Another big item during Sunday’s performance will be fans’ opportunity to say goodbye to two of the most successful bull riders in the PBR.
Adriano Moraes, a three-time World Champion, and two-time champ Justin McBride, have announced that they will retire after competing in the World Finals.
Both men have a chance of qualifying for the 15-man final round.
McBride, who has stayed on four bulls, enters the performance with the best chance of making the cut after winning the sixth round with a 91.75 atop the notable bull Scene of the Crash, owned by Frontier/Teague/Ron White.
McBride is ranked seventh in the average with a four-ride score of 359.5, and that alone could be enough to move him into the final round.
“That’s been the goal of all 10 Finals,” said McBride, who has competed in the World Finals since 1999. “You go and try and win and to be in the short round where the top 15 in the bulls in the world are and that’s where you have a chance to be great.”
Moraes increased his chances of qualifying for the final round by turning in an 88 aboard the bull Husker’s Terror. He has stayed on three bulls and has a chance to advance to the final if he can make a fourth qualified ride in Round 7.
If he can advance to the short go, it will be a moral victory for Moraes, who has competed throughout the World Finals with a broken left small finger in his riding hand.
LOOKING BACK
For the past four years, Mike Lee has had the bragging rights of being the only rider win the World Finals average and finish as the World Champion during the same year.
It happened in 2004 when Lee covered seven of eight bulls on his way to winning the world title.
But Guilherme Marchi has the opportunity to break Lee’s record if he can stay on two bulls in the seventh and final round as the 2008 World Finals concludes Sunday.
After staying on his first six bulls, Marchi stands an excellent chance of breaking Lee’s record.
Back to Lee’s 2004 record performance. On the last day of the PBR World Finals, Lee, Adriano Moraes and two other riders, Mike White and Justin McBride, entered the Sunday performance, which included the seventh and eighth rides of the event, with mathematical chances of winning the world title. But Lee's consistency helped him surpass Moraes, who led the title race for the majority of the season, and fend off White and McBride.
Lee began taking command in the seventh round after opting for a reride when his bull underperformed. On the reride, Lee upped his odds of winning the world title by tying for third in the round with an 88.75. White and Moraes were bucked off, and McBride turned in an 87.25.
After McBride, Moraes and Lee were bucked off in the final round, it was clear Lee would finish high enough in the aggregate race to earn enough points to win the world title.
In the world title race, Lee, a 21-year-old bull rider at the time, edged Moraes, who competed despite a nagging biceps injury in his riding (left) arm, 12,138.25 to 10,018.
During an interview this weekend, Lee said he didn’t give much thought to what he had to do to win while the World Finals was in session.
“I really wasn’t thinking about it,” Lee said. “It was just in the back of my mind. I knew a had a chance. But I never really thought about it until it was over.”
Looking back, Lee attributed his success to following the principles of his Christian faith and setting goals.
“That’s what I grew up wanting to do,” Lee said of riding bulls professionally on a world-class level. “I wanted to give God glory for winning the world title because I know that he put me here and gave me the talent for a reason. It’s an awesome experience.”
THE SCOUTING REPORT
As they prepare for game day, football coaches watch reels upon reels of film, studying every move of their opponent.
By opening kickoff, the team pretty well knows what type of offensive and defensive formations it will line up against. They know strengths and weaknesses, predictable plays and trick plays.
It’s the same situation between the bucking bulls of the PBR and their riders. Throughout the World Finals, contestants have been selecting the bulls in the draft, the popular first-year system that allows riders to handpick the bulls that they will face in the upcoming round.
And that means there’s been lots of incentive to study bulls more than ever.
By scouting, cowboys learn whether a bull habitually spins to the right or to the left, and if he jumps four-feet off the ground midway through the 8-second bout. They know some bulls have an unpredictable bucking pattern.
That comes from watching bulls perform week after week on the Built Ford Tough Series from behind the chutes or on a TV monitor.
PBR World Finals qualifier Austin Meier said he’s always watched bulls’ bucking patterns closely as a competitor and as an owner. But he said the frequent draft has “definitely upped the game of it” when it comes to the amount of time that PBR riders are allotting toward studying how the bulls buck.
“It certainly puts more thought into it, especially at this Finals, whether you are trying to win every round, whether you think the bull fits or not, or whether you are trying to get a lot of good bulls that fit you under your belt if you are going for that average,” Meier said.
Most World Finals qualifiers took time to closely watch the bulls that competed in events for American Bucking Bull Inc., the organization that holds lucrative competitions for up and coming bulls, ages two, three and four.
Many cowboys keenly observed the top three and four-year-old bulls that would be featured in the World Finals.
“The bull riders went and studied the bulls and learned which ones they liked and the ones that they wanted to get on and win first on,” said Colby Yates, a World Finals qualifier.
Yates, who finished fifth in the fourth round, said he’s learned to look for the little things.
“We definitely watch the bulls a little better and pay closer attention because any small thing will sway your mind, one way or another, on a different bull,” Yates said. “You’ve got to pay attention to all of the details. Most of the guys watch the bulls more to make sure that they get the right bull when they pick.”
One cowboy who emphatically has picked the ranker bulls during the World Finals is J.B. Mauney, who ranks second in the average. He said he’s always carefully studied bulls regardless of whether he has the option of selecting them in the draft of taking what he receives in a random draw.
