BSM Writers
Does Playing The Game Prepare You For Sports Radio?
“I think it’s a lot easier being a pro athlete receiving constructive criticism than maybe somebody who’s never gone through that before.”

Published
2 years agoon

Put yourself in the shoes of a professional athlete. You have just retired from playing the game that you love, a craft you have been perfecting from the moment you stepped onto the field, and are wondering what comes next. These thoughts are quite common among retiring athletes. For many of them, stepping away from the sport as a player does not mean they step away from it completely.
After 15 years in the NBA, JJ Redick retired from playing but still remains involved in the landscape of the game as an analyst for ESPN. Similarly, former National Football League defensive end Chris Canty, following 11 years in the NFL, joined 98.7 FM ESPN Radio New York as an on-air host, and has seen his role evolve into working as a national host for ESPN Radio.
Many former athletes have or are in the process of establishing themselves as integral parts of the world of sports media, whether it be as an on-air host, analyst, contributor, executive, etc. Former athletes bring a perspective other commentators lack; that is, the ability to place themselves in the mindset of those on the field or court or ice, and discuss things from that angle.
Lou Merloni played Major League Baseball for nine seasons, the first five of which with his hometown Boston Red Sox. Merloni finished his career with a .271 batting average, and a .716 OPS as a second baseman in stints with the Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels. After retiring in 2007, Merloni worked to find his niche in sports media, starting at WEEI as a co-host on The Big Show. Additionally, Merloni began his foray on the television side as an analyst on NESN’s Boston Red Sox pregame and postgame shows during the 2008 season. Today, Merloni continues to work at WEEI with Fauria as a co-host of Merloni and Fauria on weekdays from 2-6 p.m.
Tom Waddle played six seasons in the NFL as a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears. In 60 games, Waddle had 183 receptions and 2,109 yards, and retired from the game prior to the start of the 1995 season. Waddle has had roles on radio and television since his retirement Waddle currently serves as a football analyst for WLS-TV, and a co-host of Waddle and Silvy with longtime radio personality Marc Silverman on ESPN 1000 Chicago on weekdays from 2-6 p.m.
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Derek Futterman: How would you describe your relationship with the media during your playing days?
Lou Merloni (Host, WEEI): I think I had a pretty friendly relationship with all of those guys. I was a utility guy in Boston, but I think I made friends with a lot of the media members.
Tom Waddle (Host, ESPN 1000 Chicago): It was very friendly. I played from ‘89 to ‘95 and thought the relationship between all the players and the media – for the most part – was pretty good. I would definitely say that I had a good relationship with a lot of the guys covering the team. I actually was also doing some media work towards the tail end of my career, so I kind of looked at some of those guys as a good resource to guide me to do what I was going to do.
Futterman: What similarities exist, if any, between playing and talking about the game?
Lou Merloni: [As an athlete,] the test… is the game itself. And the test for us is the actual show itself. You really can’t accomplish either one if you don’t put the work in beforehand. If you’re playing — if you’re not doing the right things — taking your ground balls; taking batting practice; going over scouting reports, you’re not going to be prepared for the game. I feel like it’s the same thing with radio and the show. All the real work is done the night before in watching a game and writing down notes and waking up the next day and reading and thinking about what you want to do and putting a show together. And the test is the actual show, and at that point you have everything in front of you and you just perform.
Tom Waddle: [It is] very competitive. There are very few jobs and an immense number of people that want those jobs. There is a certain level of competition. It’s a challenge for sure; you’re in an arena that you might not be as comfortable in. You have to perform; when the light goes on in television, or when the music stops and it’s your turn to talk on the radio, you’ve got to have something to say.
Futterman: What do you say to those who might say you are unable to understand a fan’s point of view due to not experiencing the highs and lows in the same way they have?
Merloni: For me, it’s being in Boston where I grew up. I was a fan of the teams — following them as a fan, thinking as a fan, before I was a member of the Red Sox. When we were in the ALCS, you’re thinking as a professional athlete in the moment, but there are times you sit back, and say ‘Man, we win this game, we go to the World Series.’ And thinking as a fan: ‘[If we win,] we are going to the World Series.’ Sometimes the job takes you in different areas where you have to be more critical than you would be if you were just a fan, but I was a fan first before I was a professional athlete.
