Latest news with #Breen
Time of India
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Mike Breen reveals the rare criteria behind his iconic 'bang!' call and what it takes to go triple
(Image Source - Getty Images) In an insightful conversation with Dan Patrick, the voice of the NBA Finals explained what it would take to elicit a never before heard triple "Bang!" a playoff buzzer beater so legendary that it requires a massive reaction. As Tyrese Haliburton gets hot with clutch shots, Breen's criteria for his iconic call is straightforward, it must be truly monumental. And there's only one moment that meets that standard. Mike Breen says only a game 7 finals buzzer beater can unlock the first ever triple bang Mike Breen, the renowned play-by-play announcer for ABC and ESPN, is globally recognized for his legendary "Bang!" call brief yet powerful used for those game winning three pointers. He's even done double bangs before, like when Stephen Curry hit that 38 foot shot in the 2015–16 season and Luka Doncic's buzzer beater in the NBA bubble, but a triple "Bang!"? That would require something truly extraordinary. In his chat with Dan Patrick, Breen confessed that it would only happen naturally, as a spontaneous response to an incredible play, not something that's planned or rehearsed. During a chat about Tyrese Haliburton who just nailed some clutch game winners back to back Patrick asked Breen if a buzzer beater in a Finals Game 7 for the title would deserve a triple "Bang!" Breen leaned closer and replied, "I have to do it in that case." But he added a little twist: it's not only Haliburton, it could be anyone making that ideal shot, as long as it's a Game 7, Finals, buzzer beater. Breen's iconic call traces back to his days at Fordham University. He would exclaim "Bang!" during college games to break through the crowd noise when a player hit a key shot. He mentioned to JJ Redick on The Old Man & The Three that this straightforward, sharp syllable turned into his hallmark, which he carried into high school, college, and eventually, pro broadcasts. In the recent Finals, Breen was intentionally restrained. Following Tyrese Haliburton go ahead shot in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, he went with a simple "It's good, it's good" instead of his usual "Bang." He explained that he typically reserves "Bang" for three pointers and seldom uses it for two pointers, having only done so once before on a playoff game winner by Kobe Bryant. Breen pointed out that none of his iconic calls like Steph Curry's double bang, Ray Allen's clutch Finals shot, or Luka Doncic's game winner were planned ahead of time. They were all spontaneous, gut reactions that reflected the intense drama happening in the moment. A triple "Bang!" would need to surpass them all, matching Breen's own lofty standard: a buzzer beater three pointer in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to secure the championship. In a league full of buzzer beaters, Mike Breen's iconic "Bang!" really stands out, it's sharp, electric, and well deserved. He's only repeated it once, and for a third time, we'd need a moment that's truly legendary. Also Read: 'I'm not losing a one-on-one game'—Carmelo Anthony shuts down Michael Beasley's one-on-one challenge Tyrese Haliburton's recent brilliance just adds to the excitement, but Breen's rule is clear: Game 7, NBA Finals, buzzer beater to clinch the championship. If that historic shot goes down, the third "Bang!" won't just echo it will resonate throughout basketball history.
