The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - People We Miss Hearing From - Mike Breen

Episode Date: May 18, 2020

is the Matt Thomas show. You know, playing these theme songs, these various networks, makes me happy yet sad. Yeah, this is making me long for basketball, Matthew. Well, I will say this. Our next guest in the show on the category of people we miss hearing from would be definitely in play here because not only are we missing his calls, he would have a busy weekend, probably calling games on Saturday and Sunday, but I feel like Mike Breen, we have seen one of your broadcasts for every day of the

last three months. Does it feel like that it's Mike Breaney, SPN, doing every time you turn it on? Matt, I'm a little sick of hearing my own voice. I've told my kids, shut the TV off. Will you or change the channel? Well, it goes to, and by the way, congratulations. You have been nominated, and you're going into the Basketball Hall of Fame and the Kirk Gowdy Award. I was in New York from the Rockets Knicks when you got announced. And so congratulations to all of us in broadcasting and for all of fans because you've done a magnificent job, and we're very glad that you're on the show this afternoon. How are things? Thank you, Matt. That's very kind of you.

are good back here in New York. I mean, like everybody, just, you know, trying to weight it out, and the tide seems to be turning, and there's optimism that the NBA is going to have a season. So I'm banking on that because, like the two of you, I'm just, I am longing for NBA basketball, especially at this time of year. It is incredible that the games that you just, the memories come through. Is there one that you have seen when you're calling it that you go, oh, I had forgotten about that, or, man, it was good to see again, because I've said this to my audience before. I hate hearing my own voice, especially when calling a basketball game,

so I never want to, I should aircheck myself, but I don't. But is there one that you went, man, that was certainly one of my better moments? No, I don't hope I said that. You know what I find in watching, not just games that I did, but all the various games, even especially, even before I was broadcasting some of the old ones, I wind up looking like during timeouts, and a team will go. to the bench and you'll see a guy in the uniform who's not playing in the game and he'd be

like, wait a minute, he was on that team? That's what keeps happening to me. I keep forgetting certain guys who were on certain teams. I did, you know, there's some of them that you certainly remember just because of the historical factor, and

it's fun to watch. But I've been enjoyed watching some of the really older ones. Like I watched the 1970 Knicks championship over the Lakers, which I had not watched in a long, long time in game seven of that series. So it's been kind of fun watching those games. We should mention the audience that before you joined MSG to do the television, then obviously on the ABC and ESPN, you were also the radio voice of the Knicks. And I was the PA

announced to the first year of that 94-95 or 94 championship series. Tell me about some memories you have, obviously the disappointment of not winning it after being up 3-2 in the series, but just a thought or two about that Rockets Knicks series as we go back into the year. Well, the two memories that I have that stick out is, number one, was the OJ game. Because we were in the radio booth at Madison Square Garden at the time. It has since changed, as you well know. It used to be the best radio location in the league. It was about 10 rows up right above the tunnel where the players came out.

So in terms of feeling like he was still right there on the action, but at the same time being up a little so you could see the entire. court without a problem. It was the perfect radio location. And that's where we were doing the game. And it's game five. And all of a sudden, the white Bronco is on the TV going down the highway instead of the game. So I'm at that time calling the biggest game that I've ever called in my life. And I'm distracted by the TV because we had NBC's monitor on. Now, NBC wound up going a couple of times to a split screen. We have the game on one side. And OJ and the police chasing him on. the freeway on the other side of the screen.

And I remember it got so distracting to me because we all knew what was going on that I asked my statistician, I said, he got to shut off the monitor. Harry Robinson was named and said, Harry, you got to show off the monitor. I'm distracted. And he went to go to turn off the monitor and all the fans who were right around because we were right in the middle of where fans were seating and were seated. They were all screaming on us, no, no, no, don't turn it off because they wanted to see what happened to OJ. It was just the most bizarre thing in the middle of this classic final series

to have happened. That was number one. And the other thing was in game six, as you remember, John Starks had a three-pointer at the end of game six. And if that shot goes in, the Knicks win the championship. And my location on that play was down on the court, but we were down at the other side. So when Starks took the shot, I couldn't tell if his feet were beyond the dark or not. So I didn't know if it was a two-pointer, which would have tied the game, or a three-pointer, which would have won a championship. And normally, as I'm sure you do, Matt, when you're not sure if a guy was behind, you look for the referees to see if they've got their hand up. But all three, yeah, it was three at the time. All three referees were blocked,

and I couldn't see any of them. So all this is going through your head in what could be the greatest and biggest call of my career if Starks hits it. Oh, and the Knicks win the championship. But I didn't know if it was a two or three. So it could have been the worst call of a championship with me not knowing. Starks, unfortunately, for the Knicks and their fans, missed the shot, and I wasn't provided with a potential embarrassing situation. I know those are too long-winded answers, but that's what I remember. Well, selfishly, Akema Lijuan's finger does not apologize for getting his hand on John Stark shot.

