Original subtitles

Kid, let's see what you got.

Good hands. All right.

You used to play a little ball, huh?

Just high school.

Old city.

That's a lot bigger in high school.

You want to wear some down and outs?

Sure.

Okay. Here's a brand new ball.

Yeah. Okay, fake inside and cut.

What's that?

Let's show him the bomb.

All right, you got it.

Hey!

Hey!

That the ball we all chipped in for?

Yeah. That's terrific.

Still going.

I don't believe it.

You lost the ball?

Yep. Some little kid took it away from Rossi. Look, it could happen to anybody.

What are we going to do?

You win by default, okay? Sports Department 5, City Room Zip. I'd put in

for that ball. Son of Billy and I. I'll make it good, I told you.

Anybody live near here?

Anybody with a ball?

We could use ours, but my mother's out kicking field goals.

Look, there's a sporting goods store over on Wilshire. I'll see if it's open.

You know what's near here?

Schnitzler's. Got good homemade bread.

Homemade sausage?

You got good tap beer.

Let's do it.

Yeah, that sounds great.

Sid Locke covered the Tampa game. I saw it on the tube.

You haven't seen it until you've read what Sid Locke said about it the next

Ed Barber, owner of the Memphis Wolves, is a tyrant of the old school.

Even in childhood, Ed was against Cinderella and for the stepmother.

Against Robin Hood and for the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Ed Garbo's idea of a man of vision is someone who looks up to him.

It's great if you like your sports served up with stale jokes and no

You don't like Sid Locke?

He's okay.

Okay? How long have you been riding sports?

Seven years.

Does that include time with the Fresno Green Sheet and the Simi Valley Sun?

Boy, are you grouchy this morning.

Look, it's just that I grew up with cereal on Sidlock for breakfast.

You get older, you find out that cereal is full of preservatives and Sidlock is

full of wind.

You have to understand, my friend Mike here sees himself as the Ralph Nader of

the sports department.

I just don't like to see this paper looking the other way where sports is

concerned, that's all. Wait a minute.

Wasn't it just last Thursday you ran a piece on ballparks and crooked land

deals? That was good.

It was also in Pennsylvania.

It's window dressing. We don't touch anything that might offend our big

or the home teams. You check.

Every investigator's story has to do with crookedness in some other city.

You'd think with a city this big we'd have some crookedness of our own.

We do.

Okay, Mike, come on.

What's your story?

No, I'd rather not go into it. Sidlock is a buddy of yours.

Buddy? I never met Sidlock.

It's just that when other guys were weaned on Walter Lipman and Red Smith...

My hero was Sid Locke. So don't badmouth him and then say, you don't want to go

into it.

Tell him, Mike.

He won't turn you in.

Off the record, just give me one for instance.

Okay.

The NCAA, that's the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Thanks.

This happened a couple of days ago.

L .A. University was notified that it's being investigated for recruiting

violations.

Football. Coach Deal?

Think there's anything in it?

Oh, yes, yes, I do.

I've heard that there are members of the L .A .U. football squad with falsified

high school transcripts.

Guys who couldn't even get into college without phony grades.

Did you look into it?

I was told to lay off.

Who told you?

My editor, Eddie Talbert.

He said Sid Locke wanted the story.

And you think Sid Locke's just going to sit on it?

The story is on the spike.

It's dead. We never even ran the announcement.

Eddie Talbot's a good guy, but Sidlock has the stick and he covers up for the

university.

And the coach deal.

You come up with that story.

Real proof.

Said he said we'll print it.

Oh, no, no, no, thank you.

You go bump heads with Sidlock and Eddie Talbot. I can't.

Nah. If he's sitting on that story, you can bet Sidlock has his reasons.

Is this still that NCAA investigation you got a wild hair about?

What's it all amount to?

It amounts to possible charges of cheating, under -the -table payoffs,

and six other kinds of recruiting violations.

It's a little hard to ignore.

Yeah, I guess it is.

Hey,

good morning, sir. Good morning, Ted.

Good morning, Mr. Locke.

You know, I had a bit of coffee at the Indianapolis 500 and we drank it out of

crankcase.

I first read that in your column in May 1966.

Always nice to meet a fan.

And again in 68 and 74.

Mike here's got some more dope on that NCAA investigation.

Let's see it.

Pardon me, where are you going with that?

If any of this stuff is good, I'll use it.

Nice kid.

Eddie, that's my story.

