Mike White takes round one in Worcester PBR

By Mary Rudloff
Posted Friday, January 11, 2008

WORCESTER, Mass. – The bull riders of the PBR took their annual trip to New England, heading into Worcester on Friday, Jan. 11 for the first round of the three day PBR event at the DCU Center.

There were rides, wrecks, a few short hang-ups and some airborne buck-offs. The only thing missing is a long time Worcester event tradition.

No snow.

The event, traditionally held on this same weekend in January every year, has traditionally been met with snow on the ground and, at times, almost blizzard conditions.

The unusually warm – if rainy – weather didn’t throw the riders off their game, as more than half the riders made qualified rides in Round One. It’s a trend that carries over from last weekend, in New York City, when every night showed more than half the riders posting scores.

Kind of makes PBR cowboys long for more tour-stops in the Northeast part of the country.

Atop the leader board in round one was Mighty Mike White. White looked solid throughout his ride aboard High Test (Sonny Williams) for 88.5 points about halfway through the round.

Despite 25 other riders also making qualified rides, no one could catch Mike.

Besides the obvious – the money and all important points for the round win – it gives White an advantage Saturday morning.

As Worcester is a three-day event, the cowboys are scheduled to meet 11 a.m. Saturday morning to pick their bulls for the second round. In three-day events, the riders get to choose their round two bulls, based on their scores or, for those who bucked off, the length of their ride.

That puts White in the advantageous position of choosing any bull he wants from the list of 45.

Following White will be second/third place finishers Greg Potter (Alligator Chomp, from Frontier Rodeo Co.) and Travis Briscoe (Rip & Dip, from Chad Berger/Clay Struve), each scoring 88.25 points. Fourth place in the round was Colby Yates on Warlock (Mark Reed) for 87.75 points.

Fifth through tenth places in the round were:

5th, Brian Canter on Elise’s Wrangler (Frontier/Teague) for 87.5;

6th, Guilherme Marchi on Patsy’s Pet (Sonny Williams) for 87;

7th/8th Sean Willingham on Git R Done (#10 Bucking Bulls) for 86.75;

7th/8th, Harve Stewart on Peacemaker (reride) for 86.75;

9th, McKennon Wimberly on Red Hot Magic (John Bystrom/Mark Reed) for 86.5;

10th, Renato Nunes on Superman (Williams/Rothe/Lang) for 86.25.

The night kicked off with retiring three time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes being presented with a proclamation from the Worcester city government, proclaiming this weekend “Adriano Moraes Weekend.”

Moraes gave a solid second, third and fourth effort aboard Sir Patrick (C Berger/Larry Ryken/Julie Rosen) in round one, but hit the dirt 8/10ths of a second early. The champ gave the crowd a scare, as he doubled over , apparently in pain, after bucking off and then left the arena with a noticeable limp.

The 2004 World Champion Mike Lee made another qualified ride in round one, for 84.75 points aboard Crooked Face (Frontier Rodeo Co). Lee has yet to buck off a single ride in the 2008 BFTS series, the only rider with a 100 percent riding percentage this season. He ended round one in a three way tie for 16th through 18th place.

The PBR faces serious competition for fans for round two Saturday night, as the NFL’s undefeated New England Patriots will be playing at the same time. Entertainer Flint Rasmussen brought big cheers when he borrowed a Patriots’ jersey from a fan in the crowd.

Pick-Up man James DeBord, of Yoakum, Texas, was kept busy all night, as many of the bulls appeared to be in no hurry to leave the arena when their work was done for the night. DeBord was definitely a fan favorite, bringing loud cheers every time he roped another bull, something he did many times in the round as the bulls were determined to spend a little more time in the spotlight.

Round two action, which will be on Versus Saturday night, begins at 8 p.m. and will be another chance – after New York City last weekend - to see if the new practice of riders picking their bulls will pay off again. Last week, the choice paid off for two time champ Chris Shivers. It’s likely White, his traveling partner, is hoping to find the same results.