The Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast
and high-school sophomor e said,
"That after all those years of hard work,
it was a relief to finally realize her lifelong dream."
Good to get that out of the way at 15.
Folks, if you've been watching CSC's continuing coverage
of Desmond Cor ey's assault on Mount Ever est,
you'll want to set your alarms tomorrow.
2:00 A.M. Eastern or ther eabout is when Cor ey's team
is expected to be sending back the first live-video f ootage.
Dan and I will be her e with plenty of hot coff ee,
and we hope you'll join us
f or what we'r e sur e is gonna be a very ex citing event.
You'r e watching "Sports Night" on CSC, so stick around.
- We're out. - Two minutes back.
29,000 f eet - you know how tall that is?
It's 29,000 f eet.
Yes.
It's actually 29,029 f eet.
And it's those last 10 yards that'll kill you.
It's huge. It 8,848 meters.
It sounds more impressive at 29, 000 feet.
All right, I'm gonna stick with 29,000 f eet.
How can I best expr ess this?
How many of what kind of thing would we have to line up end to end?
29,000 rulers.
I don't think you people ar e quite getting into the spirit of the hill.
The spirit of the hill?
- The spirit of the hill. - How about this?
If I shot you out of a missile silo,
you'd have to go 29,000 f eet
in order to clear the peak of Ever est,
land on a pile of rocks in Tibet,
and shut the hell up.
I'm just saying it's a big mountain.
And I hear ya. [ Laughs ]
Cold outside?
Not fit f or man nor beast out ther e, but her e I am.
Any good mail?
Everybody needs money.
Well, who's everybody?
Everybody - medical r esearch, hospitals, schools,
animal shelters, day-car e centers,
boy scouts, girl scouts, all kinds of scouts.
You got yourself on a mailing list.
Oh, I'm on the mailing list to end all mailing lists.
Well, who did you give money to?
I honestly can't r emember, Casey.
A couple of months ago I wrote a check to someone.
Now I'm in the middle of Dickensian London.
I'd love to give money to all these people,
but then I'd have no money,
and I'd need someone's mailing list just to pay r ent.
- It's a vicious circle. - It is.
It's a never-ending circle.
- Just keeps going round and round. - Never ends.
- Which makes it vicious. - And a circle.
- So what do I do? - About what?
- You'r e not listening at all. - I was listening a little. I remember the circle.
I'm inactive. I don't act.
I talk a pr etty good game, but in the end I just sit ther e completely inactive.
- Ah, like the trusty basset hound. - Yes.
- Ex cept basset hounds don't talk a good game. - Right.
- They can't talk at all, Danny. - Do you understand what I'm saying?
- They'r e dogs. - I'm inactive.
Pick a letter. Write a check.
Which would certainly ease my liberal guilt.
- It's a vicious circle. - Very vicious.
You know, while we've been having this conversation,
a couple of people have probably died f rom something you could have cur ed.
That's gr eat, Casey - easing of the pr essur e.
Let's take a look.
"The Montgomery Symphony Orchestra."
- Montgomery, Alabama? - Who car es?
What's wrong with music, and why shouldn't Montgomery have some?
Well, ther e's nothing wrong with music, and Montgomery obviously does have some,
but this is about prioritizing.
I don't think the world is suff ering f rom a lack of quality symphony orchestras.
- Do you? - No.
- Okay. - But music, cultur e, the arts -
these things shouldn't be confined to just New York and Vienna.
It's settled then.
The Montgomery Symphony gets a charitable donation f rom Dan Rydell.
Not so f ast. What's the next one?
"The American Heart Association."
Oh, and I suppose they'r e trying to cur e a disease.
Tell you what - why don't you have your new f riends in Alabama play them some Beethoven.
I'm gonna need to think about this one.
Dana: We've got Kelly f rom New Orleans
after the Saints finish up, and Brian in San Francisco.
Natalie, you've got something f rom building security?
Yes, they say with the cold weather alr eady her e,
some of our local homeless have begun spending the night
in the atrium off the Sixth Avenue lobby.
If we see anyone, we'r e supposed to call security at 1 -1 -6.
Wait a second. Shouldn't we be doing something f or them?
- Like what? - What do they need?
- The homeless? - Yeah.
They need homes.
Moving on.
Do you know wher e the Cor ey team is?
They'r e gonna strike camp in just a little while
and head f or the Hillary Step up the southeast f ace.
