Theo's Still Perfect

Today was the deadline for teams and players to avoid arbitration, and once again, Theo Epstein kept a perfect record of never going to a hearing with a Red Sox player since he took over as GM in 2002.

In what could be his final contract with the Red Sox, Jonathan Papelbon and the Sox agreed to a one-year, 412 million deal, avoiding arbitration, as expected.

The other player the Sox avoided arbitration with was Jacoby Ellsbury, and they agreed to a one-year deal for $2.4 million. There's also a bonus clause of $50,000 for Ellsbury should he reach 600 and 700 plate appearances.

And on the football front, Mike Singletary is the new linebackers coach for the Vikings, joining his former Bears teammate Leslie Frazier on his staff. And apparently, the Brett Favre Flying Circus is now over, as he officially filed his retirement papers with the NFL yesterday.

I know, I know. He's done that before. But I think this is finally The End. We'll see.

Loopy Wally's At It Again

Wallace Matthews, who for some reason has a job writing for ESPN New York, wrote a really hilarious column on Saturday, and he now believes that the Yankees have "won" the off season when they signed Rafael Soriano, and are now the favorites to win the AL East in 2011.

You remember this clown. He did a hatchet job on Tim Wakefield back in 2007 that I talked about (and I still get a lot of hits on my blog about it), and I am truly amazed that anyone would pay this hack to write about sports.

Here is what he wrote about the Yankees signing Soriano.

And later on today, my friend Adam sent me this, his refuting Matthews' nonsense. (The italics are excerpts from Matthews):

If it were possible to win a division in January, then the Yankees would be American League East champions today.

That's how good a pickup Rafael Soriano looks like from the vantage point of a mid-winter's day, before a single pitch has been thrown or a single game has been played.

This is dumb on so many levels. One, the MFY are virtually the same team as last year--albeit one year older--and they still haven't re-signed their second-best starter from last year (or replaced him). It's important to remember that New York didn't win the division last season. Also, Andy Pettitte, despite injury, threw about twice as many innings as Soriano last year. The number of innings a pitcher throws is important. Soriano has only thrown 70+ innings twice in his career. Pettitte was worth between 3.1 wins (Baseball-Reference WAR) and 2.3 wins (Fangraphs WAR). Rafael Soriano had his best year in 2010, and was worth 2.6 WAR (B-R) and 1.6 WAR (Fangraphs). In other words, an injured Pettitte was worth half a win more than Soriano in his best year. That's because Pettitte, or any other starter, will throw more innings that a relief pitcher--even a very good one like Soriano. Fans and the media tend to overstate the impact of one reliever.

But no team addressed a key weakness as effectively as the Yankees did with the signing of Soriano, who not only solves an immediate problem -- who will pitch the eighth inning in 2011? -- but might also solve an even bigger one in the future: namely, who will pitch the ninth after Mariano Rivera says farewell?

We can look at this two ways. First, the MFY had a good bullpen last year. Thus, the pen wasn't a "key weakness." In contrast, New York's starting rotation of Cash Cow, Hughes, Burnett, Mitre, and Nova is a definite question mark. Rafael Soriano isn't a starter; so getting him didn't address the key weakness of the MFY.

Another thing Matthews misses is that Soriano's contract is structured in such a way that he cannot be Rivera's replacement. Here are the facts: Soriano can opt-out after 2011. Mariano is signed through 2012. Scott Boras is Soriano's agent. There are three likely scenarios: (1) Both pitchers are good; (2) Mariano finally shows his age and Soriano pitches well; (3) Mo is still good and Soriano's 2010 is a fluke. The most likely scenario where the MFY retain Soriano's services is number three. Any scenario where Soriano pitches well will lead Boras to seek more money for Soriano, either as a closer of another team or as the MFY closer. In other words, if Soriano pitches well, he'll most likely be on another team in 2012 (and the MFY will have lost a first round pick for 65-75 innings of set-up work).

But what the Soriano deal really does is take a team that seemed stuck in the mud all winter and set it off and running again.

Just like that, the Yankees go from a wild-card team at best to favorites to win their division.

Matthews seems to belong to the any move is a good move school of thought.

