Sledding

Thirty-six children were injured in a sledding accident during a New Year's Eve party hosted by Minot Youth for Christ. Three children remain hospitalized. The children and ministry staff piled eight to 12 passengers on cardboard-box sleds at about 4 a.m., then went down a hill in quick succession. "The sleds struck rocks, a light pole and each other," police said. A sign posted on the hill prohibited sledding. A ministry director said the group went down the wrong hill.

In order to be a champion musher, you need dogs, sleds, a sense of athletic adventure and -- oh, yeah -- snow. Getting three out of four might work in baseball or basketball, but it just doesn't count when it comes to the Iditarod, the 975-mile race that traditionally tests human and animal against Alaska's elements. Let's face it: Without snowy, icy, even blizzard conditions, the race is nothing more than a fast, painful trek along Iditarod National Historic Trail. And this year the lack of snow along parts of the route have caused problems.

From Bill Clinton on the left to Newt Gingrich on the right, Diogenes would find it tough sledding in today's Washington. GERALD W. WRIGHT Los Angeles

SOCHI, Russia - Down near the bottom of the track, shooting out of Turn 15, Steve Holcomb glanced at a time clock just off to the side. Bobsled pilots are not supposed to let their focus wander - not at 80-plus mph - but Holcomb could not help himself. And the green numbers meant that his time was good. Oh God, don't mess up, he recalled thinking. Don't mess this up in the last two corners. FRAMEWORK: Best images from Sochi The final stretch went according to plan, just fast enough for Holcomb and USA 1 to capture bronze in the four-man bobsled on the final afternoon of the Sochi Olympics.

It's winter, so let the snow play begin. The ski-in, ski-out Resort at Squaw Creek at Lake Tahoe offers a family package starting at $299 a night that adds skiing, skating and sledding to room amenities. The deal: The offer is good for a room that accommodates two adults and two children 12 and younger.  Included in the package are free ice skating and skate rentals, free sledding and one free child's lift ticket (12 and younger) for Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. The deal requires a two-night minimum stay; prices start at $299 a night midweek and $349 a night on weekends.

SAN DIEGO December Nights When, where: Dec. 3 and 4, Balboa Park Highlights: More than 300,000 people are expected for this annual event, during which admission to all museums will be free. Holiday-themed offerings include live entertainment, rides for children, a Native American village and food from around the world. Cost: Free Info: (619) 239-0512, http://www.balboapark.org/decembernights SANTA BARBARA Snow Leopard Festival and Sledding at the Zoo When, where: Dec. 5, Santa Barbara Zoo Highlights: The zoo celebrates two things foreign to the Southland: snow and the endangered leopard.

Would-BE sledders who want to ascend above cactus level for that winter wonderland up high should expect lots of company at popular spots just off main roads in the local mountains. But inside the national forests lurks an inviting option: areas that have been cleared out specifically for snow play. Located at turnouts along roads such as Angeles Crest Highway, these areas are plowed for parking and play. There's usually plenty of room for sledding, and you won't have to worry about being ticketed for illegally parking along the highway.

A small town in Iowa wants to boldly go where no one has gone before--and erect a statue to a favorite son who hasn't even been born. Four years ago, Riverside, Iowa, lobbied to become the "small town in Iowa" where James T. Kirk, whose captainship of the spaceship Enterprise is enjoying its fifth go-round on film, is to be born on March 26, 2228. Super "Trekkie" Steve Miller, who came up with the proposal, received the blessing of Gene Roddenberry, creator of "Star Trek," and now Miller is working with Paramount Pictures to get permission to erect a bronze statue of Kirk in the town's park.

BRITAIN Royal wedding If you're not on Prince William and Kate Middleton's invitation list, you can still be in London on their April 29 wedding day. Kensington Tours' eight-day "London Royal Wedding" package includes a selection of privately chauffeured tours of southeast Britain with stops at legendary places, including Windsor and Stonehenge. Dates: April 23-30 Price: From $2,056 a person for a party of four to $2,744 a person for a party of two, including upscale accommodations, transfers and personalized travel assistance, but not including airfare or most meals.

With Christmas approaching, a thought occurred regarding Santa. You know, it would be rough sledding for the old man on his annual Christmas visit to the United States if he were forced to meet all the federal regulations that affect him. For example, as a foreign visitor, he would need a visa. He'd need health certificates for each of his eight reindeer, and they would probably have to go through a Department of Agriculture quarantine. Santa is the owner and operator of a private delivery service, so the post office would have regulations . . . no first-class mail except packages and that means no Christmas cards.