- Wher e ar e they right now? - Camp Four, about 2, 500 feet below the summit.
- That's wher e the toeholds start getting pr etty scarce. - Ah, tell me about it.
Radio contact has been coming in and out, but as f ar as we know -
- Ex cuse me. - Hmm?
- Did you just say, "Tell me about it"? - When?
- Then. - Just now?
Jer emy said, "Toeholds start getting pr etty scarce."
And you said, "Tell me about it."
- Yes. - lmplying that?
- I climb. - You climb?
- I climb. I'm a climber. - You climb at your gym.
Darn tootin' I do, and it's a challenging ascent.
It's a wall in a gym.
It simulates a Class III mountain.
I hear the air gets pr etty thin up near the juice bar.
You know, mock me if you must,
but I hold in my heart what f ew men possess.
A one-year membership to the Big Apple Health and Racquet Club?
The spirit of the hill.
Tell them, Casey.
[ Mockingly ] Yeah, tell us.
Ther e's a hill... and spirit.
Man, did you drop the ball!
[ Laughter ]
Oh, like you've climbed Kilimanjaro.
All right. So, you all know the drill f or today?
- We got it. - Yes. - Yes.
- Do you? - We've got it. - Yes.
- You don't, do you? - We do. - We understand the drill.
- We do our r egular Sunday show - - And she's still gonna tell us.
We'r e gonna do our r egular Sunday show.
We stick around and wait f or the live f eed f rom Ever est.
We kick it to Mike and Libby in Nepal,
and we anchor the special.
That was pr etty complicated. Can you go over that one mor e time? I -
I'm not gonna be her e this afternoon.
I'm gonna be gone f or, like, f our hours.
Everything's under control.
Good. I'll be back at 7 :00.
Uh, I'll need to see all the tape on the 1:00 games
and anything we've got on the 4 :00s.
Pitch me any f eatur es at the 8:00 rundown,
and somebody stay on top of Oakland and Baltimor e.
[ Telephones ringing ]
Hey.
Oh, um, wher e ar e you taking your niece?
"The Lion King."
- She'll love it. - Yeah, whatever.
I could r eally live without a Broadway musical today.
I think it'll be good f or you. You've been working too hard.
It's good to get out and see lif e beyond these walls.
I got a video cr ew in the Himalayas, Isaac.
How much f urther outside do you want me to go?
I want you to look at something that's not on a television scr een.
- How long ago did you get your tickets? - I haven't gotten them yet.
- Hey. - You haven't gotten them yet?
I've got the box-office number right her e. I was just gonna call.
Dana, the show is sold out. You can't just get tickets.
Don't be ridiculous, Isaac. It's a childr en's show.
Ah, call the box office.
- Look, I... - Call them.
[ Clears throat ]
[ Dialing ]
[ Ringing ]
Hi, I'd like two of your best seats
f or this afternoon's matinee -
anything between the 8th and the 12th rows in the center,
and if I end up with an obstructed view,
you'r e going to have a very angry woman on your hands.
Yes.
What's he saying?
It's tough to tell. He's laughing pr etty hard.
Now he's telling his f riends.
And, ther e, he just hung up.
Scr ewed?
Totally scr ewed.
[ Chuckles ] Take them.
What's this?
Two tickets to "The Lion King."
How - How did you know that -
How did I know you've been living in this city f or 3 years
and would still have no idea wher e to take your niece?
Yes.
Lucky guess.
These ar e wasted on me, Isaac.
You should give these to a theater lover.
You should become a theater lover.
Uh, I've tried. I've r eally tried.
But the singing and the dancing,
- and ther e's oftentimes a hoedown. - There's no hoedown.
Don't tell me ther e's no hoedown, mister. I've been ther e.
Enjoy the show.
I'll enjoy it f or my niece.
Enjoy it f or yourself.
Nothing wrong with a good hoedown.
Casey... Five Stars won't deliver.
What do you mean they won't deliver?
- They won't deliver. - They always deliver.
- Well, not today. - Well, why not?
[ Sighs ] A water main broke on Sixth Avenue,
and they'r e not letting anyone through.
- I'm starving. - I know.
- Did you tell them that I'm starving? - Yes.
- And? - They r eally seemed to car e.
[ Groans ] Five Stars isn't delivering.
A water main busted out f ront.
- Yeah, I know. - I'm starving.
Anybody with cut footage f rom the 1:00s,
I need them on my desk in 15 minutes!
- Natalie, let me ask you something. - What?