Seniority, Mike.

We've all got to live with it.

I just called the NCAA and checked out.

Could involve 20 ballplayers at LAU.

It's just sports beef. Kick it over to any town.

That's what I'm doing.

Through me?

Well, what are you trying to prove?

I just heard we were sitting on this.

It could be a big story.

The NCAA is running down nine specific violations at LAU.

That's our university. We ought to be on top of it.

Maybe we are.

Maybe we're not.

I just don't want to read it first in Rolling Stone.

I'll have Eddie Talbot down to the budget meeting.

If he doesn't want it, it's yours.

Clear?

Well, I won't get you to any sitting on it. That's possible.

Every section of this newspaper gets to be its own walled city. Sports,

financial, real estate.

Each editor wheels and deals in his own little establishment. It's one of my

biggest problems.

It's lonely at the top, isn't it, sir?

That byline story, business executives, not leaders of men, below the fold.

I think we've been featured too much of that psychological science fiction.

Mrs. Pinchon thinks it gives the front page more substance.

Do you believe that, Charlie?

I believe that Mrs. Pinchon is a leader of men.

Any idea of Washington?

Light. The president's brother has changed his mind.

He is not going to be shot out of a cannon for the opening of the Alabama

Fair. Where will they ever find another man of his caliber?

What's happening in Toy Town?

Any of my favorite jocks change his agent?

You hear about the Reggie Jackson trade?

What? The Yankees traded Jackson?

No, he traded them.

Eddie, one of Lou's people tripped over this NCAA investigation. You want it?

Well, we heard about it.

Let me see what you've got.

Have a seat.

No, thanks, Lou. All right, now.

What about this arson story in Connecticut?

What about it?

A flame -proofing factory burned down.

Yeah, Charlie, I think we ought to have this.

Where'd you get it, Lou?

I picked it up at the health club.

Now, seriously, who gave you this?

A friend.

What story?

The NCAA story, the investigation of the university.

Did you look in sports?

Of course I looked in sports. Where do you think I looked?

Maybe they didn't have room for it. Check Overset.

It's not in Overset.

And they never intended to run the story.

Lou, what are you getting so fired up about?

Because somebody's jerking me around down there because they didn't run the

story. Because they burned my damn eggs.

Councilman Garber's on inspection tour of animal shelters.

That's my lead story.

I could use that NCAA piece.

I'll talk to Eddie Talbert, all right? All right.

Saw him a pain in the butt. You're too easy on yourself.

Talbert getting chewed?

By Charlie Hume?

When Charlie gets through working you over, you never know whether you've been

assaulted or massaged.

I hate to get chewed out by Charlie.

Because he's kind and calm.

You almost hate yourself for putting him through it.

Lou.

Yeah, Charlie.

Uh -oh.

I didn't spike the story, Lou.

So what happened?

It's not an overset. Where is it? Sid Locke wanted to dig into it. I gave it

him. That's his beat.

Oh, so that's Sid Locke's beat, running the sports department.

Oh, damn it.

I run the sports department, not Sid Locke or you or anyone else.

Hey, listen.

I'll use my best judgment.

I'm sorry. I was out of line. You just keep Metro straight.

I've been on this paper for 12 years. You're the new boy in town.

And one more thing.

I don't like you having your spies in my department.

Spy?

What are you talking about? You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking

Mike Kessler. Mike Kessler doesn't work for me. He works for you. Tell him that!

Now, you run the city desk, and I run sports, and you just stay the hell out

my department!

Maybe some of those other newspapers you worked on believed that you put out an

exciting paper by keeping the staff at each other's throats.

That does not apply here.

I thought he shafted me, Charlie.

I was out of line. I apologized, didn't I?

Lou, we've got a political situation in sports.

Sid Locke has got a national rep. He's widely syndicated. He is the single

biggest celebrity on this paper, and Eddie is scared to death of him.

Try to remember that, will you?

So you're telling me it's not Eddie Talbert, it's Sid Locke? I find that

believe. Then why don't you go talk to him?

Well, why not?

Always wanted to.

Where are you going?

To talk to Sid Locke.

It's 3 .30.

By now he's out playing golf with Jerry Ford or Farrah Fawcett.

Try catching him tomorrow during his office hours.

11 to 2 at McKenna's.

You know what's wrong with pro basketball?

Too much body contact and lousy officiating.

No.

There's no cheerleaders.

You are going to have to sweep up this place before you leave.