Waddle: I think I got a head start on that because I was a blue collar player who was probably less athletic than most of the fans who were listening to us. I think I had a great relationship to begin with because there was an identity that existed from my playing days. I came into the industry, and my thought was: ‘I’m going to be honest. I’m going to give you the perspective I have. I’m going to be professional and tell you how I feel.’ I respect the players; the audience; and the fans, and in some ways, you have to walk a fine line by giving them what they deserve and respect, but not becoming personal. I came into the industry with the benefit of kind-of knowing how it stings when people are critical in a personal manner, and kind of felt that would be something that was going to be a focal point of my next career.
Futterman: How has being part of a team as an athlete differed from being part of a team as a broadcaster?
Merloni: It’s interesting. As much as baseball is a team sport, it’s probably the most individual sport of them all because my teammates, even though there’s things we can see and help with one another, whether it be scouting reports, when I’m in the box it’s up to me. When a guy hits me a ground ball, it’s up to me. There are ways where teammates definitely help you, but for the most part, it’s up to you to get the job done. I actually think in the media when you are doing a show with somebody, you rely on them more than you rely on a teammate to help you do your job in baseball. When it comes to baseball, I rely on my teammate for that show to click more.
Waddle: There’s some similarities, obviously. I don’t know that it is significantly different. Maybe smaller teams — on the air, it’s myself and Marc Silverman, and we have two producers. I live by the same concepts that everyone’s contributing and that no one is more important than anyone else. I was one of 11 in an offensive huddle; now I’m one of four doing a show from 2-6. I think there are more similarities than differences to be honest with you.
Futterman: Having been coached as a player, what similarities and differences have you noticed in handling feedback from media bosses?
Merloni: I think it’s a lot easier being a pro athlete receiving constructive criticism than maybe somebody who’s never gone through that before. As an athlete, if I’m not hitting well, I’m searching for answers and relying on resources and coaches to try to get me to where I want to be. And I don’t care what kind of criticism I hear from them; as long as it gets it to where I want to be — that’s all that matters. When you’re in the radio business, that doesn’t bother me — I just want to know what I need to do to be better. I think hearing that as a pro athlete; you are able to take those criticisms in this profession a little bit better than maybe some.
Waddle: You’ve got to be receptive to it. Just because I played in the NFL doesn’t mean I deserve any special type of treatment or recognition as a broadcaster. I want to be treated the same way by my bosses as I was by Mike Ditka – minus some yelling – as a player. I don’t have any problem with somebody coming in and saying, ‘Hey, guess what? I think you should have gone this direction with the interview.’ I am not above being coached, that’s for damn sure.
Futterman: How do you manage criticizing former teammates or friends on the air?
Merloni: That was the hardest part — the first few years of doing radio. When some of my former teammates and friends were still on the team. It made it a lot easier when some of those guys left, and I was able to look at it critically. I’ve always kind-of felt like the athlete will always be able to look himself in the mirror. Initially, they might not like what they hear, but at the same point, if it’s wrong that’s one thing. But if you are talking about ex-teammates or friends, you know them well, and you kind of know the reasons why things are going south. It’s not that they want to hear those things, but deep down, they might know that that’s the reason. That was probably the toughest thing to do for those first few years.
Waddle: It’s part of your job. I think you can be critical without being an asshole. As long as you don’t cross the line, or start making comments that are personally offensive, I don’t think that you’re crossing the line. I think the job is to give the opinions and analysis they brought you in to give; you have to have strong thoughts. I don’t have any inclination to want to take cheap shots at anybody; I don’t think it’s necessary, and I don’t think you’re doing anyone any favors.
Futterman: Who was the first player, coach or executive who you ticked off with something you said?
Merloni: Probably the first one was Terry Francona. I remember it was NESN right after a game, and there was a situation. I think I said after a game that I felt like [a player] should have bunted [in a situation]. That was the first time I had a conversation with a manager [as a member of the] media. It was one of those — you don’t have all the information; you don’t this, you don’t that. And I was like, ’No, I don’t. Unless you want to call and discuss it. All I can base it off of is what I see and what I know.’ We know in the media that we don’t know. There’s a lot of things that happen in the dugout and clubhouse that we don’t know about, but when we’re asked to react about it immediately, we can only base it off of our experiences and opinions. I always respected the fact that Terry wanted to talk to me about it, and we sort of moved on.
