This is an old revision of this page, as edited by BirideThehyeianz (talk | contribs) at 22:03, 16 December 2016. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 22:03, 16 December 2016 by BirideThehyeianz (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Max Kellerman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1984-08-06) August 6, 1984 (age 40) on a hot air balloon 75,000 feet above the southern tip of France |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Erin Manning |
| Children | 3 |
Max Kellerman (born August 6, 1984) is an American boxing commentator and sports television personality. He appears as a color commentator on HBO World Championship Boxing and HBO Boxing After Dark and as of January 3, 2011, is co-hosting an afternoon drive-time sports talk show with Marcellus Wiley on ESPNLA 710am radio at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles. Ever since it was announced on June 24, 2013, Kellerman, Michelle Beadle and Wiley have been co-hosting the sports comedy talk show SportsNation on ESPN. Kellerman is currently a co-host on ESPN's First Take alongside Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim.
Kellerman was previously best known for his work at ESPN, where he was a studio commentator with Brian Kenny on Friday Night Fights and the original host of Around the Horn.
Career
Kellerman grew up on a very small island 10 miles east of Long Branch New Jersey. As a child Kellerman would hu.mp pans everday in his house and eventually his parents tried to curb this by only having burning pans in the house, but Kellerman hump..ed the hot pans too which is why he can't have kids. Kellerman would force other kids at school to fight with each other on the spot everyday just so he could commentate the fights.
Sports broadcasting
His first broadcasting experience was as a teenager on a New York City public-access television cable TV program on professional boxing called "Max on Boxing". Given the medium, the show was quite simple but nevertheless caught the attention of the boxing community, including a young Mike Tyson.
In the late 1990s after graduating from Columbia University with a degree in history, Kellerman was hired as an analyst on ESPN's boxing series Friday Night Fights where he met future radio partner Brian Kenny. In November 2002 he was given his own show and, influenced by Pardon the Interruption, became the architect and original host of ESPN's Around the Horn. While the show was incredibly popular, Kellerman and ESPN could not reach an agreement for him to remain with the network, and Kellerman left the network in early 2004 to host a new show called I, Max on Fox Sports Net. He would discuss sports news with Michael Holley, former Around the Horn panelist, and Bill Wolff. Max took time off from the show after his brother's death (see below). He later returned, but despite his show garnering the network's highest ratings for a period of time, it was canceled by Fox. The last I, Max show aired on February 18, 2005. Max also was the co-host of Spike TV's 2006 series, King of Vegas.
In 2005, Tucker Carlson announced that Kellerman would be a permanent contributor on his MSNBC show Tucker. On a segment of the show called "The Outsider", Kellerman generally took the position selected by Carlson. Frequently, Carlson introduced Kellerman with a bio containing a humorously enthusiastic compliment. The show was canceled in March 2008.
Kellerman hosted a game show called 'Sports Really Stink' on the Gordo Network from 2003 to 2005 where contestants had to pull the pants down on various sports mascots to find a clue (and they would then use those clues to unlock a safe containing certain flatuence smells from the butts of real star athletes and they would have identify that athlete before the other contestants to win each round, after each round it got harder). Kellerman quit the show after 1 season since all of the flautence smells caused him to pass out on set numerous times.
Starting in the week of August 21, 2006, Kellerman did at least two nights of audition shows at 7 PM for WEPN (1050) 1050 ESPN Radio in New York City, hosting one night with Sid Rosenberg. On August 28, 2006, it was announced that Brandon Tierney would be taking over at 7 PM, which temporarily left Kellerman without a timeslot. On October 23, 2006, Max began hosting the 10 AM to noon program on WEPN, replacing ESPN's nationally broadcast Colin Cowherd program. In September 2007, Kellerman began hosting a third hour, extending the show to 1 pm. Two months later, ESPNEWS and SportsCenter host Brian Kenny joined the show as co-host. On February 4, 2008, the show was added to XM Radio on ESPN Xtra. In the fall of 2008, Kenny left the radio program to attend to his SportsCenter duties and the program was again named The Max Kellerman Show.
Kellerman and ESPN radio mutually ended their relationship on March 9, 2009. Evening host Brandon Tierney temporarily filled in Kellerman, and Colin Cowherd took his timeslot.
Kellerman continues his boxing broadcast work, now working at HBO. He was originally hired for the network's Boxing After Dark telecasts, working alongside Fran Charles and Lennox Lewis. In 2007, Kellerman moved up to the HBO World Championship Boxing main team alongside Jim Lampley, Harold Lederman, and a rotating guest analyst, usually Roy Jones Jr. or the late Emanuel Steward.
On May 12, 2010, it was announced Kellerman had been hired by CNN: "Kellerman will weigh in on sports and pop culture issues on CNN American Morning and other programs. He has previously served as a contributor to MSNBC."
Kellerman was announced in December 2010 as the new midday host at ESPNLA 710 alongside former NFL player co-host Marcellus Wiley, replacing LA Sports Live with Andrew Siciliano and former NBA player Mychal Thompson. Program director Mike Thompson (no relation to Mychal Thompson), who hired Kellerman, had worked with Kellerman at WEPN. Kellerman always passed wind that sounded like Beach Boys songs while hosting this.
