Basketball and Doris Burke have been synonymous for many years. At the age of 7, she started to play the game that would eventually get her to the top of her profession. Along the way she’s recorded many firsts for women in this field which I’ll detail later. Burke has also become an inspiration to other women already in broadcasting and those thinking about a career in media. Pretty impressive. 

Burke was raised in Manasquan, New Jersey. She was the youngest of eight children, and started playing basketball in the second grade. She starred at Providence, where she was the team’s point guard all four of her years there and made an impact immediately. 

During her freshman year, Doris Burke led the Big East in assists. She was a second-team All-Big East player once and twice made the all-tourney team of the Big East Women’s basketball tournament. Burke held seven records upon graduation, including finishing her career as the school and conference’s all-time assists leader, a record that has since been broken. She served as an assistant coach for her alma mater for two years from 1988-90.

From there it was time to embark on a Hall of Fame career.

ROAD TO ESPN/ABC

Burke began her broadcasting career in 1990 as an analyst for women’s games for Providence on radio. That same year, she began working in the same role on Big East Women’s games on television, and in 1996 she began working Big East men’s games. 

Doris Burke has been working for ESPN covering basketball in different roles since 1991. It has also allowed her to do other things along the way that were unchartered for women in the business. In 2000, Burke became the first woman to be a commentator for a New York Knicks game on radio and on television; she is also the first woman to be a commentator for a Big East men’s game, and the first woman to be the primary commentator on a men’s college basketball conference package.  In 2017, Burke became a regular NBA game analyst for ESPN, becoming the first woman at the national level to be assigned a full regular-season role. 

If that wasn’t enough, from 2009 to 2019 she served as the sideline reporter for the NBA Finals on ABC. I mentioned it was a Hall of Fame career and it was officially deemed as such in 2018. Burke was selected to enter the Basketball Hall of Fame as the Curt Gowdy Media Award winner.

AS AN ANALYST

“Doris Burke has an ease about her. A quiet confidence if you will.” Relying on her past experiences in the game as a player and coach, the information she brings her audience is relatable. Some analysts struggle to bring home a point in a way that a casual fan will understand. Burke has no trouble with this. Her ability to spell it out, concisely and conversationally sets her apart from most analysts, male or female. 

Burke attacks her job, knowing that some will question her authority when it comes to commentary on the NBA. She doesn’t mind steering into the skid.

“I am mindful of the fact that I have not played or coached in the NBA,” Burke said to Sportscasting.com last year. “It doesn’t mean that I can’t do a very competent job. I think I try to do that every single night, and I’m never afraid to ask questions.” 

It’s all about the information to Burke, and has nothing to do with the fact she’s a woman covering the NBA.

“If you enhance a viewer’s experience, it doesn’t matter what your gender is,” she said. “As long as you are competent and put in the work … you’re going to be accepted.”

Doris Burke learned the ropes so to speak from several women that came before her. In an NBA.com piece from January of last year, she outlined how much she enjoyed watching former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Gayle Gardner. Early on in her career at ESPN, Burke got to work with Robin Roberts on WNBA and women’s college basketball broadcasts along with Ann Meyers Drysdale and Nancy Lieberman. Roberts was Burke’s inspiration as she started her career path. She admired the professionalism that each displayed. 

“Working alongside Robin Roberts … the one thing I would tell you is the most powerful means to change or impact somebody is by your actions,” Burke said. “She was the epitome of professionalism and competency and garnered the respect of the people around her because of the work habits she had. Watching Robin early on let me know that the basis for everything is the work you put into something.”

While Roberts may have been influential to Burke, Burke has been a beacon for other woman that are getting opportunities in broadcasting.  When asked about their role model, YES Network analyst Sarah Kustok, 76ers play-by-play broadcaster Kate Scott and former WNBA player and current Miami Heat studio analyst Ruth Riley Hunter all mentioned Burke by name.

