1. Mike Breen just went into the Hall of Fame, but that does not exempt him from “criticism.”
When LeBron James drained his wild game-winning 3-pointer against the Warriors in Wednesday night’s play-in game, something was missing.
As the King did his thing, fans quickly noticed that Mike Breen did not use his trademark “BANG!” call for the long triple.
“James puts up the three, OH, IT’S GOOD. LEBRON JAMES FROM DOWNTOWN!” shouted Breen.
But there was no BANG. Zero BANG.
Shock. Disappointment. Anger. These were the emotions expressed by NBA fans who took to Twitter to vent about the BANGless call.
Being a hardcore journalist, I reached out to Breen to ask a simple question: “Where was the bang?”
“I didn’t expect it to go in, and my reaction was so spontaneous and that’s how it happened,” Breen confessed.
“I’ve tried to minimize the amount of times I use it,” Breen added. “It’s more effective if you select special moments. Not that that wasn’t a special moment, but there was still a minute left in the game.
“I wanted to save it if there was a game-winner. I would prefer to use it those situations. That’s my mindset. With a minute to go, there are opportunities for a number of other big shots.”
Breen also said he was “extremely flattered” that people missed the BANG!” and that he “loved” that people enjoy it.
What about the fan who said not using “BANG!” was disrespectful to LeBron?
“I will apologize to LeBron next time I see him,” Breen said.
2. Speaking of Breen, this is just a flat-out excellent tweet.
3. A brand-new episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast dropped Thursday morning.
First up is New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand. Topics covered with Marchand include Marv Albert’s upcoming retirement and who will replace him as TNT’s lead NBA play-by-play broadcaster, what happened with TNT and Chris Webber, highlights of the 2021 NFL schedule, whether Tom Brady vs. the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 4 will set a ratings record, what the merger between Time Warner and Discovery means for sports fans, ESPN’s six-part documentary on Derek Jeter and much more.
Following Marchand, CNN TV analyst and executive producer of The Story of Late Night docuseries Bill Carter joins the podcast to talk about the six-part show currently airing on CNN. Carter sheds light on the Jay Leno–David Letterman battle, the Johnny Carson–Joan Rivers feud, the changes in late night over the years and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
4. Here’s former major league pitcher C.C. Sabathia destroying Tony La Russa, while also taking shots at the Minnesota Twins, Tyler Duffey and Chris Russo.
5. Props to Ronald Acuña Jr. for not just giving us a bat flip Wednesday night, but a bat flip followed by acting out the “it’s over” throat signal.
7. I’ll take an epic manager meltdown over a no-hitter every day of the week.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: During my SI Media Podcast interview with Bill Carter this week, we talked about Cher’s famous appearance on David Letterman’s show, during which she called him an a——. Today also happens to be Cher’s 75th birthday, so this is the perfect time to rewatch this clip.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.
