"I can't believe it, you know what I mean?" " What?" " What?" "This assignment." "I mean, this is the best." "Of all the assignments we've had, this one is the best." "Mark, you don't even know what the assignment is yet." "It's pro football." "That's all I need to know." "The sweat, the guts, the glory of the gridiron." "We're gonna be assistant equipment managers." "We're not trying out for the team." "I used to play a little football, you know." "Actually, I played a lot of football." "Junior high, high school, the service." "I was on the all-city police team." "Did I ever tell you that?" "I think you might have mentioned it about 200 times in the last hour." "Still got all the moves, eyes of an eagle." "Oh, yeah, a few extra pounds here and there but let somebody throw a pass right between the old numbers," "Magic Fingers Gordon will show you what hugging that pigskin is all about." "Yeah, well, Magic Fingers, your eagle eye just missed the turnoff." " The what?" " The turnoff." " You're supposed to turn back there." " Oh, really." "I know that." "Okay, flex." " Excuse me." " Yeah." "I'm looking for Bobby Joe Morrison, equipment manager." "Straight back." "He'll be chewing a cigar." "Thanks very much." "Hey, Mark." "Mark." "Come on, it's this way." " That's him." " That's who?" "Right there on the table." "Alex Carpenter." "The man's a legend." "This is a great assignment." "I'm gonna love it." "Come on." "Man." "All right, let's see you move on it." "Feels great, doc." "I've been running for six weeks." "The knee looks pretty good." "But you don't have full mobility yet." "Doc, I need a clean bill of health now." "That kid, Noel, doc, he's after my job." "I gotta be out there on that field." "I gotta show them." "All right." "Like I said, the knee looks good." "Thanks, doc." "Cougar country." "You know, Bobby Joe, I was telling Jonathan, you know, you can have all your movie stars, as far as I'm concerned, this is where all the glamour is." "Right." "Here, grab yourself some glamour." "You can start mopping up over in the locker room." "When you finish, come to the trainer's room." " Smith, come along with me, huh?" " Right." "See you, Magic Fingers." "Hey, Alex, Noel Francis." "Glad to have you back, buddy." "Thanks." "Oh, excuse me." "I'm supposed to clean up in here." " I won't be in your way, will I?" " No, no, no." "Go ahead." "Kind of young to be the team doctor, aren't you?" "That's my dad, the great Dr. Dan Hickey." "My name's Neal." " Mark Gordon." "Glad to know you." " But I'm almost a doctor." "Still got two years of med school left." " This is my first day here, helping out." " Yeah, me too." "You know, from what I hear, your dad sounds like a great guy." "Yeah." "Yeah, super." "Hey, doc junior, your dad leave something here for me?" "Oh, yeah, right." " Here we go." " Thanks." "Alex, how's the knee?" "What do you mean, "how's the knee?"" "The knee's fine." "What are you, a sportswriter or something?" "Me?" "No, I mop, vacuum." "Equipment manager." "You know, nobody." "Sorry I jumped on you." "I don't like sportswriters." "Always make a big deal out of injuries." "Yeah." "I mean, what do they know?" "Listen, I think you're the greatest, Mr. Carpenter." "The greatest centre who ever was, the greatest centre who ever will be." "Thanks." "Now all I gotta do is convince that big rookie kid they brought in." "Hey, you'll do it." "Go out and bury him, right?" "Right." "Right." "Jonathan, bring the scrimmage vests from the cage." " You got it." " Mark, we need a couple more balls." "All right." "I don't understand you." "When are you gonna grow up and stop whining?" "Working with the Cougars is a great privilege." "You treat it as though I'm imposing on you." "Dad, I am not a superman or a genius like you." " Finals are coming and I gotta study." " Who says you shouldn't?" "How can I when I'm standing around watching a bunch of chemically crazed Neanderthals with broken bodies paying homage to my father, the great witch doctor?" "I'm so" "Morning, Dr. Hickey." "I'll see you at home." "All right, let's hear some leather pop." "On two." "Team down." "Ready, set, hut, hut two." "Hit it, hit it." "Come on, move it." "Let's go." "Come on." "All right." "Next two, let's go." "On two." "Team down." "Ready, set." "Hut one, hut two." "Hit him hard." "Hit him." "Get him off that kid." "Get him off of him." "Get him off of him." "It's all