Thursday Grab Bag: Dog Days

The local sports scene is at fever pitch just as the national world settles in for the second half of the MLB season and the dog days of summer.

We'll know Farmington's Connie Mack World Series representative within days, just as the High School National Finals Rodeo gets into full swing at McGee Park. Several young athletes are doing well on a national and international stage, including motocross racer Brandon Smith -- look for more on his triumph overseas in the next couple days.

I summited Wetterhorn Peak today at 7:08 a.m., and as my first solo Class 3 climb on Colorado's 14ers it was a blast. But now it's time to immerse myself into the sports at hand.

Local entries: I'll start by providing you with a comprehensive list of the locals competing in the Finals Rodeo, and their tentative performance times:

Emily Carrillo, Aztec -- Cutting (Monday p.m., Friday a.m.)
Talon Henry, Fruitland -- Bull riding (Wednesday a.m., Wednesday p.m.)
Dylan Henson, Bloomfield -- Saddle bronc riding (Monday p.m., Friday a.m.), bull riding (Sunday p.m., Saturday a.m.)
Sorrel Huntington, Aztec -- Pole bending (Monday a.m., Friday p.m.), goat tying (Tuesday p.m., Thursday a.m.)
Zach Lee, Aztec -- Bareback riding (Monday a.m., Friday p.m.)
Samantha Martinez, Bloomfield* -- Cutting (Sunday p.m., Saturday a.m.), goat tying (Tuesday p.m., Thursday a.m.), pole bending (Monday a.m., Friday p.m.)
Jared Osbourn, Aztec -- Saddle bronc riding (Monday a.m., Friday p.m.)
Katie Waybourn, Aztec -- Cutting (Monday a.m., Friday p.m.)

*Also competing for rodeo queen

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Hardrock 100: The Tour de France has pepped up this year with Lance Armstrong's return and subsequent competitiveness -- albeit in a race where the contenders are waiting to make their move during the latter mountain stages.

I'm still skeptical of Armstrong's fitness and ability to stay with the favorites, but based on anecdotal evidence and my personal interest I feel like the Tour has drawn a decent buzz this year.

This leads me to wonder: Why isn't there a similar event for long distance runners? I think it would enhance the sport's profile, and while it wouldn't draw like the Tour does, people would watch.

I'm talking a 15-18 day race, mostly stages of 13-17 miles with a marathon thrown in the mix. Rotate the host country every year among nations with the top runners. Hold it in Kenya, Morocco, maybe even the United States now and again.

There's no running version of the Tour, but there is the Hardrock 100 held in the San Juan Mountains. It ran this week: a 100-mile race with 33,000 feet of elevation gain and a high point of 14,048 feet at Handies Peak.

The mere idea makes me want to lay my head down and sleep for a week.

Karl Meltzer from Utah ran the second-fastest time in the event's history, winning in 24 hours, 38 minutes. The state of New Mexico did relatively well, led by Sam Thompson's seventh place finish.

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Fantasy Baseball: Here's a pair of potential pickups for you this week.

Gutierrez mashing -- Seattle Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, has 32 career home runs. Nearly 25 percent of those came within the past 30 days.

He strikes out too much -- he's on pace for more than 100 -- but if you're in a deep league and you want some cheap power that's blasting pitches out of the part of late, he's your guy. He'll taper eventually, so picking him up is a risk/reward proposition.

Toronto blues -- Perhaps it's because he plays in another country, or because he's eclipsed by a career year from Cy Young winner Roy Halladay. Whatever the case, Ricky Romero is having the most unheralded 3.00 ERA, 7-3 season I can remember in a while.

He's available in approximately half of fantasy leagues, and the best part is he's been consistent all season. The 24-year-old rookie from Los Angeles is giving you seven innings, five strikeouts and two or three earned runs consistently. Take a look -- he's likely a more reliable option than one of your starting pitchers.

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Stay tuned throughout the week as I'm going to be blogging as much as possible on the rodeo, although you'll find it under the rodeo masthead "blogs." Also, like the man told me as I was gearing up and packing my car for my latest foray into Colorado, "It's against the law to walk around naked." Good advice as the weekend approaches for most of you. (Yes, I was clothed when he said it.)

Also, I would like to say that I wrote this entire entry without misspelling one word. For those of you that don't have the misfortune of reading my pre-spell check copy, that's a minor miracle. If you're reading this, you spell better than I do. Thank goodness I wasn't born two generations earlier.

Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher