Thank You, John Brenkus, For Making My Sports Childhood Awesome

The sports and entertainment world lost a bright and innovative member of its community over the weekend.

John Brenkus, the host of the popular ESPN show "Sports Science," died Sunday night, his family announced on his X account.

Brenkus was just 54 years old and battling depression, a fight he disclosed to Marcellus Wiley in great detail on his BrinxTV channel just a couple of years ago, in which he painted a happy ending.

With the added context of today's announcement, this video is even more brutal to watch.

Brenkus was all smiles, claiming he had beaten the disease that we know as depression, only for it to rear its ugly head later in his life.

As someone whose formative sports-watching years coincided with Brenkus's rise to fame at ESPN, I wanted to take some time to honor the life and legacy of a man who gave me and millions of others back in the late aughts and early 2010's such great "Sports Science" memories.

Here are just a few of my all-time favorite "Sports Science" segments.

In typical Brenkus fashion, these videos are a perfect blend of entertaining, informative, and memorable, leaving a lasting impact on everyone who watched.

Kevin Love Boxes Out A Sumo Wrestler

The age-old question has always persisted, both pre and post-"Sports Science," as to whether different athletes' games would translate across other sports.

Most of the time it boils down to "could LeBron play tight end," or "could Tiger Woods hit a fastball," but John Brenkus - with the help of a baby-faced Kevin Love - gave us a rather unique hypothetical:

Can an NBA power forward box out a sumo wrestler?

The answer, shockingly, is "yes," but the details that went into the conclusion, as well as the now-famous clip of Love absolutely stonewalling his 300-plus-pound opponent, made for some pretty awesome television.

John Brenkus Gets Trucked In The Name Of Science

Talk about getting your hands dirty for the cause!

Salute to Brenkus for taking the full-frontal assault of a 240-pound running back (in this case, New York Giants bruiser Brandon Jacobs), just to show us that, yeah, it kind of sucks getting absolutely lit up by an NFL player.

And just listen to the sound of that collision!

Bonus points for Brenkus putting his body on the line for future STEM majors like Jay here, who might not have even been in the physics field if not for our favorite sports scientist getting his clock cleaned by a Super Bowl-winning halfback.

Sometimes we have to suffer for our art.

Jordan Farmar Busts Some Hang-Time Myths

We are going WAY back for this one. Episode 1, to be exact, before the show was even picked up by ESPN.

The Jordan Farmar Hang-time episode of "Sports Science" may not be as memorable as some of the other ones on this list to the general masses, but this one has a personal impact on me.

As a 5'10" white guy, I have always been fascinated by the concept of dunking.

Through enough hard work, I was able to achieve my dream of just barely getting a men's ball over a 10-foot rim in my athletic peak roughly a million years ago, and I would like to think this segment was the onus for that journey.

While some kids were inspired to become physicists and sports trainers thanks to John Brenkus, yours truly was hitting the squat rack just hard enough to throw down some of the ugliest dunks mankind has ever witnessed.

Truly magical.

Calvin Johnson Is Really, Really, Ridiculously Athletic

Calvin Johnson was a freakshow in his prime.

So much so, that John Brenkus dedicated an entire segment of "Sports Science" to just how athletic "Megatron" was in his NFL career.

I can recite most of this segment almost by heart nowadays, and I am still in awe when he tells us that Johnson can cover the surface area of a two-car garage from a standstill.

The generation before mine had Bo Jackson, a mythical creature with abilities that bordered on superhuman.

With the help of "Sports Science," we can tell our kids how much of a physical specimen Calvin Johnson was and back it up with numbers.

No more tall tales while bouncing our grandchildren on our knees without any evidence. I will be referring all of my progeny to John Brenkus's Megatron breakdown.

And for that I am forever grateful.

Thank You For Everything, John

Depression hurts.

It's a silent killer and its signs can be nearly invisible.

Make sure you check in on your friends and family every now and then. It may be a small gesture that makes a huge difference.

I am sure I speak for everyone who watched "Sports Science" over the years when I say: "Thanks for the memories, Mr. Brenkus."

You gave us all countless hours of entertainment growing up and your legacy lives on through those clips and segments shared today on social media, as well as the stories we all have attached to them.

Rest in peace, John.

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.