ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Now, another story from the world of TV. A mega-merger in the realm of fake news, a deal that would be as big as Comcast and NBC, if only Comcast and NBC were funny. The Onion, located in a sidewalk newspaper box near you, and Comedy Central, home to "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," join forces tonight with a fake sports news show.
(Soundbite of television program, "Sportsdome")
Unidentified Man #1: Looks like you can go Dome again. SportsDome is back.
(Soundbite of music)
Unidentified Man #1: Rodney Harrison's(ph) written a new book with some major revelations about his time in the league, including the bombshell that throughout his 15-year professional career, he was unaware he was playing a sport.
In "For the Love of Crushing," Harrison writes, quote, I never had any idea I was part of some complicated game. All my life, I enjoyed chasing people and hitting them, especially in the head. If I was able to make them drop anything they might be holding, all the better.
SIEGEL: That's from "SportsDome," and we're joined by Matt Oberg, faux co-anchor of SportsDome. Welcome to the program.
Mr. MATT OBERG ("SportsDome"): Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.
SIEGEL: Major headlines for tonight's show?
Mr. OBERG: There's a lot coming up in this episode. We talk about how the Heat stars, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron, have come up with some new rules for basketball that will make the game a lot more sweeter and cooler. For instance, you will no longer be required to dribble if your dunk is really sweet.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. OBERG: There's a touching story about an MMA fighter who is triumphing despite his disability of having tungsten-alloy metal hands.
St. Louis has given Albert Pujols, in an effort to keep him in a town, a working key to the city, which unlocks every single door in St. Louis.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SIEGEL: Yes, I looked at that one online. He's free to take anything that he wants.
Mr. OBERG: Yes, from their fridges, use their showers, whatever he needs, so long as he'll stick around.
SIEGEL: Now you are joining this powerhouse line-up. You'll be the lead-in to "The Daily Show," which is then followed by "The Colbert Report." High pressure, eh?
Mr. OBERG: Well, you know, I think historically, if you look back, there's not a whole lot of Peabodies that have been won by the shows preceding "The Daily Show." I don't know if "Crank Yankers" ever had - was ever really celebrated by any academy. But we just hope, you know, people find us funny enough not to change the channel right before.
SIEGEL: Now, "The Colbert Report," excuse me, "The Colbert Report," is a take, is a comic take on I guess "The O'Reilly Factor" primarily, and here we're, essentially we're talking about ESPN "SportsCenter" is what we're - that's the text you're working off here, huh?
Mr. OBERG: Agreed. That is what we're basing our show off of. But, whereas "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" are sort of bound to reality, we have the luxury of just lying and making things up out of whole cloth.
So we don't need to react to what happened today or this week. We can make up a future and a present that suits our jokes' needs. So...
SIEGEL: And just as "SportsCenter," every show, I think, has the top 10 plays, you have a top 10.
Mr. OBERG: There's several top 10s. I think maybe the one you're talking about is the top 10 Stans in sports' history.
(Soundbite of television program, "SportsDome")
Unidentified Man #2: Number seven is Stanislov Joyce(ph).
Unidentified Man #3: Brother of Irish write James Joyce, who was a mentor to Nobel Prize-winner Samuel Beckett, who was a talented cricket player.
Unidentified Man #2: Who's the boss? Stanislov.
Unidentified Man #3: Stan O'Niel(ph) is six.
Unidentified Man #2: Tennis prodigy in his teens, active in a whole new game now, clinical anesthesiologist.
Unidentified Man #3: Happy for him.
Unidentified Man #2: But (unintelligible).
Unidentified Man #3: I hate that thing.
Unidentified Man #2: Come on...
Mr. OBERG: At number one is Ben Roethlisberger, who is not named Stan but has the letters in his name to spell it out, and he's a truck, so he's got to be on the list.
SIEGEL: Plus a lot of other letters, too, in there.
Mr. OBERG: Yes, yes.
SIEGEL: Now, your character's name on the program is Mark Shepard. Stephen Colbert gets to use his own name. Jon Stewart gets to use his first name and his middle name, not his last name. Why a stage name for your character? Why does your colleague, Matthew Walton go by the name Alex Reiser or Reiser on the show?
Mr. OBERG: Reiser, yeah. Well, I think probably because we're acting a little bit. I mean, we're not, you know, claiming to be these people. It's a performance we're doing. And I think there are things, particularly in Matt Walton's Alex Reiser character, that he would not want people to actually think were happening in his real life.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. OBERG: He's had some trouble with some interns at the network, but he's back from a suspension. He's real into beach volleyball coverage, and I don't think my good friend Matt Walton would want his friends and family thinking that that was true about him.
SIEGEL: I see. So it's for cover that you have fictional names is what you're saying.
Mr. OBERG: Exactly, exactly. None of this can hold up in court that way.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SIEGEL: Well, good luck to you, with the lying on the program that begins this evening on Comedy Central.
Mr. OBERG: Thank you.
SIEGEL: That is Matt Oberg, who is the co-anchor of "SportsDome," making its debut this evening. Thanks for talking with us.
Mr. OBERG: Thanks a lot. First time, long time.