Fresno Event in the Books

When the lights grew dim, and the cowboys started towards Sacramento for their second event of the weekend, Kody Lostroh headed out still in the lead for the world title race, and with his first event win in his pocket. He covered Little Bighorn for 88.75. That gave him the top spot going into the championship go round. Which with the new draw system update which allows the riders to pick their bulls for every championship round at all the events, not just the three day meets. In normal Kody style, he picked a rank, powerful, high scoring bull in Julio Moreno Bucking Bulls famous bucker Troubadour. Troubadour's average bull score is 46.53 out of a possible fifty. And his average ride score, for the 4 times the brave souls who took him on have stayed up, is 94.31. Not to mention, Kody had already covered Troubadour for a 93.50 in Portland Oregon last year. Kody's successful ride for a 94.50 was enough to win him the event over Brazil's Renato Nunes.

Nunes covered his first bull (Benedict) for second place and his second (Little Bo) for third. That grabbed him enough points to rack up a second place finish over Matt Bohon.

For more results, head on over to the PBR website.

Injuries reported for the event were Mike White. He suffered a jaw laceration which required stitching and has a possible jaw fracture. He is listed as questionable for Sacramento tonight.

To Nevada We Go...

The 2007 Built Ford Tough Series is rapidly drawing to a close. With just six regular events left in the season, the cowboys are quickly pulling up to the World Finals in Las Vegas (Oct 26-28, Nov 1-4). This weekend is the Reno Classic. A three day event, it will feature three long rounds, and one championship round. Sadly absent will be our world leader, Justin McBride, whose injuries from the Chihuahua Challenge will keep him out for a few more weeks. That leaves room for JB Mauney, who has been trailing McBride for a few months now, to pick up some more ground on the 2005 World Champion. Round one will find Mauney squaring off against Big Mack a Red Brahman- Katich cross from Chad Berger and Clay Struve. The big red bull isn't likely to give him a go round win, as his average ride score is only 82.5, but if Mauney can stay atop him for the eight, and put together a few other rides, he should have a decent shot at a top 5. One downer for Mauney will be that his number two bull for the weekend, H&H Bucking Bulls' Life's Good, is a brand new bucker for the PBR's BFTS, making it hard to know what kind of action he will show us.

Chihuahua Challange winner Guilherme Marchi, and our current world number three, is also looking to gain some ground on McBride. He's drawn Chug-A-Lug from Chad and Lacey Berger for round one. This bull's only had two previous outs, both of which were unsuccessful, back in the 2006 season. Marchi has been riding really well the past few events, and it will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on the momentum he gained with his win in Mexico. His second draw is much like Mauney's, another rookie bull. This time from Steve Holbrock, a 2004 bull called SH-314.

One ride I am really looking forward to watching is Kody Lostroh aboard Kaycee Simpson's superstar Red Alert. Lostroh drew him back in Laughlin 2005, and stuck him for a 90.00. The big bull has been ridden 17 times now, and has an average score of just shy of 88.00. If Lostroh can stay aboard again with similar results this could prove to be our go-round win.

Another exciting draw is Cord McCoy aboard Spiderman from Chad Berger and Larry Ryken. Eight riders have taken a shot at this bull, and all eight have eaten dust with unsuccessful trips. I'm looking forward to seeing if McCoy, who seems to be staying up on at least one bull a weekend, can put together a multiple ride weekend, and make up some ground on the leaders.

Two Weeks and No BFTS

Our favorite cowboys from the PBR have two weekends off from the BFTS events, with the next one May 19th. There are quite a few guys who are probably going to be thankful for the break. A lot of them are seeing the strain of several months of solid events, with bumps, bruises, and just plain sore muscles.

On a good note, it seems that Lee Akin is progressing well from his crushed skull. You can read more on the PBR's home page. I am real glad for him and his family that he seems to be doing so well.

McBride Wins Again

For the second weekend in a row, Justin McBride topped the leader board. He covered three of his four bulls for the event title, and has extended his lead out even further over JB Mauney. Head over to www.pbrnow.com for more about the Cabela's Classic Event.

On a sadder note, the 32 year old cowboy, Lee Akin, has been severly injured by a bucking bull. His skull was crushed when the bull landed on his head. He has severe brain damage, is currently in an induced coma, and has already undergone more than two surgeries trying to repair all the damage done to him. Again go to the PBR's home page for a link to wish this tough cowboy and his family the best in this trying time.

Ross Coleman Going to Be Okay!!!

I just got done checking out Ross's website. They've put up an update saying that he did suffer a concussion and broken cheek bone thanks to Cadillac Man, but he will be okay and won't require surgery. He's gonna be sitting out about a month or so, but will still be in Tacoma, WA for the event to sign autographs. Let's all hope that his face will heal up as well as the doctor is predicting, and that we won't be without the big Oregon cowboy for any longer than necessary.

JB Mauney wins in MSG

One of the youngest cowboys in the PBR beat out all of the veterans to come from behind and take the event title. Last year's top rookie, JB Mauney from North Carolina, sort of snuck in from behind to take the event title. Three time and reigning World Champion Adriano Moraes won two go rounds and ended up placing in the top ten. I will post more later, but I am having difficulties with the PBR's website. I keep getting a 'content error' message every time I try to load the draw/results page. I can say that my favorite cowboy, Cord McCoy came off all three of his long go bulls. But there is always next week. Go get em Cord.

