Pick a round, any round

When I learned I would be attending the recent Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque, I asked my longtime friend, John Hightower, to tag along. Hightower took me up on the offer, but he said he could only stay for Saturday night's performance because he had to be back Monday on his job as the special education director in the West Texas town of Plainview.

My first thought was that Hightower's choice to attend only the second round sounded OK, but he probably would get more for his money had he also chosen to stay for the Sunday afternoon performance, which featured both a qualifying and a final round.

I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Hightower got an eyeful. And it just goes to show that it doesn't matter what performance a fan drops in on these days on the PBR's Built Ford Tough Series. Any show has the potential for an exciting outcome.

The March 29 performance had all the elements that have made the PBR a fan favorite, thanks to its innovative formats that are designed with the fan in mind.

Among the highlights were five riders turning scores in the 90s, including L.J. Jenkins, who went on to win the event. That's the bull riding equivalent of seeing five home runs in the first five innings of a major league baseball game.

Here's a look that the box score from that performance: 1 (tie), Chris Shivers (Jonesville, La.) 91.25 points on Page & Teague Bucking Bulls' Holy Moly, $2,340; and J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, N.C.) 91.25 on Page & Teague Bucking Bulls' Hustler, $2,340; 3, Brendon Clark (Morpeth, Australia) 90.5 on Page & Teague Bucking Bulls' Commotion; 4, L.J. Jenkins (Texico, N.M.) 90.25 on Page & Buck's Savage Shaker; (5) Dustin Elliott (North Platte, Neb.) 90 on Beutler & Son Rodeo Co.'s Deputy Sheriff.

And those kind of scores are not unusual for the PBR, which is having a banner season for high scores. Last year, 73 rides were scored in the 90s during the regular season and the World Finals, according to the organization's public relations department. This year, the cowboys eclipsed that total in Albuquerque and there still was half a season to go.

Needless to say, my buddy came away feeling he had gotten a big bang for his bucks.

"It was very exciting going that one night in the middle of the show," Hightower said. "It was exciting even without going to see the final round. I knew that the cowboys were riding to make the finals, even though the finals were the next day. They were still competing with all of their might."

For the record, fans witnessed only four scores in the 90s during the 60 rides in Sunday's performance -- one in the third round and three in the finals. The five 90-plus scores Saturday came in a span of 45 rides.

In addition to the high scores, the crowd was treated to a little suspense when judges went to instant replay monitors to make two different rulings. The first ruling worked in the favor of Clark, after he challenged judges on their initial ruling that he had been bucked off a split second before the buzzer. But the second ruling went against Travis Briscoe when judges said the young superstar's hand popped out of his rigging just before the eight-second count.

The PBR put in the instant replay in 2006. If a cowboy feels the judges might have made an incorrect call, he can ask for a review. Clark received the 90.5 after judges determined he made the buzzer. But Briscoe was denied a possible score in the 90s after judges took a hard look at the ride.

Randy Bernard, the PBR's chief executive officer, said the instant replay gets fans involved.

"I watch crowds a lot and I see fans intensely watching the instant replay, and they are betting back and forth with their buddies whether the rider made it or didn't make it," Bernard said. "To me, that's creating coffee-shop talk for Monday morning when fans can say they were there or they saw it on TV. They might say, 'Oh, what a bad call!'"

Another element that has added to the drama has been the draft, a new format that allows riders to select the bulls they will ride in the second and final rounds. The PBR added the draft at the beginning of the season in an attempt to increase the percentage of riders who complete rides, generate higher scores and create a buzz among fans.

The PBR uses the draft only at three-day shows on the Built Ford Tough Series. Going into the second round, the top picks are based on the highest score and stay-on time in the first round. And going into the finals, the rider with the highest cumulative score gets the first pick in the draft.

Fans are invited to watch the riders pick their second-round bulls at the host hotel earlier in the day. In Albuquerque, about 200 fans watched the Saturday morning draft at the Sandia Resort and Casino.

"The draft has been so much fun for the fans because they get to know the personalities of the riders," said Cody Lambert, the PBR's longtime livestock and a founding father. "The riders seem to enjoy it, too. They're all good bulls to pick from. There are some bulls that the cowboys had rather pick and some that they had rather stay away from."

After winning the first round, Jenkins had the first pick and selected Savage Shaker, a very rank bull that helped him score in the 90s earlier in the season in St. Louis.

"Savage Shaker was my No. 1 pick for a bull today," Jenkins said after his ride. "I knew I could make a 90-point ride on him so I decided to go for it."

That's the type of exhilarating action that fans buy tickets to see. And here are some questions on PBR shows for fans:

1. If you have attended an unusually outstanding performance that wasn't a final round, what happened to make it a memorable experience?

2. What do you think about the influx of 90-point rides this season?

3. Do you think that the instant replay system adds drama to a performance?

4. Do you think that the draft is making the sport more compelling?

5. What type of innovative moves should PBR organizers add to make the performances more compelling for fans?