Behind the chutes: Tulsa
Nunes more than doubles his lead over Meier
TULSA, Okla. (July 19, 2010) - Now that the Express Classic is over and Renato Nunes has left Oklahoma with his third Built Ford Tough Series win of the year, the No. 1 rider in the world looked relieved.
“I feel better than two months ago,” he said.
Nunes referred to his 17th-place finish in Wichita, Kan., when Austin Meier won his fourth event and reclaimed the top spot in the standings. Since then, Nunes has won back-to-back BFTS events for the first time in his career.
When asked why it took a second win in a row to make him feel so good, he responded, “Because I was behind somebody, and now somebody is behind me, and I feel much better.”
In reality, every other card-carrying PBR member across the world is behind him.
“I know, I know,” he said, laughing. “I feel much better.”
After bucking off his first bull of the weekend (Kat Hour), Nunes reeled off three straight qualified rides in an event that had been dominated by reemerging Zack Brown until Sunday afternoon.
Nunes took Fat Lip with the 21st pick in the bull draft for Round 2, and after receiving a re-ride option, put his first 86.75 points of the event on the board after making the whistle on Texas Blues. Brown had won both rounds at that point, but Nunes then split first and second in the third round with Cody Nance.
Fellow Brazilians Silvano Alves and Valdiron de Oliveira were the only riders to cover their first three, but Nunes managed to earn the fifth pick in the bull draft for the fourth and final round. He took MoeBandy.com.
Well into the 8-second ride, the bull stumbled down onto its belly, but never lost its momentum. Nunes earned a mere 83.25 points with an option for his second re-ride of the weekend. However, after spurring himself in the buttocks, he declined.
The strategy paid off.
“After the first round, I said I have three more bulls,” recalled Nunes, who despite the win was disappointed that he “fell inside the spin” back in the opening round.
His win this weekend more than doubled his lead over Meier, who now trails by 1,585.5 points.
Including Nunes, only three of the Top 10 riders in the world qualified for the short round: Oliveira, who is now fourth in the standings, and Mike Lee were the other two. Four of the others – Travis Briscoe, Guilherme Marchi, Robson Palermo and Ryan McConnel – are out with injuries.
Oliveira, who came into the weekend sixth, moved up two spots with a third-place finish, which was his ninth Top 10 showing in 16 events. He still trails Nunes by 2,440.5 points.
While Nunes and Oliveira were both 3-for-4 this weekend, the rest of the Top 10 riders were a combined 2-for-14. Both Meier and McKennon Wimberly were 0-for-the-weekend.
“[Nunes] showed everybody what he’s made of this weekend, just because he’s got all the pressure on him being number one,” said Shane Proctor, who is 410.25 points out of the Top 10. “And then winning this first event back, he’s shown that he’s definitely riding good and that he wants the gold buckle.”
Nunes added, “Everybody knows that 39 guys have to ride better than me to take my buckle.”
Nunes now has a dozen Top 10 finishes, including three BFTS event wins, which doubles his career total prior to 2010. He’s improved his career-high riding average to 64.2 percent.
“I have to try hard to win the World Championship,” he added. “If those guys want to beat me they have to ride those bulls, ‘cause I’m going to try and ride all of them.”
NEWS and NOTES
Is there a doctor in the house?: By the end of the weekend, six of the 41 riders at Tulsa were unable to finish the event because of injuries. Three of the biggest names to go home early – Travis Briscoe, Guilherme Marchi and Ryan McConnel – are ranked in the Top 10.
Marchi, who underwent surgery at the onset of the summer break, wasn’t quite ready to return to competition, and Dr. Tandy Freeman estimated that he will likely miss the event in San Antonio before retuning in Nashville, Tenn. Briscoe and McConnel are both undergoing further evaluations on their necks this week.
McConnel, who has complained of stiffness recently, may have incurred the injury a month ago when he bucked off a practice bull. Briscoe landed awkwardly on his head in the opening round at the BOK Center. It’s an unprecedented fifth time this season that Briscoe has been unable to finish an event because of injuries.
Luke Snyder, Ned Cross and Wagner Luciano were the other three who were unable to compete throughout the weekend.
In and out: The riders weren’t the only athletes doctoring out of this weekend’s Express Classic. Paycheck, who was among the top bulls slated for the short round, was also a last-minute scratch from the draw. After being unloaded into the back pens, he was seen favoring one of his feet. A closer look revealed that he had stepped a small piece of wire that was stuck between two toes.
