Original subtitles

[ Up-tempo instrumental music plays ]

Man on TV: Leaving them just 2 yards shy of the first down,

and, Bob Palmero, what do you do

if you're the Florida State Seminoles in this situation?

Bob: Well, Bobby Bowden --

He's gonna go for it.

He's gonna kick the field goal.

No, he's gonna go for the first down.

Well, they got to score twice to win.

Why not just get the three right now?

He's got the wind at his back.

He doesn't have the leg.

He's got the wind at his back.

I don't care if he's got the wind at his back and a song in his heart.

He doesn't have the leg.

You're a crazy man from St. Louis.

You have no business being in sports.

-- Jeremy. -- Yes, sir?

Florida State, fourth and 2 on the Purdue 39 and down by 9.

What's Bowden gonna do, kick or play?

I really don't know.

-- I'm asking what you think. -- It'd just be a guess.

-- I want you to guess. -- I don't like to guess.

Guess anyway.

-- Come on, come on. -- Why?

Because this is fun. The job should be fun.

I'm having fun.

-- You should have more. -- I'm having a lot of fun.

-- Jeremy! -- I'm having tons of fun!

Guess!

All right, fine.

He's gonna split three wide receivers

and put a tight end in the backfield with the tailback in motion.

A play-action fake will freeze the strong safety,

and Kittis will find his primary receiver over the middle.

It's a play called Red Rocket right, slant 42, "Z" out.

He'll get the first down, probably a lot more.

What, are you insane?

Wait, wait, wait, wait, they're not kicking.

Kittis lines up under center with three wide receivers split

and the tight end in the backfield.

Tailback in motion, the play-action fake,

and Kittis has Renfro over the middle for the first down and more!

First and 10, Florida State on the 16!

Incredible!

Bob: That's a play Coach Bowden's got called

Red Rocket right, slant 42, "Z" out.

You take a lot of the fun out of this, Jeremy.

Newport's gonna put up a challenge,

New Zealand and Australia each have new keels,

and Japan's looking for an American tactician,

maybe even a whole new after guard.

Now, interestingly, ltaly has developed a new 140% Genoa,

but the lRC says it may not meet specs

because of a bolt in the back step.

Honest to God, I have no idea what sport you're talking about.

Dan's talking about the rough-and-tumble,

Iivin'-the-razor's-edge, run-till-you-drop,

never-say-die world of offshore yacht racing.

Time for the America's Cup?

We're only a year and a half away.

I don't want to get scooped,

but we can probably postpone our coverage

for, I guess, like, a year and a half, can't we?

Greatest sport in the world, Dana, greatest sport. Great for kids.

All you need is $40 million and a dream.

On the NHL --

"l must go down to the sea again,

"to the lonely sea and the sky,

to the flung spume and the blown spray and the --"

I don't know -- thing in my eye.

Thank you.

That was a poem by Mr. Henry David Thoreau.

It's Wordsworth.

Or Wordsworth.

-- Uh, it might be Whitman. -- Might be Byron.

-- It's not Byron. -- I think it is Whitman.

-- Okay. -- It is not Whitman.

-- I think it is. -- It's not Walt Whitman.

Well, I'm saying I think it's Slim Whitman.

Fellas, we have 10 NHL games, 8 NBA,

two of them on the West Coast,

so let's stay in business on 30 through 50.

Edmonton's at Calgary, and we'll pick it up on the 2:00 A.M.

-- Can I say something? -- Sure.

There's a chance it might be Dylan Thomas.

You have to imagine, Danny, how much I don't give a damn about blown spume.

It's flung spume and blown spray,

but, actually, I like your way better.

Elliott, Kim, I'm gonna need some people

to triple up on games tonight.

-- I can do it. -- You're not gonna be available.

-- Why not? -- We're gonna talk to you about it later.

Meet us in lsaac's office right after lunch.

-- Is Jeremy getting the call? -- He's getting the call.

-- I'm getting the call? -- You're getting the call.

-- I don't know what that means. -- It means you're getting the call.

-- Really? -- Yeah.

I still don't know what that means.

Isaac's office after lunch. Meantime --

I'm sorry, I'm just --

Is getting the call, you know, good?

Better than a poke in the eye.

-- Really? -- Yes.

How much better?

We'll talk about it after lunch.

Natalie's got a memo from downstairs

about next Thursday night.

Just a note from the P.R. office that the reception's black tie.

The cars will pick you up after the show

and wait for you at the Four Seasons.

