Showdown Recap for 1 Aug 2017 at BWW Gibson in ABQ
Ah baseball, that staple of summer evenings. Well the no-waiver trade deadline has passed, and the Ragged Rascals were not able to trade SCOOTR or KURGAN for high-value players like LILJOL, GRIFF or even ANON. However last week, we called up some rookies for a trial in our line-up. Hence the need to affect trades is lessened for this season. We are going to stand pat. Let’s see how it plays out, starting with the…
Worn-up Round
1. Fictional character Henry Jones is better known as ___ Jones. INDIANA 2. Which river empties into the Atlantic Ocean? AMAZON 3. Names like Hannah, Otto, and Ada are: PALINDROMES. 4. The late Frank Deford was one of America’s most acclaimed ___ writers: SPORTS. 5. A person described as a “Chicken Little” would be a vociferous: PESSIMIST. 6. ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix,’ ‘Wichita Lineman,’ and ___ are three Jimmy Webb songs. GALVESTON. 7. Islamabad is the: CAPITAL OF PAKISTAN. 8. Which of these creatures is an antelope? GEMSBOK 9. This island was called Van Diemen’s Land before being renamed in 1856: TASMANIA. 10. An umiak is a type of boat most likely used by a member of the ___ people. INUIT.
The team was up to the plate early and batted 1.000 for this round. It could well be that this deserves a familiar song…
[Sung to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ball Game] Take me out to the Showdown Shout good calls to the crowds Rely on DUFF, he’s our Cracker Jack Under game pressure, he’ll never crack So it’s root, root, root Ragged Rascals If they don’t win it’s a sham Scream out “One,” “Two,” “Three” and you’re out Of the Old Showdown
Ground-down Round
1. Arnold Schoenberg made his name in the 20TH Century as a: MUSICAL COMPOSER. 2. Podgorica is the capital and largest city of: MONTENEGRO. 3. Which U.S. state is named after a woman who was born in Paris, France? MARYLAND. 4. In what century did Martin Luther write his famous ‘Ninety-Five Theses’? 16TH. 5. Endodontics is a specialty within: DENTISTRY. 6. Which character in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is based on Truman Capote? DILL HARRIS. 7. In what sort of building does a transept separate the nave from the sanctuary? MEDIEVAL CATHEDRAL 8. The American ___ is a perennial plant that is a member of the figwort family. BLUEHEARTS. 9. You would most likely use the technique known as abseiling if you are: CLIMBING ROCKS. 10. This element’s boiling point is a sizzling 7,101 degrees Fahrenheit: BORON 11. Hebei is to China as ___ is to Canada. NOVA SCOTIA. 12. Lassa Fever is a common malady in this part of the world: WEST AFRICA.
The question pitcher made fools of us on four of the twelve in this round: WU’s 3, 8, 10, and 11. We got solid wood on eight of them.
[And another verse of Old Ball Game to commemorate my attendance] ‘BUB’s been here to play Showdown He’s called answers quite loud I punk’d CHILL, he’s a Cracker Jack He told me “Take your answers BACK!” So it’s shoot, shoot, shoot, I done fuck’d up The team won’t win, ‘cause I came Fuck’d up One, Two Three calls tonight At the Old Showdown
Scatology Round
S1. Economics v VOCABULARY Opulent is to ___ as hamper is to impede. EXTRAVAGANT. {DUFF/KURGAN/CHILL}
S2. HBO SHOWS v Wars of Long Ago Maeve Millay and Dolores Abernathy are important characters on this HBO show: WESTWORLD. {WALACE shot to fame.}
S3. World Currencies v SCIENTISTS England’s Edgar “Ted” Codd is remembered for his contributions to 20TH Century: COMPUTER SCIENCE. {We were saved by the third clue.}
S4. WARS OF LONG AGO v Economics In 1274 and 1281, the Mongols failed in their attempts to invade: JAPAN. {Split with China on this one.}
S5. Scientists v HBO SHOWS Thomas Middleditch plays a college dropout named ___ in HBO’s ‘Silicon Valley.’ RICHARD HENDRICKS. {The delay on this one was agonizing, but finally JAX or MEERA called it.}
S6. VOCABULARY v World Currencies To teach by using questions and answers is to: CATECHIZE. {DUFF called ‘Socratic’ which put BLZBUB into position to make the final call.}
Bobbles and delays cost the team on S 3, 4, and 5. Collectively we need a more efficient method of transporting ourselves to the correct answers. But we will not resort to…
[Sung to the tune of “Daisy, Daisy”] Showdown, Showdown, I’ll give my answer true I’m half crazy, trying to figure you I won’t use a laptop ‘puter Nor cellphone answer commuter So you can’t tweet Or Borgs you’ll meet While defaulting to number two
Frightening Round
1. Since 2010, this European make of car has been owned by a Chinese company: VOLVO. 2. This term for idler or loafer is borrowed from the French language: FLANEUR. 3. ‘The Blind Assassin’ and ‘The Edible Woman’ are among the many acclaimed books by: MARGARET ATWOOD. 4. The Bar Mitzvah is a Jewish ritual that takes place on a boy’s ___ birthday: 13TH. 5. ‘Guitar Town’ was the 1986 breakout album for this country performer: STEVE EARLE. {Nope, not gonna happen on THIS team.} 6. In the world of mixed drinks, the Hurricane is a passion-fruit colored relative of the: DAIQUIRI. 7. Golfer Brooks Koepka won this year’s U.S. Open held on a course in: WISCONSIN.
