"A Look Behind the Scenes of the New ABC Sitcom 'Sports Night'"

Over the years, successful shows such as "Mary Tyler Moore" and "Murphy Brown" made behind the scenes of a television newsroom look so interesting and fun. A few brave producers have tried to replicate this theme by creating entertainment programs about the sports television industry. But don't feel bad if you don't remember shows such as the short-lived "Good Sport" with Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett playing sportscasters. Like the others, it was only on the air for a few episodes before it went to TV never, never land.

ABC currently tries its hand with "Sports Night", a new show that airs on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. et. "Sports Night" introduces viewers to the workings of a sports news show, in a setting somewhat similar (depending on who you talk to) to ESPN's "SportsCenter".

"Sports Night" creator and Executive Producer Aaron Sorkin, scribe of "A Few Good Men" and "American President", became a big fan of "SportsCenter" while keeping odd hours putting the finishing touches on a movie script.

"Growing up, I wasn't a big sports fan, I was a drama geek. It wasn't until my mid-20s that I started to watch 'SportsCenter'. I thought to myself, 'this is the best produced and best written sports show on the air" said Sorkin. "When they would show a feature about an athlete playing in a game in the upcoming weekend, I would find myself having to watch that game on the weekend to find out the outcome of the story."

Sorkin confided that his favorite anchors were Keith Olbermann and Craig Kilborn, now with MSNBC and Comedy Central respectively, but he commends the choices made by ESPN's Director of Personnel and Recruitment, Al Jaffee. "Jaffee found good writers such as Dan Patrick and Kenny Mayne, Mike Tirico and Chris Berman. That is what inspired me to write about sports. I am doing the sports setting, in part, because it appealed to me, and also because I wanted to be there and live that world…it's pathetic but true."

"I went to ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut to find out what happens behind the scenes and to get the flavor of authenticity. Although the show does not have to be accurate, the appearance should be believable. I also wanted to make their vocabulary my own," said Sorkin. "I think 'Sports Night' is developing and going to have its own identity."

I also had the chance to speak with some of the "SportsCenter" anchors (current and alumni) to get their opinion on Sorkin's new program. They supported Sorkin's theory that, although there are some similarities, their reality is a little different from what you see on the ABC television series.

According to former "SportsCenter" anchor Keith Olbermann, " Dan and Casey, the fictional anchors on 'Sports Night', have offices that are the size of my New York apartment and that overlook the Manhattan skyline. My ESPN co-anchor, Dan Patrick and I had cubicles that overlooked the Otis Elevator Testing Shaft. And that is when we had windows!"

Patrick, who currently anchors the 11:00 p.m. "SportsCenter" broadcast, noted another difference, "SportsNight does some pretty serious topics and we certainly are not that deep. My wife said after watching the show 'you are not that deep'."

Olbermann and Patrick agreed that the best part of "Sports Night" is how they portray the anchors' close relationship. "Dan and I say that it's like we were in a foxhole, looking out for each other. Our partnership was the best part about doing 'SportsCenter'," said Keith with a hint of sadness, as though he misses his partner.

"You grow to depend on your partner. You are with your co-anchor more than you are with your family, so you have to get along or it's not going to work," Patrick added.

Another interesting aspect of "Sports Night" worth noting is the casting of a female in the role of the talented, hard-working sports producer. When I asked Sorkin about this decision, he explained, "When I visited ESPN, I was very impressed with a particular producer who was juggling about a hundred things at once. She was the inspiration for casting a woman in the role of producer of 'Sports Night'."

Robin Roberts, ESPN's "SportsCenter" and ABC's "Wide World of Sports" anchor, gave me her opinion of this decision. "I appreciate that Sorkin created a female producer who is knowledgeable and who doesn't have to wear a sports jersey or spew off statistics to prove herself."

Actress Felicity Huffman who portrays Producer Dana Whitaker on "Sports Night" said, "I am so lucky to be playing this part. I like the fact the character is a great boss, leader, and she is approachable but yet she hasn't lost her femininity. The costume designer and I wanted to make sure the character looked attractive but in a understated and respectable way."

Huffman's favorite aspect of doing the show is that "Sports Night" has a group of people that, "if you met them, you would want to hang out with them." Coincidentally, that is the same quality that originally attracted Sorkin to "Sports Center"-he wanted to hang out in that world.