both American football and rugby league. When learning of Lane's love for both codes, he put him in the host's chair, where he would stay for nearly six years. Lane hosted American NFL broadcasts twice a week and would give enthusiastic weekly reviews of all games with explanations of the rules for the Australian audience. He was flown to the United States to host live broadcasts from Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII, which was the first time an Australian broadcaster had done live coverage from a Super Bowl. In 1993 the sports department expanded at the ABC, and Lane hosted NCAA basketball and football for the network for the following two years. He was also a colour commentator for NBL telecasts on the ABC and Foxtel. Late television career Lane made a guest appearance on the very last episode of The Late Show on the ABC in 1993. Lane closed the show singing "Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week". When finished with the song, the Late Show big band played the theme for The Don Lane Show and Lane went behind the camera to film audience members, just as he ended most Don Lane Shows. In 1994, Lane hosted two specials for the Nine Network of The Best of The Don Lane Show. Each special was two hours dedicated to the most memorable moments from The Don Lane Show. In an interview in 1994, Lane explained that coming back to The Don Lane Show environment was very emotional: The eight and a half years of that television show is firmly embedded in the minds of many people, and firmly branded into the heads of us. Those were very special years, and to have that all come together meant so much to all of us. Lane was honoured in a 1996 episode of This Is Your Life dedicated to him and his career in television. The episode featured tributes from John Farnham, Billy Connolly, Bert Newton, and Garry Marshall. Lane was also involved in a special entitled Don Lane's America and hosted such programs as The Mad Mad World of Sports and 40 Years of Television. He also hosted a special for Channel 9 titled The Best of Studio 9. The special highlighted the shows and memorable moments that were filmed in Studio 9 in Melbourne. Lane also returned to sportscasting in 2001 to broadcast the