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Joe Buck Revealed as Masked Singer, Turns Into Bizarre Farewell to Fox

“Eleven years ago, I had a paralyzed vocal cord. So to come out here… and kind of throw my nerves to the wind… I was like, ‘Hey, you know, why not? Let’s give it a shot.'”
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9 months ago

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Back in January, who would have predicted that the last time Joe Buck appeared on Fox would be on… The Masked Singer?

Hours after ESPN officially announced that Buck and Troy Aikman were the network’s new broadcast team for Monday Night Football, the play-by-play personality revealed himself as the mystery singer under the golden, magnificently horned helmet after Ram was eliminated on Wednesday night’s show.

One of the judges, Modern Family‘s Eric Stonestreet, guessed that Buck was the man behind the ram helmet, based on the masked singer appearing to know him. Stonestreet and Buck worked together on Fox’s Domino Masters, so there was some familiarity and friendship there.

Host Nick Cannon asked Buck what made him want to perform on the show, a question many viewers (and sports fans who might not watch The Masked Singer, but learned of Buck’s appearance on social media) likely wondered themselves.

“Eleven years ago, I had a paralyzed vocal cord,” Buck said. “So to come out here 11 years later and kind of throw my nerves to the wind, and sing in front of this great audience, I was like, ‘Hey, you know, why not? Let’s give it a shot.'”

After Buck explained some of the clues toward his identity during his two-episode stint on the show, he broke into another rendition of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” for his send-off performance.

Was that a message to Fox Sports executives, who Buck and Aikman have indicated didn’t show them much love during recent contract negotiations? Maybe. Or perhaps it was a plea to sports fans and viewers, who haven’t always embraced Buck during his 25-plus years at Fox as the lead voice of the NFL and World Series.

Buck has always been interested in stepping out into mainstream culture and showing he can do more than call sports play-by-play. So appearing on The Masked Singer can’t be a complete surprise. Plus, he’s a Fox company man. He’s essentially been the face — and voice — of Fox Sports for more than two decades.

Obviously, that’s no longer the case. And what would have been a fun offseason diversion instead turned into a strange, though unspoken, flamboyant goodbye to Fox after a nearly 30-year run. Sports media and broadcasting in 2022 has been amazing.

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Sports TV News

ESPN Creates ACC/SEC Challenge

The series will begin for the 2023-2024 season, launching with 28 games played between the two sports.
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1 hour ago

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November 28, 2022

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ESPN, in conjunction with the ACC and SEC, is slated to announce the creation of the ACC/SEC Challenge for men’s and women’s basketball.

The series will begin for the 2023-2024 season, launching with 28 games played between the two sports. That number will grow to 30 contests when the SEC expands for the 2025-2026 season.

Every game in the challenge will be aired on an ESPN platform, with each side hosting the same amount of home games.

The creation of the event comes on the heels of the Big Ten’s new media rights deal with FOX, NBC, and CBS, ending a nearly four-decade relationship with ESPN. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge began in 1999, with the SEC/Big 12 Challenging beginning in 2013. Both events will cease to exist following this season.

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Sports TV News

FOX Sports Sees Record-Setting Ratings Weekend

The World Cup matchup between the U.S. and England on Black Friday and Michigan/Ohio State on Saturday saw tens of millions of viewers tuning in.
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10 hours ago

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November 28, 2022

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FOX Sports has been home to a number of record-setting games in terms of viewership over the last several days.

In addition to FOX Sports setting a new mark for a Thanksgiving and regular season NFL audience, the World Cup matchup between the U.S. and England on Black Friday and Michigan/Ohio State on Saturday saw tens of millions of viewers tuning in.

The network reported the U.S./England match in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup averaged 15.377 million. It was the most-watched English-language soccer game in the U.S. ever, topping the 1994 World Cup final between Italy and Brazil.

Viewership of the match was up 11% compared to the second group stage contest for the U.S. team in 2014 against Portugal. The audience peaked at 19.646 million from 3:30-3:45 p.m.

FOX Sports also reported the Michigan/Ohio State game on Saturday drew in 17 million, which made it the most-watched regular season college game on the network ever. That figure was also the highest of any regular season contest since 2011. That game also saw the audience peak at 19.6 million.

Viewership for the game was up 3% compared to last year.

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Sports TV News

ESPN Bowl Plans Could Be Altered By NFL Flex Scheduling

“While this situation poses a challenge, we are accustomed to flexibility and having to maneuver our event schedules.”
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10 hours ago

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November 28, 2022

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ESPN could be forced to adjust its upcoming bowl season schedule if the NFL decides to flex a Las Vegas Raiders game a week before Christmas.

ESPN announced its contingency plans for two bowl contests, the Las Vegas Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl. The Las Vegas Bowl is currently planned to kick off from Allegiant Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on December 17. The Raiders right now are still planning to play in the Sunday night game the next night against the Patriots.

Should the NFL decide to flex the Raiders out of the SNF window, ESPN will swap kickoff times between the Las Vegas Bowl and the New Mexico Bowl. That would mean the game in sin city will kick off at 11:30 a.m. local time, with the contest in Albuquerque starting at 5:20 p.m. local time that evening.

“The SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and New Mexico Bowl are both owned and operated by ESPN Events, so this change is a solution that will work for all parties,” ESPN Events vice president Clint Overby said. “While this situation poses a challenge, we are accustomed to flexibility and having to maneuver our event schedules. We are more than prepared to move forward with this revised schedule if necessary.”

Kickoff times will be determined well enough ahead that the schools taking part in both games shouldn’t be adversely affected.

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