• QFTCI23 Game 1, Rounds 4,6: losing teams, title characters

    From Mark Brader@21:1/5 to All on Thu Oct 5 05:54:19 2023
    These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2023-09-18,
    and should be interpreted accordingly.

    On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
    both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
    Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
    based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
    the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
    the correct answers in about 3 days.

    All questions were written by members of the Usual Suspects and
    are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
    been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of
    current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
    of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24
    companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
    (QFTCI*)".


    I wrote both of these rounds.


    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    In each case name the team. Either the place name or team name
    will be sufficient, like "Saskatchewan" or "Roughriders", unless
    we say otherwise.

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    2. Please decode the rot13 for this question only after you have
    finished with the previous one. Gur erfg bs guvf ebhaq pbapreaf
    grnzf cynlvat va beqvanel cebsrffvbany yrnthrf. Nyy gur grnzf
    ner fgvyy cynlvat gbqnl, naq vs gurl unir punatrq anzrf, jr jvyy
    npprcg gurve pheerag anzr. Va gur AON, qhr gb n ynobe qvfchgr,
    gur 2011-12 frnfba jnf bayl 66 tnzrf ybat. Guvf Fbhgurnfg
    Qvivfvba grnz svavfurq gur frnfba jvgu 7 jvaf naq 59 ybffrf.
    Gurve yrnqvat fpbere jnf Trenyq Uraqrefba We.

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    4. The worst baseball record in recent years was this American
    League Central Division team with 47 wins and 114 losses in 2019.

    5. Considering only home games for each team, the all-time record
    home losing streak for *all* professional sports in North
    America was the 20 consecutive home losses suffered by the
    St. Louis Browns in June and July 1953 -- until *this* team
    exceeded it by losing 22 consecutive home games from October
    2019 to August 2023. Obviously this isn't a baseball team --
    what team is it?

    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    7. In 1974-75 this NHL team in the Norris Division won 8 games,
    lost 67, and tied 5. Four of their losses were by 10 goals
    or more. Their primary goalie, Ron Low, had a goals-against
    average of 5.45.

    8. In 1992-93 this team in the NHL's Smythe Division won 11 games
    and tied 2, but their 71 losses are a record that still stands
    today. At one point they lost 17 games in a row; in one game
    they scored first and lost 13-1. Their leading scorer was
    Kelly Kisio with 26 goals on the whole season.

    9. This English soccer team was promoted into the Premier League
    in 2007, but had clinched relegation back to their previous
    league 6 weeks before the 2007-08 season was over! That season
    they won 1 game, drew 8, and lost 29. They scored 20 goals in
    the whole season to 89 for their opponents. Billy Davies was
    replaced as manager by Paul Jewell, who lasted only a little
    over a year.

    10. On this continent, the record for losses in Major League Soccer
    was set in 1999. Including games decided by shootout,
    this Eastern Conference team won just 7 games and lost 25.
    They scored 35 goals in the season, 7 of them by Eduardo Hurtado;
    Bora Milutinovic was the coach.

    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: Ba dhrfgvbaf
    1 naq 9, gur shyy anzr vf erdhverq -- cynpr anzr naq grnz anzr.
    Gur fnzr nccyvrf ba dhrfgvba 10 vs lbh tvir gur cerfrag-qnl anzr.
    Ba dhrfgvba 3, gur grnz anzr vf erdhverq.


    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    In each case we will name a book whose title refers to a specific
    character, and you must name *that character*. For example, we say
    "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and you say Sauron.
    In some cases the character's first name will do, but we won't
    tell you which questions. Note that the title character is not
    necessarily the lead character of the book.

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.
    2. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway.
    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.
    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.
    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    7. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. We want the second
    title character, of course.

    8. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
    ["Rolling"]. We want the second title character, of course.

    9. "The Stranger", also known in English as "The Outsider", by
    Albert Camus.

