Conference 7.286::sports_91

    Second sentence, second paragraph, should read "stars and moonlight." 
    Sorry.
    
      John

    Great note:
          
    I like to follow the last Great Race, Susan Butcher will try to defend
    her title. A great article on her in SI last week. It was about five
    pages long. The article says shes from Cambridge but I believe she
    is actually from Dorchester. I was in the Air Force for five years
    and spent my last three in Anchorage Alaska. Trust me theres nothing
    bigger up there than the Iditarod. Each year I was there I went down
    to the start, which is on 4th st.(4th street being there main st.)
    It's a great atmosphere, I remember standing about three feet away
    from Lynn Swann while he was doing his broadcast on a bitter cold
    day, when he was done I tried to call him over but he just gave
    us a dirty look and walked away. You really don't get coverage
    of it down here until the weekend following the finish. Up in AK
    you get hourly reports on the race all day and night and some nights
    one of the channels will dedicate a couple of hours to it. Some of
    the terrain that they go through is unimaginable. Well just thought
    I'd share some thoughts on the Last Great Race, I almost fell out
    of my chair when I saw this note.
    
                                            Dan

    
    I guess there wasn't any cold water to throw on them, but a good-sized
    chunk of ice could have accomplished the same thing.
    
    I would have shot the mutts if it was me that got screwed out of the
    victory... at least then the finish would have been a "dead heat."
    
    
    Dickstah
    

>    This
>    brief respite along with the stars and the moonlight,
>    apparently drove the male wheel dog to
>    distraction.  
    
    Funny, I heard Bernie Kosar and his center use the same excuse as to
    why Cleveland finished fourth in the AFC Central this year.
    
    	--dan'l
    

    Maybe someone who knows can answer this, as it really isn't a
    completely rhetorical question.
    
    My first thought on hearing this story (after I finished laughing)
    was "What the hell was she doing with a bitch in heat on the team
    in the first place?"
    
    A&W

    
    The start of the Iditarod from 4th Avenue is strictly for show. The
    mushers sort of pace themselves to Eagle River (10 miles north of
    Anchorage), where the dogs are then trucked over to Knik (across
    the Cook Inlet) and the official race begins (no civilization to
    contend with, just moose !). 
    
    My wife and I flew up to Nome in 1984 to see the end of the race
    (which Libby Riddles won ?), what a party !
    
    - The Doctor

For anyone who is interested:

	Rick Swenson won the Iditarod for an unprecedented 5th time.
	Susan Butcher was leading or near the front when they
	ran into a blizzard with whiteout conditions.  It seems
	Swenson decided to press on, while Butcher went back to
	the checkpoint.

	Swenson and Butcher are BITTER rivals -- well, quite frankly
	they hate each others guts.

	I'm not sure why.  One story I heard told that Swenson helped
	get Butcher started, and that she then turned on him, biting
	the hand that fed her, but I don't know for sure....


'Saw

    Well, after a long and exhaustive search, I have discovered that
    THIS is the *ONLY* note in this entire conference which has
    
    
    
    NO REFERENCE TO RUGBY!!!!!!!!
    
    'Saw, Mac,
    
    	Wassamatter????  You guys need some help or inspiration or
    something to help educate us about how rugby-is-spiritually-better-
    than-dog-racing????????  Or are ya just so careless that ya
    unintentionally missed this one??????
    
    
    8^)
    
    Kev
    

>    NO REFERENCE TO RUGBY!!!!!!!!
    


Dog sled racing, like rugby, is a way of life.

I can make a rugby tie in by telling you that one of the ruggers on the
Wanderers trains sled dogs, if you like.

I prefer to see the Dog Sled Racing as a way of life stand on its own
merit, however...


'Saw    

    Sheesh!  That only took ya 11 minutes to corrupt this one
    and to top it off, it was a lazy, half-hearted lousy effort!!!!
    
    At least ya coulda done better.
    
    Ah's dissapointed
    
    ;^(
    
    Kev
    

    What the HECK is a DOG SLED anyways???
    
    I know what a toboggan is.  I own a flexible flyer.  I know about
    saucers and them roll-uip plastic thangs.  But a DOG SLED?  IS it
    shaped like a dog?  How do you get any sliding done?  Is it a sled FOR
    DOGS?  If yes, how many dawgs can ya put on one?  How do the dogs
    steer?  
    
