TOSSUPS – CELEBRITY EGYPTIAN RAT SCREW SHOWDOWNACF DETOX 2004 – UTC
Questions by Emory (Steve Bahnaman, Gerry Tansey, & Mike Ferrara)
1. Decibell’s oversized larynx is matched only by her swollen sense of justice. The Swatter has a retractable tail. Leatherneck took two grueling tours of duty defending American soil, and lives by the motto “Semper Filet.” Untippable has four chiseled stomachs and a flame-retardant hide, and a weakness for waffle fries. Two-percent was orphaned at the hand of a lactose-intolerant madman. Little Big Hoof can cause earthquakes. The Gristle Missile and Cold Cuts made memorable TV appearances as members of, FTP, what Chick-Fil-A advertising group with their own calendar and the slogan “united they stand, divided they’re steak?”
Answer:Cow Superheroes (that’s their technical name. Prompt on Chick-fil-A before that’s mentioned)
2. As volunteer quarterbacks coach at Pickens High in South Carolina, he may not have had much of a challenge. His recent hiring was completed pending verification that his voice would hold up after a 2000 surgical accident that led to nerve damage in the pharynx. He hired his new boss at the unsuccessful tail end of his career in Tampa Bay, where he couldn’t bring the Testaverde-led team above a 23-41 record with the team. Now making the move from coaching Pickens QB Drew Tweito to Drew Bledsoe, he will join Mike Mullarkey’s staff in Buffalo. Known as the father of the no-huddle offense, FTP name this new quarterbacks coach who led the Bengals to the 1988 Super Bowl.
Answer:Sam Wyche
3. In this movie, Harry, a former boxer; Mason, a failed painter; and the pregnant Marisa, played by Elizabeth Pena, refuse to vacate their dwellings. A real estate developer's henchman has hired a gang of thugs led by Carlos to intimidate these residents and Frank and Faye Riley, the owners of a cafe in the tenement basement. The tenants are rescued when Faye leaves her window open one night, allowing alien mechanical life-forms to enter. The diminutive aliens proceed to defeat the evil developers. FTP, name this 1987 movie starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.
Answer:*batteries not included
4. In Magic: the Gathering, this red instant was not reprinted after Fourth Edition. Third-edition Dungeons and Dragons rules changed the spell a bit, shortening the length of the non-forked variety from 80 to 50 feet and removing the ability for the energy to bounce back. In Magic, it was, with Dark Ritual and Ancestral Recall, one of the one-mana spells that proved to be too good, as the quick three damage it provided made it too economical. The second most sought-after third-level D&D spell, after Fireball, is, FTP, what electrical attack spell associated in its mundane form with the San Diego Chargers?
Answer:Lightning Bolt (just those two words, in order, in both cases. Don’t accept “bolt of lightning” or equivalents.)
5. He was the first non-Catholic to be given the Bene Merenti medal by Pope John Paul II, and in 2002 the Pan American Health Organization named him a Champion of Health of the Americas. The alter ego of Mario Kreutzberger, his parents were German Jews who went to South America to escape the Holocaust. When he was 19, his father sent him to New York to train to become a tailor, but when he returned to Chile two years later, he had a different profession in mind. At age 21, he told the manager of the local TV station that he knew more about television than anyone there, and soon after created what would become the longest continuously running entertainment program in television history. FTP, name the host of Univision's popular variety show Sabado Gigante.
Answer:Don Francisco (accept Mario Kreutzberger before it is read)
6. James Taylor and Steven Stills provided musical and vocal accompaniment on this 1971 album, and the title track was supposedly written for Taylor. On Rolling Stone’s 2003 Top 500 Albums of All Time, it was the highest-ranked release by a female solo performer. The follow-up to Ladies of the Canyon, it ends with “The Last Time I Saw Richard” and begins with “All I Want.” The singer-songwriter is at her most intense on “Carey” and “This Flight Tonight.” Also containing “My Old Man” and “Little Green,” FTP name this aptly-titled, sorrowful album by Joni Mitchell.
Answer:Blue
7. The website bearing this athlete-celebrity’s name currently reads “the site is undergoing changes, so fuck off for now.” In Tony Hawk’s Underground, a memorable scene has this shirtless skater standing in Moscow staring spellbound at some tanks, possibly wondering whether he could pull any random stunts involving them. His brother Jess, who has rarely appeared on his TV program, is the drummer for noted skate band Camp Kill Yourself, though the better-known members of his family include his parents Phil and April. Now appearing on his own MTV show, FTP name this professional skateboarder from MTV’s Jackass.
Answer:(Brandon Cole) “Bam” Margera [accept just Bam]
8. As the first person to come to your door in “The House That Gave Sucky Treats,” he’ll tell you that he once “knew a fella in Boston that could tell ya the time of day at any time of the day.” Give him Jujy Fruits, and he’ll have trouble pronouncing the name. In his introductory video, the tape runs out before he is allowed to perform his hip-hop single. Rumors that he sleeps in a locker are false; he actually sleeps on a bench in the locker room. He wears a gold medallion with his initial, a backward purple hat with a blue bill, and a green bodysuit that covers what Bubs calls his “clown feet.” FTP name this Minnesota-accented Homestar Runner character who oversees Homestar’s athletic competitions.
