i'm glad round 9 is FINALLY on. why was sportscenter on espn2 anyway?  that was ridiculous. anyway, my blog for last night vanished on its way to becoming posted. that really sucked. all of my brilliant and witty observations are now lost. oh well. round 9 is here. we are heading towards the finish, and i cannot wait to see who wins. the only true lock is trevor brazile for all around. i think that was all but a lock a month ago. bareback is on. everyone is doing well. bobby mote is up last. he split last nights round. you should see the way he was spurring. and a sharp markout. 81.0 very low score. should have been an 83.0 then again, the judges never listen to me. will lowe wins the round. on to bulldogging. fast round last night. luke branquino wins his first round of the NFR. team roping is up. cesar de la cruz and colter todd take the round. even though they are out of the average, they are still kickin butt. saddle bronc time. billy etbauer gets thrown. chad ferley has a good ride. 78.0 last night he had a wild ride, lost his rein and was able to re grab it. ryan mapston has a bucky horse, good start, and he gets slammed into the rail. he may have missed the markout. yep, theres the flag. justin arnold has a strong ride. nice markout. 83.0  jessie bail has a great start, and gets bumped off the horse. issac diaz has a good ride at 81.0  chet johnson has a rough ride. too much rein and his sadlle blows back. he gets a reride option, good.  heath demoss gets thrown. he is really good at the flying dismount. rod hay has an excellent ride. great markout, crisp ride. the only cowboy to cover every horse so far. 9 for 9. cody demoss has a classic ride, but a messy dismount. he gets thrown into the wall. rusty allen gets bucked off right out of the chutes. taos muncey is up. he has been having a great NFR. strong ride. 86.5 and taos takes the lead. the judges are kind of sporadic tonight. cody wright is up. nice horse, tight rein. should be a good score. 82.5 taos takes anothe round. i think thats his third, not bad for an NFR rookie. tie down roping is on now. stran smith had a great run. stran smith takes this round, his second round win of the NFR. the barrel racers are flying this week. and lindsay sears wins another round. she is burning up the arena, 5 go round wins, 3 in a row. bullriding is up. these bulls dont realise that they are not the eliminator pen. kanin asay covers his bull. kanin has covered 5 of his 9 bulls. as a rookie he is really doing well. he is still 2nd overall in the world. he is riding with determination, and it shows. well, tomorrow is the 10th and final round. hard to believe the NFR is almost over. the national western in denver starts jan 12th, then theres the black hills stock show, san antonio stock show and rodeo houston. the winter tour is just as good as the summer tour. talk to you soon, let er buck.