Sportscaster Drops Colonoscopy Prep to Save MLB Broadcast

When duty calls in sports broadcasting, apparently nothing can stand in the way—not even a medical procedure requiring intense preparation.

Kenny Albert was deep into colonoscopy prep when Fox executives called with an urgent request. Lead announcer Joe Davis had lost his voice before Game 3 of the playoff series between the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, and they needed Albert to step in immediately.

The timing couldn't have been worse, or perhaps it could have been much worse. Albert was still early enough in the preparation process to change course without major complications.

Fox and Davis spent hours Tuesday trying to determine if the ailing announcer could power through the broadcast. The final decision didn't come until midnight, giving Albert just hours to completely shift gears from medical patient to national television broadcaster.

He caught a flight to Atlanta Tuesday morning and hit the ground running. The challenge wasn't just physical—Albert had been covering NFL games all weekend and hadn't watched a single inning of the playoff series he was about to call.

"The whole morning, the whole flight, the whole afternoon, I crammed," Albert explained. He studied footage, read scouting reports, and scrambled to catch up on two games worth of storylines and statistics.

One stroke of luck helped him prepare faster. Albert had called a regular season game between these exact teams with the same starting pitchers back in August, so he could pull out his notes and research from that broadcast.

Why This Inspires

Albert's story reminds us that professionalism means showing up even when circumstances are wildly inconvenient. He could have easily said the timing was impossible or that he needed more preparation time.

Instead, he trusted his decades of experience and put in the work during every minute of travel time. His crew members and colleagues rallied around him, sharing information and making sure he had everything needed to succeed.

The broadcast went off without a hitch, with viewers at home having no idea their announcer had been planning a very different kind of Tuesday just 24 hours earlier.

When duty called again for Game 4 with Davis still recovering, Fox turned to Brandon Gaudin, who thankfully wasn't mid-medical-prep and had the advantage of calling Braves games all season. Sometimes the best person for the job is simply the one who's available and willing to answer the call.