Running Point (2025 s01e08 Episode Script

1
I took Intro to Eastern Religion
in college because it sounded easy,
and Professor Sekar was famously hot.
The meaning of the evil eye
stems from the concept
that people who achieve great success
attract envy from the others around them.
Now, by marking oneself with an evil eye
with jewelry or tattoos,
it helps to protect
against malevolent spirits.
Some people are so cautious
that they might not even mention
something good happening to them,
so as not to jinx it.
That guy was so smart.
And man, does the evil eye
come into play in professional sports.
The Waves have won ten straight games.
And the key to keeping the streak going?
Not talking about it.
That, and wearing the same
lucky t-shirt to bed every night
for a month.
Good night. My My God.
- What?
- Keep in mind I love you, but you stink.
I told you it's my lucky t-shirt.
Respect my process.
I do. I'm just saying these playoffs
can't come soon enough.
Hey! I said we are not using the P-word.
Fair enough.
Good night.
Hey, Ali, what's up?
My God. Are you sitting down?
No, I'm lying down because it's midnight.
Good. Because you are not
gonna believe this shit.
Let me set the motherfucking stage.
So after the win tonight,
the guys were feeling themselves.
They decide to go out to a club.
They even convinced Jay to join them.
Jay? At a nightclub?
I know. And it gets worse.
So they roll into Nightingale.
Heads are turning, panties dropping,
women, gay guys getting all turnt.
God, I miss clubs.
Me too.
So, our guys are dancing,
drinking, everything's cool.
Until Jay spots some dude
at another table.
Jay walks up to him.
- Hey, man, what's up?
- Hey.
They exchange words,
and then Jay punches him in the face.
What?
Jay punched a guy?
Sorry, I'm embellishing.
I shouldn't have said that.
Jay just shoved the guy's face
into a birthday cake. But get this.
The guy?
Jay's ex-wife's new boy toy.
- Did anyone else see?
- No, Isla.
An entire pro basketball team
went to the hottest club in LA,
and no one had their phones.
Well, I'll call Jay
and just find out what happened.
Don't bother.
I already tried. His phone is off.
The good news is
he was only kicked out, not arrested.
- Okay, so it's not so bad.
- You didn't let me finish.
The bad news is Commissioner Gant
wants to speak to you at 7 a.m.
- I'm up.
- You just had to use the P-word.
This is Jay. Leave a message.
My father was afraid of two men.
The head of the IRS
and League Commissioner Franklin P. Gant.
He played pro in the '60s
but chose to go to Vietnam.
Became a POW, but was so mean
the Viet Cong sent him back.
He's a tough old son of a bitch.
Hey, this guy has zero interest
in your jugs. He's a decorated war hero.
Yeah, vets famously hate tits.
If he suspends Jay, our season is toast,
which means I am toast,
and Jay won't even call me back.
Now are you gonna tell me
when this thing is starting?
Because I feel a Diet Coke burp coming on.
Good morning, sir.
How's your morning this morning?
Terrible.
It's all because of your coach.
All right, I'm a straight shooter,
so I'll tell you up front.
Jay Brown is suspended.
Suspended?
For shoving a guy's face in a cake?
Couples do that at weddings all the time.
And I find that uncouth
and a waste of perfectly good cake.
Commissioner, isn't there a way
he can issue a sincere, heartfelt apology
and maybe pay a fine?
I don't know.
Sir, I know you were not a fan
of my father, but I am not my dad.
He didn't care about his employees. I do.
And Jay,
he is a good man with good values.
He's never been in trouble
with the league,
not as a player or a coach.
Okay.
If you can get Jay to publicly apologize,
I'll knock it down to a hefty fine,
no suspension.
But only because you don't seem to mind
that I really hated your dad.
I'm so happy. Thank you.
I could kiss you right now.
Excuse me, I've been happily married
to my wife, Doris, for 54 years.
Of course, sir. Thank you, sir.
And God bless you. And God bless the USA.
Who would have guessed
that Isla Gordon could lead the Waves
to a streak like this?
Just incredible.
Great game last night. I think
they're going to the playoffs this year.
Yeah, well, who knows? We'll see.
Your sister is killing it.
With this momentum,
I say they're going all the way.
Why are we even still
having this conversation?
- I have my pills, so you can go.
- Yeah. Okay.
- Ramirez Enterprises.