right." "Come on, keep it moving." "Get him up here." " Let go of me." " Get him off." "Get him up here." " I'm sorry, coach." "I'm sorry." " It's okay, Alex." "Hit the showers." " That's enough for your first day back." " I'm fine." "I know, I know." "Save it for scrimmage on Monday." "It's okay." "Now, hit the showers." "Go on." "All right, next two." "Let's go." " Hey, Alex." " Hi, fellas." "Hey, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything to anybody" " about what happened in the showers." " Hey, don't worry about it." "That never happened to me before in practice." " One too many greenies, I guess." " Why you take them, then?" "Pain pills get you down." "You need something to get you up." "Better football through chemistry." " That's a little dangerous, isn't it?" " The doc knows what he's doing." "It didn't look like that today, Alex." "Hey, I go up against guys who are out there eating dirt, they're so loaded." "Think they'd feel anything?" "I'm not gonna be the only one on that field who can feel pain." "Isn't that when you can really get hurt?" "I'm already hurt." "But I still play." "That's the difference between us and guys who just got uniforms on." "We play hurt." "The fans know it and the coaches know it." " Is the money that important to you?" " It's not the money." "Money's good, money's great, but that's not why you do it." "Then why do you do it?" "I love it." "I love the game." "I love being on the team." "There's 1500 guys in the whole world who are good enough to do what I do." "Fifteen hundred in the whole world." "And I get to be one of them." "Until some kid like that rookie takes it away from me." "And I'll do anything to stop that from happening." "See you guys Monday, first scrimmage." " Go get them." " Yeah." "That guy is scared to death." "He's more than scared, Mark." "He's hooked." "Paging Dr. Hickey, Dr. Dan Hickey." "Paging Dr. Hickey." "Dr. Dan Hickey, please." " What is it?" " Phone call." "A Mr. Carpenter." "I'll take it in my office." "Please transfer this call to Dr. Hickey's office." "Thank you." "Yes, Alex." "You need more?" "I just gave you" "You lost them." "No, Alex, settle down." "I am not calling you a liar." "Okay." "I'll have my son bring some over to you." "As soon as he can." "Goodbye, Alex." "Hello?" "Dan, where are you?" "We're supposed to be at the party at 8:00." "Lillian's." "Yes, I know what you do is more important, doctor." "I wasn't being sarcastic, I was just repeating what you said." "Yes, he's here." "I will." "Right away." "Dan, do you think we could--?" "Dan?" " Neal?" " Yeah, Mom?" "Your father just called." "He wants you to run an errand for him." "Right now?" "Look, I'm in the middle of studying." "He says it's important." "Some medicine for Alex Carpenter." "Yeah, all right." "I'm on my way." "Oh, Neal?" "I'll probably be asleep by the time your father gets home, so wish him a happy anniversary for me, will you?" "Why don't you come to bed?" "It's almost 2:00 in the morning." "Is that what you came out to tell me?" "What time it is?" "I guess I couldn't sleep either." "I was getting lonesome in there, all by myself." "If the music's too loud, I'll put on the earphones." "No, no, I like it." "Is there room enough in that chair for two?" "What's wrong, honey?" "What's wrong?" "I can't sleep." "Why?" "Why?" "I mean, Mary Kay, I think you'd understand." "That first scrimmage," "I gotta go out there and prove myself all over again." "I gotta beat that kid out." "Alex, there is life after football, you know." "The game has got to end some time." "Oh, that's real supportive." "Thanks." " Just do me a favour, okay?" " What?" "When all the cheering's over, remember you have a wife and a daughter, who love you an awful lot more than any of the fans do." "Good evening, doctor." "Smith." "What are you doing here?" "I wanted to talk to you about Alex Carpenter." "Care to join me for a nightcap?" "No thanks." " Coffee?" "Soda?" " I'm fine." "Okay." "What about Carpenter?" "Come on, what do you mean, "what about Carpenter?"" "You saw the way he freaked out in practice today." " What have I got to do with that?" " You got a lot to do with it." "Giving him painkillers and pep pills like candy." "Smith, how long you been around professional sports?" " Not very long." " That's what I thought." "Let me tell you something." "Alex does what a lot of players do in order to play." "Professional