San Antonio Notebook

A week after fearing his 2012 season had come to an unceremonious end, Ben Jones will be competing at the Bass Pro Shops Chute Out in San Antonio, Texas.

Prior to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, Jones had just proclaimed that he intended to select Bushwacker with the fifth pick in the bull draft when he succumbed to an abdominal pain that he initially thought might have been caused by pulling a groin muscle.

He retreated to the sports medicine room, where he was initially diagnosed with a lower abdominal strain before Dr. Tandy Freeman later wrote in an email, "Change of presumptive diagnosis - fractured pubis (pelvis)."

An injury of that type would have surely ended the season for the 33-year-old from Australia.

However, after being further examined on Monday morning, Jones said he was cleared of any fractures and was told that he had a sports hernia.

In a text message, on Thursday afternoon, Dr. Freeman wrote that Jones has a "sprained symphysis pubis (pelvis) and abdominal strain. No fracture. Plans to ride this weekend but still on crutches when he left the office."

Jones said Dr. Freeman told him competing would be painful, but that the training staff will try to help make him slightly more comfortable.

Jones said he has no choice but to compete. There is a cut following this weekend's event and although he's ranked 22nd in the world standings, having already been cut once this season he does not want to take a chance.

"I could be in," he said, "and I could miss it too."

He is also risking further injuring himself, but feels the urgency to protect his place in the standings and try to secure a spot in the draw for the fast-approaching World Finals. The year-end event is in late October and Jones is currently 25th in the qualifier standings.

The final cut of the season will come after the Greensboro, N.C., event at the end of September.

NOTES

This Week:
The PBR returns to the AT&T Center in San Antonio for the sixth straight year and the seventh time overall. Past winner of the Bass Pro Shops Chute Out presented by Cooper Tires include: Shane Proctor (2011), Cody Nance (2010), J.B. Mauney (2009), Valdiron de Oliveira, (2008), Tyler Smith (2007) and Owen Dunn (1996).

The BFTS will then take a week off before returning to Thackerville, Okla., on Aug. 31 - Sept. 1 for the WinStar World Casino Invitational. It will be the second year in a row that the BFTS will compete under the stars in a custom-built arena adjacent to the WinStar World Casino.

In 2011, Thackerville became the first outdoor BFTS event since the 2005 event in Laughlin, Nevada.

Cautionary Tale:
Douglas Duncan was cleared to return to competition, but has decided to err on the side of caution in his return from hip surgery. Because of the off-week next weekend, Duncan said he decided to sit out the San Antonio event and will return to competition in Thackerville, Okla.

He said he's not 100 percent, but with the additional time off couple with physical therapy his hip is getting noticeably stronger every day.

Doctors told him other athletes are ready to return to competition right at three months, but Duncan said, "They're not having to ride bulls."

Duncan had the same hip procedure once before and a year later was already in need of the recent surgery - likely because he returned to competition too quickly. If he were to need a third surgery, Duncan said it would be "hip replacement," which would end his bull-riding career.

The 25-year-old from Alvin, Texas - the same hometown as Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan - is currently ranked 16th in the world standings and is a young gun regarded as a future contender for a world title.

Better Late Than Never:
It's been eight years since he turned pro. He's ridden in 243 various events and attempted 387 bulls, but Bart Miller never gave up on his goal of competing alongside the top-ranked riders in the world. Friday night he'll make his BFTS debut in Round 1 against Gun Powder & Lead (not be confused with Jeff Robinson's World Champion Bull contender RMEF Gunpowder & Lead).
Miller is from Oshkosh, Neb., and is the younger cousin of two-time World Champion Justin McBride. In 2008, he was teammates with Mauney and competed in the PBR Team Shootout on ESPN2.

Miller earned a spot in the draw by winning a Touring Pro Division event in Hailey, Idaho. Two other riders also earned spots in this week's draw. Cord McCoy will be in San Antonio after winning a TPD event in Everett, Wash., while Matt Triplett is in the draw after winning a Canadian series.

Rookie of the Year:
The Rookie of the Year award is presented annually to the rider who earns the most money during his first PBR season. The current Top 5 contenders include: Chad Besplug: $153,193.83; Chase Outlaw: $133,773.28; Eneias Barbosa: $81,250.20; Lachlan Richardson: $74,400.88, and Ademir Candido: $51,409.25. Barbosa and Candido must compete in the World Finals to be eligible for the award.

Outlaw finished last week's event second in the average and was one qualified ride short of winning his second BFTS event of the season. He's ranked 19th in the world standings and 10th in the qualifier standings. L.J. Jenkins, who is currently ranked second in the world, remarked, "I don't think we've seen the best of him yet. That kid rides really good."

Doctors told him other athletes are ready to return to competition right at three months, but Duncan said, "They're not having to ride bulls."

Power Rankings:
Based on statistics from the past five BFTS events (Uncasville, Billings,
Idaho, Pueblo and Tulsa) the Power Rankings measure rider efficiency using a variety of variables including, but not limited to wins, riding percentage, scores, and bulls. The current rankings: 1. Kody Lostroh: 90.68; 2. Silvano Alves: 87.41; 3. Guilherme Marchi: 86.49; 4. Valdiron de Oliveira: 85.51; 5. Jenkins: 85.43; 6. Jones: 84.46; 7. Richardson: 84.10; 8. Stormy Wing: 83.75; 9. Fabiano Vieira: 83.57, and 10. Renato Nunes: 83.09.

Correction:
It has been brought to the attention of the PBR that 23-year-old Marco Eguchi does in fact spell is last name with an "i" as opposed to an "e."

The Big Show:
Jory Markiss said he's hoping from week-to-week to get into the BFTS as an alternate because it has "better bulls" than the TPD events. Last week, Markiss said he had hoped to get into the San Antonio event because "I don't want to go to Del Mar. I love the big show." Unfortunately, he missed earning spot and will be competing in California on Sunday night.

TV Guide:
CBS Sports Network will broadcast action from Round 1 and the first short round in HD at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, and will have an encore airing at 1 a.m. ET on Saturday.

NBC Sports Network will broadcast Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round live in HD at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, with an encore airing at 12:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.

Veteran broadcaster Craig Hummer will provide the play-by-play. Color commentary will be provided by McBride and dirt-level interviews will be handled by Leah Garcia.

 Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC.

Follow Jack Carnefix on Twitter @JackCarnefix.