'I'm all nervous wanting to know if he's going to have that explosion, that kick. I want to see that.'

Since then, Moreno, co-owner Richard Oliveira and handler Kent Cox have waited with baited breath as the top-ranked bull recovered from surgery on his back legs.

Bushwacker and Asteroid will face off next week in Arlington, Texas, at the third annual Dickies© Iron Cowboy Invitational.

"I'm more nervous now than I was when he was trying to win the world," Moreno admitted. "I'm all nervous wanting to know if he's going to have that explosion, that kick. I want to see that."

The last time Bushwacker saw action in the arena, he tossed J.B. Mauney after 3.6 seconds in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round of the 2011 World Finals.

After spending a few weeks with the veterinarian in Elgin, Texas, Bushwacker has been cooling his heels in Dublin, Texas, while Asteroid has competed four times and established himself as the 2012 frontrunner.

Cox said he lets Bushwacker out in the arena every day to play and dig in the dirt. Then he works on having him jog to get back in competition shape. Cox said that the bull grows more active with each passing day.

He said Bushwacker could compete today if he had to.

"When he moves around now, he has that bounce back to him," said Cox, "like his feet almost barely touch the ground when he's trotting around. So that alone right there lets me know that bull feels good."

'When he moves around now, he has that bounce back to him, like his feet almost barely touch the ground when he's trotting around.'

A year ago, a late-appearing Asteroid had to prove himself to be in the same league as Bushwacker. This time around, it's Bushwacker who is out to prove he's still as fearsome as he was before the procedure.

Moreno said he thought Asteroid has gotten better with each out.

"When J.B. (Mauney) had him (in Portland, Ore.), he flipped J.B. over his head, and there at Sacramento (Calif.), he was awesome," said Moreno, who added, "To me, he looks like Bushwacker last year at this time. Now's the time to have two fighters go at each other.

"Get ready."

Cox and Dr. Gary Warner, the highly respected bovine veterinarian who performed the surgery, insist that Bushwacker shows no signs of having been hurt.

In fact, Cox said he might be better than he was at the World Finals.

Asteroid and Bushwacker competed head-to-head seven times in 2011.

In Thackerville, Okla., last summer, Bushwacker posted 46.25 points in dispatching Douglas Duncan.

Bushwacker posted the higher score in the first two meetings, with 47 points in Pueblo, Colo., and 46.25 points in Thackerville, Okla., as well as the last two meetings at the World Finals. Asteroid had the higher score three times, with 46.5 points in Tulsa, Okla.; San Antonio, and Springfield, Mo.

Bushwacker competed in 14 BFTS events in 2011, and was the high-marked bull 10 times.

'Now's the time to have two fighters go at each other. Get ready.'

He had the three highest scores of 2011, with 48.5 points in Round 3 at the World Finals, and 47.75 points in Anaheim, Calif., and Arlington. He had four of the Top 6 scores, six of the Top 8 scores and seven of the Top 10 scores.

Moreno, who lives in Central California, will be in Arlington for Bushwacker's return.

He recently tore a meniscus in his knee - one reason why he hasn't been on horseback at recent Built Ford Tough Series events - and will be examined by Dr. Tandy Freeman. But he had already planned on being at Cowboys Stadium for the event.

"I'm craving to see it," said Moreno.

Tickets for the Dickies© Iron Cowboy III are available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000.

If one-tonne bulls and athletic bull riders weren't enough, each Australian Cup Series event will also feature pyrotechnics, video screens and a chest-thumping sound system.

2012 PBR AUSTRALIAN CUP SERIES selling via www.ticketek.com.au Friday 2 March at 9am :
Saturday 7 July Brendon Clark Invitational NEWCASTLE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
Saturday 14 July BRISBANE Invitational BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
Saturday 21 July Australian National Finals ALLPHONES ARENA | SYDNEY

About Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Australia:
PBR Australia opened its office in Queensland, Australia in 2005, and operates two competition series, producing approximately 20 sanctioned events annually. Australian native Troy Dunn, who is the 1998 PBR World Champion and a 2005 PBR Ring of Honor inductee, is President, and his wife, Jackie, serves as Vice President Competition and Administration. Money earned on all tours counts toward qualification for the PBR Australian National Finals. The bull rider with the most money earned at the end of the year, combining the regular season and Finals, will be crowned as PBR Australia National Champion. The top-ranked rider at the time of the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals automatically qualifies to represent Australia in the first two rounds of the annual event.

Watch the WinStar World Casino Invitational in Houston next Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)

The PBR is the world's premier bull riding organization. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the PBR. In just two decades, the dream of 20 bull riders has become a global sports phenomenon that is televised worldwide. More than 100 million viewers annually watch primetime PBR programming on networks around the world including CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBC, and NBC Sports Network. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 24 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western sports athlete in history. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/PBR.

'You have to show up ready to win every time.'

He wanted to win the first BFTS event of his four-year PBR career.

"Where I was to where I could have been with one event win is so close, and it could have changed everything," said Duncan. "I haven't rode the best this year at all, but there's a couple little incidences that would have changed everything. It's easy to beat yourself up, and it's also easy to let all that negative energy and thinking about everything get to you and affect you in the wrong way.

"When I took the re-ride, I took the re-ride because I was wanting to win the event, and not because I knew it could change my season on not making the cut. It wasn't the reasoning behind it, but it darn sure helped out."

Douglas Duncan scores 88 points on Bad Moon on Saturday in Atlanta.

He rode Bad Moon for 88 points, and split the round win with J.B. Mauney.

