The Giants Win the Pennant

(In the studio, just before showtime)

Dave: In ten...

Elliot: Stand by one-four-four

Chris: Standing.

Dave: In three...two....

Dan: (on the air) Good evening, from New York City, I'm Dan Rydell alongside Mike Greenwey, sitting in for Casey McCall. Those stories, plus Mike Ditka goes fishing.

(Pixley and Howard are sitting at a bar, watching Dan on TV)

Pixley: I just went on a date with one of those guys.

Howard: From "Sports Night"?

Pixley: Yeah.

Howard: You're kidding.

Pixley: No.

Howard: You dated a guy from "Sports Night"?

Pixley: Yeah.

Howard: Which one? (Pixley laughs as they take their drinks over to a table) Dan? Was it Dan?

Pixley: It's the one the guy on the right's filling in for tonight.

Howard: Casey?

Pixley: Yeah.

Howard: You dated Casey?

Pixley: A date.

Howard: You dated Casey McCall.

Pixley: It was really half a date.

Howard: 'Cause I'm a Sports Night nut.

Pixley: Then you and Casey would have gotten along very well.

Howard: Is he a good guy?

Pixley: Howard--

Howard: I mean, in real life, is he a good guy?

Pixley: Howard, don't you think this time would be best spent talking about you? Or even me?

Howard: (pause, then bursts out) You went on a date with Casey McCall.

Pixley: (getting annoyed) Yes.

Howard: Are you going to see him again?

Pixley: No. I am not. There are few guarantees in this life, but here is one: I will never see Casey McCall again.

Casey: (tapping Pixley on the shoulder) How ya doing?

Pixley: Oh, my God.

Howard: (dazzled) Wow.

Casey: Isn't this a coinkydink?

Pixley: Yes.

Casey: (extending his hand to Howard) I'm Casey McCall.

Howard: (shaking hands) You don't have to tell me.

Pixley: (to Casey) He's a big fan.

Casey: Thanks.

Pixley: (to Howard) Can we go?

Howard: But we're having a good time.

Pixley: (upset) No, we're not.

Casey: (to Howard) She's a tough sell.

Pixley: (to Casey) I am not a tough sell.

Howard: (to Casey) She was just telling me about your date.

Pixley: Half a date.

Casey: Would've been a whole date, but she walked out.

Pixley: Of course I walked out.

Howard: (to Casey) Are you with someone tonight?

Casey: Yeah, that girl sitting all by herself over there. Give her a wave. (waves, as does Howard until Pixley pulls his hand down)

Pixley: Don't wave, Howard.

Casey: Her name is Jessica. She's Date Number Eight.

Pixley: (to Howard) I think we should go *now*.

Casey: (to Pixley) You were Date Number One.

Pixley: I recall.

Casey: There'll always be that special--

Pixley: Get the coats, Howard!

Howard: (clearing his throat uncomfortably as he reluctantly gets up and shakes hands with Casey) Nice meeting you.

Casey: Nice meeting you, too. (to Pixley as Howard walks away) Seems like a nice guy.

Pixley: He is a nice guy.

Casey: (sitting down in Howard's chair and pausing) I started to call you, you know.

Pixley: You're lying.

Casey: No, I'm not.

Pixley: You started to call me?

Casey: Yes.

Pixley: What happened?

Casey: I stopped.

Pixley: Why?

Casey: I didn't have your phone number.

Pixley: Ah.

Casey: And it was only that realization that prevented me from--

Pixley: You don't have a phone book?

Casey: Do you know how many people there are named Pixley Robinson in the phone book?

Pixley: Yes.

Casey: How many?

Pixley: One.

Casey: Okay.

Pixley: Good night.

Casey: Mystery solved.

Pixley: You should get back to that poor girl over there.

Casey: That poor girl over there is having a perfectly fine time waiting for a second. As you yourself were having before I started to tell you about my situation--

Pixley: That the date was a ridiculous requirement made by the girl you really wanted to be with, and you wouldn't have been there if you hadn't been forced?

Casey: You have a way of making this sound a lot worse than it really is.

Pixley: (coyly) Make it sound better.

Casey: Give me your phone number.

Pixley: No.

