Reporting from the Jock-o-Sphere

It's Jimmy V Week, and Curt Schilling is blogging on guns.

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The man had a knack.

Hey, it's Jimmy V Week! Dickie V remembers the 'Don't Give Up, Don't Ever Give Up' speech at the 1993 ESPYs

"I remember the night before, talking to Jimmy's lovely wife Pam," he writes. "She told me Jimmy was down after learning at his regular checkup that the cancer had spread throughout his body. I remember speaking to Jimmy, and we were both in tears. He shared with me his feelings about his children, Nicole, Leann and Jamie—how much he loved them and how he would miss so much of their lives. Jimmy said he wasn't thinking about going to the ESPYs, but only about his family. I told Jimmy he had to come to the event. I was so glad that Pam, Coach K and his wife were able to get him to New York."

"As I reflect on those moments, the memories come flooding back. I flash back to Jimmy standing up there after struggling to get on the stage. I figured he would simply say thank you. He could barely make it to the podium, yet he electrified the audience with a brilliant speech. The crowd in the house and the TV audience heard something they will never forget—Jimmy V was at his best.

"He rocked the crowd. I was stunned watching him, with the crowd in the palm of his hand as he poured his heart out about battling cancer. There are memories galore. "

Be sure to check out JimmyV.org for the latest V Foundation updates, and you may find Dickie V. here on his normal blog site.

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It's turning into a tough season for Joe Thomas:

"For all the expectations we had this year, we certainly have not lived up to much of the hype," he writes. "You would have thought before the season that if we held the Colts to only 10 points in week 13 of the NFL season, that we would most likely be at 10-2 overall. Instead, we lost the game against the Colts because offensively, we were not able to put points on the board and now our record is 4-8. It was a disappointing game and moreover, it has been a disappointing season."

"I also wanted to comment on the Plaxico Burress situation. I am a hunter and I believe in our second amendment rights but it is a tough line to walk. You have the right to protect yourself but you have to be careful off the field with a gun. Sometimes having a gun will put you in more danger than not having one."

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In his prime, Curt Schilling had a rocket. He's certainly passed his prime, but he's still got a gun. Zing!

He lays down his latest blog post during a USO tour, and here, he recaps the first day:

"We had a blast," he writes. "The true highlight of the day came at the end. We got a chance to meet and say hello to the 1st 134th Field Artillery Ohio National Guard unit. It was awesome for 2 reasons. The first was that I got to hold an automatic weapon called 'the saw' for the photo, and it was cool as hell.

"The second was that these men and women were headed home, literally, in about an hour. They were on the final day of their tour and are in flight right now. They were obviously geeked up and excited and it was an awesome sight to behold."

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Morgan State Men's Hoops Coach Todd Bozeman retells his favorite Michael Phelps story to his team, hoping that the aura of excellence surrounding the Olympic swim champ will trickle down to his underachieving players:

"At shoot-a-round I pointed out once again that little things matter and that a level of commitment is necessary in order to be successful regardless of the endeavor," he writes. "I recounted some things from a 60 Minutes piece on Michael Phelps. His swim coach pointed out that Michael Phelps practiced EVERYDAY for 5 straight years…Christmas, New Years…YES Everyday! That was impressive…when you love something and make a commitment, you WILL succeed. He recounted how during one of the races he won in Beijing, his goggles were filled with water and he could not see, so he continued to push through by counting strokes!"

So what kind of effect did that beautiful allegory on persistence and execution have on the Morgan State team? Well, several of Coach Bozeman's players showed up late for the next practice and everyone was generally sloppy in their practice approach. Time to bring in the big guns, Coach Boze: sign out the auditorium and pop Hoosiers in. Then, after the movie, recreate the chair dribbling maneuverability scene, shouting this as they go, "You are in the Army. You're in my Army. Everyday between three and five!"

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Phil Hughes likes the hard stuff. He also throws out some new tune recommendations in his latest post. We have a feeling it's more hard stuff. Just a hunch. Enjoy if you like to get heavy like pinstriper Philly H.

"Metallica is on tour right now," he writes. "If they come to a city near you I would definitely recommend you check them out. Great live show. Also, here is a little new playlist.

"This Celluloid Dream" - AFI
"All Nightmare Long" - Metallica
"Pin-Up" - Evans Blue
"Savior" - Rise Against
"Broken, Beat & Scarred" - Metallica

That's warm stuff, Phil.

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