Here's food for thought: It's unlikely that Soriano's results next season will be as good as Kerry Wood's with the MFY. Wood, acquired at the Trade Deadline last year, had a 0.69 ERA with New York. You can't really have better results than that. While many cite the Wood trade as a key move last year, the MFY were 66-37 (.641) from April through July and 29-30 (.491) after August 1st. Thus, having "lights out" relief in the 8th and 9th innings didn't offset the loss of Pettitte, who only threw 13.1 innings after July 18th. This seems to belie Matthews argument that the Soriano signing makes up for a weak rotation.

Matthews' argument is dumb. Even if Soriano throws 70 scoreless innings next year, he won't be as valuable as a good starter. Starting pitchers throw many more innings. Also, not every inning a closer or set-up man throws are high-leverage.

The MFY still have a good offense and bullpen. Their defense and, most importantly, their starting pitching is suspect. Right now, the MFY look more like last year's team that had Kerry Wood and no Andy Pettitte. While I don't think the MFY are an under .500 team, I certainly don't see them as being better than the Sox on paper.

Oscar Nominees & Female Singers On Tuesday

Trivia Night this week will feature as the Special Category, "One Time Oscar Nominees Trivia." I will give you seven recent Oscar nominees from the four major acting categories and you have to tell me what film they were nominated for, and if they won or not. So the category will be worth two points each.

The Q Train lightning round will be "In Q's iPod: Female Vocalist Trivia." I will play audio snippets from ten songs, and you have to tell me who the female singer is, and if they are part of a group, I will accept the group name as well.

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
Acapulco is found in what country?

For those of you on Facebook, I just formed a new group, called "Professor Thom's Tuesday Night Trivia." I will posting the Sneak Peek and the special categories there every Monday, and the Q&A from Tuesday night there every Wednesday morning, plus a few other things related to trivia. Please feel free to join.

We begin Trivia Night at 9 PM on Tuesday night. We've had some terrific crowds the past three weeks and I hope that will continue. See you then.

Foot Man 28, Mumbles 21

It's a rough day for all of you out there who are New England Patriots fans, and you have my sympathies. Getting beaten by a rival from New York in an important postseason game is never an easy thing to handle.

They were simply outplayed by a hungrier Jets team, especially when the Jets were on defense.

Tonight's loss takes me back to when the Pats lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl in 2008. I was in Professor Thom's and my Pats fan friends were all down and depressed. But I left them with this when I departed.

The last time I saw my team, the Minnesota Vikings, even in a Super Bowl was in January, 1977, a week after my 15th birthday. And that is 31 (now 34) years and counting. So, how many Super Bowl rings does Tom Brady and his teammates currently own?

And now, the Vikings are coming off a truly miserable season, finishing at 6-10 and tied for last. The Pats this season finished 14-2 and fooled a lot of experts who thought they might be on the decline. So there's a lot to look forward to for next season.

Don't forget too, on this terrible day for you, that Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez report to Spring Training in about five weeks.

That should make you feel just a little bit better, no?

Stuff For a Chilly Saturday

My friend Pete over at Hauls of Shame has an update on a now-infamous picture from the cover of a 1985 Sporting News edition that featured a number of former players wearing classic old time uniforms that were allegedly worn by some of the game's greats supplied by the late Barry Halper's collection.

It turns out the one worn by Yogi Berra in the photo (pictured here), which was supposedly worn by John McGraw during the 1905 World Series, was actually a fake. And it's not the only one.

This past Wednesday night, Darnell McDonald of the Red Sox made a special trip to Arizona, to attend the wake of Christina Taylor-Green, the little 9-year-old girl who was killed in the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords last Saturday in Tucson.

Turns out that Darnell was signed originally signed to his first pro contract in 1997 by John Green, Christina's dad and the son of former Phillies manager Dallas Green.

Darnell continues to be a real class gentleman. I had the pleasure to meet him at the BLOHARDS meeting last May. He's one of baseball's good guys. And I hope the Red Sox have a place for him in 2011.

And on the soccer front, my friend Radu has a new soccer web site you might like to check out, called Ultimate Football Quiz. It contains not just quizzes, but lots of cool stats and articles. My friend Jamie has a cool Liverpool FC site you may like to check out as well: The Liverword.

Words We Can All Live By

"Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or fame, but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others."

The words of President Barack Obama last night in Tucson, Arizona, in a very good speech he gave at the memorial service for the six victims of the shootings from last Saturday. (With thanks to my friend Leah who posted them up on Facebook this morning.)

I don't wish to sound like a spoil sport or anything, but to me that memorial service sounded too much like a pep rally at times, with people practically screaming when the President and his wife entered.