Indianapolis Star
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'Something special going on'; What ABC's Mike Breen sees from the Indiana Pacers in the NBA Finals
The Indiana Pacers remain underdogs in the NBA Finals after building a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. ABC play-by-play announcer Mike Breen sees reason to question that. "There's something special going on with that team right now, that's for sure," he said Thursday on the "Dan Patrick Show." Despite their tremendous regular-season record and march through the Western Conference playoffs, the Thunder are younger and less experienced that Indiana. OKC has the league's second-youngest roster and last season won one playoff series. The Pacers are older and reached the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, where they were swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics. Breen believes that experience is valuable. "I know this sounds ridiculous, but that was a close sweep," noting that three of the four games went down to the final minute. "They played well. They gained valuable experience. "Continuity is the most underrated part of basketball, to have the same guys who know their strengths and weaknesses and have been through the wars together. It's showing right now." Listen up: Magic Johnson has advice for Tyrese Haliburton 'D-Day' for Thunder: What Charles Barkley thinks about NBA Finals Game 4 Breen acknowledged that "the series is far from over" and that OKC's smothering defense could return. However, he's a little concerned about the Thunder after Game 3. "That's the first time I've seen the Thunder look that way," he said. "They looked unsure of themselves, as well as being fatigued. I've never seen that from them." Game 4 is Friday night in Indianapolis.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mike Breen shares emotional Lisa Salters message during ESPN reporter's NBA Finals absence
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Lisa Salters, here in December 2024, missed Game 2 of the NBA Finals in June 2025, Image 2 shows Breen (r.), here were Richard Jefferson (l.) and Doris Burke (c.), delivered his remarks in the third quarter, Image 3 shows Lisa Salters covered Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 5, 2025 Mike Breen shared a heartfelt message Sunday to his ESPN colleague, top sideline reporter Lisa Salters, who missed Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Thunder and Pacers to tend to her ailing mother. Moments after sideline reporter Jorge Sedano provided commentary on the second half of the game, with Oklahoma City leading 59-41 in the third, Breen detailed why Sedano was filling in for Salters, whom he described as 'the teammate everyone in our business should strive to have.' Advertisement 'Jorge is with us today, but we're thinking of our dear friend and colleague, Lisa Salters,' began Breen, who is part of ESPN's top NBA booth that includes Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson. 'Lisa's mom has been dealing with some serious health issues for a while now, so we want to send our love to Lisa and her mom. Although we've never met her mom, we owe her a debt of gratitude for giving us the gift of Lisa Salters, who is the teammate everyone in our business should strive to have.' Lisa Salters, here in December 2024, missed Game 2 of the NBA Finals in June 2025. Getty Images Prior to tipoff Sunday, reports emerged that Salters, 59, would miss Game 2 of the finals in Oklahoma City due to a personal matter. Advertisement Fever head coach Stephanie White, who is Salters' partner, skipped Indiana's game on Saturday in Chicago amid a 'family emergency,' according to the Indy Star. Mike Breen (r.) sent a heartfelt message to Lisa Salters during Game 2 of the NBA Finals on June 8, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images Breen (r.), here were Richard Jefferson (l.) and Doris Burke (c.), delivered his remarks in the third quarter. NBAE via Getty Images Assistant coach Austin Kelly took over and guided the Fever to a 79-52 victory over the Sky, something Indiana forward DeWanna Bonner hoped her teammates would fight for on behalf of White. 'I really want to win for Steph, she's going through a tough time with her family right now,' Bonner told the Indy Star. 'We want to rally together and get this one for her, but it's also Austin's first time at the helm, so it's double-duty right now.' Lisa Salters covered Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 5, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images Lisa Salters' partner, Fever head coach Stephanie White (l.), missed the team's win over the Chicago Sky in June 2025. Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images The Fever visit the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, while Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals shift to Indiana starting Wednesday. Advertisement Salters, also a sideline correspondent on ESPN's 'Monday Night Football,' covered the Pacers' 111-110 Game 1 rally on Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Thunder stormed back in Game 2, 123-107, to even the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Legislature eyes changing Medicaid eligibility rules for people with intellectual disabilities
