New Scaratings

Good old BLZBUB has often commented upon his diploma in math from Nicholls State University, particularly after Showdown questions that put his memory of math to the test. How many of you know anything about N.S.U. and its namesake? Old Scratch will try to provide some background for your edification. But first, he’s going to provide some of the history of the last Showdown game, beginning with the…

Worn-Up Round

1. Which company introduced the “earpod’ in 2012? APPLE. 2. Both Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood were once part of ___ & the Bluesbreakers: JOHN MAYALL. 3. In the United Kingdom, the Exchequer was the government department responsible for: TAXATION. 4. Though capable of flight, these birds prefer to walk or run: QUAIL. 5. If you’re dealt an 11 when playing Blackjack, it’s advisable to: DOUBLE DOWN. 6. “Pink Slime” is the colloquial name for a ___ product that remains controversial: BEEF. 7. Shel Silverstein wrote this book for children and their parents: THE GIVING TREE. 8. It is a fried pastry with savory filling: SAMOSA. 9. Which former political leader was just sentenced to three years for embezzlement? HOSNI MUBARAK. 10. The U.S. Greenback was a type of: LEGAL TENDER. {BLZBUB likes ‘em both legal and tender.}

The team biffed WU 9, but remained free on suspicion elsewhere.

N.S.U. is named after Francis Tillou Nicholls, who was born in 1834. The young Nicholls was educated at a private academy in New Orleans before enrolling at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1855. He saw action in the third Seminole War before resigning his commission in 1856. All of this was long before we ever saw our…

Ground-down Round
1. Which geographical region is in the Atlantic Time Zone? NOVA SCOTIA. 2. The “Kebra Nagast” or “The Glory of the Kings” is a work of ___ history: ETHIOPIAN. 3. A ventricular septal defect is a ___ problem: HEART. 4. “Las Meninas” or “Maids of Honor” is an acknowledged masterpiece by: DIEGO VELASQUEZ. 5. Which famed Greek city state was in the region named Laconia: SPARTA. 6. The neritic zone is part of: THE OCEAN. 7. Risperidone, or Risperdal, is a drug mainly used to treat: SCHIZOPHRENIA. 8. Which children’s magazine features Goofus and Gallant? HIGHLIGHTS. 9. The INC and the BJP are the main political parties in: INDIA. 10. Which term means intellectually and morally ignorant? BENIGHTED. {Whew, BLZBUB breathes a sigh of relief.} 11. “The Normal Heart” is a play about AIDS victims by: LARRY KRAMER. 12. An ___ environment means one with the absence of living things: ABIOTIC.

The team struggled through this round. There were splits on GD 2, 5, 7, 9 and11. The third clue repeatedly saved us.

Upon his return to Louisiana, Nicholls attended the U. of Louisiana (now Tulane Univ.) where he obtained his law degree. He moved to Napoleonville, where he practiced law in Assumption parish prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. At the outbreak of the war he was elected to serve as a Captain of a unit in the infantry. He fought in the First Battle of Bull Run and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He also fought in the Shenandoah Valley, where he lost his left arm in the Battle of Winchester. Similarly, the Showdown team will lose appendages in the…

Scatology Round

S1. WORLD GEOGRAPHY v CEO’s
This Central American city was founded by Americans in 1850: COLON, PANAMA. {We got some of the team on Guantanamo and the rest on Colon.}

S2. Science fiction v BASEBALL LEGENDS
Baseball legend Walter Johnson pitched 21 seasons for the: WASHINGTON SENATORS. {We got this one easily.}

S3. Euro politics v MILITARY AIRCRAFT
Also known as “Huey”, the Bell’s UH-1 Iroquois helicopter saw heavy action in this conflict: VIETNAM. {The rest of the answers were “stoopid”.}

S4. BASEBALL LEGENDS v world geography
Willie Stargell was one of baseball’s greatest: LEFT-HANDED HITTERS. {Easy.}

S5. MILITARY AIRCRAFT v science fiction
The B-25 ___ bomber was one of the most heavily used aircraft of World War II: MITCHELL.

S6. CEO’S v Euro politics
Michael Fries has been CEO of ___ since 2005: LIBERTY GLOBAL. {This one Fried us.}

OK, so 4 for 6 perfect and awkward silences on S1 and S6.

