Brendan Burke (sportscaster)

Burke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, while his father, Don, (sportswriter) covered the then-IHL Milwaukee Admirals, Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers.[1] In 1990, Burke moved to Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and later attended Paramus Catholic High School.[2]

Burke's broadcasting career began during his undergraduate tenure at Ithaca College, where he served as the sports director for both of the campus radio stations.[3] Following graduation, he broadcast minor league baseball for the Batavia Muckdogs (NYPL) and the Lakewood BlueClaws (SAL).[3] At 22, he was hired by the Wheeling Nailers and became the youngest broadcaster in the ECHL.[1] During his time with Nailers, he was honored as the 2008 ECHL Broadcaster of the Year,[4] and was selected to broadcast the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game.[2]

Burke spent five seasons as the voice of the American Hockey League's Peoria Rivermen, who were purchased by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks and moved to Utica in 2013.[5] 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.[6] In July 2013, he was hired by the Utica Comets as the play-by-play broadcaster and head of public relations.[3]

Since 2012, Burke has called the outdoor high school games as part of Hockey Day Minnesota for Fox Sports North. Burke handles play-by-play for college football broadcasts on Fox Sports Net along with analyst Ben Leber. He has also called college hockey for the Big Ten Network.[5]

Burke was named to the "Top 30 Sportscasters Under 30" list released in 2014 by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America.[7]

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.[8] He has also been part of the broadcast teams for four AHL All-Star Classics (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019).[9][10][11][12]

On August 11, 2016, Brendan was named as play-by-play announcer for the New York Islanders, replacing Howie Rose, who stepped down earlier that year.[13] Since 2017, even if the Islanders missed the playoffs, Burke was hired to broadcast the playoffs for the NHL on NBC channels.[14][15]

In the summer of 2019, he was named one of the inaugural voices of the Premier Lacrosse League on NBC Sports.[16]

Burke is the secondary full-time play-by-play announcers for NHL on TNT, pairing with Darren Pang and Jennifer Botterill on the #2 team.[17]

On July 2 and 3, 2022, Burke filled in for John Sterling on the New York Yankees' radio broadcasts for a series against the Cleveland Guardians. Burke also called following Yankees' series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and Los Angeles Angels.[18] He also filled in on WCBS' broadcasts of New York Mets games.

In 2023, Burke returned to NBC and replaced Jason Benetti as the lead play-by-play announcer for MLB Sunday Leadoff package.[19] Burke will also call Big Ten football games for NBC and Peacock in the fall.