Wednesday! What a horrid day. The phonetics of it just piss me off and it is the middle of the week so everyone uses the phrase "Hump Day". Like getting to Thursday solves everyones problems. Maybe I just hate Wednesday now because I don't get the luxury of playing trivia with Mookie Blaylock anymore.
Have you heard why Salvatore Giunta got the Medal of Honor earlier this week? If not take a look at what this guy did in Afghanistan. (Bonus! He's from Iowa) [Badassoftheweek]
Some good stuff cooking over at S & F. Some facts involved dispelling the myth of the big bad NCAA. [Sparty and Friends]
It will always be trivia Wednesday. Can you name the 100 greatest albums of the 80s according to Rolling Stone? If you can't name at least 25 get out of my sight. [Sporcle]
These are pretty cool. College basketball hype clouds. [Audacity of Hoops]
Wednesday, November 17
It's Wednesday, Won't You Have a Link With Me?
Saturday, May 8
Mr. Green Banks $1 Million
I am an admitted Jeopardy fan. I watch the show every chance I get and have even tried out for it. Alas I only made the 2nd round of the tryouts but it is a longtime goal to make the show. Jeopardy just got finished with its $1 million celebrity tournament. Normally the celebrity versions are a breeze, allowing entertainers that are not normally known for their scholarly prowess to compete and win money for their favorite charity. However, since the prize so great and the celebrities they invited had all performed well on the show previously, the questions were a little more difficult. I also had a rooting interest. Michael McKean was one of the finalists, going up against Cheech Marin and Jane Curtin. Now most people know McKean from Spinal Tap and his most recent projects like A Mighty Wind and Best in Show. He also was on SNL for awhile. For me, his most indelible role will always be as Mr. Green in Clue.
I used his given weapon, the lead pipe, as the basis for my NFL "lock" picks in 2008. I did this mostly as a mocking of the use of the term lead pipe locks, but also because I have an unhealthy obsession with the movie Clue. So needless to say I was rooting hard for McKean to win. If I ever met Michael the first thing I would want to talk about is Clue,and I'm sure that there are little or no people that would do the same.
McKean won the title and preserved his perfect record on Jeopardy(which includes Rock and Roll Jeorpardy). His $1 million prize money goes to the International Myeloma Foundation. In its own words,
The International Myeloma Foundation is the oldest and largest myeloma organization, reaching more than 195,000 members in 113 countries worldwide. A 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients and their families, the IMF focuses in four key areas: research, education, support, and advocacy. To date, the IMF has conducted more than 200 educational seminars worldwide, maintains a world-renowned hotline, and operates Bank on a Cure®, a unique gene bank to advance myeloma research. The IMF can be reached at (800) 452-CURE.Congratulations Mr. Green. Continue reading...
Wednesday, October 14
Wednesday Links
Above is a graph from EDSBS which was included in a group of charts and graphs to help explain the college football season so far. J12's trip to Target in Blacksburg may cost him a chance to wear the pimp suit to the Heisman presentation.
An interview with John Calipari. [TBL]
The Red Sox have questions, questions that need answering. [Rumors and Rants]
Joe Pos on the ten best hitters of all time. [Joe Posnanski]
People are not happy with LSU's play calling after that anemic display against Florida. [Friends of the Program]
Obligatory Rush Limbaugh NFL ownership post. [Yahoo]
On the heels of Francisco Garcia's injury via Physioball, the dumb injury hall of fame. [Basketbawful]
It's trivia Wednesday. Stadium names are not as iconic as they used to be, so if you struggle with guessing the teams that play in them I understand. [Sporcle]
Wednesday, October 7
Wednesday Links
I am not sure how many people tuned in for the marathon game between the Tigers and Twins last night, but after 4 hours of baseball it turned out to be a pretty darn good game. The Tigers blew many opportunities to close the Twins out which mirrored their run through September. The Metrodome fans seemed a little exhausted after going through the Favre Bowl the night before but the Homer Hankies were still being waved. In the infinite wisdom of MLB, the Twins now have to hop on a flight to New York and play the Yankees less than 24 hours after securing the AL Central. [SI]
Braylon Edwards will be dropping passes in New York from now on. Glazer again gets the first scoop and says Edwards was dealt for LB Jason Trusnik and receiver Chansi Stuckey. [Foxsports]
In other WR news, Michael Crabtree has finally inked a deal it is reportedly 6 years in length and MC Hammer helped him finally get signed. I bet you think I was going to make some kind of old school Hammer song reference like "Can't Touch This" or "Too Legit to Quit" but I maintain "Pumps and a Bump" to be his best work. [TBL]
Favre Bowl has largest Cable audience ever. Thank you ratings system for enabling more ESPN Favre fellating. [Awful Announcing]
So um...this high school shirt..well just see for yourselves. [Sportress of Blogitude]
It's trivia Wednesday. Did you know Steve Young was the first left-handed QB inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well we didn't last week and it cost us the game. If you are a glutton for punishment, try this BCS quiz. [Sporcle]
Wednesday, September 9
Sports Trivia
A trio of sports trivia on our trivia Wednesday once again from the kings of mental diversion at sporcle.
