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LAS VEGAS (April 14, 2010) – Statistically, there’s little about Team Canada to encourage a betting man, even in a city like Las Vegas.

“They may not be the strongest on paper,” said Ty Murray, “but if they come together right and match up with the right bull they can be very dangerous.”

But the World Cup isn’t played out on paper. Instead, it will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

As they have in the past, the Canadians – whose roster this year includes Aaron Roy, Scott Schiffner, Vince Northrop, Tyler Thomson and Devon Mezei – will compete for the good of the team, as opposed to individual acclaim.

A big reason for that is Cody Sndyer, who is serving as team captain for the fourth year.

“When you look at a lot of great coaches, that’s what they’re good at—making them come together,” said Murray.

“I love how serious Canada takes the World Cup.”

Canada’s past success in the World Cup parallels the achievements of the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers a few years back, when both of those franchises managed to win Super Bowl titles without a Hall-of-Fame-caliber quarterback.

“There are just so many things that factor into this, but coming together is big, because this is a team competition,” Murray said.

Tanner Girletz will travel with the team and be ready to step in as the alternate.

Murray went on to explain that Snyder has done a great job in past Cup events by matching up riders with the right bulls, as well as choosing which three scores to keep in each round.

It remains to be seen whether this year’s Canadians are like the team that nearly won the first two World Cup events, or more like the team that finished third a year ago in Brazil – a bitter disappointment to Snyder.

Murray said that last year’s experience will make them “that much more hungry.”

Snyder has been mentoring his team from the day after last year’s third-place finish. They traveled home as a team and began talking about what they needed to win the 2010 event.

“I think they’re going to be in the mix,” said Murray, who sees Roy as their anchor. “I still think the U.S. and Brazil are the favorites, but I think Canada can be right in the mix. I definitely don’t count Canada out.”

Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and the United States will have an opportunity to prove themselves beginning Friday night. The competition will include two rounds in each of three nights.

“It’s going to be interesting,” added Murray.

Editors Note:
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PBR weekend is almost here!!  We at The Vegas Tourist could not be more thrilled or jazzed up for this coming weekend.  For the first time, the PBR World Cup is on American soil.   Not only American soil, but they are coming to Las Vegas!!

The 2010 World Cup presented by Dickies, is the PBR’s premiere international event. For three days only, it’s nation against nation to see what country has the best bull riders in the world.  Top riders from 5 nations go head-to-head for $200,000 in prize money.

Once again, the PBR takes over the Thomas & Mack Center this weekend April 16^th – 18^th . Everyone will be on the edge of the seats watching world-class bull riding during six rounds of action over the course of three days, with all 25 riders competing in each round.

This means we will have the opportunity to watch at least 50 show stopping rides each night! The top three scores for each country in each round will count toward the team total. The team accumulating the most points during the six rounds will be declared the winner and walk away as the best bull riders in the world.

Look for updates, photos, notes and commentary here, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

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There is no tried-and-true formula to figuring it out. It’s a subjective look at the top riders in the world. So too are the rankings of NCAA football, basketball and every other college sport, including the Coaches’ poll, the AP poll, the BCS and every other poll or Power Ranking available online or in print.

The monthly Power Rankings typically represent individual riders. This month, the power rankings represent the 2010 World Cup participants.

1. United States – Austin Meier, McKennon Wimberly, J.B. Mauney, Kody Lostroh and Jordan Hupp: For the first time in four years, the United States team is the unanimous favorite to win what would be its third consecutive Cup event. Seven of the Top 10 riders in the world are Americans. The only quandary for captain J.W. Hart is coming up with a replacement for Lostroh if he’s unable to compete because of injuries. Hart said his pool is so deep, he could cut all five riders, replace them with five different riders, and feel just as confident. At this time, the most likely replacement candidate has to be Jody Newberry.

2. Canada – Aaron Roy, Scott Schiffner, Devon Mezei, Tyler Thomson and Tanner Girletz: After back-to-back second-place finishes, the Canadians were disappointed to leave Brazil with a third-place finish last year. Cody Snyder, who has captained all four Canadian teams, said that 2009 left a bitter taste in his mouth. He’s a master at motivating riders, and that may be why this year’s roster is almost unchanged from a year ago – he intends to use that experience as a means of getting more out of his team.

3. Brazil – Robson Palermo, Guilherme Marchi, Fabiano Vieira, Silvano Alves and Edimundo Gomes: It was a huge blow to have to replace Valdiron de Oliveira; the second-ranked rider in the world is out with a broken bone in his shoulder. Renato Nunes’ exclusion because of a “negative attitude” indicates that all is not well with Team Brazil. Team captain Adriano Moraes said in an interview that Nunes was back on board, but then, an hour later, told the PBR to keep his original roster as it was.

4. Australia – Pete Farley, Jared Farley, Ben Jones, David Kennedy and Rhys Angland: Troy Dunn, who will again captain the Aussies, is without a doubt one of the great bull riders of all time. But he’s yet to get much from his team. Perhaps adding Ben Jones to this year’s roster (in place of Brendon Clark) will add a little enthusiasm to an otherwise vanilla cast of characters, who have never seemed outwardly motivated to win the World Cup.

5. Mexico – Rocky McDonald, Gustavo Pedrero, Francisco Morales, Nile Lebaron and Lorenzo Rios: It was believed that with two captains – Amando Aguirre, President of the Mexican Federation of Rodeo, and Ruben Mujica, President of Cuernos Chuecos, a Mexican bull riding league – and a coach, Gerardo Venegas, Team Mexico could turn things around. However, it’s been widely reported the two captains don’t like one another, and McDonald was named to the team without ever having been contacted. Rios was a late addition after Hugo Pedrero declined the offer to compete.

Early Prediction: The top three countries are clearly better than the other two. But Canada won’t face the same pressure or expectations as the United States, and they certainly don’t have the stress and drama of the Brazilians. In an event that comes down to the final ride, Canada edges the United States to finally win its first World Cup title.

This is a syndicated post, which originally appeared at Rodeo Attitude News: PBR Press Releases.

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“The World Cup in Brazil will showcase the sport of professional bull riding as no other country has ever done,” Randy Bernard, CEO of the Professional Bull Riders, stated. “It will be the largest attended event in the history of the PBR, and I am very confident each country’s teams will rise to the occasion.”

The Barretos International Rodeo is the largest bull riding event in all of Brazil, drawing over 80,000 attendees per night in over 10 days. In its 54th year, the 2009 Barretos International Rodeo will be held from August 20-30, 2009 with the World Cup being held on the last three days—August 28, 29, and 30.

Five of the best PBR bull riders from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and 2008 World Cup winner, the United States, will gather at Barretos’ Parque do Peao for the PBR’s premier international event. 2009 looks to be a showdown between Brazil and the United States as each has taken one World Cup event title home to their respective countries.

“As both Brazil and the U.S.A. have won one title, we will definitely be the two countries to watch for. We (Team Brazil) are very disappointed that we did not ride to our potential in Mexico, but we will be ready next year in front of our home country crowd,” three-time PBR World Champion and Captain of Team Brazil 2008 Adriano Moraes commented.

“We could definitely see it come down between the U.S. and Brazil next year. They are the biggest threat and will have home country advantage. They will be sure tough to beat, but every other country will be up for the challenge,” J.W. Hart, Captain of Team U.S.A. 2008 said.

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