I, Max

"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 nightly 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, broadcasting via satellite from Boston, with producer Bill Wolff, the former "Disembodied Voice" from "Around the Horn", appearing live via satellite from Washington, D.C., as the "impartial" mediator.

Format

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 and previously ESPN 2). The show was originally scored on a 10-point scale system like a boxing match, with the loser of the round scoring 9 in most cases (8 or less if Wolff determined the argument to be weak enough to warrant it). This later was changed to the winner of the argument getting credit for winning the round. Originally a 15-round format, the show later reduced the rounds to 12.

The show was conducted as follows:

•Segment 1: Kellerman and Holley argued over the day's sports topics, with Max being presented with the argument from the World's side and countering it with his own opinion. Max could stop Holley (and, for that matter, Bill Wolff) from commenting at any time with the use of a Pause button (called a MeVR), 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 (and would usually use it on Wolff for the latter purpose, much to Wolff's annoyance).

•Segment 2: The second segment of the show saw Kellerman and Holley square off against each other in a rotating series of argument-based segments. One was called "I Object," where Max and Holley took turns presenting cases for a certain sports subject, with the other side almost always jumping in by saying "I object" and presenting the opposing view. Wolff served as the "honorable judge" (dressed as a jurist, even down to a powdered wig) and would either sustain (give the round to the objector) or overrule (give the round to whoever was presenting the case) the objection accordingly. Another segment was "The Great Flip-Off," where Wolff (dressed as an old card shark dubbed Willie "12 Fingers" Wolff) would arbitrarily give Max and Holley two sides of an argument and would score based on who made the better argument for their side. After this segment Holley's involvement with the show ended, although he would appear during the final segment (usually gloating if his side won).

•Segment 3: An interview with a sports figure, ranging from sports columnists to athletes. If the interviewed fared better in the argument than Kellerman, the round would be credited to the World.

•Segment 4: Max read short emails about topics (sports or otherwise) written by viewers in a rapid-fire segment. Max would then give his opinion on the topic that was the subject of the email. If Max's opinion wasn't considered strong enough, Wolff gave the round to the World side.

After this segment, if the World was ahead, Wolff would read Max's hate mail. If Max was ahead, Wolff would read positive fan mail (dubbed "love mail"). Also, if a show was running short on time, Wolff had the power to arbitrarily declare a winner after any of the emails in the fourth segment based on Kellerman's response to it. In other words, either Max or the World could be considered "knocked out" before the end of the show.

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 there was an occasional second segment game from the previous format that Holley would participate in (otherwise, his time on the show ended after the first segment). The final segment saw Bill Wolff make his first appearance of the show and again saw Max answer emails from viewers, with Wolff arbitrarily deciding after the segment was over whether Kellerman would receive love or hate mail.

Cancellation

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. Max Kellerman, on the other hand, has a different explanation for the demise of "I, Max". According to statements made by Kellerman frequently on his radio show, the show was the highest-rated show on Fox Sports. The cancellation of "I, Max", according to Kellerman, was due to him not agreeing to making changes to the show's format that he viewed would damage the show.