Sports Night on CSC > "Sports Night on CSC" Webisode Guides > Season 3

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The story picks up right where "Quo Vadimus" ended, as everyone celebrates CSC's purchase by Quo Vadimus. Isaac is a little upset with Natalie and Jeremy. It is discovered Jeremy and Natalie were making out on Isaac's desk when Isaac walked in on them.

Dan changes his mind about Rebecca, and ends up digging out Rebecca's hotel number out from the trash. After recovering the number, he seeks Casey's advice on whether he should call Rebecca. After their conversation, Dan calls Rebecca and they agree to meet at her hotel room for dinner.

Jeremy is upset because all of his "affairs" have been settled. He is not in possession of somebody else's property (a borrowed book, video tape, etc.), until he discovers he still has Sam Donovan's staple remover in the his desk.

Calvin Trager announces to Isaac he is restoring coverage of the Summer Games, increasing advertising, and asking Isaac not to retire.

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Natalie is upset over something, and she is taking her disappointment out on everybody by being mean and yelling at them. Isaac learns (as Casey already knew) Natalie is upset because she was not selected to go to Sydney to help with the coverage of the Summer Games, but Dana was selected to go. Casey is also disappointed he did not get to go, but he finds joy in seeing stories of everyday, lesser-known heroes.

Casey and Dan fight J.J. and the corporate higher-ups on doing a promo for a new show called, "Heroes of the Game." Casey and Dan feel a better-known and more-established hero like Jackie Robinson, Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth, etc. should be used for the premiere of the show, instead of going for high ratings and choosing to focus on Anna Kournikova. Casey and Dan lose the fight and end up doing the promo.

Orlando Rojas, Dan's favorite player, is arrested for drug possession.

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While Dana has been staying in Sydney, Casey has sent her eleven e-mails with no reply.

In the meantime, Casey develops a crush on the Summer Games swimmer, Jenny Thompson. Jeremy sets up an interview with Thompson for Casey, and Casey panics over it. Jeremy calms Casey down by reassuring him that Jenny Thompson picked to be interviewed by Casey because he is a respected professional.

The pace and increased workload from the Summer Games coverage has been wearing out Isaac.

Dan needs his computer fixed, and he believes "Joe" is coming to fix it. "Joe" turns out to be JoAnne. Dan and "Jo" end up hitting it off very well. In the meantime, Dan tells Rebecca he is upset because Orlando Rojas is not sorry after being arrested. The real reason Dan is upset is because Rebecca has never said she was sorry for leaving him over a year ago and then suddenly reappearing in his life.

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Jeremy writes a letter to his younger sister, Louise. We discover there has been a drought going on in New York, the 49th floor has been infested with ants, and the air conditioning has gone out on the hottest day of the year.

Jeremy and Casey find themselves covering and making up stories for Dan whenever he is with JoAnne- even though they are in a platonic friendship, where the flirting never goes any further. Rebecca and JoAnne finally meet. Dan doesn't think much into their meeting, but Rebecca shows some signs of jealousy.

We learn Jeremy and JoAnne know each other from their college days at UCLA.

Casey finds out he has been sending e-mails to Dana at the address she hasn't been checking while she has been in Sydney. Casey wants to go out with Dana, and Natalie suggests having Casey make a fool of himself on the air. Dana finally replies to Casey, by sending him a postcard from her vacation spot. The drought finally ends just as Casey receives the postcard from Dana.

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Dana sets fire to her trash can on her first day back in five weeks. Casey tries to help, but ends up creating a huge mess when he spills gallons and gallons of water all over her office.

Jeremy starts using tarot cards because he believes an outside force is working against his predictions.

Dan tries to find what is romantic. After pestering everyone, Dana tells him that 'promptness' is romantic.

Casey is preoccupied with Dana, and he has a hard time getting the nerve to ask her out. Casey thinks something is different with Dana. He finally gets enough nerve to make a fool of himself on the air- by singing a song at the end of their live broadcast.

Dana is extremely upset over the song. Casey believes Dana is upset because he messed up the show by singing. Natalie learns from Dana that she had a drunken affair while she was in Australia. Dana feels she has betrayed Casey by conducting herself in such a manner while Casey has been writing beautiful letters and making a fool of himself for the sake of her.

Casey receives a phone call from his ex-wife, Lisa. It catches Casey off-guard and shocks him.

