DENVER – The 2008 World’s Toughest Rodeo™ featuring Toughest Cowboy™ presented by Jägermeister, the ironman event of rodeo, will take center stage at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pa., for the fifth stop on the nine stop rodeo revolution tour. Fox Sports Network (FSN) will broadcast the exciting action beginning this weekend. With the field being narrowed to eight cowboys after last week’s stop in Greensboro the pressure is mounting and the competition is getting tougher as everyone is trying to answer the burning question, “Who will win Jäger Ranch?”
Following the first four stops Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., continues to be the man to beat in this one-of-a-kind rodeo, where the cowboys wear jerseys and ride in the new match style competition in three roughstock events. Murphy, who is sponsored by The Home Depot, continues to be the most consistent rider on Tour and he will be looking for his second tournament win and a chance to separate himself from the rest of the field in the Jäger Ranch standings.
Murphy will be matched against the pride of the Navajo Nation Nelson Tsosie of Farmington, N.M. Tsosie, who is sponsored by B&W Trailer Hitches, is hot on Murphy’s heels. Both Murphy and Tsosie have captured 13 wins prior to the Philadelphia Tournament but Murphy has ridden for a total of 929 points compared to Tsosie’s 770 points. Philadelphia could be the key tournament for one of these guys in their route to the ranch.
Another match that is sure to excite the crowd is Pennsylvania’s own Clovis Crane of Lebanon and Shane Proctor of Powell, Wyo. Crane, who is sponsored by Jägermeister, will be looking to capture his first tournament win in his home state, while Proctor, who is sponsored by Red Creek Land, wants to add another tournament win to his resume. Proctor won the second stop on the 2008 Tour in Raleigh, N.C. Proctor has picked up 12 wins, while Crane has five wins and barely escaped elimination in Greensboro. A home crowd could be just the thing that Crane needs to kick his Tour into high gear heading into the remaining stops.
Wrangler’s Erik Wolford hopes to make it three wins in a row but he will have to get past college standout Jared Green to make that happen. Wolford, of Clinton, Mich., picked up big wins in Glendale, Ariz., and last week in Greensboro, N.C., while Green of Socorro, N.M., is looking for his first tournament win. Be sure to tune to FSN to see how it all plays out in Philadelphia.
Fans can watch each exciting episode of Toughest Cowboy weekly on several FSN affiliates in primetime (day and time depend on each affiliate) and at midnight every Saturday nationwide, please consult local listings. Each show will take fans into the heart of the action to savor the triumph, suffer the anguish and share the intensity of the ultimate challenge that is Toughest Cowboy. Nowhere else will you see eight cowboys riding bulls and broncs all in one night in the same arena in a match style format.
Rodeo is among the fastest growing sports in America , and Toughest Cowboy presented by Jägermeister is revolutionizing the sport by introducing an exciting and innovative format to new audiences in venues across the United States . Unlike other rodeos where riders usually compete in just one discipline, Toughest Cowboy is an unprecedented test of endurance as all competitors must ride in three disciplines in one night (Bareback Riding, Bull Riding and Saddle Bronc Riding). The events feature head-to-head matches throughout the season leading to the playoffs and championship…ultimately crowning someone the Toughest Cowboy Champion.
Toughest Cowboy is a true test of endurance and strength and only the strong will survive. Each competitor must come ready to ride both bulls and broncs every night eight seconds at a time. In the end, one competitor will be crowned the champion and become the new owner of Jäger ranch.
For more information on this rodeo revolution and a list of broadcast times in your area visit www.toughestcowboy.com.
“Who will win Jäger Ranch?”
Overall standings after Greensboro, N.C. (standings based on wins and then total points):
1. Bandy Murphy, 13 wins, 929 total points; 2. Nelson Tsosie, 13 wins, 770 total points; 3. Shane Proctor, 12 wins, 906 total points; 4. Erik Wolford, 12 wins, 878 total points; 5. B.J. Schumacher, 8 wins, 731 total points; 6. Trey Broussard, 7 wins, 726 total points; 7. Jared Green, 7 wins, 700 total points; 8. Clovis Crane, 5 wins, 754 total points.
TOURNAMENT 5 MATCH-UPS
Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa.
Match 1
Nelson Tsosie, Farmington, N.M. (13 wins) vs. Bandy Murphy, Weatherford, Okla. (13 wins)
Match 2
Jared Green, Socorro, N.M. (7 wins) vs. Erik Wolford, Clinton, Mich. (12 wins)
Match 3
Trey Broussard, Estherwood, La. (7 wins) vs. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. (8 wins)
Match 4
Clovis Crane, Lebanon, Pa. (6 wins) vs. Shane Proctor, Powell, Wyo. (12 wins)
About Grit Rock Rodeo
Grit Rock Rodeo is one of the largest producers of live and televised rodeo events in the world. Grit Rock Rodeo owns the World’s Toughest Rodeo, a national touring rodeo that consists of World’s Toughest Bulls and Broncs and Toughest Cowboy. Toughest Cowboy, a revolution in the sport which featured 8 cowboys riding 3 times in a performance, was carried in 2007 on Fox Sports Net nationally on Sunday nights. Grit Rock Rodeo also owns the license rights to the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour, which is the premier Tour of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The 2007 Wrangler ProRodeo Tour and the Ariat Playoffs of the Tour aired nationally on Fox Sports Net and CBS Sports.
www.toughestcowboy.com
www.prorodeotour.com
www.bullsandbroncs.com
About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, Toyota Sports Center, Toyota Park, NOKIA Theatre Times Square, NOKIA Theatre at Grand Prairie, Hollywood’s El Rey Theatre, Seattle’s WaMu Theatre, Minneapolis’ Target Center and the just opened The O2, a 28-acre development located in the eastern part of London along the Thames River which includes a 20,000 seat arena and over 650,000sf of leisure and entertainment use; sports franchises throughout the world including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Los Angeles Riptide (MLL) and three MLS franchises in addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA). AEG developed and operates The Home Depot Center, a $150 million national training facility on the Campus of California State University Dominguez Hills in Carson , California designated as an “Official U.S. Olympic Training Site” by the United States Olympic Committee that includes major facilities for soccer, tennis, track & field, cycling, lacrosse, rugby, action sports, beach volleyball, basketball and other sports.
The company’s live entertainment division, AEG LIVE is one of the world’s leading concert promotion and touring organizations that has recently promoted national tours on behalf of artists such as Prince, Bon Jovi, Kenney Chesney and Cheetah Girls as well as producing “A New Day…” starring Celine Dion appearing exclusively at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and the international museum tour of King Tut’s artifacts.
AEG is overseeing the development of L.A. LIVE, a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE, a 7,100-seat state-of-the-art live theatre, a 54-story, 1001-room convention center “headquarters” hotel, Club NOKIA at L.A. LIVE, a 2,200 capacity live music venue, a 14-screen Regal Cineplex, “broadcast” facilities for ESPN, along with entertainment, restaurant, residential and office space and additional arenas, O2 World, on a 45-acre site in the heart of Berlin, Citizen’s Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri and in Las Vegas, Nevada.
www.aegworldwide.com
Copyright 1996 - 2008 Rodeo Attitude, LLC., All rights reserved.