Blind Date Episode Goes Down in History Roger Lodge, host of the syndicated television series Blind Date, was ecstatic when he pitched the idea of reuniting lost flings to the producers of the show. Instead of two people meeting for the first time, the idea was to reunite two people or inanimate objects that knew each other, but hadn't seen each other in a long period of time. Initially the producers were a little apprehensive about the whole idea, but when Lodge was able to procure a celebrity for the first episode they quickly changed their tune. Roger was able to not only get the hottest celebrity in the world, but the hottest celebrity in the world that embodied hip-hop culture^. Yes, you guessed it, Larry Bird. French Lick's own native son was to be reunited with the money ball he used to win three consecutive three-point shootouts. The producers had hoped that Bird would take the ball to an old court in French Lick and dribble it, but they ended up getting more than they had bargained for. Bird not only dribbled the ball, he shot it as well. You could almost hear two hearts coming together with each rip of the basketball net. It was a little difficult for the editors to make all the ball-handling look tastefully done, but in the end the results spoke for themselves. Actually there wasn't any speaking - just a lot of ball-handling. With the lack of dialogue Roger Lodge had to pick up the voiceover slack. But being the seasoned veteran that he is, he allowed the sexual innuendos to flow naturally, with the balls and hoop jokes practically writing themselves. The episode will be aired during this year's NBA All Star celebration. ^With the emergence of Eminem as a hip-hop cultural icon it was only natural that white kids would start combing through their past for other heroes that might embody the emerging nouveau hip-hop attitude that's edgy and on a positive-tip all at the same time.