Home Run Leaders of the 1980s
All-time NBA turnover leaders
The Top fantasy football players of 2008
Tuesday, September 1
Name The EA Cover Quiz
Have you spent countless hours of your life rotting in front of the TV playing EAs collections of video games? If you have then this sporcle quiz is for you. Ifyou haven't, then the quiz is still entertaining.
Can you name the cover athletes for these EA Sports Video Games? [Sporcle]
Wednesday, August 19
Wednesday Links Of Seething Rage
I'm not feeling in a particular chipper mood today. I guess you could say the very walls of my existence are crashing down upon me in a tidal wave of fail, but let's not be too dramatic. There is only one thing I can think of at a time like this; breaking stuff. Who better to champion my cause than the one and only Vanilla Ice? We are not so different you and I, Vanilla. We both thought we were a lot cooler than we actually were. We're both fans of the University of Miami (notice his sweatshirt if you ever watch the Ice Ice baby video again (I watched the whole thing twice). We both are huge fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And most importantly we had our reality check, although mine did not involve a behind the music. While thinking of one Ice and rage and breaking stuff, I thought of this moment from MTV. Back when people used to watch MTV, they decided to show 25 "lame" videos that they would never show again. They brought in some of the bright comedic minds of the day, well two of them at least. You may notice Jon Stewart and Denis Leary were part of the cast with Jeanine Garafalo and Chris Kattan thrown in for good measure. It turns out Vanilla had some pent up rage and like him I would like to smash a video of my earlier exploits if such a tape existed. Smash on, White Knight of a lost culture of flat top hair and funky dance moves.
A list of ten players to watch this year in college football. [Rumors and Rants]
That Bear Bryant was one smooth cat; he must have been feral spec. [EDSBS]
Obligatory Strasburg signing reference, written by guy with rage in his name! Todd Van Poppel and Mark Pryor nod approvingly. [Deuce of Davenport]
This might be the best worst movie I have ever heard of. [Loul's Dong]
Shaq's TV Show destined to go at least one episode more than Magic Johnson's. [With Leather]
Giants fans proving their brahsomeness. [Barstool Sports]
These ladies are like the village bicycle, everyone's had a ride! The Bryan Adams song choice was pure win. [YBNBY]
It's trivia day, do know your Alan Rickman movies? [Sporcle]
Joe Posnanski shows what Joe Mauer needs to reach .400. Good to see some are still dreaming the impossible dream. [JoePosnanski]
Since Keyboard Cat simply is not enough to play me off today I have asked Hall and Oates to join in the efforts.
Wednesday, August 12
Wednesday Links
The video below has been around the internets a few days now but it pretty much encapsulates every reason why I hate the Miami Dolphins and shows their most redeeming quality: their cheerleaders. I dare not make a Gloria Estefan joke though, she is on the board of trustees at the U afterall. I cannot wait for T-Pain to come out with a series of auto tune nursey rhymes to help put kids to bed. All the kids love the robot voice!
(via KSK)
Wednesday is trivia day, well who am I kidding everyday is trivia day with me so can you name what players have the most NBA Championships? [Sporcle]
Yeah I think Big Ben is going to win this case easily but it still doesn't excuse his taste in ladies. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
The Tigers' Magglio situation has become a dicey numbers game. [Rumors and Rants]
No, I am not happy about this, even as a Miami fan I hate seeing college athletes go down with injuries. [College Game Balls]
Spike TV is offering a chance to see the best of what Pride Fighting had to offer. [HHR]
That sound you just heard was the "Steel Trap" closing on Rick Pitino. [Lousiville Courier-Journal]
I am not going to watch the G.I. Joe movie until it comes out on FX in ten months, but this video about what the characters do on their downtime is fantastic and probably better than the film. [Major League Jerk]
Looks like Michael Vick is taking the low-profile approach to his comeback. Tony Dungy must be proud. [Larry Brown Sports]
Thursday, August 6
Thursday Links
Who needs cash for clunkers? Larry Bird has the cure for all your automotive needs! (via YBNBY)
Busy week in the real world for the crew so the posting will be limited this week. A couple stories from around block.
