Fox Sports 1 hires Andy Roddick

Fox Sports 1 has made another big-name hire. Retired tennis player Andy Roddick will join the network as a co-host of Fox Sports Live. Roddick joins ESPN's Charissa Thompson as well as TSN SportsCentre anchors Jay Onrait and Dan O'Toole as the key figures announced thus far for Fox Sports 1's daily news and highlights show.

According to SI.com's Richard Deitsch:

"The 30-year-old Roddick said he will appear on Fox Sports Live nightly between Monday and Friday, working either four or five nights depending on the week. Fox Sports executives initially contacted him a few weeks after he announced his retirement from tennis at the U.S. Open in August. Roddick told Fox Sports executives he was not looking for a full-time job in television, but the two sides stayed in touch throughout the next couple of months, as Fox Sports executives told Roddick their vision for a competitor to ESPN's SportsCenter.

"Throughout the interview process I was very honest," Roddick said. "I was the way I have always been: pretty direct and pretty opinionated. I think that's what they were looking for. I don't know if they were looking for a typical, run-of-the-mill type of show or someone with fabricated opinions."

Basically, that translates to Roddick NOT being Stephen A. Smith, or at least, let's hope so.

I think this is a great hire. Roddick is known for being outspoken and engaging and will bring the athlete's perspective to the show. He's also known well enough by sports fans to build some interest for the show when it launches in August. He also went on to say:

"The last thing I am going to try to do is try to think I know more than someone who makes decisions as a head coach in the NFL," Roddick said. "I don't think I will be the guy questioning Bill Belichick's coaching decisions in the fourth quarter. I think that's stupidity. But I think I can give a decent look on the preparation side of athletes, the business side and maybe what they are thinking going into a big situation or moment."

It's nice to see this kind of honesty coming from an athlete. While he may delve outside his comfort zone talking about sports he's not as familiar with (and is bowing out of any tennis commentary), he is not pretending to be someone else. Roddick has a bit of media experience already with Fox Sports Radio, so he won't be a complete rookie when it comes to talking about general sports and topics of the day. Fox Sports seems to have the right idea here – hiring talent with honesty, talent that is willing to work hard and offer intelligent insight rather than people who just talk to hear the sound of their own voice.

Also, I may be biased because I met Roddick in 2004 and our hands touched, which does mean we're married or something, but that's beside the point. Still a great hire.

[SI.com]

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