You hear that I had a little scrimmage with Eddie Talbert today?

Oh, yes, I heard. So now you're famous. But not popular.

Foul. That was no foul. Ticky -tacky. The NCAA story is dead.

Sidlock's pocket veto.

Why? I mean, I don't doubt you, but why would Sidlock want to bury that story?

He's part of the establishment.

Los Angeles U .S .C. UCLA.

Our pros.

Robert Deal, the sainted coach.

We print their press releases word for word. Plug for plug.

Shoot, shoot. What are you waiting for?

Boy, it's a lot rougher than when I played.

You play basketball?

Just high school.

I was All -State in Washington.

How come you didn't play in college?

French art schools don't give basketball scholarships.

Mike, let me ask you.

Are you sure Sid Locke is aware of recruiting violations at LAU? Of course

sure. I even took some of my research on it.

Look, about a month ago I interviewed Tim Blakely, LAU's All -American

tackle. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The first lineman to be drafted by the pros this year.

Graduated with a 3 .2 average. That's like a B+. Pretty good.

He told me other students wrote his term papers.

And on occasion took tests for him.

After four years at LSU, he didn't think he could pass bonehead English.

After four years of college, he didn't learn anything.

Oh, he learned a lot.

He learned about payola.

Seventy -five dollars a week under the table.

He learned about auto leasing.

He had the use of a new car.

And he learned about credit cards and expense accounts. What else does a young

executive need to know?

Did you write that story?

It was written, turned in, spiked.

Very interesting, and let's never hear about it again.

Well, I'm having a talk with Sidlock tomorrow.

I'll ask him about that.

You're going to beard the lion in his den?

Or even in McKenna's.

Did you see that? Did you see that?

$150 ,000 a year and he misses two free throws.

That column you did on Ted Williams, his last game before he went off to fight

the wars, that has to be considered a classic.

Who knows?

People seem to like it. Translated into 21 languages.

Reprinted in Taiwan. How about that?

Sorry to bother you, Mr. Locke. The lady over there insisted.

She wants an autograph.

Nice to be famous.

You'll find out soon enough.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard your name in the last couple of

You know, people keep...

asking me, who is this nudnik, Lou Grant?

Or is it true that Lou Grant is really all thumbs? Or why isn't Lou Grant alive

and well in Argentina?

Now, you know the kind of questions.

Thank you.

To another hundred years as the dean of American sports writers.

What are you looking for, Lou?

A story.

The NCAA inquiry?

Yeah.

Where are you from, Lou?

Minnesota. Oh, Big Ten.

Are all the schools in the Big Ten lily -white, Lou?

Any of them?

Well, I couldn't tell you firsthand.

You know Coach Steele?

No, not personally.

You'll meet him.

We'll have lunch.

He is Mr.

Clean. I know.

I did a book about him.

He doesn't smoke, drink, or serve booze.

You play for Coach Deal, your shirt tails are in and your hair is short.

That's why the kids call him Square Deal.

Get yourself a winning quarterback in the right dress code, your father of the

year.

Let me tell you something, Lou.

The Trib doesn't want to take on Coach Deal.

He's a sacred cow.

This year, particularly.

L .A .U. could go all the way...

You mean we're number one?

Maybe it is kid stuff, but to go all the way means a lot to our readers.

I'm with them.

What's so wrong with college sports anyway?

Kid plays a little ball in exchange for an education.

Like Tim Blakely?

Yeah, like Tim Blakely.

Sid, I have to get back.

Vivian, check.

No check.

I've made McKenna's famous in 21 languages in Taiwan.

Now, if you want some kind of a voucher, be expected.

No.

That's okay.

You're not running the announcement that the NCAA is investigating L .A .U.? Not

unless they come up with something substantial. It's just routine.

Believe me.

Sid.

They're looking into nine specific violations.

I don't want us to get burned.

Look, I realize you have to deal with the L .A .U. people on a day -to -day

basis, but I don't.

So, uh, you gonna run it?

I think we have to.

That is one damn stupid move.

You are gonna get burned.

Bad.

I'm warning you.

Good morning.

Hi. I see you ran the NCAA announcement.

Why not?

Sir, the Tribune is not investigating anyone.

I can give you the telephone number of the NCAA in Kansas City. There you go.

City desk, Donovan. City desk.

Who wrote the story on L .A .U.? Well, let's say that some stories just write

themselves. Just take my word for it, ma 'am. We don't have anyone here in

charge of canceling subscriptions.

