Top rodeo competitors bolt for new tour

Coming off another year where he missed the "playoffs" in his sport of rodeo, Ryan Gray and some of his fellow cowboys are looking in a different direction for their futures.

The Elite Rodeo Athletes' League of Rodeo Champions will launch its season in 2016 with a series of events scheduled to be broadcast on Fox Sports, culminating with the championships at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas from Nov. 9-13, 2016.

"We have not released the tour schedule for 2016, but our first event is targeted for the spring," Holly DeLaune, ERA's media relations director wrote in an email.

In joining E...