Larry Brown Sports

If you are a pet/dog lover, this video will make you melt.

The story of Ricochet the surfing dog was featured on SportsCenter on Sunday night. Ricochet is a female golden retriever born into the “Puppy Prodigies Neo-natal & early-learning program” with the intention of becoming a service dog for a person with a disability. Early in life, she could help pull down zippers on a person’s jacket, pull a laundry basket, and do much more. But at 16 weeks, Ricochet stopped responding to the training and didn’t want to do more. One video says she was dropped from the program because of her instinctual fascination with chasing birds. However, Ricochet and her trainer finally found something she could do well — help people surf.

They began setting up fund raisers where Ricochet helped people surf by standing towards the back or on the sides and balancing the surf board. Her first fundraiser was with a quadriplegic named Patrick Ivison, and she helped raise $10,000 for him.

In the SportsCenter feature video, Ricochet can be seen helping three people with disabilities surf: Ivison, a young boy with brain damage from a fatal car crash, and a boy with autism.

Below you can watch a 2009 video of Ricochet that has amassed over four million views on YouTube:

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Kayla Wheeler is proving that no disability should stand in someone’s way.

Wheeler is a 16-year-old swimming phenomenon despite being born without legs and one arm. The junior at Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) High School is a Paralympic world record holder in the 50 meter butterfly and has competed around the world. She even qualified for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, but she did not go because there was not enough competition, KCPQ reports.

“I didn’t get to make the team because there were no female events for my classification, which is an S1. That’s the most disabled you could be and still swim,” Kayla told KCPQ.

Wheeler got started with swimming at an early age after a doctor recommended lessons as a form of therapy. She hasn’t stopped since.

“Just when you think she can`t do any better, she does it again,” her mother, Joyce Wheeler, told KCPQ.

Wheeler is gearing up for a competition at the International Paralympic World Championships in Montreal this August.

In addition to her swimming prowess, Wheeler also excels in school.

According to KCPQ, Wheeler is on her school’s robotics team, takes advanced classes at a local community college, and was named a Scholastic All-American.

Wheeler is no stranger to media coverage. In 2010, KCPQ did a story on the young lady when she was in eighth grade (video below). Wheeler explained in that interview why swimming is so great for her.

“It makes me feel free because I don’t necessarily have all the limitations that I do out of the water,” Wheeler said at the time. “I can do flips in the water. I can do cartwheels in the water. Things that kind of defy gravity.”

The video also showed her participating in bowling, ballet, and baseball. She even was taking ski lessons, and called skiing the “most awesome sport ever, except for swimming.”

Wheeler’s overall attitude is an inspiration to all of us.

“I don’t really try to feel sad about my life kind of thing. I just try to find other ways to make it better than it already is.”

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The Los Angeles Dodgers visited AT&T Park for a series against the San Francisco Giants over the weekend, and Matt Kemp made the most of his cross-state trip. The All-Star outfielder went 4-for-14 at the plate with two RBI and two runs scored, but what we’re talking about has nothing to do with baseball.

As you can see from the video that Vin Scully is My Homeboy passed along (via Hardball Talk), Kemp approached disabled fan Joshua Jones after the game was over and showered him with gifts. He autographed a baseball and gave it to the young man before taking off his hat, jersey and cleats and handing them all to the fan. The YouTube video was posted by one Jones’ best friend, who described Kemp as a “great person.”

Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach deserves credit as well. Wallach talked with the boy’s father before the game and alerted Kemp about him. Kemp kept the boy in mind when the game ended.

Jones, who was wearing a Dodgers hooded sweatshirt, has cancer and is not expected to live much longer. He also is unable to speak.

What makes a moment like this so special is that Kemp was not doing it because ESPN cameras were rolling and he wanted publicity. He did it to make a fan’s day. Kemp also said he wanted to do what he could to help the fan because of a bad experience he had when he was younger; he says he was snubbed for an autograph by his favorite player.

We’re sure he made the young man’s day. Class act.

Former Kentucky star Nerlens Noel attended the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and he brought with him a special guest. Noel has developed a relationship with a 7-year-old boy named Kelly Melton, who is currently battling leukemia. Melton was recently released from the hospital, so Noel asked him if he would like to accompany him to the biggest horse race of the year.

