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SALT LAKE CITY — Three more stories from the world of sports in today’s From Left Field.
1. Coach battling cancer given league’s Coach of the Year by opposing coach
Joe Foley at Arkansas-Little Rock was named Sun Belt’s Coach of the Year, as voted by coaches and media. However, when he received the award, he promptly walked over to Appalachian State head coach Angel Elderkin, who was diagnosed with endometrial cancer last summer.
In the video posted by the Sun Belt Conference, Foley is seen taking the trophy and immediately walks over to Elderkin to give her the trophy. The two teams were playing each other Thursday in the Sun Belt tournament.
Today, @LittleRockWBB's Joe Foley accepted the '16-17 Coach of the Year 🏆 He gave it to @AppStateWBB coach & cancer fighter @AppStCoachAngelpic.twitter.com/PKQApaONSY
— #FunBelt🏀 (@SunBelt) March 10, 2017
Little Rock went on to defeat Appalachian State 69-53 in the game, but the most memorable moment came during the trophy ceremony.
2. Louis-Dreyfus has proud mom moment for son on hoops team
Charlie Hall only averages 1.3 minutes per game, which is the fewest on the Northwestern basketball team this season. So when he does get a chance to check into the game, his parents go wild.
Unlike other players on the team, it becomes a spectacle because his mother is Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Seinfeld” and “Veep” fame.
On Thursday during the Big Ten tournament, Hall got some playing time in the final minute of the Wildcats’ 83-61 win. That included an offensive rebound and Louis-Dreyfus, proud mom and all, was seen recording that moment on her phone.
You earned this @NUMensBball's Charlie Hall.
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 10, 2017
And, @OfficialJLD, we love your reactions in the split screen. https://t.co/5doCz0S63l
After the game, it was pretty clear that Louis-Dreyfus’s humor rubbed off on Hall, who interviewed his teammates in the locker room about the final moments of the game in a video posted by the team.
We gave @Charlie_Hall23 the mic (he stole it) to ask @NU_Nate32 why he didn't pass him the ball last night. #B1GCatshttps://t.co/lFISxfCeZQ
— NU Men's Basketball (@NUMensBball) March 10, 2017
It’s been all fun and games with Northwestern, which is almost certainly a lock for its first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament.
3. Coach gives young fan opportunity to throw a few pitches in the bullpen
Every young baseball fan dreams of the opportunity to make it to the big leagues. One fan got to at least warm up like a big leaguer on Thursday.
In a spring training game between the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals, Astros bullpen catcher Javier Bracamonte invited a boy into the bullpen to throw a few pitches.
Put in the kid: https://t.co/qG9VMBvGVA#PlayBallpic.twitter.com/PQStYKGVR7
— MLB (@MLB) March 9, 2017
Bracamonte actually has a history of cool moments like this. There are a few videos of him out there playing catch with random fans in the crowd before games.
In 2015, after the Astros lost to the Kansas City Royals in the postseason, Bracamonte began giving away baseballs and all sorts of gear to Royals fans and also wished Kansas City’s fans luck in the rest of that playoff run (which they ended up winning the World Series).
