Doris Burke Uses World War II Reference To Build Rivalry Between Rudy Gobert And Isaiah Hartenstein
Doris Burke's unexpected World War II reference during Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals sparked a flurry of online reactions, ranging from amusement to outright backlash after she used the moment to dramatize a dunk by Rudy Gobert over Isaiah Hartenstein.
In a playoff game loaded with international stars, Burke attempted to inject some historical flair into the rivalry between Gobert, a Frenchman, and Hartenstein, who holds German nationality.
Advertisement
'And I don't know much about history, but I know the French and German don't like one another. And Rudy says, 'Bonjour, Mr. Hartenstein! Have a little bit of that.''
Her partner, Mike Breen, quickly interjected, chuckling, 'What are you trying to start here?'
The line instantly went viral, triggering a fierce debate across NBA Twitter. While some found it to be lighthearted banter and a harmless bit of color commentary, others labeled it unnecessary and tasteless, accusing Burke of forcing history into basketball discourse.
Some even called for ESPN to reconsider her position in the broadcast booth, dubbing her 'the worst commentator of all time.' Others, though, appreciated the attempt to add a storytelling layer to a matchup between two of Europe's premier big men.
Advertisement
Whether the joke landed or not, Burke wasn't entirely off base. France and Germany have a centuries-old history of rivalry, most notably marked by their roles in both World Wars, where they stood on opposing sides.
Germany's occupation of France during World War II left a lasting national scar and remains a defining chapter in both countries' modern history. Though relations between the nations have since stabilized, that tension is often revived playfully in competitive arenas such as soccer and, increasingly, basketball.
Gobert and Hartenstein, both physical rim protectors, have clashed throughout the series, battling for rebounds and interior dominance. Burke's line was a cheeky way to tie in the physicality and pride between two European bigs with real national stakes.
While Hartenstein was born in Oregon, he was raised in Germany, holds dual citizenship, and has represented Germany internationally, making Burke's premise valid, at least geographically.
Advertisement
Still, the timing and historical reach were jarring for many viewers. The World War II reference came moments before a commercial break, seemingly pulled out of nowhere. Her tone was more comedic than serious, but for some fans, invoking such a serious topic during a tightly contested NBA game was simply off-key.
The irony? Burke's line, meant as a throwaway, may have unintentionally ignited a mini-rivalry. Neither Gobert nor Hartenstein has addressed this, but the added layer of personal and historical pride could very well bleed into Game 5. If nothing else, it gave the series some extra narrative spice.
While her delivery divided fans, Doris Burke has never been one to shy away from adding drama to the broadcast. Love it or hate it, her 'Bonjour, Mr. Hartenstein' call won't be forgotten anytime soon, and in that sense, maybe she did exactly what a good broadcaster should.
Related: Anthony Edwards Explains Why Chet Holmgren Was The Game Changer For OKC In Game 4
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
UFC 316 weigh-in results, live video stream
UFC 316 weigh-in results, live video stream MORRISTOWN, N.J. – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday's UFC 316 fighter weigh-ins. The early weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in New Jersey and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 5 p.m. ET at Prudential Center in nearby Newark. The same venue hosts Saturday's event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Among those weighing in are bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and ex-champ Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who meet in a main event title rematch, and women's bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) puts her belt up against two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time PFL champion and 8-1 betting favorite Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the co-feature. Complete UFC 316 weigh-in results include: MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) Champ Merab Dvalishvili () vs. Sean O'Malley () – for bantamweight title Champ Julianna Peña () vs. Kayla Harrison () – for women's bantamweight title Kelvin Gastelum () vs. Joe Pyfer () Mario Bautista () vs. Patchy Mix () Kevin Holland () vs. Vicente Luque () PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) Bruno Silva () vs. Joshua Van () Azamat Murzakanov () vs. Brendson Ribeiro () Waldo Cortes-Acosta () vs. Serghei Spivac () Andreas Gustafsson () vs. Khaos Williams () PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
UFC 316 weigh-in results, live video stream
MORRISTOWN, N.J. – MMA Junkie is on scene and reporting live from Friday's UFC 316 fighter weigh-ins. The early weigh-ins take place at the UFC host hotel in New Jersey and precede the ceremonial weigh-ins for the fans, which take place at 5 p.m. ET at Prudential Center in nearby Newark. The same venue hosts Saturday's event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+). Advertisement Among those weighing in are bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA, 12-2 UFC) and ex-champ Sean O'Malley (18-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who meet in a main event title rematch, and women's bantamweight titleholder Julianna Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) puts her belt up against two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time PFL champion and 8-1 betting favorite Kayla Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in the co-feature. Complete UFC 316 weigh-in results include: MAIN CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET) Champ Merab Dvalishvili () vs. Sean O'Malley () – for bantamweight title Champ Julianna Peña () vs. Kayla Harrison () – for women's bantamweight title Kelvin Gastelum () vs. Joe Pyfer () Mario Bautista () vs. Patchy Mix () Kevin Holland () vs. Vicente Luque () PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET) Bruno Silva () vs. Joshua Van () Azamat Murzakanov () vs. Brendson Ribeiro () Waldo Cortes-Acosta () vs. Serghei Spivac () Andreas Gustafsson () vs. Khaos Williams () PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET) Wang Cong () vs. Ariane da Silva () Jeka Saragih () vs. Joo Sang Yoo () Yanal Ashmouz () vs. Quillan Salkilld () Mark Choinski () vs. MarQuel Mederos () This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 316 weigh-in results, live video stream (9 a.m. ET)