Waddle: There’s no question about that. I was working with David Kaplan on WGN Radio, and we were in a broadcast trailer outside of Wrigley Field. I think it was a weekend game, and we were doing postgame coverage of the Cubs, and our show branched out into all sports arenas. We had Jerry Krause on, and we were previewing a draft prospect or something of that nature and I asked a question about a particular player in college, and the college season was over at the time, so it wasn’t an inappropriate question. Jerry bit my head off, and became very unprofessional with me. I remember taking my headset off, and looking at David Kaplan, and going ‘Well, you can take this the rest of the way — I’m done.’ That just didn’t sit well with me, and maybe I was being a dumbass or a hothead about it, but even someone as accomplished as Jerry Krause, I just thought it was an unnecessary approach he took to my question. I think that was the first time I was exposed to somebody giving me hell about something, and I didn’t handle it with the maturity I would handle it with 25 years later.
Futterman: If there is one piece of advice you can share with athletes who might be considering moving into this business, what would it be?
Lou Merloni: Don’t hold back. Be fair, but give a strong opinion, and remember that this is your job. Your job is to be truthful and analyze what you see. I think some guys that come in the media that aren’t all in the media kind of soft pedal a little bit. Their friendships are more important than their next career, and I’m not saying you should just destroy your friendships, but your friends should realize that you’ve moved on and this is now your job if they are really your friends.
Tom Waddle: Be prepared. No different than when you were playing against the Lions, or you lined up against the Packers. If you weren’t prepared, you’d be exposed quickly, and your job security would be challenged and you wouldn’t last long. The same goes for the broadcast industry. There are guys who go out and work just as hard covering teams or the different things who are talking about as former players because of the work ethic that got them to where they got to. I would always tell anyone — be willing to do the hard work; don’t think you are going to get by just because of your accomplishments on the field. You are in a different arena, and will be exposed quickly. I think the same lessons you learned on the playing field will serve you well and the television and radio booth. What you did as an NFL player — there’s a shelf-life to that if you don’t hone your craft and work at it.”
Futterman: What remaining goals do you hope to accomplish in the media industry?
Merloni: I think it’s funny because when you’re done with baseball — whether you are a Hall of Famer or not — I think a lot of athletes would tell you that an important thing is how a lot of your former teammates talk about you. You can be a Hall of Famer [with] nobody [liking] you. It’s how they talk about you afterwards. When the career is over, or whatever my goal is, people can look back and say ‘He said what’s on his mind. It wasn’t just cheering for the home team all the time.’ I hope people look back and say I gave an honest opinion. My goal isn’t any more than that — to do my job and to do it the best I can.
Waddle: I’ve been so blessed at this point. I never would have thought that I would work at the NFL Network or ESPN in Bristol; that I would do national work, or have my own radio show with anybody. I feel so blessed that I’ve been given so many of the opportunities I’ve been given. I don’t have these lofty goals — I feel like I’ve been able to accomplish and experience a lot. I just want to continue to be better every day, and continue to work hard at it and hopefully entertain people. Maybe that sounds like I don’t have a lot of goals — I do — I’ll be 55 in February. I want to do this for the foreseeable future, and get better at it every day.

Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
BSM Writers
Julian Edelman Has Been FOX’s NFL Breakout Star
Edelman has an easy-going and free-wheeling nature about him. He’s a joy to watch, and he seldom wastes airtime with cliches and empty comments.

Published
4 hours agoon
December 1, 2023
He was a key member of the NFL’s last true dynasty, a children’s book author, a regular talking head on NFL Network’s America’s Game anthology, an actor in the film 80 for Brady, and a multimedia favorite. And oh yeah, he is third all-time in the NFL for postseason receptions and was the MVP of Super Bowl LIII. He is Julian Edelman.
These days he answers to a new calling – a rising star on FOX’s excellent NFL commentator roster. Edelman, who retired in 2020 after 12 seasons as a wide receiver with the New England Patriots, has logged impressive recent stints on FS1’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
Edelman has been an unexpected jewel in FOX’s football crown, providing behind-the-scenes, players-only insight in a casual and humorous style. On a recent edition of The Herd, Edelman’s talent was on full display.
