Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Frontstretch Newsletter: As The Danica/Logano Turns

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 31st, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXLIV

USE FANVISION AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND... FOR FREE!
That's right! Frontstretch is running a competition through Twitter this week where one lucky fan will win a free weekend of FanVision at Pocono, the newest way to get the inside story on all your NASCAR stars at the track through team radio transmissions, up-to-the-date field summaries and so much more. How can you win? Look for a special trivia question on our Twitter feed (@TheFrontstretch) sometime this week; the right answer could land you with the latest, greatest at-track technology right at your fingertips this Sunday! But you can't participate if you don't follow our feed; so don't hesitate! Jump on Twitter today and give us a look.

What To Watch: Tuesday

-
Joey Logano will meet with the national media in advance of Sunday's race at Pocono. Logano, who won at the 2.5-mile triangle in June is widely speculated to lose his Cup Series ride in 2013 to Matt Kenseth, leaving the 22-year-old at the center of Silly Season conversations for every ride from Penske Racing's No. 22 to a spot back in the Nationwide Series.

Top News
by Tom Bowles

Tire Test Productive At Michigan While Danica Crashes -- New Compound Selected For August Race

NASCAR's August race in the Irish Hills will come with a fresh set of Goodyears. After 28 Cup teams tested at Michigan Speedway's 2-mile oval Monday, the tire company claims a new compound will stay safe while slowing speeds for the upcoming event, just the second for the series since the track was newly repaved.

"Back in June was our first race on this new pavement. We digested everything we saw over the weekend, in practice as well as what we had in the race," Greg Stucker, Director of Racing Tire Sales for Goodyear, said after the test. "We digested that and looked at all the data, poured over all the comments we got from the teams and drivers, made our recommendation for our package coming up in August. That is why we were here today for, just confirming that."

The recommendations did appear to deliver as promised, drivers slowed to just 195 miles an hour although speeds down the straightaways were still approaching 210. Back in June, with 200+ MPH average speeds the company had major blistering issues with its rubber to the point teams were forced to use a new compound on raceday for fear of a rash of tire failures during the event. However, the compound selected was rock hard, resulting in a single-file affair with little variation in speed.

There was one major incident during the test; Danica Patrick, testing Tony Stewart's No. 14 Cup Series Chevrolet lost an engine and crashed hard into the outside wall. Patrick, who is preparing for a full Cup Series schedule in 2013 was uninjured and able to drive the car back to the garage under her own power.

Redesigned 2013 Car Designs Approved

It's official: NASCAR's Cup Series will have a fresh new look for 2013. The sanctioning body officially approved new designs from its four manufacturers Monday, the latest step in a change from the current "Car of Tomorrow" chassis to another next-generation look scheduled to debut in February. The rubber-stamp means teams can officially get to work, making parts and pieces for the new models after aerodynamic tests, held in mid-July fit within NASCAR's parity standards.

"We commend the manufacturers and our team at the R&D center on all the hard work they've put into this new car," exclaimed NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton. "We believe the new car is going to be a milestone opportunity for our sport, one that our fans will embrace."

The changes to these models are aesthetic as well as engineering-based, designed to look more like the cars fans drive out on the street each day. As far as branding is concerned, Chevrolet will switch to its SS model for 2013, while Dodge will race the Charger. Ford will stick with its Fusion model while Toyota will also continue to race its Camry.

News Bites

- Two major names are expected to make their debut in respective NASCAR series this weekend. John Wes Townley, running in the Truck Series full-time is expected to climb behind the wheel of Frank Stoddard's No. 32 Ford with Zaxby's sponsorship. The 22-year-old is still seeking his first top-10 finish in that division, along with NASCAR's Nationwide Series in 57 combined starts. Meanwhile, Brett Moffitt, the current point leader in K&N Pro Series East will be making his Nationwide Series debut with RAB Racing's No. 99 Toyota at Iowa Speedway. Moffitt, who is running for Shigeaki Hattori in the lower-tier division has two victories this year, four top-3 finishes in a row and is an Iowa native, growing up in the town of Grimes.

- Several sources are adamant Joey Logano (mentioned above) will be heading elsewhere for 2013, but J.D. Gibbs Monday fought back, claiming they're trying to re-sign the youngster and keep him at Joe Gibbs Racing. With Matt Kenseth all but officially headed there, replacing Logano in the No. 20 Toyota Gibbs will not verify that move; however, his insistence in recent interviews is to expand to four cars with Logano manning the fourth team if retained. Gibbs has never run a four-car operation full-time in the Cup Series, last expanding from two to three full-time cars in 2005.

ESPN reported Monday that Kenseth's move to Gibbs, the worst-kept secret in NASCAR right now can't be announced due to Kenseth's current contract with Roush Fenway Racing. The current driver of the No. 17 Ford has been with RFR since moving up to Cup full-time in 2000.

Have news for Beth and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!

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Today's Featured Commentary
Who Needs Dale Jr. Anyway? NASCAR Nation for One
Sitting In The Stands: A Fan's View
by S.D. Grady

People ran screaming in the streets.  Hedges were chopped down, cars repainted from variable shades of red.  Entire wardrobes were sent to the donation center, an unexpected Christmas present some thought would never come.  It was very nearly the end of the world... or so we thought.

