Curb Your Enthusiasm returned last night. Hard to believe it’s been nearly 20 months since we last saw a new episode. Season 8 picked up right where Season 7 left off as Larry had a chance to get back together with Cheryl. Of course he blew it. Now we’re looking at a season of single Larry (Not to mention the Funk Man.)

On most shows, I would say “Oh, boy. I can’t wait to see what they do with this!” (That’s unnecessary with Curb. Just the announcement of new Curb episodes is exciting.) It doesn’t matter what Larry David is doing. Between Seinfeld and Curb, there is nothing Larry David can’t make funny and uncomfortable.

Now, as I was reading up on the new season (8 straight weeks of Larry and Leon and the rest… I hope this summer drags.) I stumbled on this New York Times profile which alerted me to the future guest-starring role of Bill Buckner. It contained this sentence:

“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which begins its eighth season Sunday night, does not often delve into sports.

That’s ridiculous. Curb constantly deals with sports. The Times points out that if Curb did have a sport, it would be golf, but Curb’s relationship with the sports world is much deeper than that. While going golfing, hanging out at the clubhouse and course etiquette are just a few of the episodes Curb has built around sports. Larry and other characters are constantly attending baseball and basketball games. Plenty of episodes deal with the implications of tickets to sporting events and many include scenes shot at games.

Here are the ones that I could think of. Almost all clips are NSFW.

Season 2, Episode 8 – Shaq
Way back in 2001, Shaq got to act in something that didn’t suck. After tripping Shaq, it looks like Larry has doomed the Lakers.

Surprisingly, things start to work out for Larry as Shaq’s injury isn’t so severe and Shaq is revealed to be a big Seinfeld fan. Also, we get this scene which has nothing to do with sports.

S 4, E 4 – The Weatherman
The Weatherman predicts rain so he can have the golf course all to himself. Brilliant.

S 4, E 5 – The 5 Wood
Larry tries to get a 5-Wood out of a casket at a funeral. Sadly, no video exists of this.

S 4, E 6 – The Car Pool Lane
A historic episode as it was actually used in a court case to clear a man of murder. Also, Larry revolutionizes the commute by hiring a prostitute and then gets high with his father.

S 5, E 8 – The Ski Lift
Larry’s Yankee fandom is very apparent on Curb. While Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most famous Mets fans, George obviously went to work for the Yankees. Now in LA, Curb doesn’t really have any reason to mention the Mets. In The Ski Lift, Larry accuses Richard Lewis’ nurse of stealing an autographed Mickey Mantle baseball.

S 5, E 9 – The Korean Bookie
Gambling is a huge part of sports. Since I live in upstate New York and follow the law strictly, I don’t gamble unless I have an opportunity. Being a rich guy in LA, Larry has a bookie/florist who may or may not have eaten his best friend’s dog. These are the way things work. Bobby Lee deserves special mention for the most original reaction to Larry’s classic stare down.

S 6, E 2 – The Anonymous Donor
Larry sees Ken Jeong (Before he was in everything.) wearing a Joe Peppitone jersey that his dry clearer lost. Luckily for us, this gives me a chance to post a brief snippet of the brilliance of JB Smoove as Leon.

S 7, E 7 – Black Swan
Who shot first? Darren Aronofsky or Larry David? This entire episode was centered around a country club. I believe Larry is also at his funniest when he’s mad at people. Black Swan provided many of those moments as he spent much of the episode threatening and arguing with friends and perceived enemies.

S 8, E 1 – The Divorce
The season started with Gary Cole playing a fictionalized version of Dodgers’ owner, Frank McCourt. Much like the real Frank McCourt, Cole’s character is going through a divorce and is worried about losing the team in his divorce. Obviously, Larry got involved, had McCourt O’Donnell change his lawyer (after being Swede’d) and ends up getting punched in the face by the former owner of the Dodgers, thus blowing Leon’s +1-hookup. That’s fucked up, Larry.

Season 8, E 9 – ?
I’m sure we’ll have plenty more sports tie-ins this season, but the biggest will be the inclusion of Bill Buckner late in the run. Buckner guests as Larry Deals with letting a ground ball go through his legs. Again, I’d say this sounds awesome, but you know that.

[NY Times, Image via Getty]