I’ve never been to Arizona other than layovers in Phoenix, but I came pretty close after the eighth go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. That night, Arizonans Sherry Cervi (barrel racing), Derrick Begay and Cesar de la Cruz (team roping) were at the South Point Hotel & Casino to be recognized during the Montana[...]

There was a lot of talk about the families that were part of this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and rightly so. You had the team roping Tryans, Travis, Clay and Brady; the tie down roping Coopers, Clint, Clif and Tuf; the bronc riding DeMosses, Heith and Cody, and Wrights, Cody and Jesse; and the[...]

Rodeos don’t need intermissions, mainly because people find some events more interesting than others. Stand-alone bull riding came about because bull riders paid special notice to how popular their event is. There are those that save their money to be inside the Lazy E Arena near Guthrie, Okla., for the annual Timed Event Championship. So[...]

What most folks don’t realize about those of us covering the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is that we get involved in the work and miss most of the action. The NFR media room isn’t conducive to the coverage, because it’s as far away from the action as you could be while still being inside the[...]

After his fifth-round winning ride on Kesler Rodeo’s Street Dance, Will Lowe walked on the South Point Hotel & Casino stage for the Montana Silversmiths Go-Round Buckle Presentation with his 18-month-old son, Garrett. Garrett is the dancer in the family, and when the music played, Garrett danced. Daddy will was proud, but he prodded his[...]

Flint Rasmussen is one of the best funnymen in rodeo-related sports. He has a nice contract with the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series, but he regularly works Vegas in some regard during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. He has a talk-show type program during the day, and he teams with Randy Corley every[...]

Sherry Cervi learned last Friday night she had clinched the 2010 WPRA barrel racing world championship. That was about 21 hours before the final go-round of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Nobody in the field could catch her. But a champion is as a champion does. That gold buckle was no reason for the Arizona[...]

Overall the judges at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo did an outstanding job. But … They failed in the sixth round of the championship, if not more. And that failure almost became a factor in deciding the 2010 world champions. The evening started with Wes Stevenson’s 88.5-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeo’s Wise Guy. That[...]

The Ram Top Gun award was established for the 2010 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to reward the contestant who did the best over 10 days at ProRodeo’s championship. But maybe the Ram folks (formerly the Dodge folks) should consider a name change and call it the Tough Gun award, given to one tough-luck contestant who[...]

LAS VEGAS – His right hand is swollen with torn ligaments, black and blue. His left wrist might be fractured, and his upper back and neck just plain hurt. Such is the result in a nasty, 10-round heavyweight fistfight under the bright lights of Las Vegas. For every punch, every kick, every whollop D.V. Fennell[...]