Original subtitles

[music continues]

(coach) Alright. Take a drive..

Get past. Back in and get going, come on.

Get the ball. Get the ball.

Hello.

No, it's Jack Nicolas.

Of course this is Lex Luthor.

Two thousand from [indistinct] and three thousand

from the archaeology department.

Well, they should have been able to dig up more than that.

[chuckles]

Med school, 1500. Great!

Who'll they think is betting all this money

against our glorious Shuster basketball team?

A bookie from Cleveland.

Great. Great.

Well, Mr. Superstar, first pick in the basketball draft.

I'll drove you again.

And do you why?

No.

'Cause golf takes brains.

Just like making money takes brains.

So you leave it to me and we'll both come out okay.

Please, Lex. Don't make me do it.

Make you do it?

Make you do what?

- Lose. - Lose?

You call winning the money losing?

[Lex chuckles]

You call thrilling all those people

with your dribbling and passing..

...shooting and rebounding losing?

You call missing a few extra shots

or dropping a key pass or-or committing

a silly foul losing?

I call it human.

You keep the money, I don't want it.

Splendid.

- Then I can play to win? - You can do what I tell you.

State beats our heroic Shuster in the big game.

Giving you a chance to control your own destiny.

If I tell what I know...you'll be out of the game.

Out of luck..

...and out of school.

And then...I'm going to kill you.

[dramatic music]

(coach) Get under that. Hit it! Alright!

Alright. Come on, Stretch.

That's the way. That's the way to go.

Get on him. Get on him, Stretch.

[whistle blowing] No no no. Time out!

Stretch.

Go sit down. Take a rest.

Moose, go on for Stretch.

(coach) Okay, guys, Just keep it going.

[whistle blowing]

What's your problem, son?

No problem.

I can't be perfect all the time.

Hey, I know that we ask a lot out of you.

But you always deliver.

Yeah, what if I can't?

What if I'm just playing lousy?

Take it easy, son.

You know, easy for you. It's not so damn easy for me.

All I ever hear is, "You can do it, Stretch."

"You can do it, Stretch." "You can do it, Stretch."

If I can't do it..

Hey, relax. It's just another game.

Look, forget about today's practice.

You go home and get some rest, huh?

I'll talk to you later.

Okay, now look, I want you to drive, Mikey.

Stretch, what's going on?

Not now, Clark. You already got

your scoop of the day.

Bit Star's whining cry baby.

Don't be so hard on yourself, man.

I mean, you lead the team all season.

All you have to do is give it your best shot.

Oh, I shot my best shot a long time ago.

Hey, I know you. You'll do great.

Not if I help that Luthor rat.

[jazz music]

Lex, I'd like to talk to you.

[girls chuckling]

Leo.

I assume you've come to apologize

for the nasty things you write about me in the Shuster Herald.

(Clark) Nasty, but true.

My job's to report the truth, be it nasty or nice.

That's why I'm here.

What truth do you seek for?

You are the resident maker of the odds.

So I am.

Get this down.

Ra-ra-ra.

[chuckles]

Sis-boom-ba.

Go Shuster.

[Leo laughs]

(Lex) Is that enough?

How about the game where you're predicting a victory?

There's no doubt as to the outcome.

- Did you bet on it? - I never gamble.

What are I do is invest capital.

And only when a large return is assured.

What about the game? Is that a good investment?

That, my dear fellow Shuster, is privileged information.

It is available only to the paid up subscribers

to The Lex Luthor Letter.

My financial advisory service.

[telephone ringing]

Hello.

Who? Lex?

Eh, hold on.

Lex Luthor here.

Well..

Would you excuse me for just a second?

This is a personal call.

Wait around, if you'd like.

[music continues]

(Lex) What else can I tell you, my dear boy?

[click]

No, I think I got what I came for, Lex.

Good. Well, then, just to show that there are no grudges

what juicy tit-bit would you like me

to pass on to your readers?

Perhaps a little something about..

...your friend Lana's love life.

[Clark laughs]

You crack me up. That's a joke right.

[Leo laughs]

How'd you get to be such a jerk?

Great genes, hard work and..