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Dana goes to see Casey, and finds out the two have been set up by Natalie to have a "heart-to-heart" talk. The phone call Casey received from Lisa was her wanting to get back together again. Lisa thought the song Casey sang on the air was for her, but Casey didn't have the courage to correct her. Casey decides to "weigh his options" about getting back together with Lisa, but Dana encourages it would be a good idea for Casey to get back together with his ex-wife.

During a live interview, college football player Randolph Coleman swears twice. Dan and Casey criticize him on-the-air.

We learn that Sports Night is going to play ESPN's Sportscenter in a charity softball game. Jeremy goes to Isaac pleading for himself not to play the game. Jeremy claims he can't play well and CSC gets beat by ESPN every year. Isaac tells Jeremy the game is still on and Jeremy is playing.

Before the game, Dana gets new jerseys and baseball caps for the team; Dan teaches Rebecca how to hit a ball; and Natalie reassures Jeremy to do his best and reminds him the game is supposed to be fun and a team effort.

A few things happen to Casey: Lisa, Dana, and Casey have a casual, but uneasy conversation; Dan points out that Lisa considers her and Casey to be back together because she is making plans six months in the future; and ESPN makes an overture to Casey about working for them once his CSC contract expires.

The Sports Night team has done well during the game, and each player has made a great contribution except for Casey. The winning runs are on base with two outs and Casey is the batter. Casey begs Dan to have someone pinch-hit for him, but Dan believes in Casey. With two strikes, Casey hits a ball down the right field line. The ball is fair and CSC wins the game.

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The crew needs to come up with something to fill five-and-a-half minutes of air time, and Casey finds "sixteen acts of unpredictability."

The show has its problems. Natalie says she has the correct time, but is overruled by everybody else. Natalie is proven correct when they realize they have been on the air for a minute. Nobody realized it because they all had the wrong time. Casey screws up a story by calling a horse by the wrong name. Dana blames all the problems on the fact there is "blood on the moon." ("Blood on the moon" is an atmospheric condition.)

Dan comes up with the idea of marketing a millennium clock because the new millennium actually doesn't start until January 1, 2001.

Natalie and Jeremy argue about moving in together, but they eventually agree not to do it.

For the last three days, Rebecca has canceled dinner with Dan. When Dan cannot get a hold of her to invite her for the fourth time, he instead invites JoAnne to join him.

Casey tells Dana that he loves her, and they agree to start dating.

Dana and Isaac have a meeting with the executives, and the executives are not happy with their performances. Dana and Isaac are both fired. Then, Dana wakes up in her bed and screaming; she then realizes it was a dream.

But was the whole episode Dana's dream? (Because the webisode had many unexplained events, uncharacteristic actions, and "repeated" scenes, the answer is 'yes.')

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The show's ratings have gone up since the Summer Games, and Natalie and Dana order cake and punch to celebrate.

Natalie and Jeremy have another argument because he doesn't want to move in with her. The only commitment Jeremy can make at that moment is a promise to give Natalie his "enduring and everlasting love."

Casey is limping around, and has a possible cancer scare. It turns out, he only has an infection.

Dan misses the run-down meeting, so Dana and Casey start to look for him. They discover Dan is on the bottom floor of the building, but he has been having an argument with Rebecca the whole time.

When the argument is over, they ride the elevator back up. The elevator breaks down and stops, trapping them inside just minutes before air time.

Because key people are missing, Isaac turns to Kim to run the show, while Isaac anchors the broadcast until other anchors can get there. The people trapped in the elevator are freed at the same time the broadcast is finishes.

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Dan claims he sprained his wrist trying to dunk a basketball during a game at the gym. He is also concerned about his job security because of a new replacement anchor, Marcus Young. Dan thinks Marcus is eventually going to replace him.

Dana is concerned about the time Natalie is spending with Marcus. Jeremy tells Natalie that he knows she has a crush on Marcus. Jeremy says he is fine with it, but Natalie denies having a crush on Marcus.

J.J. wants Isaac to have "Sports Night" re-word a story about an an assault incident involving a college basketball player. When J.J. fails with Isaac, he tries to convince Dana and Natalie to change the story. He fails once again.

Dana meets Kevin Chandler, a player for the New York Giants, and they go out to dinner.

Casey is upset because Lisa has invited both of their families over for Thanksgiving dinner.

