So I’m ready for another round in the trivia league, and now that I know there’s a different permutation of how the questions are set up – and the best strategies for scoring and points – let’s say that I’m better prepared.
And as the game started … I used that preparation well. Since this permutation of Trivia Nights Live included video and audio questions, as well as various “huddle” questions (one question, five answers, each worth points), I figured out the best way for my one-man Street Academy team to compete with the rest of the trivia squads Wednesday night.
Yeah. Probably the best strategy – get the damn answers right and you won’t have to worry about anything.
I did okay in the first few rounds, including playing my double-chance guess on what former Bill Clinton paramour wrote a book called Passion and Betrayal (I guessed between Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers; it was Gennifer Flowers), and was able to name three of Tom Hanks’ five Best Actor nominations (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump and Big; forgot about Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away). At the end of the half, I was tied with the team New Phone, Who Dis? for the lead – and with that, I earned an additional raffle ticket. Smooth.
After navigating through the music round – to avoid anybody using a Shazam module to have a cell phone identify the song, Baker compressed the sound quality of each track so that it sounded like he was playing it through an AM transistor radio), and a nasty “Big Brain Boogie” question where I did not know that the 19th century “Switchback Railway” was an early roller coaster – urgh – I was in fifth place for the final question.
And in this version of Trivia League, only the top three teams earn “playoff points” – which are banked as your starting scores in the 13th and final contest in June. And Chuck doth needeth yon playoff points.
The final category – “Best Sellers.” Well, I’m thinking at least a couple of the Pink Panther movies, Dr. Strangelove, Being There – oh wait, you didn’t mean THAT best Sellers… my bad…
58 points on my table right now. I bet 8 points – win or lose, I guaranteed myself at least 5 raffle tickets, one for every ten points on my final score.
“What female artist’s 1997 album is still to this day the biggest selling record by a female artist in music history?”
Okay … think, Chuck, think … Beyonce … Mariah … Madonna … Britney … this isn’t working … Aretha … Alanis … hmm… I figured this might be a long shot, but I put down Alanis Morissette on my slip and handed it up.
Well it was not Alanis Morissette, nor was it any other artist I could remember.
It was Shania Twain.
I forgot all about Shania Twain.
Then again, that was 20 years ago. I’m sure most people forgot about Shania Twain these days … then again, when it comes to her music, that don’t impress me much …
But two teams did have the correct answer – Dan 2017 and New Phone, Who Dis? – and they finished one-two for the night. The third-place team? Based on a safe bet … Street Academy.
Yep, blog readers, I snagged a playoff point. So if I don’t do anything else this season, I’ll start the final game with a score of 1. Woo hoo!
And now it’s time for the obligatory scoring grid. The list below will include each team’s “starter points,” along with a mark to determine that they’ve played six games and are post-season eligible.
| Week 2 of the Graney’s Stout Summer Trivia League | Starter Points for Final Game |
| Dan 2017: The Next Generation | 6 |
| New Phone, Who Dis? | 4 |
| Street Academy | 1 |
| Woo Hoo a Go Go | 1 |
| The Fist | |
| Nacho Punch | |
| Stephen Hawking’s School of Dance | |
| Updawg |
Two weeks down, ten weeks to go until the final game on June 28.
Chuck The Writer 