He was kept out of the competition because the injury was still tender, but is expected to compete this coming week at a Touring Pro event in Cheyenne, Wyo.
Time out: Not one, but two riders – Silvano Alves and Cody Campbell – missed Saturday’s bull draft for the second round of the Express Classic.
Alves’ was one of only nine qualified rides on Friday night, and earned him the second pick in the draft, but a miscommunication left the non-English speaking Brazilian stranded at the hotel in downtown Tulsa. The draft was held 20 minutes away at the PBR Fan Zone in the parking lot of a Bass Pro Shop.
Campbell overslept and arrived at the draft only minutes after missing his turn in the selection process. He would have had the 14th pick in the draft, but instead was shuffled to the bottom of the order for the second time this season.
—by Keith Ryan Cartwright
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It's a shame about Silvano. Knowing that communication problems exist, PBR (generically, as I don't know who should be in charge of this), should try extra hard to make sure these kids know the next step. If the draft is part of the equation, and a rider has earned his high spot in the draft, every effort should be made to insure that he knows all the details. Of course, we don't know all the details either, just what is reported, so perhaps we are missing some info. There is no excuse for sleeping in though!
-
Twiggy
July 21, 2010Rez: naaa, you didn't offend me. I just knew there were probably a lot of people out there thinking the same thing.....he was there, why didn't he just suck it up and ride. So, I stated what I knew.
I was really more ticked off about Uncle Buck.....grrrrrr Seems the fantasy game people need to come up with a plan if a bull doesn't buck at all, you should still get some sort of points....maybe average score of all bulls, maybe use the tiebreaker bull that you chose....something, anything but a 0. -
reznibd
July 21, 2010Twiggy - Of course, I don't seriously hold it against Guilherme for backing out at the last minute. I would too if I thought I would make my injuries worse and the doctors advised me not to go there. I guess that I was just lamenting my Fantasy picks out loud. Forgive me if I offended you or any other die-hard Guilherme fans, not my intention. -
birdog11
July 21, 2010pbrvagas77 you would not have missed " dude Graig Hummer" he was doing the Tour de France, and doing a fine job too. I love him on the PBR also, its nice to have an ousider on the broadcast, different perspective and questions. Also for those keeping track Iaam a huge NHL fan( go sharks ) and a big biking fan. However it seems the PBR needs to readjust ther 2 mos break. Its too late in the season, im a die hard, go to 3 events a yr and i forgot whats going on. Its up to the PBR not Versus to solve this problem. I too am sick of missing events on tv. RFD tv would be a step down from the high quality coverage we get from Versus. Get a hold of the PBR and comlain. I did. -
Twiggy
July 20, 2010KRC: I did see the blog by Reese and really enjoyed it. However I was kind of expecting an article or 2 like was done about the Australian challenge that happened a couple of weeks before.
Renato didn't get back to the States days before the Tulsa event.....he got back the day of the event....lol He & Valdiron both arrived back in the US the morning of the 16th. I think they cut it a little to close, but Troy Dunn used to do it all the time and he ended up a World Champ, so I guess Renato & Valdiron aren't blazing any new trails in that department.
Have a great time on your trip to Brazil....I'll tell you the same thing Guilherme told me just before I set out in our rental car in Brazil last year:
Don't be afraid and enjoy our wonderful country, the people will treat you well. -
keith ryan cartwright
July 20, 2010Twiggy,
You might have missed it -- and granted, it was a little late getting up -- but we had Reese blog about being in Brazil for the challenge. We would have had Renato blog as well, but he said didn't come back to the States until days before the Tulsa event.
www.pbrnow.com/blog/index.cfm/2010/6/24/An-invitation-to-Brazil
KRC -
mofan
July 20, 2010When I picked Uncle Buck he was listed as a short go bull. I would not pick a bull that had nothing by his name. I too had Guilherme. Oh well. -
Twiggy
July 20, 2010I've already stated my case about Uncle Buck.....he was listed as a bull that would be in the short go when the fantasy draw was first listed. I know to watch for it not showing what round they will be in. It's very frustrating.