What do you do with your money?
- What do I do with my money? - Yeah.
Well, my portf olio is pr etty much tied up in f ood and shelter, Dan.
I meant your disposable income.
I've got some extra money, and I don't know what to do with it.
Wow. That must r eally suck.
Yeah, it's a tough decision, because when you'r e trying -
All right, I see what you'r e saying.
Thanks anyway.
AIDS.
Yeah?
Every once in a while, if I have a f ew extra dollars,
I'll give it to an AIDS group.
- That's gr eat. - It's only a little bit.
- A little is better than nothing. - I'll get you the name and addr ess.
The thing is, mor e people die of br east cancer every year than AIDS.
Mor e people die of diabetes.
About 20 times as many die of heart disease,
but the government doesn't spend as much money r esearching those.
It's not that we shouldn't be trying to cur e AIDS.
It's just we should be trying to cur e everything.
And if I'm dying of leukemia, I might well wonder wher e my r ed ribbon is.
Why isn't someone throwing me a pajama party at Barber's?
Hey, just got off the phone with Libby in Nepal.
Cor ey is 1,500 f eet f rom the summit.
Two guys have ascended five miles into the sky.
They walked up a wall of ice
and ar e pr eparing to knock on the door of Heaven itself.
Ther e's r eally no end to what we can do.
You know what the trick is?
- What? - Get in the game.
700 people have made the summit.
- And how many have died trying? - One in four.
Last year 15 died,
and that's the most since Hillary made it in '53.
One in f our die?
Yeah.
Let's get that stat up f ront.
Sur e.
What do they die f rom, hypothermia mostly?
Hypothermia, sometimes a f ractur ed skull.
- From what? - Falling very f ar and landing on a rock.
Sur e.
Some of them die f rom something called "cer ebral edema."
That's a high-altitude sickness
that leaves its victims so disoriented
they literally can't save themselves.
They sit ther e knowing if they don't move they'r e gonna f r eeze to death,
but they don't do anything about it
because their brain isn't giving them enough oxygen to car e.
Huh.
You think you'd ever try it?
- Who, me? - Yeah.
I'd have to get into shape.
Well, if you got into shape.
- I'd have to join your gym. - Got a Class III mountain.
- Would I climb Ever est? - Yeah.
Maybe.
If I could do it right now, bef or e I r eally had anything to live f or.
What, you don't think you have anything to live f or?
Sur e, but not like you. You've got a son and a gr eat car eer.
You've got stuff to live f or.
Not as much as I'm hoping I'll have to live f or...
Later... after I've lived a little while longer.
I see.
Guys, this is that film I was telling you about.
- lt'll give you a good rundown of the equipment f or the final assault. - Thanks.
Hey, stay her e. I just want to get that other stuff f rom my office.
Sur e.
[ Door closes ]
Hi.
- How you doin'? - Pr etty good.
- Ex cellent. - Yes.
Casey and I wer e just talking about cer ebral edema.
- Cool. - Yeah.
- This is ridiculous. - It's insane.
We can't behave like this with each other.
I like you. You like me. Everybody knows.
Let's just go out and be done with it.
- That's right. - So what if it's unprof essional.
- Do you think it's unprof essional? - I didn't say that.
- You did say that. - Yeah, but I didn't mean it.
Look, we have to have an understanding.
At work we just work - prof essionals -
no f urtive glances, no smiling at each other, or flirting by the coff ee.
- Right? - Absolutely.
I think that's the trick. We just concentrate on the show and leave the r est f or after.
- I agr ee. - Good.
I think we'r e gonna need a new plan.
Yes.
I'll tell you this.
Any small glimmer of a chance that I was gonna climb Ever est
has completely vanished.
[ Knock on door ] Isaac, you got a second?
Sur e. What's on your mind?
[ Sighs ] You make a lot of charitable donations, don't you?
I try.
Who do you give your money to?
- I used to donate money to the Democratic Party. - Not anymor e?
Well, you get your heart broken enough times,
you learn your lesson.
Who do you give your money to now?
I give it her e and ther e. Ther e ar e plenty of good causes.
That's the problem.
Hmm.
Danny, every morning I leave an acr e and a half
of the most beautif ul property in new canaan,
get on a train and come to work in a 54-story, glass high-rise.
In between I step over bodies to get her e -
20, 30, 50 of them a day.
So as I'm stepping over them,
I r each into my pocket and give them whatever I've got.