Casey: (pausing and smiling) Okay.

Pixley: Give me yours. (Casey grabs a pen and writes his number on her hand. She watches him and laughs) You signed your name.

Casey: Yeah, 'cause it's also an autograph.

Pixley: (still laughing) Your friend's waiting for you.

Casey: (getting up) Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. (he touches her hand one more time, then walks off, leaving  her looking happy, but puzzled)

(The next day Dan is standing by the craft table talking to Dave)

Dan: How can you not have heard of this game?

Dave: Dan, I--

Dan: It's among the greatest baseball games ever played.

Dave: (walking around him) I heard you.

Dan: In the history of baseball.

Dave: I'm not a baseball fan.

Dan: You work for a sports show.

Dave: I'm a technical director.

Dan: At a sports show. Stop walking. (Dave stops) Everyone should know this. In 1951, there wasn't a more passionate rivalry in sports than the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Giants fans hated Dodger fans, Dodger fans hated Giants fans. Fathers passed it on to sons. In August, the Giants were thirteen and a half games out of first place. (Dave nods, not interested) That's insurmountable. Your season's over, but--mnh mnh! The Giants come back from thirteen and a half games, fall into a first place tie with guess who? (Dave shrugs) The Brooklyn Dodgers. Now they play a play-off game to see who gets to go to the World Series, and the Dodgers have it won, right? (he grows more even more passionate and mimes swinging a bat) Until a guy named Bobby Thomson hits what they called the Shot Heard 'Round the World. I-I used to listen to this tape-- there's this famous announcer's call. Maybe the most famous ever. (imitating radio announcer) "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" His name was Russ Hodges, and he-he just kept going, the guy just kept going on. "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" (shakes Dave by the shoulders) I-I think I listened to a tape of Russ Hodges making that call, I don't know, every night for I think four or five years.

Dave: You like sports, don't you, Dan?

Dan: I really do.

Jeremy: (walking behind Dan) Hey.

Dan: (to Jeremy) Hey.

Dave: (to Dan) I gotta go.

Dan: Thanks. (going after Jeremy) Jeremy!

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: I think we should do a feature on Bobby Thomson's homer

Jeremy: Why?

Dan: Fiftieth anniversary.

Jeremy: Thomson's homerun was '51.

Dan: That's right.

Jeremy: It's the 49th anniversary.

Dan: And deserving of a tribute.

Jeremy: A 49th anniversary tribute?

Dan: There's a law it's gotta come with fives and tens?

Jeremy: No, none that I know of.

Dan: We make our own laws, Jeremy.

Jeremy: You should talk to Isaac.

Dan: I don't need Isaac's permission. I make my own laws.

Jeremy: You do need Isaac's permission. But that's not why you should talk to him.

Dan: Why should I talk to him?

Jeremy: He was there.

Dan: Where?

Jeremy: At the game.

Dan: The Giants game?

Jeremy: Yeah.

Dan: You're kidding me.

Jeremy: No.

Dan: He was there?

Jeremy: Yeah.

Dan: He never told me that.

Jeremy: Go talk to him.

Dan: How did you know that and I didn't know that?

Jeremy: Go talk to him.

Dan: I will go talk to him.

Jeremy: (sitting down) Okay.

Dan: You're telling me he was there, Branca pitched, Thomson swung, crack, the Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant, and he was there?

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: (bothered) Okay. (walks off)

(Isaac is sitting at his desk, reading papers)

Isaac: (as Dan taps on his open office door and walks in) Yeah?

Dan: I got a bit of a problem with you, Isaac.

Isaac: Yes, thanks for asking. I'm feeling fine.

Dan: You were at the Giants game?

Isaac: (pause) Which Giants game?

Dan: The one forty-nine years ago.

Isaac: Bobby Thomson?

Dan: Yes.

Isaac: Yeah!

Dan: You never told me?

Isaac: You never asked.

Dan: Did Jeremy ask you?

Isaac: No.

Dan: Then how did he know?

Isaac: I told him.

Dan: We're supposed to have a special bond, Isaac.

Isaac: We do.

Dan: Doesn't seem like it.

Isaac: It's very special.

Dan: Mnh, it's not special if you have it with other people, too.