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: Vs lbh whfg
    dhbgrq gur gvgyr nf lbhe nafjre sbe bar dhrfgvba, tb onpx naq gryy
    gur gvgyr punenpgre'f *erny* anzr.
    --
    Mark Brader, Toronto "Logic is logic. That's all I say." [email protected] -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

    My text in this article is in the public domain.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dan Tilque@21:1/5 to Mark Brader on Wed Oct 4 23:55:37 2023
    On 10/4/23 22:54, Mark Brader wrote:
    These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2023-09-18,
    and should be interpreted accordingly.

    On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
    both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
    Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
    based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
    the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
    the correct answers in about 3 days.

    All questions were written by members of the Usual Suspects and
    are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
    been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
    of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24
    companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
    (QFTCI*)".


    I wrote both of these rounds.


    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    In each case name the team. Either the place name or team name
    will be sufficient, like "Saskatchewan" or "Roughriders", unless
    we say otherwise.

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    Washington Generals


    2. Please decode the rot13 for this question only after you have
    finished with the previous one. Gur erfg bs guvf ebhaq pbapreaf
    grnzf cynlvat va beqvanel cebsrffvbany yrnthrf. Nyy gur grnzf
    ner fgvyy cynlvat gbqnl, naq vs gurl unir punatrq anzrf, jr jvyy
    npprcg gurve pheerag anzr. Va gur AON, qhr gb n ynobe qvfchgr,
    gur 2011-12 frnfba jnf bayl 66 tnzrf ybat. Guvf Fbhgurnfg
    Qvivfvba grnz svavfurq gur frnfba jvgu 7 jvaf naq 59 ybffrf.
    Gurve yrnqvat fpbere jnf Trenyq Uraqrefba We.


    Charlotte Hornets

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    New York Mets


    4. The worst baseball record in recent years was this American
    League Central Division team with 47 wins and 114 losses in 2019.

    5. Considering only home games for each team, the all-time record
    home losing streak for *all* professional sports in North
    America was the 20 consecutive home losses suffered by the
    St. Louis Browns in June and July 1953 -- until *this* team
    exceeded it by losing 22 consecutive home games from October
    2019 to August 2023. Obviously this isn't a baseball team --
    what team is it?

    Detroit Lions


    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    New Orleans Saints


    7. In 1974-75 this NHL team in the Norris Division won 8 games,
    lost 67, and tied 5. Four of their losses were by 10 goals
    or more. Their primary goalie, Ron Low, had a goals-against
    average of 5.45.

    8. In 1992-93 this team in the NHL's Smythe Division won 11 games
    and tied 2, but their 71 losses are a record that still stands
    today. At one point they lost 17 games in a row; in one game
    they scored first and lost 13-1. Their leading scorer was
    Kelly Kisio with 26 goals on the whole season.

    9. This English soccer team was promoted into the Premier League
    in 2007, but had clinched relegation back to their previous
    league 6 weeks before the 2007-08 season was over! That season
    they won 1 game, drew 8, and lost 29. They scored 20 goals in
    the whole season to 89 for their opponents. Billy Davies was
    replaced as manager by Paul Jewell, who lasted only a little
    over a year.

    10. On this continent, the record for losses in Major League Soccer
    was set in 1999. Including games decided by shootout,
    this Eastern Conference team won just 7 games and lost 25.
    They scored 35 goals in the season, 7 of them by Eduardo Hurtado;
    Bora Milutinovic was the coach.

    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: Ba dhrfgvbaf
    1 naq 9, gur shyy anzr vf erdhverq -- cynpr anzr naq grnz anzr.
    Gur fnzr nccyvrf ba dhrfgvba 10 vs lbh tvir gur cerfrag-qnl anzr.
    Ba dhrfgvba 3, gur grnz anzr vf erdhverq.


    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    In each case we will name a book whose title refers to a specific
    character, and you must name *that character*. For example, we say
    "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and you say Sauron.
    In some cases the character's first name will do, but we won't
    tell you which questions. Note that the title character is not
    necessarily the lead character of the book.

