Looking at grouping of announcers; Gary Thorne, Norm Hitzges, Dick Vitale, Doris Burke and Joe Bowen

By 1976, Gary Thorne graduated from the University of Maine and Georgetown Law School, paying tuition as a sportscaster/disc jockey. The sundowner became Bangor district assistant attorney, joined the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, and turned from law to love. “The court’s dull compared to broadcasting,” Gary said, starting hockey in 1977 on Augusta radio/TV. By 1984, he had leverage with baseball’s Triple-A Maine Guides: co-owner, Thorne named himself. “My family thinks I’m out of my mind [leaving law], but here I am,” said the Red Sox and Bruins fan, “calling my two girls.”

Take two, and hit to right. He shoots-he scores! Thorne’s goal was the bigs, reached in 1985. Presently the real work began. Joining Murphy on Mets radio, Gary loved “big games and buzz.” His 1987-93 NHL New Jersey Devils oozed anonymity. “Worse were my neutral games [SportsChannel America]-hockey’s sick idea of a network.” In 1988, he launched ESPN’s still-running “The Sports Reporters.” That winter, a hockey conflict gave the Mets the boot. Thorne covered the 1989 White Sox and ABC TV, including the Series as on-field reporter. Timing was the rub.

Gary and Norm Hitzges, the pastime’s would-be Dick Vitale, began twice-weekly coverage. “They threaten the very core of the game,” barbed The National’s Norman Chad, “if not the nation at large.” I agreed, calling Thorne “banal and humorless.” The last laugh was his. October 3, 1990.

A.L. Boston leads second-place Toronto: one game up, and left. At Fenway, the Red Sox front, 3-1, ninth inning, on ESPN: like 1986, one strike to go. Two White Sox reach base. Ozzie Guillen then lined to right, Tom Brunansky vanishing in the corner. “No camera showed whether he caught the ball,” said The New York Times, “not even a slow-motion version of the original view.” Thorne wavered. “Brunansky dives!” he said. “Did he get it? Yes, the Red Sox win! No, he dropped the ball! He dropped the ball!” amending, “Wait! He got it! Believe it, New England!” ESPN head Steve Bornstein disbelieved the play. “Murphy’s Law struck. What used to happen to the Red Sox happened penned to us.”

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Doris Burke is a basketball color voice. She sounds confidently for ESPN.

Burke is not a fan-favorite among hoop announcer. It is not uncommon for certain TV announcers with biases. But Burke has the rare talent that makes it seem like she hates both teams.

During the Western Conference Finals, she received some flak when she called Gilgeous-Alexander a “free-throw merchant” in Game #1 of the series.

“Oklahoma City fans took exception to that. They didn’t like it,” Burke said via the New York Post. “And usually, I can tell I feel like I’m doing a decent job when multiple fan bases are pissed off at me … at various times, Boston fans think I hate them, Knicks fans think. I hate them, Sixers fans, and now Oklahoma City’s like, ‘why doesn’t Doris like SGA?’ I love SGA. Absolutely love him.”

Burke isn’t going away anytime soon, but it doesn’t mean fans will come around and begin to like her, particularly the fanbases she mentioned in the above quote. This season,

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Joe Bowen, known colloquially as the voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs, says he plans to retire after the 2025-2026 season.

Bowen, who has called over 3,000 Maple Leafs games across regular seasons, playoffs, and pre‑season, made the announcement on social media.

“I have been totally blessed to do ‘My Dream Job,’ eclipsing the career of my idol, Foster Hewitt,” Bowen said. “I will reach over 3,800 games sometime this season. Thanks so very much to all who have made this wonderful career possible!”

Bowen became the Leafs’ play‑by‑play announcer in October of 1982. Between 1989 and 1995, and from 1998 to 2014, the Sudbury, Ont., native served as the play-by-play voice for mid-week regional television broadcasts of Maple Leafs games.

He moved exclusively to radio in 2014 after Rogers Communications secured national NHL broadcasting rights, continuing his team coverage on Sportsnet 590 The Fan and TSN Radio 1050, alongside longtime analyst Jim Ralph.

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