Raise Your Free Hand If You Think You Can Ride A Bull

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THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE


-The Commish recalls Chad Ochocinco's bull ride.


-Walz Elite Skills Camp today


-Vote for Angel!

( The "Commish" Mark reviews a historic bull ride in today's CARDINAL COUPLE. Now that Chad Ochocinco is in Miami, FL....we can only surmise that Dolphin riding is next for him...) 

Do you think you have what it takes to ride a Bull? Some may say, "It's not that tough". Or "What is the big deal?"  One may think any one can do it and that being a Bull Rider is easy.  As a matter of fact a famous Professional Football player thought that. He was being a little too disrespectful to the sport and was challenged to put up or shut up.  Who was this famous athlete?  It was none other than Chad Ochocinco  (Cincinnati Bengal/New England Patriots now Miami Dolphins wide receiver).  The PBR challenged him with this offer:

If...at the 2011 Built Ford Tough Series PBR event scheduled at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.... he got on a bull the PBR would give him $10,000.

If he rode the bull for the required eight seconds, the PBR would give him a new Ford F-150 truck and allow him to permanently rename the bull anything he wanted.

If he didn't show, the PBR would rename the bull "#58 No Show Cinco." (The number is the reverse of Ochocinco's jersey No. 85.)

It all started May 4, 2011.  He posted on his twitter account that he was headed for a showdown with PBR top rider Valdiron Oliveria at the BFTS Event in Duluth, GA.:

Ochocinco tweeted:
 

"Valdiron de Oliveira vs. Lil Taco May 13th-14th Duluth,GA. Who coming to watch the longest 8 seconds of my life?"

Sean Gleason, the Chief Operating Officer of the PBR then tweeted:
 

"that's the deal. Show up and get on the bull u get 10K, ride him for 8 secs and its a brand new F150 from @teampbr @fordtrucks."

Ochocinco responded:
 

"if I stay on for 8 seconds FORD will give me an F-150? I challenge your best bull and i'll give the truck to 1 of my followers."

Gleason also had this to say about the offer:

"The Ford F-150 we're offering will be there, we hope (Ochocinco) is too,"  "He's a gifted athlete, but bull riding is a much different sport and climbing on the back of a bull in the chutes takes a little more than Twitter confidence, let alone calling for the gate (to open).
"We admire Ochocinco's interest in the sport. If he actually gets on and nods his head (to open the gate), he'll find out that two-a-days in the summer heat are nothing compared to the eight seconds faced by PBR bull riders week in and week out."

Before his ride he had a day of training by co-founder of the PBR retired Nine Time World Champion Rodeo Cowboy Ty Murray. He tried giving him a crash course in the basics of Bull Riding. Ocho also had to sign a waiver releasing the PBR of all liability and that he knew Bull Riding was a dangerous sport.

Before his ride, Ochocinco tweeted:
 

"The real question is not how long I can last on the bull, but how long the bull can last with me riding him"
 
The Bull he was given to ride was a Bull named DEJA BLU. He is co-owned by none other than Ex-Los Angeles Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda.  As a matter of fact the Bull is named after him.  Lasorda is friends with the stock contractor Tom Teague who originally owned the Bull.  Teague felt the bull had a touch of blue in him and decided to name him after Tommy Lasorda.  DEJA BLU as a play on the words "Dodger Blue".  (Teague sold DEJA BLU to another Stock Contractor--Jeff Robinson.  Lasorda still is part owner.)  Since then, DEJA BLU  has had a slight name change. Instead of DEJA BLU The Bull is now known as DEJA BLUE EMU.. (Blue-Emu is a pain relief product containing Emu Oil and is a sponsor of the PBR.)

DEJA BLU EMU is one of the top rated Bulls in the PBR with an average Bull rating/score for the past 5 years of 44.004.  The average score received by the 16 riders that successfully rode him is 88.52 points.  That is a very good average score. This Bull was no Gimmee.

How did Ochocinco do? Did he get on DEJA BLU or was he a "no show"? Who won this historic battle of Man vs. Beast?  Well, it sure wasn't Chad Ochocinco. He did show and got on the Bull's back. He actually nodded his head---the gate flew open---and down Ochocinco went in 1.5 seconds.

Afterwards Ochocinco had a new found respect for the Bull riders of the PBR.  He was quoted as saying,"The sport doesn't get enough credit – the guys who do this week in and week out … should be the highest-paid athletes in sports."  And "It was fun--I can cross bull riding off my bucket list."

As promised Ochocinco did receive the $10,000 for showing up and getting on the bull. Afterwards he pledged to give the $10,000 he won to FEED THE CHILDREN. Several sponsors then  stepped up, including Ford, and gave  that F-150 away in a contest among Ochocinco's Twitter followers.

Here is the video of Ochocinco's ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z38ell5-Ivc&feature=relmfu

And here are some video thoughts of the Bull Riders before Ocho's ride and Ocho's thoughts afterwards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PHa2b2rmxU

Me and Bill on the way to Prospect Beverage Shop.

I would venture to say Cardinal Couple Co-Owner & senile Senior Columnist Paulie Sykes being a farm boy at heart would have done much better than Ocho. That is because Paulie had plenty of experience riding four legged "beasts" in his youth.  Namely goats down at the Drunken Amish Farm in Goshen, KY.  Paulie was known as "THE GOAT RIDER" and has numerous trophies from the many Saturday Night Goat Riding Competitions he participated in. The best Goat he ever rode?  Bill the Goat of course. Rode him for 98 points June 5,1971.

Here is some grainy video footage of that historic ride. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFG8hDKEbho

Goats are effective short-term methods of transportation.

( Editor note: No goats were harmed in the filming or participation of the video. Bill has since retired from competitive goat riding but has been known to sneak up behind "The Commish" and send him scurrying down the sacred halls of CARDINAL COUPLE Worldwide headquarters with a succession of head butts .) 


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Just a reminder that the Elite Skills Camp is today at Cardinal Arena on the UofL campus from 1-5 p.m. Get out and watch these talented young ladies in action and show some love for Mercedes Russell and the rest of the participants.  


A stellar group of high school stars will be going through the camp. They deserve and have earned our respect. How many coaches besides Jeff Walz would open this event to the fan base? 


This is a chance to see the #1 recruit for 2013 and show her that UofL WBB fans represent all year long. 


See you there!


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Cardinal great Angel McCoughtry is one of five WNBA players up for an ESPY...the annual award the four-letter network gives out to the best and brightest in the world of sports. 


She's deserving...no doubt. The talented Ms. McCoughtry leas the WNBA in points per game (22.6) and steals (3.55). 


Also nominated Diana Taurasi, Seimone Augustus, Tina Charles an Tamika Catchings. Two Huskies, a Volunteer and a bayou bengal Tiger. 


Go vote for Angel at:


Vote for Angel!

(There are over 30 categories to choose from. A lot of them I had no idea on who to pick. There is a "next" button, fortunately. Angel's category is about halfway through the selections. )


Commish Mark