House Speaker Daniel Perez (R) with House budget chief Rep. Lawrence McClure (L). (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) Florida could be poised to make it easier for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities (IDD) to maintain their Medicaid services. The latest round of budget negotiations between the House and Senate includes a proposal by the House to eliminate a requirement for people with IDD to annually be redetermined eligible for the health care safety net program for the poor, elderly, and disabled. If approved once, they would be presumptively eligible the rest of their lives unless they no longer qualify for Medicaid or their condition changes. The proposal, if accepted by the Florida Senate, would require approval from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take effect. 'I'd call it a game changer for our population,' Florida Developmental Disabilities Council Executive Director Valerie Breen told the Florida Phoenix Wednesday. The council aims to increase the capacity of individuals with IDD to be included in their communities. The House health care budget conferees made the offer Tuesday. As of this publication, the budget negotiators had not met again. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Breen said people with these disabilities face difficulties when they have to be re-determined Medicaid-eligible. She said people with IDD erroneously fell off the Medicaid rolls when, following the end of the public health emergency associated with Covid 19, people had to requalify for Medicaid. Breen guessed that as many as 1,000 people with IDD who were eligible for Medicaid erroneously lost their coverage. For people with IDD the redetermination process requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF), which determines eligibility, to communicate with the state Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which administers the Medicaid program, and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), which is charged with oversight of programs that serve these populations. Sometimes, Breen said, redetermination also included interaction with the Social Security Administration. 'Those were the critical components, and the agencies did not communicate with each other,' she said. As a result people with IDD lost access to the home and community-based services that help them with the activities of daily living like eating and grooming. 'They were not able to access any of those services,' Breen said. The Legislature was forced to extend the 2025 Session after legislative leadership couldn't reach an agreement on how much state money to spend in state fiscal year 2025-26, which begins July 1, and how much tax relief to provide residents. House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton ultimately agreed to extend the session until June 16 and to spend about $50 billion in general revenue, or state tax dollars, across various government agencies. Most of the money will go to two areas: education and health care, with the former receiving more than $22 billion and the latter about $17.5 billion. Budget negotiators have been meeting to try to hammer out the details of how the money should be spent. The state budget must be printed and distributed to legislators by June 15 in order to vote on it by June 18. That's because of a constitutional provision that requires the budget to cool off for 72 hours before legislators can vote on it. New law brings managed care to people with intellectual disabilities The move to allow people with IDD to remain on Medicaid after initially being determined eligible is one of several proposals relating to people with IDD that are being championed by the House. Perez vowed to make those issues a priority during his two year tenure. To that end, Perez championed HB 1103, a proposal to make a small managed care pilot program, available statewide for people with IDD. HB 1103 also requires APD to publicly publish reports regarding the number of people with IDD the state serves and the number of people on a wait list for the Medicaid services. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed the legislation. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Remembering Jordan Breen: A mind MMA couldn't replace, and a man it couldn't save
About a week before he got the news about his old friend, T.J. De Santis got a text asking him a question he'd asked himself many times over the past few years: How was Jordan Breen doing these days? 'All I could say was, 'I don't know and it breaks my heart,'' De Santis said. Advertisement Mike Bohn hadn't heard from Breen in close to a year. He'd tried many different ways to contact him. He'd even asked police in Breen's hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to check in on him. 'I just wanted to get some answers,' Bohn said. 'I'm checking the obituaries and things like that. Kind of dark thoughts, but just the reality of what was needed.' The police found him and made contact, they reported, but couldn't offer more than that. Breen did not want to be found, they said. Bohn heard from him once more after that, an email several months later 'kind of poking fun at me for calling the cops on him and asking if I could help him out financially.' The email came from an unfamiliar address and got filtered into the spam folder, so it was a few weeks before Bohn found it. He responded right away, but didn't hear back. Then last week he got the update he'd dreaded but also sort of expected. Breen had been found dead on his birthday. He'd just turned 38. Advertisement His name may not be familiar to newer fight fans, but you couldn't be anywhere near MMA in the early 2000s and not know of Jordan Breen. A writer and radio host for one of the first and most influential online MMA media outlets, Breen was known for his energy and enthusiasm as well as his encyclopedic knowledge of the sport. I was a guest on his show several times over the years, and it always felt uniquely intimidating trying to keep up with him on-air. As Uncrowned's Chuck Mindenhall wrote of Breen after his death: 'He was a living archive of the sport, and he took it all with him.' Breen found his way to Sherdog as a 19-year-old wiz kid who impressed the editors with the depth of his knowledge. Former editor Greg Savage had never heard of him until fellow editor Josh Gross insisted they hire him, he said. Gross had found some of Breen's writing online and was adamant that the site could use his talent and enthusiasm. Advertisement 'Josh had read his stuff about the most niche topics in Japanese MMA,' Savage said. 