Secondly....I to had Guilherme in fantasy, so I took a hit on that (thank god for Renato, Silvano & Valdiron being on my team this past week...lol) but I do know for a fact that Guilherme fully intended on riding at Tulsa. He even went into Tulsa on Thursday to do a photo shoot/pr work stuff. He planned on riding, but after he got all taped up, his hand began swelling so he & Dr Tandy made a decision. He might possibly could have rode, but he just had surgery 6 weeks ago, they told him not to ride for 8 weeks, but he pushed the envelope and went to Tulsa. With the unexpected swelling & such he could have done damage to his newly repaired hand. So....wait the full 8 weeks like the docs told you to do or push the envelope and ignore the swelling & the signs that your body is giving you. I think I'd be listening to what my body was telling me. -
smartypants
July 20, 2010I would certainly vote the PBR over bike racing or hockey. Something happened here so the PBR would not come across on Saturday and Sunday. What a bummer!!! But I enjoy the Versus broadcasts on TV. They really get some good shots of the action (when they aren't doing too many interviews and missing rides because of them) But I figure that the PBR is the late entry with Vs.and the contracts have already been signed with Tour de France and NHL.When those contracts are up, hopefully the PBR will renegotiate and get us a great contract. Meanwhile, we can be getting into Versus's ear and let them know what we want.
What do you think? The Cowboy World can do a lot if we all do what we can to get their ears. -
reznibd
July 20, 2010pbrvegas77 - thanks for the info about Uncle Buck. I have gone back and looked and noticed what you mean about the blank, but are you certain the blank was there before the cut-off time for the Fantasy picks? I'm not so sure, but I admit that I could be mistaken.
Wish ya Luck, on of Hart's bulls has a blank, but Travis was supposed to ride him, I thought. If you do a bull search for you'll see that Travis is listed to ride him in Tulsa. Oh, I don't know, but I do know that this has happened too many times in the past and fans get frustrated.
I had Uncle Buck as a tie breaker bull, but I did pick Guilherme and was soooooooo frustrated, when he pulled out of the event. Don't want him to be hurt worse than he already is, but gee whiz, I'm with Ty on this one - didn't he know before the event that he wasn't ready? I know. He was hoping for the best, but. . . . -
pbrvegas77
July 20, 2010that was cool of how PBR went to streaming the event on PBR.TV, it's like wastching 19" screen on our computer, and Flint instead of commercials, as live as it can get as to being there,...Vegas here we come again come late Oct,..for the finals,.....
p/s if any network can come to taking on PBR and show the coverage live from the introduction of rider,bullfighters & etc, would be great. liked Brandon Bates and Clint Adkins over J DUB and versus dude Craig Hummer,.... -
pbrvegas77
July 20, 2010reznibd-you question: Did anyone ever say why Uncle Buck was on the Fantasy roster, but wasn't in the bull pen?
Why? if you look under,"DRAW", in fantasy, you'll notice that it's blank and that means he is not participating,if he is then it'll show who is riding him in 1st round, or if he is in 2nd,3rd or in short go,hope that helps,.. -
waltm
July 20, 2010anonymous_bull, Do you think if it was on RFD TV they would show as you call it The World Series of Bike Riding. The PBR is an American Sport. Let's take a survey and see who watched bike riding. I have switched from direct to dish to back to direct tv over the past 5 yrs. to watch the PBR. I don't care if they have the world series of Coon Hunting, I think they should show the PBR & I am a coon hunter. Give the respect the PBR deserves. I say let's find a network that gives them that respect. -
steve miller
July 20, 2010Need to let rfd tv have it, getting tired of cycling and ice hockey, let someone in there that has a real interest in the sport. Also PRB needs to be more focused on the injury report, it sucks, nothing is updated... -
~smh~
July 20, 2010First and foremost...hoping all the best fares in the end with the injured cowboys.
Now in regards to Renato's comment...is it wrong or is it just confidence? He is sitting in a great seat, but is it necessarily his buckle to claim.? No, but this would not be the first time that a buckle has been claimed before it was won. I can think of a couple of seasons come summer break where Murray, Lambert, Hart, and a few others were ready to hand over the buckle to the number one guy before the finals had even arrived. It is purely confidence so let him talk. I still think there are few other riders that will come back in the end and knock him off his cloud, but for now let him talk. The ride shows more than the words anyway. He's not the first and he definitely will not be the last. -
cdtucker1
July 20, 2010TWTX--it was awesome to see you and Webpbr again!!! Ya'll are the most fun people to hang out with!!!! It was also GREAT to meet Twiggy and Sanpow and Walkamungus and everyone's !@#orted other halves!!! :-D
As far as the draft problems went, Twiggy is right (as usual). There was just a miscommunication...it's not that someone was purposefully being mean. Sometimes stuff just happens....He eventually got there and stuck around to sign autographs too. And he did just fine for himself on the draft pick he received. And Cody really was only 1 minute late. I think they all had trouble with traffic and it really did take longer to get there I thought it would, so I can see how they made that mistake too. Oh well...