I can stay at it. Mike Brie with us from ESPN and ABC with us here. Yeah, Ross Virore here, Mike. And so you mentioned that moment with the Stark shot. and then obviously Charles Smith and the blog. There's all these little moments that maybe you don't necessarily think of throughout the years that were series turning shots or moments. Can you just give us, I don't know, one or two that you think of in the last several years

that maybe we don't remember, but there were just huge finals turning, championship turning moments? Well, just Ross, in the series we were just talking about, and try there was a game four or game three. It might have been game three. Sam Cassell. Matt, do you remember Sam Cassell? The big shot? He didn't have a lot of points. Number 10, yeah, for sure. Yeah. I mean, he hit a couple of big shots at the end. I'm pretty sure it was game three.

Vernon Maxwell had some, yeah. Right. He doesn't hit those shots. You know, Knicks win that game there in complete control of the series. So that's always been my favorite part of calling the big games. Yes, we, you know, for example, now we have Co-Ele Leonard and LeBron James. and Steph Curry and the All-Stars and the all-N-B-A players who are hitting so many big shots. But I've always loved the role player who is able to hit an enormous shot on the biggest stage of his career. For example, even last year, Fred Van Bleet, I mean, he was phenomenal in that game six.

They don't win game six if it wasn't for Fred Van Blee, and then maybe there's a game seven, and maybe Golden State pulls it out of that and wins that one. So it's guys like that that I've always loved. And we saw that if you watched The Last Dance last night with Steve Kerr, you know, hitting so many big shots in big moments. So that's always been one of my favorite parts of the game is when an unsung player steps forward and makes plays that often make the difference between winning a championship and not.

I apologize for asking, but I'm going to have to ask, how often do you get asked about MJ or LeBron? You've called everyone on LeBron's big moments, and you called a lot of Michael's big moments when you were working exclusively with the Knicks. So where do you fall in this argument? And can you just say, you know what, one in one A is just fine by me? Yeah, I'm from the cop-out answer of, and I hate to say it, but I firmly believe it. It's impossible to compare players from different errors. Just absolutely impossible.

You know, the game is played differently. It's coached differently. it's officiated differently. The rules were different. And even the culture was different in terms of the approach to playing and approach in the peripheral stuff around the game. So I can't compare. I can't put one ahead of another.

If somebody wants to tell me, Karim Abdul-Jabbar is the greatest of all the time, I'm saying good on you. If somebody wants to say it's Jordan, LeBron James, whoever. I mean, I know it's fun and it can be, and some good heated, friendly debates. But it's just separate. They're both just enormous talents

that are the greatest players of their own generation. A few more minutes here with Mike Brina of ABC and ESPN, the voice of NBA basketball, and he's been on the crew since 2006 calling the finals. Mike, you were on with Joe Buck and you were on with Jim Nance. What a great, rarefied era on the real sports episode. How did that come together?

And what came away from? from you in terms of fascinating conversation between three true broadcasting icons? Well, again, that's very kind of you. I don't think I'm belonging those guys' class. I mean, they broadcast so many different sports and do it so well. I'm kind of a one-trick pony. But it's through a friendship with I've gotten known Brian Gumble over the years, and, you know, we chat a little bit, and he was, you know,

they're showing on hiatus when everything was. into lockdown, and he wanted to get going again. So he sent me an email and asked me if I'd be interested in doing that because he's obviously a huge sports fan and wanted to get something to go about, like what we're thinking about, what we're missing, et cetera, et cetera. And it was a privilege to be on it. I happen to think that show is just one of the real spectacular sports shows

that have ever been on TV. It's just quality stuff every time they have a program. And it was interesting to hear those guys talk about what they felt. And that was the first time, like, we were all talking separately about how, what are we going to do with the atmosphere if we go back to calling games? And clearly, it's different if you're in a golf tournament, if you're in a baseball stadium or an NBA arena. And, you know, Joe brought up the possibility of, are they going to pump in fan noise? And I've always talked about, you know, NBA arenas have music playing throughout the whole

darn game. So that's probably going to be part of it as well. So to me, that was the interesting part. And, like, how are we going to do this in terms of atmosphere in the arena if we do play without any fans? And clearly, if the NBA does come back this summer, there won't be fans. So how can we make it where it's not awkward, where you're not hearing things that perhaps the players and coaches don't want you to hear? Because that would be great for fans, but I don't know if it would be great for the individuals who are participating. So that part was I found the interesting thing. And let me throw this back at you, Matt.

What would you like to hear? Would you want to hear piped in music? Would you want to hear piped in crowd noise? And Ross answers, too, would you want to hear just, you know, the back and forth between players, coaches, and referees? It's hard to determine what would be the best scenario. What is funny, because Ross Mike always asked me, he says, what does Coach Dan Tony say during the game?