athletes fight three things:" "pain, weight and age." "Medicine can't do anything about age, but we can do something about pain and weight." "The players know that and the coaches do too." "Players need painkillers and stimulants, whatever else it takes, to do the job." " And what if they get hooked?" " They don't get hooked." "The players use the drugs for medically legitimate reasons." "Come on, doctor, you saw him today." "All right, granted, some of them do have a reaction." "That's too bad." "But Alex is a player." "He has to play, that's his life." "Alex is not just a football player, he's a person." "More important, he's your patient." "Smith the team is my patient." "It is my job to help them play as long as they can." "And Alex knows that and so do I." "Now, if you will excuse me, I would like some privacy." "And Smith I trust I won't have to hear this again." "I work very long hours." "My time is precious." "I don't like to waste it explaining what I do to the hired help." "Is that understood?" "Good night, doctor." " Come on, let's do it today, boys." " Hustle it up." "Let's go." " Here's another ball." " That's right." " Mr. Wharton?" " You don't have to call me mister." "Oh, well, you're the quarterback and all that, you know." "Right." "You can call me sir." "I was wondering if you could do me a favour." "You need an inside line on how to beat the spread?" "No, no, nothing like that." "I was just wondering, could you throw me a pass?" "Just a quick one?" "So I can tell my friends I caught a pass from an all-pro quarterback." "Sure." "Run out." "Say, hey, you don't have to be afraid to burn it in, either." "You know, I played football in my day." "A pretty good tight end." "Played on the police league." "They called me Magic Fingers." " Okay, run a buttonhook, Magic." " You got it." "Hey, nice catch, bubba." " Nice pass." " Hey, would you like another one?" "I'm gonna check some of the equipment out over here." " I suppose you saw that." " How could I miss it?" "Just like the old days, Magic Fingers." " Let's go." " Come on, guys, let's go." " Let's go, let's go." " Down." " Down." " Set." "Hut one, hut two." "Run, run, run." " Go, go, go." " All right, all right." "All right." "Huddle up." "Going in." " Come on, let's go." "Let's go." " Let's go, D." "Let's go." "Come on, hurry up." "I want a stretcher and an ambulance." "Why?" "Why?" "It felt so good." "But we'll just get you to X-ray and then we'll see what we can do." "Get me Coach Fredricks." "Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I would have been here sooner but I had to pick up Julie from school." " Hi, pumpkin." " Hi, Daddy." " I'm so sorry." " Me too, honey." "Can you believe this?" "It felt so good." " What did the doctor say?" " He hasn't been in yet." "But it's not gonna be good." "I can tell you that." "It's gonna be at least six weeks before I can get back up on this thing." " I'm gonna miss half the season." " Alex, don't worry about that now." "Don't worry about it?" "You know what that means, don't you?" "The coach is gonna start that big rookie kid, Noel." "You know how hard I'm gonna have to work to get my position back?" "You're a hard worker, Alex." "If you want it badly enough, you'll do it." " You sound like the doc." " No, I don't." "He says that to make up for his own mistakes, in case you don't mend properly, then it's your fault instead of his." "I'm saying it because I know you." "And I know you can do anything you set your mind to." " You really mean that, don't you?" " I'm your biggest fan." "You're my prettiest one, that's for sure." " Can we come in?" " Sure." "Who is it?" "All I could see was the flowers and the beard." "I thought it was Merlin Olsen." "Thanks." "How you feeling, Alex?" "Okay?" " Great." "Just great." " You sure about that?" "Sure." "This is a setback, that's all it is." "I'm gonna be back out there before you know it." "Hey, look, Alex, haven't you...?" "Haven't you talked to anybody from the team yet?" "No, I haven't even seen the good doctor." "Hey, what is it?" "What's wrong?" "You've been cut from the team, buddy." "I'm sorry." "We thought you knew." "I really am sorry." "And they didn't even bother to come down here and tell him?" "I don't believe this." "After all he has given them?" "And the doctor is too busy to come down here and tell him?" " Get out." " Oh, honey, listen" "Get out, please." "Mary Kay, all