Artie Gets Ugly on ‘Joe Buck Live’
Nothing could have pushed Joe Buck’s exclusive interview with Brett Favre out of the headlines or TV reviews from the premiere episode of Joe Buck Live on HBO Sports Monday night, barring something like a guest coming on the show and launching a vitriolic barrage of insults at the host, smoking on stage, and launching a cringeworthy amount of homophobic and crude sex jokes on live TV.
Which is exactly what happened when The Howard Stern Show’s Artie Lange sat down with Buck, SNL’s Jason Sudekis, and actor Paul Rudd for what was intended to be a discussion on the intersection of sports and celebrity. Things went sour from the outset when Lange asked Buck if his favorite web site was…something that definitely can’t be printed here.
Buck, new to the talk show game, was noticeably agitated but did his best to be good-humored, trading barbs with Lange about how if he really wanted to get in a fight with a guest, he would do it with an A-lister. Buck joked that it would be his last show ever.
HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg told USA Today after the show that Lange’s shtick “bordered on bad taste” and was “mean-spirited.” Lange shot back at Greenburg on Howard Stern this morning, saying Greenburg told him to “go nuts” if the segment got boring.
Buck joked with the audience at the Equitable Center auditorium in Manhattan before the show that, since his program will only air four times a year, if it stunk he would have a long time to think about it. While Lange’s antics certainly grabbed headlines, one can be sure this isn’t the kind of opening night Buck bargained for.
Oh yeah, Brett Favre also indicated if his shoulder feels good (he had surgery two and a half weeks ago) he will strongly consider playing for the Minnesota Vikings this coming season. He was on the show too.
jordan k. commented:
joe buck is a terrible excuse for a sports talk show host, thank god artie took over the show and made it tolerable
Luke commented:
Artie could have shown he has the range to talk sports and made some friends over at HBO. Instead he bombs on a major cable network and lives up to his caricature.
Joe commented:
The show was so bad it didn't matter what Artie did. I actually think he was being honest. The show should not air again. Buck can't interview, do stand-up, deliver jokes, or control guests.
Painful.
mark commented:
artie was funny, very funny. show was boring till artie came on, buck should be thanking him.
Thomas Reimel commented:
Artie Lange was funny. Joe Buck, on the other hand, was colorless and boring--as usual.
Bubba John commented:
Didnt know Artie Lange was still live.
Doc commented:
This was not a great format for Buck, who is an excellent announcer, but not exactly a personality. It seems that the producers wanted to give hinm a crutch, in case the whole thing became too cardboard. Lange was an exceedingly poor choice. What Buck saw was 100% of Lange's schtick. There is no more. What did they expect? Dennis Leary would have been a far better choice as the irreverent foil, who might border on off color, but who has limits and sanity - oh, and loves sports. In fact, why don't we eliminate Buck altogether, and have HBO do Dennis Leary Live. Now that I would watch.
Rich F. commented:
It's Buck's own fault for booking Lange. Artie is a sidekick to a fading star and looking to make a name for himself.
Robert LeGear commented:
Lange`s performance was disrespectful, inappropriate and self serving. He made a name for himself as a bad boy that will serve him well in Las Vegas and on Stern but i lost respect for a guy that i thought to be very funny.