But if it helps those people heal their grief in a small way, I guess it was a good thing.

Trivia Q&A: January 11

On a night when yet another snow storm was about to come down on New York, we had a tremendous turnout once again on Trivia Night: 18 teams braved the conditions because they had to have their Trivia! (And I appreciate every one of you who came out.)

We had some very strong scores through the first four rounds of Trivia. We had many perfect scores in 11-100 Trivia and a few in General Knowledge, and the scores were very close through the entire evening.

But then I rolled out IQ Trivia, and the scores sank like a stone. (I guess it was one of those weeks I made it just too hard.) There were two questions that no one in the house got right. Four teams got only two correct (seven points in all, one of the lowest high scores in IQ Trivia history), and seven teams got shut out. But the team of Hoping For a Snow Day led the entire night and held on and won by just two points(42 in total), for their second consecutive win. Nice job as always, guys. Second place went to Rex Ryan's Agony of Da Feet (40) and On-Duty Sanitation Workers on Drink #1 finished third with 39.

Best Team Name: Scalabrine's Eeny, Meeny, Teeny Linguine D**k

Current Events
1. "Bend It Like Beckham" became the first Western-made film to be shown on what country's state-run television recently?
2. Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab in what Asian country, was assassinated last Tuesday?
3. Which one-time talk show host was fined $484 last week for carrying a marijuana pipe through security at Milwaukee's airport?
4. A plane crashed in this Middle Eastern country on Sunday, killing more than 70 people on board.
5. A homeless man, who was once a radio announcer in what midwestern state, became a YouTube sensation last week when he was filmed saying a couple of lines with his "God-given gift of voice?"
6. What film became the number one movie in America last week, after finishing its first two weeks outside the top spot?
7. What NFL team, the first team ever in the postseason with a losing record, stunned the defending champion New Orleans Saints, 41-36, in a Wild Card matchup last Saturday?

Q Are You?
1. This man was born in Boston, MA in 1971. He's an actor, musician and producer. He first made it big in the early 1990s with a rap group, but moved over to films in the mid-1990s, and was nominated for an Oscarin 2006. He has also executive produced two cable TV series.
2. This man was born in Concord, CA in 1920. He's a legendary jazz musician who has released over 100 albums in his storied career. He and his quartet had the first million-selling jazz album ever and was the first jazz artist ever on the cover of Time magazine.
3. This woman was born in Houston, TX in 1981. She's a singer and actress who was part of one of the best-selling girl groups ever, has won 16 Grammy awards and every one of her studio albums have won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B album.
4. This man was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1933. He's an author, narrator and lecturer. He's won the Pulitzer Prize twice and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Two of his books have been adapted into an HBO film and miniseries and he has narrated many documentaries, most notably for Ken Burns for PBS.
5. This man was born in Majorca, Spain in 1986. He is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. He's won 9 Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal and is third all-time in total earnings.
6. This woman was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1982. She's a respected actress who garnered her first Oscar nomination for Best Actress in 2008, had three box offices hits in 2010, and hosted the Nobel Peace Prize concert last December.
7. This man was born in Marshall, TX in 1949. He's been many things: heavyweight boxing champion, Olympic gold medalist, an ordained Baptist minister and a successful entrepreneur. He's the oldest heavyweight boxing champions ever and has five sons all named after him.

11-101 Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Washington DC and Puerto Rico have often been mentioned as this future numbered state.
2. May and October have this total days in each month.
3. This is the total number of different characters on a standard English keyboard, excluding upper case letters.
4. James K. Polk was this number US president.
5. This is the number of dalmatians in the famous Disney animated film.
6. Roger Maris set the home run record for a season in 1961 by hitting this many homers.
7. If you have a penny, nickel, dime, quarter and half dollar, you have this many cents.
8. New York Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver had this number retired by the team.
9. Prohibition ended with this number amendment to the Constitution.
10. The NFL's Terrell Owens has worn this number throughout his career.

