When you work in sports, there’s a point when something happens to your fandom, even if you’re lifelong loyal to one team. It’s not a thing that turns the fan dial. It’s a person. Or people. When friends play, coach, represent someone or work on a team’s staff, you find yourself cheering for their success, your fantasy or hometown team be damned.
Kenny Klein, who took his talents to St. John’s University for a couple of basketball seasons after decades as an administrator and sports information director at the University of Louisville, made me a Cardinals fan before I worked full-time in sports PR. Even today, when I see a U of L logo, it means something special because of him.
I know, you’re saying, “This is a public relations newsletter.” I promise you, this is very much a PR topic. The best kind, in fact.
Klein is the gold standard of communications pros in the country, regardless of industry. He’s detailed, flexible and thorough but won’t lose his ish if something goes sideways. He’s respected by media and everyone else up and down chains of command. He’s unassumingly personable. He’s made the best-of-the-best look dynamic and helped others see light through dark times. He’s the constant, whether he takes the PR reins at a university, coordinates the celebrity box at the Kentucky Derby or manages the stats crew each year at the Final Four. Oh, and I dare you to find a bigger Jimmy Buffett fan.
Kenny experienced a medical emergency last week that landed him in the hospital, where he continues to tough it out. [Aside: learn the Heimlich maneuver and learn it well.] Word spread throughout the country quicker than a Jacob Misiorowski fastball in the ninth inning. My heart hurts.
Somewhere in the United States, with one of the finest PR agents — and people — on the planet.
Retired sports reporter and columnist Rick Bozich texted me something, which led me to ask a handful of others to answer: “What makes Kenny Klein one of, if not the best, PR specialists around?” Read their answers on my website (which is going into the body shop this weekend — sorry if it looks wonky). Comments were too good to cut.
PR SIDEeffect • Haven’t seen someone you care about in weeks, months, even years? Don’t let “We’ll see you down the road” be just an idea. Make it happen soon and more frequently. We don’t fu**ing know what tomorrow brings. Love your people. Love fiercely.
Oh, the PR part: Be kind. Be helpful. Give media more than they expect and it will come back to you and who you represent tenfold.
See comments from Hall of Famer Bozich, Hall of Fame sports information specialist, Doug Vance, DePaul director of athletics, DeWayne Peevy, award-winning writer, Jeff Schneider and Emmy Award TV producer/director, Tom Huet when you click here.
“To me, Kenny is the University of Louisville – more important than presidents. ADs and coaches. Those people come and go. Kenny is forever.”
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Author and reporter Cathy Breitenbucher didn’t take “No” for an answer
I can’t write this week’s SIDEbar without a nod to my friend Cathy Breitenbucher, who ran, literally and figuratively, in the face of cancer for more than a decade. Cathy and I met when she wrote a magazine story about one of my PR clients. Years later, she contacted me to help former Wisconsin governor Marty Schreiber publicize his book about Alzheimer’s caregiving, which she co-wrote.
During those years, she ran marathons and took in sports throughout the world in between book trips with Marty. A former newspaper reporter, she continued to champion women’s sports long after she left the Milwaukee Sentinel/Journal Sentinel. I know she was a loyal SIDEbar reader because she’d text me with thoughts about my posts or suggest future ones about hot topics. I loved talking tennis with her, especially during Slams – she loved the U.S. Open almost as much as I do.
I think I’m going to keep her on the mailing list for a while. Maybe her husband and daughter will read this newsletter and share thoughts with me, too. Rest easy, my friend.
AI Disclaimer: Not a word of this post was written by AI. You think AI can communicate my emotions?! (IYKYK)
©2026 Gail Sideman; gpublicity.com; SIDEbar
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