by BARRY HORN , THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

That led to women's college basketball work on regional cable television, which opened the door to WNBA games on Madison Square Garden Network and ESPN.

Along the way, she filled in for analyst Walt Frazier on MSG Network's coverage of New York Knicks games and secured a permanent seat on ESPN's telecasts of women's college basketball.

In 2003, she added NBA sideline duties to her ESPN r?sum?, and four seasons later, she slid into an NBA game analyst's seat.

Which brings us to this afternoon's Nuggets-Mavericks game at American Airlines Center. Burke will be the analyst for ESPN alongside play-by-play voice Dan Shulman.

You'll notice her right away. Sideline reporters and Gina Miller's excellent studio work aside, I can't recall a woman ever working in the analyst's seat courtside at a Mavericks game.

"If life is all about timing and circumstance, being in the right place at the right time, I have been extraordinarily fortunate," Burke said over the phone from her home in Rhode Island. "I've come a long way for someone who was a good Big East player and nothing more."

During the conversation, Burke apologized for returning a call before 8 a.m. Her time is tight. She's the mother of two teenagers, and there still are plenty of other parental duties between prepping for NBA playoff games.

Burke, who was introduced to the game when she was 7, played at Providence before getting into coaching. She is aware she never played or coached in the NBA or any other professional league and understands that some viewers may wonder what she is doing working courtside in the playoffs.

"To be honest, I am nervous at times because there is a percentage of the population that finds it strange and objects to hearing a women's voice during a basketball broadcast," she said. "What I do is try to get people as close to the action as possible and explain what I see happening out there.

"I'm not trying to pretend I have the experience of an Avery Johnson or a Jeff Van Gundy or a Mark Jackson, but I do have a feel for the ebb and flow of a game."

ESPN obviously thinks so. Her climb has been steady, and she is the only female analyst working NBA games for a national network.

"Doris has the unique ability to break down the game, provide inside analysis and explain it to viewers in an engaging fashion, which enhances our telecasts," said Bob Rauscher, ESPN's vice president for NBA production. "She's very well respected ... it was a natural move for her to join our NBA roster when the opportunity arose."

Burke said a NBA coach or player has never questioned her credentials and that her play-by-play partners have always treated her professionally.

"To a man, coaches and players have been incredibly respectful," she said. "Basketball people don't see gender. They see game."

On the sidelines

Working the Mavericks-Nuggets sidelines today will be 28-year ESPN veteran Nancy Lieberman, who is in her first season covering the NBA. Previously, she had been working a college basketball and WNBA schedule.

"This has been the happiest I have ever been," said Lieberman, who lives in the Dallas area. "This is the coolest thing that has happened in my broadcasting career. This is what I should be doing."

Lieberman's status in the basketball community has allowed her instant acceptance and access. Most coaches are old friends and acquaintances, and most players are aware of her place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I have a Rolodex as long the Dallas North Tollway," she said. "I'm glad I can use it to prep for my assignments.

"The kindness and respect I have gotten is all I could ever have asked for."

Hot seat

P.J. Carlesimo, who called the Mavericks' Game 2 loss to the Nuggets for TNT, has spent most of his adult life coaching basketball. He spent parts of eight seasons as a head coach with three NBA franchises. Between head coaching jobs, he served as an assistant coach with Gregg Popovich's San Antonio Spurs from 2002 to 2007.

If you were the Mavericks' coach, what would you write on the blackboard before today's game?

We're not in the Pepsi Center anymore. We're home. Let's get out there and play some defense.

Can the Mavericks win this series?

If Josh Howard's ankle is OK, the sky is not falling. At this level of the playoffs, you have to be injury-free. Josh is such a vital piece of the puzzle. It doesn't do much good for Josh to play if he is not 100 percent. But I'll point out that he wasn't effective in Game 2 before he twisted the ankle.

What must the Mavericks do to win?

Clearly, they need to play better defense, which will mean they won't have to work as hard on offense. They need to get easy baskets off their defense and push the ball up court. They need Jason Kidd on the break, not walking the ball down the court.

What was all that talk in the TNT studio about Dirk Nowitzki saying all the wrong things about how the Nuggets guarded him?

I think his comments were misinterpreted. ... I thought he was just being honest in contrasting the styles of the Nuggets' defenders. He said they were good at what they do and he was raked over the coals. Trust me, no team feels good about matching up with Dirk. George Karl has some options, but it's not like the have been shutting him down.

Babe Laufenberg and Rich Behm

The collapse of the bubble at the Cowboys' Valley Ranch practice facility had a very personal impact on Babe Laufenberg.

Laufenberg, a KTVT sports anchor and Cowboys radio analyst, said he is a friend of Rich Behm, the Cowboys' scouting assistant who was left paralyzed in the accident.

Over the years, Behm has helped Laufenberg put together video packages for Cowboys coaches' TV shows. Behm's brother Chris, also a Cowboys employee, actually worked on the coaches' shows.

"It's like it happened to a member of my extended family," Laufenberg said. "We've talked every day for years in training camp for six weeks at a time and every time I'm at Valley Ranch."

Soon after the bubble collapsed last Saturday, Chris Behm, who was out of town, called Laufenberg just to talk.

Laufenberg visited Rich Behm in the hospital Monday and said he never considered trying to bring a microphone and camera.

"In 99.9 percent of the stories I cover, my first obligation is to my audience," Laufenberg said. "But this time, my obligation is to my friend."

Taking the temperature

of sports TV and radio

BARRY HORN TELLS you who's doing it right and what to watch for on our media blog. sportsmediablog.dallasnews.com

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