When I spoke with him at the conclusion of the 2015 women’s World Cup, as he sat bleary-eyed in an office one floor up from his network’s main set at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver, David Neal, the executive producer for Fox’s women’s World Cup coverage, said he believed Fox Sports had changed the preconceived notions of those viewers who believed the network could not handle the production of a World Cup.



It was, in my opinion, an accurate statement.



The network was a professional steward for the women’s World Cup four years ago and that should give viewers confidence that Fox will again produce quality work as it airs the women’s World Cup through July 7. The worst of Fox Sports — the outrage brokers that permeate its cable sports channel and get enabled by management— are nowhere to be found in this production. Four years ago, the women’s World Cup was Fox Sports at its aspirational best.



Last week, I...