OK, I'll admit it: I think Doris Burke is awesome

[alexrgct]

ok, look, I know DB can drive you to-drink with her comportment and twice on the pipes silliness, but she is a groundbreaker on the women's side of basketball. She played it, she's calling every aspect of it, and she knows what she's talking about. Her struggle on behalf of women is inspiring. Hell, she's even doing sideline reporting for the freaking NBA Finals. Doris is big-time!

I'm not saying I know what this means, but she could get comportment from me any day. Doris is a savant who represents the hell out of pro ball, college ball, women's ball, and basketball in general. She's slavishly devoted to her sport, and deserves all respect in the world for that. She certainly has it from me.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

I have and always will like DB.

 

[Scud49]

I always appreciated her insight and observations when doing the UCONN games - smooth, suave, and knowledgeable.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Absolutely awful!!! Horrible voice. Spewing out irrelevant factoid after irrelevant factoid. Talking about nothing at all, when silence would be preferable. I can't stand Doris Burke.

Get her off the air!!!!

 

[DaddyChoc]

ok, look, I know DB can drive you to-drink with her comportment and twice on the pipes silliness, but she is a groundbreaker on the women's side of basketball. She played it, she's calling every aspect of it, and she knows what she's talking about. Her struggle on behalf of women is inspiring. Hell, she's even doing sideline reporting for the freaking NBA Finals. Doris is big-time!

I'm not saying I know what this means, but she could get comportment from me any day. Doris is a savant who represents the hell out of pro ball, college ball, women's ball, and basketball in general. She's slavishly devoted to her sport, and deserves all respect in the world for that. She certainly has it from me.

I think you're posting this on the wrong board... try VolNation or the Summitt (if they let you thru the gates).

Doris is cool... but I dont like when she's teamed up with that "Patrick" guy during the championship games most of the time, he's AWFUL. Always spitting out the wrong info

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I'm a big Doris Burke fan!
She must be considered pretty good at what she does as she's on all levels of BB coverage, men's women's pro, & college!
And she expresses what she believes in without a doubt, no hedging or holding back.
As with her believe that UCONN shouldn't be attacked for their success, more people should follow the Huskies example! When she said that Geno doesn't only prepare his players for success in BB but success in life as well!

 

[CL82]

DB is okay. Sometimes she'll get locked into a narrative that seemed like it would be relevant before the game but didn't work out that way.

 

[BigBird]

Look, everything in sports, or media, or entertainment plays to mixed reviews. I totally grasp that. But to call Doris Burke "awful" seems a bit over the top. She is adament and self-assured, yes. But that doesn't equate to arrogance or incompetence.

I don't know if you know this, but at the network level, on-air broadcasters have "Q" scores, which are indicative of their appeal for the audience. Given the number of opportunities that DB has, one might reasonably suppose that her Q's or other metrics are quite strong.

 

[Blueballer]

She is an intelligent person who has great knowledge of her sport. And she does her homework for sure. No argument there. When she first started I couldn't get enough of her. That is until she fell in love with the sound of her own voice. Every single second of coverage does not have to filled with banter. If she learned that I think she could regain the popularity she had in the beginning.

 

[Sonny44]

I love her. She talks, I listen. She does her homework and it's obvious. I just don't think you make national coverage of the NBA finals with major deficiencies. Maybe her only fault, but not as far as UCONN is concerned: she loves Geno et. al.
Doris is for us.

 

[Kibitzer]

There was a time it was a novelty to have ladies appear on TV to report or analyze sports events. Networks were clearly pandering to the vast potential female audience. Keen insightful commentary was rare.

Oh, my - how times have changed! Doris and Kara are top-notch basketball analysts and Beth Mowens is superb doing play-by-play action (even football).

They are not alone. ESPN has an array of distaff talent and so do other networks and many stations. As Doris herself might say, they comport themselves well.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I think you're posting this on the wrong board... try VolNation or the Summitt (if they let you thru the gates).

Doris is cool... but I dont like when she's teamed up with that "Patrick" guy during the championship games most of the time, he's AWFUL. Always spitting out the wrong info

She is typically paired up with Dave O'Brien for the big games, but he now announces for the Red Sox, so as you saw in this past title game it was Pam Ward because the MLB season was underway.

 

[Geew1992]

Funny, I was going to make a post about how I can't stand her. I'm so tired of hearing her say "they aren't afraid of the name on the jersey" or "they aren't intimidated by UCONN". She says that about every team that plays UCONN. Not for nothing, if your scared of who your playing, fm you shouldn't be playing.

