NFT: ESPN / NBA Female sports announcers

batman

In comment 16525508 ElitoCanton said:

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batman

No. It's not. It's just boring.

Panic/hair on fire hilarity.

Now she does interviews from behind the bench LOL.

Don't people realize most men watch sports to get away from hearing women? We don't want to listen to them commentate the games. And they just don't do as good a job either. But what can you do. All that matters is equity these days.

But yeah - who the hell wants to listen to a woman announce male sports- no one.

Also - ESPNs audio mixing is terrible. Its been that way for every sport. I always noticed for instance if the Giants were on ESPN it sounded like no crowd was there. You can especially tell with the Knicks/rangers in the playoffs. They do an awful job of picking up stadium noise.

This thread is wow.

Dorris Burke and JJ Reddick don't talk enough at all.

You can tell there are moments where Breen is intentionally trying to get something from either of them and it's just silence.

It does seem like Dorris is intentionally trying to dial it back. But now it's to the point where she barely says anything.

Yikes.

SVG, Reggie Miller, Richard Jefferson and some of these other male announcers - then I don’t know what to tell you.

The majority of men who do the color commentary are unbearable.

We are men and we are the best.

Lol they make me pine for the days of Joe Buck

I typically watch with the volume off. There are fans who want announcers to talk more?

In comment 16525531 JT039 said:

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SVG, Reggie Miller, Richard Jefferson and some of these other male announcers - then I don’t know what to tell you. The majority of men who do the color commentary are unbearable.

That's the thing. We have ripped on men sports commentators since the dawn of time without thinking of it.

Someone doesn't like a particular woman announcer?and it's a big deal? Eh. That's life.

Let's put aside the bizarre sexist stuff for a minute. People really want louder commentators who talk more?

outside of a handful of truly special announcers, most make zero impact and i dont pay attention to them

In comment 16525512 BC Eagles94 said:

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Don't people realize most men watch sports to get away from hearing women? We don't want to listen to them commentate the games. And they just don't do as good a job either. But what can you do. All that matters is equity these days.

I don’t know what’s funnier - this post, or the pearl clutching in response.

but I'm not confident.

Oh, and it's not pearl clutching - it's pointing out stupidity and bigotry - in part because it's not ripping on individual announcers, it's painting with a ridiculously wide brush.

Mostly, it's pathetic.

is great

Mark Jackson is the single reason I switched to closed captions during basketball games. I dare anyone say they'd rather have him than Burke. That's loco.

In comment 16525551 bluefin said:

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is great

Agree. Fun personality and knows the game.

I personally really like Doris Burke too. She really knows her shit.

On the flip side, I don't like Suzyn Waldman. I find her color commentary to be pretty inane. I don't find her insights to be anything better than the average fan and she has a voice best suited for print journalism.

In comment 16525553 christian said:

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Mark Jackson is the single reason I switched to closed captions during basketball games. I dare anyone say they'd rather have him than Burke. That's loco.

Haha, +1. I loved him as a Knick but man, I'd rather listen to Reggie fucking Miller than him in a game. Terrible.

I have no problem with the women. they know their shit. Many played at a very high level - like AJ Mleczko and Jennifer Botterill. Sure, my high school team could beat their teams at their highest levels, but relatively speaking they were far more accomplished than 99.9% of the population in the sport they are broadcasting. I think Jennifer Botterill should be in the hockey hall of fame.

Some over-talk (like AJ), but that's not unique to the women, so many men announcers do it too. you need a real pro to be confident letting the moment do the talking.

I do think the format is a little too formulaic though - make it more natural. Most fans don't care about the gender of who describes the game for them as long as they do it well.

In comment 16525512 BC Eagles94 said:

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Don't people realize most men watch sports to get away from hearing women? We don't want to listen to them commentate the games. And they just don't do as good a job either. But what can you do. All that matters is equity these days.

This is satire, right?

Please?

But, I have enjoyed Monica McNutt this year. I never heard of her before she started doing Knicks radio + pre and post on MSG. But, she is fun and knows the game.

