Round 6-NFR Fantasy or Nightmare?

Things are going from bad to worse with my fantasy team. Thank goodness for bareback rider Bobby Mote, who not only came in first, but is also on track to win the average (a $40K payoff to the rider with the best average after ten rounds) and my fav tie down roper Tuf Cooper who came in at a solid 4th with a 7.8 time. Here's how my team did in round 6--don't cringe.

Bareback riding: Bobby Mote-$17139

Steer Wrestling: Trevor Knowles-12th

Team Roping: Tryan/Jones-11th, no time

Saddle bronc: Taos Muncy-13th

Tie down roping: Tuf Cooper-4th-7,188

Barrel racing: Mary Burger-14th

Bull riding: J.W. Harris--no time

Total money: $ 24,327

Only two members of my team made it into the top six in the sixth round. But, tonight is another opportunity to do better. I'll be watching on ESPN360.com to see it live. How are your favorites doing?

Round 5-Fantasy Rodeo

Even with some wins, it wasn't enough to make it a good night. Bobby Mote tied for 1st, splitting the purse of the one and two spot to take home $15343. Trevor Knowles tied for 3rd taking home only $921. Tryan/Jones came in at the 12 spot, as did Mary Burger in barrel racing. Taos Muncy only camed in at spot 10 in a tie while Tuf came in at the 7 spot. $16264 is all my team got this week. Only five days left. I'm not doing so well!

Round 4 Fantasy NFR Team

Well it's round 4 and thank goodness for team roping or I'd have little to show for my fantasy team. So thank you Travis Tryan and Michael Jones for your fantastic roping ability.

Team members in the money last night were:

Travis Tryan and Michael Jones who combined in Team Roping to tie with Sartain and VonAhn for first so they split the first and second place winnings for a total of $30,686. Remind me when I play fantasy rodeo for real to carefully choose my team roping duo--those boys can win you some money! Taos Muncy came in second in Saddle Bronc earning $13536 and Bobby Mote came in 6th in Bareback riding for $2764. That's $46996 my team won in Round 4. Not bad but not enough to win a Fantasy Rodeo round.

By the way, Taos lost to Jesse Kruse who looked amazing on his saddle bronc and showed people why he is number 1 in the event. I would have chosen Jesse for my team since I think he'll win, but in the real fantasy rodeo you only have so much money to spend on your team and since Jesse was already at number 1, he came at a high price. So I went with my sentimental favorite, Taos Muncy who won in 2007 and then broke his leg in 2008. I love a comeback. Which is why I didn't pick my other favorite Saddle bronc rider, Cody Wright. He also looked awesome in Round 3--poetry in motion. But since he won last year, I thought I'd go with the "comeback." So far, Taos hasn't disappointed--winning round 1 and placing 2nd in round 4.

Looking forward to more rodeo tonight!

Round 2 and Round 3 Fantasy NFR

How am I doing with my fantasy team? Frankly not so good, particularly since I spent most of my chits on picking the top bull rider, J.W. Harris and he's out with a bad wrist. So, instead, I'll be replacing him with Jesse Bail who hasn't scored yet (you can't substitute in real fantasy rodeo but hey, this is MY fantasy) until/if J.W. comes back.

Remember, only those who place 1-6 get a payout from the rodeo (ranging from $17139-2,764) and if they tie with someone, they split the money for that round's place.

So here's the results in round 2

Bareback riding, Bobby Mote -10
Steer Wrestling, Trevor Knowles--3
Team Roping, Tryan/Jones--11 (no score)
Saddle Bronc riding, Taos Muncy--13(no score)
Tie-down roping, Tuf Cooper--3
Barrel racing, Mary Burger--7
Bull riding, Jesse Bail, no score

Total payout to team members: a meager $25,956

But the third round (Saturday night) I did a bit better, mainly because my team ropers came in first and that's double the money since there are two of them! Here's the results

Bareback riding, Bobby Mote (3)
Steer Wrestling, Trevor Knowles (8)
Team roping, Tryan/Jones (1)
Saddle bronc riding, Taos Muncy (12)
Tie down roping, Tuf Cooper (6)
Barrel racing, Mary Burger (4)
Bull riding, Jesse Bail (0)

Total round 3 payout of team members: $51510--best night yet. :) But still not good enough to win in real fantasy rodeo.

Off to watch tonight's round on ESPN 2 at 9 pm EST.