General Knowledge
1. Tony the Tiger is the mascot for what specific breakfast cereal? ( 1 pt)
2. The holiday known as Festivus gained popularity because of what TV sitcom? ( 1 pt)
3. What figure skater was attacked in 1994 by four assailants connected to her rival Tonya Harding? ( 1 pt)
4. In 1932, Iraq gained its independence from which country? ( 2 pt)
5. There are 12 flower shape designs on each side of what popular cookie? ( 2 pt)
6. The pro football team formerly known as the Titans changed their name to what, their current name, in 1963? ( 2 pt)
7. What US president is the only person to be named Time's "Person of the Year" three times? ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. What D.H. Lawrence novel was banned in the US from 1928-1959? ( 4 points)
2. What current US airline started in 1934 under the name "Varney Speed Lines?" ( 5 points)
3. "The Naked and The Dead" was written by what 20th century author? ( 3 points)
4. The American indie rock band Death Cab For Cutie got its name from a song performed in what Beatles film? ( 4 points)
5. Robert LeRoy Parker was the real name of what 19th century outlaw? ( 4 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. North Korea; 2. Pakistan; 3. Montel Williams; 4. Iran; 5. Ohio; 6. "True Grit;" 7. Seattle Seahawks.

Q Are You?
1. Mark Wahlberg; 2. Dave Brubeck; 3. Beyonce Knowles; 4. David McCullough; 5. Rafael Nadal; 6. Anne Hathaway; 7. George Foreman.

11-101 Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. 51; 2. 31; 3. 71; 4. 11; 5. 101; 6. 61; 7. 91; 8. 41; 9. 21; 10. 81.

General Knowledge
1. Frosted Flakes; 2. "Seinfeld;" 3. Nancy Kerrigan; 4. United Kingdom; 5. Oreo; 6. New York Jets; 7. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

IQ Trivia
1. "Lady Chatterley's Lover;" 2. Continental; 3. Norman Mailer; 4. "Magical Mystery Tour;" 5. Butch Cassidy.

Geddy's Back As Ramirez Departs

The Max Ramirez Era in Boston has come to very fast end, after just five days, as the Red Sox lost the catcher they picked up last Wednesday to the Chicago Cubs. They put Ramirez on waivers so they could add the recently-signed Hideki Okajima on the 40-man roster (as Ramirez had no options left to be sent to the minors).

My friend Ken put it best about this news on Monday:

"Let me be the first to point out that the Sox never lost a single game during the Max Ramirez Era."

Yep, something Max can brag to the grandkids about one day.

But as Ramirez leaves, old friend Rich Gedman is back with the Red Sox organization, as he was named the Lowell Spinners batting coach for 2011. My buddy Jere is understandably ecstatic over this news.

Q Are You? Debuts For 2011

The monthly category "Q Are You?" makes its first appearance in 2011 this Tuesday night, and that is when I give you clues to a current celebrity and you have to tell me who in the world I'm talking about. Always a fun category.

The Q Train lightning round will be "11-101 Trivia." In honor of our Trivia Night falling on 1/11/11, I will give you ten questions, and every answer will be a number ending in one, between 11 and 101 (every answer will be different with no repeats).

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
Tony the Tiger is the mascot for what specific breakfast cereal?

We get rolling at 9 PM on Tuesday night. We've had some nice crowds over the past couple of weeks, and hopefully that trend will continue. See you on Tuesday night.

"Remembering Fenway Park"

Earlier last week, I pleasure to meet the noted author Harvey Frommer, who is the author of 41 books, mostly about sports, specifically baseball. His last book was the well-received "Remembering Yankee Stadium" in 2008. His newest project is called "Remembering Fenway Park," which comes out this March 1.

And I am proud to say that I am included in this book.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Frommer by phone in 2008 and told him about some of my experiences being in America's Most Beloved Ballpark. His book includes many beautiful and historic pictures of Fenway throughout the years, and remembrances by players as well as fans.

For myself, I told him about my first time at Fenway in 1986, as well two of my most memorable times there: the Pedro-Clemens Game 3 of the 1999 ALCS, which I call "The Clemens Massacre"; and Derek Lowe's no-hitter against Tampa Bay in 2002. They all recounted in the book. (And thank you for the nice brief bio in the beginning, Mr. Frommer. It made me smile.)

"Remembering Fenway Park" goes decade by decade, in the same way that "Remembering Yankee Stadium" does. It is styled in a very similar fashion as that book. And "Mr. Red Sox," Johnny Pesky, does the book's forward. Over 140 people talk about their memories of the Fens.

I had the pleasure of getting a sneak preview of the book last week and it is just stunning. Mr. Frommer told us gathered that he really enjoyed putting the book together and that the Red Sox could not have been more cooperative in making it a reality. He even said it turned him into a Red Sox fan. He worked for years with the Yankees on various projects, and is currently a professor at Dartmouth.

