101 replies to this topic

[Gimme Stitches]

I still miss him on ATH. Yeah, Statboy has improved, but the show still isn't as entertaining as it was with Kellerman. I still miss hearing Max say "Next topic" with authority.

[Da23rdBuchan]

I, Max may also be a play on IMAX movies. Glad Kellermen landed on his feet. I'm not sure how 30 minutes of unrestrained Max will go over but will be the only show on FOX SPORT NET that I'll make an attempt to watch. I wonder if he got his 850K.

[Supernuke]

Yeah, in NY they only show the Mets on FSN and this will be the only thing i'll watch

[silentbob]

Wow, that is a horrible show title -- probably worse than Rome Is Burning. Best of luck, Max.

[TracyT37]

Seeing the first fifteen minutes, holy crap, its a carbon copy of around the horn, but with less guests. And this is Max's show and he can interrupt whatever he wants, is that even fair if its scored. There's just no opinion on this show since its a copy. At least they have a guest, but it had to be consistent to get a reel feel. Also, they need to fix their delay, its getting annoying. They better change the format, because this is a spinoff of a spinoff.

[Classic]

I liked it, as I usually like Max in general even though eventually he will annoy me like he did on ATH, I liked seeing Holley by himself on the show and thought it was hilarious when he kept pausing him. I don't know about the scoring the arguments like a boxing match part through the whole show especially the email segment, but I could see it growing on me as long as it isn't going up against PTI.


btw, at the end of the show he thanked his cohost Michael Holley, is that a permanent thing or is he going to have a different cohost everyday?

[Supernuke]

I thought it was hilarious that he got hate mail when he lost.

Edited by Supernuke, May 10, 2004 @ 8:42 PM.

[flg8or]

There is absolutely no chance that I will ever voluntarily watch this show.

[SpchProf]

I am just floored by how much this is a cheap knock off of Around the Horn. I think it's a bad career move because it shows Max's limited abilities.

I don't think I'll ever watch again. Max annoyed me somewhat on ATH, and here he gets to talk as much as he wants. I don't think I can take it.

[cronox5]

So it was ATH with 1 panelist?

I'd still watch it over sportscenter. But instead, MSG in their infinite wisdom gave us The Tim McCarver Show with Evander Holyfield. yay.

[Da23rdBuchan]

Missed it last night and after hearing the reviews I'm not sure I'll be catching it in the future. He's making 800K a year not bad of a (short-term) career move - assuming that is he hasn't burned bridges at the four letter network.

Edited by Da23rdBuchan, May 11, 2004 @ 9:46 AM.

[Halfpint Ingals]

I only saw last 9 minutes so I need to watch the whole thing to get a good feel. He did add some humor and some was very cool. Well, it just started so we will have to see.

[silentbob]

how much this is a cheap knock off of Around the Horn

Really? If anything, this show is a strange hybrid of "Five Good Minutes," "Good Cop, Bad Cop," and "Toss Up!" from Pardon the Interruption, except with actual scoring.

I really like the theme music, though. Sounds like it's straight out of NFL Films.

P.S. Max introduced Holley as "former Boston Globe columnist Michael Holley" today. Did he leave the paper voluntarily?

[Supernuke]

Has anyone tried to read the scrambled bunches of words at the begginning of the show? I have paused it with tivo and saw the words "blow hard" repeatedly.

[silentbob]

Did [Holley] leave the paper voluntarily?

Not to answer my own question or anything, but it appears that he left to "pursue an opportunity on TV" -- I wonder if that's a specific reference to his co-hosting gig or to something else. The list of odds for his replacement at the Boston Globe is pretty amusing. Woody Paige at 10,000 to 1? Heh.

Anyway, one thing I don't like about the show is that the mystique of the Disembodied Voice is gone, now that we know his real name and see him everyday. But I do like how the pre-commercial teasers are modeled after Around the Horn, except now he uses a word that rhymes with "I" (so many to choose from, unlike "around") and yells "MAX!"