Slippery Earle eluded us, but the team got the other six without difficulty.
[Perhaps every team has had someone come to play who turns out to be a sandbagger. Here’s a ‘salute’ to one in the ABQ. Sung to: “Give my regards to Broadway”] Give my disdain to FENWAY. Dismember him to pieces square. Tell all the gang at B-dubs Gibson Street That he will soon be spare.
Whisper of how he’s sandbagging, To answer without his team along Give my disdain to Old FENWAY And say that he’ll be spare, 'ere long
Py-Ram-It Round
P1. Which story is told by a narrator sitting aboard a yacht anchored on the Thames River? Choices: Gulliver’s Travels, Heart of Darkness, The Old Man and the Sea, Gunga Din, Vanity Fair A: HEART OF DARKNESS {BLZBUB scores a rare correct answer to a litch-raw-chure question here.}
P2. Rama is the official name of the Kings of the current dynasty of: Choices: Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Burundi, Monaco, Thailand A: THAILAND. {Indecision did not deter a lot of folks for selecting Thailand on this one.}
P3. A typical ___ usually has 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons. Choices: Soccer ball, Aztec pyramid, regulation quilt, wedding cake, crop circle A: SOCCER BALL. {Although BRICK pre-called this one, the other choices verged on the ridiculous.}
P4. Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E Minor premiered in this city on February 8, 1908: Choices: Moscow, Stockholm, Chicago, Milan, St. Petersburg A: ST. PETERSBURG. {BLZBUB called for a safe 2-way split on the two Russian cities.}
P5. Which pair of words are synonyms? Choices: Altercate – Investigate; Discursive – Rambling; Tidings – Food; Venial – Unforgivable; Torpid – Joyful A: DISCURSIVE – RAMBLING. {MEERA called the correct answer to this before most had even read down to the bottom of the list.}
[Of course, by this time of night, after several chilled beverages nature calls: Sung to the tune of “I Gotta Be Me”] I gotta go PEE I GOTTA go pee Unzip my fly And give it a try To let it fly free
FINAL TRAGEDY Topic: IT HAPPENED IN 1796
On July 11, 1796, the British surrendered ___ to the United States.
1. Chicago 2. Rochester 3. Detroit 4. Boston 5. Los Angeles
The order of the eliminations was 2, 4, 1, and 5, leaving #3, DETROIT, as the correct answer. Our history brain-trust DUFF and CHILL collaborated to solve this one with amazing speed.
The top individual scores for the night were 58476, 57841, 57268, 56258, 55306, and 54942 points. The team average score was 56,681 points. The team’s ranking was EIGHTH Place. Although the group felt that it had a great performance, we still fell behind some of the Mighty Mookers.
Congrats again go out to the Fellowship for another win with their 60,185 points. A very close second goes to Danny K’s at 60,109. They were followed by Houlihan’s of Westbury NY at 59,679.
This was obviously a hard-fought game as many teams bested 55,000 points for the night. A simple flub in any round would have taken a good team out of the top three spots.
_________________ }}}--( (x) (x) )---> Oh my gawd, they killed Ken Z. You bastards!
|