Joe Beaver of Huntsville, Texas, ropes his calf in 7.7 seconds to win the first go-round of the NFR on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Joe Beaver's trip to Las Vegas a year ago was as an analyst on ESPN's telecasts of the world's richest rodeo.

The broadcast booth is not where the roper from Huntsville, Texas, wanted to be.

The 41-year-old, who had competed in 18 National Final Rodeos before last year, said at the time that nagging injuries had forced him off the road.

But that was only part of the reason he missed the last few months of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association season.

The main reason was that his father, Walter Beaver, had cancer. And after a long battle with the disease, he died Oct. 6 at age 70.

Joe Beaver honored his father in life and found another way to salute him in Thursday's opening night of the 10-day season-ending event at the Thomas & Mack Center, winning the first round of calf roping with a time of 7.7 seconds.

This was where he belonged -- answering, not asking, questions on ESPN.

"You know, he'd call me every night right before the Finals. He'd have something to tell me," Beaver said of his father.

"Before it started tonight, I kept looking at my phone, but it never rang. At least he had the best seat in the house."

The victory, in front of a crowd of 17,227, was worth $16,022 to Beaver, one of only two NFR contestants competing in two events. He said a mistake in team roping caused him to finish out of the money with partner Cole Bigbee of Stephenville, Texas.

"You know me, I live by the blitz or die by the blitz," said Beaver, who has won three all-around and five calf roping world championships and is the all-time money winner in the PRCA with $2.6 million.

"I really wanted to win both go-rounds."

A month ago, the coveted all-around championship seemed to be locked up by three-time winner Trevor Brazile, but a serious groin injury has slowed him greatly. The Decatur, Texas, native finished 13th out of 15 in team roping with partner Rich Skelton of Llano, Texas, and 14th in calf roping.

Beaver chipped into Brazile's lead, but Brazile still has won $266,095 to Beaver's $147,647 this year.

The calf roping title also seemed to be firmly in the hands of four-time champion Cody Ohl, but he finished 10th in the go-round and out of the money. He still has a $42,000 lead over Brazile.

Ohl's margin started to widen early in July, and it continued at the end of the regular season. He has won money in 22 of the last 23 rodeos.

"Since July it's been rolling," he said.

"There were a lot of times I wanted to go home to be with my family, but I'd gone home last year a few times and just came up short at the end of the year."

He lost the title to seven-time calf roping champion Fred Whitfield last year.

Whitfield knew he was a long shot to catch Ohl when the regular season ended three weeks in Dallas, but those odds have become almost insurmountable.

The 39-year-old native of Hockley, Texas, sustained a pinched nerve in his back a few days after the Dallas rodeo while practicing.

And Thursday, Whitfield missed his first throw, and a rare slip occurred after he roped the calf on his second try.

"The darn rope came off the (saddle) horn," he said. "But there are nine go-rounds left."

The "no time" virtually eliminates him from contention of winning the NFR aggregate title that will pay a $41,088 bonus.