GLENDALE, Ariz. (March 14, 2010) - There were two reasons why Kody Lostroh wasn’t prepared to win the opening round of the Glendale Invitational.
First, a couple of weeks back, it seemed as though everyone else thought it was time for the reigning World Champion to shut down and get his elbow surgically repaired.
Second, according to the draw, he was to be the first out of the fifth flight, which comes after intermission. But when it looked like Jody Newberry might not make it on time, Lostroh was moved up one spot in the order.
“I kind of like knowing when I’m up,” he said afterward, “that way I have a little time to relax, but you gotta do what you gotta do. It’s not the first time I’ve been rushed.”
In spite of climbing into the chute 20 minutes sooner than expected, Lostroh made the most of his 8-second ride.
He rode Petey D. like a defending champion for 89.75 points. More importantly, the ailing elbow didn’t just feel better—it was pain-free.
“It felt great tonight,” Lostroh said. “Tonight’s the first night in weeks that it hasn’t hurt me.”
It was only a month into his return to the Built Ford Tough Series that his elbow gave out. It has caused him to miss three events.
Earlier this season, the 24-year-old consulted his personal doctor in Colorado and contemplated surgery.
When he elected to ride through the pain, a number of observers questioned the decision.
“That’s just part of sports,” he said. “Everyone likes to talk and give their input about what so-and-so should do, but the bottom line is that the guy dealing with it is the one that has to make the choices. I know my body and I know what I can handle, so I’ve just been going on with it.”
Now he goes on to the second round with a one-point lead over Renato Nunes, who scored 88.75 points on Marmaduke. Lostroh’s traveling partner Dustin Elliott finished third in the round with 88.5, followed by Aaron Roy (88.25), then Guilherme Marchi and Ednei Caminhas, who split fifth and sixth with 87 points.
Prior to the event, Elliott, who admitted he was disappointed in himself for coming so close to the cutline last week Kansas City, guaranteed he would make the whistle on Class 6 Kat.
With his first-round score, he is now four for his past 10 outs.
“I’m just tired of falling off,” said Elliott, who is 27th in the world standings. “I just barely squeaked in and I just need to pull my head out of my butt and take advantage of the opportunity we have here.”
Elliott, who prefers bigger sized bulls, talked afterward about how much weight Class 6 Kat has put on since he bucked off of him a year ago in Oklahoma City.
“He’s stronger and he dang sure bucked around to the left,” Elliott explained, “and then when he went right – changed it up – he was just good.”
The two-day event concludes this afternoon with the final two rounds beginning at 2 p.m. MT. Another solid day from Lostroh should elevate him into the Top 10 of the world standings for the first time this season.
NEWS and NOTES
The Greatest: Prior to intermission Friday night, there was a rumor that Mohammad Ali was in attendance, but it wasn’t until the second-to-last flight that it was confirmed.
Part of that had to do with the fact that former heavyweight champion of the world didn’t request tickets from the PBR. Instead, Ali, who is fan of the PBR and watches it on TV nearly every week, bought tickets the traditional way and came with several associates.
McKennon Wimberly, a Golden Gloves boxer, was escorted to Ali’s suite, where he met the champ.
“That’s one guy I have watched and memorized all his quotes,” Wimberly said. “I’ve sat there and studied his fighting and tried to fight like him. He was a great role model.
“I ran down here, grabbed a glove, and had him sign a glove for me, talked to him for a minute, shook his hand. He was real nice and let us take a couple pictures. It was one of the highlights of my life. … To know that he’s a fan of the PBR, and they said he had a blast and enjoyed the heck out of it, is awesome. It was amazing.”
Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week’s BFTS event in Glendale by logging on to www.pbr.com and entering the “Event Center,” which is accessible from the tab located at the top of the main Web page. The Event Center provides live scoring, live blogging and event-related Podcasts and interviews.
