TRASH Regionals 2004 Recap
I am not expecting anyone to actually read this, or anyone who does read it to care. This is for my benefit only, but
if you find anything interesting, feel free to leave a comment.
Overall Results: 7-3 record, a tie for
2nd place. Not a bad finish. We averaged 239 PPG over 10 rounds with a bonus conversion of 16.6. Not great on the
conversion; definitely room for improvement there. Tossup stats: I had 34/6 for 31 PPG, Mark had 39/3 for 37.5 PPG, and Tim
had 20/5 for 17.5 PPG. Right about where we all usually end up.
In the round-by-round recaps that follow, my correct tossups are in bold,
the negs in italics.
Round 1
Tia and the TRASHmen 245, Team Legler 140
This was actually supposed to be Round 2, but the two rounds were flipped due to the lateness of one of the teams. We
got off to a slow start, being down 50 to -5 after
3 tossups. Poor bonus conversion by the Leglers kept us in the game early. We edged ahead 75-70 at the half by nailing an
Alpha Flight bonus. When I say we nailed it, I mean my teammates did, of course. We fell back behind 145-75 after 13, but
a strong finish carried the day.
My tossups: Calvin Murphy (was Rudy Tomjonavich), Scene It, Nolan Ryan, ATA
(the airline), The $6 Million Man
Bad neg for me to start the tournament; I just blurted out the wrong Rocket for reasons I cannot explain.
Round 2
Tia and the TRASHmen 260, License to IL 130
License to IL was Robert Flaxman’s team, who we always seem to play close, and always seem to end up playing at
TRASHionals. Again a slow start (including my being beaten on the Ken Jennings tossup!) saw us down 60-0 after 3. Mark nailed Lindsay
Lohan (he nailed the tossup, sheesh) to start a rally that tied the score at 95
at the half. I turned in a strong second half with 3 tossups, including beating a Chicago-based team on the Bears question,
to help us pull away.
My tossups: the Angus Diet, Rafael
Furcal (was Miguel Tejada), the 1985 Chicago Bears, Ironman Triathlon, Scrooge McDuck (after hearing the phrase “3
cubic acres of money”)
Not as bad a neg this time; the question started talking about youngest player on his team and then I had a reflex
buzz when the word shortstop was mentioned.
Round 3
Tia and the TRASHmen 315, Monmouth 150
This one was never in doubt, as we started out by Tim getting a tossup on It’s
Raining Men and 30-ing a bonus on unusual college scholarships. We had a seemingly-comfortable 140-90 lead at the half,
but they actually got the next tossup to come within 20. We pulled away from them at that point.
My tossups: Sugar Bowl, Party Schools,
Phil Mickelson, NFL Network, Meet the Press
A clean round for me, equaling my top-scoring round for the tournament. For whatever reason, I sat on a lot of those
answers for a long time.
Round 4
Shelby Foote Soldiers 325, Tia and the TRASHmen 145
A slightly different lineup for the Soldiers this year, and they came out firing. We got the first tossup and the last
tossup; in between it was all Iowa. The packet was really ill-suited for us, but it was still disheartening. We trailed 200-35 at the
half and the closest we got was 250-115.
My tossups: eHarmony.com, Laura
Branigan, the ABA, Al Davis
Took me WAY too long to get Branigan. I’m sorry I almost let you down, Laura; rest in peace. We miss you.
Round 5
Tia and the TRASHmen 330, Drake 50
This one was never close. I think the first time Drake rang in was tossup 9, by which point they were already down
165-0. Solid round all around by us.
My tossups: Dave Krieg, Napoleon’s
penis (don’t ask), Ebbets Field, the Ashes, Operation (the Shrek edition)
So why couldn’t I come up with Todd Hamilton; I made a joke about him here on the blog and everything!
Round 6
Tia and the TRASHmen 195, Drake 135
We made the mistake of having a big pasta lunch; lethargy set in. Except for Tim; he carried us this round. We lead
comfortably most of the game; only a late charge made it close.
My tossup: Indiana Pacers
Not a great round by me. I got beat on a couple of tossups I was sitting on. Not good.
Round 7
Shelby Foote Soldiers 330, Tia and the TRASHmen 125
It didn’t get any better the second time around. It started out more promisingly; Mark got tossups 2 and 3 and
we led 50-35. Then Iowa ran off the next 6 tossups, one went unanswered, and they got the next one to make it 245-50 and it was all over.
My tossup: Richard Marx
I must have been using all my energy digesting and not for paying attention. Two horrible games in a row by me.
Round 8
Tia and the TRASHmen 350, Monmouth 65
This was more of a struggle than you think. 3 negs in the first half had us down 40-35 after 7 tossups. We ran off the next 3 with
good bonus conversion to pull away.
My tossups: Chick Fil’A, Knute
Rockne, I can’t read my notes for this neg, Horseshoe (was Golden Nugget), Ted Williams, Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Got Milf?
My favorite tossup of the tournament (“A panda walks into a bar” “Buzz”). Chick Fil’A
I was all over, but I sat on Rockne and Williams for way too long. The Got Milf was just one I had to reason out; apparently
some guy had that on his license plate. The neg (the one I can remember) was going for a Vegas hotel (obviously). The question
mentioned “was owned by MGM Grand” so I rang into say Bally’s but the next thing the moderator said referred
to downtown so I knew I was toast.
Round 9
Tia and the TRASHmen 255, Team Legler 180
A real back and forth affair. We pulled out early to the tune of 150-30 and 190-60. They came back to make it 190-140,
but Tim broke their run with a tossup and we 20’s a bonus about Vegas table games to go up 220-140 with 4 tossups to
go. Then I negged, they rebounded and 30’d to pull within 35. Lovely. Tossup 18 went dead, but I came up with 19 and
20 to seal the win. I felt like I had to at that point, since my neg had almost handed them the game.
My tossups: Genevieve Gorder, Andy
Reid (was Jon Gruden), Kobe Masahiko, Chumbawumba
Nice to get two tossups from shows I used to watch religiously, but have kinda outgrown. The neg was talking about being
an assistant to Mike Holmgren and I was ringing in to say Mike Sherman but then Philadelphia was mentioned so I blurted out Reid. Had I
taken the time to think at that point, I might have realized it was Gruden. Oh well. I’m just glad it didn’t cost
us the game.
Round 10 License
to IL 265, Tia and the TRASHmen 170
We didn’t know it going in, but a win here would have given us sole possession of 2nd place. It just
wasn’t to be, as we fell behind 130-10 after only 5 tossups. The highlight of the round was our laming a bonus and having
the new one be on Carpenters lyrics. I’m sure we’re the only team in the field who would be thrilled for that
to happen to them. We got as close as 145-110 but they pulled away to a well-deserved win.
My tossups: “No Pepper” (was ground rule triple), Roy Williams, Louisiana Superdome
The neg takes some explaining. The question was describing incidents where baseballs had gone into the stands, or at
least out of play. I thought this was a reference to the origin of the “No Pepper” signs you see posted at ballparks.
Turns out I was way off. As for which Roy Williams was it: all of them. It was one of those “name’s the same”
questions.
That
was the tournament. We decided not to play off for 2nd since we all had long drives home.
