When I started watching this show in the fall of 2003, like many people I originally watched it as a lead-in to "Pardon the Interruption". I was entranced by the hilarious cast of characters, including the smarmy-but-kinda cool Max, the exceptionally obnoxious Disembodied Voice (Bill Wolff), and, of course, the Immortal WOODY PAIGE! Until early February, everything was good as gold, and this show was challenging PTI for my favorite sports show, until Max left and Tony "Stat Boy" Reali came in as a seemingly temporary replacement (though six months later he's still around. . . THE HORN!). To be honest, I can stand Stat Boy, though he doesn't have Kellerman's sense of humor, and his sparring with Woody isn't anywhere near as entertaining as Kellerman's. But Max's leaving was merely an indicator of what was to come. When Max began his "I, Max" for FSN, Michael Holley and the Disembodied Voice eventually left. But Woody and Jay, the backbones of the show, remained. There was the Dream Team of Woody, Jay, Bill Plaschke, and Michael Holley, disrupted of course with the latter's leaving, but Bob Ryan/Michael Smith were good, and the Dallas guys were okay in small doses. Woody remains extremely entertaining, with his indescribably wacky sight gags (eating a raw steak onscreen? His talking toy parrot?) and dead-on humor, while Jay, though annoying, at least provides a good counterpoint to Woody (who didn't laugh when they showed up together at the Super Bowl, on what I believe was Max's last show?).
However, let me bring you up to speed on the current situation (as of 8/12/04): Now Woody and Mariotti are going to disappear for a month, covering the Olympics. Add to that the fact that Plaschke hasn't been seen in a few weeks now, and it's obvious that there's no earthly reason to watch this show for a good while. It's going to be a long month . ..
So I'll classify ATH into three eras: the Kellerman Era, the Post-Kellerman Stat Boy Era, and the Current Situation. And my ratings for this show go thusly: (on a scale of 1 to 10) 9.5/7.5/4
However, let me bring you up to speed on the current situation (as of 8/12/04): Now Woody and Mariotti are going to disappear for a month, covering the Olympics. Add to that the fact that Plaschke hasn't been seen in a few weeks now, and it's obvious that there's no earthly reason to watch this show for a good while. It's going to be a long month . ..
So I'll classify ATH into three eras: the Kellerman Era, the Post-Kellerman Stat Boy Era, and the Current Situation. And my ratings for this show go thusly: (on a scale of 1 to 10) 9.5/7.5/4