Answer:Coach Z
9. An outgrowth of the band McCarthy, this group was when McCarthy’s leader Tim Gane met Laetitia Sadier at a concert and asked her to lend vocals to some tracks he had written. Part of the results went on the band’s 1992 full-length debut Peng!, which contained the droning, Marxist, Krautrock-influenced music that is still the band’s trademark. Their next album, The Groop Played Space Age Batchelor Pad Music, incorporated 50s lounge music and led to their contract with Elektra. Their greatest fame came with 1994’s Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, which was their first U.S. release. Listened to in the scene where Rob schedules an interview with Caroline Fortis in High Fidelity, FTP name this obtuse French band that just released Mars Audiac Quintet.
Answer:Stereolab
10. Unfamiliar with Billy Joel, his upcoming sculpture exhibition features “large scale light installations integrated with video imaging,” as his girlfriend describes it. His friend Sophie died of breast cancer, a story which upsets his new girlfriend because of her friend’s current bout with the disease. His daughter is interpreted by real-life French singer Ophelie Winter. When he asks his girlfriend to go to Paris, Carrie says, “This is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me.” FTP, name this Russian artist played by Mikhail Baryshnikov, Carrie’s latest flame on Sex and the City.
Answer:Alexander Petrovsky (accept either name)
11. Originally called “Handy” when developed at Epyx in 1987, it boasted an impressive 4,096-color palette. After the rights were sold to a larger game company, its better-known name was chosen to reflect its massive multiplayer capabilities, as up to 8 could play simultaneously. Checkered Flag, Joust, Rampage, and KLAX were all available on the wafer-thin cartridges that were a trademark of the portable product. Because its six AA batteries could only provide 5 to 6 hours of gameplay, it fell behind the 35 hours offered by the Game Gear and the Game Boy. FTP, name this hand-held game system, the first released in the US, which could not save the already doomed Atari brand.
Answer:Atari Lynx
12. The title character lives in a motel next to a person who has loud sex, so in one scene he and Natalie bang their headboard against the wall to get back at them. Shelly Kaplow doesn’t want to replace drug-addicted singer Buddy Stafford with Johnny Capella, played by Joey Fatone. Bernie Lootz, the main character, can never find any cream for his coffee, true to form for a man with his dubious talent. He loses his ability to stop people’s luck when he falls in love with Natalie. Starring William H. Macy as the unluckiest man in Vegas, FTP name this 2003 film that notched an Oscar nomination for Alec Baldwin.
Answer:The Cooler
13. Founded by Floris Stempel in 1900 at number 2 Kalverstraat, this club’s more recent history involves the golden age of 1971-1973. Then, the team featured a player actually named Dick van Dyke and Johan Neeskens (NAY-skins), nicknamed Johan the Second because of the team’s featured striker, Johan Cruyff (KROYF). During the 1980s, Cruyff returned to coach the team and used the “total football” strategy that the Netherlands national team also enjoyed. Producing such modern stars as Frank de Boer, Dennis Bergkamp, and Clarence Seedorf, they remain the class team of the Netherlands. FTP, name this Amsterdam soccer club named for an ancient Greek hero.
Answer:Ajax (EYE-ax) of Amsterdam
14. “39” includes a single acoustic guitar and fretless bass, and like most tracks on the album has weird subject matter, this time about a guy on a deep space mission. “Prophet’s Song,” which includes the line “Spreading his hand on the multitude there” and may be about Jesus, was composed during the guitarist’s long hospital stay during a 1974 bout with hepatitis. Bassist John Deacon wrote the piano-fueled “You’re My Best Friend,” while Roger Taylor penned “I’m In Love With My Car.” Opening with “Death on Two Legs” and culminating with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” FTP name this seminal effort by Queen.
Answer:A Night at the Opera
15. Anand Tucker directs the forthcoming 2004 film based on this novel, which will star Claire Danes in the title role. She looks like “a puppy standing on its hind legs…very cute and noticeable.” The two men in her life, the struggling musician Jeremy and the wealthy divorcee Ray Porter, who desires her “without obligation,” will be played by Jason Schwartzman and the novel’s author, respectively. Centering on the May-December romance of Porter and the title character Mirabella, an employee of Neiman-Marcus, FTP name this novel by Steve Martin.
Answer:Shopgirl
16. His first wife, now more famous than he is, got her big break when he brought her along on an audition. Memorable roles include the deceptive reverend in Bordello of Blood, a turn as a doctor on “Felicity,” and as Mike Norris in the original Child’s Play. Recent work has been sparse, though he did lend his voice to Jack Skellington in the 2002 video game Kingdom Hearts just as he did in The Nightmare Before Christmas. FTP, name this portrayer of Prince Humperdinck in The Princess Bride whose career is now thoroughly surpassed by that of ex-wife Susan.