“Burke is the best example for anyone — male or female,” Hunter told NBA.com. “I love the way she describes the game. She adds so much to every broadcast, and when I was playing in the WNBA I was always really inspired by her work.”

Burke is popular amongst her colleagues at ESPN/ABC, thanks to a tireless work ethic an ability to adapt to whichever sport she may be calling that day. Count Jeff Van Gundy among her biggest fans.

“She’s the best, most-versatile analyst and commentator at ESPN,” Van Gundy said of Doris Burke in 2017 via Deadspin. “She does it all—great interviewer, commentator, studio analyst—everything. And she is an expert at it all—women’s and men’s college basketball, the NBA and the WNBA. She’s the LeBron James of sportscasters. There’s no better broadcaster out there right now.”

Burke is equally a big fan of Van Gundy and the top broadcast crew for ESPN/ABC’s NBA coverage. That includes Mike Breen and Mark Jackson as well. 

“We are talking about three of the best to ever do it. Mark, Jeff and Mike have held down the NBA Finals for over a decade with commentary that is the best of the best. Hubie Brown is a living legend. All of those men have been nothing but gracious and supportive of me,” Burke told the Athletic. 

Doris Burke is considered one of the best NBA analysts around.  Her bosses at ESPN made sure to re-sign her to a multi-year deal and promised she will be involved in “high profile” NBA games in both the regular season and playoffs. Burke will also call finals games on ESPN Radio and appear on the NBA Sunday Showcase program on ABC.

Good for her and good for fans of the NBA on ESPN/ABC.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2010, she was featured as the new sideline reporter for 2K Sports ‘NBA 2K11’ video game. She has appeared in every version since, including the latest ‘NBA 2K23’.   

As a senior at Providence in 1987 she was the school’s Co-Female Athlete of the Year.  

Her basketball idols growing up were Kyle Macy, Kelly Tripucka and Tom Heinsohn.  

His style is unique, he sometimes looks disheveled, unshaven and scruffy. But Greg Olsen could probably care less, because he’s ascended to the top of his field at Fox. The former NFL Tight End, is spending his first season in the #1 booth with Kevin Burkhardt. While he may indeed look like Dexter’s older brother (Showtime’s drama about a serial killer), Olsen is killing it with his on-the-spot analysis. Sorry, had to go there. 

Growing up in New Jersey, he never really thought about the guys calling the games. On the Dave Pasch Podcast earlier this year, Olsen explained his perspective as a kid. 

“Until I started doing it, I don’t even really know if I ever paid attention to broadcasters,” he told Pasch. “You know, I knew who Monday Night Football announcers were as a kid. Dan Dierdorf and Frank Gifford and Al Michaels. You remember listening to games with John Madden. I remember them, I can’t say I ever tuned into a game wondering ‘Hey I wonder who is calling the game?’ It was always kind of secondary to me.”

That all changed when he started to get more serious about life after football. 

“It really wasn’t until later into my career and I’d been on that other side of the camera and sat in those booths and called it, where I would watch games and almost watch it more to hear what they were saying and more to see the replay sequence and more to see how the analyst used the telestrator and what points he made. And what I found interesting and what I found boring.”

NFL CAREER

Olsen was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 31st overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami. He spent four seasons with the Bears before being traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2011. As a Bears’ fan, I still don’t understand that deal. 

Anyway, he remained with the Panthers through the conclusion of the 2019 season, and played a key role in the Panthers’ Super Bowl 50 berth against the Denver Broncos. Olsen became one of the best tight ends in NFL history. 

He was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro selection. He ranks fifth all-time among tight ends with 742 receptions and 8,683 yards. From 2014 to 2016, he recorded 1,000 receiving yards each season. In the process Olsen became the first tight end in history to record three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He left the Panthers as the franchise’s all-time leading tight end in receiving yards (6,463), receptions (524) and 100-yard receiving games (10). Olsen sits second among Panthers tight ends in receiving touchdowns at 39 and third in receiving yards and receptions.