Although he didn't get a second qualified ride in the final round, his 88 ride points, 95 points for splitting the round, and 60 points for finishing eighth in the average vaulted him to 25th in the world standings - just 13.75 points ahead of Dusty Ephrom - with three more BFTS events before the next cut.

"No, it wasn't on my mind. It's tough to think about knowing that," said Duncan, who added that he's veteran enough at this point to know his focus needs to be on winning.

"It's pretty easy to get down on yourself and pretty easy to let those zeros add up, but that's what happens every time you get a 90-mile-an-hour fastball every time over there in the PBR. You have to show up ready to win every time."

Growing up in Alvin, 30 minutes south of downtown Houston, Duncan knows a thing or two about Major League fastballs.

Alvin is the hometown of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who for a portion of his career pitched at the old Houston Astrodome.

Duncan's father used to take him there as a child to see the famous Houston Rodeo. The younger Duncan dreamed of riding bulls in front the same big crowds Ryan pitched for.

He ultimately did, and in 2009 won the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Duncan slipped back into the Top 25 last week, with three events left before the next cut.

The Astrodome is gone, and in its place is Reliant Stadium - a 71,500-seat, multi-purpose venue that now serves as home to the Rodeo. This weekend, the PBR will host the second of four stadium series events there, as part of the kickoff to this year's Rodeo.

It's the first time in PBR history the BFTS has been scheduled in conjunction with the RODEOHOUSTON.

"It's something that I've looked forward to ever since I was a little kid," said Duncan, who still had winning on his mind in a phone interview from New Orleans. "It'd probably be the biggest win. I've won the rodeo before, but it would be my first PBR event win, and what better place to have it."

'When they say "Douglas Duncan from Alvin, Texas," and that stadium goes nuts, my adrenaline starts pumping.'

The Duncan family will be there Saturday afternoon, along with childhood friends and youth coaches.

The key to getting that first BFTS win will be channeling the emotion of competing in Houston.

"I just sit back there and try not to think about anything, and just hang out with all my buddies," Duncan said, "but when they say 'Douglas Duncan from Alvin, Texas,' and that stadium goes nuts, my adrenaline starts pumping.

"It gets you to a whole other level."

Watch the WinStar World Casino Invitational in Houston next Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Asteroid and J.B. Mauney lead the world at the moment, and both will be in Houston on Saturday.

The 2012 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will run Feb. 28-Mar.18 at Reliant Park in Houston.

Each of the Top 35 riders in the world will ride in Round 1 Saturday. Every rider with a qualified ride in Round 1 will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, where they will each compete with one more bull. The overall event winner will be the rider with the highest combined score from the two rounds.

Leading the way into Houston is Alvin, Texas, native Douglas Duncan, and top-ranked J.B. Mauney, who has earned almost $100,000 through the first seven events of the season. The field will also include two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers, who announced that 2012 would be his final season last Wednesday, and promptly went on to win the Atlanta Invitational over the weekend, notching his 93rd ride of 90 points or more.

Tickets start at $15, and include admission to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest and a concert by Roger Creager.

The bulls in Houston will include 2011 Reserve World Champion Asteroid, who has three of the top four bull scores in 2012, including the highest of the year, with 47.5 points out of a possible 50 at the PBR 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento in January.

Fans will be able to meet Dickies® DuraBullfighters Jesse Byrne, Shorty Gorham and Frank Newsom, and Dickies® bull riders Ryan Dirteater and Skeeter Kingsolver on Friday, Feb. 24, from 5-7 p.m. at Fiesta Mart, 4711 Airline Dr., Houston.

Five PBR personalities, including Brian "Pee Wee" Herman and Ross Coleman, will be signing autographs from 12-1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Bass Pro Shops, 1000 Bass Pro Drive, Pearland, Texas. There will be free family-friendly activities from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., including stick-bull riding and bull roping as well as mechanical bull rides.

Houston is the second stop of a four-week stadium tour that began last Saturday in Atlanta, and will continue with visits to Arlington, Texas, on March 3 for the Dickies® Iron Cowboy III presented by WinStar World Casino at Cowboys Stadium, and Ford Field in Detroit on March 10.

Houston is the eighth of 28 stops on the 2012 BFTS schedule, which opened on Jan. 6-8 with capacity crowds at Madison Square Garden in New York. The BFTS will make 28 stops in 23 states before the Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 24-28. The World Finals are where the PBR World Champion will be crowned and awarded the coveted championship buckle and a $1 million bonus. The richest bull riding event in the world, the World Finals has a total purse of more than $2 million.

'I think what we saw in Atlanta [from Chris Shivers] is just a preview of what's to come.'

In six events, he's shown flashes of his old self, especially in Atlanta's Built Ford Tough Championship Round, when he covered Delco for 90 points. It was the 93rd time he's been 90 or better.

"I think what we saw in Atlanta is just a preview of what's to come," Murray said.

He also talked about the reemergence of J.B. Mauney.

Mauney is currently the top-ranked rider in the world. In the two weeks since he won in Baltimore, he's finished second and third in the average. He has not finished worse than 13th this year.

The North Carolina native has been in this position in the past, but unlike Shivers, he has yet to finish the season by winning the gold buckle and the $1 million bonus that comes with it.

Mauney could be the beneficiary of having a veteran like Shivers push him when it comes to developing a killer instinct in the arena.

"I was lucky in my career," said Murray, who won nine world titles, including seven all-around titles. "I was around guys that were winners and expected to win every time. That rubs off on you the same way a bad attitude rubs off on you."

