MEMORIAL NIGHT

It’s time for a big change with the National Finals Rodeo.

The operation of the rodeo in terms of running the competition has been flawless, as usual.

And credit for that goes to Shawn Davis, the former world champion competitor who has been the event’s general manager since it moved to Las Vegas in 1985.

But entertainment elements used to fill time are outdated.

Watching a little person — midget according to the rodeo announcers — play-box a rodeo clown only would be funny if the clown kicked his little butt. That didn’t happen.

Having a rodeo clown encourage the crowd in the Thomas & Mack Center to do the “wave” to the time of music that keeps speeding up might have been entertaining 20 years ago, but probably not.

Las Vegas Events, which is the NFR promoter, does a great job with its nightly national anthem singers and grand entry music acts.

You can’t complain about Reba McEntire and Brooks and Dunn even if you don’t like country music.

According to sources, it is Davis’ call on everything that happens on the arena floor from the first bareback ride to the last bull ride.

That included Sunday night’s annual memorial theme that honors major rodeo figures that died during the past year.

It had always been awe-inspiring.

Before the grand entry, the arena floor would be filled with fog. A white horse and rider would trot through the “cloud” and stoically stand in the center.

Bob Tallman, the true voice of the NFR, would walk out, hat in hand and eloquently read tributes.

But on the 50th anniversary of the NFR, the memorial couldn’t have been weaker.

First, Tallman was not selected to be one of the Finals announcers by the NFR committee. Why after being selected 21 times, including the previous 12, wasn't the Northern Nevada native picked? Tallman, however, is too much of a gentleman to complain.

So the memorial was left to a video presentation with a voice-over by cowboy poet Rocky Steagall. No fog, no white horse and it was held right before barrel racing.

The degraded ceremony disrespected those honored.

The reason, I’ve been told, the tradition was changed was to accommodate live television coverage on ESPN Classic, a limited cable channel that is ESPN's least-watched entity.

Fortunately, Boyd Gaming’s Dan Stark was in charge of a ceremony to honor U.S. military and it was themed to honor those who served during World War II, specifically at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.

As Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA” and fans waved American flags provided by Boyd, representatives of the U.S. Armed Forces drew raucous cheers.

But none were as loud as when Las Vegas residents and Pearl Harbor survivors Ed Hall, 85, and Jack Laeming, 89, walked into the spotlight and were introduced.

If nothing else, don’t schedule memorial night when there is live TV.

And who cares about live TV when it’s on an obscure cable station?

Let’s face it, Davis knows rodeo, but his expertise in entertainment has waned.

LOSING COWBOYS

On a less serious note, Sunday was a sad day for Texans. It had nothing do with what happened at the rodeo, but the Dallas Cowboys were beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The depression was felt because 30 percent (35 out of 119) of the NFR contestants are Texans. So it stands to reason many people in the crowd are Cowboys fans, too.

There are no competitors from Pittsburgh, but bull riding money leader Chance Smart is from Philadelphia — the city in Mississippi.

LANE FROST DOCUMENTARY

Noted rodeo documentarian David Wittkower will show his latest work today at the South Point theaters.

"The Challenge of Champions: The Story of Lane Frost and Red Rock" will show at 1 p.m. today.

It’s a wonderful and accurate account of the rivalry between John Growney’s bull Red Wolf and the late Frost, the 1987 world champion who died two years later after being gored by a bull.

The showing is free.