- Yeah, give me Stephen Ramirez.
I'm so sorry.
I actually don't have him right now.
Can he return your call
when he has some time?
Sorry, when he has some time?
This is Cam Gordon.
Hi, Mr. Gordon. Can I have him return
later today or possibly tomorrow?
Tomorrow? No, he will call me today,
you little fuckstick.
This phone call has become abusive.
I'm hanging up now. Goodbye.
What? No.
Hello? Hello?
Fucking Gen Z millennial little shit.
Yo, Trav, you good?
You get any sleep last night, blood?
Yo, mind your business, rookie.
And stop calling me Trav, man.
Okay. My bad.
Yo, D,
I'm sorry, bro.
It's just classic
rookie-hazing shit, King. You know?
I love you, man. Like my little brother.
My bad, man.
I'll see you outside.
So, in summation
and against all odds,
your girl convinced the old commish
to forego a suspension
and knock Jay down
to an apology and a fine.
I'll hold now for applause.
Thank you, Ness!
Nice work.
The commissioner is very stubborn.
Still on his first wife,
and she's a battleaxe.
I'm gonna ignore the casual misogyny
and focus on the praise part.
So, Jay apologizes, and we go back
to focusing on what matters. Playoffs
Da, da, da, da, da!
We don't want to jinx it. We are not
talking about the P-L-A-Y-O-F-F-S.
Playoffs? Right, of course.
I'm gonna talk to Jay
when he gets here. Thanks.
Sandy, you didn't really contribute much.
You haven't even commented on me
dressing against my color palette.
Sounds good. I'll, go do that.
I think you look like
a soft-serve ice cream cone.
Hey. You okay?
It's just this
Charlie and Bryson
The smoking-hot trainer.
They've uploaded a joint Instagram post,
and the caption is,
"Falling Hard. Launch."
A joint post.
Shit. They're all in.
They look very happy.
I mean, hey, you'll find another
average-looking dog groomer.
They're on the roller coaster
at the Santa Monica Pier.
What are they, German tourists?
I get it. Charlie's out there
with some ripped hot guy,
and you're sitting in bed alone at night
reading comic books like a real loser.
They are called graphic novels.
- Doesn't matter.
- What do you want?
I'm trying to give you
some brotherly advice. Okay
Before Bituin, I loved another woman,
and she broke my heart.
And after I was done being sad about it,
I went down to Cabo with two women.
These days,
I think you'd call them sex workers.
And for the next two days,
we did everything.
I did them, they did each other,
they watched me do myself.
Okay, where is the advice here?
A few weeks later, when I met Bituin,
I was ready to give her my whole heart.
So you gotta get back out on the horse
and fuck it!
Or get fucked by it. You're vers, right?
I mean, it doesn't matter.
- I'm never telling you any more gay terms.
- Okay.
Maybe you're right. God.
I'll re-download Grindr.
This is depressing.
Yeah, there he is.
Hey, real quick, what's a twunk?
What does that mean?
Owens, you've got to get there.
Get there, get there.
Come on, dive, dive. Good job.
Hey.
You're a tough guy to get a hold of.
Yeah, it's been crazy.
Good news is
I spoke with the commissioner,
got it down to a fine, not a suspension.
All you have to do is read this apology,
and we're good to go.
I'm not apologizing.
Come on, Travis. Come on, get around.
Badrag, set the pick.
- Come on.
- Hey, I managed to find a solution.
A, "Gee, thanks for saving my ass,
I'll read it right away" would be nice.
Isla, you don't know the situation
my family's in right now. Believe that.
I don't.
Because you won't return any of my calls
or tell me what the hell is going on.
Okay, look, I know.
Divorce is painful.
- I've been through it myself.
- Yo, yo, stop, okay?
Your ten-minute marriage to Mr. 90210
is not the same thing as my life
with my children and Olivia Anne.
I hear you.
But you have to put your ego aside and
No, this isn't about my ego, Isla, okay?
That guy
Look, just know that in no universe
am I ever apologizing,
and if you've got a problem with that,
then you can get a new goddamn head coach.
Keep it up.
Fuck.
Fuck me.
He said the league is holding firm.
Jay's suspended until he apologizes.
What a little baby.
Real Zen to shove a guy's face
in a cake, isn't it, Jay?
And then I fix it for him,
and he can't even say I'm sorry?
He shouldn't have been in the club
in the first place.
