And welcome to The Broadway Breakdown. My name is Nick and yes, the title of this site’s first post is a tribute to the great Jim Nantz- the first of many references to come. While I have big plans for what lies ahead, I thought tonight we would start out simple and let you get to know me and what’s in store here at The Breakdown. After all, first impressions are everything.

You already have my name, and we’ll stick to just that for now, after all I’m not in this for the attention. I live in New Jersey and sports have been one of my passions in life for pretty much all of my 27 years on this planet. Some are blessed with the gifts of athletic greatness, but I was never among that elite class, so I decided at a young age I wanted to channel my passion into covering the game and teams I love. Aside from dreaming of one day being Derek Jeter’s successor- I mimicked Joe Buck, Al Michaels, Hawk Harrelson, Doc Emerick, Sam Rosen and many more. I’d also peruse the sports section and listen to my favorite writers on Around the Horn and Sports Reporters and of course listen to 2 of my heroes Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on WFAN.

My admiration for the craft led me to studying communications and sports media in college which opened up many doors. In my time on campus, I got to host my own weekly talk show and podcast to hone my skills. I was the Play-by-Play voice of my university’s D3 teams and interned for New York hockey legend, Stan “The Maven” Fischler. I even served as credentialed media at NHL games and the 2018 NFL Draft in Dallas, Texas. These thrilling experiences along with many others were a taste of the life I wanted, and I was eager to take the next steps. After graduating, I was hired as a member of the production staff at MLB and NHL Network. While I wasn’t on the air, it was a start at one of the networks I grew up watching. Sharing meetings with Hall of Famers, being paid to watch sports and playing wiffle ball in Studio 42 was my dream come true, but the actual work and the lifestyle (in an ironic twist) turned out to not be for me.

So, in 2020 I hung up my headset, left the control room behind and joined the 9-5 world. I now work in logistics and it’s much more my speed. Over the last 3 years there were a number of ventures to try and scratch the creative itch. From podcasts to blogs much like this one, I didn’t stay the course for one reason or another. But this time I wanted to commit to doing something on my terms about the sports and the teams I love in the city I love.

In keeping with the name, I’ll mostly be covering the 9 tri-state teams, with some miscellaneous pieces tossed in. I’m not the combative and nasty type but we’ll discuss these teams in the style of the great Bob Uecker, or in my Twitter (sorry Elon) profile pictures case, Harry Doyle. Honesty is the best policy and some dry wit to keep things light won’t hurt. You’ll likely realize it pretty quickly, but we won’t be blasting out Hot Takes here, I prefer to be a bit more levelheaded and believe what I’m saying, unlike many in the modern media game. Like I said earlier, this isn’t for attention or 15 minutes of internet celebrity, I just want to channel my passion into a creative outlet and interact with my fellow fan.

Since you’ve already heard my personal story- here’s the fan side of things. I am a diehard New York Ranger season ticket holder and a very unhappy Yankee fan, pending the employment of various front office personnel. I look forward to cheering on the “J-E-T-S” this fall for the most anticipated season in team history (it’s a low bar). I’m also hopeful Jalen Brunson can continue to save the Knicks from themselves. While I may not root for the rest of the New York scene, I stay up to speed on their affairs and look forward to talking about them here as well.

We’ll celebrate the Big Apple’s great sporting past and look toward the future. Game recaps and analysis of the breaking news will be regular features and we’ll work in some trivia questions and the odd random highlight. We’ll take a look at the media that covers our teams (YES Network beware) and walk through the game day experience at our many arenas and stadiums.

All of this and much more makes covering sports in this area special and I look forward to sharing this experience with you. While I’m still debating what the first actual piece on this site will be, I can tell you we’ll have full football previews (both college and pro), and my thoughts on this disastrous baseball summer we have endured coming soon. So welcome aboard and I hope you stick around for the fun that lies ahead.

Follow me @YNWA9623 on Twitter.