The book comes out in March, and it is definitely a keeper, even if I am associated with it.

Happy 70th, Gray

Today is of course, the birthdays of rock legends Elvis Presley and David Bowie. But it is also the 70th birthday of the late, great Graham Chapman, one of the genuises behind Monty Python. It's hard to believe Graham has been gone over 21 years now, but as long as people laugh, his work will live on forever.

So, in his memory, here's one of my favorite Monty Python sketches.

Thanks always, Gray:

Henry Fires The Manager. No, Not Tito.

John W. Henry made his second firing of a manager, and it wasn't someone in a Red Sox uniform. (You remember the first, don't you? The guy who left Pedro in too long. The name escapes me at the moment.)

It was Liverpool's manager Roy Hodgson, who left the team after six months and by "mutual consent." A dispiriting loss to bottom feeders Wolverhampton earlier this week meant the end to Hodgson, as Liverpool slipped back into the bottom half of the Premiership standings. And the big news is the return of legendary Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish, who comes in on an interim basis, or as "caretaker manager." Here's more from NESN.

Dalglish was part of one of Liverpool's most successful runs in the 1980s, and was part of 7 league titles, 3 European Cups and 5 domestic cup wins.

Dalglish also steps into the deep end of the pool, as Liverpool takes on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the a third round FA Cup match tomorrow.

Sox Get Ramirez. No, Not THAT One.

The Red Sox picked up catcher Max Ramirez off waivers from Texas yesterday. That name may sound familiar, as he was the player going to the Sox from the Rangers last year in the aborted Mike Lowell deal.

Ramirez batted .217 in 25 games at Texas last year, and .286 at AAA Oklahoma City in 56 games.

The Sox also picked shortstop-turned-reliever Tony Pena Jr., the son of the onetime Red Sox catcher, earlier this week and signed him to a minor league contract.

Also, the plan to expand the bullpens at Fenway is now on hold, and possibly scrapped, due to the fact the Sox won't get any tax breaks from the Massachusetts Historical Commission.

Circle Bert a Hall of Famer

On his 14th attempt at the Hall of Fame, the great Bert Blyleven was finally elected today, along with Roberto Alomar, who was on the ballot for the second time.

Alomar received 90% of the vote, and Blyleven 79.2%. Barry Larkin was third and he received 62.1%. That bodes well for him next year, as there are no strong first-time candidates for 2012.

On the "steroid" front, first-time candidates Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez fared rather poorly. Palmeiro got just 11%, while Gonzalez barely got over the 5% cutoff point to be considered next year, at 5.2%.

Mark McGwire again came nowhere close, and his numbers actually dropped after his tearful TV admission last year. He went from 23% to 19% this year. It's pretty clear he will never join the immortals at Cooperstown.

It's also pretty clear that Alomar was penalized for the infamous spitting incident in Toronto in 1996 and was kept out because of it on the first ballot in 2010. He received 73% last year.

I am very pleased to see Blyleven get in, as he has been deserving and his vote totals have increased as the years went on. Here's more from MLB.com.

Congratulations to both Alomar and Blyleven, as they are both well-deserving. They join Pat Gillick, who was selected last month in the veteran's committee vote, as 2011 Hall of Famers.

Trivia Q&A: January 4

We had a terrific turnout for the first Trivia Night of 2011, with 18 teams taking part in the festivities. The scores were generally strong throughout the evening, and they were particularly good in January 4th Trivia, which was our Special Category of the evening.

It was tight going into IQ Trivia, with the top six teams separated by only three points. But the team of Sorry Jets Fans: The Jets Don't Have "Happy Endings," Just Ask Favre ran the table by getting all five questions right and wound up winning by five points, getting a total of 49. It was their first ever Trivia Night win, and my congratulations to them.

For the third straight week, we had a tie for second place (this time only two teams), and I had an interesting tie-breaker question: "Since today was my birthday, how old am I?" I let both teams get a good look at me. The team of Nach-yo Garbage guessed 43 (and I appreciate that), but the team of I Pull Out But My Couch Doesn't guessed 48 and wound up winning second place.

I also want to thank all of you for bringing out a birthday cake and singing a chorus of "Happy Birthday" before the IQ Trivia round. I was very touched by it, and especially the team of It's The Trivia King's Birthday who presented me with a lovely card and a really delicious cupcake as the night got going.