    JD

    
         

    >What the HECK is a DOG SLED anyways???
    
    Didn't you ever watch Sgt. Preston and his wonder dog Yukon King?
    See, he drives this long sled that's on runners.  You can't have a flat
    bottom like a toboggan cuz you'd be squishing all the dog poo under the
    sled as you travel along.  And then there are sides along the side to
    hold in all your gear like your beaver pelts and coffee and gatorade
    and tobaccy and all those other toiletries.
    
    Then at the back of the sled there is a platform for the driver to
    stand on.  Sometimes he/she rides and at other times helps the dogs
    over rough stuff by pushing off like on a skate board.
    
    You ever seen the way Santa's reindeer are hitched up?  Well, them
    doggies are lined up sorta the same way.  And they use these great
    fluffy but manly doggies like huskies and malamutes.  Chihuahuas don't
    work cause they don't do nothing but sit around shivering even on a hot
    day.
    
    There, that about covers it from A to Z.
    
    Dickstah
    

          "Unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes."
                                         -Y. King (wonder dog)

    
    See, dog racing is a lot like rugby...
    

    The first leg of the Alaskan Ididarod, 150 miles from the start ended
    yesterday in a blinding snowstorm.  Somebody was in the lead!
    
    Anyway you'll love this - because of the snow, before they resumed the
    race, a bunch of snowmobiles left early to pack down the snow and make
    a path!!!
    
    Can you believe it?  What a bunch of wimps!!!  Having snowmobiles make
    a trail so it would be easier!!!!!!!
    
    Oh well, there goes another pure sport......
    
    I remain,
    disallusioned evermore,
    Kev
    

Probably just to get them out of town into the boonies...


IAMS Dog Food (makers of Eukanuba) has a special line set up:  1-800-SLED-DOG
where you can call for updates....


I just called, and the latest leader board looks like this.  The spellings
may be off because I was typing them in as she gave them to me.


		John Baron, Doug Swindley, Martin Busser


I'll try to get another update tomorrow.


'Saw

    I'd rather know the dogs' names.  Hail, they're the ones doin' all the
    work!
    

    Hail, Digger wants me ta get him a date or seven with the wimmin
    sled dogs cause he's a young pup feeling his (short time left) oats!
    
    Saw does the OOkenyouba number have a 1-900-SLED-DOG connection?  
    
    deen ot wonk!
    
    I remain,
    the puppy-matchmaker,
    Kev
    

    
    
    Da scenery only changes fer the lead dog(s)!!!!
    
    JaKe
    

FYi - The race has a few changes this year.


No longer can participants stop in villages along the way for food and shelter.
All food and shelter must be taken at specified dormitory stops. This prevents
the well financed veterans from laying supplies along the whole route however
it also prevents the veterans from stopping in their favorite towns and visiting
with friends they've made over the years...

After watching Northern exposure last night I can say camping out in the snow
is not for me. I'll stick to camping in the summer where I can bathe in a 
stream and not sleep in the same clothes I've walked in for 3-4 days. 

The show was great though....

Metz
 

    Metz -
    
    Camping and hiking in the snow is great fun.  Heck, went last year into
    the Olympics.  Lots and lots of snow.  Nice sunny days.   Standing
    around at the campsite with just boots and shorts on - nice and warm
    with the sun reflecting off the snow.  Just have to try to keep dry -
    and make sure you know how to use your ice axe...
    
    JD

    Accrding to USA Today, Iditarod (got to be a joke in that name
    somewhere) trading cards are available, featuring the drivers...
    

The think ABC's Wide World of Sports had on last week about the
history of the Iditarod trail and stuff was excellent....


I bought 40lbs of Eukanuba two weeks ago and got a free metal cannister.
The outside is decorated with the Iditarod course.  There are actually
two courses.  In even years, a section of the route goes to the north,
in odd years a section goes to the south...  It's a middle section
and it joins back up about three-fourths of the way through....


'Saw

    Eukanuba, Saw?  No wonder that animal's so confused.  Red meat, I say,
    with the blood dripping.  Make him feel like the woof he is!
    