Fantasty NF Rodeo Team

How did my fanatsy rodeo team do last night in the first round of the National Finals Rodeo? Well let's see:





Bareback riding-- Bobby Mote (2)* --84 score/ placed 5



Steer Wrestling-- Trevor Knowles (5)-- No score/ placed 15th



Team Roping-- Tryan/Jones (7/8)-- 9.10/ placed 8



Saddle Bronc riding-- Taos Muncy (11)-- 86 score/placed 1



Tie down roping --Tuf Cooper (6)-- 8.3/ scored 6



Barrel Racing-- Mary Burger (3)-- 14.33/placed 8



Bull Riding --J.W. Harris (1)-- no score/ tied for 7th


In all my contestants won $20, 917 with only three placing in the money. Not great but it's only the first round with nine more to go. Happy, though, that I picked a winner for my favorite event, saddle bronc riding. My hero in Re-ride at the Rodeo is a saddle bronc rider, natch. Saddle bronc riding is one of the classic rodeo events because bronc riding has been a necessary skill of cowboys since horses needed to be ridden. It also requires the most mastery of any of the rough-stock events and puts the most emphasis on form of any of those events. It takes a long time to be a good saddle bronc rider, but once you master it, you can become really great.

If you don't get ESPN Classic, you can catch the rodeo in the wee hours of the morning on ESPN 2 or watch it as close to real time as possible on your computer, starting at 10 p.m. EST each night on ESPN360.com, as I do. Congrats to all the winners.

*()ranking prior to the NFR

The Mystery Called Rodeo

I was confiding to a casual friend my interest in rodeo and she asked me a simple question--why? She wasn't being snarky, but she was looking at a suburbanite who was living a fairly typical suburban life and wondering how this woman (me) had fallen in love with rodeo.

Certainly, I grew up on a farm and we did own a horse and my sisters did barrel race, but my life now is far removed from those days. And maybe that's part of the attraction. When I'm at the rodeo, I'm that farm girl again. The one who used to bring home all the stray animals, who used to play in mud, who loved to eat cherry tomatoes right off the vine and dip her stick of fresh rhubarb in a bag of sugar for a bittersweet treat. That's the sentimental draw of rodeo.

But there is another, competitive side that draws me to rodeo. These cowboys are literally risking their life for a long shot at a little money. And they aren't competing with each other as much as they are competing with themselves and against the bull or horse they are riding or the steer they are roping. Most of the time, the bull or horse wins. This is especially true if you watch a small town rodeo--then you realize just how difficult the sport is. Whether bronc riding or tie-down roping, these are difficult skills which the top fifteen rodeo cowboys in each category make look easy at an event like the National Finals Rodeo, coming up December 3-12 in Los Vegas. It's a dream of mine to attend that event. I'm shooting for 2013 when my daughter enters college and my husband and I will be free to go. Until then, I have to be content with setting the DVR to tape in the wee hours of the morning, which is when the previous night's action is broadcast in my neck of the woods. That's how far removed I am from rodeo. (My small town, however, does host an annual rodeo--the only one to do so for miles and miles around.:)

And then, of course, there are the cowboys and horses that get to my passionate side. All those cowboys, all that horse flesh. I just love a man in a cowboy hat, chaps and boots sitting atop a horse. It always provides a creative boost, ala my story Re-ride at the Rodeo.

As for that mystery called rodeo, I like being just a little bit unpredictable, like that bronc that comes busting out of the gate, only to twist the exact opposite way than the cowboy expects.

Here's to all the cowboys out there and those barrel racing cowgirls who show gumption, grit and guts. My cowgirl hat is off to you all.

Counting Blessings

As someone reminded me, I haven't been very good about keeping up my blog. I still haven't figured out the key to making this routine. Just when I think I've got it, blogging goes sputtering off my radar. But I was reading Linda Lael Miller's blog today http://www.lindalaelmiller.com/blog/blog.asp
and she reminded me about one thing that should never go off someone's radar--and that is counting my blessings.

So while I sit polishing off a requested manuscript in between hovering over my teenager who is home with H1N1 flu, I decided to take some time and count my blessings.

So here's five things I'm grateful for today:

(1) My daughter is recovering from the flu--fever is down, sore throat isn't so sore, and she's beginning to talk about how bored she is--a sure sign of progress!

(2) That I have a request from a great editor for my contemporary manuscript and I'm almost done making it shiny and bright. I'd tell you more about it but I don't want to jinx it. :)

(3) That I have such a good husband who did the grocery shopping and cooked dinner last night so I could take care of my daughter and work on my manuscript. Did I mention how much I love him?

(4) That I'm able to work at what I love--both in writing and in my consulting practice.

(5) That it's a gorgeous day out and I'm going to get in some garden clean up later--maybe, hopefully.

Linda was right. It does make you feel so much better! Any blessings(s) you want to count? And sorry I've been away so long.....