"[ Up-tempo instrumental music plays ]" "Dan:" "It was the fourth second-round knockout recorded by the middleweight, whose next fight will be in June against Ramon Castilla at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada." "A city, I'm told, that r ecently legalized gambling." "Dan, fill f or 15 seconds." "Our producer, Dana Whitaker, has asked me to fill f or 15 seconds," " but I honestly don't have anything to say." "" " Dan..." "" " She's begging me now." "Dan..." "Now she seems pr etty mad." "" " Dan..." "" " You'd all like her a lot if you met her." "You'r e a f unny boy, Daniel." "And that was 15 seconds." "" " Casey?" "" " That does it f or us." "I'm Casey McCall alongside Dan Rydell." "I'm off tomorrow, but I'll be back on Friday." "You've been watching "Sports Night" on CSC." "See you later." "" " Music." "" " Go." "" " Animation." "" " Go." "We're out." "" " Her e's the thing." "" " Yes." "I don't have to take tomorrow night off." "Yes, you do." "I'm saying I could do the show with you tomorrow." "And I'm saying when your night off comes up in the rotation, you take the night off." "Yes, but I'm saying I'm willing to waive that tradition and not take the night off." "No, what you wer e saying was you'r e a big wuss who wants to get out of his date tomorrow night." "I don't believe I was saying that." "" " I believe you wer e." "" " And it's not a date." "I believe it is." "I'm saying it's not an actual date." "" " Right, and I'm saying you'r e a wuss." "" " Look..." "Can we be men f or a second?" "All right, but just a second." "" " I r eally don't want to go." "" " No kidding?" "l-I r eally don't want to go on a date, and ther e's no question ther e's a way to look at this thing that makes it appear a lot like a date." "" " Yes." "" " Plus it's a double date, and it's a blind date." "On top of which, let's not f orget, it's a date, so ther e's about thr ee diff er ent ways this thing is bad." "Wow." "What?" "You'r e just a r eally big wuss." "I'm just saying I don't have to take the night off." "" " Tomorrow?" "" " Yes." "It's your night off." "It is my night off, but I don't have to take the night off." "Then it wouldn't be your night off." "And I'm saying I'm okay with that." "" " I thought you had plans with Gordon." "" " I did." "You don't anymor e?" "No, but now Gordon fix ed Casey up with a woman f rom his office, and it's the f our of us." "What ar e you doing?" "We'r e going to see a modern-dance concert at City Center" " and then we'r e having dinner." "" " That'll be nice." "" " Casey hates modern dance." "" " So do I." "But this is the Holly Dix on Dance Company." "These wer e very hard tickets to get." "I'm sur e you'll all have a good time." "I would have had a good time." "I would have had a wonderf ul time sitting with Gordon, watching the Holly Dix on Dance Company and then having some dinner." "But I don't think I'll have a good time doing the same thing with Gordon, Casey, and blind-date-lawyer woman." "Does she like modern dance?" "Who car es, Isaac?" "Certainly not me." "The point is I can work tomorrow night if you want." "No, the point is you don't want to see Casey out with another woman." "Another woman?" "Yes." "Another woman other than whom?" "Can I please go home?" "That is not true." "I love my home." "You ar e wrong." "Then enjoy the Holly Dix on people." "Holly Dix on Dance Company." "And I can't believe that you, of all people, have joined those who believe I have anything but a f riendly inter est in Casey." "I can't believe it." "I can't believe I've been standing her e talking to you this long." "" " Hey, Isaac -- " " I'm going home, Casey." "Yeah, I was just thinking, tomorrow midnight's the trade deadline." "" " Yes?" "" " Ther e might be an eleventh-hour trade." "" " Ther e won't be." "" " Ther e might be." "" " Ther e won't be." "" " There could be." "" " Casey -- " " Look..." "Natalie's running the room for the first time." "If ther e's br eaking news, I should be ther e." "" " To do what?" "" " The things I do." "Good night." "Isaac -- " " Casey's right." "" " I am?" "Yes, ex cept I should be the