Wow Grandma, just wow. [YouTube]
My praise for the Panthers was premature(I swear it's never happened before), run stopper Maake Kemoeatu out for the season. [Carolina Growl]
Everytime a pitcher's arm falls off, Dusty Baker gets a toothpick. [Rumors and Rants]
A baseball card quiz. [Mental Floss]
New Cowboys stadium working feverishly to become more overpriced and bloated than Yankees stadium, but Jerry Jones promises, you will not pay over $60 for a large pizza. [Sportress of Blogitude]
The big boys seem to be on to the Moneyball schemes of small market teams. [SI]
And you thought I wasn't aware of the SBTB photo shoot reunion going on. [Examiner]
Betting on video games? Hide the controller from Catfish. [Deuce of Davenport]
Monday, July 13
Home Run Derby Trivia
Do you remember who won the Home Run Derby last year? If you said Josh Hamilton you are incorrect. Test your knowledge of the contest before taking in the long balls tonight at Busch Stadium. There is a general knowledge quiz from Simon on Sports and a quiz of all the winners from Sporcle.
Home Run Derby Trivia [Simon On Sports]
Can you name the Home Run Derby winners at the All-Star Game? [Sporcle]
Thursday, July 2
Let's Play the Feud
Every Wednesday Catfish, Xtra Medium, myself and a few friends head to a local pub to play trivia. Operating under the team name of Mookie Blaylock we love going head-to-head with the other teams. It is a general trivia contest and we usually win more than we lose. One of my solo runs is now part of trivia and ASD lore. Today, via Extra Mustard we have this video of a "Natural Enemies" episode of Family Feud between MLB umpires and a collection of 1990 players. Joe Carter and Rick Sutcliffe tie for best haircut here. The vids are broken up into 3 parts and even feature some sweet commercials. I always loved the Ray Combs Family Feud, but somehow he did not hang in there. (I'm going to pay for that joke.)
Wednesday, February 11
The ASD Universe Explodes Tonight
The slate is extremely busy for ASD and friends this evening.
First off, we have our weekly trivia contest a the local pub. After winning 4 weeks in a row we hit a 3 week losing streak but got back on track last week. Luckily, I will not be alone this week as Catfish and Xtra Medium will run the Triangle Offense of useless knowledge. A win means 25 bucks off our tab, a loss means humiliation and degredation in the form of free pizza or a bucket.
The Buffalo Sabres are 8 games over .500 and in 7th place in the Eastern Conference but just 3 points out of 4th. They square off against the Senators at the HSBC tonight.
In the NBA, Catfish is riding high after the Bobcats snapped their 5 game losing streak Monday. Their last game before the all-star break is tonight at home against Washington. The days off will certainly help get everyone healthy, especially Gerald Wallace. The Wizards have lost 8 of their last 10 and the Cats can not afford to drop this one going into the break because with the Bucks most likely out of the playoff picture now with their injuries, Charlotte is very much in the playoff race.
Before the main course of UNC-Duke, my favorite (tied with the CANES) team UCONN hosts Syracuse (ESPN 7 PM) which is the alma mater of our friend the Concierge. Going back to our high school days games between these two have been heated and wagers were made and hillarity ensued. The Orange need to get back on track but will have a tough test tonight in Gampel.
Then of course we have the game of the night and I'm willing to bet Catfish will be lacing the air with some profanities. I cannot see Carolina losing this game but if Duke is going to stay in this they have to shoot more than 34 percent from three and get one or more of the key Tar Heel players in foul trouble. Oh my the officiating should be fun in this one.
The countdown on the clock at the office has already begun...almost gametime.
