Posted by Fran Fraschilla (11:03 a.m. ET)
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 diversion we'd brought to them from home.
To continue reading this article you must be an Insider
