Max Kellerman
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| Max Kellerman | |
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| Born | August 6, 1973 New York, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Radio host, sports journalist |
| Spouse | "Trixie" (see below) |
| Website ESPN Radio bio |
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Max Kellerman (born August 6, 1973) is an American sports talk radio host from New York City. He currently hosts his daily radio show Kellerman and Kenny on 1050 ESPN Radio (WEPN) in New York City with Brian Kenny.
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[edit] Broadcasting history
His first broadcasting experience was on a New York City public access television program on professional boxing (Max on Boxing). In the late 1990s Kellerman became an analyst on ESPN's boxing series Friday Night Fights and beginning in November 2002 hosted ESPN's Around the Horn. However, Kellerman and ESPN could not reach an agreement for him to remain with the network, and Kellerman left the network at the end of 2003. He was promptly hired by Fox Sports Net and went on to host a new show with FSN called I, Max that first aired on May 10, 2004. 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 cancelled due to conflicts with network executives. 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.
[edit] Current broadcasting
Starting in the week of August 21, 2006, Kellerman did at least two nights of audition shows 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 7pm (Kellerman's time slot), which temporarily left him without a day part on WEPN. On October 23, 2006, Max began hosting the 10 am - noon program on WEPN, replacing ESPN's nationally broadcast Colin Cowherd program. In September of 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 2008-02-04, the show was added to XM Radio on ESPN Xtra.
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 represents the "devil's advocate" position on a series of issues selected by Carlson. Frequently, Carlson introduces Kellerman with a bio containing a humorously enthusiastic compliment.
Kellerman also 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 Emmanuel Steward or Lewis, who also continues to do BAD with Kellerman and Bob Papa). Kellerman was phased into the broadcasts to replace Larry Merchant, who will be retiring at the end of his contract.
Kellerman made a brief appearance in Rocky Balboa alongside Lampley and Merchant, who served as the broadcast team for the fight between Rocky and Mason Dixon.
[edit] 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, Willie Pep and Harry Greb. 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. On numerous occasions, his post-fight questions to fighters have been related to their willingness to solidify the Ring championship.
[edit] Personal life
Kellerman graduated from New York City's Hunter College High School and, later, Columbia College in 1998. He attended P.S. 41[1] in Greenwich Village. He is married to a woman he has referred to as "Trixie" on his ESPN radio show. Her real name is Erin, as he pointed out in episode 1 of his webcast Max Kellerman Soldiers., and, according to Max, she is a lawyer. He has pointed out on numerous occasions on Tucker that "Max" is not short for anything, and that he does not have a middle name. Also on that show, Kellerman described himself as atheist. Despite this, he 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 the GZA's Liquid Swords album is one of his favorite albums. Max was also a member of a hip hop group with his brother Sam and under the name "Max and Sam". They were signed under Columbia records in 1994 and they recorded at least one video entitled "Young Man Rumble", which can be found on Youtube
[edit] Murder of brother
On October 17, 2004, the body of Max's brother Sam was found near a hammer in his Hollywood apartment. 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.[1]
As an unfortunate stroke of bad luck, when Adam Carolla's manager was inviting Kellerman to the premiere of his new boxing film, The Hammer, he did not know that Sam Kellerman's murder was committed by Butler, who was known as "The Harlem Hammer". Adam stated on his radio show, The Adam Carolla Show, that he felt bad about the incident and pointed out what a crazy coincidence it really was.
[edit] Mouth Scar
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.
[edit] Vitamin Water
Kellerman is an avid fan of Vitamin Water, claiming that "You suck if you don't drink Vitamin Water." Honest Brian Kenny also indulges in Vitamin Water on a consist basis, although he claims he never receives free shipments.
[edit] Acting Career
You can see Max playing himself in the short film "The Wedding Bout" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bw5k45Zjvw. The film debuted at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and was directed by Russell Costanzo, and produced by Melissa B. Miller.
[edit] References
- ^ Adelman, Jacob. Associated Press. April 6, 2006. Accessed via Lexis Nexis on December 24, 2006.
- Muhammad Ali, Andrews McNeel Publishers, 1998.
- 1050 ESPN Radio bio
- HBO bio
- Sugar Ray Robinson wins split decision from Ali (ESPN.com)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kellerman, Max |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Sports radio host |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 6, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York, New York, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
