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Police: Sleeping father leaves toddler alone on WB porch

<p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins broadcaster Mike O&#8217;Brien often joked that he assumed his mother was the only one tuning in to his game broadcasts.</p><p>Now that O&#8217;Brien is leaving the team to pursue other career opportunities in the Boston area, he&#8217;s finding out that many more fans, in addition to his mother, were regular listeners.</p><p>O&#8217;Brien will officially end his seven-year tenure as the team&#8217;s broadcaster on Thursday, a decision he said was difficult. And since he announced the move on his Twitter account on Monday, O&#8217;Brien said the well-wishes from fans have been pouring in.</p><p>&#8220;I never expected all the support I&#8217;ve gotten. Just to know that so many people were listening and enjoying it, it&#8217;s very humbling,&#8221; he said.</p><p>O&#8217;Brien was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s third broadcaster in its 19-year history. He joined the team in 2011 as the color commentator with Tom Grace. When Grace departed in 2013, O&#8217;Brien handled the broadcast duties by himself until he was joined by Nick Hart in 2015.</p><p>Early on, O&#8217;Brien never expected to be in Wilkes-Barre for the long haul.</p><p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t expect northeastern Pennsylvania to become a home, and I didn&#8217;t expect Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to become a family &#8212; which it did,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What was supposed to be a brief stop in the journey became years.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s tough to leave this behind. Jeff Barrett (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton CEO), Greg Petorak (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton CFO), Brian Coe (vice president of operations) and the entire Pittsburgh organization make this such a special and unique thing to be a part of.&#8221;</p><p>While O&#8217;Brien isn&#8217;t sure if his future career path will keep him involved in hockey, he said the experience of being Wilkes-Barre/Scranton&#8217;s broadcaster has left him with plenty of memories. From being around Pittsburgh&#8217;s Stanley Cup championships the last two seasons to numerous Wilkes-Barre/Scranton playoff runs, O&#8217;Brien said it&#8217;s impossible to pick one moment that stands out.</p><p>But his first game in the booth is at the top of the list.</p><p>&#8220;It was a preseason game, and I was hired a day or two before,&#8221; O&#8217;Brien said. &#8220;I got here and we&#8217;re right into it. I had the butterflies, but that&#8217;s when I started learning from Tom Grace, who was a mentor.&#8221;</p><p>While fans will remember O&#8217;Brien for his voice on the radio, his job entailed much more than broadcasting duties. Over the years he handled public relations, team services and travel logistics, among other tasks.</p><p>Those behind the scenes duties will fall to the team&#8217;s next broadcaster. It&#8217;s possible that Hart could take over the role, but Barrett, who confirmed the team is considering a few &#8220;internal options for the post, said a decision won&#8217;t be announced until the end of the week.</p><p>In the meantime, just like O&#8217;Brien had big shoes to fill when Grace departed, the next Wilkes-Barre/Scranton broadcaster will come into a similar situation.</p><p>&#8220;Mike O&#8217;Brien did a great job for many years and we&#8217;re always excited when a person makes a change they feel is in their best interest,&#8221; Barrett said. &#8220;Mike was more than a broadcaster for us because of all he did behind the scenes. We&#8217;re going to miss him.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">O&#8217;Brien </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/web1_Mike-O-Brien.jpg</photo0><caption0>O&#8217;Brien </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Long-time announcer to pursue other career opportunities in Boston</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mike O’Brien departs as WBS Penguins broadcaster