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The 32-year-old title contender insisted that he was healthy enough to compete after High Steaks slipped and fell on him in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round in Tulsa, Okla .
"For me, I'm ready to go," he said Thursday evening, "but the doctor said no."
Oliveira, who until this weekend had ridden in all 22 events this season, was examined by Dr. Tandy Freeman on Thursday afternoon in Dallas.
Freeman told him that he suffered a serious concussion, and would benefit from the additional week off. Freeman also didn't think his balance was 100 percent.
Oliveira added that he has a slight limp in his left leg and a sore shoulder.
The top riders in the world will have the next two weeks off from the Built Ford Tough Series before resuming for a six-week stretch leading up to the World Finals. By sitting out the Bass Pro Shops Chute Out, Oliveira will now have a 26-day rest period to recover.
"I'm very, very disappointed," he said, "but this is my decision. I talked to my wife, she said, 'No, you don't need to go.'"
Oliveira added, "I want to come back and ride good."
After sitting atop the world standings for 16 events, Oliveira gave way to Silvano Alves for a second time this season. Alves had previously been No. 1 after the third event of the year and has now been the leader for four of 22 events.
Oliveira is currently 713.5 points behind.
This week's event is worth a maximum of 1,100 points.
Alves, who already leads all other challengers by more than two events' worth of points, could push his lead over Oliveira to more than one event's worth of points.
"It's so hard for me," said Oliveira of not competing at this stage of the season, "but I'll be OK."
Palermo out: Robson Palermo is also out of the competition this week. He is hoping a nearly four-week rest period will help with ongoing issues in his left shoulder.
Palermo, who has slipped from third to fourth in the world standings, could still face surgery.
Upon arriving in San Antonio, Alves was aware of Palermo's situation, but did not know Oliveira had made a last-minute decision to doctor out of the event.
When asked if he felt pressure to take advantage of the opportunity, he nodded his head, but seemed surprised by the news about Oliveira.
Power Rankings: For the fourth event in a row, Palermo is the No. 1 rider in the weekly Power Rankings. However, last week's event winner Fabiano Vieira is less than two-tenths of a percentage point behind. The Brazilian contingent has five riders in the Top 7 of this week's Power Rankings.
Alves is less than a half of a percentage point behind Palermo, with the Top 3 bunched up between 93.10 and 92.66.
Ryan Dirteater , who has a second and third-place finish in the past three events, is fourth in the current Power Rankings. After a pair of Top 10 finishes, Jason O'Hearn is eighth, followed by Cody Nance , who won the San Antonio event in 2010. Nance, who has ridden only 38.7 percent this season, has had three Top 10 finishes in the past four BFTS events.
J.B. Mauney is 10th in the Power Rankings.
Mauney hasn't had a Top 10 finish since winning the event in Duluth, Ga., and has covered only two of his past 10 bulls, including a streak of seven consecutive buckoffs.
Lone Star stats: The BFTS visits San Antonio for the fifth consecutive year and the sixth time overall. It is the second visit to Texas this year, and the 32nd trip all-time to the Lone Star State.
Fort Worth has hosted the BFTS the most, with nine events from 1996-2004, followed by San Antonio with six. Dallas and Odessa have hosted five BFTS events each, while Houston has had four. Cowboys Stadium in Arlington has hosted two events, and Del Rio hosted one event in 1996.
California has hosted the most BFTS events with 41.
Stat of the week: Alves has ridden the most bulls this season (48). Nance is 10th on that list with only 24. Oliveira is second with 46, and only Guilherme Marchi , Austin Meier , Palermo and Vieira have ridden at least 30 bulls.
Live Event Center: Follow all the action from this week's BFTS event by logging on to the Event Center at www.pbr.com/live . The multimedia center provides in-arena audio, live scoring, live blogging and event-related interviews.
-by Keith Ryan Cartwright
San Antonio notes
Source: http://www.goteamsgo.com/forum/rodeo/153703-san-antonio-notes.html
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