one to stay because of the trade deadline and because Casey won't be her e." "I will be her e." "You don't have to be her e." "I can be her e." "Any chance I can not be her e?" "Isaac " "I've talked to f our people in the G.M.'s office, including the G.M." "they ar e not making the trade." "Nothing is going to happen at the eleventh hour." "Natalie's show will be simple." "Both of you ar e off." "Is ther e anything else?" "" " It is possible..." "" " I'm just saying..." "Good." "I'll see you both Friday." "Well, you seem awf ully eager to bail on your date." "" " It's not a date." "" " It is a date." "And it seems to me your r eason f or wanting to work tomorrow night has a lot to do with not wanting to see Gordon and me on a date." "It seems to me the r eason you'r e practically tackling Isaac to the ground is because you don't want to see me go out on a date with anyone who isn't you." "" " Casey." "" " I'm ex cited f or this date." "No, you'r e not." "Particularly the Hickory Dickory Dancers." "The Holly Dix on Dance Company, and don't think I don't know your M.O." "" " I don't have an M.O. " " Yes, you do." "My M.O. is to experience lively conversation, fine dining, and some of the best interpr etive dancing money can buy." "No, you think at a certain point during the evening, you'll say something wonderf ul to me, and I'll melt, and that'll teach me f or going out with Gordon instead of you." "I'll settle f or you spilling something on yourself." "" " I'll see you tomorrow." "" " Yes, you will." "Jeremy:" "Am I the only one who thought they were gonna make the trade?" "Natalie:" "Yes." "I r eally thought they wer e gonna make the trade." "" " And I was pr etty certain they wer en't." "" " I know." "In f act, I'm pr etty sur e I bet you $5 they wer en't gonna make the trade." "" " Yes, I know." "" " You took the position that they wer e gonna make the trade, and I was an advocate f or the notion that they wer e not." "These ar e all things that I know." "" " Do you know you owe me $5?" "" " The trade deadline's midnight." "I'm gonna want a crisp $5 bill, not some raggedy-ass thing f rom the newsstand." "Yeah, yeah." "Bumpers in and out of 10." "We'll tease Villanova f or now, but that might change." "Elliott, wher e ar e we on time?" "Uh, we need a buck fifty back." "" " What can we cut?" "" " Formula 1." "That's good film." "Let's bump Oksana Baiul." "" " Oksana Baiul?" "" " Lose it." "The Ukrainian jewel, Oksana Baiul?" "" " Yes." "" " You can't bump Oksana Baiul." "And yet look how I just did." "Her e at 6:00." "Will, Chris, Dave, I can count on you guys tonight?" "" " Absolutely." "" " Big night." "" " Natalie's running the room." "Nat, you got a sec?" "" " One sec." "Kim?" "" " Yeah?" "Should we hold off in the 40s?" "" " Tampa Bay?" "" " Should we wait?" "" " I'd wait till 10:00." "" " Tell Elliott." "" " Okay." "How can I help you?" "" " First let me say this is an ex citing night f or you." "" " Yes." "" " We'r e all very ex cited f or you." "" " Thanks." " 'Cause it's ex citing." "" " What do you need, Dan?" "" " Special night." "" " It's no big deal." "" " It's a very big deal." "" " What do you need?" "You know I would never question your choice of substitute anchor, right?" "" " Right." "" " I mean, this is your first time stepping in f or Dana." "These ar e your decisions tonight." "I would never second-guess you, and I would certainly never question your choice of substitute anchor." "" " So what's on your mind?" " l-I question your choice of substitute anchor." "" " Bobbi's fine." "" " She's better than fine." "" " She's very good." "" " She's very, very good." "" " So what's the problem?" "" " Ther e's no problem." "" " It sounded like ther e was a problem." "" " I'm not spr eading ill will her e." "That should be clear." "I'm not dropping a dime on anybody." "Wher e I come f rom, we don't say things about people." "" " You come f rom Connecticut." "" " That's right." "You don't say things about people in Connecticut?" "" " We do not." "" " What's the problem?" "" " Bobbi's a lunatic." "" " Dan " "She's an off-the-charts lunatic." "" " Why