It's Miller Time

Dennis Miller is back on TV with a new show, Sports Unfiltered, on the Versus network.

It's a decent idea - combine Miller's humor with sports. He was far better on Monday Night Football than Tony Kornheiser is, and he seems to know just how far he can go without completely stepping over the line.

The show features a standup routine by Miller at the beginning, which has been hit and miss the past few weeks, usually three interviews, a look at NFL betting lines and sports photos of the week.

The interviews are mixed - Miller was excellent with Jose Canseco, for example, and Tennessee hoops coach Bruce Pearl - two people he wasn't as familiar with. But with athletes he obviously knows, such as Warren Sapp and Charles Barkley, he's come across as more patronizing and uncomfortable. The sad part about that is those are two guys you want to just talk and carry the conversation because they're so clever to begin with.

I could do without his weekly Vegas/betting segment, but Miller's Photo Finish is one of the funniest things on TV. It's reminisicent of a feature from his HBO show, which was excellent.

It's a show well worth watching, but I think there is room for improvement.