And why wasn't I invited?
I have the perfect shiny shirt.
Whatever. This is why
we have assistant coaches.
Yeah, next man up.
We're rolling with Coach Tony.
He hasn't been a head coach before,
but that's fine, right?
Yeah, he's been an assistant coach
for, like, five teams.
I mean, Dad hired him 20 years ago.
He's just been waiting his turn.
I love that. Promoting from within
someone who's been passed over.
It's a good look.
Dad's old friend, an older white man,
finally getting his chance.
- Don't add to it.
- Okay.
- Have fun in suspension land, Jay.
- Exactly.
- We don't need Jay to make the playoffs.
- No, no, no, don't jinx it.
Yeah, right. I'm sorry,
I believe in that stuff too, okay?
I've been wearing Bituin's underwear
for, like, a week. It's been tough.
Hey, honey,
do we have a landline at the house?
And if so, did Stephen Ramirez call it?
No one called.
I gotta go. The dog threw up.
Bingo!
That is B as in bingo.
What? That's, like, the third time
Judith's won!
Now you feel good?
A'ite. A'ite, we got more practicing.
Hey, Marcus, can I walk with you?
Nah, nah, I was going to look at my phone.
I'm so sorry, it's important.
What?
So, have you noticed
Travis acting a little weird?
Yeah, he's from Florida. His dad was like
Jeffrey Dahmer or something.
No, no, no, it's not that, it's just
He's been going to the bathroom a lot.
Sweating, mood swings.
- What're you trying to say, bro?
- It's like that one episode of Degrassi.
When Peter promised Mia he'd make it
to the winter beach bash,
but got strung out instead.
Then Holly J. got pissed
'cause she planned that thing for him.
Why are you talking to me about Degrassi?
I think Travis is on something.
Now you listen to me.
You're talking about a man's career,
his reputation.
Maybe not reputation
when it comes to Travis, but career.
Unless you know for sure,
you mind your own business.
Yeah, my bad.
All right! Need everybody's attention!
So, we all know
what happened to Jay at the club.
Probably wouldn't have gone down
like that if I'd been there.
Always free to hang, guys.
Just gotta shoot me a text.
Anyway, Coach Tony, here he is.
Take it away, Coach, come on, give it up.
Thank you. Thanks, guys.
Okay, I know this is a big change,
but you need to know I got you.
This squad is firing on all cylinders,
and we'll push right to the playoffs.
Yeah!
And can I just say,
to be here with you right now,
it's the greatest honor of my career.
Because, let's be honest,
it's been pretty tough.
Sitting on the sideline all these years.
Thirty years.
You know what? We're kind of losing focus.
I don't want you to lose the room.
This is my time.
A lot of people said
I wouldn't get to this point.
My stepfather, for one.
He said I'd never be head coach.
What about you guys?
Any of you have a stepfather?
Well, let me tell you, you are here
in spite of those sons of bitches.
I actually love Keith.
That's my stepdad.
What?
He comes to every game.
Get the fuck out of here.
- For real?
- Yeah, get out!
Come back when you have a better attitude.
Can we please get this back on track?
- Yeah, no, all right, yeah.
- All right?
Sorry, guys. A little bit nervous.
Let's keep focus on the game plan.
- Need the personal stuff out altogether.
- Yeah.
- He's going to take us there!
- Yeah.
My fucking God.
Let's go, guys. Come on.
And lastly, updated travel.
So, Badrag is banned
from the Minneapolis Ritz-Carlton,
so if we face them in the playoffs
- Da, da, da! No, Ali, please.
- Right, the evil eye.
If the P-word were to happen,
just put him at the Four Seasons.
Why is Charles Tracy calling me?
Hey, Charles, what's going on?
You want to cut me out of another deal?
You're not still mad about Hoopli.
What'd you read?
It's projected
to bring our Q2 revenue up 15%?
What can I do for you, Charles?
- I'm calling about Jay Brown.
- What about him?
Well, he wants to come coach in Boston
next season. Let's make it happen.
Jay has multiple years left on his deal.
Who told you this?
I just got off with his agent.
Don't tell me you didn't know.
Charles, I've got to call you back.
My God.
This is Jay. Leave a message.
Hey, you have one fight with your boss,
and you want to move across the country?
Well, guess what? There is no way in hell
I'm letting you out of your deal.
Robert?
Hey. Sandy?