of you, just leave me alone." " You sure you're gonna be all right?" " Just leave, please." "Just leave me alone, please." "I'll be back tonight." "Jonathan, listen to this:" ""Alex is presently mulling over several offers from companies around the city." "He's excited about his future and anxious to get on with it." "We wish him luck." "But then again, Alex Carpenter never needed it." "He has something that makes luck obsolete." "He has that great commodity, desire."" "He's only been out of the hospital for a few days, he's doing great." "I don't know what you're so worried about." "People tend to sound great when they're talking to the press." "Like putting on a false front to hide the way you're really feeling." "I'm all done with these." "Let's go, we got one more load of laundry." "That's not fair." "The team gets a day off, we gotta do laundry." "Well, now you know how your mother felt." "After we finish here, we'll take Alex's stuff over to his place." "Well, good." "Maybe if you see him, you'll quit worrying." "Yeah, maybe." "Oh, I'll get it, Mom." " How you doing?" " I'm fine." "How are you?" " Julie, who is it?" " Oh, it's Jonathan and Mark." " How you doing?" " Hi, guys, come on in." "We just stopped by to drop off Alex's stuff." "Oh, he went to camp this morning to pick it up himself." " Oh, we probably just missed him." " Yeah." "Can I put this somewhere for you?" "It's pretty heavy." "In the back." "Julie will show you." "Follow me." " So how's it going, Mary Kay?" " Fine." "Not so fine." "I don't know." "I keep hoping that it's cabin fever, you know?" "No more cheering crowds, no more football season." "All that." "Hey, come on, it's a whole new life for him." "That can't be easy." "I know." "How long were you at camp today?" "Oh, I don't know, four hours, something like that." "Why?" "Alex left for camp at 8:00 this morning." "There's no way you could have missed him." "Come on, Mary Kay, what's going on?" "What's wrong?" "I don't know." "Maybe I don't wanna know." "Alex has never lied to me before." "At least, not that I know of." "He's so jumpy all the time." "I thought once the pressure of playing was off of him that it would get better." " But it hasn't." " No, it's worse." "I'm afraid for him, Jonathan." "And you know what the worst part of it is?" "I'm beginning to be afraid of him." " What do you mean you're afraid--?" " Jonathan." "You gotta see this study." "Alex must have two dozen game balls in here." "Yeah, maybe another time." "We got some more work to do at camp." "You say "hi" to Alex for us, all right?" "I will." "And listen, thanks for coming." "You bet." " I'll stop back later, if it's all right." " Sure." " You hang in there." " Okay." " Bye, Julie." " Bye." "Mommy, I wonder what's taking Dad so long." "You know your dad." "He probably ran into an old friend." "Oh, would you finish the vacuuming for me, please?" "Yeah, sure." "Alex, I'm not supposed to see you till Friday." "I can't wait till Friday, doc." "I need more pain pills, right now." "The prescription I gave you was for a week." "The prescription was good for a day." "I need more and I need them now." "I'm sorry, but you can't possibly be in that much pain now." " You don't need the pills" " Don't tell me what I need." "When I was playing ball you gave them to me by the handful." "Alex, I gave them to you because you needed them." "Now you're just a regular patient, like everybody else." "You've got your prescription." "When did I ever have a prescription?" "You remember when you gave me this stuff the first time, 12 years ago?" "Well, I've been taking it like peanuts ever since, so I could stay out on that field and give my all for the Cougars." "You can't cut me off." "I need the stuff." "Alex, you got your medication because you were a player." " You're not a player anymore." " Give me the pills." "Easy." "Okay." "Hey, calm down." "Let's just go unlock your little goodie cabinet and get me what I need, then I'll calm down." "Or I'm gonna show you what pain's all about." "Hey, hey, take it easy, Alex." "Take it easy." "Okay, I'll help you this time." "I always tried to help you, didn't I?" "I mean, I'm on your side." "You know that." "Yeah, doc, I know." " Jonathan, hi." " Mary Kay, how you doing?" " Is Alex home?" " Yeah, he's resting." "Where'd he say he was today?" "I'm afraid we were all worried for nothing." "He decided to go on some job