You are all the best.

The Best Team Name: Did 4000 Birds Fall Out Of The Sky Or Is It John Quinn's Birthday?

Current Events
1. The Associated Press picked what event from last April as their Top Story For 2010?
2. What rock superstar and his partner welcomed a baby boy recently to their family, who was born to a surrogate?
3. What American city was chosen last week as the host of the America's Cup yacht race for 2013?
4. The UConn women's basketball team's streak of 90 straight wins was ended by what West Coast team, the same team that last defeated them in 2008?
5. Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico declined to give a pardon to what infamous 19th century outlaw 130 years after he was shot dead, saying the facts of the case didn't merit a pardon?
6. Gerry Rafferty, lead singer of the group Stealer's Wheel, died today at the age of 63. Their big hit "Stuck In The Middle With You" was used during a memorable scene in what hit1992 film?
7. On January 1st, five new non-permanent members were named to the UN Security Council. Name 2 of the 5.

January 4th Trivia
1. On this date in 1948, Burma regained its independence from what nation?
2. In 2010, the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest man-made structure at 2,717 feet, was opened in what Middle Eastern city?
3. On this date in 1999, former wrestler and independent candidate Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of what state?
4. Don Shula, who led this NFL team to two Super Bowl wins in the early 1970s, was born on this date in 1930.
5. Phil Lynott, who was the lead singer of this Irish rock band whose biggest hit was "The Boys Are Back In Town" in 1976, died on this day in 1986.
6. What western US state was admitted to the Union as the 45th state on this day in 1896?
7. Michael Stipe, lead singer of this Georgia-based rock band, was born on this day in 1960.

Film Characters Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Andy Dufresne, Ellis "Red" Redding, Samuel Norton
2. Col. Nathan Jessup, Captain Jack Ross, Lt. JG Daniel Kaffee
3. Dean Keaton, Verbal Kint, Todd Hockney
4. Kevin McCallister, Marv, Harry
5. Tommy DeVito, Jimmy Conway, Paul Cicero
6. Sam Wheat, Molly Jensen, Oda Mae Brown
7. President Merkin Muffley, Gen. Buck Turgidson, Gen. Jack D. Ripper
8. Shelley "The Machine" Levine, Ricky Roma, Dave Moss
9. Eric Stratton, Kent Dorfman, John Blutarsky
10. Jules Winnfield, Vincent Vega, Marsellus Wallace

General Knowledge
1. In 1969, the Official Languages Act in Canada gave equality to English and what other language? ( 1 pt)
2. "Nevermind" was the second studio album released in 1991 by rock band? ( 1 pt)
3. What famous theme park first opened to the public in July of 1955? ( 1 pt)
4. Germany and what other country declared war on the US on December 11, 1941? ( 2 pt)
5. What color navigation light shines from the starboard side of a ship? ( 2 pt)
6. George Takei played what character on the original TV series "Star Trek?" ( 2 pt)
7. What sea captain led the first English circumnavigation of the globe that set sail in 1577? ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. What country has not fought in a war since 1815? ( 4 points)
2. What sitcom star spent a year teaching English in a Philadelphia high school for a 2010 reality show? ( 4 points)
3. Pierre Omidyar and Michael Dean Johnson founded what current online company in 1995? ( 3 points)
4. German-American inventor Emile Berliner patented what invention in 1887? ( 5 points)
5. The Battle of Wakefield took place during what 15th century conflict? ( 4 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. BP Oil Spill; 2. Elton John; 3. San Francisco; 4. Stanford; 5. Billy the Kid; 6. "Reservoir Dogs;" 7. South Africa, India, Colombia, Germany and Portugal.

January 4th Trivia
1. United Kingdom; 2. Dubai; 3. Minnesota; 4. Miami Dolphins; 5. Thin Lizzy; 6. Utah; 7. REM.

Film Characters Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. The Shawshank Redemption; 2. A Few Good Men; 3. The Usual Suspects; 4. Home Alone; 5. Goodfellas; 6. Ghost; 7. Dr. Strangelove; 8. Glengarry Glen Ross; 9. Animal House; 10. Pulp Fiction.

General Knowledge
1. French; 2. Nirvana; 3. Disneyland; 4. Italy; 5. green; 6. Mr. Sulu; 7. Sir Francis Drake.

