Entertainment
Fox Personality Misses Broadcast After Health Scare
Dave Portnoy made it onto Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” on Saturday, but only by video, with a bandage wrapped around his head and an explanation for his empty seat in London.
The Barstool Sports founder said fractured teeth and a dental infection forced him to scrap his trip to Wembley Stadium, where Arizona State and Kansas were meeting in the inaugural Union Jack Classic.
An emergency dentist had ruled out flying, leaving Portnoy stateside while the rest of the Fox crew broadcast from outside the stadium.
“Top of the morning to you over there in London. Listen, I wish I could be there. I was playing on video, I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately got a couple fractured teeth. Infections in my mouth. Emergency dentist. They couldn’t have me flying,” Portnoy told the panel.
Portnoy described a “double tooth infection” that required multiple teeth to be pulled. Still, he insisted he had pushed to make the overseas appearance.
“I can’t feel a side of my face. And I still said I gotta be there, I gotta tough it out. So Big Noon Kickoff, I’ll be back next week… Like I said, I want to play hurt. I wanted to lay it all on the line for you guys… Player safety first in the Big Twelve.”
He later shared the interview on X, adding a photograph of an extracted tooth and a characteristically dramatic assessment: “We lucky I’m alive!”
BREAKING: @stoolpresidente ruled OUT from coming to London due to a toothache 🦷
Soft? pic.twitter.com/cLeZZBl0ew
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) September 19, 2026
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The dental ordeal interrupted a busy stretch for Portnoy, who had taken aim at Ohio State coach Ryan Day earlier this month before jumping into a dispute involving New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and rapper Macklemore.
Portnoy backed Kraft’s decision to bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium during Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour amid controversy over the rapper’s pro-Palestinian advocacy.
He called Kraft the “hero” of the dispute and labeled Macklemore an “antisemite,” drawing backlash while rejecting claims that the rapper was being punished simply for saying “Free Palestine.”
On Saturday, though, Portnoy’s immediate concern was getting through his dental recovery. He told his Fox colleagues he expected to return to “Big Noon Kickoff” the following week.
