Kevin Burkhardt of SNY graduates from cars to kayak
I wrote a Sunday newspaper column/feature on SNY's Kevin Burkhardt, a former car salesman who has become a rising star at the network.
SNY and YES take dramatically different approaches to the sideline reporter job - wait a minute, there are no "sidelines" in baseball, are there? - but Burkhardt and YES' Kimberly Jones both stand out in what can be a difficult, thankless role.
(UPDATE: I'd like to clarify an ambiguously worded sentence in the story that caused some confusion for at least one reader. I wrote, Burkhardt, 34, said he would find YES' approach "boring . . . I love the way we do things." He was not saying he finds YES' telecast boring; he merely was saying he personally would find it boring to do the job if he were thus limited during the games themselves. Sigh. I should have listened to my mother and become a landscape architect.)
I visited with Burkhardt at the Yogi Berra Museum, where Ian Eagle and Bruce Beck were hosting 52 sports announcing campers. Yogi himself as well as other radio/TV types addressed the young hopefuls - ages 13 to 21 - during the week.
Ed Ingles conducted a sports broadcasting camp of his own at Hofstra the same week, training a new generation of announcers for WatchDog readers to someday complain to me about.
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Comments (4)
Neil,
You're absolutely right. Kevin and Kim are both absolute standouts. Consummate pros both.
Now, I guess, it's time to go back to your mancrush on Norm, Cartoon, and all the other amateurs.
I wish in-game out of the game reporters all the best in life, but somewhere other than in the baseball game I'm watching. It's a complete tune out. Perhaps a casual baseball fan would enjoy them but I wouldn't want them in any sport.
Hey!! I attended the program at Hofstra and it was one of the best weeks of my life. Though I think I would enjoy your job a little more than the tireless job of a broadcaster. I am leaning toward a career in sports writing rather than broadcasting. Ed Ingles' program was cool nonetheless. :)
Burkhardt seems like a genuine good guy, which comes across on TV, and I usually enjoy his segments. I could go without the "shtick" segments of him in kayaks etc..., but I think the segments where he provides useful tidbits of info that he gleans from being in the clubhouse everyday, or closer to the field, are great.