I do find it interesting, though, that such an unaccomplished female athlete so quickly ascended in broadcasting. That said, I think she deserves it, so maybe not so crazy.

I don't have a problem with female announcers, per se. What I do have a problem with is, and this is especially in football, when they get sideline gigs clearly for nothing more than looks. If they offer nothing to the broadcast, then skip them.

Monica McNutt is a real name ???


Mercy

as said earlier in this thread I find most men or modern day commentating in general to be annoying.

I would rather listen to men call the games or talk sports in general. There are some great female studio hosts especially Rebecca Lowe covering the EPL for NBC. She's one of the best in the business regardless of gender.

I like the old school hosts like Hannah Storm and Linda Cohn but again that's more of a generational thing than a gender one. Probably because I'm getting old.

I agree, it sucks . Do I have to be politically correct while home watching a game? I have to watch it with the volume off as well. Boring…

In comment 16525585 DCGMan said:

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as said earlier in this thread I find most men or modern day commentating in general to be annoying. I would rather listen to men call the games or talk sports in general. There are some great female studio hosts especially Rebecca Lowe covering the EPL for NBC. She's one of the best in the business regardless of gender. I like the old school hosts like Hannah Storm and Linda Cohn but again that's more of a generational thing than a gender one. Probably because I'm getting old.

I don't think it's a generational thing in terms of preference. I think after some of those women paved the way, the doors opened and networks ran with it in a different direction. More often than not, they are choosing women for reasons other than what they offer to the broadcast.

In comment 16525556 Heisenberg said:

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In comment 16525551 bluefin said: Quote: is great Agree. Fun personality and knows the game.

+1

I think it's unfortunate they added her to the booth with John Sterling. Prior to her doing game broadcasts, she was very good as a locker room reporter. She had great relationships with players, coaches, and management and always had good information nobody else had. As a game broadcaster, she leaves a lot to be desired and also had to pander to him.

We'll see how she is as a mentor, though. She is very close with Meredith Marakovits, whoseems to be one of the people potentially in line to fill in for Suzyn and ultimately replace her, as she did last weekend. I didn't get to hear her broadcast, though.

because of their gender and looks. Marakovits is a good example. She does a pretty good job on field before and after games. But, you get a lot of snickers and comments when her name comes up due to her looks (or features). That's an extra hurdle for them to deal with.

It's almost as if some women are good at it, and some not. Kind of like how some men are good at it, and some not?

In comment 16525595 christian said:

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It's almost as if some women are good at it, and some not. Kind of like how some men are good at it, and some not?

Anecdotally, I find most are not. But, I think it's the wrong women chosen for the wrong reasons most of the time.

Listening to Beth mowins do a ESPN noon college game between Noethwestern and Indiana for years?

In comment 16525603 Matt M. said:

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It's almost as if some women are good at it, and some not. Kind of like how some men are good at it, and some not? Anecdotally, I find most are not. But, I think it's the wrong women chosen for the wrong reasons most of the time.

What percentage of male commentators do you find good at their job?

In comment 16525633 christian said:

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In comment 16525603 Matt M. said: Quote: It's almost as if some women are good at it, and some not. Kind of like how some men are good at it, and some not? Anecdotally, I find most are not. But, I think it's the wrong women chosen for the wrong reasons most of the time. What percentage of male commentators do you find good at their job?

Good question. Not overwhelming, but I think more because I don't think most of them are being hired for their looks. Also, more often than not, in the booth, the color-men/analysts are often former players or coaches, who offer a unique insight, which most of the females counterparts do not. At least not in football and in baseball, the softball experience isn't the same thing.

In comment 16525635 Matt M. said:

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In comment 16525633 christian said: Quote: In comment 16525603 Matt M. said: Quote: It's almost as if some women are good at it, and some not. Kind of like how some men are good at it, and some not? Anecdotally, I find most are not. But, I think it's the wrong women chosen for the wrong reasons most of the time. What percentage of male commentators do you find good at their job? Good question. Not overwhelming, but I think more because I don't think most of them are being hired for their looks. Also, more often than not, in the booth, the color-men/analysts are often former players or coaches, who offer a unique insight, which most of the females counterparts do not. At least not in football and in baseball, the softball experience isn't the same thing.

