- Messages
- 79,281
- Reaction score
- 45,652
By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — It was train wreck TV Monday night as comedian Artie Lange of The Howard Stern Show took over the maiden taping of HBO's new show, Joe Buck Live.
Lange unleashed a barrage of obscene and homophobic jokes about Buck and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, while calling singer Jessica Simpson a "fat chick" who resembles the late Saturday Night Live comic Chris Farley.
At the end of the live taping in Manhattan, Buck thanked Lange for putting an end to his show after one episode. Fellow guest Michael Irvin grabbed the microphone and joked: "It's refreshing to see white-on white crime."
The show is sure to draw comparisons to author Buzz Bissinger's tirade against bloggers during a live episode of Costas Now last year.
Buck told USA TODAY he couldn't wait for the Lange segment to end. "I thought that spending time on a treadmill felt long. That was like 8 or 9 minutes that turned into an eternity. You know, it's cable, you can get away with it. It's not my style. But, you do one show and you learn and you move on."
Buck told reporters he thought Lange had an "agenda" when he came on stage to discuss the intersection of sports and celebrity. He was sorry Lange took time away from actors Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis of SNL. But Buck said there was little he could do to control the invited guest without "kicking him off the set" or hitting a "trap door."
"It's a thought. A gigantic hook," said Buck.
Standing nearby, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said Lange "bordered on bad taste" with his "mean-spirited" tone.
"Look, live television is all about risk-reward. We know who Artie Lange was when he was booked," said Greenburg. "We knew there was a certain degree of a risk factor in where he would go and where he would take us. I think at the end of the day, we'll let the public decide. Much the same way the public decided on the appearance of Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger. ... The public will have the last say in what they thought of Artie Lange tonight."
Greenburg hoped Lange's antics wouldn't overshadow Buck's one-on-one interview with quarterback Brett Favre who opened up to Buck about his recent shoulder surgery and possible return to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
"He's had a lot said about him and he's had zero chance to answer anything and put it in his own words," said Buck about Favre.
Buck said HBO booked Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio sidekick because he's a "funny guy" and an "enormous" sports fan. "We didn't book him to be crude. We didn't book him to walk and cross some line. We booked him because he's a comedian, he's in town, he's a funny guy and somebody who loves sports."
Controversy's not a bad thing in the TV business, especially when networks are trying to get viewers to try out new shows. Clips of Lange's performance on Joe Buck Live were already ping-ponging around YouTube last night.
"Do I think it went too far? Yes," said Buck. "Will he be back? If it's up to me, no. But again it's live TV man."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-06-16-artie-lange-joe-buck_N.htm
NEW YORK — It was train wreck TV Monday night as comedian Artie Lange of The Howard Stern Show took over the maiden taping of HBO's new show, Joe Buck Live.
Lange unleashed a barrage of obscene and homophobic jokes about Buck and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, while calling singer Jessica Simpson a "fat chick" who resembles the late Saturday Night Live comic Chris Farley.
At the end of the live taping in Manhattan, Buck thanked Lange for putting an end to his show after one episode. Fellow guest Michael Irvin grabbed the microphone and joked: "It's refreshing to see white-on white crime."
The show is sure to draw comparisons to author Buzz Bissinger's tirade against bloggers during a live episode of Costas Now last year.
Buck told USA TODAY he couldn't wait for the Lange segment to end. "I thought that spending time on a treadmill felt long. That was like 8 or 9 minutes that turned into an eternity. You know, it's cable, you can get away with it. It's not my style. But, you do one show and you learn and you move on."
Buck told reporters he thought Lange had an "agenda" when he came on stage to discuss the intersection of sports and celebrity. He was sorry Lange took time away from actors Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis of SNL. But Buck said there was little he could do to control the invited guest without "kicking him off the set" or hitting a "trap door."
"It's a thought. A gigantic hook," said Buck.
Standing nearby, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said Lange "bordered on bad taste" with his "mean-spirited" tone.
"Look, live television is all about risk-reward. We know who Artie Lange was when he was booked," said Greenburg. "We knew there was a certain degree of a risk factor in where he would go and where he would take us. I think at the end of the day, we'll let the public decide. Much the same way the public decided on the appearance of Will Leitch and Buzz Bissinger. ... The public will have the last say in what they thought of Artie Lange tonight."
Greenburg hoped Lange's antics wouldn't overshadow Buck's one-on-one interview with quarterback Brett Favre who opened up to Buck about his recent shoulder surgery and possible return to the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.
"He's had a lot said about him and he's had zero chance to answer anything and put it in his own words," said Buck about Favre.
Buck said HBO booked Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio sidekick because he's a "funny guy" and an "enormous" sports fan. "We didn't book him to be crude. We didn't book him to walk and cross some line. We booked him because he's a comedian, he's in town, he's a funny guy and somebody who loves sports."
Controversy's not a bad thing in the TV business, especially when networks are trying to get viewers to try out new shows. Clips of Lange's performance on Joe Buck Live were already ping-ponging around YouTube last night.
"Do I think it went too far? Yes," said Buck. "Will he be back? If it's up to me, no. But again it's live TV man."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-06-16-artie-lange-joe-buck_N.htm