America's New Fad: Huntering

Here's a cool shot of two soldiers recreating the now-famous shot of Torii Hunter falling into the Red Sox bullpen on Sunday night, and Boston police officer Steve Horgan's priceless reaction.

It now has a name: "Huntering."

It was taken aboard the USS George H.W. Bush.

Thank you for your service, gentlemen.

The Head Beard Is The Difference

Most of the baseball world probably figured Tuesday afternoon's game would be an easy win for the Tigers, as they had an incredibly hot pitcher going against one who had struggled in his last few starts for the Red Sox.

John Lackey got the W. Justin Verlander got the L.

Lackey was sensational for 6 2/3 innings, allowing just four hits. And sure was miffed when John Farrell pulled him out in the 7th. But the pen picked it up for him, with Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara pitching out of a 1st and 3rd, one-out jam in the 8th. And of course, Koji pitched around a single, getting a DP and a strikeout to end an exciting 1-0 Red Sox win.

All the Sox needed was a Mike Napoli home run in the 7th. Napoli was really struggling going into the at-bat, having struck out in all six of his previous ALCS at-bats.

The Red Sox once again waited around to get their first hit, which happened on Jonny Gomes' infield grounder in the fifth. Verlander was simply dominant, and striking out six in a row at one point. But Lackey matched him, striking out 8 in his likewise dominant performance.

It was another game were the Red Sox walked along the edge, and got a win. They are incredibly hitting just .133 in this series so far, and lead it 2-1. Two more wins to get into the World Series.

I watched the game in two different bars, at Duke's with my friends from The BLOHARDS (for the first 7 innings), and then scooted down to The Mad Hatter before my Trivia Night with a few other Red Sox fan friends. The ending made my Trivia even more enjoyable last night.

Jake Peavy goes up against Doug Fister at Comerica Park in Game 4 tonight.

Trivia Q&A: October 15

Trivia Night began just a few minutes after the Red Sox won Game 3 of the ALCS, so as you might guess, I was in a good mood all night.

We had another fine crowd in, and a close night throughout between the top teams. The top four teams were separated by just four points, and we had four teams get all five correct in IQ Trivia. (I'll have to make it a little tougher next week.) One of those teams was Happy Birthday Charles!, which took the winner's circle with 52 points. Congrats to Charles and his friends on their win.

Second place went to Spermologers (my friend Dave from the BLOHARDS and a number of his friends) with 49 points, and third place went to Ship of Fools with 48 points.

Current Events
1. Rafael Correa, the president of what South American country, said in an interview that President Obama calling America "exceptional" was reminiscent of "Nazism?"
2. What rock superstar made a surprise performance at a Queens high school last week, as well as one in Times Square the next day?
3. Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller all won the Nobel Prize in what field earlier this week?
4. What Asian country was hit by a cyclone yesterday, with 18 deaths reported?
5. Former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, of what US city, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for racketeering, conspiracy and tax crimes?
6. What female pop singer was in Thailand recently and tweeted about a lewd sex show in a bar she was in and it led to the arrest of the bar owner?
7. What retail chain announced they will open most of their stores for the first time ever on Thanksgiving Day, breaking a long-standing tradition of being closed on the holiday?

Blue Trivia
1. What 19th century classical composer wrote "The Blue Danube?"
2. "True Blue" was a 1986 album by what pop singer?
3. What was the name of Paul Bunyon's Blue Ox?
4. John Popper is a member of what rock band?
5. "The Bluegrass State" is a nickname for what US state?
6. "Big Blue" is a nickname for what major American company?
7. Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits starred in what 1990s TV crime drama?

Name The City's Last Champion Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Miami
2. Los Angeles
3. Atlanta
4. Tampa
5. Boston
6. San Francisco
7. Cleveland
8. Philadelphia
9. Baltimore
10. Detroit

General Knowledge
1. Orly Airport is located in what European city? ( 1 pt)
2. Fresh water, 2% of the earth's surface, is made of oxygen and what element? ( 1 pt)
3. In the Bible, Isaac is the son of Sarah and who? ( 1 pt)
4. In what year was the Falklands War fought between Great Britain and Argentina? ( 2 pt)
5. What is the traditional color of the sari that a bride wears at an Indian wedding? ( 2 pt)
6. What was the name of the dog in the Garfield comic strip? ( 2 pt)
7. Tennis players Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin were born in what European country? ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. What 19th century historical figure died at the Petersen House? ( 4 points)
2. What science fiction film was set on the fictional moon called Pandora? ( 3 points)
3. Since 2005, the world record for the fastest men's 100-meters has been owned by runners from what nation? ( 4 points)
4. Fred Jones, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley were 3 of the main characters from what popular 1970s cartoon series? ( 5 points)
5. Robert Rayford, who died in St. Louis in 1969, is now believed to be the first American to have died from what cause? ( 4 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. Ecuador; 2. Paul McCartney; 3. economics; 4. India; 5. Detroit; 6. Rhianna; 7. Macy's.

Blue Trivia
1. Johann Strauss; 2. Madonna; 3. Babe; 4. Blues Traveler; 5. Kentucky; 6. IBM; 7. "NYPD Blue."

Name The City's Last Champion Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Heat; 2. Kings; 3. Braves; 4. Lightning; 5. Bruins; 6. Giants; 7. Browns; 8. Phillies; 9. Ravens; 10. Red Wings.

General Knowledge
1. Paris; 2. hydrogen; 3. Abraham; 4. 1982; 5. red; 6. Odie; 7. Belgium.

IQ Trivia
1. Abraham Lincoln; 2. "Avatar;" 3. Jamaica; 4. "Scooby-Doo;" 5. AIDS.

We'll All Have The Blues On Tuesday

Trivia Night at The Mad Hatter this Tuesday will feature "Blue Trivia." I will ask you seven questions that have something to do with the color blue. We've been on a color kick lately, having done green and red the past two weeks. So why not blue?

The Q train lightning round will feature "Name The City's Last Champion Trivia." I will give you ten American cities and you name the sports team that has won the last title in the four major sports in that locale.

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"Fresh water, which makes up 2% of the earth's surface, is made of oxygen and what other element?"

We get started right after 8 PM. I hope to see many of you for another great night of Trivia on Tuesday!

Big Papi: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

When David Ortiz stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the 8th with the bases loaded, two outs and down 5-1, my thoughts were that the series, and indeed the season was on the line. I looked up to the sky and wondered if it was asking too much if he could belt one out.

I guess it wasn't.

Papi's blast in the 8th, and Jose Iglesias' error in the ninth on Jonny Gomes' infield hit (followed by Jarrod Saltalamacchia's single) capped a comeback for the ages, and the Sox, who were frustrated all night by Max Scherzer, even the series, 6-5.

Big Papi's blast rivals the one he hit in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. He simply turned this series on its ear, and in another direction. And his Hall of Fame resume just got even bigger.

Thank you, Papi.

And just before Papi stepped to the plate, I saw this video on Facebook, I think it really helped:

Too Damn Close

In the immortal words of the great Harry Doyle in "Major League", "What, only one goddamn hit?"

That's all the Red Sox could muster in a putrid 1-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Fenway on Saturday night, an ignominious start to the ALCS. They were no-hit for the first 8 1/3 innings.

Do you remember Detroit's last visit to Fenway, on September 4th? A 20-4 Red Sox laugher, with 19 hits. They sure didn't look like that team tonight.

The Sox struck out an amazing 17 times against Anibal Sanchez and four other pitchers. Sanchez allowed no hits and six walks through 6 innings. He threw 116 pitches and was done after 6. They could muster nothing against an inferior Detroit bullpen, until Daniel Nava singled with one out in the ninth to avoid the embarrassment of being the third team ever to be no-hit in the postseason.

