During the annual billionaires' retreat, Mr. Burns wins the Boston Celtics in a casual game of poker. While hosting the season opener in Springfield, Mr. Burns witnesses the antics of Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban (guest voice as himself). Fascinated with his behavior, Mr. Burns decides to emulate Cuban's over-the-top crowd pleasing stunts in order to win over the hearts of Springfield's basketball fans. In the midst of his failing endeavor, Mr. Burns decides that the best way to win over the fans is to build a brand new, state-of-the-art sports arena. Unfortunately, the last remaining bee colony in Springfield is located on the proposed stadium site, and Lisa is single-handedly spearheading a movement to protect them. As Lisa fights for a safe haven for the bees, Homer attempts to help the quickly diminishing bee population by mating the Springfield bees with Africanized bees, creating a buzzworthy fiasco.

When Mayor Quimby inducts Vance Connor into the Springfield Walk of Fame, Homer recounts how he ran against Vance for class president in high school and lost. After a little digging, Homer learns that the election had been rigged, and he wonders what course his life would have taken if only fate had smiled on him. Homer soon meets an old Italian cook at Luigi's Italian Restaurant whose magical tomato sauce, when stirred in just the right way, reveals what Homer's life would have been like had he won the election. However, when Homer gets a chance to see what his life could have been, he wonders if fate was actually been on his side all along.