Bless you, Brian Brennan

I listen to WTAM-1100 on my way to and from work every day, at least a little bit, because I live on the East Side and now work on the West Side, and I need to hear the traffic reports every ten minutes. This means I hear Mike Trivisonno every afternoon, which is a mixed blessing at best. He and his cast of characters are often entertaining, but he has something of a jackass streak too. He's very opinionated, which can make him hard to take when he's wrong. But I think he has a good heart, as the following story will illustrate.

On Thursday afternoon, a gentleman called to tell Triv that he had recently met a man from Tampa whose brother happens to be named Brian Brennan. It seems this Brian Brennan is a U.S. serviceman, and lost both his legs to a land mine in Afghanistan. The fellow who was telling this story to Trivisonno says he didn't tell the guy he was from Cleveland, but he did say "Brian Brennan, Cleveland Browns." Brian's brother said he was, in fact, named after the former Browns' wide receiver. The caller, knowing that Triv has connections with the Browns, wondered if he might be able to reach that Brian Brennan on the phone -- and he was.

The Brian Brennan who played for the Browns is still in the Cleveland area, and is now an executive at Key Bank. He seemed genuinely appreciative to hear that a young man from Florida had been named after him -- particularly one who would go on to serve his country in the Army -- and expressed willingness to go visit him as he recovers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Bless you, Brian Brennan. You too, Brian Brennan.

Incidentally, the photo above is from Brennan's days at Boston College. It's surprisingly difficult to find one from his Browns years. And there is apparently a man named Brian Brennan who directs gay porno movies, so some stuff comes up on a Google image search for Brian Brennan that I'd just as soon have not seen. Fair warning, if you feel the urge to go looking for a Brian Brennan photo.