When sports physician Tandy Freeman was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame last week in the Fort Worth Stockyards, the emcee asked everyone whom Freeman had helped to stand.
I was among the many Stetson-capped attendees who rose out of a chair. About 10 years ago, I sought Freeman's advice for a frozen shoulder, an injury from playing front yard football with my son.Though I was not injured in the rodeo arena like the majority of Freeman's patients, I wanted his expert advice. After visiting Freeman's Dallas office, which was filled with photos of world class cowboys, I recovered very well.Over the years, Freeman has been great for rodeo. When I've needed help to report on injured cowboys, Freeman has been very accommodating and he is a more than deserving inductee to the hall.Freeman serves as Justin Sports Medicine Team Medical Director, which mainly aids competitors at Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competitions. He will be treating competitors during rodeo performances at the Fort Worth Stock Show, which runs tonight through Feb. 9 at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum.Freeman also directs the Professional Bull Riders Sports Medicine Program, and is a former team physician for the Dallas Mavericks.Over the years, I've had lots of interaction with Freeman at PBR shows. One of the more memorable was in 1999 when we attended a couple of PBR shows in Australia. The flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was almost 15 hours and the shows campaigned in coastal cities near the Great Barrier Reef. They were headed up by Australian Troy Dunn, the 1998 PBR World Champion who lived in Stephenville when he competed in North America.While in Australia, I was continually borrowing Freeman's computer to send stories up to the U.S. He had a much better system that I had, and again, he was more accommodating.In addition to performing his PBR duties in Australia, Freeman was interacting with the Dallas Mavericks one day, offering advice during the NBA Draft. Though he was Down Under, he always had great presence of mind, and kept up with all of his medical duties very well.PBR updateAfter finishing in the money at the first three tour stops of the regular season, defending world champion Silvano Alves, a Brazilian who lives in Decatur, is ranked No. 1 in the Professional Bull Riders' title race.Alves, who is attempting to become the sport's first competitor to win three consecutive gold buckles titles, is ranked No. 1 in the Built Ford Tough Series standings with 2,154.66 points. Douglas Duncan of Alvin is second with 1,520.During the past weekend, Alves earned $18,850 after finishing fourth at the PBR's Winston-Salem, N.C., tour stop behind winner Billy Robinson. Alves placed at the Jan. 12-13 tour stop in Chicago and during the Jan. 4-6 season-opening show in New York.This weekend, the tour stops in Oklahoma City. The tour also stops at Arlington's Cowboys Stadium on March 2.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