Friday, December 5
The Night of the Blaylock
A weekly Wednesday tradition for the myself, Catfish, and Extra Medium has been going to a local pub and partaking in their trivia night competition. We are quite proficient at it and have become known as the team to beat. The prize for winning is $25 off your tab but we do it for the love of the game, and winning the title is paramount to any monetary compensation for cerebral mastery of superfluous knowledge. This week, Catfish and XM found themselves in possession of two fourth row tickets to the Bobcats' game versus the Thunder. Catfish was debating what to do when I simply told him he had to attend the game. He agreed and it seemed our team would be absent from the weekly trivia contest. Faced with the prospect of going home from work and plopping myself on the couch and watching college basketball or having a few drinks and maybe, just maybe having a good showing for our team at the pub, I chose the latter. I decided to ride solo, and what ensued that evening was one of the greatest performances, maybe ever. But not really.
The name we chose for our team was 'Mookie Blaylock'. No special reason for the name, we were(are?) all big Pearl Jam fans and that was the name they had before becoming Pearl Jam. I'm sure Mookie is glad they made the switch otherwise most people would only think of the band when his name was brought up. Before Mookie Blaylock, the band was known as 'Mother Love Bone'. I think in the end they made the right decision.
It is really a challenge coming up with a good team name and the important thing to remember is that if you want to become known as an icon of trivia, you have to come each week with the same team name. You can't go around switching names if you are going to instill fear in the competitors they have to know you'll be there everyweek on top of the leaderboard. There are certainly much more clever names out there but as we sat and tried to come up with something witty or even slightly uncouth, we decided on something that most people would probably not understand.
We used to play at another establishment but left that place for various reasons. We won the first time we played there and perhaps that kept us coming back for awhile before we had to ditch the game. It turned out the game was as crooked as a politician and it makes a mockery of what trivia night is and as we told our waitress at our last game that we would be leaving she informed us that we were not the first ones to take our game elsewhere. I do not want to call the bar out, but maybe this picture will give you a hint:
There were multiple problems with the game, the first one being the guy who ran it was a complete and utter douchebag. Every week he would solicit tips from the crowd and whine about how no one was tipping him. Maybe he should have read something into that. He had a powerpoint set-up that used the same format and categories of questions every single game. Just like anyone who had all their stock in Wachovia has learned, you need to diversify. His sports category was always some lame lay-up question and he included a top ten list you had to guess at that was the product of some subjective on-line site or survey. I guess it is not a tragedy to include these type of questions but they are worth a lot of points and can be the difference maker. Trivia is supposed to be based on facts, not top ten lists.
Our team is only three members whereas others are usually anywhere from 5-10+, but we complement each other well. I am and have always been a fount of useless knowledge including history, music and movies. Catfish is good at a variety of subjects including the more technical subjects, T.V. (where I am weak) and he is very good at anything involving words and language. XM is strong in mechanical and music, and by far the master of random pulls from the deep recesses of his brain. His most infamous one was his recollection of Count Duckula. Together we are the perfect Triangle Offense of Trivia.
By far the most egregious of acts in our previous trivia locale was the cheating. I mean how ridiculous do you have to be to cheat in a bar trivia contest. The worst part about it is they got away with it. We caught multiple teams in the act including one team that had a guy run out of the bar on his phone, come back in and share the answers he received with his team. There was one team that won pretty often that would do it in plain sight of everyone, they would sit at the bar and pull out the Iphones. As if this were not bad enough, they brought a little trophy which they paraded around and drank beer out of.
I equated this form of cheating to using steroids. It would not make you a superhuman team since you could not find every question using the devices, but it would give you a tremendous advantage in the game. The team with the trophy I viewed as Barry Bonds. They were brash, cocky and put up great numbers. Without using the devices they still would be a great team, but they just couldn't help themselves. The other teams were probably more akin to Andy Petite and Fernando Vina, they were just trying to compete. When we had had enough Catfish approached the host to let him know what was going on. He received the Rafael Palmiero response, "Those guys are not using cell phones, period." Turns out the team was comprised of this guys friends. After that night we were out of there.
We found our new setting much better all around. The clientele were more of our style and to date I have no seen one popped collar in the joint. The two guys who run the trivia have fun with what they do and the answers are submitted one at a time and they make the rounds during the time you have to answer the question. This has eliminated the cheating element and a few people have even been called out for checking their phones. The questions are also more diverse with different categories every night and the format is great as well.
So in I walked that night, hoping that maybe it would not be too crowded and that maybe I could land in the top three at night's end. The second place prize was a bucket of domestic beer and the thrid place was a bucket of mini-Bud Light's which I consider no prize at all. If I came in as a runner-up it would be myself and a bucket and sadly it would not be the first time I would have taken on a tin ice chest of ale all by my lonesome.