If I were you, I'd just settle up with your newsboy.

Well, one morning you're just going to have to get up early. It's an

announcement. We can't print a retraction of an announcement.

City desk.

Sir, if you say you're a man of God, I believe you. Look, there is nothing to

retract. They're going ahead with the investigation.

Watch your language, your grace.

Do you believe this?

It's been going on all morning.

Yeah, I think it's kind of funny.

Yeah, if you don't count the two bomb threats.

Oh, they're just putting it on.

I wish they were.

Do you have the switchboard to handle all these crank calls?

Huh?

Oh, I see.

They already are. They've just given us the overflow.

What?

Huh? Huh?

Uh, yeah, well, thanks, Mary.

So far, the unofficial tally is disapprove the NCAA story 117.

Approved? What?

That's only the beginning.

I felt some of the pressure, too.

Oh, have you had second thoughts?

When someone threatens to put a bomb in a men's room, I have second thoughts.

A lot of crank calls.

I wouldn't classify the people who called me as cranks.

The chairman of the board of Enercon Industries phoned me from Paris. I've

calls from Sacramento, and one each from our four major advertisers.

We're not investigating L .A .U. All we did was announce the NCAA was.

Well, then why do you think we're getting this kind of reaction?

Does it make any sense?

Some people are reading it as a personal attack on Coach Deal.

It's a weird number one syndrome. L .A .U. could be the national champions this

year. Well, circulation tells me we've lost 300 subscriptions in the last 36

hours. I think we can live with that. Oh, yes, gentlemen. That's roughly both

your salaries.

Well, we can't become cheerleaders for L .A .U.

Mr. Grant.

I have a memo here from Sid Locke complaining about your moving in on a

story. Not true.

Lou gave me the story. I kicked it over to sports, and when they spiked it, I

let Lou take it.

Mr. Locke warned you not to print it. Yeah, that's true.

Mrs. Pinchon, we can't be against hustling, manipulation, payola,

the front page, and for it on the sports page.

Of course we can't. You're absolutely right.

What is it about sports that creates fans that are so homicidal?

I don't go to football games anymore because the people sitting around me are

always yelling, kill the umpire, kill the umpire. I sit in the $12 seat.

Kill the umpires in baseball.

Well, there is an umpire in football, too, Mr. Hume. He's the second -ranking

official. He positions himself behind the defensive line, and in my opinion,

has as good a chance of being killed as anybody.

She has a point.

Look, gentlemen, if it's going to cost us 300 subscriptions to be right,

I want to see some award -winning journalism.

Yeah, well, Lou has Rossi out interviewing Coach Deal. Billy was an

the Daily Cougar, the L .A .U. paper.

I sent her over to the campus.

Ilse is Belgian.

She's the last episode in my ten -part series for the Daily Cougar on exchange

students in athletics.

The first nine were on Hungarian place kickers.

Tell me about this NCAA thing.

How come the school paper's laying off it?

It's not a very popular subject around here nowadays.

When I was editor of this paper, we went after unpopular subjects.

The administration kept shutting us down.

Really?

For the record, no.

But they did confiscate two whole issues, and they shut down our offices

three days, supposedly to fumigate.

Well, that was another time.

Hardly anybody's in any of that radical stuff anymore.

Why do I suddenly feel old?

That was beautiful, Ilsa. I got your name.

Now, I know the paper's going to want your phone number.

Ruth, tell me about the public records. You were going to check.

We were going to do a big story on scholarships, but the jocks aren't

talk to the press, not even us.

Policy. Policy?

The players can give us their name, rank, and serial number.

After that, they chant, Coach Deal, Coach Deal, Coach Deal.

I need somebody who'll talk to me.

No chance.

There's an old newspaper adage.

Look for the guy who's unhappy.

There must be a disgruntled jock, somebody who thinks he should be the

isn't. There is someone I know.

He's really bitter.

He was on a football scholarship and he lost it, so... You think he'll talk to

me?

His name is Rick Waterhouse.

You know the new restaurant, The Treehouse?

He works there.

Great. Thanks.

Did you ever do a story on him?

No. How come?

I'm one of the reasons he's bitter.

So how come you won't let your players talk to the press?

Isn't that being patronizing a little overprotective?

It's a matter of policy.

It's not school policy. It's your policy.

Yeah, and I want full credit for it.