Injuries also abounded at this event. Brian Canter got his head stepped on in the first go round, but was able to ride again later. I believe it was Shane Proctor (don't quote me on that though) who got his abdomin stepped on pretty hard in that same round just a few minutes after Canter was hurt, he also came back to ride later. Ross Coleman will be out of an indetermined length of time after seriously injuring his left shoulder. The PBR's injury page said he is very unlikely for next week's event in Massachussetts. And then there is Tennessee's cowboy Cory Rasch. Rasch got bucked off in the third go round back up next to the chute. The bull turned back on him, and by passing the bull fighters, pinned him on the chute post, working him over pretty badly. Poor Cory ended up with a laceration to his liver, and will be out for three to six months. This poor cowboy seems to always end up getting badly hurt at the start of the season. Last year he also ended up sitting out for several months after a bull stomped hard on his head. Hopefully all the boys who were injured badly enough to require some down time will be able to get healed up quickly and come back to tour very shortly.

Let's Kick Off The 2007 Built Ford Tough Series With a Bang

The PBR’s Built Ford Tough Series has been on a bit of a hiatus for the last few months, since the completion of the World Finals, where Adriano Moraes shocked the bull riding community and captured his third World Title. Finally, it is time for the BFTS 2007 race for the championship to kick off. The first event is this weekend, down in New York, NY at Madison Square Garden. The draws have been posted for long go-rounds one and two, and the lineup of bull power is impressive. The world’s best riders are going to pit themselves against some of the best bulls in the business, in one of the worlds most famous and prestigious arenas. Adriano has pulled Evil Forces from Doug Joseph Bucking Bulls in round one and Red Jacket from Berger/ Daniels Bucking Bulls in round two. Evil Forces has been out 17 times in his career with four career rides, one for 91.5 by none other than Adriano last year in Nampa, ID. Red Jacket has been out a few more times than Evil Forces (a total of 41 recorded trips), and while Adriano hasn’t drawn him before, his fellow countryman Guilherme Marchi has put up quite a few successful rides ab oard the large red bull. After last season’s upset that took the world champion buckle from Marchi, he is going to really be wanting to make successful rides in hopes of putting himself back in the top position for another shot at the title. For round one Marchi has drawn the Page and Teague bull Time Machine, who bucked of Helton Barbosa back in round two of the World Finals. Round two will see Marchi taking on Berger Bucking Bulls star, Carmel Corn. Carmel Corn has been ridden 14 out of his 26 trips, with an average score of just over 82. Hopefully, Marchi will be able to put together a good pair of rides and do well this weekend.

One rider who I am thrilled to see back on tour is Kansas cowboy Dusty LaBeth. Dusty suffered a season ending broken femur last season and is just now returning to the tour. He’s going to be facing off with the Davis/Wilson/Happy-H Bucking Bulls’ Rainman. Rainman is brand new to the Built Ford Tough Series, and it will be interesting to see how he performs in this new atmosphere. Hopefully for Dusty he won’t be too shook up by the lights and sounds. Dusty has also drawn the John and Lacey Berger bull Lucky, who has been topped just 2 out of 11 outs.

Another guy returning from injury is Brian Herman. He’ll take on Page and Teague bull Jammin in round one and Bad Company’s Lowie Lowie in round two. Glad to have him back and ridding.

Last year's top rookie, J.B. Mauney, has drawn Copperhead Slinger (Chad Berger, Larry Ryken, and Carson Larson) in round one, and Berger Bucking Bulls Grandpa Joe. Grandpa Joe has had just one previous out, back in Columbus last year, where he was ridden by Luke Snyder for 82.3 points. With J.B.'s career riding percentage at just over 43, he should be able to put up successful rides on both bulls, and have a really good shot at getting into the short go.

My favorite cowboy, Cord McCoy, has got a pair of interesting bulls. Round one will see him pulling his rope tight on Satan’s Own from Bad Company Rodeo Co. Inc. (man, say THAT five times fast), while round two will pit him against the relatively new bull Droopy from Davis/Wilson. Droopy has had just one out in his career, way back in Reading PA, where Robson Palermo covered him for 85.5 points. Satan’s Own is another story. He’s been out 15 times, for eight career rides. Satan’s Own has been covered the last four times he was out, so hopefully this will give Cord a leg up so to speak, and he will be successful in putting a score on the board.

Two riders who will be sadly missing for a bit are Louisiana’s Chris Shivers, and Texico New Mexico’s LJ Jenkins. Chris will be sidelined for a few more months with a broken leg sustained while the PBR was down in Hawaii. LJ will be sitting out for about two months with a injury he sustained to his shoulder that required surgery. I really feel bad for LJ. He seems to be a bit injury plagued. Hopefully they will both be back soon.

I’ll post more about the NY, NY draws tomorrow. The rodeo will actually kick off Saturday and will be shown on VS at 7:30 ET.

DUSTY LABETH IS BACK!!!

Following months of recovery as a result of his injury sustained in New Mexico aboard Crooked Tooth, Kansas cowboy Dusty LaBeth has been released by his doctor to ride bulls again according to his website. He is apparently at fellow cowboy Matt Bohon's home getting on some practice bulls to get back into shape and shake all the rust that has probably accumulated from his forced inactivity. Welcome back Dusty, you have been missed!