Toughest Cowboy
Toughest Cowboy presented by Jagermeister
News Release
Contact: Ann Bleiker – 719-226-2009 (office)
February 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Murphy takes Philadelphia by storm to extend his lead for Jager Ranch
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The 2008 World's Toughest Rodeo featuring Toughest Cowboy presented by Jagermeister was center stage at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia for the fifth stop on the nine stop tour. Eight cowboys remain alive in the ironmen of rodeo competition where the cowboys wear jerseys and ride in the three roughstock events in one night in a new match style competition and with only four stops left after Philadelphia, it is now or never for someone to make a move to separate them from the rest of the field.
The 2007 Toughest Cowboy Champion Bandy Murphy of Weatherford, Okla., didn’t disappoint in Philadelphia. Murphy, who is sponsored by The Home Depot, was matched against the Pride of the Navajo Nation Nelson Tsosie of Farmington, N.M. Tsosie, who is sponsored by B&W Trailer Hitches, got the bareback riding win by edging Murphy by one point. Tsosie posted a score of 82 points on his horse, while the champ finished with an 81. Murphy easily took the win in the saddle bronc riding after Tsosie was dumped from his bronc well before the eight-second whistle.
With the match tied 1-1 heading into the final event Murphy knew he needed to take care of business not only to try and win the event but to extend his lead over Tsosie for Jager Ranch. The Oklahoma cowboy did just that scoring 88 points in the bull riding to easily take the win over Tsosie. Murphy also picked up a bonus win after having a higher aggregate score.
"Honestly, I wasn't even thinking of how close we were in the overall standings," Murphy said "My goal each week is to win, so to capture the win in Philadelphia is awesome. The tournament wins are important but the main goal is to win in Columbus (Ohio) and capture the deed to Jager Ranch."
Murphy ended Erik Wolford's winning streak in Philadelphia after a tough night for the Clinton, Mich., cowboy. Wolford, who proudly rides for the Wrangler brand, was matched with college cowboy Jared Green of Socorro, N.M. Green, who is new to the Tour this year, has held his own and he didn’t let the back-to-back tournament winner derail his mission of winning the title. Green and Wolford turned in a solid bareback riding round with Green getting the "W" after edging Wolford by three points. Unfortunately for Green, the saddle bronc riding was less than stellar. Wolford, who won the International Professional Rodeo Association saddle bronc title in 2005, easily took the title with an 80-point ride. The tables were turned in the bull riding though with Green picking up the "W" after Wolford was thrown to the dirt well before the eight-second whistle. Green also picked up a bonus win after edging Wolford by two points in the aggregate score, so the match ended 3-1 in favor of the New Mexico cowboy.
The home crowd favorite was definitely Clovis Crane of Lebanon, Pa. Crane, who rides for the Jagermeister brand. The race horse trainer was matched against Wyoming’s Shane Proctor and it was a close match causing the crowd to cheer that much louder. Proctor, who resides in Powell and is sponsored by Red Creek Land, took the bareback riding with an event best 83-point ride. Unfortunately, his saddle bronc riding wasn’t quite as good and was bounced well before the eight-second whistle giving the win to Crane who had a strong ride. With the match tied 1-1 it came down to the bull riding, which is Proctor’s best event. Proctor turned in an 88-point ride defeating Crane and picking up his second win of the night. However, it was Crane who got the bonus win with the aggregate score and so the match ended in a 2-2 tie.
Toughest Cowboy presented by Jagermeister is revolutionizing the sport by introducing an exciting and innovative format to audiences 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, Saddle Bronc Riding and Bull Riding). The events feature head-to-head matches throughout the season leading to the playoffs and championship…ultimately crowning someone the Toughest Cowboy Champion.
Jagermeister, the country's best selling shot brand and top selling imported liqueur, is the first presenting sponsor of the Toughest Cowboy rodeo competition and tour in 2008. The Champion at the end of the season will be awarded the deed to the beautiful Jager Ranch located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
The "Road to Columbus" continues with two stops at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis/St. Paul. For more information on this one-of-a-kind event visit www.toughestcowboy.com.
Tournament 5 Results
Philadelphia, Pa.
Match 1
Nelson Tsosie, Farmington, N.M. vs. Bandy Murphy, Weatherford, Okla. – 1 win to 3 wins; 169 points to 252 points; Tsosie (14), Murphy (16)
Match 2
Jared Green, Socorro, N.M. vs. Erik Wolford, Clinton, Mich. - 3 wins to 1 win; 188 points to 186 points; Green (10), Wolford (13)
Match 3
Trey Broussard, Estherwood, La. vs. B.J. Schumacher, Hillsboro, Wis. - 2 wins to 2 wins; 234 points to 230 points, Broussard (9), Schumacher (10)
Match 4
Clovis Crane, Lebanon, Pa. vs. Shane Proctor, Powell, Wyo. – 2 wins to 2 wins; 222 points to 195 points; Crane (8), Proctor (14)
Philadelphia winner: Bandy Murphy
Jager Ranch leader: Bandy Murphy
Overall standings from Philadelphia: 1. Bandy Murphy, 3 wins, 252 points
2. Jared Green, 3 wins, 188 points
3. Trey Broussard, 2 wins 234 points
5. B.J. Schumacher, 2 wins, 230 points
5. Clovis Crane, 2 wins, 222 points
6. Shane Proctor, 2 wins 195 points
7. Erik Wolford, 1 win, 186 points
8. Nelson Tsosie, 1 win, 169 points
Overall standings after Philadelphia (standings based on wins and then total points):
1. Bandy Murphy, 16 wins, 1181 total points
2. Shane Proctor, 14 wins, 1101 points
3. Nelson Tsosie, 14 wins, 939 total points
4. Erik Wolford, 13 wins, 1064 total points
5. B.J. Schumacher, 10 wins, 961 total points
6. Jared Green, 10 wins, 888 total points
7. Trey Broussard, 9 wins, 960 total points
8. Clovis Crane, 7 wins, 976 total points
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
www.toughestcowboy.com
