Challenge the stupid sportswriter, Part 2
Week 2 of Fred Roggin's "The Challenge" live on KNBC-Channel 4 turned out to be just about as difficult as the first week, but I ended up finishing with 180 points and was surprised to see that I was tied for 11th -- up from my tie for 24th place (and 160 points) during the first week. Congrats to Michael Gutenplan, who racked up 250 points (out of a possible 360) to win by a 25-point margin over the two second place finishers.
My season total after two weeks: Tied for 23rd overall with 340 points.
C'mon. Who's doing better than that? I know there's about 5,000 people out there playing this game each Sunday night... Step it up.
Again, I'll let you know I'm playing with a bit of a handicap -- a brief delay because of watching the show on DirecTV, so I'm resigned to the fact I'll never get a full 40 points for a correct and immediate answer. Which was too bad since I did have the first two questions right off the bat before the answer choices even came up on the screen. Those extra 10 points would have tied me for ninth.
Regardless, I'm getting two tickets to the UCLA-Stanford game on Sept. 30 because I finished in the top 25 -- take that! (Anyone out there want to beg for 'em?)
By the way, I've discussed this technological snafu with Fred, and we agree there's not much that can be done about it. His contention is it is possible for anyone watching on DirecTV to win, so we'll see how this plays out. Just for reference, one of the guys who tied for first last week (Patrick Alog, who currently is the overall leader after two weeks) told me he was watching on DirecTV and never received a full 40 points for a correct response. I heard from someone else that, while he was watching the show and doing the contest on a Time Warner Cable broadcast talking to a friend doing the contest on DirecTV, there was a full minute delay between the two...
Just be warned...
Of the nine questions, I had seven correct, four of which were pretty fast and could have got the full 40 points (but I only got 35 for them). My new strategy is not to guess as much and wait for at least two choices before making an educated pick if I have no clue, and that payed off somewhat. The two I had wrong were after I'd waited until a choice or two were elminated, then I picked what I thought was a decent answer, only to pick the guy who actually finished second in the event that was the focus of the question.
By the way, have you noticed that on the new KABC Channel 7 "Sports Zone" that comes on after the Saturday night college game, they've added a new element: Answer the question with your cell phone and get put into a drawing to win a Olevia flat-screen TV! (Sound familiar? Yeah, kinda)...
Again, we've provided the full questions from Week 2, the four choices and the answers below. Email me (thomas.hoffarth@dailynews.com) and let me know how you did compared to my final score and I'll acknowledge you with a return email...
It's not much, but it beats a stick in the eye:
Question 1: Who coached the L.A. Rams when they played in Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers?
a) Chuck Knox
b) John Robinson
c) Ray Malavasi
d) Dick Vermeil
Question 2: At which school did (the Angels') Darin Erstad win a national title in football?
a) Oklahoma
b) Notre Dame
c) Florida
d) Nebraska
Question 3: Lance Armstrong wo nthe first of his record 7 straight Tour De France titles in 1999. Which rider won in 1998?
a) Bjarne Riis
b) Marco Pantani
c) Miguel Indurain
d) Jan Ullrich
Question 4: (an audio question): Which major league pitcher is singing this song (a balad that eventually gets to the lyrics: "I slept with your mother, but don't judge me 'cause I could be your brother")
a) Jake Peavy
b) Brandon Webb
c) Chris Carpenter
d) Barry Zito
Question 5: Which driver was the last back to back winner of the Daytona 500?
a) Jeff Gordon
b) Dale Jarrett
c) Sterling Marlin
d) Michael Waltrip
Question 6: Which golfer won this year's L.A. Open at Riviera Country Club?
a) Jeff Sluman
b) Mike Weir
c) Adam Scott
d) Rory Sabbatini
Question 7: At which school did Terrell Owens play college basketball?
a) Tennessee-Chattanooga
b) Grambling
c) Mississippi Valley St.
d) Hampton
Question 8: (Horse trainer) Bob Baffert named his son after which professional athlete?
a) Michael Jordan
b) Bode Miller
c) Tiger Woods
d) Wayne Gretzky
Question 9: Who did Henry Bibby replace as coach of the USC basketball team?
a) George Raveling
b) Charlie Parker
c) Stan Morrison
d) Jim Saia
Answers:
1: c) Malavasi. Knew it immediately. Only got 35 points.
2: d) Nebraska. As the team's punter and kicker. I knew it before the question even came up (or, at least guess right what the answer would be). Only got 35 points.
3. b) Pantani. I guessed Ulrich and was locked out after about 10 seconds. Ulrich finished second to Pantani. 0 points
4. d) Zito. It took me about 5 seconds to lock in on Zito while all four choices were still showing. Got 35 points.
5: c) Marlin. With no idea, I waited until there was just one answer remaining and took whatever points it could give me. Which was 10 points.
6. d) Sabbatini. I knew it wasn't the first two, so I took a shot with Scott and was wrong, so I was locked out with 0 points. Besides, it's called the Nissan Open, not the L.A. Open.
7. a) Tennessee-Chattanooga. This was SAT test strategy. The answer a) hadn't come up all night. Grambling and Mississippi Valley St. were too obvious. Unfortunately, as I sorted all that out, I didn't answer right until there were two choices left and got 15 points.
8. b) Bode Miller. My first inclination was to guess d) Gretzky, but that was eliminated first. I waited then until Woods was eliminated and picked the right answer for 15 points.
9. b) Charlie Parker. After surveying the choices quickly, I figured out Parker before any of the answers were eliminated and still got 35 points.