7-Up vs. Coke, Part 1: From dot-com darling to disaster, the spectacular flameout of Andrew Gladney. Heir to a fortune, Andrew Gladney went from John Burroughs to Yale and came home to found Savvis Inc. Then he squandered it all.

Post-Dispatch sports columnist Miklasz says he wrote daily and weekly notes for the site, but that he never met Gladney. "I remember the weekly fee — it was really generous," Miklasz says. "It was a great deal for a sportswriter. As a journalist and somebody who loves multimedia, I thought what they were trying to do was really exciting and I was happy to be a part of it. I thought they had a great vision — it was something you thought: Hey, I hope they can pull this off, because it's pretty cool. But I guess they were a little ahead of their time. They were definitely ahead of their time."

Indeed today, around the clock, sites like ESPN.com and MLB.com do exactly what MAX attempted. "I'm sure Andrew looks back on it like I do, like: Hey, we tried something, and it was worth the risk," says Newman. "I know I learned more then than at any other time in my life, and I don't hold anything against anyone. I fell pretty hard. I got back up. But I don't know what he's done since then. I almost don't want to know."

Asked to elaborate, Newman laughs and says, "It's Andrew."

This is part one of a two-part story. Next week: From multimillionaire CEO to a Jennings jail, Andrew Gladney begins a drug-fueled downward spiral.

Contact the author kristen.hinman@riverfronttimes.com