Kritik und Lob » conscientious of knowing when to take risks

For Mary Burger, age truly is just a number.The 68-year-old from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, is an age-defying barrel racer who may further etch her name in the record books of professional rodeo with the start of the sports world championship on Thursday. Burger -- who became rodeos oldest world champion at age 58 with her gold buckle in 2006 -- is back atop the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) standings heading into the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which features seven different events and runs through Dec. 10 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.She will be one of 15 barrel racers competing in the $10 million rodeo, riding her horse in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels placed strategically in a dirt-filled arena to see who can clock the fastest time. The cowgirl with the best time each night earns $26,231 -- the top eight places get paid -- and the barrel racer with the most money combined from the regular season and the Wrangler NFR after Round 10 earns the title of world champion.Burger rode her 7-year-old buckskin gelding, Mo, to a WPRA-record $190,977 in regular-season earnings this year and enters Round 1 on Thursday night with a $74,590 lead over second-place Jackie Ganter as the odds-on favorite to win another world championship. It has been a dreamlike season for Burger, especially considering she didnt know how much she and her somewhat green horse would be on the road in 2016.I was just planning on going to whatever rodeos we wanted to go to, and I just wanted to go to Houston and some of the [indoor] rodeos, said Burger, who is competing in her first Wrangler NFR since 2009. When Houston turned out real good, it just made it doable to make it [to Las Vegas] this year.Burger and Mo raced their way to victory at RodeoHouston in March, earning a $54,750 check that put them atop the world standings. Then, in mid-July, the dynamic duo hit it big again by winning the Calgary Stampede north of the border for $122,000, $72,000 of which counted for the WPRAs ProRodeo standings.Burgers final tally set a new regular-season record for barrel racing and has her poised to extend the age record she already set for rodeo world champions. And when you consider that Burger got Mo, an unknown and unproven commodity, in a trade for another horse, her 2016 campaign is even more impressive.She had an idea the horse was special, but his youth and playful attitude still had her wondering.It was always in the back of my mind, but you just never know, Burger said of Mos potential. I knew he had all the ability in the world to run with the best of them, but hes kind of an immature horse. He likes to just be a horse sometimes.Hes been getting a lot better, and I knew he had the ability all along. It just all fell together for us.Not only is she leading the barrel racing standings, but Burger will be wearing the coveted No. 1 back number in Las Vegas, an honor reserved for the Wrangler NFR contestant who wins the most money during the regular season. Its only the third time a woman has achieved that feat in the 58 years of the Super Bowl of Rodeo, which has 120 competitors (women compete in barrel racing, while men participate in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping and bull riding). Burger joins 11-time world champion Charmayne James (1987) and four-time world champion Sherry Cervi (1995) with that distinction.I guess they wont ever forget me that way, will they? Burger said. Sometimes, you might make the NFR once and nobody knows who you are, but with the No. 1 spot, I guess they wont forget me.Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by her peers.I think its awesome, and shes had a great year, said Cervi, who enters the 10-day rodeo at No. 12 in the standings. To be able to wear the No. 1 back number, I think its really cool and is an honor. Shes a good person, too, and represents the barrel racers well.Burger won her 2006 title on two-time American Quarter Horse Association/WPRA Horse of the Year Fred, and this years world title would be the first for her and Mo. As a woman who won her world championships on multiple horses, Cervi knows how tough that is to accomplish on different mounts.Shes a great hand [horsewoman] and has ridden numerous horses in her career, Cervi said. To come back and have a chance to win a gold buckle is pretty exciting. Shes trained a lot of great horses. The barrel racers who have competed in the futurity, horse show and jackpot worlds know who Mary Burger is because shes been competitive for a very long time.But with round winners earning so much each night and up to $67,000 for winning the 10-round aggregate, Burgers lead isnt exactly insurmountable. Shell have a target on her back as she takes on 14 other talented barrel racers and their trusty equine athletes in a race against the clock at the $10 million rodeo.Her defense of the top spot may be tougher than Burger would like, as Mo -- who finished second in the AQHA/WPRA Barrel Horse of the Year voting -- is recovering from a sore deep flexor tendon. Burger had him in physical therapy treatments throughout November and feels good about his rehabilitation.She is taking some backup horses to Las Vegas as a contingency plan, but she hopes to ride Mo as long as he feels good enough to go.I think hes going to make it, Burger said just before Thanksgiving. Hes getting to where hes pretty sound, and its just a matter of if he gets sore. If he gets sore, Ill have to go to a backup.Im really pleased with how hes doing, but he hasnt made any runs since the middle of October. So, were hoping that he does well and is healthy enough to keep on running.Burger and Mo racked up their