Monday, May 28, 2012

You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss - Weekly Trivia!

Andrew has never been the name of the monarch of England (post-William the Conqueror). The other tempting option was Stephen, the grandson of William (depicted below), as there was only one of him and he ruled a long time ago.

He was admittedly a difficult man to address - many avoided doing so to keep out of his uncomfortable, confusing gaze.
My Dad is on a tear right now: he got this week's answer, as well as the Yorktown one last week. Will he be toppled from his lofty TDZ trivia champion perch this week?

That depends on your knowledge of the new topic: Stanley Cup goalies. The puck drops for the finals this Wednesday, and Devils goalie Martin Brodeur will try to win his 4th Stanley Cup.

Who was the last goalie to win 4 Stanley Cups?
  • Patrick Roy
  • Chris Osgood
  • Dominik Hasek
  • Grant Fuhr
  • Billy Smith
Good luck, and happy Memorial Day.

Monday, May 21, 2012

These Are the Voyages of the Starship... - Weekly Trivia!

Yorktown?! That's right: Gene Roddenberry's original script chronicled the adventures of the starship Yorktown. He named the ship after the last major battle of the Revolutionary War - an apt moniker for the birth of a society with a new ideology. Whoever guessed correctly, make yourself known!

Fun factoid for my nerds: evidently in a nod to the original name change, the Enterprise-A was actually just a recommissioned Yorktown, which explains why Kirk got a new ship so fast after the original Enterprise blew up in Star Trek III.
This week I'm away for work, so I'm going to pose a question about my destination that's hopefully challenging. The subject: English monarchs. They're sometimes mad, often silly, and I know I didn't vote for them! Nevertheless, they exist against all odds, and have for many centuries. Starting with William the Conqueror, I ask this week's question:

Which of the following has NOT been the name of a monarch of England?
  • Mary
  • Anne
  • Stephen
  • John
  • Andrew
Cheerio!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

The Quadri-ding-dong Club - Weekly Trivia!

It was another great week for trivia - not only was the question a tough one, but it also became highly topical, as "The Natural," Josh Hamilton, blasted four home runs against the Orioles last Tuesday. He now has 18 on the season and is batting over .400. Could we be seeing the first triple crown winner in my lifetime? With Matt Kemp doing work in the N.L., the odds are looking better than normal, but there's still a lot of baseball left to play.

Swing and a drive...
As for this week's question, Jimmie Foxx was the player who never hit four homers in a game. As a guy that's easily associated with hitting large numbers of home runs, I figured he'd be a tough one to guess. To try your knowledge further, play this Sporcle quiz and see how many of the 16 4-homer players you can name!

Lately I've been mulling a side project, and in so doing, I've been thinking about a certain sci-fi series lately. The codename for this project is "Operation Dilithium," so I'll let you put 2 and 2 together. Anyways, I came to find out something new about the series recently, and it involves the following:

What was the original name of the central starship in Gene Roddenberry's first pitch to NBC for Star Trek?
  • Enterprise
  • Plymouth
  • Yorktown
  • Independence
  • Endeavor
Live long and prosper this week. Also, enjoy a bonus sci-fi related Sporcle quiz.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Alternative Sports Bucket List

While TDZ tends to cover only the big 5 sports (that's right, I'm including soccer, and there's nothing you can do about it), there are a plethora of fringe sports that, while boring on TV, could make for an entertaining cultural immersion. I had the privilege of attending a couple lucha libre cards in Mexico, and some readers may remember the good times (or maybe unending tedium) of Aussie-rules Football and Rugby League matches. Attending these different events - witnessing their cultural relevance and experiencing the passionate atmosphere of the fans - sparked an interest in further sportsploration.

Hehe, look at Psicosis' little nino wrestle.

With that in mind, I've devised a bucket list of sporting events that I'm interested in checking off before I meet the great referee up above.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Playoff Point Parade - Weekly Trivia!

Well, I wish there was some kind of interesting anecdote for the answer this week, but the most predictable answer was the right one: Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 47 points in a single postseason (1985). Amazingly, he amassed that total in a mere 18 games.

For the WHA!
Let's face it: if there's an NHL scoring record and you have to guess who it is, Gretzky versus the field is about a 50:50 chance. Whoever was the great one to pick The Great One, make yourself known!

This week, I've got to give a nod to Ryan Braun's home run hat trick last night. Y'know what's even more impressive? Not popping testosterone pills to do it. Hitting four home runs in one game. Only 15 players have accomplished that feat...

Which of the following players did NOT hit four home runs in one game?
  • Lou Gehrig
  • Jimmie Foxx
  • Willie Mays
  • Mike Schmidt
  • Mark Whiten
Good luck, and have a hard hittin' week.