...very, very rich father, Clark.

[Lana clears throat]

Um, Clark...remember we're playin' a game.

I know. We have trouble.

Lex and Stretch.

Well, Mr. Hot Shot.

Getting psyched for the game.

Yeah, the odd couple.

Make that the odds couple.

Look at me when I'm talking to you.

Look, man, just leave me alone.

(Stretch) Enough's enough.

(Lex) You will do what I tell you.

Can you stop it! Do you want to play?

Please. God forbid I get in your way.

[Lana laughs]

You better not screw this up.

Because if you do..

[all students laughing]

What happened to Lex?

Oho! Lex. He tried out the Olympic team.

[all laughing]

Men's synchronized swimming or what?

You look good, Lex.

Let's go talk to Stretch first.

- Hey. - Hi.

(Clark) We're here as friends, this is an unofficial visit.

Not reporters.

You know, I could use some.

Okay, friends, speak to me.

Don't do it.

Don't do what?

Luthor, man. He'll never let you go.

How'd you find out?

You were careless. I-i-it's always as if

you wanted to be stopped.

Yeah and now I am.

Stopped, finished and washed up.

Well, can you tell us about it?

I mean, maybe we can help.

He kept inviting me to his parties.

And Lex, he doesn't take no for an answer.

So I went.

But, you know, it was fun.

So he started passing around a joint

and everybody was taking hits on it.

So what, right? I mean, even the big judges do it.

Uh, not if they want to be bigger judges.

I took a few drags..

It's not like you're trying out for the Supreme Court

well, he showed me some eight by ten glossies.

Pictures of me getting stoned.

That's Lex for you.

Never without his hidden camera.

Yeah. Well, my host, Mr. Luthor, promised

to make me front page news.

If I didn't mess up enough to have State beat Shuster.

Yeah, he always keeps a promise.

Except when he lies.

Tell me what to do, Clark.

It's your future, it's your life.

You gotta make the call.

I'm going to make this Stretch hotshot look real bad.

I'm fed up with him getting all the credit.

Let him take all the blame.

They'll be enough blame for everybody.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing for you to trouble your tiny brain over.

You just play normally until you get my signal.

Okay. Great. Great.

Eh, say, how much do you suppose a corvette goes for nowadays?

[intense music]

[spectators cheering]

(male announcer) Shuster, 29. State, 32.

Two more points for Russell.

Shuster, 31. State, 32.

[spectators cheering]

Basket. Russell.

- Alright. - Alright.

- We're dead, Lex. - Don't be stupid, Leo.

[spectators cheering]

Come on, you Shuster boosters, let's hear it for the Moose.

(Lex) Moose! Let's go!

Now Lex is rooting for Moose in Shuster?

Against his own money?

[spectators cheering]

[spectators gasping]

(male announcer) Basket. State.

Defense, down, down, down court. Down court.

(male announcer) Basket is good.

[spectators cheering]

- Oh, God! - Moose!

(male announcer) Basket. Murrow.

State leads.

Okay. Okay.

Twenty-six. Twenty-six. Twenty-six.

(male announcer) Basket. State.

(coach) Oh, take care of the basket properly.

Take care of the ball!

[spectators cheering]

There's no doubt, T.J. Moose is in Lex's pocket.

[whistle blowing]

(male announcer) Bad pass by Moose.

[buzzer buzzing]

There is the buzzer ending the first half.

[spectators cheering]

We're not playing team ball.

We're not looking for the open man.

We're not hitting those offensive boards.

We're not hustling like we're supposed to.

We look like..

T.J., I'm trying to give a pep talk here.

And we are making far too many mental errors.

I don't know what you're gettin' at Moose.

You're going to be sitting down during the second half.

Nonetheless, we're only three points behind.

Now, let's get out there and play like we can play

and let's do better this second half, right?

(all players) That's right!

Right?

(all players) Right!

Alright, let's get together.

(all) One. Two. Three.

Team [indistinct]. Let's go.

[players shouting]

[spectators cheering]

What about Stretch?

Nobody defies Lex Luthor.

Not without paying the price.

Why didn't Moose start there?

- I don't-- - Go check the locker room.