interviews today." "He should wait till his leg got better, but he wanted to start his new life." " He really is like a changed man." " Who are you talking to?" " Hey, it's me, Alex." " Jonathan." "How you doing, buddy?" " I'm fine." "How are you?" " Couldn't be better." " I see you're off the cane already." " Yeah." "I always did heal quick." " How'd you make out today?" " What?" "Mary Kay said you went on some interviews today." "Oh, yeah." "Got some nice offers." "But I don't want to rush into anything, you know, yet." " Got to check my options." " I don't blame you." "Hey, I just stopped by to make sure we put all your stuff in the bag." "Oh, yeah, everything." "All my mementos." "All right, then." "Hey, I won't stay." "Good seeing you." " Say "hi" to the guys for me, will you?" " I'll do that." "They miss you." " Thanks for stopping by." " Oh, my pleasure." "I'll see you." " He's a nice guy." " Seems to be." " He seems worried about you." " About me?" "What for?" "I don't know." "To tell you the truth, I was a little worried myself." "You know, you haven't been exactly easy to live with these last couple of days." "I know." "I just needed a little time to get my act together." "But I'll be fine from now on." "You wait and see." "I love you, Alex Carpenter." "I love you too." "You mean, I drove all the way out here to examine a football player, and he didn't even bother to show up?" "I'm sorry, but Theodore missed his plane." "You make a weekend trade and things fall through the cracks." "But we gotta get him examined tomorrow." "Fine." "Have somebody call my office, if he shows." "I'll be right back." "I wonder if I can have a word with you." "I'm not in the mood to talk right now, Smith." "You can talk to me or I'll go talk to the commissioner." "And I don't like being threatened." "Hey, I'm not threatening you, doctor." "Just telling you what I'm gonna do." "All right." "All right, what is it?" "This better be good." "Alex Carpenter's hooked and you're still supplying him drugs, aren't you?" "If you even try suggesting that to anyone," "I'll hit you with a lawsuit so big, your great-grandchildren will be paying it off." "Alex Carpenter is my patient and I am his doctor." "Oh, no." "Alex Carpenter is an addict." "And you're not his doctor, you're his connection." "Instead of helping him, you're jeopardizing his life and your career." "Before you try to make that stick, you better read a few law books." "You're out of your league, Smith." "And so are you, doctor." "I've got a book for you to read." "There's a part of it that says, "Physician, heal thyself."" "What are you talking about?" "You know exactly what I'm talking about." "You're out of a job, Smith." "Trust me on that." "on the stop, coming from his linebacking spot, is Bob Rush." " Isn't the game over yet?" " Just a couple more minutes." "Yeah, with timeouts and sideline passes, that translates to about a half an hour." " Alex, we have to leave in" " I heard you." "We're told that Duckworth limped off, so Michael Young will stay on there as the wide man." "A gain of one, second down and nine..." " That's for me." " Now, how do you...?" " Here." " Hello?" "Yeah, Mary Kay." "Oh, you did." "Yeah." "Yeah, that explains a lot of things." "You bet I will." "Sure." "Right away." "Come on, grab your coat." "We're going to the Carpenters'." " Thank God you're here." " Where is he?" "He's in the den." "Don't let him hurt Mommy." " What's going on, Alex?" " Nothing." "Get out of here." "I said, get out of here." "Take it easy, Alex." "You're not thinking straight." "I'm here to help you." "She didn't take your pills." " Then where are they?" " I don't know." "You gotta think." "Come on, think." "Where'd you put them?" " In the bathroom." " No, they're not in the bathroom." "Don't you remember?" "You looked in the bathroom." "Wait." "Maybe you brought them out here." "Maybe you brought them in here to take another pill, huh, Alex?" "Where did you look?" "Maybe they're behind the books?" "Why don't you look behind the books, Alex?" "Come on, find your pills." "Come on, find them, Alex." "Oh, wait a minute." "Maybe behind the trophies, huh, Alex?" "Why don't you find them?" "Come on, find your pills, Alex." "Come on, look, Alex." "Find your stinking pills, Alex." "Where are they, Alex?" "Where are they?" "My God, look at yourself, man." "Look what you done to yourself." "Look what you done to