Yes, yeah, come on in.
Can I, get you a drink?
Sorry if I'm a little nervous.
I just got back on Grindr after a
pretty bad break.
Let's take a shower.
I just, put some product
in my hair, but
You know what? Sure. Yeah, let's
Wait here. I'll go get a condom.
The condoms are in the drawer
next to my melatonin gummies.
Everything okay out there?
My God.
Help! Help!
Shit.
- Defense!
- Let's go, Waves!
Defense! Defense! Defense! Defense!
Timeout on the floor.
All right, let's see what
Coach Tony Spagnoli has up his sleeve.
We got this.
I got the perfect play.
We're running "Five Screens."
- What is that?
- Looks like Jackson Pollock.
Guys, it's so simple.
Badrag, set the screen for Dyson,
who sets the screen for Marcus,
who pivots around Dyson
and sets the screen for Travis.
Travis, dish to Badrag, and then
you two set up a decoy double screen
as Marcus shoots. Boom. Got it.
Coach, just let me hit a quick two
and then we press.
- No, this will work.
- Coach, this feels really complicated.
- You're not the coach, or my stepdad.
- He never said he was.
Anything else?
I can't wear shorts to the restaurant?
Coach Tony, you all right?
No, I'm not all right. Stop asking.
Wait, you're mad because we're empaths?
Enough. I'm in charge here.
Go out there and do the play I called.
Fuck it. Five screens.
- Five screens.
- Let's go. Five screens.
Five screens on me. Five screens on three.
- One, two, three.
- Five screens.
What the fuck is five screens?
I don't know,
but Coach Tony's cooking up something.
The Waves looked
absolutely lost on that play.
They're gonna lose this one, folks.
It'll all gonna come down
to tomorrow night.
Fucking Tony.
That was your genius?
Badrag almost lost an eye.
Yeah, I'll talk to him.
Help! I'm trapped in my shower.
I am scared and naked!
Yes, Siri, okay to send! Okay to send!
- My God, Sandy!
- Isla!
Are you okay?
I'm sorry. I tried, like,
five other people before I called you.
- My God.
- And now I'm freezing.
Come here.
God, I met this guy,
and he seemed like he liked me,
but I think he just wanted to rob me.
- Well, he did rob you!
- Shit!
Jesus Christ, that's why you don't
invite strangers into your home.
Do you know anything about this guy?
I knew he was uncut and 40 feet away.
He seemed normal.
- Come on.
- For Grindr.
God, he took my TV?
And my Tom Ford coffee table book. Jesus.
Well, at least we know
he wasn't lying about being gay.
Sandy what is going on with you?
I don't know, okay?
Ness told me to move on
and fuck a horse or something.
You know,
the whole time I was dating Charlie, I
I thought I was slumming it with him,
but now I realize he was slumming it.
What am I gonna do?
Get him back.
- What?
- You clearly love him.
And we're Gordons.
So stop whining and go and get him.
Gordons don't lose.
Wait. How'd we do tonight?
We lost.
Yeah, big time.
And I don't think Jay's
gonna coach for us again.
Well, you have to
You need to make him want to.
I don't think
I know how to do that.
Well, if anyone
can get through to him, it's
it's you.
Gordons don't lose.
Okay.
You're right.
You okay?
Yeah, I guess.
Please don't call the police.
This is too embarrassing for our family.
Thanks, Isla.
- Jesus, Sandy!
- God.
Yeah, and I loved it.
Coach Tony ain't right, man.
The game's bullshit.
Five screens. More like five shits.
Is-la! What are you doing here?
Hi. It's Isla, actually.
Is Jay home?
Olivia Anne,
your oven timer went off.
My avocado cacao balls.
Come in, come in.
- That's all right. Just looking for Jay.
- This is Marcel.
Marcel, this is Isla.
You are so interesting. And layered.
I'm a photographer. May I?
- Right now? Okay.
- Yes.
Chin up.
Never mind, we missed it. Orange wine?
No, thank you.
Yes.
Olivia, I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you still lived here.
It's Olivia Anne, and this is my week
to live here with the kids. We're nesting.
It's when the kids stay in the family home
and the parents rotate.
It's much better for the kids.
Avocado cacao ball?
Thank you.
So black.
Aren't they good?
They're not sweet at all.
No. No, they're like
complicated?
You should sell them.
