Retired Iditarod dog to run in Candlelighters benefit

One usually doesn’t associate the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race contested over nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska tundra and blowing snow with a charity footrace in unseasonably warm Las Vegas.

But the two will come together at Saturday’s Candlelighters Superhero 5K benefiting children’s cancer victims and their families.

Cadet, an Alaskan husky who served as lead dog for veteran musher Wade Marrs at the Iditarod, will participate in the virtual version of the run with his owners — cancer survivors Doyle and Peggy Raines of Logandale.

Cadet is the second Iditarod dog the couple has adopted. The first was Skye, a six-time Iditarod veteran. Skye was 16 or 17 when she died, Doyle Raines said. They added Cadet after she was injured in a car accident and forced to retire.

Raines adopted Skye to keep him company while working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in Alaska. The sled dogs make ideal companions, he said. But even in retirement, they will run like the wind if given the opportunity.

Blowing snow, as he discovered, is not a prerequisite.

“Skye was just an old girl who was great, but she had some place to go,” Raines said of the husky’s penchant for stretching her legs, sometimes for weeks at a time. “Nobody could catch her because she was so fast. We thought maybe she would be more inclined to stay (at home) if we had another dog.”

Raines had an uncle who was a musher, but his fascination with the sport and sled dogs grew exponentially when he was introduced to Marrs, who twice has finished fourth in the Iditarod.

“Once we got Skye, we were super interested in the race,” Raines said. “I flew to Nome to meet (Marrs). We sponsor a couple of his dogs every year. Cadet had one litter, and two of those dogs are racing.”

Raines said Cadet also painted a picture for the Candlelighters benefit. It’s a bit more abstract than “Dogs Playing Poker,” he said with a chuckle.

“We set our goal to raise $998 this year — which is one dollar for every mile Cadet ran in the Iditarod,” he said.

Harper honored by Perfect Game

Perfect Game USA, which calls itself the world’s largest and most comprehensive baseball scouting organization, has named Bryce Harper to its first 10-member Hall of Fame class. The former Las Vegas High and College of Southern Nevada standout joins Carl Crawford, Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, Brian McCann, Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Mike Trout, Justin Upton and Joey Votto.

The class of 2021 will be feted Oct. 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida, where members will receive a Perfect Game blazer designed by Las Vegas-based Stitched Lifestyle.

Around the horn

■ Former Desert Oasis and UNLV shortstop Bryson Stott was named the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league hitter of the month for August, during which he batted .408 with nine doubles, a triple, five home runs and 18 RBIs in 26 games.

■ Former Bishop Gorman standout Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw his 42nd, 43rd and 44th touchdown passes at UCLA, surpassing Troy Aikman (and Cory Paus) for sixth place on the Bruins’ all-time list, during a 38-27 victory over Louisiana State on Sept. 4 with Aikman watching from the Rose Bowl sidelines.

■ Another Gorman grad, Derek Ng, kicked five extra points and a 30-yard field goal in Holy Cross’ 38-28 victory over FBS opponent Connecticut and was named Patriot League special teams player of the week for the fourth time.

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■ “This is App State over Michigan.” — Former UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck, after guiding Montana to a 13-7 victory over No. 20 Washington on Sept. 4.

Montana was the first Football Championship Subdivision team to upset a ranked Football Bowl Subdivision big brother since North Dakota State won at No. 13 Iowa in 2016 and the fifth to do it since Appalachian State’s monster upset of No. 5 Michigan in 2007.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.