When I entered the place I saw that it was packed, and the usual table that our team sat in was in fact taken. Not a good sign. The Blaylock Table had been combined with another to accomodate a group of 12 middle-aged people. If there is one thing me or the other members of Mookie Blaylock possess it is age. Not a bad thing but in trivia, the older you are the more likely you are to have picked up more usless knowledge along the way. I picked out an empty table up front. One of our regular waitresses, Amy, came by with my first High Life without even asking.
Sigh, Miller High Life. A beer that I do not have a special affinity for, but yet can swill all night long. The most prominent memory of the beer goes back to my days in the dorm at Miami. Unfortunately I did not live on the 7th floor, but down on the 3rd floor of Mahoney and we had plenty of good times. The guy at the end of the hall who was disabled but also one of the coolest guys I've ever met had the extra large suite connected to his room vacant so he did what anyone else would do, he turned it into a beer pong lounge. The beer of choice was High Life, not by my choice, but everytime I have a High Life I think about that room at the end of the hall. One of the big problems I have with High Life, beside the taste is the fact that it comes in clear bottles. I'm not a fan of clear bottle beers because light is a natural enemy of beer. It's science. But at $1.50 per beer, it is the most economic in the establishment and in these troubling times I have yet to receive my bailout from Henry Paulson.
It really does make for an affordable night especially if you come out the victor because you get the tab reduced. So there I was, with my champagne of beers and my pencil, answer pad and scoring sheet ready to go. They announced the names of the teams and the host made sure to point out that the other two members of our dynasty were absent.
"And last but not least in the front, here all by himself give it up for Mookie Blaylock!"
Thanks dude, point out to everyone that I'm at a pub, drinking by myself on a Wednesday night. I had to focus though as the game was beginning. The first round of the first half (there are 3 rounds per two halves) I got 2 of the 3 questions right, but from then on I got in the zone. I was hitting question after question. Like Jordan in the first half Game 1 of the 1992 Finals, "the rim looked like a huge big bucket." 4:23 for the shrug.
By Halftime I had a 9 point lead and like Jordan I felt I couldn't miss. Sports, Music, Movies, Science it jsut did not matter I was hitting them all. The halftime question was perhaps a harbinger of the tough half that remained. The question was which 4 cities have all of their 4 pro sports teams play within the city limits. I broke down the cities by listing all the divisions in the NFL and going through them one by one by process of elimination. I came up with 3 I knew to be true and 2 I was unsure about. Chicago, Philly, and Atlanta I knew for sure. I was split between Denver and Minneapolis. I went with Minneapolis but upon further review the Wild and their hideous uniforms play in St. Paul. I missed two points for the wrong guess and an additional bonus point I would have received for getting all four cities.
The second half did not start well, I missed all three questions in the first round. A question on 'Philadelphia Freedom' by Elton John, a John Dillinger question and I was flustered. I could feel my lead evaporating but luckily by the end of the second half I was hitting all my high point value questions. By the time the last question arrived I had a 3 point lead. In the last round you can wager up to 15 of your team's points. Depending on the question, I could actually win this thing. The question came:
"What is the northernmost country in Africa?"
Wow, I knew this and I don't know why but I knew it. I wagered the 13 points that would give me the one point win even if the team of 12 (who were called 'The Pansies' but had originally chosen something more distasteful, use your imagination) wagered their full 15 and got it wrong. To my amazement I was the only person who knew the answer, which is Tunisia. I had done it, I had one solo against a whole pub full of people. I felt like leaving the hand up just a while longer, like I was in Salt Lake in '98.
The team at the table behind me asked how I just did what I did, the only thing I could do, was shrug. Since the pub has $3 Cuervo shots specials on Wednesday when Mookie Blaylock wins we throw one down and tonight would be no different. I asked Amy how much my tab was after the first shot. Oh what's that you say, only 21 and change you say? Another shot and beer later I truly was living the high life and as fate would have it Catfish and XM had just returned from the Bobcats' game. They told me an amusing anecdote about life four rows behind Larry Brown but at that point, the spoils of victory had worked its way through my blood stream. Catfish took my keys as I lurched out of my chair and out the door.
Yesterday at work, my head hurt and I had a mountain of work on my desk, but the win helped me feel better, even when Jose tried his best to say hello. I do hope that Mookie Blaylock will be at full strength next week and start an incredible winning streak through the new year. I'm not the greatest, I'm not perfect but for one night, Mookie and I took it down.