Is "next Thursday" this Thursday or next Thursday?

-- This Thursday. -- Dana said next Thursday.

This coming Thursday. Today is Monday.

Three days from now, it'll be Thursday.

We knew what today was, we just didn't know what Thursday was.

-- It's Thursday. -- Got it.

Look, can I ask again? Is it absolutely necessary that we participate in this?

-- Yes. -- Yes, I can ask again --

You have to go.

Luther Sachs expects us to get off the air at midnight,

change our clothes, hop in a car, and go to his cotillion?

Reception.

These are pretty ornate invitations for a reception.

What are you wearing?

-- The black Richard Tyler. -- You're fine.

"October the 8th, 1998, A.D."

A.D. They're worried I might accidentally show up

2,000 years before the birth of Christ.

[ Laughter ]

A half-hour -- you have a drink, you have a thing,

they take your picture, you're out of there.

-- This Thursday? -- Yes.

What shoes are you wearing?

Whatever shoes are on my feet.

-- I was talking to Dana. -- What the hell --

Manolo Blahniks.

-- Black silk sling-backs? -- Yeah.

Good.

Thank you, Coco Chanel.

Bumpers in and out of commercial 6,

we're holding on the Pete Sampras announcement,

and Mike Maravich may or may not be named

Athletic Director at TCU.

-- Thank you. That's all. -- Back here at 3:00.

All right.

This doesn't originate at the network level.

-- This is an FCC regulation. -- Huh.

Excuse me.

Hey, Jeremy.

I wasn't sure. When you said, "after lunch,"

is that after I eat lunch or after you eat lunch?

-- What time do you eat lunch? -- Anytime you want.

Let's do this now.

You worked for Mark Sabath over at USA Today.

-- Yes. -- [ Door opens ]

He's a friend of mine.

He used to mention that.

We think you're doing real well here, Jeremy,

and we'd like you to get some segment-producing experience.

Natalie, I'm in lsaac's office.

Would you bring me the material for Jeremy?

Um, thoroughbred racing, golf chat, beach volleyball.

It's not a prestige assignment.

It just lets us take a look at what you can do.

We're sending you out this week to put together

two seven-minute segments for the CSC "Outdoorsman."

The hunting show?

Camping, fishing, hiking.

And hunting -- I mean, there's hunting

along with the camping, the fishing, and the hiking.

-- Yes. -- Is that a problem?

The hunting?

Yes.

No, sir.

-- Good. -- No problem.

-- Good. -- It's just --

I don't know anything about hunting. I've never hunted.

I've got a deli on the corner, and they deliver 24 hours, so...

Natalie.

This is some briefing material we put together for you.

You should take it home and study it the rest of the day.

Tomorrow morning, you'll take a van

with your crew up to the Adirondacks,

where you'll meet Bob Shoemaker, the professional guide,

and Ed Bruckner from the Cincinnati Reds, the guest celebrity.

Wednesday, you're gonna go after New England blue mallard.

Thursday, you're going after deer.

Deer get very big in the Adirondacks, so please be careful.

Friday, you come home and cut your segments together.

All that information is in here,

plus all your contacts at the show.

Any questions?

Am I being punished 'cause I guessed right

on that play in the Florida State game?

-- Jeremy... -- Mr. Jaffee, it was a guess.

You asked me to guess, so I guessed.

-- What's he talking about? -- A lucky guess.

-- That's right. -- Ooh, I'm late for a lunch.

Jeremy, you're gonna do fine. I'll see you at the end of the week.

-- We've got a camera meeting in the studio. -- Ah.

I'll see you Friday. Knock our socks off.

-- He talked to Mark Sabath. -- lsaac?

Yeah, he talked to Mark Sabath. He's my old boss.

Isaac and Mark Sabath go way back.

Yeah, I know.

-- Listen, I brought you some snacks for the ride up. -- Really?

It's nothing -- candy and stuff I got from the machine.

Twinkies.

Thanks a lot.

Don't be so nervous, Jeremy.

Enjoy it. You're getting the call.

I still don't know what that means!

-- What are you doing? -- Reading the paper.

-- Why aren't you changed? -- lnto what?

Your tuxedo.

Today is Thursday.

Yes.

Today is next Thursday.

It's this Thursday. This is next Thursday.

-- I'll go change. -- Wait.

-- There are two cars downstairs. -- Good.

-- I want you to ride with lsaac. -- Fine.