don't you like her?" "" " I like her fine." "" " Talented." "Smart." "Very prof essional." "" " But..." "" " Total nut bar." "" " Got it." "She's convinced we slept together once and I never called her." "" " Did you?" "" " Did I sleep with her?" "" " Did you call her?" "" " I didn't sleep with her." "" " Why does she think you did?" "" " It's hard to say, but it could have something to do with the f act that she's psychotic." "It's gonna be Bobbi." "It's your decision." "Yes, it is." "" " Very ex citing." "" " Thank you!" "[ Indistinct conversations, silverwar e clinking ]" "Actually I asked for an olive instead of a lemon twist." "I hate to bother you, but I'll tell you why -- I'm allergic to lemon twists." "Not lemons themselves, just the peels." "And not always." "Just r ecently." "" " Honey?" "" " Yeah." "That's my drink." "" " Ah." "" " Yes." "Ar e you allergic to lemon peels?" "" " No." "" " Ha ha." "Then we'r e fine." "" " I'll get some menus." "" " Thanks." "So I was telling Gordon that it's f unny your name is Lisa, because my ex-wif e's name was Lisa." "In f act it still is." "I was married to a woman named Lisa f or a little over 10 years, but now I'm not anymor e." "My name's Leesa." ""Leeza"?" "" " Yes." "" " With a "Z"?" "" " Spelled with an "S." " " But pronounced with a "Z."" "" " Yes." "" " Inter esting." "My ex-wif e spelled hers with an "S,"" "pronounced it with an "S" -- the whole nine yards." "You know, maybe Leesa doesn't want to hear all that much about Lisa." "I'm sorry." "Well, it is sur e nice being out like this, huh?" "" " Cheers." "" " Cheers." "" " Cheers." "" " Cheers." "[ Glasses clinking ]" "[ Sighs ]" "So...the name of this r estaurant is Tony Anthony's." "Anthony Anthony." "In Cuba, Ricky Ricardo would've been Ricardo Ricardo." "And Lucy would've been pronounced "Loozy."" "Dana:" "Hey, you know what might be f un?" "If you didn't talk f or, like, a minute and a half." "Well, I definitely will, if that means we get to hear mor e about your citrus allergies." "Ar e you gonna let him talk to me like this?" "It would've been Ricardo Ricardo." "Thank you." " [ Cellphone rings ] " " Oh, that's me." "Is it Natalie?" "If it's Natalie, let me speak to her right away." "If it's anyone f rom the show, let me speak to them." "Is it " " Is it Natalie?" "I think I have to answer the phone bef or e I can say f or sur e." "Yes." "Good." "Answer the phone." "Thank you." "" " Hello?" "Dan:" "Hi." "" " Is it Dan?" "If it's Dan, I need to speak to him." "No, that's silly." "Natalie's got it under control." "" " Is it Dan?" "" " What's happening?" "Dana's about to pull a hamstring, which is mor e than I could've hoped f or during the Humpty Dumpty dance-a-thon." "Holly Dix on Dance Company, and they wer e off their game tonight." "Give me the phone." "Uh-uh-uh." "Somebody f orgot the magic word." "Please." "Would you please give me the phone?" "No." "Leesa, would you ex cuse me f or a second?" "I'm gonna take this over wher e it's quieter." "Sur e." "Gordon, could I have your phone please?" "Honey, why don't you just r elax tonight?" "I am r elax ed." "It's just that it's five minutes to air, and I'm a little nervous f or Natalie." "Oh, well, I'm sur e Natalie can handle it." "I'm sur e she can." "Can I have your phone?" "You need to let the show go once in a while." "" " Yes, I do." "" " You know I'm right." "You are right." "" " So let's just have a good time." "" " Let's do." "But first, how 'bout you give me the damn phone?" "Or I could just give you the phone." "Thanks, pumpkin." "[ Dialing ]" "I'm having a r eally good time." "This is nice." "Man:" "Five minutes to air." "Five minutes to air." "I don't know, man." "She's got the crazy eyes." "Well, you should've called her." "I never slept with her." "You should've slept with her and then called her." "How's Lisa?" "I'm having some trouble pronouncing her name." "Lisa?" "It's Leesa." "" " With a "Z"?" "" " No." "" " I don't understand." "" " Yeah, me neither." "Hey, you know who looks good tonight?" "Dana." "How does Gordon look?" "Have a good show." "Thanks." "[ Indistinct conversations ]" "Please understand." "It's not that I don't think Natalie isn't capable." "She's extr emely capable." "Her capability r eally can't be questioned." "But Natalie's young, and she's f rom a very small town in Ohio, a very small town." "Ther e wer e 32 people in her high school class." "Her town was so small, it's almost hard to believe that she's kept me on hold this long." "[ Light laughter ]" "Dave:" "Stand by audio, stand by VTR." "" " Elliott, get me F /X-4." "" " Comin' to you." "Thank you." "Show me San Diego and pr eview 7." " 7's up." "" " San Diego's on 2." "Dana's still on hold." "This is a comf ortable chair." "You took your sweet time." "Hey, could you put Casey on the phone for a second?" "" " But -- " " Just for a second, then right back to you." "She wants to talk to you." "Hey, Nat." "" " Keep her off the phone." "" " You bet." " [ Cellphone beeps ] -- [ Gasps ] Hey, hey!" "Thank you." "Hey, what do you know about the f ennel salad her e?" "What do you need to know?" "Well, like, for instance..." "what's fennel?" "Ex cuse me." "Wher e's she going?" "She's going to tell the bartender to change the channel to CSC." "[ Music plays ]" "You see, Leesa, unlike Dana," "I am able to enjoy a r elaxing night out." "What time do you have?" "" " Oh." "It's about -- " " I mean the exact time, don't give me about." "It's 11:00." "Eat 'em up, Danny!" "[ "Sports Night" theme music plays ]" "How you doin'?" "[ Indistinct conversations ]" "Listen." "Please." "Listen to me." "You'r e obviously mixing me up with someone else." "You know what, Dan?" "I'm a prof essional broadcaster, and I have a broadcast to do." "You got me at a time in my lif e when I was very vulnerable, but you'll be happy to know I am not that silly little girl anymor e." "No, those days ar e over." "It wasn't me." "Let's not play these games." "Dave:" "In 3...2..." "Good evening." "From New York City, I'm Dan Rydell alongside Bobbi Bernstein sitting in f or Casey McCall." "Those stories, plus we'll take you to Talladega, Tallahassee, and Tuscaloosa, wher e the ball had trouble finding the basket." "We'll take you to Salt Lake, Westlake, and Westwood, wher e the team had trouble finding the bus." "All that coming up after this." "You'r e watching "Sports Night" on CSC, so stick around." "" " We'r e out." "" " Two minutes back." "Natalie?" "Yeah." "I just talked to my guy at L.A.X." "Yeah." "" " Ar e you r eady f or this?" "" " What?" "They wer en't on the charter." "" " Ar e you sur e?" "" " Yeah." "I mean, is he sur e -- The guy in L.A.?" "He says they wer en't on the plane with the team." "Did I call it?" "" " Who else knows?" "" " I don't know." "She means the guy at the airport." "Who else has him?" "" " Nobody." "" " You trust him?" "Yep." "Kim, the Br eakf ront Hotel in Vero Beach." "Ask f or Housekeeping." "When you get Housekeeping, ask f or Angela." "Tell Angela that Natalie Hurley would like her to go to Mr. McDermott's room" " to see if he'd like turn-down service." "" " Do I wait?" "" " She'll call back." "" " Let's get this." "Stand by, 5." "Nothing like a good shrimp cocktail." "Shrimp cocktail is comf ort f ood." "Shrimp cocktail and a couple of vodka martinis." "I'm glad you'r e starting to r elax." "You'r e out of town covering a game, you'r e in a strange hotel, you know what you do?" "" " Order a shrimp cocktail?" "" " You order a shrimp cocktail." "Leesa, tell Casey about what that guy said this morning." "" " Casey's not paying attention." "" " Yes, I am." "In your head, you wer e counting yourself back f rom the commercial." "" " No, I wasn't." "" " You wer e counting yourself back f rom commercial in that big, block head of yours." "" " Dana's a lot of f un, isn't she?" "" " Gordon:" "Yes." "I, on the other hand," " am r elaxing and enjoying a shrimp cocktail." "" " Tell us the story." "It's just ther e's this trade deadline." "" " I know." "" " And it could be a last-minute trade." "Ther e's not gonna be a last-minute trade." "You'r e an expert all of a sudden?" "Tell us the story about the guy." "Did I mention that the place where Natalie grew up is...very