I was so happy to see Renato come back and win it. I think he definitely has what it takes to stay #1 the rest of the year and dominate in Vegas...and I sure hope he does!!! -
reznibd
July 20, 2010djsesroh - I've been stressing that point for awhile now. The PBR should do something to alleviate such problems on the site, because even though each person's worst score is dropped at the end of that part of the season, if it happens too often--well--you see where the fan ends up. . . . -
djsesroh
July 20, 2010What happened with Uncle Buck....really messes with bull picks and scores. they need to use the tiebreaker bull when a bull is pulled after the picks start. -
kjcochran
July 19, 2010A perfect example that punctuation is a helpful communication too1. -
richd913
July 19, 2010I still haven't gotten an answer to: Where can we see the event on demand like the site said we could following each round. I never got to watch friday or saturdays event. -
Twiggy
July 19, 2010Ok, Davidjo, now I understand what you were saying. I was trying to read your comment all as one sentence and was trying to figure out how "your wrong if u are in the lead after the yr is over its yer buckle." Couldn't understand that. Now I see that you were trying to say it's not your buckle unless your in the lead after the year is over.
Renato very well might be counting his eggs before they are hatched, but unless one believes they have what it takes to win it all, they probably don't have any business getting on a 2,000 lb bull. Only wish I were in Vegas right now and could find a bookie....would have to put my money on Renato. -
TWTX
July 19, 2010Had an awesome time in Tulsa! Not the best results for some of the riders, but the bulls certainly showed up! Was not happy with all the injuries and guys out. Sure hope results from Travis and Ryan's test are negative. Prayers going out to them both.
Had a great time with our PBR friends, Twiggy, sannpow, cdtucker, okay, can't remember everyone's code names.. ,lol... you know who you all are!! It was a great time Sat. night, except the missing birthday boy :( Looking forward to Springfield to see everyone again, but think hubby is thinking about Memphis too.. lol..
Congrats to Renato for a great win and an awesome ride in the short go! Zack had two great rides. Happy to see him riding so well. Also a big whooo hooo to Cody Nance for his 5th place finish!
Can't wait for San Antonio! -
davidjo7
July 19, 2010not slammin u but did u read the article twiggy renato stated that 39 other riders have to come get his world championship buckle that he doesnt own just yet yes he is in a great position but to proclaim the title his already is a litle premature.now what the heck about that do u not understand. -
Twiggy
July 19, 2010I have read Davidjo7's post 10 times and I still can't figure out what he is trying to say. For real, not slamming you at all, just wondering what your point is or what it is your trying to say. -
davidjo7
July 19, 2010ok renato u say the buckle is already yours thats fine but your wrong if u are in the lead after the yr is over its yer buckle. -
SLL
July 19, 2010Thanks, sannpow! I've only watched for a few years now and this is the third year we've missed the event because of the Tour de France. I'd love to see it aired the same weekend it's being held because it's always been a good one.
ledfordj, I can't say I disagree with you, but I'm sure there's so much more to it than we know. We have no idea how much money these contracts cost and how much the pbr makes. Can they afford to put up as much money as the NHL or the Tour? (Although with the Tour, I'm sure it's simply an issue with it only being 3 weeks out of the entire year.) No, it's not unreasonable to ask that we see our events all of our events and at a decent time/hour, but I'm not going to complain much when I don't know the ins and outs of the business or finances involved, nor when others have to wait months for their favorite sports to be aired and then only get to enjoy them for a few months as opposed to the 8 we get. -
sannpow
July 19, 2010Oh Twiggy don't get me started thinking about Memphis. Maybe there is a plan to made after all.......keep me posted! -
Twiggy
July 19, 2010
How's that for stepping up to the plate & hitting a home run. Way to go Renato....some have their doubts that he can handle the kind of pressure that he will have to deal with in between now & the finals, but something tells me he has a pretty clear vision of what he wants & what it's going to take to get there. He figured out how to over come all the hoop la that surrounded the World Cup, he was the team captain of the US vs. Brazil PBR challenge that happened last month (yea, I know, not ONE article was written about it on this site) and now he has won his 3rd event of the year. Looks to me like all his plans are falling into place.
As to Silvano arriving late to the draft.....I repeat, he was late, he did not miss it....I was part of the rat race that was trying to get him there on time, and let me tell you, the language thing played a part in it. We can all say could have/should have....etc...but the fact remains, Silvano picked an unridden bull in the draft, went to the event that night and rode him!!....For a pretty decent score I might add. Had he got to take his earlier pick....who knows what might have happened...back to the could have should have thing.