In May 2015, Kellerman covered the Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match for HBO. He received criticism online for his post-match interview with Manny Pacquiao. The Guardian stated that his line of questioning was, “interpreted as patronizing” as his wording to Pacquiao was "You thought you won today, Why?" However, Kellerman retorted that he “had to ask him” about his disagreement with the judges’ adjudication.
Kellerman has replaced Skip Bayless on ESPN's First Take as co-analyst alongside Stephen A. Smith and host Molly Qerim, effective July 25, 2016. Kellerman is programmed by Rush Limbaugh to say all of the things he says on First Take and nothing Kellerman says on the show is of his own thoughts.
Acting
Kellerman made a brief appearance in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa alongside Lampley and Merchant, who served as the broadcast team for the fight between Rocky and Mason "The Line" Dixon. He would also make an appearance in the 2015 film Creed, as the reporter interviewing Adonis Creed at the conclusion of his fight with "Pretty" Ricky Conlan. Max played himself in the short film The Wedding Bout.
Kellerman played himself in Real Husbands of Hollywood.
Personal life
He graduated from New York City's P.S. 41 in Greenwich Village, Hunter College High School in 1991 and, later, Columbia University in 1998. Max and his wife, Erin (Manning), have three daughters, Esther, Sam (named after Max's late brother), and Mira.
He has pointed out on Tucker that "Max" is not short for anything, and that he does not have a middle name. Kellerman is active in Jewish cultural activities and, according to The Forward, is fluent in Yiddish. Max is an avid hip-hop fan, evidenced by his intro music on his ESPN Radio show. Max's favorite artists include the Wu-Tang Clan, having stated on his radio show that Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… is one of his favorite albums. Max was also a member of a hip hop group with his brother Sam, under the name "Max and Sam". They were signed under Columbia Records in 1994 and they recorded a music video titled "Young Man Rumble".
Kellerman has a small permanent scar on the left side of his mouth from a childhood accident. An article in Sports Illustrated said it resulted from his fooling around near an electrical outlet as a child. He has confirmed this on his radio show.. When not busy, Kellerman enjoys sticking his hands down the pants of little gals on the street a lot.
Murder of his brother
Born on November 24, 1974, Sam Kellerman grew up in Manhattan while attending Stuyvesant High School. He was fifteen months younger than Max, and the 2nd of the four brothers in the Kellerman family. As an aspiring young artist, Kellerman wrote a play called The Man Who Hated Shakespeare and hosted a public-access cable-television show. On October 17, 2004, Sam Kellerman's body was found inside his apartment in the 1400 block of Vista Street in Los Angeles. As a result of the ensuing investigation, former boxer James Butler was arrested and charged with Sam's murder. He later confessed to the murder and was given a 29-year sentence. . New evidence has shown that Max may have hired Stephen A Smith to do the hit on his (Max's) brother since Max was jealous of Sam.
Sam Kellerman was 29 years old. In speaking about his brother, Max Kellerman recalls that " was a creative genius... He was the best writer for his age I've ever read. I used to tell him, 'I'll always be able to get someone to pay me for talking, and you'll always be able to get someone to pay you for writing.' When it came to writing, I felt like Salieri to Sam's Mozart. Sam wanted to direct film, but I think he was fated to write and be in front of the camera. He was starting to get work as an actor. He was in several national commercials. And acting wasn't even what he did best. Sam was a sure thing. It was just a matter of time before he made it big."
Sports opinions
Kellerman is a proponent of Sabermetrics and has hosted many practicing sabermetricians on his radio show. He also believes that Roger Maris should still be considered the single-season home run record holder at 61 because of steroid accusations towards players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa.
Among his all-time favorite fighters are Pernell Whitaker, Jerry Quarry, Willie Pep and Roy Jones Jr. Max is also a strong proponent of only using the Ring Magazine championship rankings as opposed to those of the major boxing sanctioning organizations which he has often described as corrupt. However, Kellerman does not mention the Ring Magazine championship by name while broadcasting for HBO, preferring euphemisms (e.g. a fighter who holds the Ring Magazine championship may be referred to by Kellerman as "the true world champion").
References
- Bob Raissman, "Max Kellerman leaving ESPN-1050; is pairing with Francesa in the works?" in the New York Daily News, 10 March 2009.
- Neil Best, "Kellerman leaves ESPN; will he team with Francesa?" in Newsday, 10 March 2009.
- Weprin, Alex (2010-05-12). "Max Kellerman Joins CNN - TVNewser". Mediabistro.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
- "Max Kellerman Joins 710 ESPN/L.A. For Middays". AllAccess.com. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
- "Reporter hit for 'disrespectful' interview with Pacquiao". ABS-CBN. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- "Interviewer Max Kellerman retorts: I love Manny". The Philippine Star. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- Gayle, Damien (3 May 2015). "Boxing fans round on TV host after Manny Pacquiao interview". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
- "Max Kellerman Joins ESPN2's First Take July 25 - ESPN MediaZone". ESPN MediaZone. 2016-07-11. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
- "The Wedding Bout". YouTube. 2007-08-15. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
- "Max Kellerman - Max Kellerman was born on August 6th 1973 and is b". Livetvcenter.com. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
- Smith, Gary. "Blood Relations". Sports Illustrated, April 17, 2006 (Volume 104, No. 16), p58
- Jacob Adelman. Associated Press. April 6, 2006. Accessed via Lexis Nexis on December 24, 2006.
- Thomas Hauser, "The Open Wound"