IQ Trivia
1. Switzerland; 2. Tony Danza; 3. eBay; 4. gramophone; 5. The War of the Roses.

Welcome Back Billy Buck

I was surprised to learn today that Bill Buckner is returning to baseball, but this time as manager of the Brockton Rox of the independent Cam-Am league.

The Rox have a colorful history connected to the nearby Red Sox (who they have no official affiliation with), as Bill Lee pitched for them briefly last year, and Oil Can Boyd pitched for them a few years back.

The Rox also had a day back in 2009 where they gave away replicas of Yankee Stadium being hit by a mini wrecker's ball to all their fans.

Buckner signed a two-year deal with them. Good luck, Billy Buck. Nice to have you back in the game.

You Could Get Red Sox Replica Gear In 1919

My friend Pete over at Hauls of Shame web site has a very interesting article about how Red Sox gear was available to the buying public as early as 1919, and it even has Babe Ruth featured in a Boston Globe ad, shortly before his infamous sale to You Know Where.

And coincidentally, today is the 91st anniversary of Ruth leaving Boston for Other Parts, although the deal was actually finished the previous December 26th.

They Made Films Memorable Kicks Off 2011

This Tuesday night we will have our first edition of Trivia Night for 2011. As the Special Category, we will have "January 4th Trivia," stuff that happened on that day in history. And no, there will be no questions about the Trivia Maven's birthday. Oops, I let that slip. Oh well...

The Q Train lightning round will be "Film Characters Trivia." I will give you three main characters from a popular film and you will tell me what film it is. (And there will be none from "Escape From New York." I always liked that photo of Snake Plissken.) We hadn't done any movie category trivia in a while, so I thought since everyone loves movie trivia, let's start off the year right.

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"Nevermind" was the second studio album, released in 1991, by what rock band?

We get going just after 9 PM. We had a huge crowd last Tuesday, and I hope we get 2011 off to a good start. See you tomorrow night.

The Brett Favre Era Finally Ends. I Guess.

The disaster that was the 2010 Minnesota Vikings season came to a merciful end and with a thud as the Detroit Lions beat the Vikings, 20-13, for their fourth straight win at Ford Field in Detroit.

Brett Favre was once again inactive and briefly took it all in from the sidelines.

The loss means the Vikings finish in last, as they ended up tied with Detroit at 6-10. A season that began with some promise after 2009's trip to the NFC title game ended as a lost season. The Lions showed today that they are a team on the rise. The Vikings have tons of work to do this off season.

Leslie Frazier will indeed be back for the 2011 season as head coach. An announcement is forthcoming this week.

It is the first time the Vikings have lost 10 games since 2006, and just the 7th time in their 50 year history they have lost that many games. It is also the first time since 1990 they finished in the basement, and the previous last-place finish before that was the worst season in Vikings history, 1984. (3-13, remember Les Steckel as head coach?)

Favre is FINALLY done. (I hope.) The experiment failed. Time to move on.

Bet You Weren't Expecting This

I always observe many traditions on this, the first day of the New Year.

I run up and down my block like a madman just after midnight (although I really could do that this year due to the icy street) to usher in the New Year. I also put out my three day-by-day calendars for the year (don't know how I settled on three of them), and this year's calendars are from Monty Python, The Baseball Hall of Fame and a Trivia one. (And I'm sure I'll be using a few of them in my future Trivia nights.)

I also watch The Twilight Zone and Honeymooners marathons on TV while also checking in on the college football bowl games. (Notre Dame played yesterday so I have no serious rooting interest today.) BTW, terrible job by WPIX Channel 11 today, interrupting the Honeymooners at 7 AM for six hours of cartoons. Hey, the cartoons can wait guys! But the marathon will resume at 1 PM with the famous "Hello Ball" episode (see previous post).

I was also pleasantly surprised to see a Marx Brothers movie marathon last night on TCM. That would be a nice yearly New Year's thing for them to do.

I also watch the first Monty Python episode of the year on New Year's morning, and it is always the one with my favorite all-time sketch, "The Spanish Inquisition." (I think that started because the sketch begins with the caption: "NEW YEAR'S EVE--1911.") Never ceases to put me in stitches. And in honor of this New Year of 2011 (and the Ones running wild today: 1/1/11), here are the Python boys as Cardinals Ximinez, Biggles and Fang at their very best: