Genuity Classic

The next stop on the list for the Built Ford Tough Series is at #21 is Des Moines, Iowa for the Genuity Classic. The Wells Fargo Arena will play host to the world’s top bull riders and the toughest bulls in the country on May 8-9. The VERSUS network airs the PBR events every Saturday and Sunday evening. Be sure to check www.pbrnow.com for upcoming cities, ticket information, and complete broadcast times.

Worcester Event Title

At stop #20 on the prestigious Built Ford Tough Series, two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers left victorious after totaling 350 points on four bulls and took home the coveted U.S. Air Force Invitational event title. He pocketed a check for $34,746.50 and collected valuable points in the 2009 World Standings. In round one, Shivers took on the bull, Legacy, for 86.25 points. He rode Gappy Joe for 86 points in round two and scored another 86 points in round three after riding Push Baby. Shivers went into the Built Ford Tough Championship Round in first place and chose to ride the bull, Buckeye. He tamed the bull for 91.75 points. Shivers was one of only four men to ride all four of his bulls over the three-day event.

Dancing With the Stars

I'm going to be watching Dancing With the Stars tonight as nine-time World Champion, Ty Murray, and Chelsie Hightower advance to week seven. Last Monday they scored a total of 24 points with their Waltz. They wouldn't share what they have in store for tonight, but Ty did comment on the fact that Chelsie made him get a spray-on tan. Ty Murray said that this is the first time he has ever had a tan. This just shows that he's a team player and he's having fun on Danicing With the Stars. So once again please tune in at 8pm tonight and support Ty Murray.

Bass Pro Shops Shootout

Brian Canter took home the coveted event title after being one of only two men to ride all three of his bulls. He scored a total of 270.25 points and collected a check for $56,022. This win gave Canter back-to-back event titles in Omaha and makes this the third BFTS event he has won in 2009. He added valuable points to his 2009 BFTS standings, moving him into the top ten in the world.

Canter took on top-rated bull of round one, Crosswired, for 93 points, earning a first place finish. He followed that up with a sixth place finish in round two after earning an 85.75 point ride on, Coyote Cat. He entered the Built Ford Tough Championship Round in first place with a total of 178.75 points and chose to take on the bull, Jaeger, in the PBR Bull Draft. Canter rode the top animal athlete for 91.5 points, not only splitting first and second place in the round, but locking up the coveted Bass Pro Shops Shootout event title.

PBR and Bass Pro Shop Team Up

On April 9, 2009 in PUEBLO, Colorado the PBR proudly announced an exciting new partnership with Bass Pro Shops, the #1 outdoor retailer in America. Bass Pro Shops and PBR are a perfect fit. Their customers and fans are outdoor enthusiasts who share many of the same interests. A lot of the bull riders are in a boat or in a treestand enjoying the outdoors when they’re not on the back of a bull. The PBR’s fan base are folks who love the outdoors.
To kick-off the new partnership, Bass Pro Shops sponsored the 19th stop of the prestigious Built Ford Tough Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The Bass Pro Shops Shootout was presented by Tracker Boats and took place on April 24-25 at the Qwest Center. The Bass Pro Shops store in Council Bluffs also hosted the PBR Fan Zone and Meet & Greet with the top 40 riders in the world on Saturday, April 25. PBR and Bass Pro Shops will work hand in hand throughout the year on integrated marketing events at all Bass Prop Shops stores. Special activities, ticket promotions, and other benefits to both PBR fans and Bass Pro Shops customers are being planned nationwide.

About the PBR

More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, ESPN, VERSUS, and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 500 hours of prime time programming annually, PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over 1.7 million live event attendees each year with it multi-tiered event structure which includes the prestigious Built Ford Tough Series, the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, designed specifically for entry level contestants. The PBR is headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., with additional offices in Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. The PBR prides itself in its 1,000 plus stock contractor relationships and over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in five countries.

Tribute to the Bulls of the PBR

What would a PBR event be without the main attraction? That’s right, the bulls! People don’t go to these events to watch the cowboys stand in the middle of the arena do they? Nope, they go to watch these cowboys hang on for dear life on top of a “one-ton barrel of muscle” that wants nothing more than to send them flying. Today we’ll take a look at some of the top ranked bulls currently in the PBR circuit.

