Overtime with Kyle Brennan

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Kyle Brennan

Round of Applause

High school football on WATR has a new voice this fall, and that voice (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your opinion) is mine. That’s right, I’m teaming up with longtime color analyst Steve Gesseck and producer Bob Sagendorf to broadcast a full slate of Naugatuck Valley League football on WATR 1320 AM and watr.com this fall. Play-by-play broadcasting is what I first started doing in high school and what I essentially went to college to study, so I’m excited that my sort-of-professional debut will be right here in the Valley this week. And in my first week of broadcasting, I get Wednesday’s Naugatuck-Wilby game and Thursday’s Woodland-Sacred Heart contest. Hopefully you’ll tune in on air or online and give me some scathing feedback.

Andy Roddick will probably be my favorite tennis player for the rest of my life, even though he’s retiring after this U.S. Open. All I’ve wanted in my sports life for the better part of the last five years (OK, in addition to the Jets actually making it to a Super Bowl) was for Roddick to win just one more Grand Slam championship. He had his chances—namely the marathon Wimbledon final loss to Roger Federer in 2009—but just couldn’t break through past Federer or Rafael Nadal. Had Roddick come around a few years earlier, he probably would have won several more majors besides the 2003 U.S. Open, but unfortunately he came around in the era of two of the best tennis players of all time. Still, Roddick carried the flag for American tennis through some of its worst years ever. For a few years, he was the only U.S. player seeded at Grand Slam events. He was the only American player worth watching for the better part of last decade. And even though he may retire with just the one U.S. Open title, he’ll retire with a ton of respect from tennis fans. Hopefully he’s still playing as you read this (however doubtful that may be) and if he wins this Open, all the rest of my sports desires will be put on hold for the foreseeable future.

My high school football blogs are now firing on all cylinders and waiting for you to come on and read (or even comment and join our discussions). If you’re unfamiliar, I run the Naugatuck Valley League Football Blog (that’s at www.nvlfootballblog.com since we just moved our website) and I’m the main contributor to the Republican-American’s Red Zone blog (head to rep-am.com/redzone for that one). I’ll have a ton more coverage of the entire NVL on both of those blogs, so if you’re a Valley football nut those are the places you’ll want to be. In addition, I’ve joined the cast of the Mike and the Jaffman (and Kyle) Show on the Rep-Am Red Zone, so the six of you that would like to see my face can head over there to check it out. We just posted our preseason preview episode so that’s up for your viewing (dis)pleasure. And starting Tuesday, Mark Jaffee and I have some special treats coming for you each week. It should be pretty fun.