For Mary Burger, age truly is just a number.The 68-year-old from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, is an age-defying barrel racer who may further etch her name in the record books of professional rodeo with the start of the sports world championship on Thursday. Burger -- who became rodeos oldest world champion at age 58 with her gold buckle in 2006 -- is back atop the Womens Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) standings heading into the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, which features seven different events and runs through Dec. 10 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.She will be one of 15 barrel racers competing in the $10 million rodeo, riding her horse in a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels placed strategically in a dirt-filled arena to see who can clock the fastest time. The cowgirl with the best time each night earns $26,231 -- the top eight places get paid -- and the barrel racer with the most money combined from the regular season and the Wrangler NFR after Round 10 earns the title of world champion.Burger rode her 7-year-old buckskin gelding, Mo, to a WPRA-record $190,977 in regular-season earnings this year and enters Round 1 on Thursday night with a $74,590 lead over second-place Jackie Ganter as the odds-on favorite to win another world championship. It has been a dreamlike season for Burger, especially considering she didnt know how much she and her somewhat green horse would be on the road in 2016.I was just planning on going to whatever rodeos we wanted to go to, and I just wanted to go to Houston and some of the [indoor] rodeos, said Burger, who is competing in her first Wrangler NFR since 2009. When Houston turned out real good, it just made it doable to make it [to Las Vegas] this year.Burger and Mo raced their way to victory at RodeoHouston in March, earning a $54,750 check that put them atop the world standings. Then, in mid-July, the dynamic duo hit it big again by winning the Calgary Stampede north of the border for $122,000, $72,000 of which counted for the WPRAs ProRodeo standings.Burgers final tally set a new regular-season record for barrel racing and has her poised to extend the age record she already set for rodeo world champions. And when you consider that Burger got Mo, an unknown and unproven commodity, in a trade for another horse, her 2016 campaign is even more impressive.She had an idea the horse was special, but his youth and playful attitude still had her wondering.It was always in the back of my mind, but you just never know, Burger said of Mos potential. I knew he had all the ability in the world to run with the best of them, but hes kind of an immature horse. He likes to just be a horse sometimes.Hes been getting a lot better, and I knew he had the ability all along. It just all fell together for us.Not only is she leading the barrel racing standings, but Burger will be wearing the coveted No. 1 back number in Las Vegas, an honor reserved for the Wrangler NFR contestant who wins the most money during the regular season. Its only the third time a woman has achieved that feat in the 58 years of the Super Bowl of Rodeo, which has 120 competitors (women compete in barrel racing, while men participate in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping and bull riding). Burger joins 11-time world champion Charmayne James (1987) and four-time world champion Sherry Cervi (1995) with that distinction.I guess they wont ever forget me that way, will they? Burger said. Sometimes, you might make the NFR once and nobody knows who you are, but with the No. 1 spot, I guess they wont forget me.Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by her peers.I think its awesome, and shes had a great year, said Cervi, who enters the 10-day rodeo at No. 12 in the standings. To be able to wear the No. 1 back number, I think its really cool and is an honor. Shes a good person, too, and represents the barrel racers well.Burger won her 2006 title on two-time American Quarter Horse Association/WPRA Horse of the Year Fred, and this years world title would be the first for her and Mo. As a woman who won her world championships on multiple horses, Cervi knows how tough that is to accomplish on different mounts.Shes a great hand [horsewoman] and has ridden numerous horses in her career, Cervi said. To come back and have a chance to win a gold buckle is pretty exciting. Shes trained a lot of great horses. The barrel racers who have competed in the futurity, horse show and jackpot worlds know who Mary Burger is because shes been competitive for a very long time.But with round winners earning so much each night and up to $67,000 for winning the 10-round aggregate, Burgers lead isnt exactly insurmountable. Shell have a target on her back as she takes on 14 other talented barrel racers and their trusty equine athletes in a race against the clock at the $10 million rodeo.Her defense of the top spot may be tougher than Burger would like, as Mo -- who finished second in the AQHA/WPRA Barrel Horse of the Year voting -- is recovering from a sore deep flexor tendon. Burger had him in physical therapy treatments throughout November and feels good about his rehabilitation.She is taking some backup horses to Las Vegas as a contingency plan, but she hopes to ride Mo as long as he feels good enough to go.I think hes going to make it, Burger said just before Thanksgiving. Hes getting to where hes pretty sound, and its just