[Da23rdBuchan]

Max should not have quit his day job.

800,000 per year. Holley is probably making at least 200,000. We know FOX isn't going away anytime soon (even if it is second rate compared to the Four Letter Network). As long as Max didn't piss on Dan Patrick's desk on the way out he always can go back. . . hell, look at Jim Rome.

[redfullmoon]

Did [Holley] leave the paper voluntarily?

Not to answer my own question or anything, but it appears that he left to "pursue an opportunity on TV" -- I wonder if that's a specific reference to his co-hosting gig or to something else.

I live in Boston and enjoyed Holley's columns in the Globe more often than not, especially compared to his two biggest colleagues: codgy old bastard Bob Ryan and annoying egomaniac Dan Shaughnessy, who former Red Sox Carl Everett famously and aptly dubbed "Curly Haired Boyfriend", or CHB, a nickname that has stuck with Boston sports fans.

The local TV stations in Boston each have their own weekly, hour-long "Sports Reporters"-type show, and I usually liked what Holley had to say when appearing on those shows, too.

His column stopped appearing in the Globe around late 2002, and he said in one of his TV appearances that he was on a sabattical from the newspaper while writing a book. I searched on Amazon.com, and it must be the forthcoming "Patriot Reign : The Genius of Bill Belichick and the Building of a Dynasty" (to be published in September 2004), because that's the only book under his name. Anyway, after a long absence, Holley's column re-appeared in the Globe a couple of months ago, if only briefly before leaving for "I, Max".

And I'll also add that the "I, Max" title seems to be a direct rip-off of the IMAX theater brand name, and you'd think the IMAX lawyers would be on the case by now.

[cheesesteak]

I think that "I, Max" is a play on the "I, Claudius" book and miniseries title.

[TracyT37]

Ratings update:

Michael Hiestand of USA Today said that .08% of housholds watched I, Max, but in the "big three cities," it was .00%. Ouch, FSN better hope to throw the whole kitchen sink to promote Max.

[appleeyes84]

I can see why. I saw the "weekend" edition and it sucked.

[mtvcdm]

Caught one episode. Agree with every last one of you. It's Around the Horn Lite. Max, Holley, NoLongerDisembodied Voice, the mute button (oh, I'm sorry, ME, VR) lead-ins to commercials, scoring... jeepers. Somebody teach these ponies another trick already.

[silentbob]

Wow, I had no idea the ratings were so bad.

Yet another Pardon the Interruption rip-off -- dressing up The Disembod...er, Bill Wolff in various costumes. Last week? Card shark. Today? Prison inmate. "Good Cop, Bad Cop" you ain't.

[jl89]

Nevermind.

Edited by jl89, Dec 11, 2005 @ 4:44 PM.

[silentbob]

I must be one of the few poor souls who still watches this show every day (my addiction to sports-related banter seems to be incurable).

What's amused me most recently is the constant references to Max's fiancée, who is apparently an attorney in NYC. I had no idea he was engaged -- Mazel Tov! The higher salary didn't hurt, but she's probably the real reason why he moved back from DC.

I also like the hate mail segment when Max loses. Didn't realize people in this country despised him that much. But Bill Wolff's cackle has got to go. It's insufferable.

[PazzaKari]

I was wondering whether all of the talk of his girlfriend was for real. Everytime Max mentions something Wolff always says "if she really exists." My odd crush on him will continue anyways I suppose.

I wish they had brought somebody else over from Around the Horn, I don't really care for Micheal Holley all that much.

[jadeone]

*Bump*

[appleeyes84]

I wish they had brought somebody else over from Around the Horn, I don't really care for Micheal Holley all that much.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Woody was their first choice, but he decided against it. Holley just happened to say yes.

I agree that while Holley was great on ATH, he seemed to have undergone a personality change here. And it's not for the better.