Mike Breen insists calling Knicks-Cavaliers without bias is not hard

Mike Breen might be a New York Knicks fan at heart, but that won’t stop him from calling their playoff games without bias for ESPN.

Breen joined The Michael Kay Show this week, where he complimented his former Fordham University roommate for his call of New York Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor hitting a game-tying three-run homer in the ninth inning against the Yankees Sunday afternoon. And Breen was right, Kay’s home run call for Taylor and the Mets was great despite being the opposing announcer.

Ask and you shall receive…

Michael Kay’s call of Tyrone Taylor’s two-out, game-tying home run in the 9th. https://t.co/m5eULVMopl pic.twitter.com/l2pCJ47BaZ

— Rich MacLeod (@richmacleod) May 17, 2026

The compliment prompted Kay to ask Breen whether it’s difficult for him, as the voice of the Knicks and a lifelong Knicks fan, to be calling their Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers as an unbiased announcer for ESPN.

“It really isn’t, and I’m not just saying that,” Breen insisted. “I’ve done quite a few of them over the years, and as you know, when you’re concentrating on the game, and you’ve got so many things to do during the course of a game, interaction with your analysts, interaction with your producer and director, the statistician, watching the game, making the calls. You don’t really have time; you just kind of react to what’s happening. It’s something I’ve done over a long period of time.”

Breen noted that you have to go into the broadcast knowing you can’t please everyone. During the NBA Finals, Breen said he always hears from both fan bases accusing him of rooting for the other team. Surely, Cavaliers fans will similarly accuse Breen of sounding like he’s rooting for the Knicks during the Eastern Conference Finals on ESPN, even if they have no hard evidence to offer.

And Breen will get criticism from Knicks fans, too, which is proof that he’s calling the game objectively. During the Eastern Conference Semifinals two years ago, Breen had Indiana Pacers fans accusing him of rooting for the Knicks on the broadcast. But he similarly had Knicks fans accusing him of trying to overcompensate by getting excited about the Pacers. In reality, Breen’s energy is just matching the flow of the game.

“Whether it’s the Knicks or whether it’s two teams that I don’t broadcast locally, the fans think you’re for the other team,” Breen told Kay. “And I kind of think in some ways, that’s very cool because it shows how much they care, and it’s one of my favorite things about this time of year, the passion of the fans. Now, some fans get a little too passionate, certainly, but they care so much that they lose their objectivity. And that’s okay, because that’s the way they should be rooting for your team.”

Breen gets it because there are times when he is watching a Mets or New York Giants game as a fan, without objectivity, and it might prompt him to unfairly judge the broadcast’s energy. But even though Breen is a Knicks fan, he focuses on doing his job when he’s calling a nationally televised game, which means meeting the moment for both teams.