Erik Kernan Jr. (Hartnett) is a young fledgling journalist employed by ''The Denver Times''. Frustrated, Kernan struggles with his supervising editor Ralph Metz (Alda) concerning rudimentary coverage over his articles related to professional sports. Metz views Kernan's editorial work as bland and uninspiring considering his recently deceased father was a famous sportscaster. Kernan is separated from his wife, Joyce (Morris), who also works at the newspaper, and worries that he might be losing touch with their young son, Teddy (Goyo).