Michael Gaffney of Corrales is doing what countless other retired athletes have done before him: move from the arena into the press box to tell viewers, or listeners, what’s going on.

For instance, there are Troy Aikman and Chris Collinsworth in the NFL, Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver in baseball, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith in pro basketball, and Bill Clement and Barry Melrose in hockey.

One thing they’ve all got in common, despite their expertise: They’re all in a safer place than when they played.

Observer '�” Gary Herron photo Michael Gaffney of Corrales gets a kick out of his new PBR bobblehead, although he says, '��You need to make my ears smaller.'��

So, too, is Gaffney, the PBR world champion in 1997. Now 39, Gaffney retired four years ago. When he was on the PBR tour, he incurred numerous injuries: a cracked sternum, a snapped jaw and a bruised heart. He also underwent rotator cuff repairs on both shoulders.

The retired bull-riding champion can be heard on the Versus TV network, relating what’s going on during PBR events.

Although intimidated at first, Gaffney said a class he took while at Western Texas College, in Snyder, Texas, prepared him a bit for this role, which he cherishes.

It’s a good gig, and much safer than climbing aboard a 1,600-pound bull for, hopefully, an eight-second ride.

“I listen to all the telecasts,” he said, especially his own.

“I’m not a critic. J.W. (Hart) says what’s on his mind and he doesn’t care.”

Gaffney said he’s finally become comfortable with the headset on.

“I don’t stress a lot, but I’m pretty hard on myself.”

He only wishes he could be telling the Versus audience what’s going on at The Pit during this weekend’s annual Ty Murray Invitational. He’s not scheduled to be on the air.

“That makes no sense,” he said. “I live here.”

Gaffney is different than other riders and executives in the PBR: He played at The Pit in a state basketball tournament with Cloudcroft High School 22 years ago.

Gaffney, who worked the Versus gig at the Tacoma (Wash.) Invitational March 21-22, wasn’t even sure Murray would be present for his namesake. He’s busy “dancing with the stars,” Gaffney noted, laughing.

Some people think The Pit is less than an ideal site, especially in light of the fact that the usual venue for the Ty Murray Invite is 52-year-old Tingley Coliseum, which was built for rodeos. The Pit is smaller and some think it’s going to be a chore moving bulls up the ramp, from the floor to ground level.

“The bulls aren’t an issue,” Gaffney says. “They’re well seasoned. (But) like people, they’re unpredictable. For the most part, though, they know the game.”

Not many know the game better than Gaffney, who kicked in $1,000 of his own money as one of the original investors in the PBR. That came in 1992 in a Scottsdale, Ariz., hotel room, back when cowboys would be lucky to pocket $500 or even $1,000 for winning an event. That would barely cover their expenses: entry fee, motel room and food, not to mention any medical expenses if he got injured.

Contrast that “jackpot” with the $36,642 won by Guillermo Marchi on March 8 at the Kansas City Invitational, after he rode three bulls.

“It was a pipedream, to gain some control,” he recalled. “We were putting our lives on the line. There were about 15 of us.

“We didn’t envision anything in that room. All I saw were dollar signs, like any cowboys that are starving.”

Till the PBR got going, Gaffney’s biggest payday had come when he won the National Finals Rodeo in 1992 after riding nine of 10 bulls. He grossed $45,000 from that, he recalled.

Gaffney’s investment paid even more dividends in 2007, when a portion of the PBR was bought out by another entity. According to pbrnow.com, Gaffney won more than $856,000 in his 10-year career.

Gaffney and his wife Robyn have lived in Corrales since 1998. He’s got room for his growing family — the Gaffneys have two children — and his dogs and horses.

And — no surprise here — “I still get excited when I’m talking about bull riding.”

That’s no bull: Flint Rasmussen, PBR’s ring announcer, suffered a mild heart attack at his home in Choteau, Mont., last week. Doctors later found blockage in two main arteries, but no permanent damage to his heart. As the official entertainer of the PBR, he has kept Tingley crowds alive during lulls in the action or commercial breaks: He sings, dances, performs skits, and even goes into the audience at each performance to “shake it.”