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Happy, humbled to bring troops a slice of home

By Fran Fraschilla (11:03 a.m. ET)

Monday, August 24, 2009

We have just completed Operation Hardwood VI: Hoops for Troops here at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq, and the experience is one I will never forget. Coaching a basketball tournament in a war zone is a surreal feeling and a jolt to the senses. When the ball was tossed, it felt like just one of the hundreds of games that I have coached in my career. But when I looked around the gym, I saw soldiers in uniform watching in the stands with M-16 rifles by their side, enjoying the temporary diversio ...

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