Week 7 of the $2,000 2012-2013 Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

“Why won’t you print our proper name in the blog?”

This was a paraphrased e-mail that I received from Kit, the captain of a team I’ve listed in the standings as Team Bush.  Well, there’s the word “Side” that’s supposed to be in front of the word “Bush,” but … well …

“I can’t print your full team name in the blog,” I replied.  “When I started my blog with the TU, they specifically got on my case because I listed everybody’s team name, unexpurgated and the like.”

“Well,” Kit replied, “I don’t like the band Bush, I don’t support the policies of any of the Bush presidents, and you did this to our team last year as well and I don’t like it.”

“Wasn’t your team name ‘Just the Tips’ back then?”

“Tip.  Not Tips.  See what I mean?”

Okay, here’s the problem.  When I signed on as a community blogger for the TU waaaaaaaaaaaay back in 2009, there were some specific rules.  You couldn’t use any of George Carlin’s seven dirty words in a blog post, and that also included listing the proper names of teams whose nickname could be construed as something vulgar or pornographic or offensive.  In other words, I could call the team the “Skidmarks,” but I couldn’t make reference that the team name also included the runner-up from the 2003 season of American Idol.  Heck, one of the Trivia Bowl winners has one of the “Carlin 7” words in its team name, to the point where in subsequent Trivia Bowl competitions, Trivia Nights Live host Kevin Baker simply refers to them as “The Load.”

“My hands are tied,” I said.  “You either get called Team Bush or you come up with something else.”

“How about Team Deb Sushi?” Kit replied.

Apparently “Deb Sushi” was an anagram for their original team name.

“Don’t worry,” I said.  “I think I have a way to show your team name without getting anybody’s dander up.”

So now it’s time for the game, and there’s a decent roster of teams ready to go.  Team Fist is here, Woo Hoo a Go Go, the Haterzz, and the Bushes have also arrived.

And so have Jeremy and Katie, my Street Academy trivia teammates.

Drop the puck, it’s time to skate.

We muffed an early four-point question, as in identifying what Russell Crowe movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2002 – we said Gladiator, and so did most of the bar.  It was actually A Beautiful Mind.  Oopsie.  We redeemed ourselves at the quadruple bonus question, identifying three of the four states in which highway billboards are outlawed (we said Maine, Alaska, Hawaii and Rhode Island, it was Maine, Alaska, Hawaii and Vermont), and that quadruple bonus pulled us into the lead.

I knew the British school where Prince William and Prince Harry received their prep-school education (Eton), while Katie knew the school that was the home of Handsome Dan the Bulldog (Yale), and Jeremy correctly identified the person that was named Time Magazine’s “Person of the 20th Century” (Albert Einstein).

We had a good twelve-point lead over the Bushes, and only Woo Hoo a Go Go and Team Fist could catch us at the final question.

The final category – “Other Jobs of Famous Stars.”

“This has got to be a murder question,” I said to my teammates.  “It’s probably something along the lines of ‘Who worked as a carpenter and auto mechanic before he got discovered,’ or something like that.”  With that, I wrote down a three-point bet.

Jeremy said no.  “We gotta bet it all.  We’re locked into the tournament anyway, now we’re just playing for the free food.”

“I know,” I replied.  “But the only way we don’t get points is if all three teams below us bet it all, and all three teams get the answer right.”

I handed the three-point bet to the host.

“In what animated film did Mel Gibson play a character named Rocky Rhode?”

Aw, crumbs.  I know this one cold.  It’s one of those stop-motion animated films made by the people who do the Wallace and Grommit pictures – Chicken Run. Everybody knows this film.  I outsmarted myself with the bet.

And sure enough, the Bushes bet a sizeable amount and jumped us for the win, they had the right answer.

Woo Hoo a Go Go bet the farm, but they did not say Chicken Run.

And Team Fist bet zero points.

So the Bushes won first place and five playoff points, while we took second and three bonus points.  Team Fist’s safe bet earned them a playoff point.

Winning streak over.

So here’s the standings after seven weeks of qualifying. The top eight teams after 20 weeks will appear in the final game for all the money.

Elbo Room Trivia Standings – Week 7 of 20

	Trivia Team	Points	Totals	FINALS
1	Street Academy	3	28
2	Team Sighed, Bush!	5	13
3	Team Fist	1	11
4	Woo Hoo a Go Go		4
5	The Haterzz		2
6	Team Longhammer		2
7	The Little White Monkey		2
8
THE DREADED CUT LINE
9
10
11
12

Seven weeks down. Thirteen weeks to go. And we actually might have some teams coming close to that dreaded cut line.

Come on, guys, bring your friends and come out to Elbo Room for a night of trivia.

Heck, you might even qualify for the final round and possibly earn the big bucks.