BRIAN KENNEDY was born in Montreal and spent much of his hockey-playing youth in Ontario. He went to school in the U.S. in 1981 and gained a PhD in English, before ending up in L.A. and teaching at Pasadena City College. A freelance sports writer, he uses his writing to get him everywhere from NHL locker rooms to the race shops of famous drivers of the past and present. He covers the Anaheim Ducks and the L.A. Kings, and in his spare time he rides a racing bike, practices karate and preserves memories.