Isaac: (pause) Why did you come in here?

Dan: I wanna do a piece on the game.

Isaac: For the 49th anniversary?

Dan: (exasperated) There's a law that says it's gotta come in fives and tens, what?

Isaac: No, no.

Dan: You covered the game.

Isaac: Yes.

Dan: Let me put you on camera.

Isaac: No.

Dan: We'll talk about the game.

Isaac: No.

Dan: Why not?

Isaac: Well, because I said so.

Dan: (pause) Isaac, this is something that doesn't happen--

Isaac: What is the occasion?

Dan: It is probably the greatest baseball game ever played. And spring is coming. That's the occasion.

Isaac: Okay.

Dan: So you'll go on camera and talk about the game?

Isaac: (over him) No.

Dan: (exasperated) I wanna do a feature, Isaac--

Isaac: (over him) Go ahead.

Dan: --and I wanna use you.

Isaac: No.

Dan: Why not?

Isaac: There again because I said so.

Dan: You won't do it for me?

Isaac: No.

Dan: I'm not feeling that special bond.

Isaac: Life is like that, homey.

Dan: (pause) Okay. (gives up and leaves)

(Dana, Jeremy, Dave, Chris and Will are in the control room, prepping for the show)

Dana: (standing in control room with clipboard) Momentarily does not mean "in a moment."

Dave: (looking at monitor) There's two dissolving to three.

Dana: Thank you. It means "for a moment."

Jeremy: Yes.

Dana: That makes me crazy.

Jeremy: We've been wondering what the source was.

Dana: (smiles and accepts the jibe) Let's see a graphic for Seattle.

Chris: Coming.

Dana: It means "for a moment," not "in a moment."

Chris: Seattle's up.

Dana: On the plane when they say "We'll be landing momentarily," I call over a flight attendant, and I tell them, "If we land momentarily, it won't give the passengers enough time to get off the plane."

Jeremy: And once safely inside the airport, how long do they usually detain you for questioning?

Dana: Well, they know me by now.

Jeremy: Ah ha.

Natalie: (coming into the control room) Oh, Dana?

Dana: Hey.

Natalie: A word?

Dana: Yes. (starting to follow Natalie out of the room) I'll only be gone momentarily. Ah! Notice how I didn't say "I'll be back momentarily"? That wouldn't be true, as I plan on spending most of the morning on this, but I'll only be gone momentarily, which is why I said I said that I--

Natalie: (grabbing her arm and pulling her out) Dana.

Dana: (going out into the hall with her) Yes.

Natalie: (guiding her down the hall toward her office) So--

Dana: I'll tell you what else. Hopefully means "full of hope."

Natalie: Yes.

Dana: With hope in one's heart.

Natalie: Do you remember my girlfriend Katie?

Dana: No.

Natalie: I have a girlfriend named Katie.

Dana: Okay.

Natalie: Katie works downstairs with a woman named Rita.

Dana: Okay.

Natalie: And Rita has a friend named Howard.

Dana: Bring it around to me.

Natalie: Howard went out with Pixley last night.

Dana: (as they enter her office) The Pixley?

Natalie: Yes.

Dana: Casey's first date?

Natalie: (shutting the door) Yes, but here's why it's news: Casey was there.

Dana: Where?

Natalie: On Pixley and Howard's date last night.

Dana: I thought Casey was on his own date last night.

Natalie: He went to the same place as Howard and Pixley.

Dana: By coincidence?

Natalie: I suppose, but that's really--

Dana: Natalie, please don't try and talk me out of the dating plan. I really put a lot of thought into it. I know what's best, and I also know--

Natalie: Casey wrote his number down on her hand.

Dana: (stares at her in shock and dismay) Wow.

Natalie: Yes.

Dana: (pause, dismayed, stroking her hand absently) He wrote his number down on her *hand*?

Natalie: Yes.

Dana: The dating plan sucks.

(Dan is in the editing room, watching the tape of the '51 Giants game and the famous call and making notes. It's obviously not the first time he's watched it)

Hodges: (on tape) The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!

Dan: (clicking off the tape as Jeremy comes in to put a tape back on the shelf) Jeremy.

