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.