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PODCAST

Fast Break with Bret Bakita

96.1FM (WMAX-FM)

Bret Bakita interviews coaches, players and even sports broadcasters local and nationally recognized.

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All Episodes

31:08

Fast Break - Episode 58 - NEW GRCC Men's Basketball...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/07/02

A couple of weeks ago, Joe Fox, who played at Greenville High School, was announced as the next head men's basketball coach at Grand Rapids Community College! It is his first head coaching job after being a longtime college assistant with 3 different schools, but his journey and family background of basketball coaching are what make his story very interesting and unique!! Basketball junkies....you will truly enjoy this week's episode and what Joe has to say about his travels and mentors along the

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27:05

Fast Break - Episode 57 The Jam at the Van is Coming...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/06/18

We here at IHeartmedia have teamed up with Van Andel Arena to bring back the Jam at the Van event that hasn't taken place since 2010, and we are making it even bigger and better with 8 teams, 4 games and featuring some of the top players from all over the state of Michigan!!! GR Catholic Central head coach - TJ Meerman had the idea of trying to revitalize this event after his Cougars' team played their Division 2 - Semifinal game against Ferndale at Van Andel Arena, and his kids really loved the

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18:32

Fast Break - Episode 56 - Cathy Cooper - Executive...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/06/11

It got cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is back in West Michigan again for 2021....the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give is coming to town this week to beautiful and newly renovated Blythefield Country Club and featuring some of the best female golfers in the world!!! Now in its seventh year as a tournament stop, we thought it only fitting to sit down with Executive Director - Cathy Cooper of Meijer to talk about the great history of this event and the impact that it has

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27:33

Fast Break - Episode 55 - Davenport University...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/06/04

From an assistant coach under Wes Cummings when Davenport University started their baseball program, to now a season during the COVID-19 pandemic that saw the Panthers win their first-ever GLIAC regular season and tournament championships and advance to the NCAA Div. II Midwest Regional, D-U head coach - Kevin Tidey has seen a lot of changes to his very successful program in his now decade as the Panthers baseball coach! From the building of the state of the art Farmers Athletic Insurance Complex

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30:29

Fast Break - Episode 54 - The Story of the Creation...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/05/28

American Dunes Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course project that benefits Folds of Honor and used to be formerly the Grand Haven Golf Club, had its grand opening earlier this month to rave reviews in Grand Haven, Michigan!The vision and mission of this unique golf course started over 3 years ago with a conversation between Lt Col Dan Rooney, the CEO and founder of Folds of Honor and a PGA Professional, and legendary golfer and golf course designer, Jack Nicklaus. What has transpired is

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12:38

Fast Break - Episode 53 - Ted Rasberry Youth...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/05/21

This spring I am teaming up with the downtown YMCA and the Whitecaps Community Foundation to revitalize the Give-A-Glove campaign and give the gift of baseball to over 500 kids in the inner city of Grand Rapids! Ted Rasberry was a former Negro League player and owner back in the mid-1900s who played an intrical part in the history of professional baseball in Grand Rapids! Hear how you can help and how the Ted Rasberry Youth League has thrived and helped so many kids in our community through the

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34:33

Fast Break - Episode 52 - Bill Hobson - Host of...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/05/14

For the last 2 decades in the state of Michigan, there has been one man who has risen to the top of the leaderboard when it comes to covering the approximately $4 Billion industry that is the game of golf in Michigan! His name is Bill Hobson, and 22 years ago his idea came to life on the radio with the now defunct Buick Open as his title sponsor for a statewide golf show! This summer he will be broadcasting LIVE from the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, the Meijer LPGA Classic in our own

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28:42

Fast Break - Episode 51 - Steve Jbara - Co-Owner &...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/05/07

Just over 7 years ago, the Grand Rapids Drive franchise of the then NBA D-League, now G-League, became a reality in West Michigan thanks to the work hard and never give up attitude of 2 young professionals who were former college roomates! Steve Jbara and Wes Weir convinced NBA executives and the Detroit Pistons organization to give them a shot, and then they were able to purchase the Springfield Armor franchise and make their dream come to life at the DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids! Now after 6

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31:12

Fast Break - Episode 50 - Casey Glass - Hudsonville...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/04/30

A former Hudsonville High School standout athlete in his own right, Casey Glass earlier this month followed in his father's coaching footsteps and led the Eagles girls varsity basketball program to its first state championship in school history!!! But their state title quest really started a year ago, when Hudsonville's season abruptly ended the day that they were supposed to play for a regional championship! Hear their collective story in this week's episode of the "Fast Break" podcast

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29:24

Fast Break - Episode 49 - TJ Meerman - Head Boys...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/04/23

From a coach's son to a state championship coach himself, listen to the story of TJ Meerman and the Meerman family, and growing up with high school sports in the small community of Coopersville, to playing Div. I college basketball at Central Michigan University, and now just a couple of weeks ago, leading the Grand Rapids Catholic Central boys basketball team to a perfect (20-0) season and the Division 2 state championship! The first state title in boys basketball in school history for the