small?" "Natalie:" "Stevie, that's a slow 10." "Kim, what have you got?" "The housekeeping woman said ther e wer e five men in the room." "She described them this way " ""Tall, balding man with a mustache and slightly tinted glasses."" "" " That's Marvin Kauf man." "" " Who else?" "Late 20s, tan, Pat Reilly hair." "" " Don't know." "" " Who else?" "" " Heavyset, beard." "" " That's Rudin." "" " They'r e making the trade." "You know what, Dan?" "It was Spain." "I was young and wide-eyed and in Spain." "And I don't mind so much that you took advantage of what was obviously a very vulnerable time in my lif e." "And I don't mind that you danced with me and held me and whisper ed your lies in my ear... but to not call again " "In my entir e lif e, I have never been to Spain!" "" " Lies!" "" " Natalie!" "" " Hey, Dan..." "" " Will you tell her that   we've got a situation." "" " What's going on?" "Elliott's contact at L.A.X. says someone never got on the charter, and Kauf man, Rudin, and two other guys ar e sitting in McDermott's hotel room in Vero Beach." "" " Let's get it." "" " Work the phones." "Who do you know at the Dodgers?" "Flowers, I'm sur e, would've been too much to ask f rom the gr eat Dan Rydell." "Hey, crazy lady, we've got br eaking news her e." "Ar e you up f or this?" "Oh, sur e, Dan." "Whatever you say." "Women ar e just her e f or you." "Dave:" "All right..." "Thank you, Tracy Heller." "We'll be back to the MCI Center later in the show, but first a little trip to the Cameron Indoor Stadium, wher e the Duke Blue Devils ar e playing host to their crosstown rivals." "The University of North Carolina Tar Heels, coming off the win against LSU, had their sights on..." "[ Continues indistinctly ]" "She's doing fine." "Yes, she is." "Ooh." "" " What?" "" " Jealous?" "Guys." "The fill-in's doing fine." "" " I agr ee." "" " Then why'd you say what you said?" "What did I say?" "You said, "She's doing fine."" "No, you said, "She's doing fine."" "What did you say?" "I said, "Yes, she is."" "And what did you mean by that?" "I meant she's doing fine." "Listen, I don't know you two very well, and maybe it's just because you'r e drunk, but I think you'r e unnecessarily intense about your show." "Gordon's right." "It's just sports, f or crying out loud." "It's not the Paris peace talks." "Ah, get yourself a r eal name." "Nice!" "We just want you to confirm or deny." "" " We'r e not gonna make it." "" " Isaac " "We don't want to use your name." "Can we just say "confirmed," is what I'm asking." "Chris, give me a pr eview of 66 and 70." "" " You need 68." "" " Stand by 60." "" " You want 68?" "" " Just 66 and 70." "" " And 68." "" " Isaac   68's coming." "" " I don't need 68." "You need 68." "" " No, I don't." "" " Chris, show her 68." "Chris, pr eview 66 and 70." "Isaac, please stay quiet." "" " Please stay quiet?" "" " We blew off 68 in the 10:00 rundown." "Now, please stay quiet." "" " Go 60." "" " Isaac..." "" " May I ask why?" "" " Not right now you can't." "Right now you can fir e me or stay quiet." "You'r e very good." "He won't comment, but it's happening." "You let him up off the mat." "Natalie:" "Jeremy -- " " He wouldn't comment." "You let him up off the mat, Elliott." "Damn it!" "This guy's calling Vero Beach right now and everyone in Florida's gonna shut the hell up." "" " Cool it, Jer emy." "" " That is, until they can f eed it" " to anyone who works f or Rupert Murdoch." "" " Cool it!" "" " That was a blown phone call!" "" " And I said cool it!" "Elliott, you f eel okay saying "unconfirmed r eports"?" "Yeah." "Kim?" "" " Yeah." "" " You can't run any report, Natalie." "You've got a baggage handler and a chambermaid." "No one's saying this is happening." "" " You want to leave the room?" "" " No." "Then allow f or the possibility that f rom time to time, other people might be at least as smart as you ar e." "" " Isaac?" "" " Yeah." ""Unconfirmed r eports" and I call McDermott?" "Absolutely." "Get me the hotel." "I'm sorry about that." "Yeah." "Elliott, we don't even have unconfirmed r eports." "McDermott doesn't know that." "Dan, listen..." "Sources