a matter of if he gets sore. If he gets sore, Ill have to go to a backup.Im really pleased with how hes doing, but he hasnt made any runs since the middle of October. So, were hoping that he does well and is healthy enough to keep on running.Burger and Mo racked up their impressive money total in just 64 rodeos, 36 fewer than Ganter, thanks to the pair of big wins. The quality over quantity approach worked, and now Burger has a chance to take home another gold buckle.Thats not a normal goal for a grandmother her age, but Mos talent and success, combined with Burgers innate desire to compete in the sport she loves, propelled her along. That internal fire and determination are what keep Burger going as she approaches 70.This is just what I love to do, she said. Other than working on the ranch and keeping that in order, this is my life. I guess its just all I know how to do.Burger also knows how to teach the sport to others and is a world-class mentor for her 10-year-old granddaughter, Kaden.Shes been going to Little Britches [Association] rodeos, and weve got her a nice barrel horse and a really nice pole [bending] horse, said Burger, who competed alongside her daughter-in-law, P.J., at the 2009 Wrangler NFR. Shes having a good time and doing really well, and Im a proud grandma.If Burger wins the gold buckle, her granddaughter could perhaps wear it as she progresses in the sport.It would just be a dream come true, Burger said. To win as much as Ive won this year, itd just be a great way to end an awesome year. Itd be icing on the cake. Air Force 1 Replica . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Air Force 1 Sale . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. https://www.cheapairforce1outlet.com/ . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Air Force 1 Womens Outlet . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Air Force 1 Store . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. KILLINGTON, Vt. -- Mikaela Shiffrin woke up this morning all nervous and edgy. By the end of the afternoon, it was hard to wonder why.With her 95-year-old grandmother among the thousands cheering her, Shriffin won her sixth straight World Cup slalom Sunday after building a healthy lead in the first run and holding off some hard chargers in the second.The overall World Cup leader had a combined time of 1 minute, 27.95 seconds. She was followed by Slovakias Veronika Velez Zuzulova, 0.73 seconds, and Switzerlands Wendy Holdener in 1:28.81.Norways Nina Loeseth, runner-up in Saturdays giant slalom, was fourth in 1:29.29 -- 0.01 seconds ahead of Slovakias Petra Vlhova. The top five finishers from the first run finished in the same positions.Shiffrin said she put a lot of pressure on herself about racing in the East. And Sunday began with a sense of dread.I told myself, maybe I just should not do this, she said, adding she did not shake the feelings until the second run. I was worked up and really nervous.But the skier who attended Burke Mountain Academy in northern Vermont had no shortage of fans behind her.Thank you so much for cheering so loud, she told those packing the two grandstands and lining the bottom of the course.Shiffrin spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her family, including her grandmother.It was amazing that Nana was here to watch, said Shiffrin, thanking her for the unconditional love and the incredible pies. Ive never been prouder of doing anything than winning a race in front of my Nana.Shiffrin also won the first slalom of the World Cup season in Finland. With a first in slalom and fifth in GS at Killington, she has extended her World Cup overall lead. She has 325 points to 168 for the runner-up, Switzerlands Holdener.This weekends World Cup races were the first for Killington and the first inn 38 years in Vermont.dddddddddddd There was a big crowd again Sunday, though perhaps slightly smaller than the 16,000 for Saturdays giant slalom. The grandstands were again filled, with spectators piled up dozens deep alongside the course.Velez Zuzulova called this her favorite race in North America.The crowds have never been like this in Aspen, she said of the Colorado stop on the womens circuit. They were making noise for me, too, she added. They were cheering for everybody.This was Velez Zuzulovas 26th World podium finish. She said her father, also her coach, had set the second-run course, and she felt it had been perfect for her. She was running 30th -- next to last -- in the second run and that meant much tougher conditions than when she started seventh in the first run.It was a fight right from the start, she said.Holdener, who had her ninth top-three finish, spoke of the challenge of catching Shiffrin.We are getting a step closer this year than last year, she said. Shes still really dominant. To get even closer, we need to build our confidence.Shiffrin is just 21 but already has 22 World Cup victories, tying her for 19th on the womens career list. She gets a kick at looking at the records, but says the important thing is to love what you do.When asked about her role for young female skiers -- many on hand this weekend -- she acknowledges thats becoming more important to her.As people tell me that theyre inspired by what Im doing, I start to inspire myself as well, she said. But youre skiing for yourself, not for anyone else. . You cant worry about other peoples approval.The womens World Cup circuit moves to Lake Louise, Alberta, for two downhills and a super-G on Dec. 2-4. ' ' '