Milwaukee Bucks needed a new play-by-play announcer for both television and radio. Jim Paschke and Ted Davis both stepped down after the Bucks won the championship. I can blame neither of those men for making that call, although if you read Davis’ tweets, a Milwaukee conspiracy may be afoot. The last year-plus was an absolute grind, and to go out on top with a championship is pretty sweet. Milwaukee made a historic move yesterday announcing that Lisa Byington will be the play-by-play TV broadcaster for the team. She’s the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for all four professional sports leagues.

.@LisaByington becomes the first female full-time TV play-by-play announcer for a major men’s professional sports team.

Welcome to Milwaukee, Lisa!! pic.twitter.com/HYZXUqshOa

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) September 15, 2021

Weirdly, you had a feeling the Bucks might head this direction. With the Bucks using Zora Stephenson for a game last year, it led some to believe she was trying out for the job. Stephenson will be calling Atlantic-10 games this season, so, similar to Byington she’s getting her start in college. Byington is great at her job. She called countless Big East and Big Ten basketball games along with some NCAA Tournament experience. Not to mention, she currently is the PxP announcer for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. The resume is deep, and she’s talented. It was a matter of time.

There will be some negativity around it, and honestly, it’s people’s opinion. It’s a shitty one but so be it. Look, change is hard. It is not easy going from Paschke to Byington, nor would it be if they were replacing Paschke with another man. Let’s not be critical of one and another around this topic, okay? Not everything needs to be this dunk or everyone needs to be on board right away.

Charlie.