...Irvin's speech in 2007 was a powerful, soul-baring production that did a lot to rehabilitate the image of a man that many respected for his on-field talent but few respected for his off-field activities. He didn't apologize and he wasn't defiant, he was just raw and it worked. It worked so well that Irvin landed a spot on Real Clear Sports' list of the top 10 sports speeches of all time, just below Jim Valvano's "Never Give Up," and Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth..."