'He was writing on, I don't know if you call it a blog at that point, but he had a little string of articles about Japanese MMA, talking about Shooto B-leagues and stuff like that. Stuff that no one over here gave a damn about. I mean, there were people that cared obviously, so he generated a following on his own, but it was the most obscure stuff that maybe they didn't even care about in Japan. But Jordan would dig in and that was just his nature. And not just in MMA. He was like that with everything.' Breen couldn't stand when others knew more about a topic — any topic — than he did, Savage said. He recalled once mentioning to Breen in an offhand, passing remark something about a television show about World War II fighter pilots that he used to watch as a kid. 'He went and watched all 50-something episodes of it before the next time I talked to him,' Savage said. 'He knew all this stuff about it and had so much to say about it and I was just like, 'Dude I don't even remember 90% of this.' He had to do that on every subject. It was hilarious.' De Santis worked with Breen on Sherdog Radio and often described him as his 'podcasting soulmate.' Their pre- and post-show conversations could be extensive but also exhausting, De Santis said, because Breen seemed unable to shut his brain off or contain his excitement about any topic. Advertisement 'I remember calling fights with him at Tachi Palace (Casino) and it was the night before and we were going over our notes,' De Santis said. 'It's late, like one o'clock in the morning, and he gets off on a tangent talking about [former UFC flyweight Ian McCall] and then the next thing I know he's telling me about Mike Ehrmantraut from 'Breaking Bad' and why he's the best-written character on TV and I'm like, 'Jordan, I can't get into this right now, I need to go to sleep.'' That approach fueled his Sherdog Radio shows, where Breen could go for hours with an almost frantic fervor and somehow never run out of things to talk about. In those early days of MMA's rapid growth phase, his passion helped fuel a fan base that couldn't get coverage of the sport from any mainstream sports outlets, which universally regarded MMA and the UFC as the extreme and slightly embarrassing fringe of the pro sports world. It was the most obscure stuff that maybe they didn't even care about in Japan. But Jordan would dig in and that was just his nature. And not just in MMA — he was like that with everything. T.J. De Santis Well before he became a colleague and then a friend of Breen's, MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn listened to his endless rants while working on a road crew in British Columbia. 'Even before I got into MMA journalism, one of my last jobs, I was doing flagging and construction for this bridge project in Vancouver,' Bohn said. 'And I had to basically sit in a truck for eight hours and get out once every hour to hold the stop sign for the no traffic that was coming at three in the morning, so a concrete truck could cross or something. I had so much time sitting in those, so I just listened to those shows to consume all the time. I thought he was so insightful. The same thing we all thought when we listened to him.' Advertisement Due to the almost entirely online nature of MMA media work at the time, many of those who worked with or around Breen rarely saw him in person. When he showed up to work events, his appearance was sometimes a shock to people. Sometimes his dark hair would be gelled into severe spikes, like an '80s rocker. Or he might show up in bold outfits that forced people to take notice of him. 'I remember going to a press conference with him where he was wearing canary yellow capris with a sports blazer,' De Santis said. 'And I was like, I don't know much about fashion, but I don't think that's right. But he made it work.' Savage met him for the first time when picking him up from the airport ahead of an event in Newark, New Jersey. Breen had worked for him for years by this point, but it was the first time they'd ever come face to face. 'I already kind of had an idea that he was a little out there, a little different, and when I picked him up at the airport I was immediately like, 'Holy s***, this guy is a maniac.' I knew it right away. I spent five days working with him, I want to say it was the [Georges] St-Pierre and [Dan] Hardy fight. I introduced him to a bunch of people and he was so charismatic. He would draw everyone to him, and a lot of people were taken aback by him but they also loved him. He dressed like a psycho. He'd go from the death metal look to then looking like he should have been on a beach in the Hamptons. It was nuts.' Advertisement In subsequent years, when the two of them shared living quarters during work trips, Savage got a glimpse of Breen's approach to partying in his off hours. 'Just seeing this guy from morning to night, he probably slept three hours a day, if that,' Savage said. 