your family." "Oh, God, help me, please." "I'm sick." "I'm so sick." "Neal, how about something to eat?" "You can't study like this and not eat or sleep." "No exam is that important." "I'm all right." "Mom, don't worry." "That's your father's favourite line." "Good night, darling." "Why do you want us to head this direction?" "The motel's back there." " I know." "I just have a feeling." " Me too." "Tired." "Alex is fine, the job is over." "Let's go back to the motel and get some sleep." " Hey, slow down." " What?" "Over here." "Doc." "Doc, you okay?" "Doc." "Doc, it's me, Jonathan." "You okay?" "I am..." "I'm all right." "I'm all right." "We'll take you home." "What's going on?" "Margaret." " Margaret, what happened?" " I found him on the floor." " He was having convulsions." " I'll go with him." "I'll go with him." " You follow us in the car." " You're drunk!" "I'll go with him." "I'm a doctor, damn it." "That's what he needs." "Mrs. Hickey." "Let us take you to the hospital." "You're in no shape to drive now." "Joan Kasten, 583." "Joan Kasten, 583." " How is he?" " He's gonna be all right." " You mean that?" " Yes." "It was..." "It was amphetamines." "You believe that?" "I guess, you know, he had finals, and a lot of kids these days use them." "I guess he just took one too many." "Yeah, like Alex Carpenter." "Come on, doc, stop pretending." "Your son just OD'd on uppers." " He's got a problem." " That is absurd." "My son's no more of a dope addict than I am." "That's what I'm afraid of." " Margaret." " Found these on the floor of your car." "I thought you might need them." "Come on, doc, face it." "Your boy is sick but he doesn't need medicine, he needs his father." "Talk to him." "Be honest with him." "How you feeling?" " Better." " Good." "How long has it been going on?" "What?" "Come on, Neal." "I'm sorry." "The pills." "How long?" "Three years." "Years." "Dear God." "Why?" "Why?" "Because I'm not a superman, like you." "Oh, I wanted to be, I really did." "I tried but I couldn't." "Everybody always saying to me:" ""Look at your dad." "How does he do it?" "His practice, the team, the charity work, 18 hours a day."" "But I couldn't do it, Dad." "I can't be like you." "Oh, yes." "Oh, yes, you can." "You're a lot more like your father than you think." "You see, I'm an addict." "I've been one a hell of a lot longer than you." "God, we need help." "Both of us." "Dad?" "Dad, you're crying." "Hey, Alex." "Hey, it's my main man." "How you guys doing?" " Okay." "How you doing?" " Okay, Alex." "You didn't bring me any flowers this time." "Does that mean we aren't going to prom?" "Well, the last time, you used them for target practice, remember?" "I couldn't have done this without all of you." "Thanks." "Hey, come on, no thanks are needed." "You're the one that faced up to it." "So, what's your next step, Alex?" "I don't know." "I'm taking it one day at a time." "Have to go to a meeting in a couple of days." "Kind of a A.A. thing." "It's gonna be hard, standing up there saying:" ""Hi, I'm Alex." "I'm an addict."" "I mean, it's one thing if your name's just Alex." "But it's harder when everybody knows who you are, from TV and everything." "It's kind of scary." " I could sure use some" " Some fans?" "No." "Some friends." "You've got plenty of those." "We'll be there." "I feel just like before a playoff game." "Relax, it's gonna be okay." "All you have to do is say your name." "Hi, everyone." "I'm Maury and I'm an alcoholic." "Hi, Maury." "We're going to depart from our usual format, somewhat tonight, of introductions." "And we'll get back to those in a little bit." "Tonight, we're very fortunate to have with us a very special guest speaker." "He's a noted physician who's going to talk to us a little bit about the problems that professional athletes face with drugs, just so you all know we're in the same boat, huh?" "All right, doctor." "Can you believe it?" "The guy who got me hooked is gonna preach?" "I can't believe there's a phoney like that at this meeting." "Good evening." "I am a doctor." "Most of my patients are professional football players." "And they always seem to trust me." "After tonight, I hope I'll be able to earn that trust, and my son's." "My son is with me tonight." "I'd like to introduce him if I might." "Neal." "Hi." "My name is Neal and I'm an addict." "Hi, Neal." "My name is Dan Hickey, and I'm an alcoholic and an addict." "Hi, Dan."