Los Angeles Times
36 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: Michael Conforto helps Dodgers earn a split with the Mets
From Benjamin Royer: It was supposed to be a day off for Freddie Freeman. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts quipped before the game that the 35-year-old veteran first baseman had begun to understand the value of an off day as he's dealt with discomfort in his ankle this season. But with the go-ahead run on second base in the eighth inning, Roberts summoned Freeman off the bench. Was it time for another magical, Freddie Freeman moment at Chavez Ravine? Not so fast. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called for an intentional walk, and up walked Michael Conforto. The 46,364 fans at Dodger Stadium already booed the struggling outfielder after his third-inning strikeout. Hitting .165 entering the game, he was one of the unlikeliest to lead the Dodgers to a comeback victory. But all Conforto needed was one hit, one chance. And he delivered. Against Mets setup man Reed Garrett, Conforto ripped a go-ahead RBI single into left field, helping the Dodgers complete a three-run comeback to defeat the Mets 6-5 and salvage a series split against a potential NL playoff opponent. 'It's been a grind up to this point,' Conforto said. 'All I want to do is go up there and help us win. A lot of those situations I've come up short, so to come through today was everything.' Continue reading here Will Dodgers' pitchers ever get healthy? How the team is tackling its biggest problem Shohei Ohtani thought he was 'in trouble' before Dave Roberts gifted him a toy Porsche Dodgers box score MLB scores MLB standings All Times Pacific NBA FINALS Oklahoma City vs. Indiana Indiana 111, at Oklahoma City 110 (box score, story)Sunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABCWednesday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCFriday at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCMonday, June 16 at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Thursday, June 19 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC* *if necessary As popular as Coco Gauff is, she knew full well that nearly all of the 15,000 fans at Court Philippe-Chatrier would be against her during the French Open semifinals Thursday. That's because Gauff, an American, was taking on a French opponent — and one who came from nowhere, 361st-ranked Loïs Boisson. So the No. 2-seeded Gauff turned to a trick that 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic has talked about using: When the partisan crowd was loudly singing Boisson's first name, Gauff pretended they were chanting 'Coco!' Not that it mattered much, truly, because Gauff was by far the superior player throughout a 6-1, 6-2 victory that earned her a second trip to the final at Roland-Garros. Three years ago, Gauff missed out on a chance to leave with the trophy when Iga Swiatek beat her. This time, Swiatek won't be around for the championship match on Saturday because her 26-match unbeaten run at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament ended earlier Thursday with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 loss to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Continue reading here All times Pacific STANLEY CUP FINALS Edmonton vs. Floridaat Edmonton 4, Florida 3 (OT) (summary, story)Friday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTMonday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTThursday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTSaturday, June 14 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*Tuesday, June 17 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT*Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT* * If necessary 1919 — Man o' War wins his first race, a 5-furlong contest over a straightaway at Belmont Park. The 3-to-5 favorite wins by six lengths, covering the distance in 59 seconds. 1924 — Cyril Walker captures the U.S. Open with a three-stroke victory over Bobby Jones. 1936 — Granville, ridden by James Stout, wins the Belmont Stakes by a neck over Mr. Bones. Bold Venture, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, does not run in the race. 1946 — The National Basketball Assn. is founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York. 1966 — NFL & AFL announce their merger. 1969 — Joe Namath resigns from NFL after Pete Rozelle, football commissioner, said he must sell his stake in a bar. 1976 — 30th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2. 1981 — Summing, ridden by George Martins, wins the Belmont Stakes, spoiling Pleasant Colony's Triple Crown bid. 1987 — Bet Twice, ridden by Craig Perret, breezes to a 14-length victory in the Belmont Stakes to deny Alysheba the Triple Crown. Alysheba is a distant fourth. 1987 — West Germany's Steffi Graf, eight days shy of her 18th birthday, becomes the youngest women's champion of the French Open when she beats Martina Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6. 1998 — Real Quiet is denied the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop edges him at the wire in the Belmont Stakes. 