*Other episodes we mention in our
conversation include: “One of the Boys” (Peter Horton is a new
teammate who is homosexual), “ME?” (Thorpe gets VD), “Gonna
Fly Now” (Phil Jefferson, the equipment manager, gets slipped PCP),
“Here's Mud in Your Eye” (Jackson is outed as an alcoholic), and
"Salami's Affair" (Self-explanatory).
*Lou Grant, an hourlong drama set
in the newspaper industry and featuring social issues of the day,
aired on CBS from 1977 to 1982, winning Emmys for Outstanding Drama
Series in 1979 and 1980.
*Guest star James Cromwell, who was in
tons of 70s TV and in numerous movies before his breakthrough
role as the farmer in Babe, was also in a first season episode,
playing a different character. He was billed as “Jamie” Cromwell
in 1984's Revenge of the Nerds.
*Beany Williams, who plays Willie
Jackson, has only one other credit on IMDB, and not even as Willie,
but as “student” in a later White Shadow episode. His
post-acting life and current whereabouts remain a mystery.
*The NBA's Clippers were in San Diego
during this time. They moved into Los Angeles and the Sports Arena in
1984. USC did play home games here, though, until 2006, and for a
while it housed the Lakers and UCLA. Now the Clips and Lakers share
the Staples Center, and the Arena didn't have a real sports franchise
home after USC left. Sadly it was demolished in June.
*Bob Cousy and Bill Russell, both
Boston Celtics icons, were two of the best players in NBA history.
The Bill Russell-hosted SNL episode Rick mentions is from
season 5 and is available for streaming on Hulu Plus and Seeso.
*Frank Bonham wrote several of the
“urban” youth novels Rick enjoyed as a kid, books such as
Durango Street and Viva Chicano.
*In their discussion of failed sports
TV shows, we forgot one of the most critically acclaimed examples,
Friday Night Lights.
*Ken Howard's untimely death came after
we recorded this episode.
*”What We'd Like to See” begins at
38:23.
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