As first reported by SI.com, retired U.S. star Andy Roddick is soon to join the cast of a new Fox Sports 1 talk show when it debuts in August. The program will directly counter ESPN's stranglehold on the format and the time slot (11 p.m. to 2 a.m., dear insomniacs) that SportsCenter presently enjoys.
Lord knows Roddick has endured enough from the talking heads and commentators on TV over time, from being called a lucky bastard on the BBC's Wimbledon coverage to getting into a bit of a tiff with Chris Fowler on a live broadcast during the U.S. Open. It appears that The Other A-Rod will now have his time to shine, if in the darkness of late-night television. And there's precedent for this: In August 2011, Roddick filled in on Fox Sports Radio alongside his host friend Bobby Bones.
"If Andy does his homework, has intelligent stuff to say, and if he has a good personality and chemistry with the others on the set, he will be successful," says Scott Ackerson, Fox Sports executive VP of studio production. "If it doesn't happen that way, he won't be. But I would be flabbergasted if he doesn't have success. I think he's the right person at the right time for this show." It's worth noting that Roddick himself told SI.com's Richard Deitsch that he has no interest in commentating on tennis matches.
What do you think of this Roddick manuever: His logical next step or an ill-advised error waiting to happen? Sound off below—as we know Roddick will, come Aug. 17.
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