osh Kalisky's day starts
like this: He opens his
eyes, rolls out of bed and
grabs the clicker.
ESPN appears on the
TV screen like a genie
coaxed out of a bottle, pro-
viding the 8-year-old with
a dazzling array of sports
scores from all the games
he unfortunately missed
the day before. Then he
combs the sports section.
'41u_ It's this kind of com-
mitment that has made Josh something
of an oracle to his friends.
"People will call him up and ask, 'When
did the Pistons do this or that?' and he
knows!" said Josh's mother, Sue. "He
reads the TV guide and plans the week-
end based on the basketball, football and
hockey games he wants to see.
"He collects sports cards, he knows
every player — the college they went to,
their ranking. He retains this informa-
tion, and he reads statistics, understands
the percentages."
On Sunday, the West Maple Elemen-
tary School student got a little closer to
his idols than the TV screen allows. As
honorary ball boy, Josh helped out the
Detroit Pistons in their pregame warmup
at the Palace. He also milled around the

boy and all the other stuff. I was really
excited," he said.
His favorite Piston? Grant Hill, be-
cause "he plays very good, I have his
autograph, and he's cool."
Josh, in fact, hopes to become a pro bas-
ketball player himself one day. He's only

4-feet-6-inches, but, he pointed out, his
father Jay is 6 feet tall.
Josh, who plays in two weekly bas-
ketball leagues, has been going to Pistons
games since he was 3. It's in his blood.
"Sometimes, when I don't have a lot to
do, I watch basketball games, which will

keep me sitting on the couch for six
hours," he explained.
Not so with his 5-year-old brother,
Chad, who hasn't shown much interest
in sports, said Sue Kalisky. All Chad
wanted to know was whether there would
be cotton candy at Sunday's game.

❑

As honorary ball boy for
the Pistons, Josh
Kalisky came one step
closer to his career goal.

JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER

locker room, had his picture taken with
Pistons captain Joe Dumars, and even
took a few shots on the court.
Josh happened on this once-in-a-life-
time chance when his parents bid for the
honorary position at a live auction at Con-
gregation B'nai Moshe. Sue Kalisky fig-
ures the package, which also included four
tickets to Sunday's game against the
Sacramento Kings, a basketball and a
T-shirt, was worth the $400 they offered.
The best part of it was that Josh had
no idea it was coming.
"A month ago I was in my bed, it was
like 9 o'clock at night, I was reading a
book, and my dad handed me a little piece
of paper that said I was going to be a ball

Josh Kalisky:
Sports junkie and
onetime ball boy.

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