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The News Journal: Reid, Eagles help make boy's wish come true

For one day, Charlie Pena coached the Philadelphia Eagles.

He dissected the playbook with coach Andy Reid. He threw warmup passes with Donovan McNabb. He led the team's postpractice huddle. Pena even met with the media.

It was a dream come true for the 12-year-old Manhattan boy stricken with sickle cell anemia and made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and ESPN.

The charity organization and sports network teamed to grant 10 children across the country with life-threatening medical issues their sports-related wishes to comprise a series, "My Wish," hosted by Chris Connelly. It will air on "SportsCenter" beginning today and run until July 23. The first segment, centered on Pena and his visit to Eagles minicamp last month, airs at 10:30 a.m. today. The rest air at 6 p.m.

Among the star athletes and professional teams that appear in the series are Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, Roger Clemens, Tracy McGrady, Jeff Gordon, Tedy Bruschi, Todd Helton and the Seattle Mariners.

"We used our connections and Make-A-Wish's connections to go to the athletes and get them involved," ESPN senior coordinating producer Stephanie Druley said. "The result was some amazing stories of families and the experiences they had on that day."

Looking for a special summer presentation, ESPN approached the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants about 12,500 wishes yearly, 60 percent of which are celebrity-related, according to president and chief executive officer Dave Williams.

Using a narrowing process that included sport and geographic diversity and the willingness of the afflicted child's family to appear on camera, the organizations found 10 children to spotlight.

Many of the athletes involved, Druley said, had previously worked with the foundation and went to extremes to accommodate the sick children for the segment.

Clemens brought 15-year-old Matthew Vosjpka, of Lonsdale, Minn., to the Astros facilities the day before he made his season debut. McGrady took it upon himself to plan an entire day of events for 10-year-old Daemon Hanna, of Madison, Wis.

"I certainly think you get reacquainted with the power these athletes have in the lives of young people," Connelly said. "On the other side, you see ... how these athletes respond to these kids ... just glowing in the presence of these kids and really responding to them as individuals and taking an interest in them and understanding the role they play. The mutual admiration you see at the end of these pieces is pretty special."

Druley said ESPN picked Pena's story to kick off its series because it best illustrates the joy a child and family feel from having a dream fulfilled.

The moving piece details Pena's painful battle with sickle cell anemia, a debilitating disease that affects millions of people, and chronicles Pena's day with the Eagles.

His wish, however, came with an unusual request.

"He didn't want to just meet a player or shake someone's hand," Connelly said. "He wanted to be a coach."

Added Druley: "When he's on the field with Andy Reid, they are both all business."