Will Michael Vick watch the Iditarod on Discovery Channel?

The Anchorage Daily News asks: "Can Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race mushers Lance Mackey or Bruce Linton become household names across the nation like Captain Sig Hansen on the Discovery Channel's 'Deadliest Catch,' recently nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards?"

Come Oct. 14, we shall see. That's when the Discovery Channel will begin airing six one-hour programs. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the programs were shot at last year's Iditarod. So if you haven't heard who won last year's event -- like most of us -- this will be an adventure. The Anchorage Daily News reports the following about "Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod."

To bring the race into focus, producers focused in on eight mushers:
• Lance Mackey, the defending champion who shattered prevailing notions of what was possible by winning the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and Iditarod back to back two consecutive years.
• Jeff King, the four-time champion who battled Mackey to the finish line in March.
• Martin and young Rohn Buser, with dad a four-time champion and his son an 18-year-old rookie.
• DeeDee Jonrowe, the popular Willow musher and breast cancer survivor who's started 26 Iditarods, finishing as high as second.
• Darin Nelson, a rookie from Kotzebue and the son of popular rural musher Louie Nelson.
• Rick Holt, a rookie from Willow and teacher who finished 58th in March.
• Bruce Linton, who moved from Vermont to Kasilof and who's committed to inspiring fellow diabetics that they, too, can achieve their dreams.

So what is the Iditarod? Here's one view from the race's web site:

From Anchorage, in south central Alaska, to Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher cover over 1150 miles in 10 to 17 days.

It has been called the “Last Great Race on Earth” and it has won worldwide acclaim and interest. German, Spanish, British, Japanese and American film crews have covered the event. Journalists from outdoor magazines, adventure magazines, newspapers and wire services flock to Anchorage and Nome to record the excitement. It’s not just a dog sled race, it’s a race in which unique men and woman compete. Mushers enter from all walks of life.

Here's the Discovery Channel's commercial for the show.