Murray added, "J.W. Hart made a good point (during the telecast): Justin McBride was seven seasons in before he won his first world title. That's where J.B.'s at now."

Murray said he loves the gunslinger attitude that Mauney brings to each event, but admits it has both helped and hurt him in the past.

Murray also talked about the dominating performances from Asteroid.

The top-ranked bull will be in Houston this weekend, but Murray is most looking forward to the Arlington, Texas, event in two weeks, when Bushwacker returns to competition and the two bulls face off for the first time since last year's World Finals.

'When Bushwacker is at his best and Asteroid is at his best, I don't know which one to pick. I really don't.'

"To me, it's a coin flip," said Murray, when asked to compare the bulls. "When Bushwacker is at his best and Asteroid is at his best, I don't know which one to pick. I really don't.

"The thing that is going to be interesting to see, to me, are two things: Is Bushwacker going to come back the same as he was? I think he will. I think he can, but that's yet to be seen. The other thing that's real interesting to me, that I think is going to affect the race, is the sense of urgency that Asteroid has."

"Bushwacker is real laidback, really calm, stands in the chute perfectly," Murray continued. "He kind of turns the meter to where he needs it to go. If he can buck a guy off turning it to five, he turns it to five."

On the flipside, Asteroid has some variation to what he does, but he's on 10 every time a rider nods.

UP NEXT: Watch the WinStar World Casino Invitational in Houston next Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Chris Shivers earns his ninety-third 90-point ride, on Delco in Atlanta Saturday.

Shivers finished third in the opening round with 87.75 points on Frontier Fighter, behind J.B. Mauney and Douglas Duncan, who split the round with 88 points.

Shivers didn't hesitate when he selected Delco in the bull draft.

The Louisiana native brought the crowd to its feet with another in his record-setting list of 90-plus point rides. This one moved him to first in the average and eventually gave him a quarter-point win over Mauney.

"I'd love to get a hundred 90-point rides, and I'm going to shoot for every ride to be 90," he said. "If you approach every one of them like that, I don't see how anything can go wrong."

After deciding in Oklahoma City to make his retirement announcement, he said he logged onto YouTube during the trip home to Jonesville and watched some of his past rides.

"It was pretty neat to see," Shivers said, "and there were some rides that I didn't even remember. It was pretty entertaining.

"Sometimes you have to be reminded of some things. You get caught up in the same old thing every week, and that's what you go through-the same whiny attitude. Sometimes you need somebody to pick you up or be around somebody, or just watch videos to lift your spirits and remind you of what you could do."

Shivers is among the most accomplished bull riders in PBR history.

He's currently ranked 11th in the world standings, and has ridden just shy of 53 percent of his bulls this year. The more than $47,000 he's already earned in the first seven events puts him in position to qualify for a record 15th PBR World Finals appearance.

He won the world title in 2000 and 2003, and has twice won the Touring Pro Division title (1997, 2000), as well as the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award for the highest scoring ride at the Finals (1999, 2000).

NEWS & NOTES

TOP BULL: A deep pen of bulls in Atlanta was again led by Asteroid, who was the high-marked bull of the event. Judges marked him 46.5 points after he bucked off Stormy Wing at 6.11 seconds.

'Those guys came to ride, and I think it showed.'

"This was a real hard event on these bulls," said Gene Melton, who hauls the top-ranked bull for Circle T Ranch and Rodeo. "Those guys came to ride, and I think it showed. I mean, when Stormy was on him, he really [bore] down and tried to ride him."

Like the crowd of onlookers, Melton was rooting for Wing to make the whistle. "You hope they do," he said. "You want to see the whole deal and see what happens."

Asteroid is unridden in four outs this year. He will compete again next week in Houston, and again the following week in Arlington, Texas.

FIRST TIME'S A CHARM: Justin Koon earned his first career 90-point ride in the championship round when he covered T-Rex. "It was great," he said. "I hope there's a lot more coming. I just needed to relax and get that one under my belt, and I'm ready to ride some more now."

Justin Koon sticks it to T-Rex on Saturday in Atlanta.

He was the first rider to cover two bulls, and held the lead with a combined 174.5 points until Marco Eguche passed him with 175 on two bulls. Chris Shivers took the lead two outs later.

Koon finished fifth in the average - it was his second Top 5 finish this year - and moved to 18th in the world standings. "It couldn't have worked out any better," said Koon, who nearly bucked off T-Rex early. "I about lost my bull rope at 6 seconds, but besides that I was relaxed, and it felt like I was sitting on him where I needed to be."

WELL ARMED: Renato Nunes was already closing in on the Top 5 of the world standings, and now that he has corrected a free arm issue, he said, "If I can keep doing it like that, it's going to be very good for me all year long."

In the past few weeks, Nunes admitted that he was keeping his free arm too high and it was getting behind him. Last week he practiced putting it in the "perfect position." He added, "You've got to be strong in order to control your body."

Now he's focused on keeping it down with his elbow coming into his ribs, and in Atlanta, he said, "I moved really good."

BUM KNEE: Canadian rider Aaron Roy will likely miss one or two BFTS events following the four Stadium Tour events. He's been bothered much of the season by a bad right knee, and after having it examined by a specialist near his home, he is awaiting the date in which he'll have it scoped.

If surgery is needed - something that won't be decided until he undergoes the scope procedure - he'll wait until November. Recovery from the surgery is estimated at four to five months.