“I’ve kind of always studied bulls,” Mauney said. “I watch and just pay attention to them. But once that gate opens, you always throw all that away.”
At that point, a rider has to make the correct maneuvers to stay on no matter what direction a bull takes. But Mauney, who won three of the first four rounds, said he knows the bulls that can help a rider receive the higher scores.
“I pay attention to the ones that I think I can win the round on,” Mauney said. “They’re the only ones that I really look at.”
BY THE NUMBERS
4: The number of riders who have stayed on five bulls at the World Finals. They are J.B. Mauney, Chris Shivers, Reese Cates and Robson Palermo.
5: The number of riders who have bucked off their first six bulls. The group includes Nick Landreneau and Scott Shiffner.
6: The record number of consecutive rides at the World Finals that’s now held by Guilherme Marchi. Prior to Marchi accomplishing the feat at the 2008 World Finals, no rider had reached that milestone. Ty Murray (1999) and Michael Gaffney (1997) were among multiple riders who had stayed on five when the Finals was a five-round competition.
13: The number of World Finals qualifications by Brian Herman. But the Texan has had a disappointing Finals. He has stayed on only one bull in six tries.
25: The age of Robson Palermo, who celebrated a birthday today. He has stayed on five of six bulls and is ranked fifth in the average.
27: The record number of scores in the 90s during the 2008 World Finals. The previous record was 19 in 2003.
ROUND SIX BRIEFS
*Reese Cates improved his chances of winning the 2008 Daisy Rookie of the Year title by finishing fourth in Round Six with a 90, aboard Hot Stuff, owned by Chad Berger and Clay Struve (the 2008 Stock Contractor of the Year winners). After turning in the 90, Cates is ranked fourth in the average race with a five-ride score of 448.5. His only disqualification was in the first round when Cates stayed on for 7.97 seconds. In the Rookie of the Year standings, Cates leads the race with $101,923. Pistol Robinson is ranked second with $75,093 and Lionel Santos is third with $74,791.
*After Shane Proctor stayed on his first three bulls, he fell into a slump and was bucked off of his next two. But he rebounded in Round 6 by turning in an 87.5 after conquering the bull Mataska.
*Veteran Ross Coleman was bucked off of Sam’s Town. He has stayed on four of six bulls.
*Hall of Fame Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda attended the performance to watch Deja Blue, a bull that he co-owns with contractor Tom Teague. Deja Blue was a contender for the Classic Bull of the Year title. Deja Blue threw off Mike Lee after a 6.6-second effort.
*Wiley Peterson, the 2007 World Finals average winner, is ranked 11th in the 2008 Finals average with a four-ride score of 350.5 He turned in an 88.5 on Raisin McCain.
*L.J. Jenkins, the 2006 World Finals average winner, has been in a slump. He has stayed on only one bull and he was bucked off during Round 6.
*Zack Brown is ranked ninth in the average with a four-ride score of 356. He turned in a sixth round score of 89, a half point out of the money.
*Bryan Richardson was bucked off of the high-jumping spinner Big Mack after making an impressive 7.2-second attempt to make the buzzer. Richardson has bucked off of all six bulls.
*Clayton Williams, the PBR’s 2007 Daisy Rookie of the Year, was bucked off in 4.1 seconds from the bull Jersey Joe. He has stayed on one out of six bulls.
*Veteran Cord McCoy entered the performance with one qualified ride. But he stepped up and turned in an 88.25 aboard the bull Splatter.
*Brian Canter also entered the show with only one score. But he stepped up and turned in an 89.75 aboard the bull Zorro and tied for fifth.
*Valdiron de Oliveria, who ranks second in the world title race, tied for fifth in Round Six with an 89.75 aboard Sports Machine.
*Pistol Robinson, who entered the World Finals ranked second in the Daisy Rookie of the Year race, isn’t making much headway in his attempt to be crowned as the top freshman competitor. He was stayed on once during the Finals and was bucked off of the bull Homer Simpson in Round 6.
*Luke Snyder, the 2001 Rookie of the Year, was bucked off of Blueberry Buckle. He has stayed on one bull in six attempts.
*Brendon Clark received medical attention after being bucked off of the bull More Bucks and colliding with the animal. He suffered a concussion and a facial laceration that required stitches, according to medical officials.
*Matt Bohon increased his chances of qualifying for the final round after turning in an 87.5. He has stayed on three bulls.
*Ednei Caminas, the 2002 World Champion, has stayed on two bulls. He turned in an 88.25 in Round 6 on a spinner named Party Time.
*Kody Lostroh, who ranks fourth in the world title race, has stayed on his third bull during the World Finals.
*Aaron Roy is ranked 10th in the average with a 353 on four rides. He was bucked off in 2.8 seconds from the bull named Holy Moly.
*Renato Nunes was bucked off of the bull Smash Hit in 3.4 seconds. However, he is ranked sixth in the average with a four-ride score of 367.5. He also has $65,000 in World Finals earnings, the second-highest tally of all competitors.
*J.B. Mauney has World Finals earnings of $90,000, more than any other competitor. Mauney’s earnings are inflated as the result of winning the first, second and fourth rounds.