Sportscaster Mike Breen Loses Home In Fire

 A weekend fire has destroyed the Long Island home of Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen, fire and police officials said Thursday,

A 911 call at 4 a.m. Sunday reported the fire, said Nassau County Assistant Chief Fire Marshal James Hickman. Firefighters from the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department arrived to find the home ablaze, Hickman said.

No one was home at the time and there were no reported injuries, though police said the home was fully engulfed, reports Newsday.

The blaze destroyed the home and everything in it, Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said Wednesday afternoon on his ESPN radio show. Kay described Breen as "one of my best friends in the world," who had asked him to speak on his behalf.

"Mike Breen, beloved broadcaster of the Knicks, lost his home on Sunday," Kay said. "It burned to the ground."

Breen and his wife were finishing up a vacation in California before the NBA season starts, Kay said.

Mike Breen

"They got a call right before they were getting on a plane that something had happened in the house. … Everything destroyed. No personal memories are left," Kay said.

Breen and his wife "essentially have the clothes on their back … he is in the middle of trying to get his life together," Kay said.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the fire marshal's office and Nassau Police Arson Bomb Squad detectives.

Breen, 61, has called Knicks games on radio, and later television, since 1992. Since 2006, Breen has been the lead NBA play-by-play broadcaster for ABC/ESPN, including calling every NBA Finals.

“Mike is a cherished member of the ESPN family and he knows he has our full support through this excruciating circumstance,” ESPN said in a statement.