SOCHI, Russia - U.S. bobsled pilot Steven Holcomb planned to sleep well Saturday night, but he wouldn't say the same for his German competitors. Holcomb's four-man crew sits in fourth place after the first day of competition, just one-hundredth of a second behind Germany's top sled. It's not the placement that the defending Olympic champion wanted, but he insisted he still liked his team's chances. "We're not upset," Holcomb said after his first two runs Saturday. "We're a hundredth out of third place.

The first time Aja Evans took a run down the bobsled track, a sensation she likens to being stuffed in a garbage can and pushed off a cliff, she wasn't sure she wanted to do it again. Her mother insisted. "She told me to fight through it. She told me I was in this for bigger reasons than that one run," Evans said. "And I'm so glad I listened to her. " Two years after heeding her mother's advice, Evans and her pilot Jamie Greubel won a bronze medal Wednesday in the women's bobsled.

SOCHI, Russia - In their first training run together here, U.S. bobsled pilot Elana Meyers and brakeman Lauryn Williams crashed into a wall at the end of the track and severely damaged their sled. Williams - a former sprinting star who took up the sport seven months ago - accepted responsibility for the mishap, saying she had applied the brakes too late. Team mechanics worked through the night to fix the sled and the two were back on the track the next morning, when they posted the fastest time in their training heat.

WASHINGTON - Forget the chicken dinner, the rubbery staple of the political fundraising circuit. Go alligator hunting with Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) on a Louisiana Bayou Weekend for a campaign donation of $5,000. Or spend a weekend in Hayward, Wis., for the Lumberjack World Championships, featuring hometown Republican congressman and former lumberjack champion Sean P. Duffy, for a donation of $1,000 per person or $2,000 per political action committee. Or join Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Downey)

The geography of the NBA conference alignment can't be changed. But it can be lightly debated in a "what-if?" way. The Lakers, long a member of the Western Conference, would just as happily be members of the East this season, where only two teams are over .500. That's right. Two teams. The Lakers are 11th in the West with their 8-8 record. They'd be tied for third in the East with Chicago. "That's the way it goes. It's been like that for a while," Steve Blake said.

You hear all the time how players will run through a brick wall for coaches they respect and admire. But as Notre Dame back Cam McDaniel found out the hard way, it's impossible to get through a gauntlet sled that is turned around backward. This soon-to-be classic clip from Notre Dame practice features Coach Brian Kelly leading his running backs through a drill. When someone suggests the sled is backward, Kelly responds "No, it's not backwards!" and then goes into coach-talk about how he's looking for the "one step, slide cut here.

When it comes to writing from personal experience, veteran screenwriter John Michael Hayes ("Rear Window," "Peyton Place") has gone the distance. Like the main character Will Stoneman in Disney's new release "Iron Will," Hayes says he faced huge odds in getting his story to the big screen. For Stoneman, 17, it is a treacherous, 522-mile cross-country dog sled race from Winnipeg, Canada, to St. Paul, Minn., in the dead of 1917's brutal winter.

Joe Runyan and Doug Swingley pressed on toward the Yukon River, still without having taken their mandatory 24-hour layovers. The two sled dog racers left Cripple, Alaska, the race's halfway point, at 11:50 a.m. and 12:09 p.m. A pack of mushers that had taken the required rest was closing in on Cripple. Martin Buser moved into third place.

In a surprise to no one, Lance Mackey, who has won the race four times (2007-10), is the leader nearing the midpoint of the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Mackey was the first musher to pull into the checkpoint in Ophir, Alaska. Mackey arrived around 5:30 a.m. PST Wednesday and rested for 15 minutes before heading back out on the trail. Jake Berkowitz arrived in Ophir second and Nicolas Petit third. PHOTOS: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race The lead mushers are a little over 400 miles into the race.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began on Sunday in Alaska, with 65 teams making their way through punishing wilderness toward the finish line in Nome on Alaska's western coast 1,000 miles away. Among the competitors were defending champion Dallas Seavey and four-time winners Lance Mackey, Jeff King and Martin Buser. “I love running the dogs, working with the dogs,” said Cindy Gallea, of Wykoff, Minn., whose best finish  among 10 Iditarods was 33rd. “I love being in Alaska, being around the beauty.” PHOTOS: Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race The Iditarod winner gets a new truck and $50,400.