They hit only four balls to the outfield all night long. Even had the Red Sox been no-hit, I would still be more pissed off about the "0" in the runs column. (No-hitters are embarrassing for about 24 hours, but the pathetic offense displayed tonight has me plenty concerned about the rest of this series.)

Jon Lester was terrific, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing one of the AL's best offenses just one run. He definitely did not deserve a loss. I'd feel better about things if the Sox had lost say a 3-2 or 4-3 game. If they had just been edged out late the Tigers in a game they hit I'd be a bit more confident. Last night was worrisome, especially with the quality of Detroit's starting pitching.

The Sox are in a hole, dropping the first game of this ALCS. The Tigers have accomplished what they needed to do, win one on the road, and have Max Scherzer, who may very well win the Cy Young Award, going on Sunday. The Sox have to come out firing tonight, and show that the Game 1 loss with just one "goddamn" hit was just an aberration. They absolutely, positively can't go to Detroit down 0-2, not with Justin Verlander waiting in the wings.

For All The AL Marbles Starting Tomorrow Night

It's the Red Sox vs. the Detroit Tigers for the championship of the American League, starting tomorrow night at the Fens.

Here's what we know so far:

Game 1: October 12th at Fenway Park, 8:07 PM ET, Jon Lester vs. Anibal Sanchez

Game 2 : October 13th at Fenway Park, 8:07 PM ET, Clay Buchholz vs. Max Scherzer

Game 3: October 15th at Comerica Park, 4:07 PM ET, John Lackey vs. Justin Verlander

Game 4: October 16th at Comerica Park, 8:07 PM ET, Jake Peavy vs. Doug Fister

Game 5: October 17th at Comerica Park (if necessary), 8:07 PM ET, Pitchers TBA

Game 6: October 19th at Fenway Park (if necessary), 4:30 PM ET (8:07 PM if the NLCS is over), Pitchers TBA

Game 7: October 20th at Fenway Park (if necessary), 8:07 PM, Pitchers TBA

Tigers won the season series, 4-3. The Red Sox will go with the same 25-man roster they went with in the ALDS. Should be a terrific ALCS. I like the Red Sox in 6.

Consider 2008 Avenged

I must admit, it was a nerve-wracking Game 4 last night.

I did Trivia at The Mad Hatter while the Red Sox-Rays game was going on. By the fifth inning, it was complete and I could keep my full concentration on the game.

I thought that line drive DP that Stephen Drew hit into that ended a big threat in the second would come back to haunt the Sox. It was a marvelous play by James Loney and kept the Sox off the scoreboard.

They finally got on the board in the 7th, on a wild pitch that scored Xander Boegaerts, and the second on an infield hit by Shane Victorino that scored Jacoby Ellsbury. The third run came in on Dustin Pedroia's bases loaded sac fly in the 9th.

Jake Peavy was...Jake Peavy. 5 2.3 innings, and allowed Tampa Bay's one run. He struck out 3 and didn't walk anyone. It's a shame he didn't get the win.

But Craig Breslow did. He was the bridge to the late innings and was phenomenal, especially striking out the side, the meat of the Rays' order, in the 7th.

The 8th was Breslow for one out, Junichi Tazawa for one out, and Koji Uehara for one out.

And Koji got the last three in order in the ninth to erase the bad memory of Monday night and put the Sox in the ALCS for the first time since 2008.

The Sox will open the ALCS at Fenway on Saturday night against the winner of the Tigers-A's Game 5 on Thursday night in Oakland.

And here's a cool tribute to the great Koji Uehara, played to the song "Sea Cruise":

Trivia Q&A: October 8

We had another bigger crowd on Tuesday night, as it's nice to see the number of teams continue to increase at The Mad Hatter. As the Red Sox were on their way to an ALDS-clinching victory, it was another spirited night of Trivia. Let's keep that going!

