| AGONY | "The thrill of victory and the ___ of defeat," a vintage Wide World of Sports maxim (5) |
| DULCIMER | I'm coming in sore after first of defeats - might I have been hammered? (8) |
| DEFEAT | "The thrill of victory, and the agony of ___" |
| MCKAY | Jim of "ABC's Wide World of Sports" |
| BRENT | George in "Dark Victory" and "The Old Maid" |
| ROONE | 'Wide World of Sports' creator Arledge |
| ITALL | Doris Day's "The Thrill of - -" |
| LAVA | "... the ___ of defeat": "Wide World of Sports" phrase |
| SHEDTEARS | "He makes his reader tremble, ____, feel the thrill of honour in a way that is the height of art" (Napoleon, on Dante) (4,5) |
| FLIPASTATE | What a presidential candidate hopes to do to increase likelihood of victory, and this puzzle's theme |
| FRENCHACCENT | Olympic swimmer and occasional Wide World of Sports host (5,7) |
| ATHLETEROONE | "Wide World of Sports" creator Arledge, when he played a sport |
| MIKEGIBSON | Original Nine's Wide World of Sports host who died in 2015 (4.6) |
| ADVENTURE | The thrill of coming upon a river |
| SAMSMITH | British crooner who followed up his Grammy-winning debut album with "The Thrill of It All": 2 wds. |
| POLE | Classic Video Game, ___ Position, giving the thrill of 8-bit Formula One racing action in 1982 |
| ODIN | All-father, raven master, god of victory and Wednesday's namesake, described as all-seeing, despite having sacrificed an eye for infinite wisdom (4) |
| ATHLETE | "Wide World of Sports" type |
| ABCS | "- Wide World of Sports" |
| ABC | "Wide World of Sports" airer |