“I brought Kelly with me,” Noel explained, via the Courier-Journal. “He struggles with leukemia and I’ve known him for a while. He’s been in the hospital for a while. He just got out the other day so I invited him here to come experience this with me. It’s my first and it’s his first so it’s a great opportunity for us to come out here and enjoy it.”

Noel just turned 19 last month. Despite the fact that he suffered a knee injury in February and was held out for the remainder of the Wildcats’ season, he has decided to declare for the upcoming NBA Draft. The fact that he is already helping brighten the day of people like little Kelly is a good sign that he understands what it means to be a superstar athlete.

H/T College Basketball Talk

A college track athlete is giving up his remaining athletic career at the University of New Hampshire in order to donate bone marrow to a leukemia patient.

Cameron Lyle, a senior who throws shot put, discus, and hammer at UNH, is scheduled to be a donor to an anonymous recipient on April 24. The procedure will leave him unable to compete in his remaining two track meets, effectively ending his collegiate athletic career.

The sacrifice was not much of a choice for Lyle.

According to the Eagle-Tribune, Lyle, who is from Plaistow, N.H., was swabbed during his sophomore year when many UNH athletes were encouraged to join the bone marrow registry.

Nearly two years went by without anything happening until Lyle was informed a few months ago that he might be a match. A few weeks ago, he learned he was a 100-percent match for someone in need of a donor.

“They told me it was a one in 5 million chance of me being a match for a non-family member,” Lyle told the Eagle-Tribune. “They gave me the timeline and everything’s been moving quickly after that.”

Lyle’s recipient is a 28-year-old suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The identity of the two men will be kept secret from one another for at least a year. Lyle will be unable to lift anything greater than 20 pounds over his head for a few weeks following the procedure, which will end his track career. But that hardly matters to him.

“He has six months to live and I have the possibility to buy him a couple more years,” Lyle told the Eagle-Tribune.

Both Lyle’s track coach and mother are proud of him for his decision. His mother, who will be with him when he donates the bone marrow, called him a hero.

This is an absolutely incredible gesture by the young man. He is displaying a strong sense of maturity and selflessness with his sacrifice. Lyle’s story also hits close to home for me; the father of one my friends was suffering from leukemia and had his hopes up after a match for a bone marrow donor was found. However, the donor backed out at the last minute, leaving my friend’s father to undergo a rare procedure which luckily worked.

Lyle’s courage is admirable, and we are hoping for the best for him and the person who receives his donation.

H/T Deadspin
Photo via UNH

A 7-year-old boy battling cancer lit up the day Saturday by scoring a touchdown at Nebraska’s spring football game.

Jack Hoffman has been fighting cancer since being diagnosed in April 2011. He has gone through two surgeries and is on a two-week break from chemotherapy. During his break, he had the opportunity of a lifetime — Nebraska called him in for a play on fourth-and-1 from the 31-yard line, and they let him run free for a 69-yard touchdown.

Hoffman said the feeling was “awesome.”

Hoffman got involved with the Nebraska football program after meeting running back Rex Burkhead last year. Burkhead, who finished his senior season and is preparing for the NFL Draft, became the captain of Jack’s support group. Jack was even wearing Burkhead’s No. 22 during the game.

The team’s director of football operations, Jeff Jamrog, and fullback CJ Zimmerer had the idea to let Jack score a touchdown in the game. The result was an awesome moment for Hoffman and everyone who watched the play.

BYU guard Craig Cusik drained an emotional buzzer-beater on Tuesday night, but not only because it gave his team an important victory over Utah State. Just hours before the game, Cusik learned that his father had been diagnosed with cancer.

Cusik chose not to discuss his father’s condition after the game, but The Salt Lake Tribune reported that doctors found a cancerous tumor Tuesday afternoon, two days after Randy Cusik collapsed and needed to be taken to a hospital. Cusik did discuss the game-winning bucket, which came after teammate Matt Carlino front-rimmed his shot attempt.

“Hard to explain,” Cusik said. “As a player, you couldn’t dream it any better. I was just fortunate. Coach called a great play. I saw that when Matt shot it that there was a chance that it was going to be a little bit short. I ran where I thought it was going to come off, and I was fortunate.the ball came to me. It’s great that I made the shot, but I have to give credit to my teammates who pulled us through the rest of the way.”

The senior finished with four points in the 70-68 win. The shot was likely a much-needed boost for his entire family on what had to have been an incredibly difficult day. Here’s hoping Randy Cusik responds to treatment and makes a speedy recovery.

H/T The Dagger