    Hawk
    

>    Eukanuba, Saw?  No wonder that animal's so confused.  Red meat, I say,
>    with the blood dripping.  Make him feel like the woof he is!
>    
>    Hawk

Yep.

I give him meat once in a while, or bones, but he can get more protein
out of the Eukanuba, pound for pound than from meat.....

Besides, he loves to play with his food, and it's a lot cleaner and
neater if it's Eukanuba than a steak....8^)


'Saw
    

    What kind of dog do you have Saw????/
    
    
    REK

    It's one of those REK-eating dawgs, REK.  And, btw, it's name is RAK. 
    Quite a coincidence, eh?
    
    :-)
    
    Hawk
    

He's 5/8 wolf, 3/8 german shepherd.


He's a good dog, smart, and he keeps a lot of critters away from the yard.


He's not that big (only 65 lbs) but he's really really strong...


'Saw

    
    (don't say you ain't been warned)
    
    'Saw, if you are easily offended about RAK, skip to the nexted
    unseen
    
    
    RAK's also about 80% wimp dog, probably due to the spiritual impact
    of eating all the Jehovah Witnesses that come a knockin!
    
    Ya know a lot like the kinder and gentler meal!  Ya are what ya eat!
    
    I remain,
    without soft porn at work  :^(
    Kev
    

Iditarod update follows 



Doug Swinglwy was first to the halfway point of Cripple, Alaska.

Info as reported in todays edition of the Boston Globe.


Thought I'd better include a FF in case someone  tapeing the race hasn't
view their tape yet.

I'm sure the CBC must be carrying the race LIVE.

Chap

I'm not offended.

That's a typical observation that results from a lack of general
knowledge about wolves.


Wolves are at their most outgoing from about 4 months to two years.
How you socialize them during that time period has a great effect
on how they turn out.

For example, I didn't take Rak into the city much.  As a result, he's
not at all comfortable around all the concrete and sidewalks and stuff.


Also, as they get older, they are much more suspicious of strangers to
the pack.  This suspicion is manifested in a wariness that you witnessed.


The day I bought Rak I was at the breeder's house for about 90 minutes.
During that entire time, Kimba, Rak's mother, never came within five feet
of me.   She'd circle and watch, and assimilate me, but the only time
she came near me, she snuck up when I wasn't looking.  She sniffed the
back of my hand and when I turned to her, she was back out at around
6 feet again.    That's typical wolf behavior.


Also, Rak is not an alpha male.  If he was, I think he'd give me a much
harder time about some things...  So that does color his personality a bit.


With people that he knows (my family for example) he is just like a big
overgrown puppy.....


Wolves are not for everyone.  They take a lot of care, and the loyalty they
feel is literally ingrained in their psyches.   The breaking up of a pack
in the wild is a highly traumatic experience, and there are times when he
feels that I'm gone a long time (say on business) where he wonders if I'll
be back....


I can honestly say though that I've never had a more loyal pet....


'Saw

    
    I knew that!  :^)
    
    Digger_the_Goatdog is allegedly 1/2 Huskie, 1/2 Shep but *I* know
    differently.
    
    HE thinks he's a 53lb. lap dog who is supposed to *AT ALL TIMES* have a
    human wrist between his teeth!  No chewing, just have it there like
    Lindsey and her pacifier!
    
    It must also be against his religion, unless under the penalty of
    death, to eat dog food.  OOkanuBa went out months ago and the closest
    to "people food" is Gaines Burglers (current attempt).
    
    Other than socks, pressure treated lattice and wrists, the only stable
    staple has been the 24" rawhide leg-bones.  After 5-6 day's, they're
    gone & it's time for a replenishment.  (btw-Tonight's the night)
    
    I remain,
    shakin off my slobbered-upon wrist!
    Kev
    

    65 pounds.... Gonna havefta get a bigger grill....  FOrget
    the Habatchi.....
    
    REK

Update:

	Runyon is leading.

	Butcher is 4th, Bussey is 5th.


	The Eskimo who is running the race for the first time, carrying
	the signatures of 700 other Eskimos who have vowed to stay
	sober is in 30th, up from 48th.

	They are just past the halfway point.


'Saw