He laughed that doctors were less concerned about his right knee than they were about the absence of an ACL in his left knee. He told them it doesn't bother him, and that he'll wait until after his career to address the issue.

THE ROAD BACK: Fan favorite Matt Bohon was in the draw again this week after winning another event in Canada. He won the first two Canadian Cup events north of the border.

'It's still about making the Finals.'

He said that had his second win come a week earlier, he would have been among the Top 5 money earners on the Touring Pro Division and earned a spot in five BFTS events. Instead he continues to earn his way as a high alternate, but added, "It's still about making the Finals."

HARD HAT: Colby Yates was in Canada when he took a hard shot to the head on Friday night. Yates said the InVinci Bull helmet he wears did its job in protecting him. He told his wife, "This thing is for real. I didn't feel a thing, and everybody knows I would have been knocked out cold." However, he did have to order a new facemask. While it didn't move or bend, there's a hairline crack between two of the breathing holes in the lower portion of the mask.

MIGHTY SHOW: Mike White will be hosting a bull riding event featuring J.B. Mauney on Friday, April 6, and his annual pasture roping event on Saturday, April 7, in Dekalb, Texas. The cost of attending the bull riding, which also features a performance by the Luke Kaufman Band, is $10, with proceeds benefiting Western Wishes.

The pasture roping event is $5 for spectators and free with an armband from Friday night's bull riding event. The entry fee for the roping event is $150 per team.

For more information, log onto: www.facebook.com/mwroping.

UP NEXT: Watch the WinStar World Casino Invitational in Houston next Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network.

Sadie and I arrived home Monday and got back into our daily routine. We got a phone call the next morning, on Valentine's Day, from my son-in-law, saying he and Lacey were at the hospital and it was time for my granddaughter to be born! Lacey was at the hospital for 18 hours and finally gave birth to Emma Rose Scott.

On Valentine's Day, there was no wining and dining, nor dinner and a movie, but my wife Sarah and I got the greatest Valentine's Day present ever: a healthy and beautiful granddaughter!

Follow Chad Berger on Twitter

'There's a lot of extra work that we normally don't have, but there's a lot of work we normally have that is eliminated, too.'

One time-consuming task that has been eliminated for the stadium events is building the "people pens," as they're affectionately known as, that typically sit 10 feet above the bucking chutes. Robinson called it the "least appealing job on the whole tour."

The heavy steel structure takes longer than the rest of the arena for Robinson's crew to assemble.

This week's stadium event is set up like two arena configurations. The typical configuration in a hockey or basketball arena is 85 feet wide, while the one designed for the Georgia Dome is 185 feet wide.

"Setting up two areas and the extra pens is essentially the same as putting up one arena and a VIP platform," Robinson said.

The 12 bucking chutes - two sets of six separated by a 12-foot centerpiece - span what would be the 50-yard line for an Atlanta Falcons game, while the front-of-house production area and in-arena announcers are on a stage that would essentially sit in the end zone.

For Jerome Robinson and his crew, new venues are old hat. They built a bull riding arena in Times Square in 2010, and well, if they can make it there, they'll make it anywhere.

Instead of two truckloads of steel fencing, the crew unloaded three trucks' worth of paneling, because additional bull pens are being built to serve as bull housing.

Most of the bulls arrived Friday evening, and will be loaded out immediately following the event. Normally, bulls are housed at ranches that can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours from the event.

"We had plenty of room, so we built extra pens for them, and then we'll move them up into the more confined holding pens for the event," Robinson explained.

 "We have twice as many pens to work with, so you wouldn't have to be too sharp. In some of the smaller buildings, it amazes me some of the work that our crew does to accomplish what they do …  We have twice the pens we normally have. In Baltimore, we had 60 bulls in there and no way of getting them in or out, so that doesn't allow for very much error."

'In some of the smaller buildings, it amazes me some of the work that our crew does to accomplish what they do.'

Robinson's crew unloaded everything in Atlanta Tuesday, the dirt was hauled in Wednesday, and then Thursday and Friday, the arenas were assembled and readied for Saturday night's event, with a walkthrough and last-minute adjustments made Saturday morning.

Atlanta and Detroit will have very similar configurations, while Houston and Dallas will use the entire stadium floor with a set of three or four bucking chutes in each of the four corners of the two end zones.

Houston and Dallas will also feature a center stage in the middle of the stadium floor. Unlike in Dallas, where the two ends are separated by a walkway, the two sides in Houston will not be divided.

TUNE IN TONIGHT: Action from the Georgia Dome will be broadcast Saturday on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus - same number, new name) at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. MT, and 6 p.m. PT.

Jenkins is very familiar with Mr. Slim. They met three times last season: in New York; Arlington, Texas; and at the National Finals Rodeo, with Jenkins winning all three matches. 

L.J.  Jenkins on 115 Mr Slim:
Jenkins is very familiar with Mr. Slim. They met three times last season: in New York; Arlington, Texas; and at the National Finals Rodeo, with Jenkins winning all three matches.  They were set to meet again in Baltimore just a couple of weeks ago, but Jenkins could not compete due to injury.

J.B. Mauney on 7311 Unpredictable:
It would clearly be unwise to make any predictions about this bull, but he just doesn't have the record of a bull who should be able to unseat Mauney.

Chase Outlaw on 38 Keepin' It Real:
This is a veteran bull going against a rookie rider, but the rider may have the advantage here. Keepin' It Real has been ridden in four of his past five outs, and by three of the four left-handed riders who have faced him.

