Unless you’ve spent March in a cave, you know that the Iditarod wrapped up this morning and we’ve got a back-to-back champion. At 2:46am (6:46am Eastern) this morning Fairbanks native, Lance Mackey (pictured, on right) won the 1,100 mile race for the second consecutive year. Entirety
Since we in the blogosphere are into the whole “instant history” thing, I don’t think it’s too soon to start asking, “Is Lance Mackey the best ever?”

Winning two-in-a-row is impressive, but in order to cement himself the sports “Top Dog,” he’s going to need to do it again - especially, if he wants to be mentioned alongside 4-time winners, Susan Butcher, Martin Buser, Doug Swingly and Jeff King. (Both Butcher and Swingly have Three-Peated.)

And can Mackey really make us forget about 5-time winner Rick Swenson? I sure as hell won’t, but it is possible that the conditions Mackey’s team faced this year may put him in a class of his own. From the Associated Press:

For much of the race Mackey tussled for the lead with four-time winner Jeff King of Denali Park, who was about an hour back. He also struggled with dogs stricken with diarrhea and slowed by unseasonably warm weather that marked much of the trail.

I had no idea that this race was such an intense battle that it would be referred to as a “tussle.” Mackey later mentioned regretting his decision to feed his dogs Taco Bell multiple times during the 9 day trek.

Mackey’s dogs also quarreled on the trail. He had to drop Hobo, a leader that was badly injured in an ongoing rivalry with Larry, another leader. Some of his dogs were coughing and one is in heat.

Anyone else see shades of Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens here? I know Hobo gets a bad rap, but I think Larry gets his belly rubbed with kid’s gloves because of his reputation as a lead dog.

Mackey won $69,000 and a new truck worth $45,000 for the win.

Mackey said before the race started that the prize money is important so he doesn’t have “to get a real job.”

If there is something more American than being pulled by sled across Alaska by a bunch of dogs for a week and a half just so you don’t have to sit at a desk the other 50 and a half weeks of the year then I don’t know what it is. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go teach my Labradoodles how to mush. It’s time they started to earn their keep.

-Cousins of Ron Mexico

[Associated Press]

[Extensive knowledge of Iditarod's history taken from Wikipedia and passed off as my own]