Dan is thinking about breaking up with Rebecca. From a counseling session, we learn Rebecca is having a hard time coming to grips with the abusive relationship she had her ex-husband. Rebecca decides that it would be best if she and Dan break up, so she can work on herself before trying to work on a relationship.

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Dan is worried because he feels the latest Sports Night hire, Marcus Young, was brought in to eventually replace him. Jeremy becomes jealous of Marcus because he thinks Natalie is developing feelings for Marcus.

Casey's son, Charlie, is suspended from school for helping steal several tests from a teacher. Charlie is willing to take his punishment, but he doesn't want to reveal those involved because he doesn't want to be called a "snitch." The other kids involved also stole some money, so Casey tells Charlie of a time when he was a reporter doing a story. Casey had an secret informant tell him of drug use being endorsed by a team, but after Casey did further research, he learned the informant was fabricating evidence. Casey reported the informant in order to protect his professional reputation.

An All-American college basketball player, David Chapman, was arrested for assault. Dan and Casey previously reported the story, but they also made disparagingly remarks about the player. Chapman claims the fight was in self-defense.

J.J. goes to Isaac and tells him the network needs to be objective because all the facts have not been released. J.J. says Chapman was arrested only because he was famous.

The show decides to be objective and report only the facts, especially after the alleged victim of the assault was arrested. Chapman passes a note to the network, thanking them for believing in him.

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Marcus sees Natalie at Anthony's Restaurant. Natalie is upset because she feels the rumors of her and Marcus having an affair will hurt her reputation. Marcus still gives her a gift of perfume for helping him out with his start at CSC. Jeremy apologizes to Natalie for being jealous of Marcus and listening to the rumors about the two. Jeremy now believes Natalie has been helping out Marcus all along.

Casey has been having problems on the air, and he has been blaming everybody for them. Casey won't reveal his problems to Dana, but he tells Dan that he's been fighting with Lisa. Casey seeks out Jeremy's opinion on divorcees getting back together again.

Dan explains to Casey why he thinks Marcus is out to get his job. Dan's reasoning is the network approached him about doing some college basketball games, and Dan felt they were trying to get rid of him by forcing him to work the basketball games and having the network hire a possible anchor replacement in Marcus. Dan's fears are relieved when Calvin Trager enters the negotiations. Calvin offers a three-year contract with a significant pay raise. Dan will do a handful of college basketball games, and he will continue to be an anchor at "Sports Night."

Dan joins a charity auction to have a "date" with him sold to the highest bidder. Dan begins to panic when a gentleman begins making bids on him, but he doesn't know the man was hired by the "Sports Night" crew as a prank to bid on him. The winning bid eventually goes to someone he knows, JoAnne.

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Jeremy doesn't know what to get Natalie for Christmas, and Dan suggests giving her something she loves.

Dan has received several gifts from a "Secret Santa," including some leopard-print briefs and a whip.

Dana is concerned because her parents are flying in for Christmas and staying at her house.

Casey's ex-wife, Lisa, is upset with Dana because Casey was scheduled to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Dana tells Casey she doesn't want to be involved with his and Lisa's problems.

Dan asks Isaac about contract negotiations about the crew, and Isaac tells Dan he hasn't heard anything. Dan tells Isaac that he received an offer to renew his contract, but he doesn't want to sign it if Casey isn't given an offer.

Casey asks Dana about her boyfriend, Kevin Chandler, and Dana says she isn't sure if the relationship is serious. Kevin stops by Dana's office to give her flowers.

While Jeremy and Natalie are walking down a street, a car slides on the ice and skids out of control. The car somehow manages to miss them. Jeremy says "it is a great miracle," while Natalie says they were lucky. When talking to Isaac about the incident, Jeremy says it was a miracle because they were supposed to get hit, but they were somehow spared. Isaac points out that maybe they weren't meant to be hit by the car, and he also asks, "Would it have been a miracle if you had been hit? Would you appreciate things more if you had to suffer injuries? Take and learn your lessons from life, Jeremy. Do not deem it a blessing until you have had a chance to live out the results."

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Dana admits to Casey that she misses the winter snows when growing up in Iowa. It pales in comparison to the snows of New York City.

Casey prods Natalie for information about Dana and Kevin. Casey wants to know if Dana got him a Christmas gift because he already purchased one for her. Natalie doesn't like the gift Casey got for Dana: a monogrammed scarf. Natalie encourages Casey to give Dana something from the heart.

