Tuesday, May 18, 2010: 5:53 am The Advocate-Messenger Danville, Kentucky
Presence of UK coach Calipari special for fan
By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com
May 17, 2010
She knows Kentucky coach John Calipari had other things he could have been doing and numerous other fans wanting his attention.
Yet Mary Hamm Bell certainly appreciated the attention the UK coach paid to her son, Miles, recently when both were throwing out ceremonial first pitches at a Kentucky baseball game.
Miles has cerebral palsy, but he’s an avid sports fan, especially when it comes to Kentucky sports. He plays baseball on the Bluegrass Miracle League in Lexington sponsored by Toyota. That participation gave him a chance to get on the UK field and run the bases with players this season as well as on the Lexington Legends field to play a game.
Miles and his parents, who live in Harrodsburg, were on there way to watch the UK baseball team play with other Bluegrass Miracle League players.
“Mark Bugg has been working on getting him to throw out the first pitch at a UK game. Since we were going to be on the field any way, they thought it was the perfect time to do it. He threw his pitch and then Cal threw his,” Mary Bell said.
Miles’ father, Scott, went on the field with him when he threw the first pitch. Calipari stood off to the side and watched intently.
'Thrilled' to have Calipari present
“He was beyond thrilled,” Mary Bell said. “It was such a big deal to him with Cal there. He loved it. Cal was good, but he was overwhelmed with so many kids around him. It was heartwarming to me the way Cal stood there and waited for Miles to throw his pitch. That made it an even bigger deal to Miles.”
Former UK player Bobby Perry befriended Miles five years ago and stays in close contact with the family.
“Bobby got him all kind of UK balls. He has Bengals, Reds and Legends balls, but UK is what he really likes,” Mary Bell said. “He got to keep the ball he threw out and he got Calipari, Joe B. Hall and Joker Phillips all to autograph it.
“In his UK room at home, he has so many different balls, but this one is still very special to him.”
Bell’s father often hunts with UK baseball player Keenan Wiley, a Madison Central graduate.
Tuned in to all the games
“Keenan is at our house a lot. He usually has tickets waiting for us at the game when we go and he’s really been great with Miles,” Mary Bell said.
Still, there’s nothing quite like UK basketball for Miles Bell. His parents let him watch all the games no matter how late they start and/or finish.
“So what if he is a little tired, he will be fine,” his mother said. “There is so much he cannot do and I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for him, but he can sit up and watch games and we are going to let him.
“Besides, if we don’t he lays in bed and worries about it and won’t go to sleep. He cries if they lose, too. We’ve had to threaten to turn off the TV because he will be so upset if they are not doing well. We’ve had Bobby talk to him about not crying. Bobby still spends a lot of time with him and has just been great for Miles, but he still doesn’t like for UK to lose.”
Fortunately for Miles — and his parents — the Cats went 35-3 last season.
“He really liked John Wall and Patrick Patterson. Those were his favorite players this year. He likes them all, but those two were the ones he talked about the most,” his mother said.
“But he also knows plenty about Calipari and that’s what made it so special to have him throwing the pitch out the same night that Calipari did.”
Copyright: AMNews.com 2010
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