The Morning Line – Saskatoon – Day 2
By: Ted Stovin Saturday, November 23, 2019 @ 10:02 AM
Seven bull riders remain mathematically in contention for the 2019 PBR Canada National Championship.
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – After night one at last year’s finals, only one rider ended the night with two scores. This time around, we have eight.
Out of the 20 bull riders qualified to ride in Saskatoon, only three last night didn’t get at least one score.
Of the PBR Canada Bull of the Year contenders in Rounds 1 and 2, all three of the averages actually ended up going down. Uptown Funk is now at 43.8 while Homegrown leads the charge at 44.5.
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At 44.1, Happy Camper needs to score 2.5 points higher than Homegrown in order to overtake the crown. A total of five of the contenders are in the draw for the championship round.
If you didn’t see it yet, Dakota Buttar is now No. 1 after a pair of round wins on Friday night. The $50,000 bonus and $17,500 for the finals champ is far from over though, here’s a look at things for tonight.
Round 3
Logan Biever vs. 592 Kubota’s Summer Warrior.
If we’re talking about cowboys in the sport of bull riding in Canada and those currently at the PBR Canada Finals, I’d say that Logan Biever is the next in line after Parsonage. If we’re talking about doing cowboy stuff, he gets to do it every day. Here in Saskatoon, Biever is back on another heater. In 2017 he would tame the legend Minion Stuart in a breakout showing for a third-place finish the year Zane Lambert would win his second PBR Canada title. Until Buttar took over the lead, Logan was actually in the lead. This is a rematch from Calgary on the Monster Energy Tour where the bull fouled himself and Biever would get a re-ride. Ridden four times in ten outs the top scores have been in at 86 points. Another score here is going to pay the man.
Daylon Swearingen vs. 1-417 Muddy Water
Swearingen last night quietly put himself in a spot to potentially still win the title. Going 2-for-2, he still lost ground points wise, now 987.08 back but with 1,750 still on the line, it’s not over yet. Muddy Water from the X6 Ranch has been marked as high as 44 points and been ridden five times in 23 outs. Scores have been as high as 87 points and Parsonage has ridden to two event wins on this very bovine athlete. Daylon is the dark horse that could swing in and steal the $50,000.
Shay Marks vs. 534C Firebeatz
Bucking off in Round 1 hurt Shay, he now has to have all three of Swearingen, Buttar and Parsonage falter in order for him to still have a chance of claiming the victory. Firebeatz has been ridden twice in 14 outs. The first qualified ride came last month in Edmonton and was made by the man Zane Lambert. Biever rode Firebeatz from James Foley last night in Round 2 for 86.5 points. I’m surprised Shay got this bull this far down in the draft with the 12th pick. He’s been marked as high as 45 points this summer back in Cluny bucking off the world champ Jess Lockwood. Marks was honored as being the fourth man named to the PBR’s Global Cup roster for Team Canada last night and could make a big stand this evening.
Jared Parsonage vs. 424 Thunder Road
After a buckoff of Finning Hou’s Deacon in Round 1, Parsonage redeemed himself, taking Double Major to the whistle for 83.5 points. Unfortunately, he only earned 10 Canadian points to Buttar’s 500 leaving him back in the No. 2 spot in Canada, 457.51 points back. With the ninth pick in the draft Parsonage selected Thunder Road from Eno Bucking Bulls knowing he needed a big score to win the round. This bull has only been ridden twice in 14 outs. Australia’s Brady Fielder was the first guy to ride Thunder Road for 86 points and the win in Kinsella. In the last qualified ride, Mason Taylor got him bested for 87.25 points in Minneapolis on the elite Unleash the Beast. To sum it up, Jared needs to somehow make up 500 points but Buttar is leading the aggregate which awards 1,250 points for first. Second is only 600. End of story, it’s going to be a hell of a night.
Dakota Buttar vs. 411 Grey Tower III
It was probably a month ago when my podcast pal Wacey Anderson picked Dakota to win Canada. He also picked Edgar Durazo to win the CPRA title and Jess Lockwood to take the world. It's starting to look like he will be 3-for-3 after a buckoff from Parsonage last night and a pair of round wins from Buttar. With the first pick in the Round 3 draft he picked a familiar foe in Grey Tower III from Vold Rodeo. Dakota won Moose Jaw on this bull with an 89.5 which is where his title run began. Only three guys have conquered this bull and they are Buttar, Brock Radford here in the championship round last year and twice this year by none other than Parsonage. This could be the bull it all started on, and with another round win, it would all but secure his first PBR Canada Championship.
Tickets remain available for the final night of the 2019 PBR Monster Energy Canadian Finals, presented by Dakota Dunes Casino, on November 23 at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.ca.
Fans will also be able to watch all the action LIVE on RidePass. The stream will begin on Saturday, November 23 at 7:30 p.m CT.
Stay tuned in to PBRCanada.com and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Canada), Twitter (@PBRCanada), and Instagram (@PBRCanada) for the latest results, news, stats and more.
Follow Ted Stovin on Twitter @TedStovin