And, all that said, your inference may be correct that there are just as many shitty male broadcasters who aren't under the same scrutiny.

I'm not a big fan of generalizing, so I'm more comfortable judging on a case-by-case basis.

If the decision is Doris Burke vs. Mark Jackson, it's Burke by a mile. The guy who she replaced is terrible.

The reason I ask about male commentators, is my sense is fans just don't like a lot of the people who do that job.

In comment 16525643 christian said:

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I'm not a big fan of generalizing, so I'm more comfortable judging on a case-by-case basis. If the decision is Doris Burke vs. Mark Jackson, it's Burke by a mile. The guy who she replaced is terrible. The reason I ask about male commentators, is my sense is fans just don't like a lot of the people who do that job.

I don't disagree on Jackson. The problem is I just don't like Burke either. Never have.

In comment 16525649 Matt M. said:

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I'm not a big fan of generalizing, so I'm more comfortable judging on a case-by-case basis. If the decision is Doris Burke vs. Mark Jackson, it's Burke by a mile. The guy who she replaced is terrible. The reason I ask about male commentators, is my sense is fans just don't like a lot of the people who do that job. I don't disagree on Jackson. The problem is I just don't like Burke either. Never have.

Would it be fair to say you don't like Jackson nor Burke, because they are bad commentators, and not because of their gender?

but can't stand Doris Burke.

I don't think it's a men versus woman thing, I think like anything else it's just a matter of talent. Doris knows basketball, but is brutally boring to listen to.

So if someone happens to not like any of the women doing it, that's not outside the realm of possibility to me.

I think it was ABC one year had free online streaming of MNF games where you could control the camera you were watching from and could toggle the announcer/color guy off. It was a sublime home viewing experience.

It's one of the reasons I like going to local college football games. Avoid the hassle of NFL games and watch a game with perfect picture and no one telling me what I just saw every play.

A sports broadcast with a female announcer, but so far, it just hasn't happened yet.

It just sounds kind of annoying to me.

When I'm watching a cooking show, however, I'm hanging on every word! 😂 day

I think a good place to start is, what NBA commentators are good?

Monica McNutt is fantastic and tied with Ruocco for me as my favorite young-ish, new-ish announcers.

In comment 16525519 jvm52106 said:

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This thread is wow.

Pure entertainment .... but a reminder how the "isms" live and thrive ...

to save the day.

In comment 16525730 BJacobs The Tiptoe Bandit said:

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to save the day.

Wah. Someone started a thread and then people discussed the topic. Did that make you sad?

In comment 16525730 BJacobs The Tiptoe Bandit said:

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to save the day.

The fact that a bunch of us like Monica McNutt does not qualify as white knighting.

has come up a couple of times on the Knick threads and she has and almost 100% approval rating. People really seem to like her.

In comment 16525551 bluefin said:

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is great

I met and hung out with both Monica McNutt and Kazeem Famuyide at an event a couple years back. Both were really cool people. I'm definitely a fan of her as an announcer too.

I don't like Doris Burke honestly but I don't like most male announcers either. There are some great ones like Breen/Harlan but most of them are annoying.

In comment 16525749 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:

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I met and hung out with both Monica McNutt and Kazeem Famuyide at an event a couple years back. Both were really cool people. I'm definitely a fan of her as an announcer too. I don't like Doris Burke honestly but I don't like most male announcers either. There are some great ones like Breen/Harlan but most of them are annoying.

I'm right there with you. There are good and bad male and female announcers.

In comment 16525520 moespree said:

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Dorris Burke and JJ Reddick don't talk enough at all. You can tell there are moments where Breen is intentionally trying to get something from either of them and it's just silence. It does seem like Dorris is intentionally trying to dial it back. But now it's to the point where she barely says anything.

And for me that is a very, very welcome circumstance. The play is the game, not the sound.

