So tonight for my blog, I’m steering away from my daily sports recap, laughing at the Mets, or my verbal cringing at tonight’s potential Celtics loss.

Tonight, it’s about Kenny Mayne. As most of you probably don’t know, last night was Kenny Mayne’s last SportsCenter. Let that sink in: Kenny Mayne’s last SportsCenter! Kenny, a fixture on ESPN for well over 2 decades is leaving ESPN after his contract expired. That, to me, a guy who from about 1994 to 2008, woke up to Kenny Mayne giving highlights and talking sports, it is sad. Sad that one of the better ones in his field, is leaving a place you’d never expect him to leave.

Kenny came to ESPN during a time when ESPN was shifting from strictly a budding place where sports was reported, to a media giant. Guys around that time were beginning to move from sports guys to sports and entertainment guys. The anchors were louder and a bit bombastic, and Kenny could be that, but mostly, Kenny was just good at his job, damn good.

It seemed that whatever situation he was in, he just would nail it. Whether it was commenting on highlights from a 2 game Wednesday night preseason NBA slate in October to covering The Travers Stakes at Saratoga, Kenny just had it, Kenny made likng sports and wanting to be a sports reporter fun.

Speaking of Saratoga….

For years, Kenny was a fixture at Saratoga Race Course for ESPN’s coverage of some of the bigger prep races for the Travers, and The Travers itself. Anyways, this one particular Travers Saturday, it went from cold and rainy to start the day, to ungodly hot in the late afternoon. And, as was custom, my mom and I had left after The Travers. Now, by this point, I’m over the mystique of The Spa. It’s like 5:30, my head is thinking ‘we’ve been eating small things all day..,we need food and soda and lots of food and soda’. Bodily, I’m power walking to keep up with my mom, whom at the time may have been related to Usain Bolt, while trying to dodge people and keep my footing on crowded, uneven sidewalks, then it happened.

I had looked to my left to rub sweat off my forehead, did I mention the heat? Anyways, I looked to my right, and I saw the set. ESPN had sent a crew to cover the prep races and Travers. There they were, LIVE on TV, and there he was, a back view of Kenny Mayne, LIVE in Saratoga Springs New York!

‘M- ‘Mom!’ I said in a quiet whisper, while still trying to breathe and keep the Olympic record pace, ‘Kenny Mayne, SportsCenter, they’re here!’ ‘That’s-‘ ‘AND he’s a MASSIVE PEARL JAM FAN’, my voice now louder, not giving a shit about breathing or much else. Mom just smiled ‘Nice to see you smiling, bud.’

I (we) spent the car ride to dinner singing Pearl Jam loudly (some things NEVER change, ask my loving, very understanding of my Pearl Jam fandom, wife, Erica).

A few nice words and a very long story in nice memory form. Aren’t you glad you stayed to read it? I’ll write more soon about Kenny’s actual last broadcast and more sports stuff. Thanks for reading

But for now in keeping with the Pearl Jam theme in regards to Kenny, I wish him well, nothing but the best, and may ‘whispering hands, gently lead him away’.