Rob Stone Rob Stone is a sports commentator for Fox Soccer . He has covered various sports including Major League Soccer , NCAA and NFL football , and was recently the play - by - play announcer for ESPN ' s coverage of PBA Tournament Bowling alongside color commentator and PBA Hall of Famer Randy Pedersen . Early life and career . A native of Simsbury , Connecticut , Stone is a 1991 graduate of Colgate University with a degree in English and was an exceptional player on the college ' s soccer team , captaining the squad his senior year . He was a member of Sigma Chi . Stone originally hired on at ESPN in 1992 as a production assistant , working on SportsCenter and other shows . The following year Stone went to WFXL - TV in Albany , Georgia ; he worked there two years as a sports anchor and later as sports director . In 1995 he went to WTOG in Tampa , Florida as a weekend sports anchor and sports reporter , primarily covering stories on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Stone returned to ESPN in the summer of 1997 . He has also worked as an analyst for the Tampa Bay Mutiny soccer team for SportsChannel Florida . ESPN . Stone worked on select ESPN College Football and college basketball telecasts . He also worked on ESPN ' s Major League Soccer coverage , and " MLS Primetime Thursday " , as well as their coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup . In 2007 , he became a regular contributor to big horse racing events . He covered the Kentucky Derby , the Preakness , the Belmont Stakes , the Irish Derby , the Breeders Cup and other key horse racing events . Stone left the telecasts after the Breeders Cup . On June 30 , 2008 , Stone appeared as a guest host on ESPN ' s " Around the Horn " . He replaced Tony Reali as the host of " Around the Horn " while Tony was getting married . He was also one of the commentators for the 2006 World Series of Darts . PBA Bowling . Stone replaced Dave Ryan as the lead play - by - play announcer for PBA bowling telecasts on ESPN prior to the 2007 - 08 Denny ' s PBA Tour . He would continue in this position on PBA telecasts through the end of 2011 , after which he left voluntarily to take a position with Fox Sports . He was replaced on the remaining ( unrecorded ) events for the 2011 - 12 season by veteran announcer Gary Thorne . " HAMBONE ! " . Stone originated the catchphrase " Hambone ! " , which he took to shouting when any bowler rolled four strikes in a row in a game . ( It was unknown to Stone that in some bowling circles , including USBC youth leagues , an actual hambone is two consecutive strikes rather than four . ) According to an interview with Stone on PBA . com , the phrase started out as a fad when he casually asked color commentator Randy Pedersen on the air , " if three strikes is a ' turkey ' , why isn ' t there a name for four strikes ? " Stone launched the hambone phrase in the following week ' s TV finals , and it soon took on a life all its own despite criticism from traditionalists , some media and ( at first ) even a few bowlers on the PBA tour . In the 2007 " CLR Windy City Classic " final between Brad Angelo and Robert Smith , Stone said to his fellow commentator , " I think I ' m going to call four strikes in a row a Hambone . I think I ' m going to force it on bowling . " Though many bowlers were slow to embrace the catchphrase , it has become extremely popular with PBA management , and even more so with bowling fans who now bring " Hambone " placards to flash on camera whenever someone rolls four straight strikes . In a February 17 , 2008 match , Hall of Fame bowler Pete Weber , after rolling a fourth consecutive strike , pointed to Stone in the TV booth and shouted over the cheers , " Rob Stone , here ' s your hambone ! " while performing his trademark chop . Fox Sports . In January , 2012 , Stone left ESPN to take the position of lead studio host for Fox soccer broadcasts . He will host all soccer programs and events for Fox Sports Media Group ( FSMG ) stations , which include Fox Sports and FX . Personal life . Stone married Tampa Bay news reporter Lynn Carson on September 11 , 1999 ; they have four children .