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'Joe Buck Live' gets edgy

I'll admit it.

I tuned in to Joe Buck's new HBO show tonight. I thought it would probably be good for some blogging material, considering he was slated to have Brett Favre, Chad Ochocinco and Michael Irvin as guests.

And I was right.

For awhile, it went pretty much as I expected.

Favre came on, and while he didn't flat-out say he will be playing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2009, anyone who was paying attention could tell he is coming back. Favre said he needs to see how his arm heals after surgery, but barring a setback there, expect him to be in Minnesota.

Then there was Irvin and Ochocinco. Nothing huge to report with them. They talked about the show's theme, 'Athletes and celebrity,' but didn't really break any new ground.

Which led to the final 12 minutes or so. Buck had on actor Paul Rudd, comedian Artie Lange and Jason Sudeikis from Saturday Night Live.

Lange dropped profanity after profanity, mocking Buck for saying his favorite Web site was TMZ.com.

He continued, making fun of Tony Romo for his last name and saying his girlfriend Jessica Simpson now resembled Chris Farley.

Buck and the other two tried to play along, but it made for pretty awkward TV, at least from my perspective.

"Sorry to ruin your [expletive] great show," Lange said at one point.

"I appreciate the apology 'cause you have," Buck responded.

Lange made a couple other off-color jokes, and Buck tried to play it off at the end, thanking the guests, "including the guy who just ended my show after one try."

So, did anyone else see this? Was it all part of the act?

If so, Buck had me fooled. He looked genuinely perturbed by Lange's antics.

Very bizarre to see the guy who once went nuts on Randy Moss for his mooning celebration (video below) laugh along and try to play it cool when Lange was cracking jokes. I kept waiting for him to say, "That is a disgusting act Artie Lange!"

And believe me, there were plenty of opportunities to do so.

Also, it made me wonder what kind of effect this will have on his broadcast career. Even if Romo's a good sport and has heard it all, that meeting with Buck and Aikman during the season before they call a Cowboys game is going to be a little bit awkward for sure.

Chime in with your thoughts.

Update: The video of the Buck/Lange segment is on YouTube. Warning: As described above, the language is colorful to say the least, and the content may be offensive to some.