inside the Dodger organization?" "Say "sources inside the general manager's office."" "Ar e you sur e we want to do this?" "Yeah." "" " Okay." "" " Talk to me." "Do it." "You've got the hotel." "" " McDermott?" "" " Yeah." "15 seconds back." "Mr. McDermott, this is Natalie Hurley over at "Sports Night."" "And I'm very sorry to bother you this late, but we've got two people f rom your office who say you'r e about to close a 7-player trade." "Well, you don't have to take my word f or it, sir, you can turn on your television set right now." "In 3...2..." "Welcome back." "We have an unconfirmed r eport involving the Los Angeles Dodgers" " and a seismic 7-player, eleventh-hour deal..." "" " I think it was a good idea we stepped over to the bar" " to have a drink." "" " Absolutely." "The environment was getting hostile at the table." "And I r eally haven't been a very good date." "No, you haven't." "But we have the whole r est of the night, and I think I can make a comeback." "Well, okay then." "" " Can I just ask one question?" "" " Sur e." "Did he just say something about unconfirmed r eports of a trade?" "Yes." "Okay." "Have you noticed how I haven't looked at the television in a while?" "Yes, I have." "I've been rotten tonight." "Yes, you have." "I'm not the world's gr eatest girlf riend, am I?" "Ther e's some room f or improvement." "That actually wasn't the r esponse I was hoping f or." "[ Scoff s ]" "Uh... look, Dana..." "I don't know if " "Ex cuse me." "I'm sorry." "" " Dana." "" " What?" "Unconfirmed r eports coming out of Vero Beach." "Uh...ex cuse me." "" " I -- " " Go." "I'll be right back." "Go." "[ Silverwar e clanks ]" "[ Footsteps depart ]" "My only question f or you, Dan, is why." "" " Oh, f or God's sake." "" " Is it just so hard f or you to be with a woman who's your equal?" "I didn't sleep with you." "If I'd have slept with you, I would have called you." "If I'd slept with you, you'd know it." "If I'd have slept with you, I'd know it!" "[ Telephone rings in distance ]" "Confirmed." "" " What?" "" " Confirmed." "" " You'r e kidding." "" " Danny?" "Fantastic, Natalie." "Way to go." "Ar e you sleeping with Natalie?" "" " Would you shut up?" "Dave:" "In 3...2..." "The Lady Tigers have won seven in a row at home and 10 of their last 12." "The unconfirmed r eports f rom the Dodger camp have now been confirmed, and CSC is now r eporting that a 7-player trade, including three all-stars," " has beaten the trade deadline by a scant four minutes." "" " She did it." "" " Yeah." "For more, let's go to Kelly Kirkpatrick at Vero Beach." "Kelly?" "What was Gordon about to say?" "What?" "" " What was Gordon about to say?" "" " When?" "Just now." "Nothing." "You look r eally nice tonight, Dana." "[ Laughs ]" "[ Dialing cellphone ]" "[ Sighs ]" "Thank you." "Hey, girl." "Look what you did." "How's dinner?" "Casey doesn't like f ennel salad." "" " Hey, Dana?" "" " Yeah?" "What do I do at the end of this thing?" "Take a bow, Natalie." "" " You think?" "" " Absolutely." "Tag it, Dan." "Their combined contracts make f or a total package in ex cess of $ 120 million." "That was a CSC ex clusive." "" " All right." "" " You've been watching "Sports Night. "" "I'm Dan Rydell alongside Bobbi Bernstein." "That's all f or us." "Have a good night." "" " Music." "" " Go." "" " Animation." "" " Go." "We are out." "Nice show, everybody." "Way to go." "Natalie, I got a beer f or you in my office right now." "This woman gets scotch in my office." "I'll be right ther e, guys." "[ Telephones ringing ]" "You see?" "And that is what is so cruel -- you lift a woman's spirits up, and then you just dash them to the ground." "Well, it's the only way I can get them to my laboratory." "What?" "You'r e good, Natalie." "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "What'd you think I was around her e, Jer emy, some gal Friday?" "No." "I just didn't know you wer e that good." "[ Papers rustling ]" "Well...you wer e right about the trade." "Go log the floor manager's r eport and then come have a drink." "You bet." "[ Soft instrumental music plays ]" "[ Up-tempo instrumental music plays ]"