Brendan Burke (born July 8, 1984) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
sportscaster for
MSG Networks, the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
and
Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
.
Early life
Burke was born in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, Wisconsin, while his father, Don, (sportswriter) covered the then-
IHL Milwaukee Admirals,
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
and
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
.
In 1990, Burke moved to
Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and later attended
Paramus Catholic High School
Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Mon ...
.
Broadcasting career
Burke's broadcasting career began during his undergraduate tenure at
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...
, where he served as the sports director for both of the campus radio stations.
Following graduation, he broadcast minor league baseball for the
Batavia Muckdogs (NYPL) and the
Lakewood BlueClaws (
SAL
Sal, SAL, or S.A.L. may refer to:
Personal name
* Sal (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname
Places
* Sal, Cape Verde, an island and municipality
* Sal, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Ca ...
).
[ At 22 , he was hired by the ]Wheeling Nailers
The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Lea ...
and became the youngest broadcaster in the ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
.[ During his time with Nailers, he was honored as the 2008 ECHL Broadcaster of the Year, and was selected to broadcast the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game.][
Burke spent five seasons as the voice of the ]American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
's Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs:
*Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984
*Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005
*Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013
*Peoria Rivermen (SP ...
, who were purchased by the NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
and moved to Utica in 2013. During the 2011-12 NHL season, he filled in for select games as the play-by-play broadcaster for the NHL's St. Louis Blues on KMOX radio. In July 2013, he was hired by the Utica Comets
The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wit ...
as the play-by-play broadcaster and head of public relations.[
Since 2012, Burke has called the outdoor high school games as part of ]Hockey Day Minnesota
Hockey Day Minnesota is an annual event in Minnesota run in cooperation with the Minnesota Wild and Bally Sports North that celebrates the sport of hockey throughout the state. Now a multi-day showcase, the event is held in mid-to-late January or e ...
for Fox Sports North
Bally Sports North is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. The channel broadcasts coverage of sporting events involving teams located in the Upper Midwest region, with a focu ...
. Burke handles play-by-play for college football broadcasts on Fox Sports Net along with analyst Ben Leber
Ben Leber (born December 7, 1978) is a retired American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft and later played for the Minnesota Vikings.
Earl ...
. He has also called college hockey for the Big Ten Network
Big Ten Network (BTN) is an American sports network based in Chicago, Illinois. The channel is dedicated to coverage of collegiate sports sanctioned by the Big Ten Conference, including live and recorded event telecasts, news, analysis programs, ...
.[
Burke was named to the "Top 30 Sportscasters Under 30" list released in 2014 by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.
On July 30, 2015, he received the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the 2014-15 season. The award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding media coverage of the American Hockey League. He has also been part of the broadcast teams for four AHL All-Star Classics (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019).
On August 11, 2016, Brendan was named as play-by-play announcer for the ]New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
, replacing Howie Rose
Howard Jeffrey Rose (born February 13, 1954) is an American sportscaster. He is currently a radio broadcaster for the New York Mets on WCBS. Previously, Rose called play-by-play for the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
Early life
Ros ...
who stepped down earlier that year. Since 2017, even if the Islanders missed the playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, Burke was hired to broadcast the playoffs for the NHL on NBC
The ''NHL on NBC'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by NBC Sports, and televised on NBC properties, including MSNBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, USA Network and NBCSN in the United States.
While NBC covered t ...
channels.
In the summer of 2019, he was named one of the inaugural voices of the Premier Lacrosse League on NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
.
Burke is the secondary full-time play-by-play announcers for ''NHL on TNT
The ''NHL on TNT'' is an American presentation of National Hockey League (NHL) games produced by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (formerly known as Turner Sports), and televised on TNT in the United States.
In 2021, Turner Sports reached a seven-y ...
'', pairing with Darren Pang
Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89).
He is currently the lead c ...
and Jennifer Botterill
Jennifer Botterill, (born May 1, 1979) is a Canadian former women's hockey player and current hockey broadcast television analyst who played for Harvard University, the Canadian national team, the Mississauga Chiefs, and the Toronto Aeros. She ...
on the #2 team.
On July 2 and 3, 2022, Burke filled in for John Sterling on the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
' radio broadcasts for a series against the Cleveland Guardians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
. Burke also called following Yankees' series against the Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
, and Los Angeles Angels. He also filled in on WCBS' broadcasts of New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
games.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Brendan
Living people
People from Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Ithaca College alumni
College football announcers
College hockey announcers in the United States
American radio sports announcers
American Hockey League broadcasters
National Hockey League broadcasters
St. Louis Blues announcers
People from Milwaukee
1984 births
Paramus Catholic High School alumni