Tag: Mike Breen

ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy has tested …

ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Game 1 of the NBA Finals, an ESPN official told The Athletic on Thursday. The news comes after Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Breen missed Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals due to COVID-19. Van Gundy was also on the broadcast team for the Heat-Celtics series. Van Gundy was scheduled to call this week’s NBA Finals for the 16th time in his career, alongside Breen, Mark Jackson and sideline reporter Lisa Salters.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Jeff Van Gundy to miss Game 1 of NBA Finals with COVID: Report

Broadcaster Mike Breen reportedly feels better after a similar diagnosis caused him to miss Game 7 of the East finals, but he is not cleared yet to return.

The NBA Finals are already slated to have some conspicuous absences due to COVID-19, but at least for now, none of them are players. Broadcasters Jeff Van Gundy and Adrian Wojnarowski — both of ESPN — will not be on the call for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors after testing positive for the viral malady according to new reporting from the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand.

This is on the heels of fellow ESPN broadcaster Mike Breen missing Game 7 of the Celtics-Miami Heat East finals series for the same reason. Per Marchand, the plan at present is to deploy a pair of announcers consisting of Breen if he is able to return paired with broadcaster Mark Jackson or Mark Jones, Breen’s replacement in the final game of the East finals.

Currently, ESPN has broadcaster Doris Burke scheduled to be calling the game on the radio, where she is an analyst alongside P.J. Carlesimo and play-by-player Marc Kestecher.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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ESPN broadcaster Mike Breen to miss Celtics-Heat Game 7 after positive COVID test

The Celtics and Heat injury reports remain unchanged, however.

The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat‘s injury reports look largely familiar heading into their decisive Game 7 showdown in Florida this Sunday evening, but at least one familiar face will be missing from the broadcast once the game gets underway.

It isn’t Boston big man Robert Williams III (knee) or Celtics point guard Marcus Smart (foot sprain), nor Heat wing Tyler Herro (groin). Those players are all questionable along with a slew of Miami players dealing with notable dings and nicks and reserve forward Sam Hauser (shoulder) of the Celtics the only definite scratch. It is instead announcer Mike Breen according to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn, who has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and will sit the contest out.

Mark Jones will replace him on the call per Finn, with an ESPN spokesperson relating that Breen feels fine and expects to be calling Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals on Thursday, June 3.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Breen has called the first six games of …

Breen has called the first six games of the series between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The series wraps Sunday night in Miami on ESPN, with Mark Jones stepping in for Breen alongside commentators Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. Breen said he feels well, per the spokesman, and expects to call Game 1 of the Finals, which begin Thursday.

BANG! Here’s Mike Breen’s iconic NBA catchphrase origin story

BANG!

BANG!

It’s the call we’ve heard time and time again from Mike Breen, the NBA play-by-play voice who has become a legend calling games for NBC, ABC and in New York with MSG.

After a player hits a big shot, he’ll emphasize it with a “BANG!” In the case of Luka Doncic’s game-winner in the bubble in 2020, it was a double BANG!

But I just realized that I don’t know the story behind it, and maybe you’re wondering as well.

So I dug around and found this, from a Breen conversation with Zach Gelb on CBS Sports Radio, and it started at Fordham University … in the stands:

The other fun thing there: He then brought it into his broadcasts and initially, he didn’t like it. But he tried again years later and he realized he liked it because it allowed space for crowd noise.

So there you have it!

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Priority No. 1 for the Knicks’ front …

Priority No. 1 for the Knicks’ front office and coaching staff is to address their fourth-quarter woes. Fortunately, the Knicks have the resources to take a step forward and not backward. “We have to build one block at a time, be patient,” Leon Rose told MSG’s Mike Breen at the end of the season. “We’ve got 13 draft picks over the next three drafts, four first-round picks. “With regard to opportunities that may come along, we’re very flexible. … We want to show prudence in making those decisions and continuing to develop what we have.”

Even Mike Breen and Madison Square Garden are jumping in on Knicks fans’ BING BONG meme

BING BONG

BING BONG!!!

OK, so the New York Knicks didn’t win on Monday night — the Toronto Raptors won 113-104 at Madison Square Garden.

But that hasn’t stopped anyone from using BING BONG, the weirdest catchphrase that’s become a meme for Knicks die-hards after it was dropped in a video (it’s meant to evoke the sound played before the subway doors close on New York trains).

On Monday, we found out that MSG has started using it … and so has Mike Breen, who calls Knicks games when he isn’t saying “BANG!” on national NBA contests.

Here are both clips and they’re both great:

BING BONG!

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