By Bob Markus

It's just as well that Joe Buck will have to wait three months before hosting the next "Joe Buck Live" show on HBO. It may take the popular sports caster that long to recover from the sneak attack that nearly derailed his debut early Tuesday morning. I don't make a habit of watching TV after midnight unless there's a boxing match on, so I was just about to turn the set off when up popped Joe Buck on one of HBO's many channels. I don't know Joe Buck, although I knew his dad, Jack Buck, the beloved long-time voice of the St. Louis Cardinals post Harry Caray.

I probably would have hit the off button on my remote except that Buck revealed that his inaugural guest was going to be Brett Favre, making his first public statements since the start of his most recent brouhaha. I was mildly interested in what Favre had to say, although I don't know him, either. The only time I ever interviewed him was at the Green Bay Packers training camp before his first season with the Pack. I had been assigned to do a story on the Packers for The Chicago Tribune's preseason pro football guide. I first talked with Mike Holmgren, who had just gotten the Packers' head coaching job after a successful career as an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. The big story in camp, other than Holmgren himself, as it is in many training camps, was the battle over who would be the starting quarterback.

The three candidates were Don Majkowski a.k.a. The Majik Man, who had been a starter for the Packers before suffering a serious injury two seasons earlier; Ty Detmer, a Heisman Trophy winner from BYU, who, deemed too small to play quarterback in the NFL, had been drafted in the ninth round that year; and Favre, who had thrown exactly four passes in his one year with the Atlanta Falcons, completing none, before being traded to the Packers that spring. I talked with all three quarterbacks, but frankly don't recall much of what any of them said. I did get the impression that Favre was confident of his ability despite his lack of experience. He had not been Falcons Coach Jerry Glanville's choice and the feisty coach once was quoted as saying it would take a plane crash before he'd put Favre in a game. When he did finally call Favre's number, it was more like a train wreck. The future Hall-of-Famer's first pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Nevertheless, Favre, who had played his college ball at Southern Mississippi, was regarded well enough for the Packers to give up a first round draft choice. Smart move. By the time that 1992 season was three games old, Majkowski had been injured twice and Favre became the starting quarterback. He would start 269 consecutive games, one of his many NFL records.

I had covered many Packer games in the past and was quite familiar with Bart Starr and Lynn Dickey, two of Favre's predecessors, although they usually aren't linked in the same sentence. I had even covered Dickey in college, after he led Kansas State to a stunning upset over Oklahoma and I was sent to cover his next game, at Missouri, which he nearly pulled out, too. The point is that Dickey was no Bart Starr, but he was no Bart Simpson, either. However, by 1992 I was in the twilight of my Tribune career and no longer covering even the occasional pro football game. But I was well aware of Favre's brilliant career and was watching live from my hotel room in Hongkong the day he led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.

Lately, Favre has been more roasted than toasted. His brilliant 16-year Packer career had ended sadly. The last pass he threw as a Packer was intercepted, in overtime, setting up the winning field goal for the New York Giants in the NFL championship game. Then, after a tearful retirement speech, Favre changed his mind and wanted to come back to the Pack. By that time the Packers had already decided on their new quarterback and offered Brett only the chance to compete for a backup role. The rest of the story is well-known. The trade to the Jets, the fast start, the ugly finish; another retirement, another comeback. Maybe. Despite all the reports circulating that Favre would come back once more and play for the Minnesota Vikings, there was no confirmation--or denial--from Favre. Now he was going to open himself up to questions and I was curious to hear the answers, curious, too, to see if Joe Buck would be a hardball or softball interviewer.

I thought Buck did a professional job with Favre, who confirmed that he had spoken with the Vikings, revealed he'd had surgery on his torn right biceps from noted orthopod James Andrews, and said his final decision was more or less out of his hands. It all depends on how and when his right arm heals. "If it's like it was last year," he said. "I won't play." Favre admitted he'd played the last half dozen games when he probably shouldn't have. "I could throw the ball," he said, "but instead of throwing it here," gesturing to his left, "I'd throw it there (about five yards further right)" Later, while discussing the reaction of fans to his ongoing saga, Favre postulated that there are those who will love him no matter what he does, those who will hate him no matter what he accomplishes, "and a lot of guys who don't give a shit." After a moment of silence Favre added: "This is HBO; I've wanted to do that for a long time."

The scatalogical remark was a mere prelude of things to come. After a dual interview with former Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin and current Bengals pass catcher Chad Ochocinco, during which Buck continued to ask the hard questions, the show blew up in his face when he brought in three comedians. I'd never heard of any of them, but I'll remember one of them--Artie Lange--for a long time. This may be HBO, where sex and crude language are staples, but I haven't heard so many F bombs since my golfing buddy hit three balls out of bounds on the same hole. He also insinuated that Buck might have something in common with his namesake, the boy toy character played by Jon Voight in the movie "Midnight Cowboy." Buck tried to steer the conversation back to a more civil discourse, but Lange, in essence, hijacked the remainder of the show.

In his preamble, Buck said the show would be produced only four times a year. That gives him until September to line up his next subjects--and to recover from the after shock of his debut show. Should you watch it? If you're a sports fan, definitely. But if you're a parent, please make sure that the little ones are out of earshot.