With the NCAA Tournament a little more than two weeks away, this is a rather slow period in sports. The NBA season is winding down, the MLB season is revving up. The NFL is amid its free agency period, and it looks like the Seahawks are going to be bargain shoppers this year (although they now have to scramble to replace Josh Brown).

So it was a good time to pop in a different kind of story.

Which brings me to the Sunday column on Laura Daugereau, the first woman from this state to compete in the Iditarod.

I went into this column knowing close to nothing about dog sledding, and I left it with some good insight. More than sports, I gained great perspective on the diversity of joy, or in other words, the many different passions that people can have -- and the extreme things they do because of that passion.

I have not met many 25-year-olds who live solitary lives and are actually normal. Daugereau is just a regular person with a joy (mushing), and she pursues her aspirations with tremendous focus. And now she is competing in the Iditarod, her dream.

I admire that. People can argue all they want about whether the Iditarod is cruel to dogs, but I will say this: Daugereau's love of her dogs is real. There is no way she could fake it. I am not currently a pet owner, but after hearing her talk about dogs for 45 minutes, I almost went to the Humane Society to adopt a little Snoopy.

You can disagree about whether she is choosing the right profession for her dogs, but her love and care for the animals is very thorough and incredible. Her entire day is dedicated to it. She notices everything about these dogs, from the health of their teeth to their coats to their limbs.

This column was a nice break from the norm. I'm interested to see if Laura can reach her goal and finish the Iditarod in 11 days and 20 hours.

For more information on Laura, you can click here to go to her website.