I want you to ride with lsaac so that Casey rides with Dana.

-- That's fine. -- I want Casey to ride with Dana.

I get it.

Do you?

I ride with lsaac, and Casey and Dana fall in love.

Right.

Wow, is that a stupid plan.

Go change.

-- Ow. -- Well, hold still!

You're stabbing me in the chest.

I'm stabbing you in the chest because you're squirming.

I'm really pretty sure it's the other way around.

-- Casey? -- Yeah?

-- I've been thinking a lot about soccer lately. -- And?

Pretty much through with that.

Yeah?

You know, to save my life, I couldn't name five teams that play in the MLS.

I know there's Luxembourg.

The MLS is an American soccer league.

-- Luxembourg doesn't play in this league? -- No.

So I don't even know Luxembourg.

Ow again.

You know, this is what you get for being a grown man who can't dress himself.

I used to have a wife for that.

Tell you what else -- I'm starting to get a little cheesed

at people telling me the reason I don't like soccer

is that I don't understand it.

I think I do understand it. I think I understand it just fine.

I just happen to think it's a mind-numbing bore

and that any reasonable person

would rather be playing it than watching it.

Well, I know it doesn't match the pulse-pounding excitement

of a good sailboat race.

Wait till you see Dana. She looks amazing.

All right, nobody move.

Name five teams that play in the MLS,

and Casey says it's an American soccer league,

so you can't choose Luxembourg. Go.

-- Columbus Crew. -- Miami Fusion. -- New England Revolution.

-- Tampa Bay Mutiny. -- D.C. United.

-- Chicago Fire. -- Colorado Rapids.

-- Dallas Burn. -- Kansas City Wizards.

Los Angeles Galaxy.

And the New York/New Jersey Metrostars.

You all just made that up, didn't you?

-- You got smoked. -- Yeah.

The cars are waiting downstairs,

right, Dan, the cars?

Yeah, yeah.

-- Say, about these cars. -- What about them?

-- There are two of them. -- There are four of us.

I was just thinking I could ride with lsaac, if you like.

-- Why? -- So you could ride with Dana.

-- Why would I want to ride with Dana? -- Why wouldn't you want to ride with Dana?

-- There's no reason I wouldn't want to ride with Dana. -- You see?

I'm just asking why in particular you asked me

specifically if I wanted to ride with Dana.

-- You don't want to ride with Dana? -- No, I'm -- I'm happy to ride with Dana.

but I'm also happy to ride with you or with lsaac.

-- Good. -- What's more important is why did you ask me?

-- Why did I ask you what? -- If I wanted to ride with Dana.

I got to tell you, at this point,

the length of this conversation is way out of proportion to my interest in it.

-- Well, all right, then let's just leave it at that. -- Fine.

Except to say this -- You know, I just finished

an hour-long broadcast at the end of a 14-hour day,

and I'm not in the mood to go to a party,

not in the mood to have my picture taken,

and I'm not in the mood to notice Dana's dress

or notice Dana's hair or notice Dana's shoes.

Dana's not my date, she's my producer, and the workday's over.

I'm not in the mood to notice anything tonight.

I forgot my purse.

On your feet, partner. Let's go.

Oh, Danny, where's lsaac?

Control room.

Isaac...

Bob Shoemaker's calling from the Adirondacks.

Something happened with Jeremy.

Isaac Jaffee. What's going on?

Chris: Studio "A," this is master control. You're up on router 21.

Dave: Thank you.

Five minutes to air. Natalie, find out why Dan isn't in the studio.

Chicago says their sound level's low.

Uh, let me hear them. Talk to me, Chicago.

They are talking to you, Dana.

-- They're talking to me now? -- Yes.

I can't hear them.

-- Switch them to 4. -- We're on 4.

-- I can't hear Chicago. -- We'll fix it.

You have four minutes.

Why aren't you in the studio?

-- I'm trying to avoid Casey. -- Why?

He's making me crazy.

He's been making me crazy all day.

It doesn't work for me.

I'm more comfortable when I'm making him crazy.

Why is he making you crazy?

Well, it seems he met a girl last night.

Who?

-- Who do you think? -- Dana?

-- Yes. -- It was the dress!

'Cause you made me play musical cars.

It was the dress and the cars.

In combination with a number of things, not the least of which

is that she was spending time with another guy at the party.

Now we're in business.

Boy, I'd love to be out of the loop

on the next piece of drama that's gonna happen around here.

Dana: Dan, we need you in the studio, please.