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Bilbo Baggins

    2. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway.
    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.
    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.
    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    Antonio


    7. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. We want the second
    title character, of course.

    8. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
    ["Rolling"]. We want the second title character, of course.

    9. "The Stranger", also known in English as "The Outsider", by
    Albert Camus.

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    Michael Valentine Smith


    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: Vs lbh whfg
    dhbgrq gur gvgyr nf lbhe nafjre sbe bar dhrfgvba, tb onpx naq gryy
    gur gvgyr punenpgre'f *erny* anzr.

    --
    Dan Tilque

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Joshua Kreitzer@21:1/5 to Mark Brader on Thu Oct 5 17:44:48 2023
    On Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 12:54:30 AM UTC-5, Mark Brader wrote:

    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    In each case name the team.

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    Washington Generals

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    New York Mets

    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    In each case we will name a book whose title refers to a specific
    character, and you must name *that character*. For example, we say
    "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and you say Sauron.
    In some cases the character's first name will do, but we won't
    tell you which questions. Note that the title character is not
    necessarily the lead character of the book.

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Bilbo Baggins

    2. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway.

    Santiago

    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.

    Angstrom

    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.

    Dolores Haze

    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    Antonio

    7. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. We want the second
    title character, of course.

    Mellors

    8. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
    ["Rolling"]. We want the second title character, of course.

    Nicolas Flamel

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    Valentine

    --
    Joshua Kreitzer
    [email protected]

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From swp@21:1/5 to Mark Brader on Thu Oct 5 17:49:18 2023
    On Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 1:54:30 AM UTC-4, Mark Brader wrote:
    These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2023-09-18,
    and should be interpreted accordingly.

    On each question you may give up to two answers, but if you give
    both a right answer and a wrong answer, there is a small penalty.
    Please post all your answers in a single followup to the newsgroup,
    based only on your own knowledge. (In your answer posting, quote
    the questions and place your answer below each one.) I will reveal
    the correct answers in about 3 days.

    All questions were written by members of the Usual Suspects and
    are used here by permission, but have been reformatted and may have
    been retyped and/or edited by me. The posting and tabulation of current-events questions is independent of the concurrent posting
    of other rounds. For further information please see my 2023-05-24
    companion posting on "Questions from the Canadian Inquisition
    (QFTCI*)".


    I wrote both of these rounds.


    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    In each case name the team. Either the place name or team name
    will be sufficient, like "Saskatchewan" or "Roughriders", unless
    we say otherwise.

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    washington generals

    2. Please decode the rot13 for this question only after you have
    finished with the previous one. The rest of this round concerns
    teams playing in ordinary professional leagues. All the teams
    are still playing today, and if they have changed names, we will
    accept their current name. In the NBA, due to a labor dispute,
    the 2011-12 season was only 66 games long. This Southeast
    Division team finished the season with 7 wins and 59 losses.
    Their leading scorer was Gerald Henderson Jr.

    charlotte hornets

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    new york mets

    4. The worst baseball record in recent years was this American
    League Central Division team with 47 wins and 114 losses in 2019.

    detroit tigers

    5. Considering only home games for each team, the all-time record
    home losing streak for *all* professional sports in North
    America was the 20 consecutive home losses suffered by the
    St. Louis Browns in June and July 1953 -- until *this* team
    exceeded it by losing 22 consecutive home games from October
    2019 to August 2023. Obviously this isn't a baseball team --
    what team is it?

    ... my only guess is that it must be a cfl football team to ensure
    the round has the minimum required amount of canadian content.
    but I can barely remember who wins the gray cup so ... edmonton?

    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    tampa bay buccaneers

    7. In 1974-75 this NHL team in the Norris Division won 8 games,
    lost 67, and tied 5. Four of their losses were by 10 goals
    or more. Their primary goalie, Ron Low, had a goals-against
    average of 5.45.

    washington capitals

    8. In 1992-93 this team in the NHL's Smythe Division won 11 games
    and tied 2, but their 71 losses are a record that still stands
    today. At one point they lost 17 games in a row; in one game
    they scored first and lost 13-1. Their leading scorer was
    Kelly Kisio with 26 goals on the whole season.

    ottawa senators?

