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Crowded field Less than six points separate the Top 5 in the World Finals average

LAS VEGAS (November 4, 2009) - Results from the first three rounds of the 2009 PBR World Finals are nearly a mirror image of the standings from the Built Ford Tough Series.

With five rounds remaining, the Top 5 in the Finals average are also in the Top 6 of the world standings. Guilherme Marchi is the only glaring omission from a group of riders that includes Kody Lostroh, J.B. Mauney, Valdiron de Oliveira, Ryan McConnel and Robson Palermo.

Four of those five are three-for-three.

Mauney leads the average with 269 points on three bulls, followed by Palermo (266.75), Oliveira (265.25) and Lostroh (263.25). McConnel is two-for-three for a combined 179.25 points – the highest total of the seven riders who have covered twice this past weekend at the Thomas & Mack Center.

It’s no surprise to see Lostroh and Mauney where they are, but as Ty Murray pointed out in his daily Podcast (www.pbr.tv) earlier today, “The only surprise in that statistic…is that Guilherme Marchi is the one who’s missing from that equation, and I think he would have been the odds-on favorite to be the one that wouldn’t be missing from that equation.”

Lostroh, who is riding 63.3 percent overall on the season, holds a 429.25-point advantage over Mauney, while Marchi’s 0-for-3 weekend drops the defending World Champion back to 983 points off the lead.

If Marchi intends to reassert himself as a contender, he’ll not only have to ride all five upcoming bulls, but he needs both Lostroh and Mauney to stumble down the stretch— something highly unlikely based on their respective finishes to the BFTS and their strong showings thus far in Las Vegas.

Mauney, who won the opening round and selected Troubadour for Round 2, said he’s going for round wins, but will be more conscious of his draft picks than he was earlier in the season. During the regular season, the North Carolina native qualified for 22 of 31 short go rounds and yet earned only 10 qualified rides.

“Kody Lostroh is doing exactly what he needs to do,” surmised Murray, “he’s answered the bell every single time and he just needs to keep his focus there. I think he needs to try and do as well as he can do. I think he can ride any bull here, and right now it really seems like he feels that way too.

“He has no control over J.B. Mauney. He just needs to make sure that every opportunity he has that he’s trying to win it as much as he can. Hopefully after this first weekend, it helped show him that. That it’s not something he can sit back and try not to lose, that he’s got to go after it and try to win it.”

It would not be a surprise for Oliveira or Palermo to win this year’s average, especially considering Palermo did exactly that a year ago.

And while it’s mathematically unlikely to happen this year, both Brazilians have what it takes to challenge and perhaps win a world title at some point in their careers.

Still, Murray recalled a time back in January when Palermo described himself as being out of shape.

“Robson Palermo is an amazing talent,” said Murray, who noted that two things holding the 26-year-old back from seriously challenging for a World Championship are health issues and the need to dedicate himself to the sport for an entire season.

“We’re seeing how good he can be without really applying himself 1,000 percent. … We’re seeing remarkable things from him and, I think, it’s without 100-percent dedication.”

Palermo, who is completing his fourth season on the BFTS, arrived in Vegas having earned 14 Top 10 finishes in 29 events. He has a riding average 51.25 percent, including six 90-plus point rides.

Oliveira, who can ride any type of bull and is one of the toughest riders to get on the ground, has been a bit more consistent in making the whistle. The 30-year-old has done so 55.29 percent of the time, but he’s finished in the Top 10 in only 11 of 31 BFTS events this year.

“Valdiron is like a utilitarian bull rider,” Murray described. “He’s like a good fullback. You know, he’s not the flashy wide receiver or the running back with all the fancy moves. … He’s the tight end or the fullback that just keeps helping march it down the field.”

Neither Brazilian has an event win this year, while 2009 has been a breakout season for the often injured McConnel. In fact, the 22-year-old McConnel, who has 14 Top 10 finishes along with his first-ever BFTS win, is competing with a punctured lung as a result of an automobile accident just days before the Finals.

McConnel told Murray that he feels 100 percent. However, Murray was quick to point out that a bull rider feeling 100 percent is a lot different than someone who isn’t a bull rider. Regardless, prior to the crash, McConnel was among those favored to win the average.

“His riding definitely merited it,” Murray said. “The crash was the only question mark.”

The six other riders with two scores next to their names include Edimundo Gomes (176.75), Shane Proctor (176), Aaron Roy (174.75), Elliott Jacoby (174.75), Ross Coleman (174) and Dustin Elliott (174). There are 20 more riders with one score, and 13, like Marchi, who have yet to make the whistle.

With five rounds left – the final championship round is only guaranteed to the Top 15 in the average – anything can happen, especially considering the Top 5 in the Finals average are separated by only 5.75 points.

Round 4, which features the second of three random bull draws, takes place Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET and can be seen live on Versus. The next three rounds will feature a bull draft before the final short go is set through another random draw on Sunday afternoon.

“As a bull rider you have to just take every situation, deal with it, and make it work,” said Murray, who added that the combination of random draws and bull drafts is more of a true test.

Murray later added, “The only thing that matters to these guys right now is the fourth round.”

—by Keith Ryan Cartwright

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