Report: Fox' Joe Buck Regains Voice, Perspective

From Michael McCarthy, SportsTV USA Today

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.

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."

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.

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