Kyle Martino

Former Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Kyle Martino racked up nearly 150 Major League Soccer appearances before covering the sport as an analyst for Fox, ESPN and NBC. Born in Atlanta, GA in 1981 but raised in Westport, CT, Martino was named Gatorade National Player of the Year during his senior year at high school, and after building on his early promise with a successful two-year stint at Virginia University, he signed with MLS side Columbus Crew in 2002. Martino enjoyed an impressive first season in which he scored two goals and five assists, lifted the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and was crowned the MLS Rookie of the Year. Martino remained a regular name on the team sheet for the next three years including the 2004-05 season in which Columbus Crew achieved the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history, and also played eight times for the national side, scoring his one and only goal in a World Cup qualifier against Panama in 2005. In 2006, Martino signed to Los Angeles Galaxy, but was sadly forced to retire from the game just two years and 35 appearances later due to a serious knee injury. Having already served as a guest host on "David Beckham's Soccer USA" (Fox Soccer Channel, 2007) and analyst for CBS Sports Network and HDNet, Martino then made a seamless transition into full-time broadcasting, covering the MLS for ESPN, analysing Philadelphia Union games on WPVI-TV and hosting "Soccer Talk Live" (Fox Soccer Channel, 2010-11). Martino joined NBC Sports in 2012 where he worked as an analyst at the London Olympics and provided commentary for the channel's coverage of the English Premier League, and later moved into entertainment programming with hosting duties on travel guide "36 Hours" (Travel Channel, 2015-) and obstacle course show "Spartan Race" (NBC, 2016-).