Sports News
The network has nine commentary teams lined up to cover all 104 matches on location in the 16 host cities.
Fox Sports hosts, from left, Rob Stone and Rebecca Lowe, and analysts Alexi Lalas, Stu Holden, and Javier Hernandez listen as Fox Sports’ vice president of production Zac Kenworthy speaks during a World Cup news conference last month. Ronald Blum
One downside of Fox Sports’s World Cup coverage, which begins next Thursday when Mexico takes on South Africa at 1 p.m., is obvious before the matches commence.
There’s going to be a lot of Alexi Lalas, who is back as the lead studio commentator. Might want to stock up with an extra supply of Smug Repellent if you plan on tuning in regularly over the next couple of weeks.
The positives of their coverage plan? Well, many of those, as well as unforeseen negatives, I suppose, will be revealed over the course of the tournament. For now, we do know that Fox intends to be as thorough as possible.
The network has nine commentary teams lined up to cover all 104 matches on location in the 16 host cities, including Foxborough … er, Boston Stadium. Seventy of those matches will air on Fox, with another 34 on FS1. Every match will stream live and be available on-demand on Fox One.
“It’s a really, really big task and a really big undertaking,” said Zac Kenworthy, vice president of production at Fox Sports and the lead studio producer for the World Cup, “and we feel like we’re in a great spot right now.”
The lead broadcast team will again be play-by-play voice John Strong and analyst and former United States men’s national team member Stu Holden. They will call the USMNT opener vs. Paraguay, along with sideline reporter and Boston University alum Jenny Taft, on June 12.
Holden said the United States has the talent to have a World Cup to remember, but the Americans must embrace all that comes with being the host team.
“On any given day on a Champions League Tuesday or Wednesday you’re going to catch eight or nine US players playing in those matches,” said Holden. “That’s something we haven’t had in our history.
“But the hardest part to really quantify and to analyze is how is the team going to lean into being the host. Do they crumble under the pressure or do they thrive and understand that this is a huge opportunity and responsibility? If they can find a way to come together as individuals to play as a team, they can do something special. Legacies are defined in the World Cup.”
The opening Mexico-South Africa match will be called by Ian Darke and Landon Donovan. The day’s second match, between Korea Republic and Czechia, will be called by Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton. Derek Rae, a Beverly resident, will be paired with Robert Green.
Fox has brought in some of the bigger names in recent soccer history to be studio analysts, including Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Lalas, Carli Lloyd, and Clint Dempsey are among the US soccer legends who will be in studio. Hosts include Rob Stone and Rebecca Lowe.
Hudson moving on
Heard from several Bruins fans this week who were disappointed to learn that reporter and studio personality Kasey Hudson’s contract is not being renewed at NESN, which goes to show that Bruins fans know talent when they see it.
Hudson, who joined the network in January 2025, said on her @TheSportsCase X feed that it “was not the outcome I had hoped for, [but] I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to learn, grow, and begin building relationships within one of the most passionate and respected sports markets in the world.”
Hudson, who often championed the work of others and had a way of making analytics accessible, acknowledged that the next steps “are scary.” Perhaps she’ll follow the path of the likes of Jenny Dell, Jamie Erdahl, and others, who left NESN only to find greater success elsewhere.
Mike Tirico, seen here preparing to call a football game, has been terrific as a basketball broadcaster this season. – Ed Zurga
Tirico knows ball
Mike Tirico has called seemingly every sport at the highest level, and very well. But after listening to him as NBC’s lead play-by-play voice this season in the NBA’s return to the network — especially his superb call of the seventh game of the Thunder-Spurs series — I think basketball may be the one he calls best.
Of course, no matter how many high-profile national games he calls for NBC over the length of its current rights deal, his highlight as a basketball play-by-play voice simply must be the March 2025 NBC Sports Boston broadcast, when he stepped in for a game and it happened to be the one when Payton Pritchard scored 43 points and Derrick White 41. Whatever could top that, right?
Wishing the best for Gasper
The best of wishes to colleague and all-around good guy Chris Gasper, who revealed on his social media channels, including his Instagram page, @cgaspersports, that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer several months and would undergo surgery.
“My prognosis is encouraging, and, hopefully, I’ll see you on the flip side,” he wrote. “Then you can resume telling me how misguided you feel I am in the views I express about sports in the @bostonglobe, on @985thesportshub, and @nbcsboston.”
I’ve always looked forward to the give-and-take with Chris about the merits of Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and such. Never more so than now.