In comment 16525651 christian said:

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In comment 16525649 Matt M. said: Quote: I'm not a big fan of generalizing, so I'm more comfortable judging on a case-by-case basis. If the decision is Doris Burke vs. Mark Jackson, it's Burke by a mile. The guy who she replaced is terrible. The reason I ask about male commentators, is my sense is fans just don't like a lot of the people who do that job. I don't disagree on Jackson. The problem is I just don't like Burke either. Never have. Would it be fair to say you don't like Jackson nor Burke, because they are bad commentators, and not because of their gender?

100%.

is always super annoyed by the female sideline reporters. She’s like “what the hell do they know” lol.

IMO

In comment 16525556 Heisenberg said:
[quote] In comment 16525551 bluefin said:


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is great



Agree. Fun personality and knows the game.

I personally really like Doris Burke too. She really knows her shit.

On the flip side, I don't like Suzyn Waldman. I find her color commentary to be pretty inane. I don't find her insights to be anything better than the average fan and she has a voice best suited for print journalism. [/quote


Hmmm, it's almost like each announcer needs to be judged on their own individual merits and not lumped into a bucket the size of 51% of the population. What the hell are we doing here?

intelligent and knows the game well.

In comment 16525795 eric2425ny said:

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is always super annoyed by the female sideline reporters. She’s like “what the hell do they know” lol.

My wife couldn’t care less about who’s announcing, she just wants me to shut up during games so I stop scaring the dog.

But im not offended by the idea. I think Doris gets too much hate, she knows the game, just dont like when she really showers certain guys with praise.

I did see that one viral baseball clip where the woman butchered it. I think its fair to say the depth of talent is not there relative to men, but that being said I really dont like RJ and its not like Reggie Miller sees the game all that deeply. Even JVG who I loved seems to be disliked by most.

I find it hard to not reflexively think they suck, and also hard not to grade them on a curve when I think theyre good. It'll probably take a legitimately awesome female announcer to change things.

In comment 16525808 Ira said:

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intelligent and knows the game well.

Hope this link works…here’s Monica McNutt

Link - ( New Window )

is like a very early AI video game announcer. She says nothing that's particularly incorrect or annoying and nothing that is interesting or insightful. "Tyrese Halliburton....this kid can really fill it up when he gets going...these Knicks are one hard-nosed team..."

I don't believe for a minute there are fans who want the commentators to say more or be more loud. That runs in direct opposition to my lift time of observations from fans who say commentators say too much and are too loud.

Does anyone want the Tony Romo of basketball?

she can't stop moving, hands, face, legs, body......wow almost like she is on something or something wrong....watch her the other day and she was all over the place...maybe too much coffee before she goes on but she's sexy as hell though.

In comment 16525747 Enzo said:

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has come up a couple of times on the Knick threads and she has and almost 100% approval rating. People really seem to like her.

Posting this link again - Monica is almost as great Clyde himself
Link - ( New Window )

In comment 16525669 MotownGIANTS said:

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In comment 16525519 jvm52106 said: Quote: This thread is wow. Pure entertainment .... but a reminder how the "isms" live and thrive ...

You want pure entertainment, listen to women talk about other women. Hehe. Cats and cats.

In comment 16525834 Route 9 said:

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In comment 16525669 MotownGIANTS said: Quote: In comment 16525519 jvm52106 said: Quote: This thread is wow. Pure entertainment .... but a reminder how the "isms" live and thrive ... You want pure entertainment, listen to women talk about other women. Hehe. Cats and cats.

that’s hysterical

for example, she talks in theory well, but I noticed when she'd call the Knicks, she was really very much on the surface and a few times said things that made me say, "What?" One example I can specifically remember ... she said of Hartenstein once, when he was having a solid game, something along the lines of "the Knicks will have trouble keeping Hartenstein on their roster next year."

Don't the Knicks have his "early bird" rights, which will make it a ... I don't wanna say a slam dunk he'll return, but he stands to just about double his salary.

With regard to Monica, it's been fun watching her role increase the past few years with the Knicks broadcasts and beyond. She played at a high level, and really knows the game. You can also tell that she has a great rapport with Wally, Alan Hahn and Billy Pidto.

