The next Pope will not be from Alaska, the next winner of the Iditarod may be.

The Iditarod is the great dog sled race across Alaska. As of 1:14 am local time this morning leaving Shaktoolik, the leader was Mitch Seavey, an Alaskan since age 3 when he moved to Alaska with his parents. Next in the line of race are Aaron a native Alaskan, Jeff an Alaskan from California, Aliy Zirkle an Alaskan from New Hampshire, Ray another native Alaskan, Joar a Norwegian, Jake an Alaskan from Minnesota, Dallas Seavy the leader Mitch’s son, Sonny an Alaskan from Michigan, and Dee Dee an Alaskan born in Frankfort Germany. Those are the top 10 contenders as of daybreak up north, but as can happen in the land of snow, dogs, sleds and mushers, things can change by the next checkpoint. So, stay glued to the ice waves and the latest news from the whoosh of sled rails across the snow. Right now, however, the odds are 9 to 1 that the next winner of the Iditarod will be an Alaskan.

Popes are harder to call.

As of early this morning in Rome, the front runners are reported to be – and it’s too foggy in the Eternal City to discern the actual order of alignment in the lead pack and there may be one or two Cardinals who moved up over the night whom we can’t quite see – but, right now, the Top 4 in the leading group of mushers are: The youngest at 63, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer from Brazil, the unlikely favorite of the 38 Roman Cardinals; Cardinal Angelo Scola from Milan, Italy, 71 years young, the son of a truck driver and a Vatican outsider; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, at 68, a Canadian and a Vatican insider who has said being Pope is a job nobody would willingly pursue; and Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, another Italian, but one who blogs, tweets and has a Facebook page, a long shot who enjoys art, science and the Internet. Those are the Top 4 contenders this morning as seen by our observers perched with their binoculars on the seven hills of Rome. Things can change with the morning sun over the Forum, but right now the odds in St. Peter’s Square are 2 to 2, the forecast tied and uncertain, whether the next Pope is to be or not to be from Italy. The Conclave of 115 Cardinals starts its deliberations tomorrow morning, with the winner needing 77 votes. So, keep a keen eye fixed on that chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. When the white smoke shows there, a new Pope has been chosen.

Viva La Papa and on with race.

In Alaska, may the best team of dogs and their Musher slide home to Nome in victory and the shouts of a welcoming crowd.

In Rome, may the chapel doors creak open and the best red Cardinal appear transformed in white to the cheers of a waiting world.

The race is to the winner, the winner is for us all.

Hope springs eternal,

Grandpa Jim