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34:24

Fast Break - Episode 48 - Rich MacKeigan - General...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/04/02

Van Andel Arena has now existed as a pillar of the new downtown Grand Rapids for 25 years, and the man in charge of it and also booking the great entertainment and sporting events to take place in it, is Rich MacKeigan - General Manager of Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place for ASM Global. Over its history, Van Andel Arena has played host to everything from Garth Brooks and Elton John concerts to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. title fights and NHL &NBA games! The Van Andel Arena itself, along with its

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33:04

Fast Break Podcast Series - Episode 47 - Mike Knuble...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/03/26

From a state championship and back to back 50+ goal seasons in high school at East Kentwood for the Falcons hockey team to playing for Team USA and over 1,000 games in his NHL career and everything in between, current Grand Rapids Griffins assistant coach - Mike Knuble sat down with me to talk about his incredible career and journey with the game of hockey and how it has brought him back to Grand Rapids to work with the Red Wings and Griffins organizations!

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25:51

Fast Break - Episode 46 - Mark Keeler - Legendary...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/03/19

From a school that no one knew much about or even exactly where it was, to a boys basketball state power in Class D, producing players like Chris Kaman, who played in the NBA, to Bryan Foltice and Brandon Voorhees! Mark Keeler has coached the boys varsity basketball team at Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian for now 34 seasons and counting and has produced 4x Class D state titles and 4x more state-runner up finishes with 600+ career wins!!! Hear how it all started, the great rivalry games in the old

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27:59

Fast Break Ep45 Brian Morehouse Hope College Head...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/03/12

Brian Morehouse just finished up his 25th season as the head coach of the Hope College women's basketball team, but once again, his #1 nationally ranked team did not get a chance to play for a Div. III National Championship because the tournament was cancelled! However, Coach Morehouse couldn't be more proud of this year's squad and his 9 seniors that had a Senior Day at Hope to always remember. In fact, this year's team left a legacy of a current 45-game school record winning streak that will

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31:13

Fast Break Episode 44 Grand Rapids Sports Hall of...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/03/05

It is almost now 50 years old and you have visited it without even maybe knowing it, but if you adventure in a little bit deeper, you will realize how vital local sports teams and their athletes, coaches and organizations have been in making up the fabric of the Grand Rapids area and community! From the just under 170 inductees that are now housed inside Van Andel Arena, to how the public can nominate someone or a team to be considered for induction, to the many events each year that the Grand

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24:37

Fast Break - Episode 43 - All-Big Ten Guard - Drew...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/02/26

The MSU-U-M Rivalry on the hardcourt will play out twice this week coming up with the crazy COVID 19 rescheduling, and I thought that it would be interesting to hear from a guy who played in that rivalry over the years, and also, get his perspective on this year's edition of those squads and the Big Ten conference in general, who hasn't had a team win a men's basketball national championship since the Mateen Cleaves led Spartans did it back in 2000!

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37:33

Fast Break - Episode 42 - Jeff Striegle - MRN Radio...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/02/19

Starting with the "West Michigan Race Reflections Show" on 1340 AM - WBBL in the mid-1990s to now the main booth voice of NASCAR racing for MRN Radio, the story of Jeff Striegle from Grand Rapids is an amazing one that I was lucky enough to be able to ride along on and watch from a good friend's perspective! Jeff is an amazing broadcasting talent, that I like to take a little credit for because I gave him his first gig back in my days as program director for the old WBBL-AM. And now to cover the

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30:41

Fast Break - Episode 41 - Football Signing Day 2021 -...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/02/12

This episode I had a chance to sit down with the head coaches of each one of our GLIAC Conference schools in the West Michigan area...GVSU, Ferris State and Davenport and talk about this year's recruiting classes for football and the local prospects that they were able to sign! The brand of Div. II football in the GLIAC Conference, which is predominantly now made up of Michigan-based schools, is second to none in the country, and this episode spotlights that from all 3 programs perspectives!!

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32:39

Fast Break - Episode 40 - Ray Bentley - Former NFL &...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/02/05

This episode is near and dear to my heart because Ray Bentley was a boyhood hero of mine that I loved to watch play as a kid back in his CMU days at Kelly-Shorts Stadium in Mt. Pleasant! And now, to be able to call him a good friend and mentor, who I got to co-host a radio show in Grand Rapids with, is truly a blessing to me and my media career!! Ray was a standout player at Hudsonville High School, who went on to play for legendary coach Herb Deromedi at Central Michigan University and was was

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29:30

Fast Break - Episode 39 - Pat Collins - Head Football...

Fast Break with Bret Bakita ·

2021/01/29

In the fall of 1992, Pat Collins, senior QB for Montague High School under head coach Ken Diamond, helped lead the Wildcats all the way to the Class CC state championship game where they suffered their only loss of the season to Detroit St. Martin DePorres (12-7). As Pat went on to college and got married and started to think about what he wanted to do with his life, that loss always was there lingering as unfinished business for Montague football and their proud program! In 2004, Pat Collins

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