I recently had the opportunity to step on to Xbox Live with Kenny Hotz as part of Microsoft's latest Game with Fame session. Kenny is the co-star of the Showcase series, Kenny vs. Spenny, an outrageous competition where these two friends compete in challenges to see who can hold their own, with the loser getting humiliated at the end of each show. Knowing that Kenny always finds ways to “skirt the rules”, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when stepping online with him for some action on the vast battlefields of Call of Duty 2.

Now, before I begin, I make no excuses...well, except for this somewhat lengthy list. It started out as quite a bizarre day, a crazy sequence of events like something you’d typically see on a TV sitcom. Going into the session with a separated shoulder (prior injury, not Kenny related...but I'll blame him anyways), I managed to break my Xbox Live headset just a few minutes before I was set to step online for the interview. What's a guy to do in this situation? Duct tape to the rescue, but instead of trying to fix the mangled plastic, I just taped the headset directly to my ear (much to the dismay of my girlfriend who looked puzzled as she entered the room). So, I'm ready to begin, turn on the projector that we test our games on, only to discover that it happened to be those few minutes in the middle of the day when the sun happens to be at the wrong level in the sky, making visibility a bit of a challenge. But WWII wasn't easy, so I figured I'd take on the adventure anyhow.

After stepping online, Kenny and I had a quick chat about the craziness of managing an online magazine around the holidays, and how he could really use some writers for his show (and the constant abuse his body takes during filming). He briefly discussed how he is just wrapping up production of Season 3 of Kenny vs. Spenny, but didn’t divulge much information on the upcoming shows for the remainder of this season. Although not a show that will suit everyone’s sense of humor, if you appreciate the type of humor on shows like Jackass (and even as far as Trailer Park Boys), it’s worth a look.

Getting into the action, let’s just say that I got my ass handed to me on a silver platter, dessert and all. Call of Duty 2 isn't my favourite game on the menu, but he's obviously had plenty of time to build up some skills (probably in the time that Spenny sat blindfolded), Surprisingly, Kenny was a good sport (given his track record on the show, I wasn’t sure what to expect), no camping, nothing I’d deem cheap, just a good fight on the battlefields of Call of Duty 2.

And it was about this time that I realized how my perception of the Game with Fame program was wrong. Realistically, I'd been quite skeptical about the idea for some time, it seemed a little outlandish and I can't imagine how difficult it would be to actually get into the online action with the "famous" individual featured. With that in mind, I sit back now and realize that while being intriguing; it's a good promotional tool and quite a unique experience. Sitting down with a guy like Kenny Hotz, it's easy to see both sides of the coin, that he's a much more normal down-to-earth guy then you'd likely expect, but at the same time quickly understanding where the inspiration for the humor that is so prominent in the show comes from.

So congratulations Kenny on your victory, and I'll see you on the battlefields again. Just remember, next time I'll have your number, and payback, well you know the expression.