Unpredictable bucks off Guilherme Marchi in 3.93 seconds in New York in January. The Teague bull has been covered three times in nine outs, and faces J.B. Mauney tonight in Atlanta.

Silvano Alves on 52 Paleface:
Paleface has appeared on tour only once - in Charlotte, N.C., last September, where he was ridden by Silvano Alves for 86.75 points. Alves bucked off the past two bulls he's faced, but he hasn't bucked off three in a row in about a year. The last time it happened was last season, with two bulls at Oklahoma City, and one at Arlington.

Marco Eguche on 7437 Hot Toddy:
Eguche doesn't need much help staying on bulls - his riding percentage is 53.7 percent since he's been in the U.S. - but this one is likely to go into his hand.

Ryan Dirteater on 34T Hot & Juicy:
This is a bull whose buckoff record looks respectable until you look at those he's bucked off. He's faced top-level riders only three times, and has been ridden by them twice.

Alves bucked off the past two bulls he's faced, but he hasn't bucked off three in a row in about a year. The last time it happened was last season, with two bulls at Oklahoma City, and one at Arlington.

Cody Nance on 41/5 Deja Blue Emu:
Deja Blue Emu is one of the most efficient bulls in the PBR when it comes to dashing the hopes of left-handed riders. He has 72 career outs, and has only been ridden 15 times, and only five of those rides were made by left-handed riders. Still, Nance is 2-for-2 on him and accounts for two of the five rides.

Valdiron de Oliveira on S06 Monsoon:
Monsoon has faced Ben Jones and Cody Campbell, and was ridden by Jones. He's about to step up to the next level here. Oliveira is a hard guy for any bull to get on the ground, and doing that may be too much to ask of this one.

Cord McCoy on 601 Off The Hook:
This bull is not only great for left-handed riders, he's also been great for this particular rider. McCoy rode Off The Hook to an 88-point score and an Touring Pro Division event win in Archdale, N.C. last September.

TUNE IN TONIGHT: Action from the Georgia Dome will be broadcast Saturday on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus - same number, new name) at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. MT, and 6 p.m. PT.

(Slade Long, PBR Web developer and statistician, has been crunching the numbers on bucking bulls for 13 years. In addition to his regular "Morning Line" series, published just prior to every Built Ford Tough Series performance, Long co-hosts "In the Bull Pen with Cody Lambert," a podcast recorded every Thursday prior to each BFTS event.)

Our youngest son is in preschool, so Amy and I occasionally help the teachers. It is a lot of fun interacting with 4- and 5-year-old kids, but you have to give teachers credit for having the patience and energy to do that every day.

Last year I got certified as a personal trainer, so I decided to start using that education. I have started working with people at a local gym to help them reach their fitness goals. It is a rewarding experience, and I am really excited about doing more of this. I have a lot more to learn, but that is part of the fun.

As far as being a blogger, I think you understand what I am doing with that activity, as you are reading one of my blogs right now.

Having been out of competition most of last year and this year with injuries, I have started exploring other ways to make money. I guess this qualifies me as an entrepreneur.

So now you know what I've been doing with my time here lately. Life is an adventure, so get out there, take some chances, and learn some new skills.

Sincerely,
Wiley Petersen
wileypetersen.com
facebook.com/wileypetersen

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5

'Any time you go to a big place like that, it pumps you up a little bit more.'

"They run 'em in there and you keep getting on," Mauney said. "At that type of deal, you want to be as many points as you can on two bulls."

GO BIG OR GO HOME: The Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series Stadium Series officially begins with the Atlanta Invitational at the Georgia Dome. The Stadium Tour will travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston on Feb. 25; Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the Dickies Iron Cowboy III presented by WinStar World Casino on March 3; and Ford Field in Detroit for Last Cowboy Standing on March 10.

GEORGIA, SWEET GEORGIA: This is the fifth time that Atlanta has hosted the PBR, but the first time since 2007. The BFTS competed the last two years and three times overall at the Gwinnett Center in nearby Duluth, and Columbus hosted the BFTS for three years from 1999-2001. Atlanta is the seventh of 28 stops for the BFTS, which will visit 23 states before the World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 24-28.

Guilherme Marchi is no stranger to success in Georgia. He won the event in Duluth in 2010.

WHAT IF?: In addition to being a World Champion, Guilherme Marchi is known for joking around in the locker room and during interviews. When asked about the format for Atlanta and Houston, the 2008 champ said, "Maybe everybody is going to ride 35 bulls and make the short go. Just kidding."

On a serious note, Marchi said the stadium series is "good for the sport" and that the PBR works hard to put on big events, which are nothing new to him and fellow Brazilians. Many of the Brahma Super Bull events in Brazil draw 25,000 to 30,000 fans.  "I love the people," he said.

Kody Lostroh, who like Marchi is both a former champion and a jokester, talked about the size of the Georgia Dome and the other stadium venues. He said, "You're indoors, but feel like you're outside there's so much space around you. It doesn't feel like a building should be that big. There's a good energy there."

BRICK BY BRICK: L.J. Jenkins, who has competed the past two years at Cowboys Stadium, said he thought an entire four-event Stadium Tour is "opening up the sport to a new level. I think it's only going to help the sport."

'When I started riding I was 6 years old, and I never dreamed I would be where I am today. I grew up watching the PBR thinking that was the best. Now that I'm older, on tour, the sport has reached a new level.'

Last week, he talked about being aware of great athletes from throughout the sports world who have competed in all four venues. He said, "When you sit down and think about it, a lot of people would love to have that opportunity.