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: I spoke to Isaac, and yes, you were right, he was at the game, though he also confirmed that him and I have a bond that far exceeds his and yours.

Jeremy: (agreeably) Okay.

Dan: (turns and gestures to the still shot on the monitor) He was there. He saw it. He saw them take out Newcomb and put in Branca. He saw Thomson tap the dirt off his cleats. He saw it.

Jeremy: Yeah.

Dan: But he won't go on camera.

Jeremy: Yeah, I'm not surprised.

Dan: You're not?

Jeremy: No.

Dan: He loves going on camera.

Jeremy: (giving Dan a significant look) Dan....

Dan: (understanding) Oh...the stroke.

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: (thoughtfully) The old stroke.

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: (standing up) Well, he's just wrong.

Jeremy: Maybe so, but--

Dan: (over him) He's just flat out wrong.

Jeremy: (over him) --you just leave it.

Dan: You think?

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: Hmm. No. (turns and goes out door) I'm gonna talk to him, make him see how wrong he is.

Jeremy: (following him) Oh, that's a better plan.

Dan: It is?

Jeremy: You gonna treat the subject with sensitivity?

Dan: (considers for a moment) No.

Jeremy: (as they separate) There you go.

(Isaac is sitting on the corner of his desk, talking on the phone)

Dan: (walking into Isaac's office) You're an idiot.

Isaac: (into phone) Hang on. (to Dan) Excuse me?

Dan: The reason you won't go on film with your Bobby Thomson story is you're self-conscious about the way you look and sound after the stroke.

Isaac: Is there something wrong with the way I look and sound since the stroke?

Dan: Nope.

Isaac: (into phone) Honey, Danny thinks there's a problem with the way I look and talk since the stroke.

Dan: No, no, I--

Isaac: (into phone) Heh heh, yeah, I thought I was looking pretty good, too.

Dan: Isaac, I--

Isaac: (into phone) But Dan doesn't think so.

Dan: It was Jeremy, actually.

Isaac: (into phone) I'll talk to you later. (hangs up) How are you?

Dan: You won't tell your story.

Isaac: No.

Dan: We still have a special bond?

Isaac: Yes.

Dan: (as they knock fists in their special gesture) Okay. (he leaves, shaking his finger warningly at Isaac)

(Casey is typing at his desk as Dana comes in and stands in the doorway, obviously bothered)

Dana: Well, well, well, well, well.

Casey: (looking up) Yeah?

Dana: (fidgeting uncomfortably) Nothing.

Casey: (going back to his computer) Okay.

Dana: (coming up to sit on the edge of the desk next to him) Boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

Casey: (resignedly, still typing) Ookay.

Dana: (watching him) You know how small a world it is?

Casey: (still typing) Nope.

Dana: Natalie, who has a friend who works with a girl named Rita, who knows a girl named Katie, who knows a man named Howard, is how small the world is.

Casey: (turning to look up at her expectantly and defiantly) How can I help you?

Dana: Howard, who is a fan of yours and therefore slightly troubled--

Casey: (taking a drink from his mug) Mmmm.

Dana: --was bragging that you signed his date's hand.

Casey: (nodding) Mmm hmm.

Dana: He, for some reason, was just too dumb to realize why you'd written your phone number as well.

Casey: (pause) You know what?

Dana: What?

Casey: The dating plan was your idea.

Dana: (her face falling slightly) Yes, it was.

Casey: So, I'm just saying....

Dana: (nods, then pauses) Let's go. Have a good show. (leaves)

(Dan is in the studio undergoing last minute touch ups)

Kim: (from control room) One minute to VTR, two minutes live.

Dan: (to Jeremy, as Jeremy comes up and hands him papers) This is very mysterious.

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: The most famous home run of all time, and he doesn't want to talk about it.

Jeremy: Yes.

Dan: It's as if something about it makes him uncomfortable.

Jeremy: You know what I'd do?

Dan: What?

Jeremy: I'd keep prodding him about it until he beats you with his cane and then fires you.

Dan: (considering) Yeah. That's a good plan.

Jeremy: Thanks.

Casey: (coming up to his spot at the desk) Hey, Jeremy.

Jeremy: (leaving) Good show.

Casey: Good show.

