http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colum...d-injury_n.htm
Fox announcer Joe Buck can better appreciate what athletes mean when they say injuries turned out to be a blessing that made them appreciate what they already had.
Sports Television
By Michael McCarthy
Fox announcer Joe Buck, here prepping for the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, is working his way back after suffering an injury to one of his vocal cords.
Fox announcer Joe Buck, here prepping for the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis, is working his way back after suffering an injury to one of his vocal cords.
Buck nearly lost his voice and career over the last four months as he fought off a nerve ailment in his left vocal cord.
He has been doing vocal exercises and taking singing lessons as part of his rehab. Although he can't go off on a call like new Fox colleague Gus Johnson, Buck will call Fox's telecast of Major League Baseball's 82nd All-Star Game on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET).
The telecast will mark 42-year-old Buck's first big, national event since his illness. The son of legendary St. Louis Cardinals announcer Jack Buck will be in the booth with partner Tim McCarver for a record 13th All-Star Game.
"When you get into it as somebody's kid, and you're around it your whole life, it just kind of seems like second nature," Buck said Sunday. "But when the idea of it is hanging in the balance or you feel like it may be taken away from you, you start thinking, 'My God, I really do love what I do.' I'd rather work than not work. I'd rather do a game than not do a game."
Until a few months ago, Buck led a seemingly charmed life. He started calling Fox's MLB and NFL games in his mid-20s. He serves as lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's baseball and football coverage. However, he has had his career disasters. In June 2009, Joe Buck Live premiered on HBO, and comedian Artie Lange proceeded to embarrass Buck, telling him he should not have left the play-by-play arena. Buck couldn't rein in Lange. HBO dropped the show after three episodes.
But nothing has been like the last few months. The trouble started for Buck after calling Super Bowl XLV. He caught a virus that weakened his left vocal cord. With therapy, Buck's pipes are back to about 85% to 90%, he told columnist Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Despite a sometimes hoarse voice, he has called eight regional baseball telecasts on Fox this season.
The illness has "made me stronger. And reminded me how much I love what I do," Buck said.