I said, well, he's just largely complaining about officials, but he doesn't swear ever, so you'd be kind of disappointed. I said, there are some coaches. and I'll use an example, Tom Thibodeau, who used to coach with Minnesota and with Chicago, we would have to turn down our microphone on the court because he was swearing so much. So it depends on what kind of, if you want a PG broadcast, Mike, or an R-rated broadcast, and what it coaches? Because, you know, Luke Walton can swear like a champ too, if necessary.

And I guess it all depends. But for me, music seems fine. I think the fan, fake fan, would seem very artificial. And I think the game itself can do enough to sell the game. game not worrying about popping in extra crowd noise. Yeah, I agree with you on that. And I think, but also, too, it's like, I remember, and this is kind of a side story, but it gives you an idea. I was a referee when I got out of high school and I started in college and I got up to the junior college level. And I remember I officiated a game at a community college in upstate New York.

And there were three fans in the place. Nobody went to community college games. And I was a young official and I was probably about, I'm going to say, 22, 23, and I looked like I was about 14. And I remember going up and down, and normally I did high school games where a pretty good crowd. And one coach, he would turn to his assistant and he would say, as I'm going up down to cool, boy, this kid stinks, talking about me as a referee. Ouch. But because there are no fans, I heard everything the guy was saying. I think one time I said to him, I said, you know, I can hear what you're saying. And, you know, he just, he was mad, his team was getting beaten, and maybe I was a terrible official.

I always thought I was okay. But it just goes to show you, like, in something like that, you know, say they're going up and down the court. And Scotty Brooks is coaching the game, and he turns to the system, boy, sax arbor is awful tonight. And sax arbor is going to hear it because there's no ambiance in the play. So there's this potential for entertainment, for sure. or whether or not it's appropriate in entertainment, that's to be determined by brighter minds than myself. Well, back when you were officiating, you just give technical fouls, and you would do it in Joey Crawfordstone, you'd go, bang is what you would say. Yeah, you're out of here.

Yeah. Last question for you, and we appreciate the time here. The relationship between the three of you, Mark Jackson, Jeff, and yourself on the broadcast is part of the reason why we love watching the games on ABC and ESPN. I always feel like there's times where they're arguing is as good, if not better, than the competition. on the court. When do you know what a layout, when you know what I start adding the play-by-play mix to it? Well, we've all known each other for over 25 years when I first started doing radio, Mark was a player on the next, Jeff, was an assistant coach, and that goes a long way. So, you know, we've watched our families grow up. There's a, there's a familiarity and a bond that makes it easy. So, like for me, when they're doing something that's really,

entertaining, whether it's basketball-wise or something just completely off the rails, but it's hilarious, you know, you just lay back if it's in the first or the second quarter of a game, or if it's a game that's a blowout. Those things are easy. But, you know, people say, when do you know how to cut them off and get going? I don't really have to do that. They know, like, they have a sense because of their respect for the game of when the game is all of a sudden starting to get good or completely going away. from it. They know when to cut it off. I mean, every once in a while, I'll have to throw a line in to get them. All right, guys, let's go back. But most of the time,

they just, they have a good feel for when it's time to wrap up their argument. And you're right. The arguments are, they're genuine, and they go at each other. The carbides to the arena talk about arguments. They really go at each other. But that's the beauty of those two, and for the three of us is nobody's feelings ever get hurt, even though you can vehemently disagree with somebody on their point, whether it's basketball or otherwise. All right. Very last question. Are you calling the NBA finals this year off a television monitor?

Have you heard anything from the league about broadcasting? Yeah. And you know what? Mattie, it seems to change every day. So it's impossible to predict. But I think there's a good chance that when we first start, when we first go back, if we do, and I'm hoping we do, that's not even set. but if we do, I think we might start doing it from a studio.

But the hope, again, the best case scenario is by the time we get to the conference finals and the finals, that will be calling the games at the arena on site, which I hope, as much as I understand the safety precautions for everyone involved, but I'm confident in the league and the teams and certainly at ESPN, that they wouldn't make us or have us do those games live unless it was safe. So that's where I want to be. I want to be courtside like always because that's why. I'm sure you feel the same way that. That's why we do what we do and why we love it so much.

Yeah, I did call a couple of games off a monitor when the team was in Japan, and it's just not nearly as entertaining for us, and you just don't get the feel of the game like you do when you're courtside. Mike, I really appreciate the time. We look forward to seeing you. Hopefully, it's Las Vegas, Orlando, or some points in between. And congratulations on your success. Congratulations to getting in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and I hope to look forward to seeing you very soon. Thanks again for the time. Thanks, Maddie. Good to hear your voice. Appreciate it. Thank you, Ross. You got it. Take care now. Mike Breen. from ABC and the ESPN, joining us here, the lead voice of the NBA since 2006 and one of the really,

truly nice people in our business.