7 Singin' in the Lane

The family is enjoying their dinner when Mr. Burns calls Homer Simpson to invite him at the basketball joust, after running through an insanely long list of people (both Springfield residents and celebrities) who declined to spend time with him. Homer accepts, wanting to bring his friends. At Moe's Tavern, Homer invites Lenny, Carl, and Barney Gumble, but excludes Moe Szyslak, as Homer only has four tickets, leaving Moe bereft and teary-eyed.

Back at the Tavern after the game, the regretful Homer and his friends decide to reform the Pin Pals bowling team with Moe as their captain. They become successful immediately and win a tournament that sends them to the state finals in Capital City, which takes place a fancy bowling building.

Their foes, the Fund Bunch, though having lost the first round, bullies people, including Moe. To stop them from bullying, they make a wager:

For revenge on the geeky guys, Lisa Simpson incites them to find the Fund Bunch's weak spots while Bart Simpson is trying the rich life. Marge tries to teach him that money isn't everything, with no success.

The final round is near, but Moe slips talking about Barney being bad when he's drunk and the Fund Bunch uses that trick to make him drunk so he'll lose the game. Lisa and the other nerds succeed in making them feel bad, and Bart and Lisa reconcile.

Barney is drunk, and Homer needs to make three strikes, while Moe imagines his life starting over in France if he loses. Moe tries to stop Homer from striking, but fails, and he has to return to his old life, rejected by his friends for being a bad coach, but back at the tavern they surprise him, saying they're still a team. Since they won, the Fund Bunch get the Pin Pals something only a rich guy would have.

In the final scene, the Fund Bunch are revealed to have given the Pin Pals a zero-gravity plane experience as their prize where Moe, Lenny, Carl, and Barney float while Homer doesn't.