'He was constantly scrolling through the internet and working. There was never a dull moment. He was always doing something and then the second you were done with work, it was like straight out, let's go, we're going to go hit it hard. That was his nature. There was never an off switch.' Breen could go for hours with an almost frantic fervor and somehow never run out of things to talk about. In those early days of MMA's rapid growth phase, his passion helped fuel a fan base that couldn't get coverage of the sport from any mainstream sports outlets. By this point, Sherdog had been purchased by Crave Online, which operated a conglomeration of sports and lifestyle sites. During one of the many periods of sudden contraction in the online media industry, Savage was let go in August 2016 and later took a job with the PFL (formerly World Series of Fighting). Breen was kept on at Sherdog, but only for a short time. After he too was laid off, according to Savage, Breen's struggles with drugs and alcohol seemed to intensify. Advertisement 'He called me in about 2018, looking for a job, but there was nothing we really had for Jordan,' Savage said. 'I knew he was well into his addiction by that point, and it's hard to really fight to bring someone in when they're like that. It's something I think back on and regret now, like maybe there was a way I could have done more for him, but it was tough at that point.' In the week or so since Breen's death, this is one consistent sentiment among the fellow media members I've spoken to. We all knew Breen was struggling. We knew that the lack of steady employment had contributed to an unraveling in his personal life, and that the unraveling made him more unpredictable and less reliable as a prospective employee. Still, we all wonder if we couldn't have done something. 'I've felt a lot of regret,' De Santis said. 'Could I have helped him? Could I have done more? That's what's hard, because Jordan was my friend more than anything. He was my friend. And I feel like a little bit of a failure there, but at the same time, the kid was a country away. … He was his own biggest enemy. We did a lot of stuff toward the end where, half the time it would be Jordan Breen and the other half he either just wouldn't show up or he would show up in a compromised state. I guess that's the struggle with addiction, you know what I mean? Just can't get out of your own way sometimes.' Bohn probably did more to help him than any other media friend, from loaning him money to letting Breen sleep on his couch. But even that friendship became strained by some of Breen's personal struggles. He'd invite Bohn to hang out at a bar where Breen's girlfriend at the time worked, but between their frequent arguments and Breen's reliance on the alcohol she kept serving him, the relationship seemed increasingly toxic and actively harmful. Advertisement 'There'd be times where I could see he was hurting and I'd invite him to hang out and he'd show up at my house and I could tell he hadn't slept in days and was coming off the back of whatever he was doing,' Bohn said. 'He would come and we'd play some WWE 2K or UFC, and then he would pass out on the coach for 15 hours and I could tell that was one place he maybe had some peace and could actually get some rest. But what do you do beyond that? Do you invite the guy to live with you? Do you do this? There's a lot of things you could try to do, but it just seemed like he was kind of his own worst enemy in that regard.' Savage still wonders to what extent Breen's many gifts were also part of his undoing. The frenetic intensity of the way he thought and spoke and wrote seemed like an expression of the same things that made him especially susceptible to addition. 'He was absolutely brilliant,' Savage said. 'Do you get that without the recklessness that comes along with it? I don't know.' De Santis expressed his sorrow that so many of MMA's current fans never had a chance to get to know Breen, or even learn the extent to which he helped shape coverage of the sport. Advertisement Sherdog's 'Fight Finder' tool was an instrumental building block of MMA record-keeping, and Breen was a vital force behind its exhaustive maintenance and structure, De Santis said. The requirements of such an extensive database of fights and fighters were well-suited to Breen's obsessive mind. Those who can rely on accurate and easily accessible fighter records now probably have no idea the debt they owe to people like Breen, he said. 'He was meticulous about things that people would never even know,' De Santis said. 'It's so weird because today I don't even know what a hardcore fan is. A hardcore might say, 'I've been watching since 2011. I've been watching since 2020. I've been watching since 1997.' Jordan, that's the thing, I can't even pinpoint when his fandom started. I really can't. He just seemed to show up knowing everything about everything.' As longtime MMA journalist Luke Thomas put it on his Substack: 'To the best of my knowledge, the degree to which Breen was respected, admired and viewed as instrumental in the development of MMA fandom for an entire generation of fans is not something Breen himself was aware.' Those who knew him and learned from him, however, have no doubt. They lost not only a friend, but also a walking piece of this sport's memory. 'He wanted to help media members like myself before I had any traction,' Bohn said. 'I'm sure a lot of people, you see them kind of responding, saying the same thing. The way he cared not only about the sport itself, but helping boost all the people who wanted to be involved in it to make it all grow upwards — I think that's something that we should all kind of take in, and say it's a collective effort in that regard. Tearing each other down isn't as helpful toward that goal as building each other up. And I think he really did his best to do that.'