    9. This English soccer team was promoted into the Premier League
    in 2007, but had clinched relegation back to their previous
    league 6 weeks before the 2007-08 season was over! That season
    they won 1 game, drew 8, and lost 29. They scored 20 goals in
    the whole season to 89 for their opponents. Billy Davies was
    replaced as manager by Paul Jewell, who lasted only a little
    over a year.

    derby rams

    10. On this continent, the record for losses in Major League Soccer
    was set in 1999. Including games decided by shootout,
    this Eastern Conference team won just 7 games and lost 25.
    They scored 35 goals in the season, 7 of them by Eduardo Hurtado;
    Bora Milutinovic was the coach.

    new york red bulls

    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: On questions
    1 and 9, the full name is required -- place name and team name.
    The same applies on question 10 if you give the present-day name.
    On question 3, the team name is required.


    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    In each case we will name a book whose title refers to a specific
    character, and you must name *that character*. For example, we say
    "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and you say Sauron.
    In some cases the character's first name will do, but we won't
    tell you which questions. Note that the title character is not
    necessarily the lead character of the book.

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    bilbo baggins

    2. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway.

    santiago

    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.

    harry angstrom

    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.

    dolores haze

    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

    fyodor dostoyevsky

    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    antonio

    7. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. We want the second
    title character, of course.

    oliver mellors

    8. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
    ["Rolling"]. We want the second title character, of course.

    nicolas flammel

    9. "The Stranger", also known in English as "The Outsider", by
    Albert Camus.

    meursalt?

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    valentine michael smith

    After completing the round, please decode the rot13: If you just
    quoted the title as your answer for one question, go back and tell
    the title character's *real* name.
    --
    Mark Brader, Toronto "Logic is logic. That's all I say."
    [email protected] -- Oliver Wendell Holmes

    My text in this article is in the public domain.

    swp

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dan Blum@21:1/5 to Mark Brader on Fri Oct 6 02:29:52 2023
    Mark Brader <[email protected]> wrote:

    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    Washington Generals

    2. Please decode the rot13 for this question only after you have
    finished with the previous one. Gur erfg bs guvf ebhaq pbapreaf
    grnzf cynlvat va beqvanel cebsrffvbany yrnthrf. Nyy gur grnzf
    ner fgvyy cynlvat gbqnl, naq vs gurl unir punatrq anzrf, jr jvyy
    npprcg gurve pheerag anzr. Va gur AON, qhr gb n ynobe qvfchgr,
    gur 2011-12 frnfba jnf bayl 66 tnzrf ybat. Guvf Fbhgurnfg
    Qvivfvba grnz svavfurq gur frnfba jvgu 7 jvaf naq 59 ybffrf.
    Gurve yrnqvat fpbere jnf Trenyq Uraqrefba We.

    Hawks

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    Mets

    4. The worst baseball record in recent years was this American
    League Central Division team with 47 wins and 114 losses in 2019.

    Royals; Astros

    5. Considering only home games for each team, the all-time record
    home losing streak for *all* professional sports in North
    America was the 20 consecutive home losses suffered by the
    St. Louis Browns in June and July 1953 -- until *this* team
    exceeded it by losing 22 consecutive home games from October
    2019 to August 2023. Obviously this isn't a baseball team --
    what team is it?

    Browns; Lions

    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    Lions; Bengals

    7. In 1974-75 this NHL team in the Norris Division won 8 games,
    lost 67, and tied 5. Four of their losses were by 10 goals
    or more. Their primary goalie, Ron Low, had a goals-against
    average of 5.45.

