Iditarod

More than a year has passed since musher Al Hardman and his team of huskies finished Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.So the Yak visited the musher at his home in Michigan to see how he and his dogs were doing.There was some sad news. Luka, 9, his top leader, died last August. Hardman was heartbroken."I really bonded with that dog," he said. "She always knew exactly what I wanted. I really miss her."The good news is that in May, two other females gave birth to 11 healthy puppies."This is Bear," said Hardman, introducing a puppy to the Yak. "He's the only one I've named so far. He looks like a polar bear; that's why I named him that."

Key West's Fantasy Fest, for a legendary HalloweenWizards. Greek gods. Mad Hatters. Paul Bunyan? Anything and everything legendary will be on parade this Halloween at Fantasy Fest in Key West.From Oct. 21-30, masqueraders from all over will converge on the historic streets of the tiny Florida island. The theme, "Mystical Myths and Twisted Tales," says it all about the 16th annual Mardi Gras-style masked festival.International costume competitions, parades laden with dragons, elaborate floats, Caribbean food and a queen and king coronation ball are some of the highlights of the 10-day event.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- It figures. After flying thousands of miles and writing 1,000 or so words about how he wanted "to escape the city life" and "breathe calmly while surrounded by the Alaskan snow," Police Athletic League essay contest winner D'Antoine Webb found himself in a traffic jam yesterday morning.A traffic jam of dog sleds, that is.But 15-year-old D'Antoine wasn't complaining about the backup, as he and Baltimore racer Dan Dent waited their turn to ride past a crowd of well-wishers for the ceremonial start of the 1999 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Brooke, Josh, and Sheldon remain, splayed out on the sofas and clearly exhausted. Brooke finds a note from Padma telling them to meet her at the Eagle Crest. Is that an Alaskan Leather Bar? I'm excited. They drive up a long mountain and are stopped by a helicopter in the middle of the road. A lady approaches the car and announces she's their pilot and they'll be taking the bird up the rest of the way to meet Padma. Brooke is not cool with this. The helicopter involves three of her biggest fears -- heights, being in an enclosed space, and having no control.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Somewhere up in the heavens, they evidently thought it would be a joke: Let's switch the winters on people and see what happens. We'll sock the mid-Atlantic, where a dusting of snow can cause mass hysteria, with 2 feet-plus in a single weekend. And we'll leave Anchorage with the second-warmest winter since record-keeping began in 1915. Hence, the bizarre turn of events in this normally white and frigid region, which springs to life each winter with cross-country skiing, snowmobile races, sled dog competitions and ice climbing.

Editor's note: Akiak the sled dog refuses to give up after being injured during the Iditarod sled dog race. The 1999 race is currently being run in Alaska.It was Iditarod Race Day. 1,151 miles of wind, snow, and rugged trail lay ahead, from Anchorage to Nome. Akiak had led the team through seven races and knew the trail better than any dog. She had brought them in fifth, third, and second, but had never won. She was ten years old now. This was her last chance. Now, they must win now.Crack!

Chesnokov ousts Stich in semifinal upsetUnseeded Andrei Chesnokov of Russia stunned No. 3 seed Michael Stich, 1-6, 7-6, (7-4), 6-3, yesterday in the semifinals of the Champions Cup tournament at Indian Wells, Calif.Chesnokov's victory over Stich, the reigning Wimbledon champion, moved him into today's final against 12th-seeded Michael Chang, who defeated Francisco Clavet, 6-0, 6-1, in the other semifinal.* Fourth-seeded Conchita Martinez rallied to defeat Amanda Coetzer, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, in the semifinal of the Virginia Slims of Florida at Boca Raton.

The TV Repairman:Regarding college hoops this weekend and all of next weekTurn on the telly. If teams aren't racing up and down the floor, driving, dunking and dishing off no matter what the hour, call the repairman. Your set is not working. ESPN alone is sending along 33 games, 23 of them conference championship games. Best of these figures to be the Mid-Continent showdown from Green Bay next Tuesday.* Bulletin (three bells)! Channel 2 finally is recognizing the NBA this weekend, accepting the NBC feed of the Trail Blazers-Celtics game Sunday at 12:30.

Baltimore's Dan Dent made it across the ice-covered Bering Sea in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and could reach the finish line in Nome, Alaska, sometime today. Dent, a 58-year-old investment banker, is in 62nd place in the 1,151-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. Fifty-four teams have completed the race, and 13 of the original field of 81 have dropped out, leaving 14 mushers on the course. The winner, Doug Swingley, finished Tuesday. Dent and his team of 14 huskies negotiated the treacherous 50-mile leg from Shaktoolik to Koyuk in a little less than six hours.

Somewhere in the frozen Alaskan darkness yesterday, Baltimore musher Dan Dent and his 15 huskies slipped past four more competitors and pulled into the Bering Sea town of Unalakleet in 61st place. Dent still has 269 miles to go before he reaches the finish line in Nome. And 29 teams had already finished the 2000 Iditarod Trail race by the time Dent reached the seacoast a couple of hours after sunrise. But at least he'd put a few more mushers between himself and last place. There were eight in all trailing him early yesterday.