You'r e not af raid they'r e gonna spend it on booze?
I'm hoping they'r e gonna spend it on booze.
Look, Danny, these people - most of them -
it's not like they'r e one hot meal away
f rom turning it around.
For most of them, the clock has pr etty much run out.
You'll be home soon enough.
What's wrong with giving them a little novocain to get them through the night?
Dana: Oh... my... God!
Have you two lived?
- Dana, what... - I don't think you've lived!
I don't think you've lived until you have seen this show!
- You liked it? - Liked it?
- I don't know wher e to start. - That's wonderf ul.
I honestly - I don't know where to start.
Why don't you organize your thoughts and get back to us.
The lights went out,
and this woman with a voice like thunder -
this woman, she summons all the animals of the jungle
to appear and honor the birth of the new lion king.
She summons the animals with her voice,
and do you know - do you know what happens next?
The animals appear?
The animals appear.
I got goose bumps.
It was exactly wher e I was meant to be at that moment.
I gotta go tell everybody!
- Can I go tell everybody? - Go tell everybody.
- Thank you, Isaac. - You're welcome.
- Thank you f or the tickets. - You're welcome.
Thank you f or everything.
Thank you f or opening my eyes to possibilities
that would have gone her etof or e unexplor ed
- in a lif e that, while ultimately - - Go, go.
- Kim! - Nobody's delivering.
Nobody's delivering?
Nobody's delivering.
But we'r e in New York City.
Yes, I know. I r ecognize the big buildings.
What about the kitchen?
They took all the f ood out of the kitchen to spray f or bugs.
Shouldn't ther e be some dead bugs lying around I could eat?
Casey, listen to what happened to me.
- I'm looking f or dead bugs. - l-I went to a show.
Please tell me you have milk duds in your purse.
Don't you want to hear what happened to me?
Not unless you held up a deli during intermission.
I believe in the power of the theater.
Well, that's good.
I believe in the power of a roast beef sandwich,
so I don't r eally have time to talk.
Casey...
It was r eally quite something.
The music began, and I just started to cry.
I don't know wher e it came f rom.
It was like church.
I didn't know we could do that.
[ Laughs ]
Did you know we could do that?
Well, when I f orget, something usually r eminds me.
I didn't know we could do that.
...And the cold f ront, which seems to have blanketed most of the Eastern seaboard,
didn't seem to have an averse aff ect on the Lions' off ense this afternoon.
Said Barry Sanders
of his 2 40-yard, 3-touchdown perf ormance,
"Heck, on a lot of those runs I was just trying to stay warm."
That's all for this edition of "Sports Night," but don't go too f ar.
Casey and I will be back at 2:00 A.M. to throw it to our team in Nepal
f or f ull coverage of the Ever est summit.
By the way, none of us her e have eaten,
so if you happen to be walking by the building with a pizza -
Dan!
You've been watching "Sports Night" on CSC.
- We'll see you later. - Good night.
- We'r e out. - All right, let's get to it!
- I'll be in Editing with Casey. - That's the prof essional thing to do.
- And we'r e prof essionals. - You bet your sexy, little butt we ar e.
I'll tell you what else.
That wasn't my last Broadway musical, either.
I'm hooked. Absolutely hooked.
Chris, Will, Dave, you guys like the theater?
- Love it. - Me, too.
Will?
It's not my cup of tea.
That's what I used to say.
The trick is you find the ones without the hoedowns.
Before they'll climb the mountain,
the Sherpas perf orm a prayer cer emony, or puja,
in which they ask the gods f or permission to climb so close.
Maybe we shouldn't be trying to climb so close, Jer emy.
- What do you mean? - Well...
One in f our people have died trying to get up ther e.
Yeah, but mor e people try to get up ther e each year than the year bef or e.
The ancient mariners used to think
that if they sailed to the end of the ocean, they'd f all into a fiery pit of dragons.
Aviators thought that if they broke the sound barrier, their planes would blow apart.
One of these days we might be right.
- Well, not today. - You think they'r e gonna make it?
If they don't, somebody else will.
What if the gods don't give permission to climb so close?
The gods can stick it.
We'r e citizens of this planet -
George Mallory, Edmund Hillary, Magellan,
Balboa, Desmond Cor ey, you and I -
and I don't think anyone should tell us how high we can climb.
That's Mount Ever est, the highest peak on the planet.
You see a lock on the door and a "Do Not Disturb" sign?