Casey seeks Dan's advice on what to get Dana, and Casey mentions that Dana wished for snow. Dan tells Casey to get her snow. Casey covers Dana's office with so much baby powder, it looks like an actual "winter wonderland." Dana thinks it is incredibly sweet.

At the network Holiday Party, Dan meets with a woman. She says that she was sending gifts to her boyfriend, Daniel, and Dan thinks she mistakenly sent the "silly" holiday gifts to him. Dan invites her into his office to collect the gifts, but she locks the door and reveals that she is the mysterious woman stalking him. After spending a few minutes in the dark, Jeremy helps security get inside the office to arrest the stalker.

Dana accuses Casey of being jealous over her boyfriend. Dana points out that she has moved on, just as Casey has moved on by dating Lisa.

Natalie's gift to Jeremy is a holiday trip to Chicago. Jeremy's gift to Natalie is an engagement ring, and she accepts his proposal.

Dana becomes upset at home when her mother complains about everything. Dana is also upset because Kevin's gift to her was a sweater. To relieve some stress, Dana goes outside to smoke. She notices it is snowing, and her neighborhood is turning into the "winter wonderland" she longed for. Dana notices a gift at the edge of the porch. After opening it, she realizes it was from Casey, and the gift was was the one she had wished Kevin would have given her.

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Dana is upset over being nominated in an adult magazine to become the "Sexiest Woman in Sports Television." Dana is upset because the winner would be asked to pose nude in the magazine. Even though Isaac is disturbed by the nomination, he points out that Dana is the only nominee who doesn't work in front of the camera. Isaac then asks the network to contact the magazine to have her nomination removed.

Dana's brother, Kyle, had previously been banned from profession football for one year because of his involvement in a steroid scandal. In his meeting before the executive council, he is fully reinstated to play professional football.

Dan finally accepts a contract offer from the network, and Isaac learns the network is going to wait until after the next ratings period before making further decisions and contract offers with members of "Sports Night."

Natalie tells Casey to go after what he wants and deserves instead of staying in a relationship with Lisa while watching Dana date Kevin. Casey arranges some time off for both he and Dan. The two go to see a basketball game, but Dan is there for something else. Dan is being supportive for Casey because he finally broke up with Lisa.

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Dan helps Casey clean out his apartment in Casey's attempt to be cool again.

Jeremy goes to Boston to do an interview with a basketball player, Antonio Mitchell. Once in Boston, Jeremy and the cameraman have trouble getting an opportunity to interview Mitchell. When they get their chance, Mitchell is very uncooperative and the two get thrown out of the locker room.

Dan asks JoAnne out, and the two finally go out on a date.

Jeremy receives a key to a safe deposit box. Inside the deposit box are love letters Jeremy's parents wrote to each other years ago. The letters are an engagement gift to Jeremy. Because his parents are divorced, Jeremy is hesitant in reading the letters. Natalie convinces him to read them, and the two read them together.

CSC receives six award nominations, with one each going to Dan, Natalie, and Sally. Two nominations go to Dana.

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Casey is jealous because Dana had a good time with her boyfriend, Kevin, on a date the night before. Casey also receives a phone call from his agent about a contract offer- a five-year contract from ESPN.

Dan places an internet personal ad for Casey, but he places it in the wrong section. As a result, Casey receives 15 e-mails from men wanting to go on a date with him.

Dan is watching JoAnne fix a copier when she receives an electrical shock. Dan gets in trouble for laughing at her. He attempts to make it up to her by getting tickets to see an exhibit at the Met and making dinner reservations. JoAnne has to back out of the date at the last second, so Dan takes Natalie to the exhibit.

Isaac has Jeremy investigate happenings with Quo Vadimus because the network is telling Isaac everything, which they normally don't. Isaac also collects ideas from the "Sports Night" crew to improve the show. Finally, Isaac makes a call to Sam Donovan, and Sam says he'll come back to the network in a few weeks.

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J.J. and Isaac argue over the rehiring of Sam. J.J. actually wanted to cut payroll instead of adding to it.

Casey chides Dan for not bringing JoAnne as his date to the awards ceremony. Casey says that JoAnne is Dan's girlfriend, while Dan says they are just hanging out and "flirting."

Dan has been wearing his "lucky" Baltimore Ravens jersey every day. When he has to take it off to do a story, the jersey is misplaced. Dan frantically searches for it. It finally turns up when Natalie plays a prank on Dana. Natalie secretly replaced Dana's gown for the ceremony with Dan's jersey.