(male announcer) Basket. Murrow.

State 52. Shuster 50.

[whistle blowing]

Offensive foul, 23.

Oh, God!

Moose is in there sleeping like he never was before.

A bomb wouldn't wake him up.

I knew we couldn't depend on that Neanderthal.

- So we go with the sure thing. - Got another backup?

Keep your eye on the referee.

[whistle blowing]

No basket. Charge him. 23.

How can you tell me that?

Robbery. Highway robbery.

Why don't you go sell a mask, huh, ref?

[whistle blowing] Time.

(male announcer) Time out. Shuster.

[cheer girls cheering]

[inhales deeply]

[clink]

If I were a gambler, I'd have a safe bet.

You're on Lex's payroll to make sure

State beats Shuster.

- Where'd you get that? - I can't reveal my source.

But I'll keep it out of the Herald

if you take that money Lex gave you to start a new life

and never ever referee another game in any sport, anywhere.

- Deal? - Yeah.

Deal.

[instrumental music]

[spectators cheering]

(spectators) Superboy! Superboy! Superboy!

Students, ladies and gentlemen, forgive the intrusion.

The referee cannot continue he's got a crook in his back.

Since I've somewhat of a reputation for fairness

and I'm relatively fast on my feet

I'm volunteering to referee the remainder of the game.

[spectators cheering]

Superboy!

Are there any objections from the coaches

or the players?

No? Let's play ball.

[whistle blowing]

[spectators cheering]

Alright!

[whistle blowing]

(male announcer) Basket. State.

State leads by two.

[spectators cheering]

Basket. Russell. Score tied.

Didn't I tell you? Didn't I tell you it was okay?

[whistle blowing]

[spectators cheering]

(male announcer) Basket. Shuster.

(male announcer) Eleven seconds left to play.

State leads. 71-70.

Yeah. Yeah.

Now we take care of Stretch.

Get these down to the press table

and let the world know what a doper he really is.

Lex, we're gonna win.

There's only a couple of seconds left.

- Why not leave Stretch alone? - Just get going.

(male announcer) Time out. Shuster.

[intense music]

Must have been pretty hot pictures, huh, Leo?

[cheering continues]

[whistle blowing]

(male announcer) Only nine seconds left.

Eight. Seven. Six. Five.

Stretch gets this shot off.

He's got the shot off before the buzzer

so it'll count if it drops.

[buzzer buzzing]

It's through the hoop. Basket is good.

Shuster wins! 72-71.

[upbeat music]

[whistle blowing]

Congratulations to State for a well played

hard fought game.

[spectators cheer]

And congratulations to Shuster for a well played

hard fought victory.

I've been asked to announce that the game ball

is going to a non-player.

Lex Luthor. Where are you, Lex?

For your tireless efforts in researching the game..

...and for your valuable numbers and statistics.

Congratulations, Lex.

The students and faculty would also like to thank

Lex Luthor for his valuable contribution

of $5000 toward the purchase of a new computer

to help keep the team stats.

Thank you, all.

[spectators applauding]

What a parley.

Not only did Lex lose all that money

but Superboy squeezed in extra five big ones out.

- What a justice. - Yeah.

Superboy made it all come out even.

He has a sense of symmetry and..

...sense of compassion and a sense of humor..

...and purpose and dedication--

If Lana had a dictionary for once.

Clark, hi!

- We won. - I know.

Where were you?

I was in the locker room, I heard it on the radio.

Coach kicked Moose off the team.

He was asleep in the dressing room.

Phew! Ha, that's great.

Lex is going to take it out on Stretch.

No, I made a deal with Lex.

He destroys the negatives that he made

of Stretch's dumb escapade.

And we destroy the video that you made

of him enlisting Moose to throw the game.

Hey, what video?

The one you were going to make, if we needed it.

That's wonderful. I'm really proud of you, Clark.

Even I can jump over tall buildings.

Well, I bet Superboy can do more than that.

Like run faster than a speeding bullet?

I think you're jealous of Superboy.

Oh, right. Me jealous.

- Yeah, you're jealous. - Nah-h-h!

[theme music]

Captioned by Grant Brown