I'm trying, but you know how hard it is
to break into the food ball industry.
Of course.
So, are you freaking out
that he's following us to the East Coast?
- You're going to Boston too?
- We bought a farm in the Berkshires.
It was always my dream as a girl
to live in a house
that was also a wedding venue.
The girls will be happier too.
They won't have to share a horse
like they do here in LA.
So you're taking the kids with you.
I'm guessing that's what you were
talking to Jay about in the club?
I just told him that we closed
on the New England house
and that the four of us
were getting matching peacoats.
Next thing I know, I was seeing black.
It was a chocolate cake.
I have to find Jay.
Enjoy the wedding venue.
Bye.
See ya'.
She is obsessed with you.
I called a lot
of hotel operators tonight.
Then I realized where you'd be.
So, what, you
came to yell at me some more, or?
No, but I did talk to your ex-wife.
Yeah, I, um
I'm not usually the person who lets
his personal life affect his work, so
God, I do. Doing it constantly.
I'm thinking the reason
why I'm kind of messed up
is because my dad wasn't really around
when I was a kid.
I don't want that for your children, Jay.
I'll let you out of your contract early
so you can go to Boston.
I don't I don't know what to say.
Say you'll finish the season.
Apologize.
And get us one more win.
- Yeah, I can do that.
- Thank God.
- We're so close to making the
- Whoa, whoa, no.
- Don't be throwing around the P-word.
- What? My God.
You're messing with the evil eye.
Are you kidding me?
I'm all about the evil eye.
I should get going.
I've gotta coach in the morning, you know?
- Glad we chatted.
- Yeah.
- Welcome back.
- Thank you.
You know, you have a voicemail from me.
Nothing new there. Just delete it.
Man, I hope Coach Tony's
in a better mood today.
Yeah, no shit.
He cried on my shoulder yesterday.
I ain't here to console no grown-ass man.
Hey, guys. A little surprise for ya'.
Gentlemen, it is good to see you.
Let's give it up for Coach Tony
for stepping up.
Thanks, guys.
It was just a couple of days,
but it was the best days of my life.
If my stepfather could see me now
He would be so proud of you.
We're all proud of him, right?
- Let's get you back to the film room.
- Let's talk Phoenix.
Here's what we need to do tonight to win.
Feed the post.
Early and often.
Yeah!
Fast break.
Phoenix does not get back on D.
Exploit that.
Drive and kick it out.
We'll hit open threes all night.
Waves down two
with three seconds left.
Badrag passes to the corner.
It's up.
It's good! Game over! Waves win!
They're going to the playoffs.
This is incredible.
Isla Gordon has made all the right moves
since taking over,
and Jay Brown's decision-making
has been almost flawless.
Yes, sir.
Hey.
You were right about Trav.
Come on.
Hey, Travis, wait up.
Yo, those are Prada.
We need to talk.
Lev, we won!
I know! Does this mean
we can finally say the P-word?
Hell yeah,
'cause we're going to the playoffs!
- Amazing. Can we celebrate?
- Yes.
I'm actually starving.
Go to Felix, sit at the bar. On you.
Sounds great.
So, I guess the evil eye is not a thing?
No, it is. Don't joke about it.
Okay, it's a thing.
Travis, what's going on?
What's up, boss?
Um
I gotta talk to you real quick.
I gotta deal with this.
It is time that makes me think
That I'm alone ♪
And I take a chance
At losing all I've known ♪
I stop dancing around
The shadows of my own ♪
You're looking well, Cam.
They tell me you just completed
your sixth step. Congrats on that.
Thank you.
I might actually be getting the hang
of this whole sobriety thing, you know.
I think that I might be, you know,
whatever they call it, like,
good or cured or whatever.
- You mean "sober"?
- Point is, I I think I'm good.
Right. Well, only a few more months
before I can tell the judge
you've completed your requirements.
Right, yeah, a couple months.
Or, you know,
I have kind of noticed that the facilities
could kind of use an upgrade.
It might be nice to advertise a new
high-end fitness facility, you know?
Spa, cold plunge, a couple of yurts.
You know,
really bring in the high-end clients.
Pretty expensive, I imagine.
Yeah.
But maybe I could help you out with that.
been chasing you ♪
Since ♪
We parted last ♪
I've ♪
Built your world to try ♪
To hold on to my thoughts of you ♪
Hold on to my thoughts of you ♪