Family (dueling) tree

When Jerry Miculek stands up to defend his back-to-back gold medal performances at the 2001 and 2002 Great Outdoor Games rifle competitions, he will be doing so with a formidable family of shooters at his back.

Jerry just happens to be married to one of the world's top female shooters, Kay Clark Miculek. And Kay just happens to be related to two well-regarded gunsmiths - her late father, Jim Clark, and her brother, also named Jim.

Up for ESPYs

No fewer than four of the ESPY nominees for "Best Outdoor Sports Athlete" will be competing in the 2003 Great Outdoor Games. They include dog handler Mike Jackson and his Labrador retriever, Little Morgan, whose world record jump of 26 feet, 6 inches at last year's Games remains a full 3 feet longer than any other dog's Big Air effort.

But they're not the only dog-and-handler team up for the award. Georgia's Jerry Day and the legendary retriever Super Sue are also nominated for an ESPY, based largely on Sue's medal-winning performances at the Great Outdoor Games and her status as the only dog to achieve championship titles from all three retriever trials governing bodies.

In the non-canine-athlete ranks, Jerry Miculek not only holds the 2002 and 2001 ESPN Great Outdoor Games gold medals for rifle, he is also an 11-time International Revolver Speed Shooting Champion, a USPSA World Revolver Champion, a six-time USPSA National Revolver Champion, a four-time USPSA 3 Gun Champion, and holds three world record titles for revolver speed shooting.

And timber athlete Sheree Taylor has more than earned a nomination: After suffering a serious back injury that doctors said would prevent her from competing ever again, Taylor embarked on nine months of rigorous therapy, returned to the Great Outdoor Games and won gold for women's timber endurance in 2002.

In addition to holding two gold medals for women's endurance (2002, 2000), Taylor was also recognized as the first official New Zealand Women's Sports Person of the Year for Region 20, and broke the world record for women's single-buck competitions in 1995, 1997, and 1998.

They will all be at the 2003 ESPY Award ceremony, which will be televised live from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Wednesday, July 16 at 9 p.m. (ET).