Jim Paschke (born November 21, 1950) 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 ...

retired sportscaster. Paschke has handled

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

duties for a wide array of sports at all levels, but is most recognized for his work as the

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 ...

television announcer (1987–1991, 1995–1996),

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football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

announcer, and was most recently the television voice of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

(1986–2021). A native of

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, Paschke began his broadcasting career in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

Knoxville, Iowa Knoxville is a city in Marion County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,595 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 7,313 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Marion County. Knoxville is home of the National Sprint Ca ...

, after attending the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and graduating from Brown Institute, in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. On April 15, 1987, television viewers and

fans heard Paschke call the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in franchise history. In October 2007, Paschke was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as a "Friend of Basketball." He is an eight-time Chicago/Midwest regional

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

winner. In 2013 Paschke was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ prestigious Silver Circle, an honor given to outstanding individuals who have devoted 25 years or more to the local television industry. Paschke was also inducted into the Milwaukee Press Club’s Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2018, Paschke was named recipient of the

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's Todd Harris Spirit Award. Paschke was the author of ''Paschketball'', a

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featured on the Milwaukee Bucks' website. "Paschketball" was coined by a young Bucks fan, Matt Gritzmacher. While he didn't rely on stock signature calls for plays, Paschke was known for saying sometimes when the home crowd was roaring even louder, especially after a big win, "This place is up for grabs!" In May 2021, Paschke announced his retirement from sportscasting at the conclusion of the 2020-21 NBA season. Paschke cited that the reason he was retiring was so he could spend more time with his family. Paschke's last game as an announcer was game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round, between the Bucks and the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

, on May 29, 2021. The Bucks won 120–103, sweeping the Heat and advancing to the conference semi-finals. The Bucks went on to win the NBA championship, defeating the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

in the

2021 NBA Finals The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks d ...

, winning their first NBA championship since 1971. Paschke was unable to attend the Bucks' Finals-clinching win and the victory parade two days later, after testing positive for Covid-19. Bucks superstar

Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo (born Adetokunbo; December 6, 1994) is a Greek-Nigerian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Antetokounmpo's country of origin, in addition to his s ...

honored Paschke's absence in the post-game press conference by wearing a special "Paschketball" t-shirt. Paschke returned to Fiserv Forum as the pregame ceremony host for the Bucks' 2021 season opener, which included presentation of the Bucks' championship rings and championship banner. When Giannis Antetokounmpo was presented with his ring, Paschke took off his sport coat, revealing a t-shirt similar to the "Paschketball" shirt that Antetokounmpo wore after the Bucks won the NBA Championship, only with Giannis' face on it, instead of Paschke's.

References

1950 births Living people American sports announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Milwaukee Brewers announcers Milwaukee Bucks announcers Minor League Baseball broadcasters National Basketball Association broadcasters Regional Emmy Award winners Sportspeople from Bloomington, Minnesota University of Minnesota alumni Wisconsin Badgers football announcers {{US-tv-bio-stub