New Scaratings

With federal guidelines for social distancing now extended through the end of April, we will also extend the McCarthy Cup hiatus through the end of April, with a target resumption date of 5 May. I know several states and localities have restrictions that go beyond the date--the governor here in Virginia yesterday issued a stay-at-home order though 10 June--but I am hopeful that the course of the virus will allow most, if not all of those restrictions to be lifted early. I will provide an update towards the end of April.

As always, would appreciate someone posting over to BadBart.

--Rick

Message relayed

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Mitch (MTCHWF/WLFFLY)

Co-Home Bar: Buffalo Wild Wings Edwardsville, IL and Time Out in St Louis, MO

Time for the monthly status update on McCarthy. I hope that all of you, particularly our colleagues in some of the COVID hotspots, are staying healthy.

Well, we're obviously not starting on 5 May. A few states are starting to re-open, but most have not. And even where re-opening is occurring, the types of establishments where Showdown is played are pretty far down the list, and even once they are again open, social distancing may preclude seating arrangements that facilitate playing Showdown as a team.

At this point, I'm not even going to hazard a date on a re-start. I'll check in again in a month (I'll shoot for Memorial Day) to let you know where we stand.

We are clearly moving into an area where this tournament may never happen. In part because of the aforementioned social distancing, which could hinder team play for a long time. And in part because I'm far from confident that, given the state of the company, Buzztime will be able to provide the seven weeks of fresh Showdown content that we will need to finish the tournament.

I welcome anyone else's thoughts.

--Rick

I've noticed that several locations are playing Countdown during Showdown's time slot. I'm not sure if that's sitewide or not.

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Middle age is when a broad mind and a slim waist exchange places.

Maybe you had not heard, TIMUR, but Buzztime laid off Tom D (who was in charge of the game), and they have not broadcast Showdown at all the last couple of Tuesdays at least. For the present, Showdown does not exist, and if it returns, it may be a different game if they do not rehire Tom.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

Well aware of that. Exactly why I noted that there may not be seven weeks of Showdown left. There may well not be one week of Showdown left.

I suspect we will soon have a better idea as to whether or not Showdown is indeed as dead as it looks--once that clarifies, we can discuss the ultimate disposition of the McCarthy Cup itself.

Assuming the end of Showdown/Buzztime, I would suggest that the last resting place for both the
McCarthy and Sandbagger trophies be the team that won each the most.

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“When I see the right and the ability to do everything granted to any power whatsoever, whether it is called people or king, democracy or aristocracy . . ., I say: there is the seed of tyranny, and I seek to go live under other laws.” --de Tocqueville

That assumes the teams in question want that honor/responsibility. And I have my doubts about at least one of those teams.

For whatever it's worth (and with the acknowledgment that I am an interested party), I agree in principle with STRO's proposal. If a team declines that honor/responsibility, then we could have a discussion of what Plan B might be for that trophy.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

Just wanted to check in with everyone. As has been pointed out in another thread, the NTN website is showing Showdown games being played on Tuesdays again. I have no idea if these games have fresh content--if anyone has played one and can shed light on that question, I'd appreciate it.

Meanwhile, though, restrictions in most parts of the country still seem to be too tight for large-team Showdown play. Here in northern Virginia, we are just entering "phase one" tomorrow, and that allows only outside dining (with appropriate social distancing). So we're certainly a ways away from re-starting.

I know things are going to vary widely by locality, but as teams do return to playing at a more-or-less normal level, please let me know--once we have a critical mass that can do so, we can consider resuming the tournament. And again, whether that will happen soon enough that we can complete the tournament before Buzztime goes out of business remains an open question.

Stay healthy everybody.

--Rick

Even though bars and restaurants are now open in Ohio, so many of my team either live/work with people in high-risk groups or are in high-risk groups themselves that an informal survey of the team this week revealed that we would not be able to have a quorum for Showdown at this point. This could change, but I think a lot of people are still taking a wait-and-see attitude right now.

A subset of us have been playing remotely for the last few months using a Discord server to communicate. Of course, this would not be allowed under the McCarthy Cup rules, so if the tournament were to be held in the near future, we probably would have to withdraw from it.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

I'm with those "wait-and-see" guys.