From Carolina it was on to Seattle. In 2020, he signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks. It was not as productive a year as he’d become accustomed to. Olsen was released by the Seahawks in March of 2021. He announced his retirement from the NFL that same year. 

ROAD TO FOX

Olsen’s road to the number one booth actually started while still an active player. In 2017, while playing for the Panthers, Olsen became just the third player in FOX Sports’ history to serve as game analyst (Matt Hasselbeck and Marcus Allen were the first two). Olsen joined Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver to call a Week 11 game between the Vikings and Rams. 

He also jumped into the booth in 2019, his last season with the Panthers. He partnered with Kenny Albert and reporter Lindsay Czarniak for the Week 7 NFL matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Giants.

In early 2020, during the offseason before his final season with the Seahawks, Olsen also partnered with Burkhardt to call five XFL games for FOX Sports and served as an NFL studio analyst for the network’s coverage of Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

His full-time broadcasting career started in 2021. Olsen joined FOX last season as the network’s color analyst in the No. 2 booth, working next to Burkhardt. When Troy Aikman and Joe Buck left Fox for the Monday Night Football booth at ESPN, Olsen and Burkhardt were promoted to the top booth on Fox before this season. 

“We’re thrilled to have this team steward our industry leading and award-winning coverage as we embark on our 29th NFL season, highlighted by our 10th Super Bowl,” said Brad Zager, Fox Sports president of production/operations and executive producer. “Last season, Kevin and Greg showed viewers their undeniable chemistry and ability to call football at an elite level. We can’t wait for fans to see what they’re going to bring to ‘America’s Game of the Week,’ the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl LVII.”

The promotion may be short lived, because Fox has also committed itself to Tom Brady, if/when the quarterback decides to really retire from football. Olsen was well aware of the situation he was getting himself into. He decided that he couldn’t worry about what might come next year, this season was too important for his new found career. So much so, that, as Olsen has playfully tried to talk Brady out of television. 

During his first Fox production meeting with Brady, Olsen decided to ‘break the ice’ with some humor. Burkhardt was in the room as well and related the story to the Sports Illustrated Media podcast.   

“Tom, I gotta tell ya, this TV thing sucks,” he joked. Brady cracked up according to Burkhardt. 

Olsen admitted the story was true. Nobody is quite sure how things will go next year if Brady is available, but it’s good to see that Olsen is handling the ‘elephant in the room’ with class. 

AS AN ANALYST

Olsen reached out to many analysts that were already in the business before he got into television full time. One of the things I admire about him, is he’s hell bent on being himself and not trying to imitate others. It would be easy for someone in his position to say, “I’m going to sound like Tony Romo, because he’s having success.” Thankfully Olsen is his own man and brings his own style and flare to the broadcast.  

“I’ve been fortunate to have some good guidance and have some cool conversations. But as far as style, I don’t try to be anyone,” said Olsen to the Dave Pasch Podcast. “There’s not anyone where I say, oh, I want to sound like him. I just kind of talk like me and say things that I think are interesting and try to point out elements of the game that I find fun. It might not be for everyone. Some people might not like my style. They might not like the way I describe things. But I think it’s fun. I think it’s interesting. I think, our broadcast, you come away learning the game of football. I like that. I want that to be what people are tuning in for.”

The fact that he’s raw and not that far removed from his playing days works in his favor. Sometimes the more polished you try to sound, the worse it is. People aren’t tuning in to hear the analyst sound like he’s reading from a script. They want to hear, honest and in the moment thoughts from someone that played the game at a high level. He knows the game and most importantly, knows how to relate the things he’s seeing to his audience. You can also hear the enjoyment he’s getting, just talking about the game he loves. It’s like youthful exuberance shining through.  

“I think the game is so fun and so interesting and complex and the better we can do as analysts in portraying that, I think it’s fun for the viewer to come away and learn a few things throughout the course of the game.” Olsen said on the Pasch Podcast. 

