1st & Ten

As training camp for the upcoming season approaches, the Bulls organization is abuzz with faces new and old. While Bubba and Jethro are delayed by their usual rambunctious hijinks, there's a shake-up on the roster when hot-headed walk-on Tom Yinessa tries to make his case for the quarterback spot.

When the Bulls veterans arrive for training camp, Diane must deal with the rising tensions in other leagues' front offices, as the potential for a players strike looms over the start of the season. Diane and Coach Denardo must deal with their severely injured veteran running back, T.D. Parker.

Tom Yinessa returns to the Bulls with another shot at the quarterback position, but trouble grows within the receiving core as Clay Daniels begins to show serious signs of mental instability, and Jamie Waldren's drug problem starts to inhibit his abilities. All the while, Diane is picked to head an organization designed to combat the rampant drug use in the league.

When Yinessa is accused in a public statement from the commissioner as one of the primary pushers of cocaine in the league, Diane is left to deal with the fallout, including growing pressure to cut him from the team.

When the need for a proper running back grows dire, Diane is forced to negotiate with Rick Lambert's scummy agent, Max Greene. Meanwhile, Johnny Valentine keeps company with the league's biggest pushers, and Waldren struggles to fully close the book on his cocaine addiction.

When Johnny Valentine refuses to partake in a drug rehab program, Diane's patience with his ego finally vanishes, and she arranges to have him traded to Buffalo. In the meantime, Coach Denardo warns Bubba that his weight is jeopardizing his spot on the team.

Now the starting quarterback, Yinessa leads the Bulls to the playoffs once again, and his surprising success attracts overwhelming attention from reporters, frustrating some of his teammates. As the next game approaches, Diane is offered the opponent's playbook, which the coaches regard with suspicion and disbelief.

When Jamie's excessive spending dries up his $400,000 salary, he begins associating with some dangerous gamblers in order to cover his debts. Meanwhile, Jethro discovers that, although Tommy isn't his son, he still wants to take on the responsibility of fatherhood, and Yinessa is enraged to find himself in the tabloids.

With a potential matchup against Chicago seeming more and more likely, Coach Denardo's fierce rivalry with Coach Boyd starts to strain his relationships with his staff, particularly Coach Fred. T.D. struggles with some family matters of his own, as his son begins to inexplicably act out.

The Bulls and Chicago make it to the championship, and the tension between the two head coaches reaches a new high. To make matters worse, the relationship between Denardo and Fred has all but dissolved, sticking T.D. and Diane in the middle of the two bitter coaches. Coach Denardo is fully consumed by his obsession of beating Boyd and considers putting an injured Waldren in the game.