Your Madre's A Whore, Ted Cruz! won the night, getting 4 of the 5 IQ Trivia questions correct and ended up with 45 points. Conrats to Pian and friends on the victory. Second place went to Don't Stop 'Til I Come...Up With a Better Name with 41 points, and third place went to I Think You Scored Us Wrong with 38 points.

Current Events
1. What celebrity is currently the best-selling Halloween costume of 2013 so far?
2. What 1980s rock star is currently in a public feud with troubled pop singer Miley Cyrus, going so far as sending her advice and slamming her in an open letter last week?
3. The US Treasury released a brand new bill of what denomination today, after nearly 2 1/2 years of production delays?
4. This past weekend, US Navy SEALs launched raids in two countries trying to nab Al-Qaeda militants. Name 1 of the 2 countries they were done in.
5. What female pop singer revealed in an upcoming issue of Harper's Bazaar that she was raped at gunpoint after she moved to New York before her career took off?
6. Esquire magazine named what 28-year-old actress as its "Sexiest Woman Alive" for 2013, seven years after naming her that for the first time?
7. Francois Englert and Peter Higgs were yesterday awarded the Nobel Prize for 2013 in what field?

Red Trivia
1. What author wrote the best-selling novel "The Hunt For Red October?"
2. Which MLB team has won the more World Series, the Boston Red Sox or the Cincinnati Reds?
3. "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" was a short film at the beginning of what Monty Python movie?
4. What actor/director won an Academy Award for Best Director the 1981 film, "Reds?"
5. Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith are two of the four members of what popular rock band?
6. Ellie Boyd "Red" Redding was a main character in what Oscar-nominated film?
7. The Red Sea is a saltwater inlet of what large body of water?

Born In The USA Or Not Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Robert Downey Jr.
2. Martin Lawrence
3. Tom Hanks
4. Mila Kunis
5. Keenu Reeves
6. Natalie Portman
7. Nicole Kidman
8. Bryan Cranston
9. Jerry Springer
10. Johnny Depp

General Knowledge
1. What color is the cover of the current American passport? ( 1 pt)
2. Marco Polo Airport is located in what Italian city? ( 1 pt)
3. What is the current time difference in hours between Chicago and Athens? ( 1 pt)
4. What is the second hottest planet in the solar system, after Venus? ( 2 pt)
5. What is the name of the "hidden city" described in James Hilton's 1933 novel "Lost Horizon?" ( 2 pt)
6. Six of the seven Nobel Prizes are awarded in what city? ( 2 pt)
7. What country has the world's longest coastline? ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. Three of the four oldest current players in the NFL all play what position? ( 3 points)
2. Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the US, is located in what western US state? ( 4 points)
3. Bright's disease affects what organ of the human body? ( 4 points)
4. How many cards are in a standard pinochle deck? ( 4 points)
5. Blue Flyers, Foresters and Great Greys are three types of what animal? ( 5 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. Miley Cyrus; 2. Sinead O'Connor; 3. $100 bill; 4. Libya and Somalia; 5. Madonna; 6. Scarlett Johansson; 7. physics.

Red Trivia
1. Tom Clancy; 2. Red Sox (7-5); 3. "The Meaning of Life;" 4. Warren Beatty; 5. Red Hot Chili Peppers; 6. "The Shawshank Redemption;" 7. Indian Ocean.

Born In The USA Or Not Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. yes; 2. no; 3. yes; 4. no; 5. no; 6. no; 7. yes; 8. yes; 9. no; 10. yes.

General Knowledge
1. Blue; 2. Venice; 3. eight; 4. Mercury; 5. Shangri-La; 6. Stockholm; 7. Canada.

IQ Trivia
1. Placekicker; 2. Oregon; 3. kidneys; 4. forty-eight; 5. kangaroo.

OK, No Sweep

A bizarre Game 3, to say the least.

Clay Buchholz struggled, barely got through 6 innings, and gave up a three-run shot to Evan Longoria.

The Red Sox defense had a rare bad inning in the 8th, when Tampa Bay got the lead run.

But then in comes Fernando Rodney, who has been simply awful against the Red Sox this season. He walked Will Middlebrooks to open the inning, and you could see this game at least being tied. And it was, after Dustin Pedroia grounded out with runners on 2nd and 3rd, making it 4-4.

Koji Uehara made short work of the first two hitters, and I started thinking to myself, "Mike Napoli leads off the 10th...", when Jose Lobaton hit a shot over the wall in right center to give Tampa Bay the win, 5-4.

I just stared at the screen in amazement.

Jake Peavy goes for the series win tonight:

Coming Soon: NYC Bar Trivia Championship

I don't have too much information on it right now, but The Mad Hatter will be taking part and sending a representative team into the 2013 NYC Bar Trivia Championship.

The Trivia Night that we do on November 5th will determine what team will represent The Mad Hatter at the tournament. There will be 16 teams competing on night not yet determined.

The team that wins the overall tournament will win a custom trophy, championship t-shirts, a full year of bragging rights, and a $200 gift certificate per team member. There will be a limit of six people per team.

I will have more information in the coming weeks. And it will be a special night of Trivia on November 5th to see who will represent The Mad Hatter for the title.

Please do spread the word. More coming soon!

Don't Let Red Stop You On Tuesday

This Tuesday night at The Mad Hatter, which is at E. 26th Street and 3rd Avenue,, the Special Category for Trivia Night will be "Red Trivia," seven questions connected in some way to the color red. (Hey, we did green last week, why not red this week? Especially since a certain MLB team is in the playoffs.)

The Q Train lightning round will be "Born In The USA Or Not Trivia." I will give you the names of ten famous people, all of whom are still around. You have to tell me if they were born in our wonderful country or not.

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"Marco Polo Airport is located in what Italian city?"

We'll get started shortly after 8 PM. We might have a larger crowd should the Red Sox have a Game 4 in their ALDS series with the Rays. We'll see what happens tonight. Hope to see many of tomorrow night!

Two-Nil

My Saturday Night softball league resumed a couple of weeks ago, and with some really good weather yesterday, I decided to play, and use the iPhone to follow Game 2 from Fenway.

I was in the Village just as the game in Boston was starting (the field is actually in the West Village), and found myself near the MLB Fan Cave, on 4th and Broadway. I got there just in time to see the Red Sox score their first two runs, including the first of David Ortiz' two bombs on the day.

Being there is such a surreal experience, as many of you know that I used to work there when it was Tower Records. I have ten million memories of that place, and have been inside the MLB Fan Cave on two occasions. I worked at Tower the night of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. I couldn't help but flash back to that night as I watching the Red Sox on their TVs scoring runs.

Could that really have been almost 27 years ago?

Anyway, I kept my iPhone on me throughout my softball game, getting updates in-between innings. (I had a successful night, going 3-for-6 with 4 RBI in an 18-6 romp.)

John Lackey didn't have his best stuff on the night, walking 3 through 5 1/3 innings. But it was one of those games when the offense backed up the pitching, and the Red Sox never trailed after jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Jacoby Ellsbury doubled in a run, and Stephen Drew tripled in another.

Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa both slammed the door on Tampa Bay, getting inning-ending double plays in the 7th and 8th. And Papi put a capper on the evening with a majestic shot to right in the 8th for his second blast of the day, the first time he has ever hit two home runs in a postseason game.

Koji Uehara was...Koji Uehara, striking out the first two batters of the ninth on six pitches, then getting a grounder to first to wrap up the 7-4 win.

The Sox go for the sweep on Monday night at 6 PM at St. pete with Clay Buchholz taking the mound for the Sox against Alex Cobb. Only five teams in ALDS history have ever come back from an 0-2 deficit, and two of them are the Red Sox: in 1999 against the Indians, and in 2003 against the A's.

Everybody Gets In On The Fun In Game 1

The Red Sox won their first postseason game since 2009 yesterday at Fenway, with a resounding 12-2 win over Tampa Bay to get the ALDS off to a great start.