Dana confides in Natalie that she has always come secondary to Casey, whether it be his job or his personal life. The only times Casey made Dana a top priority were when things spin out-of-control in Casey's life.

Jeremy talks to JoAnne, and he asks her to give Dan a chance. We learn that JoAnne's finacé had died three years earlier and she is still having a hard time dealing with the loss.

The awards are handed out. Dana wins two awards, and Dan finally wins an award. Dan believes his lucky jersey played a big part in his winning the award, while Casey thinks talent overcame the "power of the jersey."

Dana's boyfriend, Kevin, didn't look forward to attending the awards ceremony. After Dana's victories, Kevin seems jealous of Dana's sudden success and begins to show a lack of interest in her.

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This episode is a flashback episode showing critical times involving Dana, Casey, and Dan.

• Dana and Casey first introduced themselves to each other at college during a co-ed flag football game. They recognized each other as being in some of the same classes.
  
  
• Dana set Casey up with her college roommate and best friend, Lisa.
  
  
• Dana and Casey were working together on the 1988 Rose Bowl. Casey and Lisa were engaged, but Dana and Casey spent New Year's Eve together because Lisa had other plans. Casey was aware that Lisa was cheating on him, so he tries to get together with Dana. Dana brushes Casey aside because he was still engaged to Lisa.
  
  
• Dan and Casey first met at a television station in San Francisco in the summer of 1988. Dan was an intern, and Casey welcomed and befriended him.
  
  
• During the San Francisco earthquake of 1989, Casey was one of the few reporters able to go on-the-air. He later won several journalism awards for his coverage of the breaking story.
  
  
• While covering a San Francisco 49ers game against the Cowboys in Dallas in October of 1993, Casey meets up with Dana. Dana has left Los Angeles, and she is heading up a regional sports show for a start-up cable network, Lone Star Sports. She offers Casey a position as anchor of his own show. Casey accepts.
  
  
• In November of 1993, Lone Star Sports loses one of their anchors. Casey suggests hiring Dan, who is currently working at a station in Chicago.
  
  
• In April of 1996, Continental Corp. buys several regional sports cable networks to create the Continental Sports Channel. The network is based out of New York, and they want the crew from Lone Star Sports to host a national sports report program, "Sports Night."

Dana admits to Casey that she and Kevin have grown apart, and they don't want each other anymore. Dana admits that she loved Casey yesterday and today and she'll love him tomorrow. She asks Casey to make the same promise or they should go their separate ways. Casey says, "I loved you yesterday, I love you today, and I will love you tomorrow."

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The first date between Dana and Casey involved going to a pottery class. Dana made a vase, while Casey tried to make a drink coaster, which couldn't even hold a water bottle.

Jeremy confides in Casey that he might be having doubts about marrying Natalie. Casey tells him that he needs to tell Natalie. Jeremy makes an attempt to talk with Natalie, but he backs down and doesn't say anything.

Sam comes back to the network and immediately starts enforcing his rules. The network executives and the "Sports Night" crew are irritated by Sam's actions.

J.J. secretly comes to Dan. Dan is asked to come to J.J. over the next few weeks, if he feels there are any personnel changes which need to be made. Dan agrees to do it after J.J. agrees the network will work harder in getting Casey re-signed.

Dan goes to JoAnne and asks her for her patience because he is still recovering from his breakup with Rebecca. JoAnne says that is fine as long as they are progressing toward each other in their relationship.

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Dan says that he is becoming more aware of what is happening with the network, and that Casey can confide in him.

During an argument Jeremy tells Natalie they should call off their wedding. Sam and Dana have an argument about the show. Dana and Natalie comfort each other by having cake and wine.

Dan thinks JoAnne went on a date with another man. Dan's jealous even though he says they are only friends. Dan initially thinks JoAnne is dating Sam, but he is later proved wrong. JoAnne and Sam are seeing other people, but not each other.

Natalie's father passes away and she goes back to Ohio for the funeral.

Dan has a meeting with J.J. and admits that Sam has been lowering the morale on the set.

Sam creates a policy forbidding dating within and among the crew members of "Sports Night."

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Natalie spends most of the day staring out the newsroom windows. Jeremy goes to talk to her about him calling off the wedding, but Natalie doesn't want to talk about it. Later, when Natalie is ready to discuss the situation, she tells Jeremy she is "over it." Natalie declares she is breaking up with Jeremy, even though Jeremy called off the wedding. Jeremy accepts Natalie's decision.