The PBR has a ranking system for their bulls. This system is based on seven factors. These are as follows: times ridden, 90 point rides, buckoff percent, average buckoff time, average riding score, average bull score, and the bull rating. Although the bulls aren’t chosen as number one, two, three, and so on until the conclusion of the season, this system helps keep track of their progress. My favorite bulls are the ones that have a long history of never being ridden. In today’s PBR one of these bulls is “Little Mr. T.” In 2009 alone, he has been tried three times with no success and an average buckoff time of 4.53 seconds. In 2008, he was in the chute a total of twelve times and had a 100% buckoff percentage with a average time of 3.48 seconds. That’s barely enough time to get out of the chute! In his entire PBR career, “Little Mr. T” has only been ridden one time and that was all the way back in 2007 by one good cowboy! Some of the higher scoring bulls on the circuit today are “Troubadour”, “White Magic”, and “Super Duty.”

“Troubadour” has been ridden six out of fourteen attempts and is currently the highest rated bull with a rating of 23.16 out of 25 possible points. “White Magic” has only been ridden three out of twelve attempts giving him a 75% buckoff. The amazing thing about this bull is that his average buckoff time of these nine unsuccessful rides is only 3.16 seconds! The last bull we will look at today has an average buckoff time of 3.65 seconds. “Super Duty has a buckoff percentage of 66.7%. Rated at a 22.23 of a possible 25 points, he has only been conquered five of fifteen attempts!

Lane Frost

I’m sure many of you have seen the hit cowboy movie of the 90’s. If you haven’t, you had best go rent 8 Seconds right this minute. Well, read the rest of my post first, and then go get it. For those of you who are lucky enough to be able to say you have seen the movie, you know that the film is based on the all-too-short life of Lane Frost. To the rest of you who have not yet had the pleasure to see it, now you know who’s life you will be following when you go pick it up after the end of my post. Anyhow, back to the point. Lane Frost was born October 12th of the year 1963 in Lapoint, Utah. He spent his young days immersed in rodeo. You see, his father, Clyde, was a saddle bronc and bareback rider. In addition to his father, Lane was taught the art of riding by his good friend, Freckles Brown. Frost started out on dairy calves and moved up from there until he became the PRCA World Champion Bull Rider when he was twenty-four. One of Lane’s most notable accomplishments was the conquering of “Red Rock.” In 309 attempts, no other rider could stay on “Red Rock.” However, in 1988, the hero of our story attempted this feat seven times, achieving his goal four of these seven tries. Lane Frost was killed by a bull named “Taking Care of Business” at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming on July 30, 1989. Since his death, Frost has been inducted into many rodeo and cowboy hall-of-fame’s. Now, GO GET THAT MOVIE!

Celina Rodeo

On Saturday, April 11, five friends and I took the hour long drive to Celina, Ohio for a rodeo. This was a completely amateur rodeo. There were 40 bull riders, all of whom had never been on a flesh and blood bull before. We personally knew one of them who had been bet to try it. He was scared to death and we had to go watch him. He only lasted about 6 seconds. The two most outrageous riders were a 6 year old who rode a calf and a 12 year old who rode a full size, 2,000 pound bull. The 12 year old stayed on for 7.78 seconds, and if you know bull riding, you need to stay on for 8 seconds. He tried to plead his case with the judges but it didn't work. The 6 year old got bucked off in like 5 seconds but the sight of him jumping up off the ground and pounding his chest was amazing. He was so proud of himself and the crowd loved him too. There were only 6 riders to hang on for the full 8 seconds and a 72 was the high score.

Cody Ford

On February 23, 2009, the PBR elite Built Ford Tough Series made its 11th stop in Glendale, Arizona. Cody Ford got his first win in the PBR. Ford rode two bulls for a total of 181.75 points. He collected a check for $60,960 as well as valuable points to the 2009 Built Ford Tough Series Worlds Standings. Ford scored 89 points on the bull, Walk the Line, taking first place in round one. Going into the Built Ford Tough Championship round, he had the first pick in the PBR Bull draft and chose to ride prize bull Troubadour. Ford covered the 2008 Reserve World Champion Bucking Bull for 92.75 points, winning not only the short-go, but the first BFTS event of his young career.

Working in the CLC

So I was sitting here in the CLC lab all by myself for like 2 hours and everyone decided they needed help at this time. There was a line of like 10 people and they were all getting mad at me because I couldn't help them all at once. I'm trying to get all kinds of homework done but it doesn't look like I'm going to accomplish much. I am getting some discussions done on facebook though.

73 year old college basketball player

My headlines gadget on my computer brought up a news article about a 73 year old man playing in a college basketball game. On Thursday, February 19, college student Ken Mink made history as the nation’s oldest college basketball player ever. He started his college career at Lees Junior College in Kentucky in 1955. In 1956 somone played a prank on the coach by spraying shaving cream all over his office. Mink was accused and kicked off the team because of it. 52 years later, Mink got a shot with the Roane Junior College Raiders basketball team. He’s older than the college he attends, older than his teachers and even the college president. He doesn't get much playing time unless the score is very lopsided, but this is still a great story of someone who doesn't want to let their dreams go.