Answer:Chris(topher) Sarandon
17. She was born on March 26, 1963 in Bozeman, Montana, and claims that the only advice her mother gave her was "cash up front." She once dated the mascot for the Detroit Lions, and she is divorced from the late Eddie, the father of her daughter Lindsey. Before starting her current job, she worked at the French Palace and the Paradise Garden as an exotic dancer. Her first mentor for her present career was Jimmy Tadero, whom she discovered had falsified evidence during the investigation of the murder of her friend Stephanie Watson. Although she's currently a Level Three employee, she started out as an assistant technician after being recruited by Gil Grissom. Played by Marg Helgenberger, FTP, name this employee of the Las Vegas Crime Lab on CSI.
Answer:Catherine Willows (accept either name)
18. This man once broke a bat on a check swing without even hitting the ball. During his rookie year in 1975, he hit .309 with 22 HR and 109 RBI, but a teammate won Rookie of the Year honors, and he missed the entire postseason after Tigers pitcher Vern Ruhle hit him on his left hand. In 1979 he became the only player in Major League history to have three straight seasons with 35 homers and 200 hits. He led the American League in home runs in 1977, 1978, and 1983, and won the MVP in 1978. Although he was not a fast player, he learned the nuances of left field in his home park, and he had 21 assists, many off the Green Monster, in 1983. FTP, name this Boston outfielder.
Answer:Jim Rice
19. He was spun off into his own game in 1946, and Montgomery Burns vocally envied his appeal to women on an episode of The Simpsons. Though he is supposedly quite wealthy, the fact that he is often in jail until a mere 50-dollar bail is posted, and his visible ecstasy when the bank makes a 200-dollar error in his favor prove that his wealth may be a sham, as his last name suggests. His “loose change” plays a role in the kids’ version of his best-known game, but the indelible image is of a larger-than-life version taking a ride on the Reading Railroad. FTP, name this character renamed “Mr. Monopoly” by Hasbro.
Answer:Rich Uncle Pennybags (prompt on “Mr. Monopoly,” but not on just “Monopoly.”)
20. According to a book by Joey Green and Tim Nyberg it can be used to make a burglar alarm, a motorcycle helmet, or an insect repellent. The website for the owner of the trademark on it claims that people can be divided into four personality types based on how they use it recreationally: process, selective pinch, stomp, and twist and shout. It was invented by Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding, who were trying to make a plastic wallpaper with a paper backing. That product didn't initially enjoy success, but the inventors found a different use for it. A trademark of the Sealed Air Corporation, FTP, name this packaging material that many people enjoy popping.
Answer:Bubble Wrap
21. The widely unloved 1976 version, directed by Frank Pierson, costars Gary Busey in a “looking on with care” best friend role. The original appeared in 1937, and won Oscar nominations for leading players Frederic March and Janet Gaynor, and won Best Original Story. The best-known 1954 version, directed by George Cukor, stars James Mason as Norman Maine, the mean spoiled drunk who can’t overcome his demons despite his love for Esther Blodgett. FTP, name this Hollywood musical about a Hollywood musician, a starring vehicle for both Barbara Streisand and Judy Garland.
Answer:A Star Is Born
22. Within close driving distance of New Haven, Connecticut and therefore Yale University, this town is home to the recently-opened Dragonfly Inn. Also near the prestigious private high school Chilton, this sleepy little burg is home to such residents as town council president Taylor, who owns an old-time soda shop downtown. The new bells on the church were recently destroyed by Luke and Lorelai. FTP, name this town, the primary setting of “Gilmore Girls.”
Answer:Star’s Hollow, Connecticut
23. After this villain’s first battle, which he lost to Machine-Man, he simulated a coma so he would go to the hospital and not to prison. The third to hold this supervillain name, was alternately Maguire Beck and Daniel Berkhart, also known as Mysterio II. The originator of this supervillain, Jason Philip Macendale, went on to be Hobgoblin IV. Though he lacked any superpowers, he used a glider that looked like a sombrero and a very hard if silly-looking flaming orange helmet that didn’t dissuade Kingpin from hiring him. FTP, name this somewhat dorky Halloweeny opponent of Spider-Man.
Answer:Jack O’Lantern
24. As a still-active assistant coach at his alma mater, this 39-year-old has compiled an impressive 164-19 record with a 72-8 record in conference play prior to the 2003-04 season. His nine professional years were plagued by injury, though he did have a memorable stint with the Philadelphia 76ers when his backcourt mate was Hersey Hawkins. A freshman all-American in 1983 for a team that went 11-17, his team had much more success when he ceded the point guard duties to Tommy Amaker. The 1986 Player of the Year, FTP name this all-time leading scorer for the Duke Blue Devils.
Answer:Johnny Dawkins
BONI – CELEBRITY EGYPTIAN RAT SCREW SHOWDOWNACF DETOX 2004 – UTC
Questions by Emory (Steve Bahnaman, Gerry Tansey, & Mike Ferrara)
1. CHOOSE YOUR OWN BONUS! Which method of studying human nature do you prefer – poker or Dr. Phil?