A/N: Thanks again for all your encouragement with the reviews! In this chapter, there are a few lines in here from the Sports Buddies episode, in italics.

xxx

"Dad," Samantha said to Tony, her voice coming through the phone, "can I stay over at Marci's tonight? Her dad said it's okay."

"Sure, honey. That's alright with me."

"Can you bring me a little bag with my pajamas and toothbrush?"

"I'm on it!" Tony hung up the phone, his mind spinning like a rolodex, as he imagined all the things he might do with a kid-free Friday night.

Call Tanya and go to Brooklyn? Nah, he dismissed that one pretty quickly. Not anything against Tanya, in fact, he'd love nothing more than to see—oh, who was he kidding here—spend the night with Tanya. But yesterday had been Thanksgiving, and he and Sam had spent all day in Brooklyn with Mrs. Rossini and her family. He didn't want to make the drive back to Brooklyn again tonight, as tempting as it might be to call up Tanya.

Christmas shopping at the mall? It was Black Friday so he might be able to get a head start on his shopping and snag a few deals. Or, maybe he should finally bite the bullet and visit the women's lingerie store to buy a bra for Sam. Mona had told him that Sam had approached her, "woman to woman" she had said, and told her that all the girls at school had them, and that she wanted one too. Tony cringed remembering the conversation with Mona. No, absolutely not; forget the mall. He didn't feel like braving any crowds to buy early Christmas gifts, or shop for bras for little girls who should not be growing up in the first place.

What did that leave? Go bowling? Stay in and watch a movie? Hit up the local sports bar?

Marci lived on the other side of town, and he'd pass right by the sports bar, Scotty's Sports Saloon, on his way home after he dropped off Sam's overnight bag. Perfect, he thought. He'd been meaning to check the place out for weeks.

Decision made, he quickly packed Sam's overnight bag. He popped into the bathroom to check himself out in the mirror. Looking good, Micelli, he thought. He smoothed his hair down, winked at his reflection, and then headed out the door.

xxx

As Tony made his way to the bar, he raised his hand to get the attention of the bartender.

"Beer please. Whatever you've got on tap."

"Coming right up," the bartender said, pocketing a tip in his apron, and clearing a space for Tony. Tony claimed a bar stool and looked up at the television set.

"Hey man," Tony said, nudging the guy standing next to him. "What's the score?"

"Too painful to relate," the guy responded.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. Not a good night for the Jets. I need another drink. Bartender!" he called, tapping the edge of the bar and catching the man's eye. "I'll take another one of these." He signaled to his drink and the bartender nodded.

Turning back to Tony, the man said, "Hey, I'm Jeffrey." He paused, squinting, looking closely at Tony. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so. I'm new to town. I'm Tony. Tony-"

"Tony Micelli?" Jeffrey interrupted, eyes wide in disbelief. "You're Tony Micelli from the St. Louis Cardinals!"

"Yeah, yeah. That's me." Tony nodded, smiling broadly, pleasantly surprised to be recognized.

"1981: You played with the Cardinals for two months, second base, #14!"

Flattered, Tony asked, "You remember that?"

"Sure, wow. You came up in June! You batted 204."

"Oh, you remember that too." Tony looked down in embarrassment, cringing, voice low.

"It would have been 304 if not for that bum shoulder. I've seen you play! I can't believe it. Hey, why don't you join me? Let's go grab a table."

"Sure, sure!" Tony's smile returned and he nodded, following Jeffrey over to a table in the corner of the bar. From the moment they sat down, between football plays and shouts at the TV, Jeffrey peppered Tony with questions about his time in the majors. He wanted to know everything, from what spring training was like to which famous players Tony had bunked with, to what being on the road was like. It had been some time since Tony was last recognized and he enjoyed reliving some of his favorite memories, especially with such an avid baseball fan.

The conversation flowed from baseball to other sports, and from there in other directions. They covered jobs, Tony explaining his current gig as building manager, and Jeffrey offering up that he was a lawyer at a local firm. When they discussed family, Tony mentioned that he was a widower with a 11 year old daughter, and Jeffrey explained that he was unattached and playing the field. He chuckled at his baseball pun, and Tony decided right then and there that he liked Jeffrey.

"We've two men out on the town, then!" Jeffrey said. He tilted his head towards the door, where two women with Jets jerseys were sitting at a table together, eyes glued to the TV screen nearest to them. "What do you say about finding ourselves a couple of dates?"

"The blonde and the brunette?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yep. I'm going to send them a round of drinks." Jeffrey announced, getting up and heading towards the bar.

"Smooth," Tony acknowledged, with a big grin. "I like your style!"

A few minutes later, Jeffrey had rejoined him and they watched as the bartender delivered two drinks to the women at the table, and pointed over to Tony and Jeffrey indicating where the drinks were coming from.

The women looked over to them, one of them smiling, and the other mouthing "thanks".

That was all the encouragement that either of the men needed, and they were up and walking over to the women.

"Hey ladies, I'm Jeffrey, and this is Tony," said Jeffrey. "Mind if we join you?"

xxx

A couple drinks and a couple hours later, the game over, the two women had excused themselves for a few minutes to use the restroom, leaving Tony and Jeffrey at the table.

"Tony, we have got to do this more often." Jeffrey rubbed his hands together and then placed them down on the table firmly.

"Yeah, we make a great team!" Tony answered enthusiastically, slapping Jeffrey on the back.

The two men exchanged phone numbers and pledged to meet up again, not only at the bar, but at Tony's place, so Tony could show Jeffrey his old Cardinals uniform, and the ball that he had hit out of the park. To Tony's excitement, Jeffrey reciprocated by offering to take him to a game, in person, the following week. Tony couldn't believe his luck. Not only had he made a new friend, but a new friend with season tickets to the Jets and the Knicks.

As they were discussing the details of the upcoming game—Jeffrey was going to bring the beer, Tony was in charge of the snacks and the chairs for the tailgate—the women returned from the bathroom.

They all left about an hour later, Tony with the brunette and Jeffrey with the blonde.

Samantha wasn't the only one who had a sleepover that evening.