He’s learning the television game as he goes along here. I’m sure it’s almost like being a rookie in the NFL again. Learning, progressing, evolving and succeeding. The process hasn’t taken him very long. Of course, it helps to have a talented play-by-play announcer sitting next to him, and the duo of Burkhardt and Olsen works, and works well. It would be a shame to lose a guy that’s coming into his own, like Olsen, for a guy like Brady. Nobody really knows what Brady will sound like, how analytical, or how entertaining he’ll be. Me personally, I’d be weary. It’s a big name yes, but that doesn’t always translate into someone being a good analyst. Brady has always been the ‘buttoned up’ sound bite, never really saying anything. Fox could be taking a gamble on replacing a sure thing with a less than sure thing. 

If I’m running the network, the “A” team at Fox becomes a three-man booth. Olsen has really gelled with Burkhardt and it would be nice, I’m sure, for Brady to have a fellow former player in the booth with him. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Olsen twice was named a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Inspired by the challenges facing his son, T.J., who was born with a severe congenital heart defect, Olsen and his wife, Kara, founded the HEARTest Yard Program to offer support and services to those facing similar circumstances.

Undoubtedly, you’ve heard Brian Anderson call a game. If you live in Milwaukee, you definitely know him, since he’s called Brewers games since 2007. Anderson has exploded on the national scene, with his work for Turner Sports on coverage of Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Versatility is his calling card and he achieves great heights in every sport he calls.

Anderson was born in Texas. He was a catcher on the nationally ranked baseball team at St Mary’s University (Texas). He graduated from the school in 1994. Anderson is from a baseball family. He played the game and his older brother Mike was a Major League pitcher for the Reds and now is a special assistant to the GM with the Texas Rangers.

Anderson credits a Padres scout, Chuck LaMar for his and his brother’s successes in their respective careers. It all came down to a Cincinnati Reds tryout, where Mike, was looking to sign a deal as an undrafted free agent. Brian was there when Mike was throwing 95 on the radar gun, allowing LaMar to sign him and send him on to minor league baseball. Brian would visit his older brother at all his minor league stops. Brian would spend time with the local play-by-play crews along the way.  

This is why he credits the scout for his livelihood. “It was totally Chuck LaMar who is responsible for both our careers,” Brian Anderson told the Athletic in May.

Brian was an English major in college, “I had no aspirations of becoming a broadcaster before that.” he said.

In the early 1990s, Brian would go into an auxiliary booth and do a ‘mock’ broadcast to try and improve on this new ambition. His college happened to be using the field the San Antonio Missions, then the Double-A affiliate of the Padres, played on. One day after practice, he went to their front office and asked, if he could meet the team’s broadcasters.

Little did he know that after graduating from college in 1994, the Missions hired him to be their No. 2 radio person. That started his career.

Anderson was destined for bigger and better things, and those things were on the horizon for the talented play-by-play man.

ROAD TO TURNER SPORTS

Since 2010, Anderson has also called play-by-play for Turner Sports’ Sunday MLB on TBS package, a role he continued to fill on select Sunday national games in 2022. Outside of baseball, Anderson has covered the NCAA basketball tournament for Turner Sports/CBS Sports since 2012, the NBA on TNT since 2014 and various golf events since 2016.

Along the way, Anderson showed that versatility I spoke of earlier. He was a play-by-play announcer for The Golf Channel from 2003 until 2006. Anderson also hosted a variety of events on both the PGA and Nationwide Tours for the network. Nearly simultaneously, he also worked at FSN Southwest as the sideline reporter for the Spurs, from 1997 until 2007. He covered 3 Spurs NBA Championships during his time with the NBA team. 

Anderson told the Sports Broadcast Journal in 2019, “My versatility is purely based on my willingness to say yes when offered assignments.” He adds, “It’s putting my fears aside, getting out of my comfort zone and being fully present to the event I’m hired to do.”

