More sports

8 seconds atop a twister

Professional Bull Riders will make its annual stop in Tampa tonight.

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA
Published February 2, 2007

BY EDUARDO A. ENCINA Times Staff Writer

The gate flips open and the eight-second countdown begins as a trained cowboy is turned into a rag doll aboard a 1,800-pound bucking bull. There's not much time to think, and eight seconds seems like forever. "You can't think about it that much," bull rider Tater Porter said. "That's just an invitation to get bucked." The Professional Bull Riders makes its annual stop in Tampa tonight, hosting an event at the St. Pete Times Forum (TV: 8 p.m. Saturday, taped, on Versus). It is the sixth stop on the 29-city schedule, the top tier of the PBR's four-series schedule (Think Nextel Cup in NASCAR).

A lot of bull

If you're a betting man, take the bull. Staying aboard a bull for eight seconds is a successful "ride." But a lot of riders don't last that long. Here's a look at the top-five bulls scheduled to compete tonight and their success rates this season:

Bulls are scored every ride, regardless of whether the rider makes eight seconds. Scoring by each judge is a maximum of 25 points for the bull and 25 points for the rider. The bull rating is an average of the scores the bulls receive. The closer to 25, the better the rating.

By the numbers

0 Times Scene of The Crash has been successfully ridden in 20 attempts in 2006-07.

3.69 Average career buckoff time in seconds for 2005 World Champion Big Bucks in 36 rides.

5 Countries that hold PBR-sanctioned competitions: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Australia.

$14.99 Price of a bobblehead of legendary bucking bull Little Yellow Jacket (hats are sold out online for $19.99).

500 Hours of prime-time TV programming devoted annually to PBR events.

$1,000 Each of the 20 original founders - all bull riders - pooled to create the PBR 15 years ago.

$3,241,466.59 Career earnings of 13-year veteran Adriano Moraes, the PBR's all-time money leader, including $1.346-million for winning the 2006 World Finals.

$10-million Annual prize money.

The PBR boasts that it's the fastest growing sport in America, and much like NASCAR, it's hard to argue considering the million-dollar corporate sponsorships, TV deals with NBC, Fox and Versus, packed arenas every weekend and yes, even a popular online fantasy bull riding game.

The sport is obviously selling, and there's something that is captivating in the nonfatal man vs. animal battle.

"There aren't any excuses in bull riding," said Porter, 35, a Kenansville resident who is the tour's only Florida rider. "It's just you against the bull. If you fall, there's no one to blame but yourself."

Rising star

Mexican-born rider Rocky McDonald is having the best start of his nine-year pro career with two top-five finishes after five events this season, good enough for fifth place among the 45 riders competing in the Built Ford Tough Series.

The reason?

"The biggest thing I think is that I'm not hurting," said McDonald, 27. "We all know we're gonna get hurt, it's just a matter of when and how bad it's going to be. But we're a lot like cars. Sometimes you break down and you get a new motor and you're better than you were before."

Like most riders, McDonald has been through the ringer. As a teenager, he missed nine months when a bull stepped on his head. He also missed a year when a bull stepped on his stomach, puncturing his pancreas and rupturing his spleen.

Eduardo A. Encina can be reached at eencina@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 1, 2007, 22:18:46]