"When I started riding I was 6 years old, and I never dreamed I would be where I am today. I grew up watching the PBR thinking that was the best. Now that I'm older, on tour, the sport has reached a new level."

DEBUT ALERT: Blaine Skaggs will be making his BFTS debut on Saturday. The 21-year-old from Hubbard, Ore., qualified for Atlanta after finishing first at the Lucas Oil Touring Pro Division event on Feb. 11 in Yakima, Wash. Skaggs was the only rider to cover two bulls at the event.

POWER RANKINGS: Based on the past five BFTS events (Anaheim, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; Baltimore; and Oklahoma City), the Power Rankings measure rider efficiency using a variety of statistics, including, but not limited to, wins, riding percentage, scores, and bulls. The current rankings are: 1. Mauney, 94.25; 2. Austin Meier, 91.82; 3. Oliveira, 91.12; 4. Marchi, 88.78; 5. Jordan Hupp, 87.01; 6. Marco Eguche, 86.31; 7. Ryan Dirteater, 85.51; 8. Aaron Roy, 84.59; 9. Stormy Wing, 83.75; 10. Lostroh, 83.66.

TOP FIVE RIDES OF 2012: 1. Oliveira and Buckey, 94 points (Sacramento); T2. Eguche and Priceless, 92.25 points (Sacramento); T2. Meier and Shepherd Hills Trapper, 92.25 points (Sacramento); T2. Mauney and RMEF Gunpowder & Lead, 92.25 points (Baltimore); T2. Mauney and Smackdown, 92.25 points (Oklahoma City).

BUSHWACKER SCHEDULED TO RETURN IN ARLINGTON: The 2011 PBR World Champion Bull is scheduled to return on March 3 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Bushwacker had surgery on Jan. 3 to remove bone fragments from his back right leg. Dr. Gary Warner, who performed the procedure, also removed some small bone chips from his back left leg.

TV GUIDE: The action from Atlanta will be televised in HD on NBC Sports Network, formerly Versus, at 9 p.m. ET this Saturday, Feb. 18. There will be an encore airing at 11:59 p.m. ET as well. Veteran broadcaster Craig Hummer will provide the play-by-play. Color commentary will be provided by PBR Ring of Honor member J.W. Hart, and dirt-level interviews will be handled by Leah Garcia.

LIVE EVENT CENTER: Follow all the action from this week's BFTS event by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live. The multimedia center provides in-arena audio and video, live scoring, live blogging and event-related interviews.

One bull who is certain to be drafted is Asteroid.

Asteroid bucked in three consecutive BFTS events on the West Coast before taking some time off in anticipation of the Atlanta event. In his three previous outings, he established himself as the No. 1 active bull in the world.

Lambert and PBR statistician Slade Long also talked about several other bulls who are likely to be drafted in the second round, including BigTexTrailers.com, Jack Daniel's After Party, Highway 12 and Motown Magic.

BigTexTrailers.com was the high-marked bull in Oklahoma City last weekend, which illustrated how tough he is considering the bull power in the Sooner State. It was the first time he was the high-marked bull since he was 4 years old and outscored Bushwacker at an ABBI Classic event in Tulsa, Okla.

"He's a good one," Lambert said. "He's had his ups and downs."

According to Lambert, reigning Stock Contractor of the Year Jeff Robinson had trouble keeping weight on him, and then thought he got too heavy. Lambert said he's finally just right.

Long said three of the bulls slated for the second round - Jack Daniel's After Party, Highway 12 and Motown Magic - have given riders trouble this year.

Riders had their way with Jack Daniel's After Party a year ago, but according to Long, the bull has turned it up this year, and the cowboys can't seem to get the hang of him. They're 0-for-4 on him after six events.

Bigtextrailers.com (formerly Moon) is undefeated so far this year. In Baltimore, he bucked off Kody Lostroh in 4.11 seconds.

Like Jack Daniel's After Party, Highway 12 is described as slow and deliberate.

"But he's getting them pretty quick," said Lambert. "They don't have similar styles of bucking, but they're worth about the same amount of points. You kind of expect a guy to ride him, but they haven't ridden either one this year. They'll be a lot [of points] if they do ride either one of these."

Lambert and Long also talked about Shepherd Hills Trapper and RMEF Gunpowder and Lead.

According to Lambert, Gunpowder and Lead is predictable.

As soon as the gate opens, he's spinning to the left and fading across the arena. He's described as flashy and exciting to watch. It takes a world-class rider to make the whistle, and as Lambert said, that's the kind of rider he faces every time he's in the championship round.

As a whole, the top riders in the world had been riding well until last week in Oklahoma City, where they averaged only 11 qualified rides per round in the three long rounds, with a pen comparable to the one assembled in Atlanta.

"We'll see what happens," Lambert said.

THIS IS HUGE: Action from the Georgia Dome will be broadcast Saturday on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus - same number, new name) at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. MT, and 6 p.m. PT.

During the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento, Calif., Caleb Sanderson got on Cowboy Casanova. When Cowboy left the chute, he turned back so close that when he made his first round, he kicked the chute gate. After that, he didn't have the trip he had been having lately, and I knew something had happened. Although Caleb made a textbook ride, Cowboy was off. When I checked on him in the back pens, he wasn't putting weight on his left hind leg. I had a pretty strong feeling he had injured his hock the same way he had done over a year ago. The next day, he was pretty stiff, so before loading him on the truck to head home, I ran him in and loaded him up with antibiotics. By the time I got him off the trailer, his hock (his hind knee) was swollen and he was really lame on it. It was about the most sickening feeling ever, but since he had the same injury before, I at least felt like I was prepared.

