There’s been a lot of criticism lobbed at Fox Sports Live since its launch nearly nine months ago related to the tone of the show. With such an emphasis on “fun” and the much-maligned panel taking a significant role in the initial few months of the broadcast, skeptics wondered if Fox Sports Live would be able to treat serious stories with the necessary tone and create features that were more than just fluff.
Fox Sports Live has answered their critics in the last few months, handling sensitive topics with the proper amount of tact and putting together features that had more substance than “hey, look at how great this sports person is.” On Sunday, another one of those features took center stage, focusing on the tragic, alcohol-fueled fall from grace of former MLB #1 overall Draft pick Matt Bush.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7rO8UT4J28
The feature by Gabe Kapler was excellent, and is another step in the right direction towards Fox Sports and Fox Sports live becoming more legitimate. They’ve taken some steps towards that goal this year after the hiring of veteran reporters Colleen Dominguez and Bruce Feldman, but an original Fox talent like Kapler putting together something like that is a completely different animal. It reminds me of the tear-jerking feature that Fox put together in September about Jeff Crews, a Cincinnati Reds fan that saw Homer Bailey throw a no-hitter just days before passing away after a battle with brain cancer.
Segments like this will do a lot towards people thinking of Fox Sports Live as an actual alternative, as opposed to “that other highlight show.” If they can continue putting together these types of features along with breaking news and providing solid analysis, maybe this thing will work out after all.