1999 — Andre Agassi rallies to win the French Open and become the fifth man to complete a career Grand Slam. After losing the first two sets, Agassi surges back to beat Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Agassi won the 1992 Wimbledon, 1994 U.S. Open and 1995 Australian Open. 1999 — Juli Inkster wins the U.S. Women's Open with a 16-under 272, the lowest 72-hole score in the championship's 54-year history. 2007 — The Ducks capture the Stanley Cup with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, ending the series in five games. 2010 — Rafael Nadal wins his fifth French Open title and avenges his lone Roland Garros defeat, beating Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal improves to 38-1 at Roland Garros, with the only loss to Soderling in the fourth round a year ago. 2011 — The Bowl Championship Series strips USC of its 2004 title, leaving that season without a BCS champion. BCS officials vacated the championship after the Trojans were hit with heavy NCAA sanctions last year for rules violations committed during the 2004 and '05 seasons. 2015 — American Pharoah leads all the way to win the Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths, becoming the first horse in 37 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The bay colt, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, is the 12th horse and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown. 2015 — Serena Williams overcomes a mid-match lull and a third-set deficit to win her third French Open title and 20th major singles trophy by beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2. 2015 — Tiger Woods hits a new low with the highest score of his career — an 85 in the Memorial at Muirfield Village, the course where he has won eight times. Woods ends his front nine of the third round with back-to-back double bogeys and finishes with a quadruple-bogey 8. 2015 — UEFA Champions League Final, Berlin: FC Barcelona beats Juventus, 3-1 for 5th title and second treble (Spanish La Liga & Cup champions). 2018 — LeBron James passes Michael Jordan's record of 109 for the most 30-point games in NBA playoff history in a 110-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors. 2023 — In a stunning development, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League agree to unify to create its own for-profit entity to be run by the PGA Tour and funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. 1918 — Casey Stengel, after being traded by Brooklyn in the offseason, made his return to Ebbets Field a memorable one. In his first at-bat, Stengel called time, stepped out of the batter's box and doffed his cap. A bird flew out and the fans broke into laughter. 1934 — Myril Hoag hit a major league record six singles in the New York Yankees' 15-3 rout of the Boston Red Sox. 1939 — The New York Giants hit five home runs in the fourth inning in a 17-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at the Polo Grounds. With two out, Harry Danning, Al Demaree, Burgess Whitehead, Manny Salvo and Joe Moore connected as the Giants scored eight runs in the inning. 1945 — In the first game of a doubleheader, Boston's Boo Ferriss scattered 14 hits to beat Philadelphia 5-2. Ferris, 8-0 on the year, tied the AL mark held by Chicago's John Whitehead for wins at the start of a career. 1975 — Cleveland manager Frank Robinson hit two three-run homers in a 7-5 win over the Texas Rangers. 1986 — San Diego Padres manager Steve Boros was ejected before the first pitch of the game with the Atlanta Braves when he tried to give umpire Charlie Williams a videotape of a disputed play in the previous night's 4-2 loss to Atlanta. 1992 — Eddie Murray drove in two runs at Pittsburgh to pass Mickey Mantle (1,509) as the all-time RBI leader among switch-hitters. 1995 — J.D. Drew of Florida State hit a record-setting three homers in his final three at-bats in a 16-11 loss to USC in the College World Series. Drew finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs and 12 total bases, also a series record. 1996 — For the second time in major league history and first in the AL, a cycle and a triple play took place in the same game. Boston's John Valentin hit for the cycle, while Chicago turned a triple play in the Red Sox's 7-4 victory. In 1931, Philadelphia's Chuck Klein hit for the cycle in the same game that the Phillies turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs. 2000 — The Rally Monkey is born, thanks to the Angels' video crew playing a clip from the 1994 film Ace Ventura, Pet Detective on the JumboTron. With the words Rally Monkey superimposed over a monkey jumping up and down in the Jim Carrey movie, the crowd goes wild as the Angels score two runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5. 2003 — Insisting the corked bat, designed to put on home run displays during batting practice, was accidentally used in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is suspended for eight games by Major League Baseball. Bob Watson, baseball's vice president of on-field operations, agrees that the Cubs outfielder's use of an illegal bat was an 'isolated incident,' but one that still deserves a penalty. 2007 — Trevor Hoffman became the first major leaguer with 500 career saves when he closed out the San Diego Padres' 5-2 victory over the Dodgers. 2017 — Scooter Gennett hit four home runs, matching the major league record, and finished with 10 RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds routed the St. Louis Cardinals 13-1. Gennett became the 17th player to homer four times in one game. 2022 — Eduardo Escobar hits for the cycle in an 11-5 win over the Padres; he is the first Mets player to do so since Scott Hairston in 2012, and the first player for any team to accomplish the feat at Petco Park. Compiled by the Associated Press That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