But I don't think that's gonna happen.

We've got Chicago.

Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Let me hear the studio.

-- Which studio? -- Our studio!

-- Not hearing them now? -- I'm not hearing them now.

That's a problem.

Yes, that's a problem.

If I can't hear the show, I can't produce the show.

They taught me that in producing school.

You got 90 seconds.

-- 4-3 defense. -- Thank you.

Hey...Iet me ask you a quick question.

-- You know, right now might not be the best time. -- This is important.

-- What's the question? -- How many people can you think of named Gordon?

-- How many people can l think of named Gordon? -- Yeah.

-- Two. -- That's how many I got. Which were your two?

Gordon Lightfoot and Gordon Liddy.

Those are my two. Those are the exact same two that I got.

Can you think of any more?

We're live in 60 seconds. Roll VTR.

-- Can somebody help me, please? -- They can't hear you in there.

-- Can you think of any more? -- No.

-- Neither can l. -- Good.

And it's my feeling that if those are the only two you got

and those are the only two I got,

those should be the only two there are.

-- Granting the premise. -- And you should.

-- You should grant the premise, Danny. -- I do.

Chris: 30 seconds.

'Cause we're two pretty well-educated people, and we both thought about it,

and we both came up with only two Gordons.

-- I'm granting the damn premise. -- You should.

-- Casey, you're driving me -- -- My point is, here we are.

We're going along in life, and everything's fine.

As far as we know, there are only two Gordons out there,

when all of a sudden, a third one comes along.

-- The guy talking to Dana at the thing last night. -- The guy talking to Dana.

The guy out there talking to Dana -- Gordon.

-- We've got sound. -- Oh, thank God.

-- That was all I had to say. -- Thank merciful God.

In 3...2...1.

Good evening. From New York City,

I'm Casey McCall alongside Dan Rydell.

Those stories, plus grab your galoshes.

We're gonna take you out to the lditarod.

Why? 'Cause we just can't believe it ourselves.

Also, grab your notebooks.

We're gonna take you inside the 4-3 defense

on this week's edition of "lnside the 4-3 Defense."

All that coming up after this.

You're watching "Sports Night" on CSC, so stick around.

-- And we're out. Back in 60. -- Dave, Chris, Will,

what are you guys doing tomorrow morning at 10:00?

-- Got a basketball game at the "Y." -- Yeah, it's a 3-on-3 with the guys from --

-- Dave, Chris, Will, what are you guys doing tomorrow morning at 10:00? -- Fixing the sound system?

There you go.

Camera, your wrap is 12:06.

Let's not get into golden time.

One more question.

Can I get a Teamster to hit Casey in the head with something heavy?

Look, how did you know the guy's name was Gordon?

We were introduced.

-- At the reception? -- Yes.

-- By Dana? -- Yes.

-- lnteresting. -- Not really.

-- You think they were on a date? -- Yes.

-- You think they were on a date? -- Yes.

I totally disagree.

She introduced you to him. Big deal.

It's not like she walked up to you and said,

"Dan, this is my date, Gordon."

I want to know exactly what she said

when she introduced you to him.

She said, "Dan, this is my date, Gordon."

All right, we're cranking this whole thing up a notch.

[ Telephone rings ]

Natalie: You're back!

-- Yes. -- Yay!

-- Really? -- Good. Cut together pretty well.

We saw the rough cut a few hours ago.

-- We thought it looked great. -- Really.

-- Thank you. -- When you get a final cut,

we'll send it to your parents in a nice package.

It's your first on-screen credit. They'll flip.

They'll like it.

-- Welcome back. -- Hey! -- Hey, how'd it go?

Oh, real good.

Jeremy, can we see you in my office for a moment?

-- Yeah, sure. What's up? -- My office.

I was wondering why you were lying just now.

-- What do you mean? -- Jeremy, did you think we weren't gonna find out?

What the hell happened out there?

-- It was nothing. -- It was not nothing.

I got sick. I threw up.

They took you to the hospital. You passed out.

-- I told them -- -- Bob Shoemaker said you were sweating and hyperventilating.

It was hot outside.

Not in the Adirondacks in October.

-- Look -- -- Tell us about your hunting trip.

The first day, you were going after New England blue mallard.

Yeah.

Bob and Eddie were using the l.R. 50 Recon by Bushcomber.

It's got a 16-inch microgroove barrel

with.30-30 mags, side-scope mount,

wire-cutter sheath, quick-release bolt,

mag catches, and a 3-pound trigger,

so I figured we must be going after

a pretty dangerous duck.

