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GREENSBORO — Sports anchor Rich Brenner said Wednesday that he will retire next month from WGHP, ending a 33-year broadcasting career and nearly a quarter-century run as the Triad's most popular sportscaster.

Will you miss him on Fox8? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

Brenner, who is 61, said he's leaving because he wants to take advantage of a generous medical package provided by NewsCorp, which owns the Fox station, before the station changes ownership later this year.

Brenner has suffered five heart attacks in recent years, most recently in November.

But Brenner also hinted he has grown weary in recent years of dwindling news budgets — a common lament in today's crowded, competitive media industry. The new ownership group only hastened his decision.

"It was a challenge being asked to do more with less, but after a while you get tired of it," Brenner said. "I've always lived by the principle you should make your vocation your vacation. There are just too many handcuffs these days, so I'm getting out while it's still fun."

Station officials initially decided not to announce Brenner's retirement on the air but reversed themselves late Wednesday after a reporter inquired.

Brenner, whose last day will be April 18, said he'd like to try his hand as a freelance play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball games in the region.

"I know I can do that," he said. "I've got the experience, and there are so many games, so many conferences in the region on television. I think I'll have lots of opportunities."

He also wants to continue teaching. He's an adjunct instructor at Elon University, where he taught a sports course in the fall.

Like most good sports anchors, Brenner is at once reviled and loved. Some say he's a nice guy with a sly sense of humor who never took himself — or the business he covered — too seriously. While other sports broadcasters seem to venture out to events kicking and scratching, Brenner went gladly.

In the fickle world of local television, Brenner has been a constant, dispensing scores and highlights for 21 years. Brenner was bitten by the broadcasting bug in 1967, when he spent the summer after his sophomore year in college covering the war in Vietnam.

Sports anchor Mike Hogwood hired Brenner away from WTVD in Raleigh in 1987 to

fill WGHP's weekend sports slot. But soon after Brenner arrived, Hogwood moved across town to WFMY, and Brenner took over as WGHP's lead sports anchor.

With Brenner's help, WGHP's 10 p.m. newscast had the highest rated Nielsen ratings among Fox-owned stations.

Figuring out Brenner's replacement is anyone's guess.

Karen Adams, vice president and general manager at WGHP, declined to discuss Brenner's replacement. Kevin Connolly, a longtime sports reporter at WGHP, said Wednesday night that he has expressed an interest in the job. But what that job would entail is unclear given the change WGHP might soon undergo.

Oak Hill Capital Partners, a Texas private equity company, bought WGHP and seven other Fox stations for $1.1 billion in December.

A few months earlier, Oak Hill bought nine stations in midsized markets for $575 million.

In August, one of those stations, Norfolk's WTKR, dropped the sports segment from its nightly newscast. Station officials said viewers were increasingly turning to the Internet and cable sports networks for their sports news.

Besides being a constant fixture on the nightly local news, Brenner also is a prolific speaker. He regularly speaks at schools and fundraisers throughout the Triad and serves as an emcee at many events.

He said he'll have no problem walking away from the microphone in April.

"I think I'm leaving on top," he said. "Not many people can say that. All I ever wanted to do was be a sportscaster, so from that point I've been very fortunate."

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or robert.bell@news-record.com