Look, I hardly have time to teach these young men football.

I can't squeeze public relations into the curriculum, even if I were qualified

to instruct it.

Come on, coach.

You wrote the book.

Hold my feet.

During a crucial game, one of our place kickers, Mr. Fieldgold, in the locker

room, two of your big -time reporters got onto his case.

Now, the boy was in a highly emotional state, and he said it was because the

holder, a longtime friend of his, had been carousing the night before.

Do you know what the headline was?

Holder gets kicks carousing.

Now, the boy had three beers 15 hours before game time.

For the rest of their lives, believe me, those two boys are going to pay for the

excess of some unfeeling reporter.

Doesn't the public have a right to know?

There's no right to sanctify gossip.

The usual complaint from L .A .U. is that you're not getting enough space in

paper.

The university's selling tickets.

The Tribune is selling papers.

The game needs the story. The story needs the game.

So we should scratch each other's back.

Don't you think that's what we do all the time?

Well, I guess there has to be an element to that, sure, but let me ask you, in

the case of this NCAA investigation... Excuse me?

Coach.

I have a class in silent prayer, and I'm late.

You know what I'm bitter.

I lost my scholarship.

Have you presented your sign to anyone?

I mean, they got me where it's short, if you know what I mean.

But I... I thought if you were injured that the school was out. Well, it wasn't

incapacitated. I mean, I can still play.

I've got dishpan hands, but other than that... What happened?

My freshman year, I did pretty good, but the Dallas Cowboys didn't have the hots

for me or anything, so I knew I'd better go after my degree.

Preseason, my second year, I cracked a couple of ribs, and one of the coaches

asked me if I'd redshirt.

What does that mean?

If I don't play any games the whole season, I still have another year of

eligibility. But that gives you another year of college?

I figured I could use it.

Anyway, I get back to working out with the squad and they start in -needling

If I hadn't been so dumb.

This one assistant, Howie Becker. I must have been his full -time assignment,

you know?

What's wrong this time, Waterhouse?

You a loser, Waterhouse? You lose your stomach, Waterhouse? Don't you dig

collision sports, Waterhouse? Over and over and over.

I blew my cork. I chose Becker, but he wouldn't fight, so I called him every

name in the book.

Plot two.

And they took your scholarship away from that?

In the report, Becker spelled out every one of those pervert words.

A coach has a thing about that kind of language. I shocked St. Deal.

You think this was all a plot?

If I hadn't been so dumb, I'd have picked up on it.

Why? I mean, what was their point?

Big schools are always right when they need 15, 20 more scholarships.

So, if one of the coaches doesn't think you're cutting it, then the pressure is

murder. Do you think Mr. Deal was in on this?

Well, he's the man, isn't he?

Listen, there are so many hustlers around here. Right now they got this one

on the red shirt, Henry Spencer.

He's better than anybody on the first string backfield.

He's here on a track scholarship.

But the funny thing is, he's not running track.

He's playing football.

Why don't you check that one out?

I never said I had a basketball scholarship.

No, I'm not exactly crazy about what I've got. And Billy has what? An envious

kid. Then get more.

Billy, see if you can get an interview with this Henry Spencer.

Maybe he'll talk to you. Now, Rossi, find out where he went to high school.

if he really is on a track scholarship.

Give me all the events he ran.

Times, the works.

Lou. Hmm?

You didn't tell anyone over in sports, Sid Locke or anybody, that Mike talked

you. No, why?

They're giving him the silent treatment.

Garbage assignments, hoping he'll quit.

Will he?

I don't think so.

I don't know what I can do. You want me to talk to Charlie?

If you think it'll help.

Sure.

You hanging out with this guy?

Mike? Mike.

You have an abnormal interest in the love lives of the employees here, don't

you?

No, I wouldn't say... Maybe I do.

There's nothing physical between Mike and me.

That's what I figured.

Why not?

He seemed like kind of a cute guy.

The Coach Deal Show.

Ever seen it?

No, it's against Gilligan's Island reruns.

I thought tonight's show might be interesting.

No. Do you know his guest?

The film show White Law is outside speed. Now, we know he has the raw

and he's coachable. Mm -hmm.

This is against a powerhouse A &M offensive line.

Are you going with that three -down pro defense again?

We can't give you that information, Sid. Your paper is investigating us.

Ah, yes, there's a persistent rumor that you shared your lemonade with an

outstanding high school prospect back in 1974.