It's five miles of ice straight up.
- Piece of cake. - What's gotten into you?
I think I'm in love with Natalie.
Oh, that'll do it.
Now let's get back to work.
[ Wind howling ]
[ Br eathless ] Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, right - right ther e.
We can, uh, - we can see it now.
That was the voice of Desmond Cor ey.
You heard him say, "We can see it."
I'm assuming he's r ef erring to the summit. Casey.
Yeah, Dan.
It's helpf ul to know that the summit of Ever est
is much smaller than you probably imagined,
r eally no bigger than the top of a dining room table.
What can you tell us about the flags that ar e behind you?
These ar e prayer flags, Dan,
left by diff er ent climbers and Sherpas.
The diff er ent flags signify the diff er ent deities.
Mike, I understand that before they'll attempt Everest,
the Sherpas perf orm a prayer cer emony
in which they ask permission to tr ead so close to the gods.
Casey, that's a cer emony called a "puja,"
and I promise you the climbers take it very seriously.
What happens if permission is denied?
What if the gods deem us not worthy enough
to climb up near them?
[ Wind howling ]
Mike?
Libby, Mike, can you hear us?
Yeah, Dan. It looks like ther e's gonna be another hold.
- Damn it! - Libby, they got a problem up there?
It's hard to say, Dan.
Chances ar e they'r e probably changing their oxygen tanks
and discarding the used ones.
They'll also want to do a final equipment inventory
and a situation assessment before the final 50 feet or so.
How much mor e time?
How long a wait do you suppose we'r e in f or?
Probably not mor e than 10 minutes or so.
The window only stays open f or so long,
so it's pr etty much now or never.
We'll come back.
We want them to get this right,
so while Desmond and his team get r eady f or the summit,
we'r e gonna r eturn you to r egular programming.
- Stay tuned to CSC. We'll have the summit in no time. - Don't go f ar.
We'r e out.
- Dana, ar e they gonna be okay? - Yeah.
- You sur e? - Yeah, they're gonna be fine.
Then could we possibly get a large glazed ham in her e?
- A pot of beef stew? - We're trying.
How long does it take to fix a water main?
Why don't you go out ther e and ask them?
I would, but it's not fit f or man nor beast out ther e.
Hey, did you solve your problem yet?
- On how to be a guilt-f r ee altruist? - Yeah.
It's easier being a miser.
- Can I say something? - Sur e.
You'r e not gonna solve everybody's problems.
In f act, you'r e not gonna solve anybody's problems.
- So you know what you should do? - What?
Anything.
As much of it and as often as you can.
- I was right? - Which is surprising enough, but no.
I just r emember ed ther e's a half a turkey sandwich in our office!
Get it!
'Half a turkey sandwich'
'Half a turkey'
'Half a turkey sandwich'
'Half a turk-'
Whoa.
How did you get up her e?
You'r e not supposed to be up her e.
Did they chase you out f rom downstairs?
All right, listen to me. You can't stay her e.
There are people working here.
You can't stay her e.
Danny, Casey says -
Do you want me to call security?
No, Elliott. It's okay.
Ar e you sur e?
It's all right.
I'll wait outside.
Thanks.
[ Door closes ]
I got a half a turkey sandwich.
I'll tell you what.
I'm gonna sit with you... while you eat,
and, uh...
I got to keep an eye on this monitor her e.
I don't know if you can see,
but ther e ar e two guys
that ar e about to r each the peak of Mount Ever est.
Once they do, I got about two minutes to get back on-air.
[ Static, indistinct conversation ]
You got a name?
All right, anyway...
Her e's your sandwich.
No, no, no, you don't have to pay me. Come on.
[ Click ]
Whoa! Hey! Take it easy, man!
[ Intro to "The Weight" by The Band plays ]
Thanks.
You'r e welcome.
'I pulled into Nazareth'
'Was feelin' 'bout half-past dead'
- 'I just need some place' - Why don't we sit and watch this now?
'Where I can lay my head'
'Hey, mister, can you tell me'
- 'Where a man might find a bed?' - It's happening.
We'r e watching.
'He just grinned and shook my hand'
'And "No!" was all he said' Man: Six feet.
Five.
'Take a load off, Fanny'
Five f eet away now.
'Take a load for f ree'
Look at what we can do.
'Take a load off, Fanny'
'And...'
- 'And' - 'And' - Four feet! This is it!
'You can put the load right on me'
[ Rock music plays ]