I, Max
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I, Max was a sports commentary show featuring former ESPN boxing analyst and Around the Horn host Max Kellerman and former Boston Globe columnist and Around the Horn contributor, Michael Holley, that aired on Fox Sports Net. The concept of the show involved Kellerman and his ego (explaining the name of the show) against the world, represented by Holley, with producer Bill Wolff, the former "Disembodied Voice" from Around the Horn, as the "impartial" mediator.
The show was divided into segments, with topics in each segment being scored as "rounds" (not unlike boxing, which Max has a background in as an analyst for HBO):
•Segment 1: Kellerman and Holley argued over the day's sports topics. Max could stop Holley from commenting at any time with the use of a Pause button, similar in concept to TiVo's Pause feature and Around the Horn's Mute button. Kellerman would then get the time to interject with his response to Holley's comments or stop him from saying anything altogether.
•Segment 2: The two took new roles similar to those in Pardon the Interruption, with such themes as "I Object", where Max and Michael lambasted each other over the two sides of an argument, with Wolff as the honorable judge.
•Segment 3: An interview with a sports figure, ranging from sports columnists to athletes.
•Segment 4: Max read short emails about topics (sports or otherwise) written by viewers. Max would then give his opinion on the topic that was the subject of the email.
Depending on who won each argument, or if Max's opinion of an email topic wasn't as strong as the email itself, Wolff awarded a round to either Max or "The World." If Max won the best of 15 rounds, Wolff would read love mail that viewers sent to Kellerman. If Max lost, Wolff read Max's hate mail.
Late in the show's run, the format changed. The first round would still feature the same debate between Holley and Max, but they were no longer scored. The next two segments usually consisted of Kellerman conducting interviews, although an occassional second segment game from the previous format. The final segment kept the emails in, with Bill Wolff making his first appearance of the show and arbitrarily deciding after the final segment whether or not Kellerman would receive hate mail or love mail.
The show was never particularly popular, however, as many people thought the show to be too similar in style to Max's former show, Around the Horn. Due to low ratings, the last episode of I, Max aired on February 18, 2005, only nine months after it debuted.
