PUEBLO, Colo. - This week's injury report reads like a who's whoof world title contenders.
Valdiron de Oliveira and GuilhermeMarchi are in the draw for the Pueblo Invitational after apair of serious wrecks last week in Idaho.
Oliveira escaped relatively unharmed after being stepped on in awreck similar to the one that fractured his left eye socket twoweeks earlier. The top-ranked bull rider in the world, who wasadvised to wear a protective helmet but chose not to, had aglancing blow off his left shoulder that drove him face-down intothe dirt.
Rockie Smooth steps on Valdiron de Oliveira after buckingoff the world leader in the championship round of the 2012 PBR BFTSBoise Invitational in Nampa, Idaho.
Marchi, another rider who competes without a helmet, took severalshots to the head from Midnight Mood in theopening round.
After covering Midnight Mood for 87 points in Round 1,Guilherme Marchi sustains a concussion when he takes a shot fromthe bull at the 2012 PBR Boise Invitational in Nampa,Idaho.
He was unable to finish the event, and missed the 15/15 BuckingBattle.
Both men said they would be fine for this week's Built Ford ToughSeries event, the final competition leading into a two-month summerbreak before the Series resumes in Tulsa, Okla., inmid-August.
As reported earlier this week, J.B. Mauney is outof competition due to a bad hip, and a swollen left arm that islikely related to the broken hand that forced him to switch toriding with his right hand for three weeks.
Mauney, who exchanged wedding vows with LexieWiggly last week, was planning on tying the knot a fewweeks earlier, but had to wait for the swelling in his hand tosubside in order to slide the wedding ring on his finger.
Professional bull rider J.B. Mauney was married last week inNorth Carolina.
Now he's experiencing swelling from the middle of his forearmall the way up to his shoulder.
Mauney is ranked fifth and hoping his 285-point lead overMarco Eguche is enough to stay in the Top 5. Hadhe not ridden three bulls in the past two weeks - two of which werein 15/15 Bucking Battles - he would have fallen to eighth, and bein jeopardy of falling out of the Top 10.
Douglas Duncan, who is 14th in the worldstandings, is out of competition after undergoing surgery to repairto an injured left hip that has gotten progressively worse over thepast two years.
PALERMO ON THE MEND: On Wednesday, the Brazilianriders gathered at Marchi's ranch outside Ferris,Texas. All but Robson Palermo will be heading backto Brazil after this weekend. Palermo, who spent the better part offour months there while recovering from shoulder surgery at theconclusion of last season, is the only Brazilian planning to remainstateside for the summer.
He'll be training with Tony Cruz in Tyler, Texas,and is slated to compete in a few events over the break. He'll beat Chad Berger's Touring Pro Division event inBismarck, N.D., on June 15 and 16, as well as the Calgary Stampedein July.
Palermo was cleared to return this week. He was reexamined byDr. Tandy Freeman on Tuesday morning. An MRIproved negative after Will James stepped on hisright leg. He was fine in Montana, but experienced swelling andpain after returning home to Texas.
SWOLLEN PAW: Last week, during the Built FordTough Championship Round, Ryan Dirteater took avicious shot under his shin that also hit him in the neck. He alsoslapped the backside of his right hand off the bull's horn.
He has no recollection of the injury, but Freemanlikened the incident to an NFL player hitting his hand on anopposing player's helmet.
Ryan Dirteater doesn't quite remember the details of thisencounter with Stanley FatMax in Nampa, Idaho, but his swollen freehand tells the tale.
Freeman told Dirteater "not to freak out" when it swelled up andturned colors. By Monday afternoon, when he flew home to Oklahoma,his hand was swollen to twice its normal size. The palm of hisright hand was deep purple.
Dirteater said he wasn't worried about the injury, as his righthand is his free hand.
DISARMED: Nathan Schapper has decided to foregocompeting in Pueblo this weekend. He had considered riding one lastweekend before undergoing surgery to repair a torn biceps in hisleft arm. Schapper attempted to ride in the Built Ford ToughChampionship Round in Idaho after sustaining the injury in Round 3,but was unsuccessful. He has elected to have the procedureperformed by a surgeon in North Dakota. No other information isavailable at this time.
MATCHUPS: For a complete list of this weekend's15/15 Bucking Battle matchups, click here.
TV GUIDE: Friday's opening round can be viewed atthe PBR Live Centerbeginning at 10 p.m. ET. Round 2 can be seen Saturday night on CBSSports Network at 10 p.m. ET. On Sunday, the 15/15 Bucking Battlewill be aired on CBS at 2 p.m. ET., and followed by the final tworounds, which will air on CBS Sports Network at 6 p.m. ET.
DEBUT: "Dangerous Game: Inside PBR," an hour-longroundtable discussion, will premiere on CBS Sports Network onSunday at 3 p.m. ET. The discussion features nine-time WorldChampion Ty Murray, Luke Snyder, Shorty Gorham andtwo-time Stock Contractor of the Year Jeff Robinson. CraigHummer moderates topics such as the growth of the sport,its danger factor, safety issues and the popularity of buckingbulls.