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http://www.stltoday.com/sportsBuck might get double duties
Joe Buck (left) could be working on Fox's NFL pregame show this year as well as doing the play-by-play of the network's lead game each week with Troy Aikman (right).
(Courtesy Fox Network)
Joe Buck wears many hats at Fox. He's the lead play-by-play announcer for its Major League Baseball and NFL telecasts, he has filled in as a studio host and he even has broadcast fishing and horse racing for the network.
But he could don a double-billed cap this fall, serving as the full-time host of the NFL pregame show as well as calling Fox's top NFL game.
Fox is seeking a replacement for James Brown, who has left "Fox NFL Sunday" to move to CBS' "NFL Today" pregame program. Among the possibilities is to have Buck host the show, which would originate from the site of the game Buck is broadcasting. Another possibility would be to have him leave the booth for the studio.
"He's one of the options we're considering," Fox spokesman Dan Bell said. "It's still very much and on-going process."
Buck said he would be interested in the dual role.
"It would be a lot of work, but I think it would be manageable," Buck said. "For anybody who does play-by-play, you better have a pretty good feel for what's going on in the league. I like to think I have a bigger focus than just the game I'm doing. It's under the same roof, just a different role if it works out.
"I think it would be something that could be a lot of fun; however, it's all speculation at this point. If it could work out, I wouldn't be opposed to it. But at this point that's a big 'if.' This is really something that has been brought up recently; certainly, it isn't anything that has been in the works for a long time."
And he stressed that there are many other candidates for the job. Among the names being mentioned are Fox's Jeanne Zelasko, Pam Oliver, Curt Menefee and Chris Myers, as well as ESPN's John Saunders. If one of them land the job, it probably would remain a traditional studio presentation rather than a traveling road show.
"They've had a list (of candidates) from Abraham Lincoln to you name it," Buck said. "We still have to hammer out a lot of details."
He said an expanded role probably would be tied to a new contract. His deal expires after the NFL season, and he said he has been slow on negotiating an extension because he wants to make sure Fox continues televising Major League Baseball. Its pact is up after this year, and Buck wants to continue broadcasting the sport "as long whoever owns the rights wants me to do it."
"I think we're putting first things first and making sure we work on the bigger picture" of a contract, he added. "I want to make sure everything (with baseball) is buttoned up, I don't want to take myself out of any markets. That's kind of why this has all been sitting here and kind of stuck in neutral. Anything I do with Fox beyond this year is still up in the air. I want to be back, I think they want me back. This (added NFL duties) could be a part of it, if they definitely want it and we can agree on it."
He would fit in well with the irreverent approach often taken on the Fox show, which features Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.
Buck admitted he can be "goofy. ... I like to have fun and I think there's room for it. But I think it's dangerous to talk about it too much because there's nothing there yet."
By Dan Caesar
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/02/2006ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Joe Buck (left) could be working on Fox's NFL pregame show this year as well as doing the play-by-play of the network's lead game each week with Troy Aikman (right).
(Courtesy Fox Network)
Joe Buck wears many hats at Fox. He's the lead play-by-play announcer for its Major League Baseball and NFL telecasts, he has filled in as a studio host and he even has broadcast fishing and horse racing for the network.
But he could don a double-billed cap this fall, serving as the full-time host of the NFL pregame show as well as calling Fox's top NFL game.
Fox is seeking a replacement for James Brown, who has left "Fox NFL Sunday" to move to CBS' "NFL Today" pregame program. Among the possibilities is to have Buck host the show, which would originate from the site of the game Buck is broadcasting. Another possibility would be to have him leave the booth for the studio.
"He's one of the options we're considering," Fox spokesman Dan Bell said. "It's still very much and on-going process."
Buck said he would be interested in the dual role.
"It would be a lot of work, but I think it would be manageable," Buck said. "For anybody who does play-by-play, you better have a pretty good feel for what's going on in the league. I like to think I have a bigger focus than just the game I'm doing. It's under the same roof, just a different role if it works out.
"I think it would be something that could be a lot of fun; however, it's all speculation at this point. If it could work out, I wouldn't be opposed to it. But at this point that's a big 'if.' This is really something that has been brought up recently; certainly, it isn't anything that has been in the works for a long time."
And he stressed that there are many other candidates for the job. Among the names being mentioned are Fox's Jeanne Zelasko, Pam Oliver, Curt Menefee and Chris Myers, as well as ESPN's John Saunders. If one of them land the job, it probably would remain a traditional studio presentation rather than a traveling road show.
"They've had a list (of candidates) from Abraham Lincoln to you name it," Buck said. "We still have to hammer out a lot of details."
He said an expanded role probably would be tied to a new contract. His deal expires after the NFL season, and he said he has been slow on negotiating an extension because he wants to make sure Fox continues televising Major League Baseball. Its pact is up after this year, and Buck wants to continue broadcasting the sport "as long whoever owns the rights wants me to do it."
"I think we're putting first things first and making sure we work on the bigger picture" of a contract, he added. "I want to make sure everything (with baseball) is buttoned up, I don't want to take myself out of any markets. That's kind of why this has all been sitting here and kind of stuck in neutral. Anything I do with Fox beyond this year is still up in the air. I want to be back, I think they want me back. This (added NFL duties) could be a part of it, if they definitely want it and we can agree on it."
He would fit in well with the irreverent approach often taken on the Fox show, which features Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.
Buck admitted he can be "goofy. ... I like to have fun and I think there's room for it. But I think it's dangerous to talk about it too much because there's nothing there yet."
Man, you and I think alike on that one Hos 