    Blues; Sabres

    8. In 1992-93 this team in the NHL's Smythe Division won 11 games
    and tied 2, but their 71 losses are a record that still stands
    today. At one point they lost 17 games in a row; in one game
    they scored first and lost 13-1. Their leading scorer was
    Kelly Kisio with 26 goals on the whole season.

    Sabres; Blues

    9. This English soccer team was promoted into the Premier League
    in 2007, but had clinched relegation back to their previous
    league 6 weeks before the 2007-08 season was over! That season
    they won 1 game, drew 8, and lost 29. They scored 20 goals in
    the whole season to 89 for their opponents. Billy Davies was
    replaced as manager by Paul Jewell, who lasted only a little
    over a year.

    Coventry City

    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Bilbo Baggins

    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.

    Rabbit Angstrom

    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.

    Dolores Haze

    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

    Prince Myshkin

    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    Antonio

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    Michael Valentine Smith

    --
    _______________________________________________________________________
    Dan Blum [email protected]
    "I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From swp@21:1/5 to Dan Blum on Fri Oct 6 15:44:13 2023
    On Thursday, October 5, 2023 at 10:29:54 PM UTC-4, Dan Blum wrote:
    Mark Brader <[email protected]> wrote:

    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
    Prince Myshkin

    isn't this a hotdog order at pink's in los angeles?
    (and hold the relish)

    swp

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mark Brader@21:1/5 to All on Sat Oct 7 06:18:34 2023
    Mark Brader:
    These questions were written to be asked in Toronto on 2023-09-18,
    and should be interpreted accordingly... For further information
    please see my 2023-05-24 companion posting on "Questions from the
    Canadian Inquisition (QFTCI*)".


    I wrote both of these rounds.


    * Game 1, Round 4 - Sports - And in Last Place

    In each case name the team. Either the place name or team name
    will be sufficient, like "Saskatchewan" or "Roughriders", unless
    we say otherwise.

    1. While exact information is not available, in its first 63 years
    of operation this professional team won maybe 3 games, and lost
    about 16,000 games.

    Washington Generals. (Perpetual opponents of the Harlem Globetrotters
    stunt exhibition team. Full name required.) 4 for everyone --
    Dan Tilque, Joshua, Stephen, and Dan Blum.

    2. Please decode the rot13 for this question only after you have
    finished with the previous one. The rest of this round concerns
    teams playing in ordinary professional leagues. All the teams
    are still playing today, and if they have changed names, we will
    accept their current name. In the NBA, due to a labor dispute,
    the 2011-12 season was only 66 games long. This Southeast
    Division team finished the season with 7 wins and 59 losses.
    Their leading scorer was Gerald Henderson Jr.

    Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets). 4 for Dan Tilque and Stephen.

    3. The worst record in major-league baseball since World War II
    belongs to this National League team in 1962, when they won
    40 games and lost 120. Jimmy Breslin's book about that season
    was titled "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

    New York Mets. ("Mets" was required.) 4 for everyone.

    4. The worst baseball record in recent years was this American
    League Central Division team with 47 wins and 114 losses in 2019.

    Detroit Tigers. 4 for Stephen.

    5. Considering only home games for each team, the all-time record
    home losing streak for *all* professional sports in North
    America was the 20 consecutive home losses suffered by the
    St. Louis Browns in June and July 1953 -- until *this* team
    exceeded it by losing 22 consecutive home games from October
    2019 to August 2023. Obviously this isn't a baseball team --
    what team is it?

    Edmonton Eskimos, now Elks. (The name changed during the period.)
    4 for Stephen.

    Fun facts:
    * After October 12, 2019, Edmonton's next home win was 1,415 days
    later on August 27 this year.
    * The St. Louis Browns left town immediately after that 1953 season
    and became the Baltimore Orioles.
    * There have been even longer home losing streaks in Australian
    football, where the record is 25.

    6. In the 1976 NFL season, this team lost all 14 games. Despite
    their location, they were then playing in the AFC West Division.
    Their head coach was John McKay and their primary quarterback
    was Steve Spurrier.