The Kzoo Krew, currently gathered via Zoom, supports "wait-and-see".

west park station is also in the wait and see camp.

Given the spike in COVID cases around the country, and the resulting halt in, or rollback of, reopening measures, it has become clear that we are not going to be able to safely resume play for months, and quite possibly not until next year. As such, I am cancelling the 2020 McCarthy Cup tournament.

If, through vaccines or more effective treatments, we are able to once again gather in large groups, and if Buzztime is still around, we will have a McCarthy Cup tournament next year once it is feasible to do so.

Stay healthy everyone.

Thanks, TIMUR. While it is an unfortunate reality, I think this is the right decision.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

I also agree about the cancellation, but we still need to decide what is to be done with the
trophies should Buzztime cease to be.

Buzztime and Showdown are both alive and well.
I guess 2021 got shelved without discussion? 2022 should be fine as long as any new variants remain relatively mild for those vaccinated.

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BUD - Stained Glass Pub Silver Spring MD
OC BUD - Grotto Pizza DE near Ocean City MD

LET'S GO ....Caps and Os!!!!

Well, Timur last popped his head in here last June. Guess he looked around, saw nothing happen, and popped back out.

Buzztime and Showdown are alive, but WELL???? This is a game that drew 10K players regularly a decade ago, and while the player numbers are up a bit over the COVID lows, they have to be losing about as much money now as they did 12-18 months: a few or more million a year.

The truth is we have no idea what is happening financially in what is a little-known private company with no SEC reports to file. All we can tell is that they're trying to build up Buzztime Go. They don't seem to have deep pockets, otherwise they'd be advertising the bejeezus out of their new product.

In the meantime, we carry on until whatever, whenever, but while I'm a little proud that our Battlestar MadRiverica is still alive LOOOONG after I initially thought it would end, I still feel like Wile E Coyote suspended in midair after running off the cliff, waiting to drop . . . for twenty months and counting.

If there is interest in resuming play in 2022, I'll be happy to run in it (don't know whether or not we'll be playing, but that won't affect my ability to manage the tournament). I'd plan to start play in the traditional March-ish timeframe. So, barring an upsurge in omicron (or pi or rho), or the demise of Buzztime, I will be back in the second half of January to post an official announcement.

Bump.........any thoughts on getting The McCarthy Cup dusted off and ready for 2022???

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BUD - Stained Glass Pub Silver Spring MD
OC BUD - Grotto Pizza DE near Ocean City MD

LET'S GO ....Caps and Os!!!!

Sorry, I tried to get in a while ago and the site appeared dead, but I was informed it is now back, so here I am.

Let's go ahead and get it scheduled. To give people time to sign up, or if necessary to re-form teams, and to avoid a conflict with Passover, I would propose starting the tournament on Tuesday, 26 April.

Anyone who is interested in participating let me know, either by posting here, direct-messaging me, or e-mailing me (rjgrimes@yahoo.com). Sign-up deadline will be Saturday, 23 April.

Since I have not been playing, I don't know how things are working in terms of remote play, how that would affect rules involving use of electronic devices, and for that matter whether we should allow remote play for the purposes of the tournament. If y'all have thoughts, feel free to post them here.

The basic format will be the same as what was announced at the beginning of this thread: a four-week qualifying phase, during which the low score will be dropped, followed by a single-elimination knock-out phase. How many teams advance to the knockout phase depend on how many teams sign up--I'll make that announcement on Sunday, 24 April, after registration closes.

If there are other corners of the Internet where NTN players gather, feel free to share this announcement.

Looking forward to getting what is arguably the ugliest trophy awarded in any field of human endeavor out of my condo.

--Rick

You don’t need to think about remote play as Showdown is not supported by the BT app.

The main rules would involve no outside communication help, no references: paper or computer, plus whatever else was done prior years.

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BUD - Stained Glass Pub Silver Spring MD
OC BUD - Grotto Pizza DE near Ocean City MD

LET'S GO ....Caps and Os!!!!

The Fellowship is in.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

Add Danny K's please.

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Middle age is when a broad mind and a slim waist exchange places.