February 9, 2008

Can Anyone Catch Murphy?

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The 2008 World’s Toughest Rodeo™ featuring Toughest Cowboy™ was center stage at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia for the fifth Tournament of the 2008 season. Eight cowboys remain alive in the quest for a piece of the American dream — the Toughest Cowboy Ranch. With only two Tournaments remaining in the regular season each win and every point factors into the playoff seedings.

The 2007 Toughest Cowboy Champion Bandy Murphy, know what it’s like to be in the lead and he didn’t disappoint the fans in Philadelphia. The Home Depot cowboy was matched against the Pride of the Navajo Nation, B&W Trailer Hitches Nelson Tsosie. Tsosie grabbed the bareback riding win 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 get the win, but also to extend his lead over Tsosie for the 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 be having a higher aggregate score fro the match.

“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 Toughest Cowboy Ranch.”

Murphy ended Erik Wolford’s winning streak in Philadelphia after a tough night for the Wrangler sponsored cowboy. Wolford, was matched against college cowboy Jared Green, who is new to the Tour this year. Green 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. The race horse trainer was matched against the ever-excitable Shane Proctor and it was a close match and judging by the noise the crowd was making, they liked what they saw. Proctor took the bareback riding with an event best 83-point ride. His saddle bronc riding was less than stellar and Proctor 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.

Tournament 5 Results
Philadelphia, Pa.

Match 1
Nelson Tsosie vs. Bandy Murphy – 1 win to 3 wins; 169 points to 252 points; Tsosie (14), Murphy (16)

Match 2
Jared Green vs. Erik Wolford – 3 wins to 1 win; 188 points to 186 points; Green (10), Wolford (13)

Match 3
Trey Broussard vs. B.J. Schumacher – 2 wins to 2 wins; 234 points to 230 points, Broussard (9), Schumacher (10)

Match 4
Clovis Crane vs. Shane Proctor – 2 wins to 2 wins; 222 points to 195 points; Crane (8), Proctor (14)

Non-televised Alternate Match-ups
Chad Eubank vs. Danny Ward – 4 wins to 0 wins; 233 points to 80 points
Dusty Elkinton  vs. Logan Hodson – 2 wins to 2 wins; 176 points to 163 points

Tournament 5 winner: Bandy Murphy
Toughest Cowboy Ranch leader: Bandy Murphy

Overall standings from Tournament 5:
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 Tournament 5 (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.