that was worth five points on monday.  if you didn’t at least get tango, alpha and victor right, kick yourself in the butt. 

why bring that up?  because getting just ONE more point on that question would have led to a clear cut victor at the end of regulation.  instead, we had a tie.  a THREE WAY tie no less.

before getting to that though, everyone should be aware that this week is the . . . . .

HALLOWEEN EDITION

of Team Trivia – with prizes for best costumes:

• most original
• sexiest
• ????

so put that Halloween costume to use one last time on Monday Night!  also up for grabs, and anyone can win this one, is the Bongzilla Beer Bong on display at the bar.  it’s perfect for any lemonaide drinking contest.

so, back to Monday Night.

The teams of “bad news brown and his harlem sewer rats”, “could we get a snail trail cleanup”, and “the late show with tony” all sent representatives to the final table where they ran into this guy . . .

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who asked the tie-breaker question of . . .

“what is the maximum range of a boeing 747?” (and that’s in miles, on one tank of fuel.)

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you can see Big A debating his answer.  i was in the back when the reigning champs were deciding who to send to the podium.  initially, they spun a bottle, with inconclusive results.  at that moment Aaron took charge.  actually, i think he grabbed the bottle, put it upright, and said something to the effect of “i’ll get this done” as he marched with purpose to the stage where the trivia showdown would take place. 

as a complete aside, Tanney decided not to stop him.  apparently he’s willing to share the glory (or is that share in the glory?  i dunno.)

when the results came in, the team in the back had another victory to add to their impressive total.  and once again, it came by the narrowest of margins! 

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and here’s a snapshot of the victors from last week.  the faces seem familiar.

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i want to say something like “hey, we’re a Phillies bar, why pretend like we’re neutral?”.  but the truth is, Yankees fans outnumbered Phillies fans last night.  still, Cliff Lee pitched an absolute gem, and it was a great time.  those teams can light it up at any moment so it was exciting through the finish.  oh, and by night’s end no taco went uneaten. 

we have wireless internet at the bar, but i had the laptop at home.  so, i couldn’t look up the answer to the most loudly debated question of the evening . . .

Does the infield fly rule take effect with a runner on first only, or do you need runners on at least first and second?

two big thumbs up to Johnny Spears for knowing the rule.  one quarter of a thumbs up to his opponent(s) in the argument for their willingness to ignore evidence contrary to their point of view.  sticking to your guns and turning a blind eye is still worth something in this day and age. 

so, here it is, directly from the MLB rulebook:

“An INFIELD FLY is a fair fly ball (not including a line drive nor an attempted bunt) which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, when first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied, before two are out. The pitcher, catcher and any outfielder who stations himself in the infield on the play shall be considered infielders for the purpose of this rule.”

with clarification provided by Ralph Nelson, MLB’s VP of Umpiring:

“I would just like some explanation on a thing called the infield fly rule. I have been able to figure out the rules on my own mostly, but this one seems to confuse me a little. Could you please explain it to me. Thank you.
– T. Vergilio

The Infield Fly Rule was instituted to protect the offense from a possibly “unfair” double play. If there were runners on first and second (or bases loaded) and less than 2 out, runners would normally hold their base on a pop-up to the infield since the ball would, in all likelihood, be caught. Without the Infield Fly Rule, an infielder could drop an easy pop-up (or let it drop untouched) and turn a double play, since the runners would then be forced. The rules makers didn’t think this was fair and instituted this rule.

The Infield Fly Rule is only in effect when runners are on first and second (or bases loaded) and less than 2 out. It states that the batter is automatically out if he hits a fly ball “which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort.” The umpires loudly announce and signal, “Infield Fly, batter is out!” so that the runners are alerted that, even if the ball is dropped, they do not have to leave their bases.” 

of course now that this is settled, i fear i’ve lost what would have been a good trivia question for sports trivia!

SPORTS TRIVIA November 11th!!

that’s right, i’ve finally come up with a date for the next Sports Trivia contest.  mark it down on the calendar, Wednesday Night, November 11th we’ll meet and test our sports trivia knowledge for cash and prizes – and of course bragging rights

last night trivia teamed up with the phillies-rockies playoff baseball contest.  what a wonderful night it was!

you can never count the phillies out of it, even with two outs and two strikes in the 9th!  Go Phillies Go!!

and now let’s turn our attention to the trivia contest . . .

throughout the night it seemed like all the teams were keeping equal pace with each other.  in fact, after answering questions such as . . .

• Name one of two famous sites that limit the height or sidth of battleships.
• What is the only anagram of the word Monday?
• What are the first names of the five marx brothers?
• What country did America attempt to invade in the war of 1812?

the night ended in a TIE between “the phillies make me clinch my pants” and “coco beware and his friend frankie”.  so each team sent a representative to answer the tie breaking question . . .

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What is the number of three stooges short films made from 1934 to 1959?

although it was as close as you could get, for the third time in four tries these fellows have taken the title!! 

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does that make a dynasty?  hmmm.  No.  not when the games are this close.  and especially with new teams entering the mix (and old teams adding some new players) i’d have to think of this as a nice run, but certainly not dominance.  enjoy the title while you have it, the sinkos (and others) are nipping on your heels!

i’m going back 8 days on this recap.  last week Builder came in early, and staked out a table in the back with a tv pointed right at them.  and when his teammates arrived and filled in the empty seats, we had a new “team in the back”.

they were tested with questions like

• What does the Mona Lisa have on her left hand?
• Name the five presidents who wore a beard while in office.
• The High Priestess, Wheel of Fortune and Lovers can all be found where? (besides Vegas)
• What company was known until 1924 as the computing, tabulating, recording company?
• What toxic metallic element has an atomic number of 82?

and it turned out that a LOT of teams knew a LOT of the answers.  in fact, heading into the home stretch not only was it anybody’s game – it actually was anybody’s game.  not only was “the team in the back” in the mix, but so were “three tacos and a hot dog”, “the new champs”, and team “bring it”.

some people had enough spare time for a bit of doodling . . .

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before the dust settled, adventurous players took their swing at solving the evening’s puzzle.  can you rearrange the letters in the following words to create a single 13 letter word?

COCA TIRE FIT IN

these folks could . . .

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although it looked like a tie game was a really strong possibility, one team outperformed the others in the final round.  breaking away from the pack at the end was . . .

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congrats guys!! 

the fall dart season began last night and the traditional opening day burgers in sauce were on the menu.  

on the front board Ed’s team hosted Team Nate, while the back board saw Team Swat visiting Team Trout.  at the end of the evening the standings were:

• Team Doug 2 – 1
• Team Nate 2 – 1
• Team Ed 1 – 2
• Team Swat 1 – 2

high shooters of the night both hit a 46 – Gary Kozak and Chrissy Schu (welcome back to the line big guy)

tailgunner – despite the best efforts of young Joe Z., skinner snuck in there with a 13 to take the title for the night.

triples event – Nate was picked for the triples event.  he threw his three darts at the triple 19, but failed to hit any trips.  so, all of the fun carries over to next week. 

averages aren’t done yet, when they are finished i will have them posted at the bar. 

Saturday – is the Luck of Draw Steel Tip tournaments.  sign ups start at noon and darts will fill the air all day.  Cricket and 501 oi/do, and a singles event to close the day are all scheduled.  also, there is an english triples event and a “last man standing” event slated as well.

Next Week’s Action:

Doug vs. Nate up front

Ed vs. Swat on the back board