Jon Lester was terrific for 7 2/3 innings, allowing just two solo home runs, and three hits. The first home run really never should have happened, as he clearly had Sean Rodriguez struck out on a 2-2 pitch that was called a ball. Lester then threw a meatball down the middle of the plate that Rodriguez belted into the Monster seats for a 1-0 lead.

The Sox were down 2-0 in the fourth when the Sox scored five runs. With a man on first, David Ortiz hit a ball that from the angle of the cameras was going out to right. But at the ball was coming down, it was clear that Wil Myers could have caught the ball on the warning track. But he pulled up, thinking that Desmond Jennings was going to take it, and it one-hopped into the bullpen for a double. Jonny Gomes doubled in two runs to tie it.

Stephen Drew hit a roller to first base with two outs, and beat the throw to first base with the pitcher covering by an eyelash, and the hustling Gomes came around to score. Will Middlebrooks doubled in a run, and after Jacoby Ellsbury reached on a strikeout and passed ball, Shane Victorino made Tampa Bay pay with a single to cap the scoring.

In the fifth, Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled in two runs and Will Middlebrooks drew a walk with the bases loaded.

The Red Sox added four more in the 8th for good measure. Shane Victorino singled in a run, Mike Napoli walked with the bases loaded, Gomes hit in a DP bringing in another run, and Salty singled in 12th and final run of the day.

My pal Jere was at the game yesterday, and has a good summation of the events over at his blog.

It was a day when everybody got in on the act, as for just the third time in postseason history, the starting nine of a team each had a hit and a run scored. 7 of the 9 starters also had at least one RBI. And the Red Sox did it all without a single home run. (They were out-homered by Tampa Bay 2-0, and won, 12-2.)

John Lackey goes for the Sox this afternoon in Game 2 at Fenway against David Price.

Avenge 2008

The Red Sox now have an opponent for the ALDS: the Tampa Bay Rays, who beat the Indians in Cleveland last night, 4-0 in the Wild Card playoff game.

Game 1 begins at 3 PM tomorrow at Fenway, with Jon Lester taking on Matt Moore.

The rest of the series will have John Lackey pitching Game 2, Clay Buchholz in Game 3, and if necessary, Jake Peavy in Game 4.

It appears the Red Sox will go with 11 pitchers for the ALDS, and there is a possibility that Felix Doubront maybe left off the roster, as he did not pitch well in his last few outings, and he got hit hard in Baltimore coming out of the pen on the last day of the season. Doubront, Franklin Morales and Matt Thornton appear to be line for the final pen spot.

The roster will be finalized shortly before game time on Friday.

The Red Sox faced the Rays 19 times in 2013, beating them 12 times.

And of course, they faced each other only once before in the postseason: 2008 ALCS, when the Red Sox came from 3-1 down in games (and 7-0 in the 7th inning) to force a Game 7 at Tampa Bay, that the Rays won and went to the World Series.

Game 2 will be on Saturday at 5:30 PM at Fenway. Game 3 will be Monday at St. Pete, Game 4 (if necessary) will be Tuesday, and Game 5 will be Thursday (back at Fenway if necessary). No times have been released yet for the two games at St. Pete.

Trivia Q&A: October 1

We had another good turnout on a beautiful night in Manhattan. It was also great to see how The Mad Hatter has put up some really cool Halloween decorations throughout the bar. (A dear friend of mine, who passed away many years ago and would have celebrated her birthday on Tuesday, really would have loved it.)

We had a rare event on Tuesday, as we had a tie between two teams in every round. That is, except after the night was all over. The team of House of Turds won the night by getting 4 of the 5 IQ Trivia questions correct, and wound up with 48 points and two-point win.

Second place went to We Never Come Up With Good Names with 46 points, and third place went to John Quinn's Playoff Beard Is All Knowing of All Things Trivia (love that team name) with 40 points.