Dave: (as Jeremy reenters control room) Thirty seconds to VTR.

Kim: Ninety seconds live.

Natalie: Ah ha!

Jeremy: (going to his seat) What?

Natalie: (looking in large dictionary) According to the dictionary, "momentarily" means both "for a moment" and "in a moment."

Jeremy: Well done.

Natalie: "Monad," by the way, is an elementary individual substance which reflects the order of the world, and from which material properties are derived.

Jeremy: Thank you.

Dana: (entering) Where are we?

Chris: Counting in ten to VTR.

Natalie: You were wrong about "momentarily."

Dana: (distracted) Huh?

Natalie: Are you okay?

Dana: Yeah.

Dave: Roll VTR.

Elliot: (walking through control room) Sixty seconds live.

Casey: (to Dan) Listen.... (Dan sighs dramatically and moves closer) What?

Dan: It's been all day long and I knew you had something to tell me.

Casey: You remember Pixley?

Dan: Date Number One.

Casey: Yes.

Dan: You saw her last night.

Casey: Yeah.

Dan: You gave her your number.

Casey: Yes.

Dan: You can't stop thinking about her and you want to call her.

Casey: Yes.

Dan: But you feel guilty about it 'cause it's an emotional abandonment of Dana.

Casey: Look, it's not an abandonment.

Dan: I need to be left out of this.

Casey: Why?

Dan: 'Cause I like Dana, and I know what's gonna happen next.

Casey: You don't know what's gonna happen next.

Dan: I do.

Casey: I'm just saying I had these feelings. I'm not saying I'm going to act on them. (Dan holds up a pink message slip) What's that?

Dan: (as Casey takes it) Phone message.

Casey: (looking at it, then looking up a little sheepishly) She called.

Dan: Yeah.

Dave: (over PA) In three... two...

Dan: (on the air) Good evening, from New York City, I'm Dan Rydell alongside Casey McCall. Those stories, plus the Hogs get greedy in Fayetteville, the Bruins get bearish in Pauley Pavilion, and don't bet on the Rebels in Vegas.

Casey: (on the air) All that coming up after this. You're watching "Sports Night" on CSC, so stick around.

Dave: (over PA as Casey takes out the message and reads it again) We're out.

(Isaac is sitting at his desk reading, while the monitors behind him say the show is on a commercial break)

Dan: (coming into Isaac's office and knocking on open door) Hey.

Isaac: Hey. You know, I'm a little surprised to see you.

Dan: 'Cause I'm supposed to be on the air right now?

Isaac: Yeah.

Dan: I got four minutes and twenty seconds.

Isaac: Let's see how long we can hold our breath.

Dan: (persistently) It was 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth--

Isaac: (waving him off) Danny--

Dan: Come on, it was 3-1 in the bottom--

Isaac: I'm not talking about it.

Dan: Isaac, it was 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth--

Isaac: It was 4-1. (pause) It was 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth. (Dan waits expectantly) The Dodgers' Director of Player Relations came into the press box, chewing on a cigar, telling us where we could pick up our credentials for the World Series.

Dan: (sitting down eagerly) 'Cause he didn't know the Giants were about to stage one of the biggest comebacks in--

Isaac: (over him) That's it. There was no place to sit in the press box, I stood up the whole game. But when they took Newcomb out, I ran to the men's room. I knew I had time because Branca was notorious for taking his time on the mound warming up. Except he didn't that time.

Dan: Isaac--

Isaac: I don't know why. But he warmed up a lot faster that day.

Dan: (stunned) Are you telling me that....

Isaac: (nodding) Yeah. I didn't see the home run.

Dan: What?

Isaac: I was in the men's room. I was washing my hands. Branca warmed up a lot faster.

Dan: You never saw Thomson's home run?

Isaac: No.

Dan: You were at the game.

Isaac: I was washing my hands.

Dan: *Never* wash your hands.

Isaac: If only you'd been my mother.

Dan: You didn't see it.

Isaac: No.

Dan: (still shocked) You were washing your hands.

Isaac: Yes.

Dan: (sighs) Were you bummed?

Isaac: For a while. But then you get older, and it just joins all the other things in your life that happened... while you were looking the other way.

