Hello, MetroWest and Milford. My name is Kyle Grabowski and I’ll be your newest sports writer.
I lived in western Massachusetts for the past almost eight years covering just about everything for the Daily Hampshire Gazette before making my way to this part of the state. That includes a UMass hockey national championship in 2021, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Induction last weekend, Olympians, Euro-tripping cyclists, high school football, golf and every sport in between.
The common thread through every worthwhile thing I’ve written is people. I love a good story. It’s what made me want to write grand science-fiction novels as a kid growing up in Colorado. I was set on going to Harvard to be an author.
But every morning I’d take the Denver Post from my dad and pick out the comics section and sports page. Eventually he told me, “you could do that.” Turns out I can.
My journalism career began shortly after as a high school sports correspondent for our local weekly the Fairplay Flume covering South Park High School. Yes, it is a real place.
I gave up on Harvard pretty quickly and made my way to Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. If I wasn’t sure about becoming a sportswriter – and many told me I’d probably change my mind, that’s how college works – writing about CSU sports and meeting the people in that newsroom solidified it for me. This was what I’d do with my life.
My professional career began in Durango, Colorado, a four corners town near the border of New Mexico. It’s a lovely place to mountain bike and snowboard. But it’s also four hours from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and six from Denver. It may be the MIDDLE of nowhere, but there’s only so much there if you don’t want to spent every moment on the trail or the river. Durango is paradise to a lot the people that live there, which is wonderful for them. After two years there, I needed a new challenge and opportunity.
Moving across the country to a place you don’t know anyone makes a lot more sense at 25. Western Mass allowed me to be a part of its sports community, and they have a special one.
I know MetroWest has one, too. I’m looking forward to being out in the community, attending practices, chronicling victories and defeats and telling stories.
All good stories are about people. If you have one or know one, please tell me. I’m the new guy. It’ll be impossible for me to know otherwise.
But I won’t expect anyone to be vulnerable and share with me without sharing myself. I love punk music and nerdy video games. My weekends are spent at the movie theater, on my bike, at restaurants or especially with my wonderful partner Lindsay and our mini dachshund Weasley.
If you see me there, please say hi. Good journalism only happens when you’re a part of the community. I’m looking forward to finding my place in this one.
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.