Sam forgot to tell and is late in giving Casey an assignment: covering the Masters in Augusta. Casey doesn't understand how he is supposed to be in Georgia to cover the Masters and in Minneapolis to cover the men's college basketball Final Four. Sam informs him the Final Four assignment was been given to Bobbi Bernstein.

Dana tells Isaac she is considering leaving the network. Isaac tells her to reconsider, and he shares some inside information under the condition Dana absolutely tells nobody. J.J. later confirms to Isaac what the insider information predicted: Quo Vadimus will be laying off "nonessential" employees.

Dan goes on a date with a woman, but Casey calls it a "revenge date." Casey says Dan is only seeing the woman because JoAnne is dating other men.

After seeing how Casey and Dana are being torn apart, Dan confronts Sam about his policy forbidding dating among crew members. To Dan's surprise, Dana agrees with Sam's new policy.

At the end of the webisode, Casey and Dana secretly meet at a bar and each admits the difficultly and lying involved to keep their relationship a secret from everybody, including Sam.

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Jeremy wants to follow Sam around and learn how Sam is able to get things done and ratings up. Jeremy wants to develop a "maintenance plan" to help out after Sam is gone. Sam is bothered by the notion that the crew believes his position with the network is temporary and not permanent.

Dana is worried about her review and pending contract renewal. During negotiations, the network officially adds the clause forbidding dating among employees. Dana fights against the clause, but, ultimately, signs the contract extension.

J.J. admits to Isaac that the network will not be offering a contract extension to Casey. J.J. said the network would only be able to offer a contract below Casey's fair-market value, so they feel it would be better to let him go when his contract expires.

Isaac breaks the news to casey that the network isn't going to offer him a contract. Casey promises to fulfill the contract and be professional through the end.

Kim attempts to set Jeremy up on a date. Jeremy turns down the date.

Dan has a secret plan to sneak out of work, fly to Boston with JoAnne, and catch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Dan successfully manages to sneak out, watch the game, and get back. Casey shows Dan a highlight of Dan catching a foul ball. Dan wants all footage of the game destroyed, but Casey covers Dan by keeping that particular clip out of the highlight package.

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Dan goes on several dates - one each with Amie, Emily, and Charlotte. JoAnne has gone on five dates with a man named Josh. Instead of going out on more dates, Dan decides to hang out with Casey and Jeremy.

Isaac receives an upsetting phone call and leaves in a hurry. He bails Marcus out of jail. Marcus is charged with a misdemeanor because Marcus admitted to smoking pot while inside his hotel room. Because Marcus doesn't feel any remorse and he is harming anybody, Isaac suspends him for 30 days. His reinstatement is dependent on Marcus seeking treatment.

Dan admits to Isaac that he knew about Marcus' drug use. Dan didn't report it because he felt Marcus wasn't a criminal and couldn't be convinced drug use was harming people outside of himself.

During a conversation, Jeremy recalls seeing Dana and Casey out at Anthony's Restaurant. Natalie becomes excited because she believes Dana and Casey are dating each other (and going against company policy). Natalie gets the information out of Dana. Dana admits she is seeing Casey because she feels bad for him since the network isn't going to renew his contract.

Dana tells Casey he needs to tell Dan about his contract expiring. Dana admits she told Natalie about their relationship and the "reasoning" behind it. Casey becomes angry because he doesn't want "pity dates." Dana says she told Natalie her "reasoning" in order to hide the fact they truly love each other.

Jeremy's worried about the rumors of layoffs because he feels he will be laid off. Natalie initially felt she would be laid off, but, after learning about Casey's contract situation, she tells Jeremy the truth behind the rumors.

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Dan goes on a couple more dates.

Jeremy and Dan go out to a bar one evening to have a good time and to pick up some women. A woman invites Jeremy to dance. It turns out the woman was a pickpocket and stole Jeremy's wallet while they were dancing.

Isaac gives Casey some contacts in finding a new job. Casey admits to Dan that the network probably will not offer him a new deal. Dan is determined to convince the new executives that Casey deserves to be re-signed.

Dan tries to convince the crew to join together and help get Casey a new contract. Dan learns he is the very last to know of Casey's situation. Dan criticizes everybody for being aware of the situation, yet he is the last to know and the first to publicly do something about it. Dan and Casey get into a huge argument because Casey doesn't want Dan to do anything to help him get a new contract. Dan feels he needs to turn to somebody he can trust, so he turns to JoAnne.

