  The first data on bottom quark production in p-pbar collisions at 1.96 TeV
have recently been obtained by the CDF collaboration. These data probe the
region of pt~0, providing a new invaluable input on the issue of the
compatibility between next-to-leading-order (NLO) QCD and data. We reconsider
the evaluation of the b cross section, in view of recent theoretical
developments, and of the latest inputs on structure function fits. We show that
the new CDF measurements are in good agreement with NLO QCD. If CDF preliminary
data are confirmed, a long-standing discrepancy between NLO QCD predictions and
hadron-collider data can be settled.

High Energy Physics - Phenomenology