Oh, boy, they really got the cutes.

As an old front coach, I advise you to watch yourself.

A city editor is an old Minnesota fan.

And you know, those Big Ten guys really have it in for us out here on the West

Coast.

Looks like you've been fingered.

So I get a few phone calls. I think I can handle that.

Yeah.

Thanks, Bob.

Is that for you?

Maybe you better get an answering service.

Blue Grand here.

Now, that was too personal.

What'd he say?

He said he was gonna kill me.

I'm Lou Grant.

You looking for me?

No, sir, Mr. Grant. I'm not looking for you.

Is that my paper?

It could be. It was laying out there.

Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's have it.

Look, I'm Frank Johnson, Overland Security Police.

I'm here to protect you.

Against who?

Cranks, weirdos. See, isn't that against whom? I mean, I know you're an editor.

Against whom?

I've been taking business English at night.

You're doing great, Frank. Thank you.

Come on. I'll buy you a cup of coffee. Okay.

Do you want an English muffin?

You got any regular bread?

What do you want? Rye, whole wheat, raisin?

No regular, huh?

Whole wheat regular.

You know, Mr. Grant, your paper ought to lay off Coach Deal.

Huh? Well, football's one of the few straight things this country's still got

going. Uh -huh. And Coach Steele isn't a bad guy.

He doesn't even drink.

Oh. You know, we could go all the way this year. I mean, number one.

You really think L .A .U. is that good? I saw them beat Oregon, and, man, they

were sensational.

What a bench. They're at least three deep in every position.

Hmm.

You ever play?

Yeah, I played a little ball.

I was a linebacker for two years at Maryland State.

Then I had to do a year and a half in Vietnam, and that was it.

Where'd you get your degree in?

I didn't. I mean, I never graduated.

Got you ready for night school, though, right?

Hey, I don't have any gripes.

How else is a guy like me going to get a college education?

Yeah.

You know, this wheat bread isn't all bad.

Maybe I'll start eating this health food stuff.

How about this wheat germ stuff? You take that, too?

Well, I'll... Hey, Mike.

Say hello to Frank Johnson, Overland Security.

Mike Kessler. How you doing, Frank?

I heard you got some threatening calls.

Frank's been babysitting me.

That heavy?

Frank tells me that the chances of anybody bumping me off are down to one

five. Right, Frank? That's right.

One in five, huh?

In the composing room, they're saying you're even money.

Get out of here.

I heard they've been giving you a hard time.

I'm in solitary.

Cutting and pasting.

No assignments, no rewrites.

Cut and paste. That's my day.

Sounds pretty bad.

Not if you don't mind calling the copy boy, sir.

Go on.

Are you Henry Spencer?

Yes. I'm Billy Newman. I'm with the Tribune. Can I talk to you?

No, I don't talk to any press people.

We've already talked to the NCAA.

Well, you got your story. What do you need me for?

We'd like to be fair to you.

Why not?

Get you something like tea or coffee?

No, thanks.

Take a seat.

Thank you.

Has the NCAA been around?

They're coming up behind me. I hear the footsteps.

You know that for sure?

They've been talking to my Aunt Clara.

She's up in Fresno.

My grandmama, she's back in Florida. She called.

They've been talking to her, too.

Will you tell me?

I mean, for the record.

You don't want to get yourself jammed.

Lady. I know when I'm jammed, and I'm jammed.

Why don't I tell you what we know for sure, and if you want, you can fill me

Okay. What you holding?

You went to Harrison High School for one year. The school can't tell us where

you came from because they've misplaced your records.

Oh, that is so bad.

And there's something weird about your scholarship.

Outside of that, I'm the cleanest man in town, right?

According to the local papers, you were a good sprinter, but a lot of kids had

better times than you.

None of them were approached.

Why did L .A .U. recruit you?

And how is it that a football player's on a track scholarship and isn't on the

track team?

Mysterious, ain't it?

Turn that off a second.

You figure the NCAA has all that?

Well, it took us a couple of days to run it down. If you want to believe that

we're smarter than they are.

Oh,

I hear footsteps.

Okay. Okay.

Start the tape.

I tell you, coming out from under this ain't all bad.

I was 15 years old and playing my... First year for this high school back in

Florida. And I was good.

Well, halfway through the season, I got busted.

Breaking and entering.

Were you guilty?

Well, let's see. When they apprehended me, I was stepping out of this

My arms were full of this 19 -inch color TV.