You can wiseass all you want.

You're gonna tell me what happened.

We shot a deer...

...in the woods near Lake Mattatuck on the second day.

There was a special vest

they had me wear so that they could distinguish me

from things they wanted to shoot,

and I was pretty grateful for that.

Almost the whole day had gone by,

and we hadn't gotten anything.

Eddie was getting frustrated,

and Bob Shoemaker was getting embarrassed.

My camera guy needed to reload,

so I told everybody to take a 10-minute break.

There was a stream nearby, and I walked over

with this care package Natalie made me, sat down.

When I looked up, I saw three of them --

small, bigger, biggest --

recognizable to any species on the face of the planet

as a child, a mother, and a father.

Now, the trick in shooting deer

is you got to get them out in the open,

and it's tough with deer

'cause these are clever, cagey animals

with an intuitive sense of danger.

You know what you have to do to get a deer out in the open?

You hold out a Twinkie.

That animal clopped up to me like we were at a party.

She seemed to be pretty interested in the Twinkie,

so I gave it to her.

Looking back, she'd have been better off

if I'd given her the damn vest.

And Bob kind of screamed at me and whispered, "Move away!"

The camera had been reloaded, and it looked like the day

wasn't gonna be a washout after all.

So I backed away...

a couple of steps at a time...

and I closed my eyes when I heard the shot.

Look, I know these are animals,

and they don't play bridge and go to the prom,

but you can't tell me that the little one didn't know who his mother was.

That's got to mean something.

And later at the hospital,

Bob Shoemaker was telling me about the nobility and tradition of hunting

and how it related to the Native American lndians,

and I nodded, and I said that was interesting,

while I was thinking about what a load of crap it was.

Hunting was part of lndian culture.

It was food and it was clothes and it was shelter.

They sang and danced and offered prayers to the gods

for a successful hunt so that they could survive

just one more unimaginably brutal winter.

The things they had to kill

held the highest place of respect for them,

and to kill for fun was a sin.

And they knew the gods

wouldn't be so generous next time.

What we did wasn't food, and it wasn't shelter,

and it sure wasn't sports!

It was just mean.

Jeremy...

...why didn't you tell us how you felt about hunting

when we gave you this?

-- Because you told me you spoke to Mark Sabath at USA Today. -- Yeah, but --

In fact, I know you must've spoken to him before you ever hired me.

Well, of course I did.

I also spoke to Dave Heller at the Free Press

and Tom Monahan at the Sacramento Bee.

And they all said pretty much the same thing?

Yes, they all said that Jeremy Goodwin was a bright guy

with a world-class understanding of popular sports,

but that he didn't quite fit in,

and there was little chance that he'd advance in their organization.

All due respect, Mr. Jaffee,

but I have $80,000 in college loans to pay back.

My instincts told me to shut the hell up and do what I was told.

Your instincts were wrong.

Not fitting in is how qualified people lose jobs.

Yeah, but a lot of the time,

it's how they end up working here.

Now, you had an obligation to tell us how you felt,

partly because I don't like getting a phone call

saying I put one of my people in the hospital...

...but mostly because if you feel that strongly about something,

you have a responsibility to try and change my mind!

Did you think I would fire you

simply because you made a convincing argument?

It's taken me a lot of years, but I've come around to this --

if you're dumb, surround yourself with smart people,

and if you're smart, surround yourself

with smart people who disagree with you.

I'm an awfully smart man, and Mark Sabath is an idiot!

He had you, and he blew it.

You're gonna do great here...

but you got to trust us.

You fit in on your own time.

When you come to work for me,

you show up to play.

I'm going home.

You don't know us very well,

so if it's hard trusting us at the beginning...

maybe it'll help to know that...

...we trust you.

Good night.

[ Door opens ]

[ Door closes ]

-- # Let me inside you # -- Good night. I'll see you Monday.

-- Good night. -- [ Door opens ]

-- # into your room # -- [ Door closes ]

# I've heard it's lined #

# with the things you don't show #

# Lay me beside you #

# down on the floor #

# I'll be your lover #

# From the womb to the tomb #

# I dress as your daughter when the moon becomes round #

Hi, dad? It's me.

-- # You be my mother # -- No, nothing's wrong.

-- # when everything's gone # -- I just wanted to tell you

that something nice happened at work today.

I got the call.

# She will always carry on #

# Something is... #