impressive money total in just 64 rodeos, 36 fewer than Ganter, thanks to the pair of big wins. The quality over quantity approach worked, and now Burger has a chance to take home another gold buckle.Thats not a normal goal for a grandmother her age, but Mos talent and success, combined with Burgers innate desire to compete in the sport she loves, propelled her along. That internal fire and determination are what keep Burger going as she approaches 70.This is just what I love to do, she said. Other than working on the ranch and keeping that in order, this is my life. I guess its just all I know how to do.Burger also knows how to teach the sport to others and is a world-class mentor for her 10-year-old granddaughter, Kaden.Shes been going to Little Britches [Association] rodeos, and weve got her a nice barrel horse and a really nice pole [bending] horse, said Burger, who competed alongside her daughter-in-law, P.J., at the 2009 Wrangler NFR. Shes having a good time and doing really well, and Im a proud grandma.If Burger wins the gold buckle, her granddaughter could perhaps wear it as she progresses in the sport.It would just be a dream come true, Burger said. To win as much as Ive won this year, itd just be a great way to end an awesome year. Itd be icing on the cake.Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. 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Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Wholesale Shoes Brands . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem.EDMONTON -- It was going to be a breakthrough campaign for career backup quarterback Matt Nichols, the year he fought to be the No. 1 signal caller. Instead the 26-year-old Edmonton Eskimo formally ended his 2013 season Tuesday with the announcement he will undergo surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament on his right knee. Its an injury -- received in last weeks pre-season game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders --that reinforced Nichols reputation for fearless play, but also suggested the California native is fast becoming his own worst enemy. Nichols, his knee wrapped in a bandage, had a quick answer to concerns he competes with too much reckless abandon at such a critical position. "I dont really plan on changing the way I play," Nichols told reporters at Commonwealth Stadium prior to the team practice. "The quarterback position is a little bit more than just being able to throw a football. Its about being a team leader." Nichols was hurt last Friday after the injury in the 31-24 loss at Commonwealth Stadium. It was late in the first quarter when Nichols threw a quick slant pass to receiver Ed Gant. The ball bounced off Gants hands and was caught by Riders defensive back Carlos Thomas, who raced 30 yards untouched down the sideline to paydirt, led by defensive end Kenny Rowe. There was no one in sight, an easy pick-six in a meaningless game, but then came Nichols barrelling in on an angle, determined to catch Thomas at the goal-line. He ran straight into the path of Rowe who delivered a textbook hit to the shoulder. Nichols legs got caught under him and down he went in a heap, clutching his right knee in the end zone as the Riders celebrated the TD. "All my weight just kind of happened to be on my right leg and it got pushed on my left shoulder," said Nichols. "I was kind of actually kind of letting up on the play." It was the second time that game that Nichols had put himself in harms way after a pick. A few minutes earlier, he ran into the left flat and threw an interception to Riders defensive back Macho Harris. Nichols ran up to try and make the tackle and in doing so dropped his throwing shoulder into Riiders defensive end turned blocker John Chick.dddddddddddd Nichols said he was just doing his job. "Chasing down an interception is not something that I think is an aggressive play," he said. "Ive been playing this position my whole life. Ive thrown my fair share of interceptions and Ive made touchdown-saving tackles on em, too." Nichols is known for his headstrong play, but when training camp opened June 1 he said the plan in 2013 was for more discretion. "If its the end of a game and its third and five and I need an extra yard for a first down Im going to do anything I can to get that first down. Earlier in the game Ill probably play it a little bit more safe," he said at the time. Days later he turned those words into actions, hook sliding during a team scrimmage. At the time, Eskimo head coach Kavis Reed said he, too, wanted Nichols to lead a little less with his chin. "(Nichols) is a young man that is hell bent on trying to make the play so that his team can be better off for it, but we want him to have longevity in this league and we are hopeful that he can preserve himself more," said Reed at the time. "Having gone through an injury, I think hes going to be more conscientious of knowing when to take risks." The injury Reed was referring to occurred seven months earlier in last years East Division semifinal against the Toronto Argonauts. Nichols was flushed quickly out of the pocket and hauled down from behind by Argo defensive end Ronald Flemons. He tried to fight through the sack and managed to throw the ball away but in doing so got his feet trapped under him and gruesomely broke his left fibula and turned his ankle 180 degrees. Months earlier, Nichols was concussed by two defenders diving for a extra few yards against Hamilton. Nichols had been duelling with former B.C. Lion Mike Reilly for the No. 1 quarterback job in camp. Reilly is starting Friday in Vancouver in the final pre-season game against his former team and heads into the regular season at the top of the depth chart. Veteran Kerry Joseph is expected to move up into the backup role and will see playing time against B.C. ' ' '