PAMPA, Texas -- A Texas couple who named their son ESPN

after the cable sports network will soon be getting a visit from

the toddler's namesake.

An ESPN film crew is coming to this Panhandle town next month to

interview the family of 2-year-old ESPN Malachi McCall for a

feature on several children around the country named after the

network.

ESPN (pronounced Espen) McCall is one of at least three children

in the United States known to be named for the sports network. A

couple in Corpus Christi named their son Espn Curiel in 2000, the

same year Espen Blondeel was born in Michigan.

ESPN spokesman Dave Nagle said the feature will air Sept. 6 as

part of a two-hour special celebrating the network's 25th

anniversary. The special focuses on the company's history, growth

and impact.

"We don't have viewers. We have fans," Nagle said Saturday.

"And I guess there's no better testament than when someone names

their child after your product. It just shows the bond we have with

people."

Rebecca and Michael McCall said their son's name started as a

joke after they heard on the radio about another couple naming

their son "Espen."

"He looked at me and said, 'That's a cool name,'" Rebecca

McCall said in Saturday's editions of the Amarillo Globe-News.