PBR TV

The PBR has added a website where you can watch the rides live from your computer. You can watch the 2008 highlights as well as every second of the 2009 season. There are also podcasts from every event as well as some top issues for the PBR. Some of the clowns are also on there telling jokes and stories during the breaks to keep the people interested. I really enjoy watching all the good rides that I might have missed whenever I want.

Iowa vs. Minnesota

The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team celebrated senior day with a 25-9 victory over #11Minnesota Sunday afternoon, February 15, 2009 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes remain undefeated at 22-0. Hawkeye seniors Charlie Falck (125), Alex Tsirtsis (141), Derek Coorough (149) and T.H. Leet (165) were honored before the dual. In the first match Sanders of Minnesota upset #4 ranked Falck for his first dual meet loss this season. Minnesota also won the 157 and the heavyweight classes. Overall Minnesota stuck with the top ranked Iowa. There was only one pin and one major decision.

Bones Gets Ridden

On February 14, 2009 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma the No. 1 bull rider in the world J.B. Mauney conquered the 2008 World Champion bull, Bones. Before Mauney made the 8-second whistle on him, Bones had been ridden 0 out of 13 times on the PBR’s elite Built Ford Tough Series. Oklahoma City’s Ford Center was treated to a ride for the record books. Mauney scored 93.5 points and collected a check for $20,000, courtesy of Tom Teague, the bull’s owner. Tom Teague happily paid the $20,000 and said, “I’m really happy to see J.B. ride him, he just proved why he is the No. 1 bull rider in the world.” I obviouslt didnt have the time to or money to travel to Oklahoma and watch this but I did catch it on tv. Mauney deserved the at least a score of 93.5 for riding Bones.

Notre Dame and the Univ. of Indianapolis

I'm bored sitting in my Addictions night class. I'm wishing I was over at the Harrington Center supporting our wrestling team vs. Notre Dame and the University of Indianapolis. Tonight is also senior night for which there is only one lone wrestler left since I made the decision to quit back in January. I feel like my decision to quit let down a lot of people, but I was getting too stressed out over school and life in general and needed to find a way to drop some stress. I miss wrestling, but I feel like I was doing it for the wrong reasons. I will live with my decision and probably end up as a wrestling coach on down the road.

PCB

On Saturday January 31, myself and eight friends of mine went to watch Professional Chapionship Bullriding at the Cincinnati Gardens. It was my first time being to the Gardens and it was a lot smaller than U.S. Bank Arena. The crowd was also very small compared to the PBR event I went to at Bank Arena in November. These riders were semi-pro and the bulls weren't that great but it was still fun to watch. It was nice to hang out with a bunch of my friends from back home.

Can a struggling Marchi ride a legend in the making?

Last Saturday, PBR Director Tom Teague boasted that no one, not even Guilherme Marchi, could ride his 2008 World Champion Bull, Bones. To back his claim, Teague put up $20,000 of his own money.Marchi accepted the challenge, noting that Bones is just a bull. This weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C., the two World Champions will determine who’s boss. Bones is unridden in his career. He’s turfed three World Champions twice each. Justin McBride, Ednei Caminhas, and Marchi have averaged just 4.7 seconds on the gangly tornado. The clash of the champions will be featured next Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST on NBC during the Copenhagen Bull Riding Invitational.

Team PBR

On January 21, I joined Team PBR. This was a $100 membership for the year. The membership included two shirts, a patch, a hat pin, a year subscription to Pro Bull Rider magazine, and 10% all PBR merchandise and tickets throughout 2009. The 10% discount will come in handy when purchasing the $200 a day seats for the PBR Finals in Vegas. I will also use the magazine to keep updated with the season and it will help me with my blogs.

PBR Finals

The PBR finals are being held in Las Vegas. They run from October 31-November 2 and November 6-9. They will be held at the Thomas and Mack Center. I have been to the finals in Las Vegas once before about 8 years ago. This trip will be a little different though. My friends and I will now be 21 so we can gamble and enjoy Vegas to its fullest. We're planning on staying out there just for the second weekend but it'll be a trip to remember. I'm just hoping I don't waste too much money gambling.

Dayton Dragons

I was hoping to get an internship over the summer with the Dayton Dragons. After researching their employment opportuinities, I just missed all of their deadlines for management internships. I'm a little dissapointed but I still plan on sending them a resume so that they have my name. Then if something comes up, hopefully they take an interest in me fillng that position.