Week 13 of the $2,000 2011 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

It was a chance tonight for new teams to shine at the trivia tournament.  A team called “The Team By the Fireplace” took their chance.  So did a new team called “The Trainer.”  So did a new team that I think borrowed their name from the old SCTV comedy skit about the Shmenge Brothers.

At the same time, I have to make a note of something last night at Elbo Room.  The pizza served there was actually very tasty.  I ordered a white broccoli and cheese pizza, while Jeremy ordered a Cajun chicken pizza.  Both of us ate half of our pizza pies, then packed away the rest for lunch tomorrow.  And we have to give credit to the guy behind the bar who’s also trying to run around and be the restaurant server at the same time.  Okay, it’s not like Cassidy the waitress is back (Santa must not have gotten my letter regarding same), but the guy does a helluva job and he works hard.  And, again, the pizzas were quite tasty.  And mine will be tasty for lunch today.

As I mentioned, the new teams didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard.  Not with questions like “In what year did the Biggest Loser debut?” (2004, we skipped it), or “Who starred in the films When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers and Donnie Brasco?” (yeah, we thought it was Billy Crystal too, but apparently Bruno Kirby – whoever he was – appeared on all three films).

We did do better with the bonus questions, knowing the four railroads in Monopoly (B&O, Pennsylvania, Reading, Short Line) and the two actors who played the villain in both editions of the film Cape Fear (Robert DeNiro and Robert Mitchum).

The triple bonus question actually came from a hint on the Trivia Nights Live Facebook page.  “Triple bonus is about a woman who’s been married a lot…” was the FB message.

When I saw that message early Thursday afternoon, I thought about which pop culture female had been married three times.  Kim Kardashian?  No, she’s only been married 1 1/2 times.  Britney Spears?  1 1/2 times.  Pamela Anderson?  Hmm.  Could be.  So just for a lark, I looked up Pamela Anderson’s matrimonial history.  Tommy Lee, knew that.  Kid Rock, knew that.  Rick Salomon – wait, she was married to the guy who filmed Paris Hilton in night-vision?  This is the same guy who was also married to Shannen Doherty?  How does this skeevy-looking creepazoid get all the Hollywood hotties?

No matter.  Four hours later, when I’m playing at Elbo Room and the question comes up about Pamela Anderson’s three husbands, I had the names scribbled down like I was taking shorthand.  24 points for us, bay bee.

After nineteen questions, we were in second place, with Team Fist ahead of us by only a few points.

The final question – “Country Music Superstars.”

Jeremy and I looked at each other.  We bet five points and hoped the question was a wipeout question.

“Country superstar Tim McGraw was born in what state?”

We had a 1-in-50 chance of getting this right.  So we guessed and wrote down Tennessee.  Other answers had Faith Hill’s hubby coming into this world from Colorado, from Pennsylvania, from Mississippi – Team Fist, who were ahead of us, said Tim McGraw was an Okie.

Well, apparently Mr. McGraw was born in a town called Start, in a state called Louisiana.  And the two teams that got it right – the Haterzz and the new team, The Trainer, landed in first and second place, respectively.

But since the new “Team Trainer” was actually the bartender/server and a few of his friends, his team wasn’t eligible for playoff points.  So while the Haterzz snagged five playoff points, Street Academy nailed three points – and a lock in the tournament – and Team Fist snagged a third place and a playoff point.

So here’s the standings after thirteen weeks. The top eight teams are listed above the “CUT LINE”; if the tournament ended today, those would be the eight teams that can play in the championship round. Any team with a star in the box marked “Finals” has mathematically qualified for the money round, no matter how they do for the rest of the tournament.

Elbo Room Trivia Standings – Week 13 of 20

	Trivia Team	Points	Totals	FINALS
1	Team Schooled		33	★
2	Street Academy	3	23	★
3	Team Fist	1	17
T-4	Get That Poison Out		15
T-4	Woo Hoo a Go Go		15
6	The Haterzz	5	10
7	Quiz and the Pants		3
8	The Polanskis		3
THE DREADED CUT LINE
9	Skidmarks		1

And only the top eight teams will make it into the final tournament round. Any team in ninth place or below will not make the cut. So teams now have to keep playing and avoid the dreaded cut line.

Thirteen weeks down. Eight weeks left to go.