Once again we had a great time getting to hang out with all our PBR buddies (old ones & new ones as well) Our next event was supposed to be Springfield....but now thoughts of Memphis keep running thru my head....been checking out hotels, maps......lord help us PBR junkies. -
ledfordj
July 19, 2010I made this comment earlier when I first learned that Versus was not going to televise Tulsa until 2 weeks late and I still think that I am right. This is an area where our new CEO can work to improve--the televizing of our events--all of them. Yes, I can watch the streaming on the computer, but we didn't enjoy it as we would have on TV. Prospective new supporters need to have the events televized if we want to expand our fan base. New viewers would probably not get hooked by watching on a PC. I don't think we should have only a selection of events available, we should have all of them available and at an acceptable time, not midnight or 1 AM, etc. We can always find where someone else has it worse than us, but why is it unreasonable to expect to be able to watch ALL of the PBR events at a reasonable close time to airing. -
louisiana fan
July 19, 2010As to campbell & Alves we only know that which has been written always been told there are two sides to everything.This is(was) a big opportunity to have been missed for whatever reason. -
webpbr
July 19, 2010Kasey Hayes was also late to the draft, this was not in this article. He said him and his wife got lost. Regarding Cody Campbell, he said that Cody Lambert said the draft was only 15 minutes away and it was longer than that. He arrived only a minute late to get his pick in. Regarding Silvano, no one said they left him at the hotel on purpose. There was a miscommunication. -
sannpow
July 19, 2010Congratulations Renato on winning the event this weekend. You stepped up and gave it all you had and it paid off. It was great being there and watching you win your third event so far this year. Congratulations to Silvano & Valdiron as well. The Brazilians are on fire. Great job guys! :)
Had so much fun hanging out with the gang, TWTX, Webpbr, Twiggy & Pal. You guys make it extra special. Maybe we will see you before Springfield!
SLL your wish is granted. Next year the Tulsa event will be held in August. -
SLL
July 19, 2010heartbart33, you'd be surprised. If VS is airing on the International DISH package, then that's all of Europe that has a choice of watching the coverage through their stations, thus bringing up ratings. Also, one media site I googled, says that their early morning American coverage is up as much as 16% so far and the all day coverage is up 5% overall. The rates are much higher for the online streaming.
Also, I have a number of friends who highly anticipate the Tour De France every year.
The way I see it is this: We are lucky enough to get our events 8 months out of the year with a couple events throughout the summer. Baseball, Hockey, Football etc. -they all have to wait months for their events to come back around. I'm so glad that's not the case with Bull Riding, so I'm willing to tough it out. I just wish they could schedule the Tulsa event during a different time and put a smaller event during the Tour de France. -
reznibd
July 19, 2010Did anyone ever say why Uncle Buck was on the Fantasy roster, but wasn't in the bull pen?
Someone needs to step up and help Silvano. Leaving him behind like that is just plain mean. Guess he showed them! He nearly won the event:-)
And the injuries just keep mounting. . . . :-( -
heartbart33
July 19, 2010VERSUS!!! What is up with you airing a dam bike race, that ain't American, Rodeo & Bull riden are. You Easterners need a wake up call. I'll give you odds that there are more Bull Riden fans than Bike riden!! RFDTV heres your chance, you air ALL the Bull riden and Rodeo. This country needs some relief!! Watching it on the PC don't cut it. I never seen so much Crap!! -
heartbart33
July 19, 2010VERSUS!!! What is up with you airing a dam bike race, that ain't American, Rodeo & Bull riden are. You Easterners need a wake up call. I'll give you odds that there are more Bull Riden fans than Bike riden!! RFDTV heres your chance, you air ALL the Bull riden and Rodeo. This country needs some relief!! Watching it on the PC don't cut it. I never seen so much Crap!! -
waltm
July 19, 2010I guess Versus think we are 2nd hand, because they choose to show a bike race in some other country. My question, is their another TV Station such as RFD or any other that would be willing to step up and say the PBR IS JUST AS IMPORTANT SPORT AS BIKE RIDING ? -
louisiana fan
July 19, 2010I can understand Alves missing the draft because of his non- english speaking ability but what kind of excuse can Campbell have? Without knowing the details I would think it appears he needed to get to bed earlier and.... get a wake-up call. Who knows what chance he missed.
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July 22, 2010