The next time you're asked to do something you consider impossible, remember the name "Kenton Bell."

Bell was born without arms or legs, yet he's been a college basketball scoreboard operator since the 1980s.

The 36-year-old Bell operates the scoreboard for the University of North Florida men's and women's basketball games using a metal rod he holds in his mouth.

Bell says it's not as hard for him as it looks, but then he's had quite a bit of practice. Before coming to North Florida in 1997, Bell had operated the scoreboard at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis for seven years and at the University of Kentucky for five years.

When Bell was a youngster, he developed a tremendous love for sports. But it's hard to take part when you have neither arms nor legs and rely on a wheelchair to get around. Still, Bell became a fan of sports history and went off to Kentucky for college.

His sophomore year at Kentucky, the coach of the Wildcats' wheelchair basketball team asked if he could work the scoreboard. Bell was willing, and he used his nose and chin to make it work.

"The switches were on different sides of the control panel, so I had to move from side to side and do it quick enough so I could keep up," Bell told the Jacksonville Times-Union. "I got used to it, got the rhythm down and no problem. I knew exactly from that moment on what my calling would be in athletics."

Bell has a wheelchair that he operates by puffing or inhaling air into a mouthpiece. He holds a full-time job as a nursing home transition specialist and his 20-year-old nephew is his personal-care attendant, providing assistance with personal hygiene tasks like dressing and bathing. Bell can play video games and also type without assistance, and he's always sending jokes out via e-mail.

In being a scoreboard operator, Bell has found a job that he can do just as fast and just as well as a non-disabled person.

"Working with the rod in my mouth is like a person with one finger," Bell said. "I can do with one finger what most people cannot do with two hands and a finger."

Seeing Bell operate the scoreboard only once made Richard Gropper, athletics director at North Florida, a believer.

"It's really amazing to see how he works," Gropper said. "He never misses a beat. He's watching every play of the game. The operation of the scoreboard has been without flaw."

While the folks at North Florida admire Bell's speed and accuracy at the scoreboard, they also admire his attitude, which is unfailingly cheery.

"He overcomes just incredible difficulty that would have a normal person down," Gropper said. "But he has an absolutely positive attitude and conveys that to people around him."

As for Bell, he's just happy he's found a way he can be a part of something he loves.

"I just love sports. This is the way I can actually participate," he said. "Because I'm considered an official, I'm actually part of the game. People think disabled people should be home doing nothing. I'm doing what I love to do.