. That is part of what makes it a spectacle. This is a great area of the country for western lifestyle, while still being an area of growth for the sport. Houston and Dallas are huge markets with lots of money that the PBR needs to tap into. Reliant Stadium would be a good candidate to alternate with Cowboys Stadium if things get stale.

The Iron Cowboy needs to be an elimination type format. Not necessarily a head to head bracket, but the whole idea of the "Iron Cowboy" is that of a survival style event (this doesn't mean that you get to "survive" even though you fell off your bull. I have a couple of ideas to make this the case without seeing a string of buck-offs result in $260,000 being given out for a 4.4 second ride.

It needs to include an "invited" list of bull riders. It is for the best of the best only. I know that there are lots of PBR fans who want to see everyone included, but I think that the only way this event survives, is as an All-Star Game type of event.

Other than these, I am not sure if any of the rest of the event proved itself worthy of being repeated.

I will expand on ways to improve the rest of the event in my next blog post.

God Bless Cowboys.

Iron Cowboy - Part 1

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:

50,000+ : Bull riding fans invade the greatest stadium in the U.S.

Bull Riders of the past: This weekend was a virtual reunion for riders from the 60's to the 90's. All to see someone win more in one night than they did in their whole careers.

Kody Lostroh: riding for 88 points and showing no signs of pain.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium: Even if it isn't the best bullriding venue, it is impressive.

Location: Having the "Super Bowl" of bull riding in Dallas only makes sense.

Iron Cowboy concept: It needs tweaking, but it can work (I'll discuss my ideas later this week).

Production: This was a step up in production level for teh PBR and it went off pretty seamlessly. There were a couple of issues, but it went pretty well for the first time.

Seeing the Bulls: It was great to be able to take pictures of and watch the bulls prior to the event.

The Bad:

Bulls: They didn't buck very well in the wide open arena

Logistics: Brackets were hard to keep up with since they were bucking in different areas. Each bracket needed to have a corner. More on this later this week.

Riders: With the bulls having "off" days, the guys should have ridden more of them. I think that there were a lot of nerves which is backed up by the fact that, for the most part, the older riders outperformed the "Posse".

Gary Allan: Great songs, hard to look at. Just scrap the concert. We were all there to see the PBR.

Start/Finish Time: Should have started at 7pm, at the latest. Getting back to the hotel at midnight was a letdown. I was beat after driving all day, and didn't get to visit with any of the riders, etc. that were staying at the Hilton.

The Ugly:

No Rerides: Don't know who made this decision. Not good at all. When there is that much money on the line, you can't eliminate guys whose bulls fall down, get hooked in the gate, or the riders who don't get the gate opened when they ask.

Traffic: No explanation needed

No replays: Sorry to all of the Brazilian fans, but Marchi slapped one bull before he fell off and fell of another short of his competitor, only to get a long count from the clock. Both would have been overturned, and it might have changed the entire outcome of the evening.

Kody Lostroh: Not getting to see a guy who made one of the best rides of the night, while several guys advanced multiple rounds without making a ride at all.

The Motorcycles: You know what I'm talking about. It was a good thought, but it was awkward and unnecessary.

As you can see from the list, there were more negatives than positives this go around for the "Iron Cowboy", but I really think it can work and be a great event. More on that tomorrow.

God Bless Cowboys.

PBR's "Mauney Rules"

As I write this blog, I know full well that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of folks posting or reading posts on PBR.com (Finally we can get rid of PBRNOW.com)following today's event in Oklahoma City. They are ranting and raving about the alleged bias that is taking place on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series toward none other than J.B. Mauney. The opinions will be as diverse as the fans of the PBR. Some will swear that the PBR is doing everything that they can to help J.B. win, and is going to hell in a handbasket. Those same fans are the ones who think that Ty and Jewel being on the WWE broadcast tomorrow night is a sign of things to come for the PBR. Others will defend J.B. and claim that those who continue to complain, only do so when these things happen to J.B., and not when they happen to Chris Shivers, Mike White, or any other number of "good guys". The fact is that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

You can probably tell from the opening paragraph of this blog where I stand on this, but it wasn't always like this. When I started following the PBR on a weekly basis and really becoming a fanatic, instead of a casual fan, I was not a supporter of J.B. Mauney. I fell into the same crap that a lot of the posters on PBR.com fall into. I didn't like his hair, his goatee, his attitude, etc., etc. I wanted to see Kody whip him every week. However, as I began to watch J.B. during the remainder of the season, I began to respect what he is about, and how he goes about his job. While attending the finals, I was still pulling very hard for Kody Lostroh, but I found myself wanting J.B. to continue his run towards something that noone had done before. When they announced that Kody had held on, I was ecstatic for him and his family, but I had learned to look at J.B. in a different way.

As I watched J.B. and compare him with his counterparts and with other athletes that I have been around, or studied, the same attributes that the "greats" have stand out. He puts in the time, he puts out maximum effort on a more consistent basis than anyone on tour, and he is never afraid to go after the rankest bull in the pen.

These are the things that gain respect in any sport, and especially in the sport of bull riding. J.B. is the epitome of "cowboy" to me. Being a cowboy isn't about starched Wranglers and 20X hats. Any clown can go to Cavender's and buy these the night the rodeo comes to town. It also isn't always about pushing cattle or whispering to horses. The basis of the cowboy attitude is hard work, fierce independence, and more hard work. Yes, we all love the clean cut cowboy with the "awe shucks" attitude, but that stereotype doesn't fit every bull rider. It takes a lot of guts, confidence, and intensity to get on the back of a bull one time, much less 5-6 bulls a week, year after year. Sometimes that confidence comes off the wrong way. Sometimes that intensity leads to fits of rage after failing to reach your objective. Of course, we would all like these guys to handle failure like Cord McCoy, but not everyone is blessed with that type of personality. J.B. has a chip on his shoulder. He has been told that he doesn't have what it takes for a long time, and like any great competitor, he carries that with him. He takes flack for everything from his facial hair to his tobacco use, but regardless of any of that, he stays on the back of bulls, and that is what he gets paid to do. Right now, he is doing it better than anyone in the world, and I, for one, hope he keeps it up.

God Bless Cowboys.