In a discussion about Patriots’ signal caller Mac Jones, Cowherd implied that it would have been easier for the Alabama QB if he had gone to a less intense environment with an offensive-minded head coach.
Edelman countered by referencing Josh Dobbs, who played great in his first start for the Vikings after being with the team for just a couple of days. Edelman stated, “If you’re a guy, you’re a guy,” meaning that good players adapt to any situation. He added, “This is the National Football League. If you don’t win, the quarterback and the head coach get the blame. This is a production business.”
One of the refreshing aspects of Edelman’s TV game is his candor. He was deeply rooted in the Patriot Way and benefitted from all it offered him, but he pulls no punches in talking about his former team.
He does not buy into the excuse that Mac Jones has had three different offensive coordinators in his three NFL seasons. Edelman stated that ex-Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels’ and current OC Bill O’Brien’s offensive schemes are essentially identical.
Edelman has an easy-going and free-wheeling nature about him. He’s a joy to watch, and he seldom wastes airtime with cliches and empty comments. He uses his strong connections to Tom Brady and other members of the NFL’s glitterati to his advantage, but he is not violating these friendships with kiss-and-tell BS.
In his young broadcasting career, Edelman has also embraced a rare quality among media personalities, namely, the courage to admit when he is wrong. He recently stated that he thought Texans’ quarterback CJ Stroud was going to be just another failed Ohio State quarterback joining the likes of Cardale Jones, Terrell Pryor, Troy Smith, and the late Dwayne Haskins.
Julian Edelman acknowledged his error and lauded Stroud for his performance and the Houston offensive staff for keeping it simple and allowing Stroud to flourish. He then made an accurate comparison between Stroud and Dak Prescott who had a similarly amazing rookie season in 2016. He also revealed that he and Tom Brady would sit and watch Prescott play during that season and marveled at his performance.
Such neat revelations have become commonplace for Edelman who also told Cowherd that Bill Belichick had different rules for different players. This goes against the accepted theory that Belichick coached all his players the same.
When asked about good and bad locker rooms, Edelman revealed that the 2009 Patriots had some “a-holes” on the team, “guys who had a lot of money and acted like they had a lot of money.”
He also regaled Cowherd with a funny story about former teammate and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi. During his rookie season, Edelman made repeated contact with Bruschi during a team drill. After the play, Bruschi got in Edelman’s face and said, “If you ever touch me again, I’ll cut your arm off, Rook!”
In a subsequent discussion, Edelman was asked about how NFL players view Thursday night games. He said that the goal for players is to just get through the game and try to get the win. He called having a Thursday night game a “baby bye week” because of the extra prep time gained for the next week. Baby bye week – new lingo from a new age analyst.
Speaking of language, Julian Edelman may have created another new football term. He called the NFL games after Thanksgiving “cream season,” when the cream rises to the top and when football season truly starts. Edelman told Cowherd that this is when coaches raise the intensity in the building.
A week later, Edelman was a panelist on FOX’s NFL Kickoff. It was clear that the show’s producers and host Charissa Thompson were tuned into Edelman’s Herd appearance as they made his cream season line a theme of discussion.
Edelman picked the Ravens and Niners as his current cream teams and entertained Thompson and his fellow panelists with a few dairy-related puns. He was funny, saying that both these teams could end up becoming butter teams – even better than cream.
Edelman is unafraid to ruffle feathers, even if those feathers reside in Foxboro, MA. In discussing last week’s Patriots-Giants game, he boldly tweeted and stated on NFL Kickoff that the Patriots would be better off losing that game in order to get a better 2024 draft position.
If Julian Edelman has any flaws, it is that at times his analysis RPMs run into the red. In his discussion of last week’s crucial Jaguars-Texans game, he was visibly pumped up and spoke far too quickly even stumbling on some commentary. He recovered well and simply needs to slow down, trust his knowledge, and calculate his pace.
Edelman has made such an immediate impact that NFL Kickoff has even given him his own segment. It is called “The Nest” and his based on his children’s book Flying High, the story of Jules, a football-playing squirrel who is small in stature but big on heart and enthusiasm. Sound familiar?
