The Nenana musher is especially partial to basketball players. One of his lead dogs is Alonzo, as in Mourning. There's also a fleet little husky in his team named Muggsy Bogues. Some years back he had canine namesakes of the entire Boston Celtics starting five.

Ever have a Jordan or a Pippen?

"No, I never had dogs that good, I guess," Cotter said. "But I did have a Rodman."

Why Rodman?

"He was a troublemaker - I traded him."

On Saturday, hundreds of sled dogs were in downtown Anchorage for the start of the 27th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Each has a name, and behind each of those names lies a tale.

Mushers typically use name themes to distinguish their litters.

Tornado, Typhoon, Hurricane and Hail.

Memphis, Fargo and Vegas.

Sam McGee, Dan McGrew and Lady Lou.

"Themes help us group the dogs and remember where they came from," said Judy Currier of Wasilla, an Iditarod rookie whose kennel includes the last trio, all of whom are characters in Robert Service poems.

The themes span a seemingly limitless range.

Among the litters of Willow musher Linwood Fiedler over the years have been candy bars - - Payday, Hershey and Goodbar - and car tires - Cooper, Michelin and Dunlop.

Vern Halter of Willow has used sneakers - Nike, Converse and Reebok - and ballroom dances - Rumba, Cha-Cha and Foxtrot.

And defending champion Jeff King of Denali Park has had dogs that answered to the names of coffee drinks - Java, Latte and Breve - and past politicians - Dukakis, Bush and Jackson.

"Dukakis was too long, so we called him Duke," King recalled of the dog he had around the time of the 1988 presidential election. "But he wasn't any good, so we got rid of him anyway."

Some name their pups quickly to start them learning to recognize when they're being called, while others wait a while to see how the dog's personality develops.

"I don't try to name them as soon as I can," said Lynda Plettner of Big Lake, whose kennel contains more than 200 dogs. "I try to name them when I need to call them something."

Plettner said she names according to themes for most of her dogs, but also makes some choices based on what she sees.

An extra large male became Atlas, and one that often stood on his hind legs was dubbed Prairie Dog. She also chose to call one Termite "because he ate his dog house into teeny, tiny pieces."

Mushers are constantly buying and selling and trading dogs to try to get the right combination for their team. Sometimes that means loving a dog, but not its name.

King said some years ago he bought a 14-month dog known as Viper.

"This dog was no viper - it would be like naming me Arnold Schwarzenegger," said the lean, 5-foot-7 musher. "He was the nicest, most cuddly dog and as red as he could be. So we started calling him Red."

Red was one of King's leaders for his third Iditarod victory in 1998. After that race, he said he's never had a better dog.

Other mushers have also changed names that don't seem right or cause a distraction.

Plettner said she once bought a dog named Jesus, but that name went away shortly afterward when she and her handlers lost the animal in downtown Anchorage.

"We all felt like fools running around Fourth Avenue, yelling 'Jesus! Jesus!"'

That dog's now known as Jesse.