Is Doris Burke the best commentator in sports right now?

[KirkHinrich12]

If by best, you mean the worst, then yeah probably.

[The Servant]

Complete lack of passion for teams outside of the Boston Celtics and Tatum. Nothing could be less iconic than a Doris Burke Finals. Good luck, and may God have mercy on your soul.

[Beethoven]

Her voice is one or two octaves lower than it should be.

But I like that.

[sp6r=underrated]

I'll defend Burke. She isn't my favorite but she doesn't deserve the vitriol she gets. A lot of the backlash against her is from men who never grew out of the "keep girls out of our clubhouse" stage.

[Jamaaliver]

I'll defend Burke. She isn't my favorite but she doesn't deserve the vitriol she gets.

Bingo.

Doris Burke is a more than adequate commentator who clearly appreciates the job and does plenty of prep work for these games.

At worst...she's a net neutral.

[nate33]

I don't think she is all that great as an in-game commentator because I think her comments on strategies and matchups aren't particularly insightful relative to somebody like Van Gundy. However, I think she brings a different perspective than most commentators because she really tries to get to know players and understand what makes them tick. To be crude, she comes at it from more of a woman's perspective; but that's not a criticism. I think she has found a useful niche that adds value to an existing broadcast team. It probably also appeals to more to female viewers, which isn't a bad thing either.

[wade44]

Absolutely the worst. Her voice is grating to the ears and she says the dumbest things

[Optms]

I'll defend Burke. She isn't my favorite but she doesn't deserve the vitriol she gets. A lot of the backlash against her is from men who never grew out of the "keep girls out of our clubhouse" stage.

Oh really? How about we fire her and put someone like Candace Parker in her place? I can think 10 other women who would be better in her place that would offer more pros. Burke is garbage.

[Tony15]

I thought she’d be better, but she isn’t the worst.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sp6r=underrated]

I'll defend Burke. She isn't my favorite but she doesn't deserve the vitriol she gets. A lot of the backlash against her is from men who never grew out of the "keep girls out of our clubhouse" stage.

Oh really? How about we fire her and put someone like Candace Parker in her place? I can think 10 other women who would be better in her place that would offer more pros. Burke is garbage.

Thinking Parker is better than Burke is fine but the comparison point for Burke is the median male commentator who she far surpasses.

[NyKnicks1714]

There are honestly very few national tv color commentators I actively like these days. They're all in three categories for me: "fine I suppose", annoying, and bad.

[Backcountry]

It's a contest between her and Bill Raftery for most annoying voice in basketball. But there are other sports who have bad commentators, especially hockey. Ex-hockey players are often poor colour commentators, more than other sports it seems.

For basketball, one of my favs is Amy Audibert, who used to do the Raptors 905 and as a substitute for the Raptors. Miami stole her a few years ago. Very knowledgeable. She'd be a great replacement for Doris.

[yosemiteben]

I quite like her and am glad she's been moving up the ranks. I find her to be insightful, humble, and generally pleasant to listen to with a good respect for the game.

With that said, I wouldn't say she's close to the best commentator in all of sports. I personally am a big fan of Tony Romo's commentating, and also big Greg Olsen fan (but I'm a Panthers fan so biased there).

[dhsilv2]

I don't think she is all that great as an in-game commentator because I think her comments on strategies and matchups aren't particularly insightful relative to somebody like Van Gundy. However, I think she brings a different perspective than most commentators because she really tries to get to know players and understand what makes them tick. To be crude, she comes at it from more of a woman's perspective; but that's not a criticism. I think she has found a useful niche that adds value to an existing broadcast team. It probably also appeals to more to female viewers, which isn't a bad thing either.

Honestly think the "woman's touch" thing works better as one of the commentators than the absolute trash sideline reporting we generally get. Imagine if we got nerdy x's and o's talk during the sideline talk, or updates. I know we'll never get people into it for the whole game...so at least we'd get x's and o's.

[Froob]

She's solid, but far cry from JVG and Mark Jackson

[1993Playoffs]

Not even close. Imo. Breen is good. Harlen is really good

[Tor_Raps]

Haha wtf is this thread. She is the worst, followed closely by Reggie Miller.

[Yank3525]

Doris is fine. Bigger problem is her RJ and Breen have zero chemistry. Off-topic, but good thing ESPN is actually looking to evaluate their personnel. I suspect Silver finally pulled a Goodell and told them to change things.

[Clav]

I don't mind Burke, she's ok. Sometimes a bit too focused on glazing certain players, but overall way better than mark Jackson for the Finals coverage. I deal with it

[Lalouie]

too much sugar
the timbre of her voice reminds me of my aunt

her pacing is good though. she doesn't try to cram volumes of info like weber. she's not "measured" like greg anthony or grant hill. those two talk like they're too careful about what to say

part of the message in media is HOW it's delivered and received.

alluding to her interaction with jefferson and breen,,,,,,she's not right for the part