Sam knows somebody is breaking the no interoffice dating policy. Dana figures Sam has figured out her relationship with Casey, so she questions Natalie, Jeremy, and Casey to see if they have told anybody else. Each one says he/she hasn't told anybody. Dana confronts Sam and demands he tell her who is having the interoffice romance. Sam refuses to tell Dana.

Jeremy is stressed out over the possible layoffs. The stress has affected his work performance and personal life. His life becomes more complicated when Natalie spends the night with him. The two decide they need to set some borders in their relationship. They want to be friends, but they feel they are more than friends.

Calvin Trager meets with Isaac and goes over the reason for the cutbacks and layoffs: short term profitability for long-term gain. The network offers Sam the position of Director of Program Development.

Dana is ready to crack over the pressure being caused by her relationship with Casey, the network's recent changes, and her life's expectations.

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Dan and Casey play a heated basketball game. Dan yells at Casey for not telling him about his job status and his relationship with Dana. Casey yells at Dan for not telling him the truth a few months ago when Dan sprained his wrist.

Dan visits Abby, his therapist. Dan admits he really sprained his wrist when he punched the wall after having an argument with Rebecca. Dan says a part of him will always love Rebecca, but Dan admits his feelings for JoAnne are growing. Dan is bothered by the fact JoAnne has a picture in her bedroom of her finacé, before he passed away. Dan feels he will not measure up to JoAnne's deceased finacé.

Dan tells Isaac that he will take less money if it means saving Casey's job. Dan feels nobody is listening to him at this time in his life, which also occurred when he was in college. He was sent away instead of staying at home and helping around the house. Dan feels if he would have stayed home, he would have been able to keep the family together instead of drifting apart.

Casey has either poison ivy or poison oak on his arms. He got it in a field, when he was playing catch with Charlie. Dan dupes Casey into thinking that a bath of tomato soup will relieve the itching and redness from his rash.

To apologize for treating Casey badly, Dan gives him a gift: CD's of the "Sound of the 70's."

Isaac reassures Jeremy that he will not be laid-off. Isaac wants Jeremy to do better, and he lets Jeremy head up production on the NHL Finals.

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Dana is worried when Isaac requests a meeting with her. Dana fears Isaac has found out about her relationship with Casey. Dana is afraid she will be fired, while Casey tells her not to worry about it.

During the meeting, Dana admits her relationship with Casey. Isaac is understanding and gives her a light punishment: over the next week, Natalie runs the show and Dana will be her second in command. Isaac, with the backing of the new network executives, amends Dana's contract and removes the "interoffice dating policy" from her contract.

Dana confronts Sam over trying to ruin her career and asks what told him she was in a relationship with Casey. Sam states that he figured something was going on when he could smell Dana's perfume on Casey's clothing.

Dan believes he could be a great goalie in the women's professional soccer league. Natalie makes arrangements and creates a bet for Dan. If Dan can stop 1 out of 5 shots from a WUSA player, he won't have to do soccer highlights again. If the player makes all 5 shots, he will have to do a feature on each of the teams, have WUSA soccer highlights for each game, and do it all with a smile on his face.

During the competition, Dan doesn't stop the first four shots, but he manages to knock the wind out of himself diving after a shot. He begs Casey to stand in goal and take the final shot. Casey agrees, and he stuns everybody by stopping the final shot... with the side of his face.

Marcus will be reinstated as long as he continues his out-treatment program and he keeps in good standing with the courts. Later, Marcus relapses and Casey goes to help him. Casey helps Marcus check into a rehabilitation center.

Jeremy and Natalie have a tough time defining the state of their relationship. They make every effort to try and not hurt each other, but the strain has each of them thinking about leaving the network. Natalie and Jeremy eventually agree to make a clean break, start seeing other people, and sort their own lives out.

Jeremy ponders the meaning of life after a team of climbers perish after they reached the summit of Mt. Everest. After the rest of the crew becomes involved in trying to figure out the meaning of life, Isaac gives them the answer: love is the meaning of life.

The new network executives make their finals decisions on "Sports Night" the budget will not be increased, there will be several layoffs, and Casey will not have his contract renewed.

Sam takes some time to ponder about becoming the ratings consultant for the entire network, while Isaac collapses before the start of a broadcast.

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