Pueblo’s Josh Peek, like hundreds of other cowboys with their heads full of ambition, jumped around the rodeo circuit for years collecting blisters and eating dirt.
Peek has had a series of minor-circuit victories since 2000 — in exotic locales from Laughlin to Kissimmee, Puyallup to Calgary, Tucson to Billings. But he really broke stride this week.
Peek earned enough prize money this year to remain near the top of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world standings, rodeo’s equivalent of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup. His string of successes qualified him for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas — the cowboy’s Super Bowl — which began last week and ends Saturday.
With an all-star roster around him, Peek has soared to second in the standings. His $202,196.86 ranked him behind five-time champion Trevor Brazile at $381,221.06 and ahead of Cody DeMoss ($156,779.02).
But fortunes can fly fast in Las Vegas. Through nearly 80 rodeos during the season, cowboys plug along collecting prize cash. At Las Vegas, the pot sweetens and payouts jump. Standings for each event, including bull riding, tie-down roping and steer wrestling, among others, are based on prize winnings. The larger Las Vegas earnings mean big movement among the ranks.
Peek, to his credit, has held on to his second-place spot.
Fowler’s Wade Sumpter, on the other hand, has made his move. He came into Las Vegas in fourth place in steer wrestling, but his more than $28,000 in earnings this week propelled him into third place overall with $121,312.07 in earnings, less than $1,400 behind second-place Shawn Greenfield and within striking distance of leader Lee Graves.
The final two days, rounds nine and 10 today and Saturday, could produce some last-minute swings. No one — not even the pokes with mouthfuls of dirt — can foresee the ending.
AROUND THE STATE
King of Mountain Series in Telluride.
The boldface names will be out in force this weekend in Telluride for the King of the Mountain Series, a three-stop tour for professional skiercross and snowboardcross. The event, already well-known to Colorado snow fans, bridges the Winter Olympics and the X Games and brings out the best in the sport with a big cash payout. For snowboarding, find Drew Nielsen, ranked No. 1 in the world; Shaun Palmer, a five-time world champion; and the de Le Rue brothers, Paul-Henri and Xavier. In skiing, there’s the top three ranked names, Audun Groenvold, Tomas Kraus and Hiroomi Takizawa; and Daron Rahlves and Aspen’s Casey Puckett. For women, Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis leads the pack as defending champion.
King of the Mountain Ski Tour
Today: Snowboard qualification and seeding, 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday: Skiercross competition, noon to 2 p.m.
Sunday: Snowboardcross competition, noon to 2 p.m.
Check for full schedule
STAY ON THE COUCH
Nuggets face Spurs.
If Allen Iverson and the Nuggets are to break through this season — or any season — they need to get past the Western Conference elite. At the top of the heap in the West, still, are the Spurs. The Nuggets travel to Texas on Saturday to take on San Antonio for the first in a four-game series this season. Tim Duncan, who sat out the Spurs’ loss to Golden State on Tuesday, has been a game-time decision all week. The game will air on Altitude at 6:30 p.m.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Cross country, snowshoe seasons begin.
For the recreational crowd, cross country skiing and snowshoe season officially takes over this weekend for running with no less than four events. On Saturday, find the Salomon Ranch Creek Opener, a 15K classic or skate race at Devil’s Thumb Ranch near Tabernash (active.com); or the 10th Luna Chase Snowshoe Race on the 5K trail at Keystone (keystone.snow.com). On Sunday, try the 27th Christmas Classic 4-miler at Harmony Market Place in Fort Collins (active.com) and the Beaver Creek Snowshoe Series, a 10K event (bcsnowshoe.com).
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Check egos and tell the truth.
Now that the Mitchell report has stirred up a hornet’s nest, there’s only one way for baseball fans to find resolution. Players — both those named in the report and those who skated — need to come to grips with their egos and admit what they’ve done. The truth will only help the process. Of course, the likelihood of this happening is about as high as Jeff Francis clearing a home run to the parking lot. But we can hope.
WEAK IN REVIEW
Flexing a flabby schedule.
The NFL’s flex schedule allows it to move good matchups to Sunday night’s prime-time game on a weekly basis. The intent is to make the NBC ratings as healthy as possible. The league should also use a flex schedule for Thursday night games on the NFL Network. It should move the least intriguing game each week to Thursday, since no one will be able to find it, anyway.