Nicholls was not done, however. He was promoted to Brigadier General and given command of a brigade which fought at the Second Battle of Fredericksburg in May of 1863. Here, he lost a portion of his left leg. Thus disabled, he was transferred to a desk job for the remainder of the war. The team hopes to survive unscathed for the…

Frightening Round

1. By definition, a pusillanimous person lacks: PRINCIPLES. 2. A con game or extortion scheme is often called a ___ game: BADGER. 3. The Noble, Half Noble and Quarter Noble are all old English: GOLD COINS. 4. In “Beowulf,” Grendel and his mother are described as descendants of: CAIN. 5. Pearl, finger and proso are types of this grain: MILLET. 6. This term refers to two minerals, gypsum or calcite: ALABASTER. 7. The ferret is the domesticated form of the European: POLECAT.

That round was horrendous. Errors on F2, 4, 5 and 7 doomed us. But we hope to recover like good old F.T.N.

Following the war, Nicholls returned home to resume his law practice. He was soon to make a name for himself in politics. He was nominated by the Democrats to run for Governor in 1876. The oral history maintains that at the convention, someone rose to “put into nomination all that is left of General Nicholls.” At some point, Nicholls is recorded to have quipped, “I may as well run for Governor as I am too one-sided to be a judge.” Judging by the results of the last round, we’ll not govern the…

Py-Ram-It Round

P1. Poet and biographer Maya Angelou’s birth name was:
MARGUERITE JOHNSON. {Yeah, guess we should have read those obits a little more carefully.}

P2. Tachyon is a term used most often in this discipline:
PHYSICS. {We got this one faster than light.}

P3. Maputo is the capital city of: MOZAMBIQUE. {We got this one, too.}

P4. Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard is notorious for his six volumes titled:
MY STRUGGLE. {This was a good call by MEERA, and one of those where 95% of the team is thankful for her presence.}

P5. Who composed “Marche Pontificale,” the official anthem of the Vatican:
CHARLES GOUNOD. {This one begged for a 5-way split.}

Heh heh, splits were the order of the day during the Reconstruction as politicians vied for control of the South. The elections of 1876 were disputed at both the national and state levels. In Louisiana, two men were sworn in as Governor, a Reconstruction Republican and the Democrat F.T. Nicholls. As part of the dirty deals that made the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes the U.S. President, several southern states, including LA, got Democrats for Governors. Governor Nicholls is reputed to have called out the state militia to remove the Republicans from the state house. He and several of these “Redeemer” governors effectively made their states one-party states, a situation that would persist until the middle of the next century.

Whether or not the team would be redeemed would be decided by the…

FINAL TRAGEDY, on the Topic of: U.S. PRESIDENTS

Five of the eight first U.S. Presidents had prior served in the position of ___ in the U.S. Government:

Answer: SECRETARY OF STATE

There’s more to be said on the topic of F.T. Nicholls. BLZBUB will save that for next week.

Meanwhile the team results have been tabulated. The top six boxes scored 49903, 46576, 44330, 44092, 43747 and 43291 points. Overall, the team score was 45,331 points. This would turn out to be FIFTH place in the Mt/Pac Zone of play. For all active teams…well, who knows? The rankings posted by Buzztime appear to be corrupted.

Just in case the BUZZHEADS can’t recover the Mt/Pac scores for Don Denton, I have them.

1. CKS Tavern, Phoenix, AZ, 57057
2. McGillicuddy, Portland, OR, 53423
3. Gibby’s, Scottsdale, AZ, 49192
4. Scooters Pub, Las Vegas, NV, 45813
5. BLACK ANGUS, Albuquerque, NM, 45331
6. Danny K’s, Orange, CA, 42552
7. Maeves Residuals, Studio, CA, 41108
8. Puyallup R, Puyalluo, WA, 40383
9. Old Town, Goletta, CA, 39853
10. Schanks, Calgary, AB, 39891
11. Camerons, Half Moon Bay, CA, 37692
12. Guidos Nic, Lakewood, CO, 37017
13. Big Daddy’s Phoenix, AZ, 36506
14. Cedar Cot, Vancouver, BC, 35370
15. Torrey Pines, NV, 34934
16. Patsy’s, Laguna N., CA, 34726
17. Hecklers, Victoria, BC, 34347
18. Toucans, Palm Springs, CA, 33853
19. Whitehorse, Oakland, CA, 33726
20. Halftime, Gig Harbor, WA, 33029
I also have 21 – 50 on video, FWTW.

_________________
}}}--( (x) (x) )--->
Oh my gawd, they killed
Ken Z.
You bastards!