Brian Kenny (sportscaster)
| Brian Kenny | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 18, 1963 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education |
New York Institute of Technology St. John's University |
| Notable credit(s) |
MLB Network ESPN WTZA-TV NBC Sports Radio |
| Title | SportsCenter Anchor; ESPN Radio & ESPN2 Friday Night Fights Studio Host |
| Children | 5 |
Brian Kenny (born October 18, 1963 in New York City) is a studio host for MLB Network and a presenter on NBC Sports Radio. He previously worked for ESPN, where he most recently anchored the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter for ESPN, served as the host of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, and had his own show on ESPN Radio named The Brian Kenny Show.
Early career
Kenny has a BFA from New York Institute of Technology and also attended St. John's University (New York City). He got his start as a journalist at Long Island News Tonight at NY Tech.
Before working for ESPN, he worked for WTZA in Kingston, New York.[1]
ESPN
Kenny anchored the 6:00 pm Eastern Time Zone SportsCenter, and was the host of Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. On Friday Night Fights, he was known for his heated, yet entertaining debates with some of the best boxers in the world, particularly Floyd Mayweather. He also previously hosted Baseball Tonight, and The Hot List on ESPNEWS. Kenny also hosted the ESPN Classic series The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame..., which debuted in 2005.
In 2005, he hosted a brand-new special series called Ringside. It runs three to six hours long an episode and featured on each episode one great boxer. Among the boxers that were spotlighted on the show were Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson.
Kenny appears as himself in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa and in the 2007 film Resurrecting the Champ,[2] and also served with fellow ESPN personality John Saunders as the "announcing team" for a home demolition during an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on November 2, 2008. (The episode involved a project in which the Extreme Makeover team built a new home and gym for a family that operated a youth boxing gym in Geneva, New York.)
Prior to hosting The Brian Kenny Show on ESPN Radio, he co-hosted Kellerman and Kenny with Max Kellerman on ESPN Radio in New York City.
MLB Network
Kenny announced on the August 31, 2011 edition of The Brian Kenny Show that he was leaving ESPN to become an anchor with MLB Network. His final show was on September 2, 2011, with the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter alongside Jonathan Coachman. Kenny made his debut on MLB Tonight on September 19, 2011.[3] Kenny also hosted his own show on the network entitled Clubhouse Confidential. He also has done commentary on Top Rank's Pay Per View boxing in Brandon Rios's controversial split points win over Cuban Lightweight Richard Abril and Manny Pacquiao versus Jessie Vargas. In September 2012, Kenny was named host of Showtime Championship Boxing.
MLB Network announced it will host a new debate show pitting Kenny against Harold Reynolds beginning April 1, 2013, called MLB Now. On the show, Kenny will represent a "new school", sabermetric-oriented point of view, while Reynolds will represent a more traditional, "old school" point of view.[4]
NBC Sports Radio Network
On March 21, 2013, Kenny was named as the host of The Brian Kenny Show on NBC Sports Radio. The show made its debut with the network's other weekday daytime programs on April 1, 2013 It airs from 9 a.m. to noon eastern.
Joined by his producer Lou Pellegrino and Peter Kenny (Kenny's son), the head of the show's Analytics Department, Kenny takes on the day's sports news by going beyond the scores and delving into the data, breaking down the analytics of the games. Kenny brings intelligent sports conversation to the table, with in-depth analysis and insight.
Regular segments include Click or Don't Click, where Kenny leads the trio through deciding which of the top sports stories of the morning to read based solely on the headline. This segment is meant to reflect how the modern person consumes online news media.
Regular guests include Joe Sheehan of Sports Illustrated, Bobby Valentine and Stan Van Gundy.
Awards and nominations
Brian won a National Sports Emmy for Baseball Tonight in 2003, was named Sports Illustrated's Media Personality of the Year in 2004, and received the 2005 Sam Taub Award as the Boxing Writers Association's "Boxing Broadcaster of the Year". He also received ESPN's "Volunteer of the Year" award in 2007.
Personal
Kenny is married to the former Nicole Jacqueline Desy. They have five children.
References
- ↑ Career references from CyberBoxingZone Journal.
- ↑ Appearance in Rocky Balboa: Filmography at the Internet Movie Database.
- ↑ Michael McCarthy (September 14, 2011). "One-on-one with Brian Kenny as he joins MLB Network". USA Today. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ↑ MLB Now debuts April 1st. MLB.com. March 1, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.