THE ELEVATOR

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

GOING UP

AFL & ESPN

Actually, the Arena Football League will benefit much more from a new five-year TV deal than its new broadcast partner. But at least there's a chance we will be seeing selected ESPN anchors getting smashed into the dasher boards in commercial spots. But what you won't be seeing is the Las Vegas Gladiators - our local 50-yard indoor warriors are not scheduled to appear on ESPN's 17-game regular-season schedule.

Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge

The made-for-(cable)-TV event at Lake Las Vegas will remain an officially sanctioned PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and Champions Tour event through 2012. The exhibition started by Dave Thomas, the late Wendy's founder, has raised more than $23 million for his adoption foundation. So maybe if LPGA rep Christie Kerr is invited back she'll remember what she's there for and smile now and then.

National Finals Rodeo attendance

A record final-day crowd of 18,224 - think of the turnout for Sunday's UNLV-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game multiplied by about eight - capped another 10-day run of sellouts for the Cowboy Super Bowl at the Thomas & Mack Center. The NFR generated $48 million in nongaming revenue for Clark County, and at least twice that much for Anheuser-Busch and Coors stockholders.

GOING DOWN

Mountain West football coaching legends

The conference used to boast four grand old men of football. LaVell Edwards gone. John Robinson gone. Fisher DeBerry gone from Air Force as of Friday. Sonny Lubick of Colorado State is the only one left. After another subpar season and with his youngest son, Marc, battling a rare form of cancer, who knows how long before Sonny will make it a foursome on the links?

Life expectancy of Las Vegas Bowl players

During a welcome at ESPN Zone, Oregon and BYU players wolfed down 300 pounds of chicken tenders, 200 pounds of sausage rigatoni, 100 pounds of macaroni and cheese and 100 pounds of cookies and cheesecake, thereby breaking William "Cannon" Conrad's record for most bad cholesterol at a single setting.

Family entertainment

The notorious Dennis Rodman and the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will hold a special joint press conference to make a historical announcement in Las Vegas today. That was the exact wording of a media advisory. Here's another advisory: Approach with caution.