I arranged for K.J. Pletcher, who works for D&H Cattle, to pick him up in Albuquerque and drop him off with Dr. Mark Barker, who has a practice outside Oklahoma City. Dr. Barker discovered that he cracked the cap of his hock, and also injured a bone in his hip. They treated those injuries and kept him at the clinic for about a week. I was able to go get him this past weekend, and he is looking great! He doesn't seem to be in pain and the swelling in his hock has gone down substantially. Right now, I am keeping him pretty confined, and he has about four weeks to go before I will buck him at home and see how he feels. I really appreciate everyone who has checked up on him!

He has been bucking so hard lately, and trying to turn back so close that he is getting too close now. My game plan when I start bucking him again is to switch him to a left-hand delivery. When he was younger, I bucked him out of that side and he would go two jumps and around to the right. I don't know that he will do that now, but I think it will be good to change it up a little, and hopefully it will loosen him back up and he won't injure himself again kicking the chute or the gate.

I have a few new bulls I'm going to be bucking for the next couple weeks and hopefully can debut in Houston. Other than that, my days have been full of running around feeding cattle, doctoring, gathering, sorting. . . the list goes on! Also, McKennon has started getting on bulls again! It's been a little nerve-racking, but I'm so proud of him and can't believe how far he has come in the past year. He is riding awesome, too!  He hasn't missed a beat.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with those that you love. I spent it with my boys: McKennon, my brother Rial and our friend Andrew. I also spent it cutting an infected horn off a bull! There's never a dull moment around here!

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Kate Upton posted this photo on her Twitter feed.

Upton joined New York Giants tight end Bear Pascoe at the Madison Square Garden Invitational, the opening event of the 2012 Built Ford Tough Series. It was the sixth straight year the PBR has attracted capacity crowds to the storied venue.

Tennessee's Cody Nance won the event by covering all five of his bulls on the weekend.

About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world's premier bull riding organization. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the PBR. In just two decades, the dream of 20 bull riders has become a global sports phenomenon that is televised worldwide. More than 100 million viewers annually watch primetime PBR programming on networks around the world including CBS, CBS Sports Network, NBC, and NBC Sports Network. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 24 riders have earned over $1 million, including Justin McBride with $5.5 million -- the most of any western sports athlete in history. Nearly two million fans attend Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/PBR.

'The PBR is way better off because Chris Shivers was part of it and is part of it.'

Ending months of speculation, Shivers recently said, "As far as being done, this is it for me. It's my last year."

In October, when his illustrious career comes to a close at the Thomas & Mack Center in what will be a PBR-record 15th World Finals appearance, Shivers is as much a shoo-in for the PBR Ring of Honor as any rider in history.
 
"He's the most hot-[stuff] thing the PBR has ever seen," said fellow two-time World Champion Justin McBride.

"I'm proud of him and for him," said PBR co-founder Cody Lambert. "The PBR is way better off because Chris Shivers was part of it and is part of it.

Chris Shivers won his first World Championship in 2000.

"He's done a lot for the PBR just from leading by example - by being a great bull rider and not being a diva and crybaby athlete. He's a great bull rider, a quiet cowboy, treats people with respect, and he will kick your [butt] if you mess with him. That is Chris Shivers. That's not something you see on the big screen. Those guys who are heroes in movies - quiet, nice, shy people, who if you mess with them they'll kick your [butt]  - Chris Shivers is really that guy."

PRODIGY

Shivers was born and raised in Jonesville, La. He lives there today.

At 13, he got on his first bull at one of several local practice pens, and a year later he "made a pretty decent living." Unlike other teens who traveled together, he drove to events with his parents, and returned home at night.

"I went for one reason, and one reason only," he recalled. "I didn't go to play and go out at night. I was there to win, and I won more than a lot of people at a young age."

At 15, he won a brand-new truck. By the time he was 16, he was winning money at every event he entered. "I was riding against the big boys," Shivers said. "I was young, but I went to all the bigger bull ridings and I was paying my own way."

'He did his entire career as a professional bull rider in the PBR. What that means is his entire career was going up against the best bulls in the world - getting on the rank ones.'

Since turning pro at age 18, every event he's ridden in has been a PBR-sanctioned event. Not once has he ever competed for any other association, organization or league.

"I'll always be involved with the PBR as long as they'll allow me to," he said. "I'm one of the guys that have been faithful to the PBR the entire time that I've been here. For how many ever years I've been riding, that's all I've ever done."

"In a way, he is a pioneer," Lambert said. "He did his entire career as a professional bull rider in the PBR. What that means is his entire career was going up against the best bulls in the world - getting on the rank ones."

THE ROAD TO GREATNESS

"Everyone who remembers Chris coming around as an 18-year-old remembers knowing that he was going to be the World Champion," Lambert recalled. "I know for me personally, I didn't have to watch him ride five bulls or 10 bulls or half the season before I decided this kid is good. I had to see him ride one bull."

His fundamentals were nearly flawless.

Whatever the reason - skill, size, strength - Chris Shivers can dress up a bull ride like no one else.

He's small and strong, a winning combination.

"He's so tiny, and he rides like he's huge," McBride said. "He went at them."

It didn't take long for Shivers to prove just how fearless he was. Lambert said the newcomer was 18 or 19 years old when a bull hit him in the head. "It just hammered him," Lambert said. "He came back and rode just as good. He was fearless."