Current Events
1. What MLB player's jersey was the top-selling jersey for the first time ever for him for the year 2013?
2. Kanye West ranted on Twitter this past week about a skit what late night TV host did about him, and many fans believe the whole thing may just be a parody?
3. The Oracle Team USA won the America's Cup last week in a stunning comeback, winning seven races in a row over a team from what country?
4. Up to 50 students were killed at a college in what African country on Sunday when Islamist terrorists stormed the school dressed as army soldiers and carried out the attacks?
5. What cable TV network canceled production on an upcoming biopic of Hillary Clinton, as both Democrats and Republicans would not cooperate with the project?
6. Kenyan runner Wilson Kipsang set a new world record for the marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 23 seconds last Sunday in what European capital city?
7. What TV series made history last week with the first ever same-sex marriage proposal on network TV?

Green Trivia
1. "Green River" was a hit single for what 1960s rock band?
2. Which Nickleodeon TV show was known for dropping green slime on its characters?
3. What is the name of the main character in the book "Green Eggs and Ham?"
4. Martin Balsam portrayed "Mr. Green" in what 1974 NYC-based action film that was remade in 2009?
5. What north African country's flag is completely green?
6. What is the name of the pigment in green plants that gives them their color?
7. What city's river is dyed green every St. Patrick's Day?

Time Zones Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Cheyenne, WY
3. Toronto, ONT
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Detroit, MI
6. St. Louis, MO
7. Cleveland, OH
8. Mexico City, MX
9. Vancouver, BC
10. Austin, TX

General Knowledge
1. The clavicle is also known as what bone? ( 1 pt)
2. Who played the role of Tony Stark in the movie "Iron Man 3?" ( 1 pt)
3. Equatorial Guinea is a small country found on what continent? ( 1 pt)
4. Lake Pontchartrain is found in what US state? ( 2 pt)
5. What is the most populous Canadian province? ( 2 pt)
6. How many fluid ounces are there in a US gallon? ( 2 pt)
7. The first Beatles concert in America took place on February 11, 1964 in what city? ( 3 pt)

IQ Trivia
1. What is the smallest state capital city in the US in total population? ( 4 points)
2. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in what country? ( 4 points)
3. Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of what? ( 5 points)
4. Stephen Harper is the current prime minister of what country? ( 3 points)
5. What infamous 19th century bank robber was the leader of The Wild Bunch Gang? ( 4 points)

Answers
Current Events
1. Mariano Rivera; 2. Jimmy Kimmel; 3. New Zealand; 4. Nigeria; 5. CNN; 6. Berlin; 7. "Modern Family."

Green Trivia
1. CCR; 2. "You Can't Do That On Television;" 3. Sam; 4. "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three;" 5. Libya; 6. chlorophyll; 7. Chicago.

Time Zones Trivia ("The Q Train")
1. Pacific; 2. Mountain; 3. Eastern; 4. Mountain; 5. Eastern; 6. Central; 7. Eastern; 8. Central; 9. Pacific; 10. Central.

General Knowledge
1. Collar bone; 2. Robert Downey Jr.; 3. Africa; 4. Louisiana; 5. Ontario; 6. 128; 7. Washington, DC.

IQ Trivia
1. Montpelier, VT; 2. United Kingdom (Scotland); 3. fish; 4. Canada; 5. Butch Cassidy.

Let's Go Green On Tuesday

On Tuesday night, October 1st, Trivia Night at The Mad Hatter (3rd Avenue and E. 26th Street) will feature "Green Trivia," seven questions that have something to do with the color green, in any way, shape or form.

The Q Train lightning round will be "Time Zones Trivia." I will give you the names of ten cities in North America, and you have to tell me which time zone they are located in (such as Eastern, Pacific, Mountain, etc.).

The Sneak Peek question for this week is:
"Equatorial Guinea is a small country found on what continent?"

We get started at 8 PM on Tuesday night. We've had an upturn in the number of folks coming out for Trivia the last couple of weeks, so let's keep that trend going! Hope to see many of you this Tuesday night!

