Tag: Mike Breen

Breen said he has been thinking a lot …

Breen said he has been thinking a lot about where the ESPN broadcast booth might be located inside an empty arena. “It will probably not be on the floor — and likely up 15 or 20 rows,” Breen said. “Quite frankly any play-by-play guy will tell you that if you’re up like 10 to 15 rows up you can see the entire court better. So many times when you’re on the court and you have fans who sit courtside so close to you, you’re blocked out quite a bit and you have to rely on the monitor even during some critical moments because of the sight lines. So from that standpoint, it actually could be a positive and a benefit. It’s not like you will be missing out on hearing things because there’s no roar of the crowd to drown out what some of the players are saying.”

Doc Rivers: » “I’m going to end with …

Rivers said he did quite enjoy …

Rivers said he did quite enjoy re-watching the Boston Celtics team he coached win the 2008 NBA Finals over the Lakers – and that he found that he actually didn’t mind watching the 2010 Finals that his Celtics lost after that. “You know, I’ve never watched that game live, in the context of watching it with sound and commercials, I’ve never done it,” said Rivers of the 2008 triumph. “I was calling (announcers Jeff) Van Gundy and Mike Breen, giving them crap on some of the things they said, that was fun.”

Van Gundy has done the NBA Finals for …

Van Gundy has done the NBA Finals for ABC/ESPN for 13 straight years with Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. “There’s a lot of disappointment,’’ Van Gundy said. “If you’re involved in the NBA, you certainly miss it especially this time of year coming down the stretch and playoffs. But NBA people, when I talk to them, the conversations don’t center around, ‘I wish we were playing.’ It centers around, ‘Gosh, I hope we can make moves to get this (coronavirus) under control.’”

Mike Breen delivered a touching, on-air reflection on Kobe Bryant’s death

“It’s just a sad, sad day.”

Kobe Bryant died on Sunday in a California helicopter crash that claimed the lives of nine people — including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

As the news spread, the NBA community was in disbelief as they mourned the loss of one of the all-time greats at 41 years old. The NBA opted to continue Sunday’s slate of games as scheduled, and many teams honored Bryant with in-game tributes.

That applied to broadcasters as well.

At the start of Sunday’s game between the Knicks and Nets, play-by-play announcer Mike Breen started the broadcast by offering a reflection on Kobe’s death and the challenges of calling/playing a game under these circumstances.

An audibly emotional Breen said:

“On my way into the arena, I thought of Bill Gallo. Gallo is the legendary sports cartoonist that when Thurman Munson passed away, the next day he had an unbelievably touching cartoon. And it was these two characters that he had, Basement Bertha and Yuchie, and the cartoon read, ‘Naw, Yuchie, I just don’t feel like playin’ ball today.’ And she was crying. And that’s the way I think a lot of us feel tonight. Just don’t feel like broadcasting, and I know a lot of the players — excuse me — don’t feel like playing. It’s just a sad, sad day.”

This was the cartoon Breen referenced:

As Breen said that, the Nets took a 24-second violation to honor Bryant.

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Do you remember Kevin Durant’s shot in …

Do you remember Kevin Durant’s shot in Game 3 in 2017 and then he came back and a shot in almost the same spot in Game 3 in 2018? Mike Breen: Well, the thing I remember, in ’18, right after he hit, I remember saying, ‘That’s the same exact shot he hit, and the same game, they were both Game 3s — 2018 was a little farther out. He was a couple of feet, I mean, 2018, he was unconscious. I do remember the 2017 one, because I was thinkin, this is going to be their first loss of the playoffs. They had still not lost up until that point and he just was, both Finals, it’s incredible the numbers that he put up.

I had this deadline column and the …

I had this deadline column and the wonder of Tim and how awesome he is, grabbing this ring against this supposed dynasty in Miami and then I got to rewrite! What do you remember about that night and when Ray steps back and hits that three? Mike Breen: Well, a couple of things you never forget. You never forget the NBA bringing out the ropes, because the game is about to be over and they’re going to crown a champion that night. For them to do that ahead of time, they have to do that, I think that’s the first thing I remember. The second thing I remember, the fans leaving. And even though, I’ve seen too many games over time. I’ve seen Reggie Miller eight points in 8.9 seconds. I never understand, especially in a big game, how fans leave early, in a game that’s not decided. Because a lot of fans left. In fact, a lot of them tried to come back in. Our crew did a great job that night. They had a shot outside the arena of people trying to get back in but they couldn’t. The doors were locked.