‘Ballers’ recap: Which will go down first — Spencer having a child or an NFL team in Las Vegas?

SEASON THREE, EPISODE EIGHT | “ALLEY-OOPS” | SEPT. 10

Spencer Strasmore takes a deep breath, gazes into the distance and summons the courage to mutter into the phone the question that’s on his mind: “It’s not cancer, is it?”

The voice on the other end of the line responds without hesitation. “The test was for sperm count,” the doctor’s office receptionist says.

Remember, in the first episode of this season of Ballers, when Spencer’s realization that he’s never had a single pregnancy scare leads to a trip to the fertility clinic to see if he’s even able to have children? Well, seven episodes later, the results are in. But, before we get to the verdict, a much-needed update on the NFL-to-Las Vegas situation, for which Spencer (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is willing to sell his professional baby, Anderson Sports Management, to come up with the needed capital.

In the scene after his conversation with the receptionist, Spencer dials his business partner and Las Vegas hotel tycoon Wayne Hastings Jr. (Steve Guttenberg), who’s pouring up with a group of women and none other than rapper Travis Scott. In this moment, one of life’s most important questions is answered: When a phone rings, how does Travis react? Our hopes and dreams are fulfilled when Wayne’s phone goes off and Travis exclaims, “PICK UP THE PHONE, BABY!” — the first line of the chorus to his hit 2016 track “Pick Up the Phone.” Thank you, Ballers writers, for this wonderful moment.

On the call, Spencer pressures Wayne to find an area in Sin City where an NFL stadium can be built so the Oakland Raiders can be relocated. Soon, the Las Vegas mogul delivers a video, showing a huge plot of land directly behind the Vegas strip, which officially puts the sale of Anderson Sports Management into motion and cements the reality that Spencer and his partner, Joe Krutel (Rob Corddry), will have to break the news to their staff and beloved clients.

Two of those clients, Ricky Jerret (John David Washington) and Charles Greane (Omar Benson Miller), really could use some advice from Spencer and Joe right about now. After finally deciding to seek help as a result of taking too many hits to the head in the NFL, Ricky is officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder and placed on medication that he’s afraid will affect his daily life on and off the field.

And, in the throes of NFL front-office life, Charles’ interview for the open general manager job with the Los Angeles Chargers is canceled after someone with the Miami Dolphins receives word that Charles is looking to move on. There’s no doubt that the party pooper is Miami’s tyrant general manager Larry Siefert, with whom Charles has butted heads all season long.

Spencer eventually makes the long-awaited visit to the fertility doctor, who informs him that he has functioning swimmers, though they’re “more Ryan Lochte than Michael Phelps.” What that means is his sperm count is declining and the window to have kids is rapidly closing. The news seems to weigh heavily on Spencer, who ends the episode in a passionate sex scene with his girlfriend Chloe.

After things get superhot and heavy, Chloe asks Spencer, “Did you just …”

Yup, he did, Chloe.