An Emmy? Sounds good!

Last summer's coverage of the ESPN Great Outdoor Games presented by Dodge captured an Emmy.

The Great Outdoor Games' very first Emmy was for Outstanding Live Audio/Sound, and one of 10 racked up by ESPN and ABC Sports.

"This is a great testament to a talented and passionate group who understand the value of working as a team toward a common goal," said Christine Godleski, Vice President and General Manager of ESPN Outdoors.

According to the National Television Academy, the Sports Emmy Award recipients were chosen by a panel of their peers from close to 700 entries in 27 categories. The gold statues were handed out on April 19 at a black-tie dinner in New York City.

Dogs on logs

It was only a matter of time before man's best friend got into the game, though it was almost an accident when Rob Scheer, timber sport organizer for the Great Outdoor Games, first taught his dog Tucker to run the boom.

"About seven years ago in Hayward, Wis., I enrolled my dog in a log-rolling class where they teach kids. I paid full price and showed my dog to the instructor and she agreed to take on the challenge," Scheer said. "The first day, I called Tucker and, instead of running around the pond, she jumped on the boom run and ran on over."

Since then, Tucker has become a popular entertainer at Scheer's Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, and a new sport has blossomed: the Bow Wow Boom Run.

The canine competition will be a featured exhibition at the Great Outdoor Games in Madison, Wis., July 8-11, thanks to about 20 dog-and-trainer teams working at Wisconsin's Donnybrook Kennel. Each dog learns to run across a spinning "bridge" of logs laid end-to-end between two docks. They must circle a stanchion at the far dock and return across the boom to the starting line. The teams are training for a competition that will qualify four to compete in exhibition this summer.

Although the first wave of boom-running dogs are mostly retrievers, Scheer sees a very different future for the competition, including booms set up at kennels and dog training facilities nationwide.

"We're going to encourage the mixed breeds and their owners to know that, even though these booms are at the kennels because they're quiet and controlled, everyone is welcome to come out and learn the event."

As for who the eventual favorites will be?

"Small dogs and terriers," Scheer said. "They get so excited."

If the shoe fits

Pennsylvania's Darin Mack has two lifelong passions: horses and archery.

The Great Outdoor Games archery qualifier says his chosen career has one great perk:

"I get to be around horses all day," he said, adding that his work as a farrier includes brushes with other star athletes, including two clients who are headed to the Olympics. "I just put shoes on horses' feet, basically. I've had horses pretty much my whole life and, basically, it's the best way to make lots of money without having to go to school for a long time."

Instead, Mack began a 10-year apprenticeship at age 17 - an early start for a career, but not as early as his involvement in archery.

Mack, now 30, began shooting at age 12 and says the Great Outdoor Games offer something interesting and new.

The competition emphasizes speed (a rarity in professional archery) as well as accuracy, pitting archers in a head-to-head competition at four stations that boast moving and stationary targets and force decisions that require a gambler's nerve.

"When you look at the system and you get to shoot it, it's so much fun," he said. "Target archery is a lot like golf; it's fun when you're doing it, but it's not much fun to watch. The Great Outdoor Games format is head-to-head, it's exciting when you're trying to beat another guy."