Julian Edelman was joined in the nest by panelists Charles Woodson and Peter Schrager and provided a pretty cool analysis of current NFL wide receivers. He based his opinions on four attributes: sociability, aggressiveness, activity level, and boldness. Along the way, Edelman provide some unique commentary on the likes of Davante Adams, Travis Kelce, A.J. Brown and Stefon Diggs.
There is a rhythm to Edelman’s conversation. He is comfortable with his career, comfortable with himself, and comfortable on air. As a player, Julian Edelman was an unexpected star, a guy who parlayed personality, hard work, and hustle into a fantastic career. He is doing the same in media dishing out knowledge his way – brash, all-out, and with total abandon.

John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
BSM Writers
Mike Breen is Ready For Whatever The NBA Season Brings
“I’ve had an amazing set of teammates my entire life.”

Published
4 hours agoon
December 1, 2023
Every time a new basketball season is on the precipice, there is a certain kind of enigma that permeates the landscape. Although he has been on basketball broadcasts for nearly three decades, Mike Breen still feels added nerves before donning the headset to call the NBA Finals. Last season, ESPN’s lead play-by-play voice called the 100th NBA Finals game of his broadcast career. In doing so, Breen became just the third basketball announcer on radio or television to attain such a feat.
When he first joined the broadcasts on ABC in 2006, Breen was stepping into the play-by-play role previously held by Al Michaels, working alongside color commentator Hubie Brown. He never could have imagined that the conclusion of the 2023-24 season would mark his 19th time calling the best-of-seven championship series and attributes his success to the people around him.
“There’s not a stage anywhere in the world big enough to hold that many people because that’s how many people have really been there for me and supported me and guided me and at times chastised me because you need people to always tell you the truth,” Breen said. “I’ve had an amazing set of teammates my entire life.”
For the last 18 NBA Finals broadcasts, Breen has worked alongside color commentator Jeff Van Gundy, a former head coach of the New York Knicks. Mark Jackson served as a color commentator as well for 15 of these series, taking a three-year detour to work as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. The broadcast trio was widely regarded as one of the best in basketball and frequently lauded for the strong chemistry they possessed on the air. Over the offseason though, Van Gundy and Jackson were laid off by ESPN as a part of cost-cutting measures by The Walt Disney Company. The decision disappointed Breen because of the bond he and his colleagues fostered and shared.
“We spent so much time together and we felt we had something special, and we were hoping that it was going to last longer, but nothing in this business lasts forever and that’s part of the business, and you have to figure that out and you move on,” Breen said. “Now the way I look at it is I’m just so grateful and honored that I had all that time sitting next to those two for so many big games over the years, but it’s hard when it ends.”
Breen is currently working with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast team. Broadcasting the NBA Finals, let alone sporting events as a whole, was never in his mind though; that is, until he was told by family friend and former New York Tech radio staffer Tony Minecola to consider going into the industry as a sportscaster.
Recognizing that he would not succeed as a professional athlete because of a lack of skill or as a doctor because of a lack of passion, Breen chose to major in broadcast journalism at Fordham University, immediately joining the campus radio station. Over his four years matriculating at the institution, he prioritized versatility and contributed to sports, news, talk and music programming.
“When you leave college and you have tape résumés and experience of being on the air on a live 50,000-watt station, it really gives you a great perspective of what it’s like to be in the business,” Breen said. “It’s kind of a great way to figure out, ‘Okay, is this something you like? Is this something you have a chance to be good at?’”
Ed Ingles, the former sports director of WCBS 880, helped instantiate that mindset for Breen when he interned with him during his days in college. Aside from his delivery, Breen took notice of how he interacted with his colleagues and other people in the industry, always demonstrating professionalism and kindness. Ingles advised Breen to get out of his comfort zone, which proved to be invaluable when Breen started his first job out of school in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. at WEOK-AM/WPDH-FM.
In his first year with the outlet, he would frequently attend school board meetings and county legislative sessions in order to collect 45 seconds of sound for the morning anchor to use on their program. Whereas at a sporting event, the game is oftentimes the primary story, Breen had to review the agenda and listen to the meeting to have an understanding of what is essential to the story.
“If you can cover a school board meeting that you know nothing about and do a good job on it, then you can certainly cover an NBA basketball game and figure out the storylines and the narratives and all those types of things,” Breen said. “It really made me a better sportscaster. I wasn’t just a sportscaster; I was a broadcaster.”
Breen eventually began calling Dutchess County High School basketball games and serving as an analyst on Marist College basketball broadcasts, all while working as the morning news anchor for the radio outlet. In balancing various different roles at once, Breen found himself on the air for six days a week for an entire year. The strenuous workload allowed him to enhance his skillset and ingenuity and have the confidence that he could make a career in the profession.
Through a connection he had with a classmate at Fordham University, Breen landed a part-time producing job on Jack Spector’s sports talk program, SportsNight, on WNBC. The commitment was initially for one day per week, but as Breen’s workload at the outlet increased, he was able to leave Poughkeepsie and focus on working in New York City. There was a dearth of sports talk programming at the time; that is until the summer of 1987 when WFAN launched on 1050 AM and introduced a new format to the medium.
“We were all sitting around the radio at WNBC thinking, ‘Okay, here comes our competition on the air,’” Breen remembered. “We were laughing, saying, ‘Oh, this is never going to make it. There’s no way this is going to make it,’ and it turns out that it was just the start of something that would completely change the radio industry.”
Ironically enough, WFAN moved to WNBC’s 660 AM frequency when General Electric sold several of its stations to Emmis Communications as part of a multi-station deal. Even though the station had transitioned to a new format, Don Imus kept his morning show on the airwaves, which Breen had been a part of starting a year earlier. His segments were filled with sound effects and jokes, giving him exposure within the marketplace and allowing him to penetrate beyond his comfort zone of traditional sports broadcasting and reporting.
“It wasn’t just your normal sports update,” Breen said. “It was something where you had to use your personality; you had to use your sense of humor [and] you had to use your writing skills, and it showed a little versatility and that was important.”
MSG Networks hired Breen in 1992 as the New York Knicks radio play-by-play announcer, and he assimilated into the role while keeping his spot on Imus in the Morning. In addition to adjusting to the pace of the NBA, he also refined his approach to calling games on the radio as opposed to television. Throughout this process, Breen thought about Marist play-by-play announcer Dean Darling and how he had called the games when they worked together.
“There are very few people – and there certainly are exceptions – but there are very few people who are instantly really good on the air,” Breen said. “It takes a while to hone your skills to figure out how you want to broadcast things if you have a certain style, and that’s the No. 1 thing is to get repetitions.”
When Marv Albert pleaded guilty to assault and battery in 1997, Breen was suddenly promoted to fill the role as the television play-by-play announcer for the team. Having listened to Albert call games for many years growing up, Breen knew the importance of appealing to the local audience in the New York metropolitan area. Many of the local play-by-play announcers in the locale grew up around the city, and he affirms that the knowledge and passion is discernible to consumers. Breen met New York Yankees television play-by-play announcer and ESPN New York radio host Michael Kay, who was a fellow student at Fordham University at the time, and discussed sports and broadcasting with him.
“He would tell me, ‘Oh, I’d love to be the Yankees announcer,’ and I’d say, ‘I’d love to be the Knicks announcer,’ and we would laugh at each other [like] two fools,” Breen said. “But I think because we were both New Yorkers and we both understood the New York fan because we were and still are New York fans, I think perhaps it gave us an edge because we knew what it’s like to live in New York and root for the teams in New York, and I think, or at least I hope, the fans can feel that.”
Albert returned to the Knicks telecast in 2000, prompting Breen to move back to radio broadcasts and work with John Andariese. At the same time, he began doing work for NBC Sports, including calling NBA games with Bill Walton and announcing ski jumping at the Olympic Games. When Albert was removed from the television broadcasts for being too critical of the team, Breen returned to the position and has held the role ever since.
“I tend to be old-school in that my job is to accurately describe what’s going on and also set up my partners and give them space and the lead-ins to make them excel,” Breen said. “The personality stuff, I think that comes – I hate to use the cliché – but it comes organically in terms of you’re doing the game. If something calls for you to react that involves more personality than actually broadcasting, then you do it and you have to find that balance.”
Every time Breen takes the air, he hopes that the consumers are able to see that he is prepared, enamored with the sport and enjoys working alongside his colleagues. From his days on the Knicks’ radio broadcasts, Breen has been paired with Walt “Clyde” Frazier for 25 seasons and understands how venerated the two-time NBA champion is within the city.
As the only member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a broadcaster, Frazier strikes a chord with basketball fans and brings his credibility and proficiency to the airwaves every season. In addition, he always arrives in his signature flamboyant outfits and intersperses astute rhymes to the cadence on the hardwood.
“He’s managed to stay true to who he is, yet develop this unique on-air style that very few people have had, but the bottom line is yeah, there’s style, but there’s so much substance to what he says,” Breen explained,” and I think Knick fans love him because he tells it like it is, but at the same time, you can feel his love for the franchise.”
Since joining the NBA on ESPN broadcast team in 2003, Breen has balanced his local responsibilities with calling games at the national level. Throughout the season, he logs a considerable number of traveling miles and always puts his family first when he is not working. In fact, the reason he stopped calling other sports was not only to recharge over the summer, but also to spend time with his children.
By being absorbed in the NBA during the year, the preparation for the different types of broadcasts often overlaps. One thing he cannot prepare for, however, is the occurrence of a buzzer-beater or game-saving block.
“For me, I’ve always felt at a big moment, less is more for a broadcaster because your voice is not made [for] those high-intensity calls to go for 20 seconds,” Breen said. “Your voice can crack; who knows what else could happen, but when you make a good, strong concise call at a big moment and then let the crowd take over, I think that’s always been, for me, the best way to go.”
Although he derived his signature three-point call of “Bang!” while sitting in the stands at Fordham Rams games as a student, he did not think it worked on the air. But by the time he was calling a weekly high school basketball game for SportsChannel America, he noticed that the maelstrom of amplified sound within the gyms drowned out his voice during consequential moments. As a result, he resorted back to the monosyllabic exclamation and has stuck with it ever since.
“I’ve just been very careful about not overusing it,” Breen said. “I try to save it for big moments because if I was yelling, ‘Bang!,’ on every three-pointer, it would lose its luster, I believe.”
Breen will call NBA games from a new venue next week in Las Vegas, Nevada – T-Mobile Arena – when the league’s inaugural In-Season Tournament reaches its conclusion and a champion is crowned. The Association introduced the single-elimination endeavor this year in an effort to further incentivize regular-season play and establish a new tradition.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that these In-Season Tournament games bring out a little extra in the players [and] in the fans, and we’re not even at the knockout round yet and this is only the first year,” Breen said. “….To have this kind of excitement in November and then early December, it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Despite the NBA still being in its first half of the season, Breen feels encouraged by the broadcasts he has participated in thus far with Doris Burke and Doc Rivers. After all, he had worked with Burke on the first NBA game she ever broadcast and could tell how talented she was. Moreover, he has been friends with Rivers for over 30 years and speculated that he would be a broadcaster when he was finished playing and coaching.
The network’s lead broadcasting team will embark on a new challenge ahead of their first NBA Playoffs working together next Saturday, Dec. 9 when they broadcast the championship game of the NBA In-Season Tournament on ABC at 8:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. PST.
“It takes a while to get the on-air chemistry, and the three-person booth is not easy for the analyst because they have to figure out a way to still get all their points across with less time, and same thing for me and that’s part of it,” Breen said. “Everybody has to just find their niche, and so far they’ve been great. They’re not only great friends; they’re really talented broadcasters, and I’m really excited about the potential.”
Breen recently signed a four-year contract extension with ESPN that will keep him on the airwaves past the expiration of the network’s current media rights deal with the National Basketball Association. The rationale behind staying with the network had to do with the people at the company, avouching that it is a great place to work and how he is thrilled he will be allowed to stay longer.
“Clearly I’m hoping that they work out a deal and I’m fairly confident they will,” Breen said. “ESPN loves the NBA; the relationship between the league and ESPN has always been wonderful. So I’m rooting hard for them to say ‘Yes’ and sign on the dotted line.”
In 2021, Breen was honored as the recipient of the Curt Gowdy Media Electronic Media Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his excellence as a broadcaster, one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a basketball announcer. Even with various accolades to his name though, Breen’s mission each year is to get better with every broadcast. Complacency and apathy are out of bounds as he lives out a lifelong dream and strives for an outstanding performance no matter the situation.
“You have days where you’re not feeling well; you’ve had a tough travel day; you’ve got issues going on in your life, but then you sit down at half court and they throw the ball up the opening tip,” Breen illustrated. “There’s an adrenaline there that has never gone away.”

Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Sports Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @derekfutterman.
BSM Writers
How Radio Sellers Can Beat the ‘What’s In It For Me’ Question
We often get caught up in showcasing the bells and whistles of our stations—the audience reach, the sophisticated technology, and the awards we’ve earned — that we don’t answer essential questions.

Published
4 hours agoon
December 1, 2023By
Jeff Caves
It’s easy to fall into the trap of talking about technical features and company achievements with radio advertising prospects without considering the essential question: “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM) from the client’s perspective.
We often get caught up in showcasing the bells and whistles of our stations—the audience reach, the sophisticated technology, and the awards we’ve earned.
However, the heartbeat of successful sales isn’t just about these features, it’s about translating them into tangible benefits that directly address the needs and challenges of our potential clients. Here are some common pitfalls in our sales approaches and strategies to get prospects to listen to “WIFM”.
Focusing Solely on Product Features
We all sometimes get caught up in detailing our radio stations’ technical specs and features without translating those features into tangible benefits for the prospect. We love to point out that our all-sports station is on AM and simulcast on digital FM.
We need to connect them directly to the prospect’s needs or problems, which might result in a disconnect.
Instead, we could say that we reach two audiences for the price of one. 45-65-year-olds are on AM, and 25-44-year-olds are on FM. More bang for your buck!
Talking About Company Achievements
While our station won the “Best radio station in XYZ town” award from the local media, which might be impressive, prospects are often more concerned about how these accolades directly benefit them.
We need to bridge the gap between our survey win and how our listeners are proud of listening to the station and will trust the recommendations we give our listeners when it comes to buying from our prospect.
Generic Pitches
Not tailoring the pitch to suit the prospect’s specific needs or pain points is a huge miss. When we use generic, one-size-fits-all approaches, we miss the opportunity to highlight how their product or service addresses the prospect’s unique challenges or goals.
Don’t tell a car dealer he needs to sell more new cars when he wants more used sales and service business.
Failure to Listen Actively
Sometimes, we focus too much on delivering our deck without actively listening to the prospect’s concerns or desires.
Pay attention to the prospect’s feedback or cues, and maybe even ask them if anything has changed before you start the presentation.
Forget About “Across the Street”
Constantly highlighting how your station is superior to competitors without explaining how it benefits the prospect is counterproductive.
For example, if your station does a limited number of endorsements, tell the prospect they will stand out amongst the other advertisers better cause they are part of a select few live endorsements.
Prospects want to know why your idea is right for them, not just that it’s better than your competition.
What’s the ROI?
A sales pitch that doesn’t explicitly outline the return on investment (ROI) or demonstrate the value the prospect stands to gain falls short.
Running spots can outrun ‘turtle-like’ positive word of mouth or Google reviews, like the Roadrunner. Tell them that.
Too Much TSL or CPM talk
Using industry jargon without explaining its relevance to the prospect’s situation can create confusion or disinterest. Don’t pitch TSL. Tell them they can run fewer spots that have more impact. Your efficient CPM demonstrates that radio can compete with any ad medium and won’t waste money.
Communicate in a language that resonates with the prospect, making the benefits clear and understandable.
No Hit and Run
Our engagement doesn’t end with the initial pitch. Don’t forget to follow up and give them ongoing support and assistance to address any concerns or questions post-sale. By showing them you are in it for them, they will feel valued.
In the sports radio ad sales game, it’s not just about announcing your stats and shoutouts; it’s about hitting a home run with benefits that score with our clients. If our pitch doesn’t answer “What’s in it for me?” (WIFM), we might end up with the L.
So, dive into our clients’ playbook, check their needs, and deliver a play that makes them cheer for you and your station. Tackle the “WIFM” challenge head-on, and don’t worry about targeting so much.

Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio, digital, hyper-local magazine, and sports sponsorship sales in DFW. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop SPORTS RADIO The Ticket in Boise, Idaho, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at [email protected] or find him on Twitter @jeffcaves.