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

    7. In 1974-75 this NHL team in the Norris Division won 8 games,
    lost 67, and tied 5. Four of their losses were by 10 goals
    or more. Their primary goalie, Ron Low, had a goals-against
    average of 5.45.

    Washington Capitals. 4 for Stephen.

    8. In 1992-93 this team in the NHL's Smythe Division won 11 games
    and tied 2, but their 71 losses are a record that still stands
    today. At one point they lost 17 games in a row; in one game
    they scored first and lost 13-1. Their leading scorer was
    Kelly Kisio with 26 goals on the whole season.

    San Jose Sharks.

    9. This English soccer team was promoted into the Premier League
    in 2007, but had clinched relegation back to their previous
    league 6 weeks before the 2007-08 season was over! That season
    they won 1 game, drew 8, and lost 29. They scored 20 goals in
    the whole season to 89 for their opponents. Billy Davies was
    replaced as manager by Paul Jewell, who lasted only a little
    over a year.

    Derby ["DAR-bee"] County. (Full name required.)

    10. On this continent, the record for losses in Major League Soccer
    was set in 1999. Including games decided by shootout,
    this Eastern Conference team won just 7 games and lost 25.
    They scored 35 goals in the season, 7 of them by Eduardo Hurtado;
    Bora Milutinovic was the coach.

    MetroStars, sometimes called New York / New Jersey, now New York
    Red Bulls (full name required). 4 for Stephen.


    * Game 1, Round 6 - Literature - The Title Character

    In each case we will name a book whose title refers to a specific
    character, and you must name *that character*. For example, we say
    "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and you say Sauron.
    In some cases the character's first name will do, but we won't
    tell you which questions. Note that the title character is not
    necessarily the lead character of the book.

    In the original game, this round was tied for hardest with the
    audio round.

    1. "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien.

    Bilbo Baggins. ("Bilbo" was sufficient.) 4 for everyone.

    2. "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway.

    Santiago. (Last name not stated.) 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

    3. "Rabbit, Run" by John Updike.

    Harry Angstrom. 4 for Joshua and Stephen. 3 for Dan Blum.

    I gave the instruction: If you just quoted the title as your answer
    for one question, go back and tell the title character's *real* name.
    The question I had in mind here was #4. But on this question Dan gave
    "Rabbit Angstrom". This is not exactly "just quoting the title",
    but it also isn't the character's real name. I decided to score it
    as almost correct.

    4. "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov.

    Dolores Haze. (Either name was sufficient.) 4 for Joshua, Stephen,
    and Dan Blum.

    5. "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

    Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin. 4 for Dan Blum.

    6. "The Merchant of Venice" by William Shakespeare.

    Antonio. 4 for everyone.

    7. "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence. We want the second
    title character, of course.

    Oliver Mellors. (Either name is sufficient.) 4 for Joshua
    and Stephen.

    8. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
    ["Rolling"]. We want the second title character, of course.

    Nicolas Flamel. 4 for Joshua and Stephen.

    9. "The Stranger", also known in English as "The Outsider", by
    Albert Camus.

    Meursault" ["Mur-SO"]. (First name not stated.) 4 for Stephen.

    10. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein.

    Valentine Michael Smith. 4 for Stephen. 3 for Dan Tilque
    and Dan Blum.


    Scores, if there are no errors:

    GAME 1 ROUNDS-> 2 3 4 6 TOTALS
    TOPICS-> Mis Sci Spo Lit
    Stephen Perry 28 40 32 36 136
    Joshua Kreitzer 12 35 12 28 87
    Dan Blum 16 32 8 22 78
    Dan Tilque 12 28 12 11 63
    Pete Gayde 0 8 -- -- 8

    --
    Mark Brader "[This computation] assumed that everything
    Toronto would work, a happy state of affairs found [email protected] only in fiction." -- Tom Clancy

    My text in this article is in the public domain.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)