97-65

Yes, it was broken. And it was fixed. The faith was restored.

I never would guessed that the Red Sox would have won an amazing 97 games in 2013, after the complete disaster of the previous season. From worst to first.

They finished 28 games better than the previous year, the second-best turnaround in team history. (1946 was the best, 33 games better than in 1945.)

My prediction for this year? Allan at The Joy of Sox has Red Sox fans make their best guess just before the year begins, and I had the Sox winning 88. Only missed by 9.

But for me, the moment John Farrell became manager last October, I felt this team could very well be a contender. The nucleus of a very good team was still there, and I thought that they needed the top of the rotation to come through (and they did), and go back to what I call "The 2003 Playbook", bring in underappreciated veterans the way Theo Epstein did in 2003 with Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller, Todd Walker and David Ortiz. Except this time, Ben Cherington did it with Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew, and Koji Uehara.

It has been such an enjoyable year to be a Red Sox fan. No matter what happens from here on, it has been a year we will all look back on with fondness. I guess we had to go through a year of torment to come out shining on the other side.

And we thank Ben Cherington and John Farrell for making that happen, and restoring hope and dignity to being a Red Sox fan once again.

Now on to the playoffs.

They Suckered Me In

I haven't talked about football much since the Red Sox are having such a wonderful season, and heading towards the ALDS.

I really had high hopes for the Minnesota Vikings this season. They ended 2012 very strong, with four straight wins and a playoff berth. I liked the draft they had (although you can't judge a draft on any level until a full season has been played), and made some nice free agent acquisitions (I especially liked them getting Greg Jennings from rival Green Bay).

I thought this club had made the move to the next level, and might very well be a Super Bowl contender.

Silly me.

An 0-3 start. A dreadful loss to one of the NFL's worst teams in their home opener (Cleveland). Two losses in the final minute due a very porous defense. And now their starting quarterback, the much maligned Christian Ponder, takes a seat this Sunday in London due to a rib injury. It looks like Matt Cassel, signed over the summer from Kansas City, will get the QB start.

The defense has been simply putrid, allowing 96 points in the first three games. Only the Giants and Redskins have allowed more in the first three weeks.

Somehow, I don't think this is the way Leslie Frazier and his staff drew up the start of this season. After the Vikings started 0-2, I heard about the long odds of any team making the postseason with that record (although the Giants won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago starting out 0-2). And it seemed to most folks that beating the Cleveland Browns was a lock, but that lock fell apart, as the Browns scored a TD in the final 51 seconds to hand the Vikings a 31-27 loss.

Very few teams have made the playoffs starting out 0-3, the last being the 1998 Buffalo Bills. The Vikings right now are across the pond and will play the equally-inept Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. To say this is a must-win game goes without saying.

I always check out The Daily Norseman for Vikings news.

And I'll be checking it out on NFL RedZone on Sunday. Hoping for the best, and expecting the worst.

At least the MLB postseason is about to begin.

Top Seed Still In Play

OK, the Red Sox won't reach the 100-win mark, as the Rockies beat the Sox, 8-3, at Coors Field last night.

Now, the best the Red Sox can finish with is 99 wins, if they take the remaining four games. That would match the best finish since 1978. Not that big a deal really. But what still remains a big deal is the Red Sox earning the number one spot in the AL playoffs, and currently they lead the Oakland A's by just one game. The red-hot A's were cooled off in Anaheim last night by the Angels, 3-0. Both teams have four games left.

The AL best record gets the Wild Card game winner, and second place will play the Detroit Tigers. You have to figure that the Wild Card game winner will use their best pitcher in the Wild Card matchup, so finishing first overall will give that team a distinct advantage in the ALDS.

And by the way, the Rays win over the Yankees last night but New York's death number at 1. So that means should they drop another to the Rays tonight, or the Indians beat the White Sox in Cleveland, today will officially be "Yankee Elimination Day."