DAWSON SPRINGS, Ky. — As residents of tornado-ravaged areas of western Kentucky continue picking up the pieces, one notable celebrity is doing his part to expedite life’s return to normal. 

Michael Eaves is a native of White Plains, Kentucky, a small town of about 800 people 20 miles east of Dawson Springs in Hopkins County. Called “The Pride of White Plains,” Eaves, 49, is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and since 2015 has been a regular anchor on ESPN’s SportsCenter and host of NBA Countdown. 

When the recent tornado tore through Dawson Springs, it ravaged the youth sports fields and buildings at the city park. Recognizing his ties to the sports world, someone reached out to Eaves.

“The younger brother of one of my classmates in high school reached out to me and told me about it and asked me if I had any ideas,” Eaves said. “That was the reason I put the tweet out, just hoping that someone with Major League Baseball, or some of those teams that have fans in that area would see it.”

Eaves, who has nearly 30,000 followers on Twitter, tweeted at Major League Baseball, the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. As of Monday, Dec. 20, Eaves has not gotten a response, but remains optimistic. 

“The direct tie-in is obvious for a lot of people when it comes to me and sports, so I'm sure that's why I was contacted,” Eaves said. “Just knowing what sports mean to that area, and especially local communities when they try to socialize on a regular basis, but also kind of get past some things during the recovery. Sports matters. We've learned that going back to Sept. 11, 2001, and some of the things we've had, including COVID, around the country, that sports matters. And as soon as those kids can have a field back in the spring and start playing baseball and softball again, I think will do a lot for the community.”

ESPN anchor and Kentucky native Michael Eaves. (ESPN Images/Allen Kee)

Repairing ball fields may seem trivial to some in the overall scope of damage in the area, but Eaves said he feels as if they are an essential part of the rebuilding process.

“It represents more than just an area of ground — it's not just the ground itself and the diamond and the bases and fencing. It's what that represents in terms of the community getting back to being what it was before the storm,” he said. “It's just another step in that process. It's not more important than someone's home that's being rebuilt — let's not exaggerate that aspect of it — but it represents something bigger than just baseball, or softball. It's bigger than that. It's just getting back to some normalcy and how the world was before the storm. That's what it represents.” 

Growing up in the small town of White Plains instilled in Eaves a sense of community and the role youth sports have in keeping it intact. 

“One of the regularly scheduled social events for so many small communities is local sports and youth sports specifically,” Eaves said. “People know that on certain days of the week, there's going to be a game at that field, and they go down there and they might run into somebody they haven’t seen for a while and talk to them. That's what those fields represent in so many communities not only in western Kentucky but all across the country.”