Early in his career he traveled with Bubba Dunn and Norman Curry. Lambert said both are great riders who aren't remembered nearly as much as they should be, and that Shivers learned how to ride, compete and become a champion by traveling with them.

Shivers, Lambert said, took the best parts from each of them "and then raised that to a better level than they were."

Later in his career he traveled with PRCA World Champion Mike White.

In 1997, he was the Touring Pro Division Champion. In 1999, he won the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award for the first time (he would do it again in 2001). In 2000, he claimed the TPD title for a second time, and won his first PBR World Championship.

In 2003, he became the second two-time World Champion in PBR history.

"Chris Shivers never had to learn how to take defeat," Lambert explained. "He showed up and he could win."

'Chris Shivers never had to learn how to take defeat. He showed up and he could win.'

In three of his first five years in the PBR, he set single-season earnings records. He was the first rider to reach $1 million, $2 million and $3 million. He currently ranks second in all-time career earnings with $3.8 million, and he's third on the all-time list of event wins with 21. He's won as many as five in a single season; three times he won three.

UNPRECEDENTED

Shivers has always been known for being flashy and quick, and even today he's still able to get the most out of every bull.

He not only has nearly double the total number of 90-point rides (92) than any other rider (Guilherme Marchi comes closest with 52), but he also has more than 60 rides marked between 88 and 89.75 points.

It's unknown how many of those 150-plus rides resulted in round wins, or, as Lambert asked, how many times he might have bucked off at 7.8 or 7.9 "when he was fixing to be 90 points."

"That's one judge being a point different on a bull," said McBride. "Chris Shivers was built to be 90. I think he really thrived on it.

"There's no telling how long if ever somebody will beat that. That's not one or two good years to get to that, that's a career of greatness."

Chris Shivers collected his second World Championship buckle in 2003.

He has five scores among the 50 highest in PBR history, including two of the four highest scores of all time at 96.5 points.

In 2000, Shivers was in Tampa, Fla., when he rode Jim Jam for 96.5 points to tie Dunn's mark, which was set a year earlier. A year later, he matched it when he covered Dillinger at the World Finals.

"Everything that I do, I go to the extreme with it," Shivers said.

"He got the most out of every bull," Lambert said.

EVOLUTION

Speculation about Shivers' retirement began in earnest at the end of the 2008 season, when McBride retired. It reached a high point in 2010 with the retirement of Shivers' best friend White.

"People can speculate," said McBride, whose own decision to retire at the age of 30 was second-guessed, "but nobody can make that decision for him. He has to make it for himself, and he knows that better than anybody."

Shivers admitted it's been hard listening to others talk about his future.

"It's kind of like getting your teeth knocked out," he explained. "You get reminded of that one thing every day. That's just what they're going to talk about. They're not going to talk about the time you were 90 and you this or that. They're going to talk about all the wrecks or all the negative things. That bothers me.

"I'm going out the way I want to. Nobody is forcing me to do anything. I have too many doubts now that this isn't where I need to be. … I still think I can beat these guys if I dedicate my heart and soul into it, but I don't think I can."

While sitting on planes, he thinks about the things he could be doing at home. In the locker room, he thinks about things he would rather be doing.

Speaking only from his own experience, McBride said it's a strange feeling to no longer want to do something one has done for so many years. "It was also a huge relief that I didn't have to do it anymore," McBride said.

'You knew there was a chance of something monumental and exciting about to happen every time he came out of the chute.'

Lambert said while others might be sad to see Shivers walk away from the sport, he's happy for him. "He gets to go on to the next phase of his life with something," Lambert said. "He earned everything he has."

Shivers and his wife Kylie, who married following the 2001 season, have two sons, Brand and Blayne.

Lambert remembers a BFTS event shortly after Brand was born, when a profile of Shivers was shown on a big screen in the arena.

Shivers was in the chute.

"It showed a picture of his son on the screen, at the back of the arena, and you could see Chris look up to watch it and smiling," Lambert said. "He was so focused on watching that baby, but then he went back to business and you just knew he was going to ride that bull, because he was riding for a different reason than just himself."

Lambert later added, "What's so cool about it is that we got to see Chris Shivers grow up. He was a kid when he came, and then he was a champion, and then he got married and started a family."

The Shivers family lives on a ranch where they raise cattle, and hunt and fish together. He built a covered arena and has hosted bull riding schools, calf roping events and, most recently, a junior bull riding event featuring mini bulls.

Shivers said he's happy to have created so many opportunities at home with his family, and that he no longer thinks about bull riding nonstop.

Even late in his career, Chris Shivers' rides are positively electric.

"If you're not willing to do that, then winning a World Championship is pretty farfetched," said Shivers, who only sees one reason to ride bulls-winning.

"It's going to suck that he's not there to bring you that level of excitement," said McBride, who credits Shivers with pushing him throughout his own 10-year career.

"It's that way in any sport. Before Brett Favre went crazy that's the way he was. He made it so exciting to watch, and you knew that something special could happen any time the ball was snapped. That's the way Chris Shivers' whole career has been. You knew there was a chance of something monumental and exciting about to happen every time he came out of the chute.

"I think there's going to be a void there right now," McBride continued. "Maybe someday, 50 years from now, somebody like him will come along, but it'll be a long time."

UP NEXT: Shivers will compete at the Atlanta Invitational this weekend. Action from the Georgia Dome will be broadcast Saturday on NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus - same number, new name) at 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT, 7 p.m. MT, and 6 p.m. PT.