 

[veryolddog]

I started to admire DB when she made the comment that she wished she could have played for Geno.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

OK, she's not as bad as Beth Mowins. But the all-time best commentator is Kara Lawson. She is absolutely brilliant, and everything she says is a tremendous insight. Rebecca Lobo is also tremendous. But the most fun is Megan Culmo. She really enjoys the game, and her appreciation for the game is infectious.

But save us from Mowins and Burke. AAARRRRGGGHHH!!

 

[bleeckerhusky]

Generally, I like DB, but her back and forth with Pam Ward in this year'c NC game while Syracuse scored 16 unanswered points in about 4 minutes of the third quarter forced me to turn off the sound. Neither announcer seemed to care, or even be aware, of what was happening on the court. The
first responsibility of the announcers is to report on the game as it is being played. All of the other stuff should be aired only when the game permits.

 

[Orangutan]

DB is okay. Sometimes she'll get locked into a narrative that seemed like it would be relevant before the game but didn't work out that way.

This my gripe with her. I think she's quite good at actually calling the action and breaking it down, so it's frustrating when she's overly focused on advancing a narrative. That is a problem with ESPN's coverage in general. I understand that they do it to play to casual fans who aren't following it year round like we are here, but I still think they go overboard. Set the game up, but then let the action speak for itself.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

... all-time best commentator is Kara Lawson...

I'm fine with Doris but Kara is definitely the fount of quotable commentary. She's the Geno of talking heads.

Before the Texas [a 51 point loser to UConn last year] game in this year's tourney, she and Kevin Negandhi had this memorable exchange.

Kevin: What has to happen here for Texas in the first 10 minutes?
Kara: You want me to draw up a 52 point play?

Later, Kara uttered, "[Texas has] a chance to do something that would be the most difficult thing in sports right now and that's defeat the University of Connecticut."

Texas gave us our toughest tournament contest, losing by only 21.

 

[Vowelguy]

Thought you were referring to this article:


Sally JenkinsVerified account ‏@sallyjenx 13h13 hours ago
Always had respect for Doris Burke but now it's mad respect after this smarty interview. #NBAFinals

Richard Deitsch @richarddeitsch
This is an excellent interview. ​

 

[cookie447]

If we have good fortune, Doris will go the way of Carolyn Peck and find her way back into the college coaching ranks. There, she can talk incessantly and most of us will never hear her!

 

[tomcat]

As was stated above, every announcer is going to have pluses and minuses, and each will have a stable of those who like and those who dislike. Count me in with those who like Doris. She's not as astute as Kara (who is the best they've got), but her observations are generally on the money. Her cliches are less annoying than those of other announcers, IMHO, and she doesn't just say stuff, like Carolyn Peck does. When she steps out of the announcer role and feels the need to make a pronouncement, which she does from time to time (as in the Dan Shaughnessy controversy last season), she is usually logical and thoughtful.

 

[JordyG]

OK, she's not as bad as Beth Mowins. But the all-time best commentator is Kara Lawson. She is absolutely brilliant, and everything she says is a tremendous insight. Rebecca Lobo is also tremendous. But the most fun is Megan Culmo. She really enjoys the game, and her appreciation for the game is infectious.

But save us from Mowins and Burke. AAARRRRGGGHHH!!

I love Kara. But let's hear her do color analysis next to the play by play person. Then we can do a fair comparison between her and DB.

 

[geneticrex]

I like DB. She comports herself with dignity.


Well.......................SOMEBODY had to say it.

 

[bballnut90]

Burke is very knowledgeable but is pretty openly biased and picks favorites which I hate as a fan. Announcers should remain neutral while commentating on a national broadcast. Burke really struggles in this area, as she has a strong Connecticut/Geno bias and has had it ever since the DT days.

I enjoy her commentary on most games, but when UCONN is playing I find myself having to mute the TV for stretches of most games.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Burke is very knowledgeable but is pretty openly biased and picks favorites which I hate as a fan. Announcers should remain neutral while commentating on a national broadcast. Burke really struggles in this area, as she has a strong Connecticut/Geno bias and has had it ever since the DT days.

I enjoy her commentary on most games, but when UCONN is playing I find myself having to mute the TV for stretches of most games.

but she rightfully drools when UConn is on the court... there's not too much bad you can say about UConn when they're playing, now if Tenn Fans would only admit that. Give respect where its due, all that other stuff is silly.