REPORTING FROM THE JOCK-OSPHERE

Peyton Manning: I Just Want a Gold Medal

Peyton is psyched about the Olympics- but not so warm and cuddly about football being left out:

"Without a doubt, the Olympics are one of the greatest sporting events, truly a worldwide spectacle that brings amazing athletes together and energizes entire nations with excitement," he writes.

"But the fact that my sport, football, continues to go unrecognized by the Olympic committee is just plain wrong.

"So while I know it's too late for the 2008 Olympics in China, we need to get the movement going as soon as possible - for either 2010 or 2012. It doesn't matter. I just want a gold medal.

Check out the petition site here.

Careful what you wish for, Peyton: I hear the Jamaicans are already giving Usain Bolt the hard sell on becoming a wide receiver.

Evan Tanner: Into the Desert

The UFC'er drops some poetry about the uncharted desert:

"I'm hoping that very soon I'll be sitting out in the quiet of the desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert breeze," he writes. "The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara's talk of treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts.

"And to think, there are still places in the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints, where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting silence and solitude be my teachers."

We hope he comes back with a pirate's chest of gold.

Moritz Volz: Paper Reading

"Another new favourite pastime of mine — reading the local papers," he writes. "The stories are hilarious! Things like a lift not working is enough to get some serious column inches. But the best one was about this guy who was going to hike up to Scotland to see his childhood sweetheart, but the rucksack he'd just bought got nicked. So there was a whole story about it pleading for the rucksack's return — and that made page three!!!"

A rucksack getting nicked? That sounds dirty.

Tim Moorehouse: Tears of Joy

The Olympic fencer on his team's silver medal:

"Its 4am in China, but I wanted to shoot everyone a quick message to say THANK YOU for all your amazing support!!!" he writes. "WE DID IT TODAY! Unbelievable! I keep pinching myself to make sure that I didn't just dream the fact that we won an Olympic Silver Medal! I have never cried tears of joy until today. I can't even begin to describe what it felt like to clinch our medal and especially in the dramatic fashion with which it occurred. Our captain Keeth Smart led us back twice from deficits, first against the reigning World Champion Hungarians and then against the world powerhouse Russia.

"After that, we all seriously cried for like 5 minutes. We had come so close in Athens to winning a medal and we actually faced the exact same teams with the exact same situation 44-44 except this time we won! Seeing the American flag raised at the Olympic Games by our team is truly one of the thrills of my life."

Chris Cooley: Top 20 Preseason songs Week 3

The Redskin TE is at it once again, sharing his iPod playlist with the Jock-osphere:

"I felt like when I posted my Top 20 songs for the Colts game it was a hit," he writes. "I think this will be something that is better for me to do for away games. There is so much down time in the hotel and music seems to be how I've been filling it. This week's Top 20 is sort of a 90's list with a few other songs but Bill Khayat and I put this together and we hope you like it as much as we do.

1. Warrant — Down Boys
2. Counting Crows — Long December
3. Everclear — Santa Monica
4. Sick Puppies — All the Same
5. Oasis — Wonderwall
6. Gavin Rossdale — Love Remains the Same
7. White Snake — Slow and Easy
8. Spacehog — In the Meantime
9. Bush — Come Down
10. Finger Eleven — One Thing
11. Sublime — Pool Shark
12. Blur — Song 2
13. Smashing Pumpkins — Today
14. Weezer — Say It Ain't So
15. Bad Company — Bad Company
16. Coconut Records — West Coast
17. Red Hot Chili Peppers — Under the Bridge
18. Spin Doctors — Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
19. The Connells — '74-75
20. The Flys — Got You Where I Want You

"Then I went to Mike Sellars and I tried to get his Top 20 straight from the 'recently played' but after 17 Rachel Nichols grabbed me for an interview."

Rachel is quick like that- her first step will blow you away.

Summer Sanders: Surprise Support at Madden '09 Launch

Summer hobnobs with swim fans at the Madden 09 launch:

"You know what I love?" she writes. "Everyone talking about swimming! It's really great to see how much excitement and focus swimming is getting in the Olympics.

"For example, I was at event for EA Sports for the launch of Madden 09 the other night, surrounded by so many football players and football fans. They were all so excited about the Olympics, especially swimming! I had people coming up to me thanking me for what I did in the Olympics at a football event! It makes me feel so gracious and so blessed to be an Olympian because I was representing my country. It's so great that every four years, without fail, people always get super patriotic."

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