The Toughest Sport on Dirt Hits Madison Square Garden Jan. 4-6
Catch the PBR on NBC on Sunday, January 6th
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MEDIA CONTACT:
719.242.2800, ext. office
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PUEBLO, Colo. (December 31, 2007) - The Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR) will kick off the New Year with a return engagement of their VERSUS Invitational, a part of the elite 2008 Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler (BFTS) to the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, on January 4-6, 2008.
The PBR returns to New York City and Madison Square Garden after the success of the VERSUS Invitational this past January where PBR rising star J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, NC) took home the top prize. Mauney will be back at the Garden to defend his title against men like 2007 PBR World Finals event winner Wiley Petersen (Fort Hall, Idaho), legendary three-time PBR World Champion Adriano Moraes (Sao Paulo, Brazil), two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers (Jonesville, Louisiana), Brazilian sensations Guilherme Marchi (Leme, Sao Paulo, Brazil), Paulo Crimber (Olimpia, Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Robson Palermo (Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil), and young guns Brian Canter (Randleman, NC), Matt Bohon (Cole Camp, Mo.) and Kasey Hayes (Liberal , Kan.). Challenging these men will be the fiercest bulls in the world today.
The format consists of four rounds of competition. The first three rounds feature the top 45 qualified riders randomly matched against the sport’s rankest bulls. The top 15 riders based upon their total cumulative score after three rounds qualify for a final decisive round of action, which happens at the conclusion of the third performance on Sunday, January 6th. The rider with the highest score on four bulls will win the event championship.
New this season is the “draft” round at all three-day events. The bull riders will have the opportunity to choose, based on their performance on Friday night, the bull they’d like to ride on Saturday evening. Will the riders step up to the plate and choose the toughest bulls in order to get the best scores, or will they take the easy way out? Fans can personally attend and witness the draft on Saturday, Jan. 5th at 11:00 a.m. at the Hawaiian Tropic restaurant in Times Square.
Tickets for the VERSUS Invitational start at $25.00 and upgrade to $195. They are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, via ticketmaster.com, the Madison Square Garden box office or by calling 866 448 7849 to charge by phone.
The PBR is the premier bull riding organization in the world, boasting contestants from the United States, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. Its events air weekly on VERSUS, NBC and FOX. The VERSUS Invitational will air on VERSUS on Saturday, January 5th (Fans should check their local listings for the times in their areas), and Sunday, January 6th at 8:00 p.m. ET. NBC will also broadcast a round of the event on Sunday, January 6th. (Fans should check their local listings for the times in their area.) For more information on the VERSUS Invitational, please contact Denise M. Abbott at 719 242 2800 ext. 3-381 or visit www.pbrnow.com.
About PBR:
More than 100 million viewers tune in each year to the PBR on FOX, NBC, VERSUS and on a host of foreign networks across the globe. With approximately 500 hours of prime time programming annually PBR ranks among the most prolific sports on air, in addition to attracting over one and one half million live event attendees each year with its multi-tiered event structure which includes the marquee Built Ford Tough Series presented by Wrangler, the Copenhagen Bull Ridingsm Challenger Tour, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Tour, and the Discovery Tour, designed specifically for entry level contestants. The PBR is headquartered in Pueblo, Colo., and has over 1,200 PBR bull riders competing in more than 300 PBR sanctioned competitions in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico.
For additional information on the Professional Bull Riders, Inc., please visit http://www.pbrnow.com/ or call 719.242.2800.
About Madison Square Garden
MSG Sports Properties is part of Madison Square Garden, L.P., owned by Cablevision Systems Corporation, and includes the New York Knicks (NBA); the New York Rangers (NHL); the New York Liberty (WNBA); the Hartford Wolf Pack (American Hockey League); MSG Entertainment, which includes concerts and events at Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, The WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Beacon Theatre; MSG Media, which is comprised of MSG and FSN New York; fuse, the music television network; and the Madison Square Garden arena complex, located in the heart of the New York metropolitan area.
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