In comment 16525824 bluefin said:

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In comment 16525747 Enzo said: Quote: has come up a couple of times on the Knick threads and she has and almost 100% approval rating. People really seem to like her. Posting this link again - Monica is almost as great Clyde himself Link - ( New Window )

That whole call is fantastic. Her face ... LOL Love that she's a big fan, too. Makes it more fun. Like Breen, Clyde, and the guys in the Mets booth.

In comment 16525864 Beezer said:

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for example, she talks in theory well, but I noticed when she'd call the Knicks, she was really very much on the surface and a few times said things that made me say, "What?" One example I can specifically remember ... she said of Hartenstein once, when he was having a solid game, something along the lines of "the Knicks will have trouble keeping Hartenstein on their roster next year." Don't the Knicks have his "early bird" rights, which will make it a ... I don't wanna say a slam dunk he'll return, but he stands to just about double his salary. With regard to Monica, it's been fun watching her role increase the past few years with the Knicks broadcasts and beyond. She played at a high level, and really knows the game. You can also tell that she has a great rapport with Wally, Alan Hahn and Billy Pidto.

Burke is not wrong about that. Early bird rights limit how much the Knicks can match without using cap room. If a suitor exceeds that, the Knicks are in a pickle if they want to keep him.

As an announcer, I think she's average to slightly below average. I think she's better in other roles, but she doesn't actively annoy me the way certain other announcers do.

I believe Meredith will eventually get some run in the booth and I think she deserves it. You can tell she knows her baseball and the Yankees.

My main gripe with announcers is Michael Kay. He strikes me as a good guy and obviously a huge Yankees fan, but I think Ruocco is just miles better.

They can show the game with the crowd noise and use graphics for stats. There really is no need for announcers. Most of the time, the announcers are an annoyance.

Flaherty and Marakovits are human melatonin; they could put anyone to sleep. Waldman was a baseball cliche machine.

I miss JVG. I thought he was one of the better ones.

I like Doc too.

In comment 16525581 averagejoe said:

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Monica McNutt is a real name ??? Mercy

Monica is awesome.

Am I right?

it's about owning the mic. The ones that bring it are epic. On balance, the players that played the game do it best.

Is that they have a love for life that exceeds the sport they’re covering. IMO thats what makes John and Pat so great/legendary.

Does Anita Marks still have anything to do with the Giants? She was a terrible person to listen to on Big Blue Kickoff Live around 10 years ago.

She'd talk as if she was this big football expert to everyone but screwed up so much shit and got a lot of it wrong. She was a joke ... As is Paul Dottino or whatever his name is.

I met Kim Jones a couple of times and she's super nice. Felt as if I was talking to a normal person and not some weird arrogant radio personality.

In comment 16526059 djm said:

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In comment 16525581 averagejoe said: Quote: Monica McNutt is a real name ??? Mercy Monica is awesome.

Monica was 2nd team All Big East at Georgetown, so she played the game - then she got her masters in journalism at U of Maryland, so she has chops there too.

In comment 16525923 Heisenberg said:

Quote:

In comment 16525864 Beezer said: Quote: for example, she talks in theory well, but I noticed when she'd call the Knicks, she was really very much on the surface and a few times said things that made me say, "What?" One example I can specifically remember ... she said of Hartenstein once, when he was having a solid game, something along the lines of "the Knicks will have trouble keeping Hartenstein on their roster next year." Don't the Knicks have his "early bird" rights, which will make it a ... I don't wanna say a slam dunk he'll return, but he stands to just about double his salary.

As usual, everyone else is right and BEEZ is wrong. Knicks can only offer him 4 years 72.5 mil with built in raises, I Believe 8%. They can't exceed this but they can exceed the cap. I have read that they can offer him a one year deal to get his full Bird rights and then a larger deal. I don't know if that's true or not, but I defer to someone other than BEEZ.

During the 2024 NCCA Football Championship ESPN (I think) aired a sky cam feed that had nothing but stadium audio. I may be in the minority but I absolutely loved it. I wish they would offer all sports broadcasted like this.