Dan: Did you see your daughter get born?

Isaac: Yeah.

Dan: Did you see her graduate college?

Isaac: Yeah.

Dan: Are you watching "Sports Night" tonight?

Isaac: (smiling) Yeah.

Dan: Then shut up.

Isaac: (laughing a little) Yeah.

Dan: Guy hit a baseball.

Isaac: I know.

Dan: I'm gonna go back on the air.

Isaac: (softly) Okay.

(Dan gets up and leaves, closing the door behind him, leaving Isaac to sit back in his chair, reflectively)

(Back in the control room)

Natalie: (still reading dictionary) "Monestrous" means "experiencing estrous, once each year or breeding season."

Chris: (turning) What's "estrous"?

Natalie: Let's find out.

Jeremy: Give me the dictionary.

Dave: (as Natalie glares, then hands Jeremy the dictionary) In three...two....

Casey: (on the air) That's all for us. Next scores and highlights on "West Coast Update" at two a.m.

Dan: (on the air, as Natalie looks oddly at Dana, who is staring into space) For Casey McCall, I'm Dan Rydell, you've been watching "Sports Night" on CSC. We'll see you tomorrow.

Dave: Music.

Chris: Go.

Dave: Animation.

Elliot: And we're out.

(Dana is sitting on the couch in her office, writing on a legal pad and looking very sad. Natalie knocks on the door, carrying her coat)

Natalie: Hey.

Dana: Hey.

Natalie: I'm going home.

Dana: Okay.

Natalie: You wanna come?

Dana: To your home?

Natalie: No, we're going out.

Dana: Uh, I thought you said you were going home.

Natalie: Jeremy and I are going out for a drink.

Dana: I'm gonna stay here and work.

Natalie: Are you sure?

Dana: Yeah.

Natalie: Okay. (turning to leave as Dan comes in past her) Hey, Dan.

Dan: (going to the dartboard and pulling out darts) Hey.

Natalie: I'll see you guys tomorrow. (leaves)

Dana: (to Dan) What do you need?

Dan: What?

Dana: Don't you want to go out or go home?

Dan: Yeah, I'm taking off.

Dana: (a little pathetically, as he steps back and aims a dart) Have a good night.

Dan: (throwing darts) Hey, listen. I was talking to Isaac before. Did you know that he was at the Giants game in 1951?

Dana: Bobby Thomson.

Dan: Yeah.

Dana: I did know that.

Dan: (ruefully shaking his head) Everybody but me.

Dana: What about it?

Dan: He missed the home run. He was in the men's room, washing his hands.

Dana: Really?

Dan: Yeah.

Dana: That's kinda funny, if you think about it.

Dan: (retrieving the darts again) Yeah, 'cause at the end of the day, it's just a baseball game.

Dana: How is it not funny?

Dan: (putting the darts down) It was an idiotic dating plan, Dana. What did you think was going to happen?

Dana: Hey, Dan--

Dan: Forget that he's meeting all kinds of women, that was gonna happen. But the one that he wanted was you, anyway.

Dana: Wanted?

Dan: (sighs) All this is doing is making him feel a lot less like the man he is, which is why he left Lisa in the first place. (sits down across from her) I know what he wants, and I gotta say, he's done a pretty good job of going after it, which isn't, like, the most natural thing in the world for Casey to do. And I know what you want. And all I've seen you do is hide behind this psychotic behavior all dressed up as cute. He wanted you, and he told you every possible way he could. You've just been hanging out in the men's room. (gets up and leaves her looking miserable)

(Dana enters the bar hesitantly, looking around, then going up to the bartender)

Dana: Jack.

Jack: Hey, Dana.

Dana: Was Casey in here tonight?

Jack: You just missed him.

Dana: He left?

Jack: Yeah. You need anything?

Dana: Was he in here alone?

Jack: (a bit awkwardly) He met someone.

Dana: A girl?

Jack: Yeah, with a strange name.

Dana: Pixley.

Jack: Yeah.

Dana: They leave together?

Jack: Yeah.

Dana: (nodding painfully) Okay.

Jack: You need anything?

Dana: Uh... no. (gives a false smile that quickly fades into pain again)

(Fade out)