Kelsey Grammer has only 2 minutes and 46 seconds of screen time in this episode, making it the only time he appears in the form of a cameo, as he was being treated for his addiction problems. As result, it was re-written and entirely centered around Niles (David Hyde Pierce). Grammer filmed his bit for the intro at a later date and it was tacked on to the episode before broadcast.
During this episode Niles (David Hyde Pierce) refers to Frasier's (Kelsey Grammer) "Big red clown shoes." This is a nod to Grammer's character Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons (1989).
When Niles and Reggie are doing visualization exercises, Niles asks him what he sees. Reggie replies, "OK, Kemp's passing me the ball." He's referring to Shawn Kemp, who played for the Sonics from 1989 to 1997.
Reggie wears #16, which was an unassigned number during the Sonic's 1996-97 season.
When Frasier is asking Niles to fill in for him and Niles demurs, he launches into a monologue as to why he should, recounting a disastrous date with Maris' sister ("Oh? Shall I refresh your memory?...). Here Kelsey Grammer is clearly doing a Bette Davis impression, as he was often wont to do during the series.