Editor’s Note: Please see the comments for details about an interesting incident that happened during a game break…

It’s all part of the Murphy’s Laws of trivia. One of those laws is that at least one absent player will be all over at least one of the trivia questions that are asked that the rest of the team doesn’t wind up knowing. Another is that if you read a factoid about a particular athlete, you will get a trivia question about that athlete a few days later. OK, maybe that last thing won’t happen in EVERY trivia game! Just last week I read an article in GQ about the greatest living athletes (yes, I like to occasionally pretend I’m interested in sports for the sake of trivia, would someone give me a freaking medal, please, lol)? Facts about one particular athlete I read about stuck in my mind more than the others. Yes, even more than the bit about Christiano Ronaldo’s amazing muscles (ahem).

Yes, we all know you’re pretty ripped, Christiano Ronaldo. Now if you could only work on not being such a whiny little bitch during matches, that would be GREAT! The athlete’s  name from our  game 1 final would give this pretty boy an ass whupping!

This particular athlete was active mainly in the 1970s and was known almost as much for his violence and temper off the field as he was for his violence…and abilities on the field. And he also appeared in least a couple of movies I’ve seen multiple times. As for the game, we missed both final questions, finished in fourth for the night and are in third in the overall standings. We know we’re still in the Sporcle Live game at Original Gravity Brewing Co. with only six league points separating us from the top team Where’s Trey/This Is Sparta (both tied for first) and we are just two league points ahead of Big Heads Big Hearts. One of their “anchor” players was absent the first couple of weeks, otherwise they would likely be ahead of us in the standings! Hell, we’ll take whatever small favors we can get, (wink-wink)!  We would love to have a third player in the mix helping us on Thursdays, but it just hasn’t worked out that way since the season started. No matter, our “duo” will still do our best in these weekly trivia battles! And now for the questions “kickoff…”
Game One
1. ’90s Movies – What is the third word in the title of the 1997 comedy film featuring John Cusack and Minnie Driver with the first two words “Grosse Pointe?” 10
2. Gambling – In what table game are the words “field bet,” “world bet,” and “easy way” commonly used? Mike with the right guess, but for only 3. We didn’t want to “gamble” too much on this one!
3. U.S. History – Who was president of the United States when South Carolina seceded from the Union? A bit of discussion, but got this for 4.
4. Math Class – If the number of sides on a dodecahedron represents the denominator and the number of sides in a nonagon represents the numerator, what would be the resulting fraction? Wow, a math question even I knew…(who knew)? 9
5. NBA Players – Name either NBA player who played with teams that won the NBA finals in three different decades. Name both for a “nerd” bonus point. Miss for 1, unsure if any teams got both of these.
6. ’00s Music – Audio clue of 8-bit version of a song that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 modern rock charts in 2005. Got this for 8 (yes, we got a 2000s music question right).

Damon Albarn, the founder of the group which recorded the above song. He also co-composed the soundtrack for the 1999 film Ravenous, which is about cannibals (great film, easily one of the best cannibalism movies I’ve ever seen).

7. History Dramas – What 17th century series of events involving mass hysteria is the basis of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible? 7
8. TV Dramas – With 124, what TV series has the second most Emmy nominations of all time after “Saturday Night Live?” No teams got this one, we missed for 2.
9. Makeup – What cosmetics company founded in 1958 began using the slogan “I am what I make up” in 2017? Miss for 5. Ouch…this game is starting to batter us a bit…what kind of makeup will best conceal those pesky bruises?
10. Africa – What African country is the only one that directly borders both the Atlantic and Indian oceans? 6
Mystery – “M” states – Based on the following clues, identify the correct U.S. state beginning with the letter “M.”
1. Postal abbreviation falling last alphabetically
2. State extending farthest south
3. Smallest state by total area
4. Most populous
Got them all.
Scores – Thirteen teams, scores 32 to 59, with us in first playing under the name “Post Its – Extreme Edition.” Yes, they actually make these now…but will they work on the inside of an aquarium tank? Inquiring cephalopods want to know!
Final Cateogory – MVPs (yikes)!
Since it was first awarded in 1957, only one non-quarterback has won the Associated Press NFL MVP Award multiple times.
Name that player, who won all of his awards prior to 1980.

Just days before this trivia game I read a GQ article  about the greatest living athletes, and the blurb I read about this guy was one of the ones sticking out the most in my mind. He nearly bit another player’s finger off during a football game, and defended his actions by saying, “Anything inside the face mask belongs to me. Anything outside he can keep.” Great quote! This photo is from the comedy film I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, which is a satire on “Blaxploitation” films from the 1970s.

Wagered zero. Game winners were Big Heads Big Hearts in first with 75. There were two teams tied for second with 74 points, unsure how the tiebreaker shook out. Tiebreaker question asked how many total episodes of ER aired.
Game Two
1. Executions – The most recent time the French government executed a citizen was in 1977 using what method? 4
2. U.S. Cities – Springfield, Lowell and Cambridge are among the five most populous cities in which U.S. state? 6
3. Olympians – Cael Sanderson, Kyle Snyder, Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner are the only Americans who have won gold medals in the 21st century in what sport? Miss for 1, though our guess was kind of close.
4. Holidays – Armed Forces Day, first observed in 1950, is celebrated on the third Saturday of which month? 2
5. Netflix – Drew Barrymore turns into a zombie in which Netflix series? 10
6. ’80s Movies – Other than a toaster, name two of the other household items in the 1987 film The Brave Little Toaster? Miss for 3. Usually this is a good category for our team, but this was “pop culture void” territory for the two of us!
7. Video Games – Within two, in what year was “Computer Space” released as the first arcade game? FB clue, 9
8. Cover Songs – Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” was covered by an artist in 1995 and two different artists in 2003. Name one of these artists, for an extra “nerd” bonus point, name two. Sob…why couldn’t this have been about her song “Woodstock?” Miss for 5.
9. Comic Strips – What comic strip, first published in 1976 ended its run in 2010 with the title character telling her parents that she and Irving were expecting a baby? Good riddance to THAT comic strip (imho), got this for 8.
10. Cooking – In what country did the name “jerk” originate? 7
Visual Mystery –

Missed #4.
Scores – Thirteen teams, scores 25 to 61, with Team Lexi in first. We were in second with 52 points.
Final Category – Actor/Director Pairs
Spike Lee has directed four theatrically-released films that feature Denzel Washington. Name two of those four films.
No teams got both of these correct, so teams wagering zero wound up winning the prizes.Team Lexi took first, a team with 49 points took second (I didn’t write down their name). By some strange magicks, we wound up not putting down the very “obvious” Spike Lee film (though we did put down two films directed by Spike Lee, but only one of those featured Denzel Washington).
That’s it for now, we’ll be playing in a My Trivia Live semifinal game Saturday at Maplewood Lanes in Saline. If we finish among the top teams, we’ll be playing in the MTL finals Saturday, May 19. Can I get a “Go Pods?” As always, Go Pods, and stay classy…Jim Brown! We know you didn’t REALLY throw a woman off the balcony!