THE OPENING LINE

Monday, Dec. 3, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

He's gone now, diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis having turned out to be a more formidable obstacle than 14 Greyhound buses or 11 Mack trucks lined up in a neat row between the ramps.

But who could forget Evel Knievel, the daredevil who put Caesars Palace on the map in 1968 while putting himself in the hospital with a crushed pelvis, broken femur, fractures to hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion when he tried to jump its fountains on the back of a motorcycle?

Knievel was so fearless that he once tried to jump a canyon in a rocket ship in a made-for-TV event promoted by Bob Arum. He nearly drowned. And that was before Arum took his cut.

He would have laughed at that joke. In one of those "only in Las Vegas moments" I remember answering the phone in the sports department early one morning and the gravelly voice on the other end of the line who was seeking the score of the Colts' game the night before. The voice sounded a little familiar but I couldn't place it.

It was Evel Knievel. At first I didn't believe him. He convinced me when he said if I didn't give him the Colts' score he was going to come down there and kick me in the same place those buses had kicked his at Wembley Stadium.

He literally was a daredevil's devil.

Last year, when Mike Metzger successfully jumped the fountains some 30 years after Knievel nearly became Caesars salad, he spoke at length about a telephone conversation he had with the legendary stuntman.

Metzger wasn't even born when Knievel crashed hard on Wide World of Sports. But he spoke about Knievel with reverence, like somebody in his peer group might discuss a radical tattoo, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new CD.

"It was April 20," Metzger said, marking the date of Knievel's call in the manner that most X Games types do upon meeting him. "It filled me with a lot of wisdom, knowing what he's been through."

Wisdom now there's a word not often used in the same sentence with Evel Knievel. Somehow, in a weird sort of way, it seems appropriate to let that be the final word.

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

UNLV vs. Fresno State basketball, 7 p.m. Saturday, Orleans Arena

The Rebels have to vacate the Thomas & Mack each December while the riders and ropers are in town. But instead of the usual two-week road trip, UNLV moves across town to play the Bulldogs at the Orleans. Season tickets don't include this game and there isn't a bad seat in the house.

TICKETS: $35 ON THE WEB: www.orleansarena.com

ALSO WORTH A LOOK

National Finals Rodeo, Thursday through Dec. 15, Thomas & Mack Center

Speaking of the rodeo, its championship always sells out. But you can still get "mad dash" tickets that allow you to find unused balcony seats. If the ticket holder drops in from the casino floor, you move. If you can't find an empty seat, you get a refund.

TICKETS: $39.50 ON THE WEB: unlvtickets.com