It was about 4 o 'clock in the morning.

Man, was I afraid.

First arrest?

First felony.

Put in my time at work camp.

You know?

I always thought I was the baddest dude alive.

Oh, man. Bad.

I couldn't even qualify.

That was all in Florida?

Yeah. How did you end up out here?

There was this assistant coach at my old high school.

He played ball for L .A .U.

He put me in touch with a man who put me in touch with one of those wealthy L .A

.U. alumni types, you know.

That man was slick.

He took care of everyone and everything.

a run on the story.

I heard.

You were right.

There must be some satisfaction.

Being right is supposed to give you some sort of inner glow.

You feeling an inner glow?

Not yet, but give me a few minutes.

Are you still being rough on you in Toy Town?

By the time the 84 Olympics get here, they may let me cover field hockey.

Women's field hockey.

Give me a single, doll.

Dennis Goodrich is quitting the end of the month.

You're gonna have a job at Cityside.

Thanks.

But I'm gonna tough it out.

Sports is my thing.

If they tie the can to me.

Eddie Tarver's a fair man.

I figure that's what I got going for me.

If I can help.

What's this going to do to Coach Deal?

Yeah, I'll never lay a glove on him.

He just gives me blessings. He does a dirty work.

He makes a point of knowing not what they do.

Yes, he is.

All right.

Lou?

Some chick named Pinchon wants to see you.

Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Grant.

Mrs. Pinchon?

that this is a matter of some importance.

But something, Mr.

Locke understands, something vital has come up in an advertising meeting that

requires my immediate presence. So if you gentlemen will excuse me, I'll be

right back.

Oh, should we... No, no, no, you stay right where you are. I won't be but a

minute.

What's this about?

It's about my not wanting to be on the same newspaper as you.

I'm very sorry to hear that.

Because I'm not sure which one of us she'd pick.

How many papers are you syndicated in?

102.

Very sorry to hear that.

You saw our copy, huh?

What do you think you've accomplished?

You want to tell me that's not a good story?

You want to tell me it's not true?

I'll tell you what's true.

It's the losers against the winners. Bob Deal is a winner.

A lot of untalented little punks are trying to shoot him down. So we overlook

the fix?

The payola forgery?

Corrupting our high school administrators?

Who the hell do you think you are?

The voice of the Tribune? The conscience of the journalistic fraternity? We have

a lot of readers out there. Common people, working stiffs. And they want a

winner. They want to be number one.

And I'm not so sure they're wrong.

Oh, come on. Don't raise up the readers like a banner. We're not talking about

them. We're talking about you, Sid.

Okay. You want to talk about me?

I've been putting a blank sheet of paper in a machine five days a week, 50 weeks

a year, for better than 30 years.

I know what it is to strike out, but I know something you don't know.

I know what it is to hit one out of the park.

And I used to love to see you do it, Sid.

First thing every day, summer, winter, I'd run to get the morning paper,

who would give me the word?

And the way it is, it's tough.

Hard -nosed, hole -in -hit, sneak -punching.

They never told you, Cherry?

Ah, here it comes, huh?

Everyone else does it. Winning is everything. Nice guys finish last.

Wonderful.

I'll mail you the good sportsmanship of the year award.

Ah, come on, Sid. You don't have to be some kind of paranoid hustler to be a

winner, to be number one.

I'll try to remember that.

And another thing. If you want to get in touch with the common people, the

working stiff, why don't you try picking up a check sometime?

On my side, reporters don't get free meals by dropping the name of a

in a column.

I can't believe it. I just can't believe it.

You know, you should be working for a newspaper in the land of Oz.

While you try to cover up for munchkins who shave points.

I remember reading about a tennis pro who made a call against himself and lost

big match.

A ranking golfer who found he'd been using illegal clubs and turned himself

A guy in a yacht race who disqualified himself because he'd had to turn his

engine on to avoid an accident.

Oh, boy, I guess you'll believe anything.

No, not anything.

I just believe those stories because they were written by someone I really

respected.

Sid Locke.

Forgive the interruption.

Now, Mr. Locke.

What's the problem?

Well, I thought I had a big problem.

But Lou and I worked it out.

Excuse me.

It's really lucky that you had that advertising meeting.

Sid was going to tell you that it was either him or me.

It's really lucky you have a publisher who's smart enough to invent advertising

meetings whenever she feels they may be useful.

Who would you have picked?

Me, right?

bet your butt.