There are only 40 people in the world who can rightfully call themselves a professional field goal kicker.
Excluding upstarts like the United Football League, kickers compete for one of just 32 jobs with National Football League teams or a scant eight positions in the Canadian Football League. It’s no wonder Okotoks Dawg Jeff Harkensee sensed greater possibilities trying to swing a bat than kicking the pig skin through the uprights.
As a kicker and defensive back, Harkensee played for the Illinois State Redbirds before switching to baseball at Mesa Community College.
“I …

Sometimes an athlete just doesn’t have a good day, even if he has four legs, weighs about a ton and can twist and turn like a So You Think You Can Dance contestant.

Black Diamond bull rider Tyler Thomson did all he could do in riding Dusk Till Dawn to an 81 in the opening round of the $100,000 Sunday Showdown at the Calgary Stampede on July 18. However, he needed a score of 83.5 to bump Scott Schiffner from advancing to the final four.
“I thought I had a strong …

Two teams that squared off in a controversial Western Major Baseball League final last year will renew acquaintances at Seaman Stadium this week.

However, don’t expect a Hatfields versus McCoys feud when the Okotoks Dawgs play the Melville Millionaires on Thursday and Friday in Okotoks. There are only two players from the Millionaires and three from the Dawgs who played in last year’s championship final.
In 2009, the Millionaires and the Dawsg split the first two games of the best-of-five games final in Okotoks.
That was the last game they played. Rainy …

Plans to construct a BMX and mountain bike training facility with indoor and outdoor tracks passed its first hurdle earlier this month.
MD of Foothills council approved first reading of the plan for the Alberta Action Sports Complex after a public hearing on July 8, but a few conditions need to be met before giving final approval.
The facility is proposed to be built on an 18-acre parcel about one kilometre south of Okotoks on Secondary Highway 783.
Track founder Evan McClelland said the facility would be unique because there are few indoor …

A couple of young brothers are glad to have dear old dad back on the track.
Richard Thibideau, 47, had his Ninja Turtle-like equipment on when he joined his two sons Alex and Liam for a night of racing at the Okotoks BMX track on July 14.
Richard took up the sport three years ago in order to spend more time with his children.
“I was definitely nervous the first time and I have fallen a few times, but nothing too serious,” Richard said. “I hurt myself worse quading. I broke my leg …

Many athletes competing in a triathlon course in Okotoks last Saturday were propelled by their desire to help Ethiopian children struggling to care for themselves and raise their siblings.
Calgarians Athena Jennings and Patrick Davitt competed in, or volunteered for, the Foothills Charity Triathlon ever since it started five years ago.
Four years ago they adopted their Ethiopian daughter Thandela. When they made the trip to the northern African country, they were able to see for themselves what life is like for many children who have lost their parents and are now …

It’s not often an athlete will describe their playing years in Dickensian terms.
Play for the better part of a decade, spend six figures and untold number of evenings away from the family and you earn the right call it whatever you want.
Angus Jenkins has tended goal for the Okotoks Senior B Raiders since the team’s inception in late 2002. He’s been through the lean years when they moved to Calgary and the halcyon days of last year’s provincial championship.
“I’ve been through the worst of times and the best of times …

For a pitcher, he sure can hit.
As a pitcher, Okotoks Dawg Andre Kinder leads the team in earned run average and as so rarely happens with pitcher, he is also among team leaders in batting average. Kinder’s 31 hits ties him for fourth among Dawgs batters this season and his .408 average at the plate puts him in second, just behind Jeff Harkensee, who is hitting .413 this season.
Despite his sparkling stats at the plate, Kinder is actually better on the mound.
“Pitching is my number one position, I’ve always liked …

One might think the Okotoks Junior A Raiders couldn’t get much better, but that’s just what they did.
Already the class of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL), the Raiders added four players from non-playoff bound teams from the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJLL). Newly acquired Jesse Rougeau is in his last year of Junior A eligibility and he’s looking forward to a shot at the Minto Cup.
“I thought the opportunity was just fabulous so I couldn’t say no,” said Rougeau, who was assistant captain for the Port Coquitlam …

A Black Diamond bull rider is going bananas he is so happy he will get to work with his dad this weekend.
Tyler Thomson rode Bananas to an 85 on Monday to clinch fourth place with $7,000 in earnings in Pool A of the bull riding competition at the Calgary Stampede.

As a result, Thomson gets an automatic berth for a chance to win $100,000 at the Sunday Showdown final July 18.
Thomson was sitting in fifth place in bull riding in Pool A at the Stampede after being bucked off by …