Starting in 2007, Anderson moved on to be the play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers.  Anderson remains a member of the Brewers’ broadcast booth today, though he cut his schedule down last season to accommodate more national assignments for Turner.

The sign that Anderson has risen to the top of his field, the ability to pivot on a dime. Going from one sport to the next, seamlessly. How is it that he can handle the big transitions? Again, he told the Sports Broadcast Journal in 2019,  “The mechanics and prep are vastly different. Yet in all sports, it’s important to absorb the vibe of the game/event. That’s hard to explain or teach but I believe it’s the most important first piece to successful preps.”

The high-profile assignments continue for Anderson at Turner Sports, where he has become a well-known announcer.

WHY IS HE SO GOOD?

Every great announcer has a presence about him or her. Some have booming voices, some have schtick and some just rely on talent and being themselves. Anderson has developed into one of those ‘big time’ voices, not just because of top notch assignments, but for the way he handles those jobs.

Anderson has a ‘relaxed enthusiasm’ about him. I know those are diametrically opposed words, but it’s true. The enormity of his games, never get the best of him. He’s always in control, hence the relaxed part, but in the big moments Anderson rises to the occasion, covering the enthusiastic element.

He has a very relaxed and friendly on-air persona. That friendliness comes across in the broadcast in the way he relates to his analysts and the audience. He brings life to the basics of every game. The way he performs, game in and game out is so consistent. Which is huge in the industry.

BEST CALLS

Anderson has been a part of many big moments in sports. From the baseball field, to the Bermuda grass of the fairway, to the hardwood. Here’s a selection of some of his great calls over the years.

October 6, 2010 – Anderson called Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS between the Reds and Phillies for TBS. That’s the series in which Roy Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history. Anderson’s call of the final out:

Halladay is one strike away, the 0-2… a bouncer. Ruiz, IN TIME! ROY HALLADAY, HAS THROWN A NO-HITTER!

April 22, 2018 – Anderson called Game 1 of the 2018 Eastern Conference First Round match-up between the Bucks and Celtics where Khris Middleton hit a buzzer beating 3 to tie the game at 99 just minutes after Terry Rozier hit a 3 to put the Celtics up with 0.5 seconds left in the 4th quarter:

Who’s going to get the last shot here? Gets it in, Middleton for the tie! OH MY GOODNESS! KHRIS MIDDLETON! TIES IT, WITH A LONG RANGE 3! And now they will check to see if he got it off in time, I think he did.

March 22, 2018 – Anderson covered the 2018 Sweet Sixteen match-up between the 11th seeded Loyola Ramblers and the 7th seeded Nevada Wolf Pack on CBS.  Loyola had a 1-point lead until Marques Townes hit a 3 to help ice the game to advance the Ramblers to the Elite Eight.

Custer… crossover, kicks it. Townes, for 3. YES SIR! MARQUES TOWNES!

October 15, 2022 –Anderson was on the call for the marathon ALDS Game 3 between the Astros and Mariners in Seattle. The game was scoreless through 17 innings. Then Jeremy Pena walked to the plate to send the Astros to the ALCS.

The 3-2 pitch…in the air deep left center field, hit well, Rodriguez on the run…and it is GONE! Oh ho! Jeremy Pena sends one to the seats and the Astros lead 1-0 in the 18^th inning. (lays out for crowd noise and pictures) This kid is the real deal himself, what a moment!

HE. IS. HIM. pic.twitter.com/6abbBe2ZK6

— Houston Astros (@astros) October 16, 2022

DID YOU KNOW?

Anderson played catcher on the nationally ranked baseball team at St. Mary’s University, Texas. His team played in the 1993 NAIA World Series that season. While stats for that era were a little hard to come by, there is this nugget. Anderson is tied for 7th all-time in school history with 401 putouts in 1993. 

Anderson was on the call for TNT’s “The Match” golf series for the May 2020 event featuring Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning defeating Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady in Florida.