Actually, it was only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. divesting himself of his adored No. 8 as he headed over to Mr. Hendrick's garage, where the revamped Junior Nation decided green was the new black.  And the party continued.

That was 2008.  If you visited a track, you would have witnessed the massive cavalcade of media that haunted Junior's every step -- even as he tried to ignore them.  His future in NASCAR looked rosy and the world held their breath just waiting for that first Hendrick win, and ultimately the preordained Cup that -- as an Earnhardt -- would surely come his way.  But it never did.  Let's be honest.  It never even looked like it could.  We held our breath for an awfully long time.

Then the unthinkable happened.  NASCAR Nation stopped holding their breath, patience slowly melting into indifference.  Oh, not in the kitchens and Dale Jr. chat rooms.  At the grassroots level, our most popular driver EVER remained in everyone's heart.  Never did the noise abate when he passed anybody on the track.  And when he made it to the front, well, I've actually heard the crowd screaming over my headset in the last couple years while I tried to crane my neck to get a glimpse of what's happening.  That kind of adoration is unique and unshakeable.

The NASCAR Nation I'm talking about is the media.  The fickle TV, radio, cameras, those like me with a keyboard... all of us.  We just sort stopped talking about when the win would happen, if it would, who would help Junior get there... and lo and behold, it did.  Now Junior is perched on top of the points standings, a virtual lock for the Chase and driving like, yes, he could actually be the one hoisting the Sprint Cup come November. 

Well, if simply changing his number created a huge amount of anxiety and attention for our sport, what would the prodigal's son arrival at the head table in Las Vegas do?

The heavens would open, trumpets caroling, masses collecting in town squares... exactly what NASCAR has been dying for since about 2002.  Once again, seats would start to fill up.  Prices for those fancy, schmancy seats would skyrocket.  And the noise... noise, noise, noise.  Junior Nation would rise up in celebration, all the while drawing the eyes of every casual sport fan across America.  New eyes could translate into that youthful fan base the suits have been searching for over the past decade.  A broader audience combined with the hopefully improved Car of 2013... think of the possibilities.

There is no doubt, the continuation of Earnhardt Jr.'s presence at the top of this year's standings can only be good.  Good for him, for NASCAR and every track that hasn't been able to hide vast stretches of empty stands -- where Junior Nation and its rivals used to sit.

Now, I'm not trying to pile the kind of pressure on L'il E that he suffered under in the past.  I truly hope no person has to walk through life with a microphone hovering six inches from his face 24/7.  But I am being realistic about what it would take to resurrect our struggling sport back to its glory days.

NASCAR needs the No. 88 to win this championship.  Hopefully the Dew Crew shares this desire and will bring that much missed celebration to our record books. 

There's no doubt, NASCAR Nation needs it!

***

What NASCAR does not need is appearing arbitrary in the enforcement on their own rule book.  Nothing hurt their image more than throwing the black flag on Elliott Sadler in Saturday's Nationwide race after failing to do so to Kyle Busch on the opening lap.

While the officials may be holding up the letter of the law, insisting Sadler clearly passed a wobbling Keselowski, this case is one where what the NASCAR fans saw will override anybody's myopic interpretation of the facts, no matter how correct they might be. Consistency has long been the mantra of the head office.  Mr. France needs to make sure that's what NASCAR is presenting to the fan who is holding the money for their next ticket hostage. 

Sonya's Weekly Danica Stat
Indianapolis: NNS in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
Qualified: 20th
Finished: 35th (DNF, crash lap 38)
Points Position: 10th

S.D. Grady is a Senior Editor for Frontstretch.com.  She can be reached via e-mail at sonya.grady@frontstretch.com.  Follow her on Twitter at @laregna.

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Numbers Game: Brickyard 400
by Garrett Horton

3rd
Greg Biffle had his best finish on Sunday since he won Texas back in April. Biffle also started the 2012 season with three straight third-place finishes.

3
After going 11 races without a top-10 finish, following his win at Martinsville, Ryan Newman has quietly put together a three-race streak running 10th or better. He wound up seventh on Sunday.

5
Martin Truex, Jr. needs five more top-10 finishes in 2012 to set his career high for a season.  His personal best came in 2007, when he posted 14 top-10s.  With 15 races remaining, he has already accumulated ten.

6
Hendrick drivers have combined for six wins in 2012 after having only five all of last year.  Jeff Gordon, who had three of those five victories in 2011, is the only winless Hendrick driver this year.

7
Kyle Busch snapped a dry spell of seven finishes outside the top 5 with his runner-up result at the Brickyard.  You have to go back to Memorial Day, where his third-place finish at Charlotte was his last top 5.

15
It has been 15 races since Carl Edwards' last top-5 finish.  After posting two in the first five races of the season (fifth at both Las Vegas and Fontana), he has not had one since.  Sunday was a complete nightmare for Edwards, with early engine problems dropping him well off the pace and to an eventual 29th-place result.

16th
Current replacement for AJ Allmendinger and 2006 Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr. placed 16th on Sunday, his best performance driving for Roger Penske in the Cup Series this year. It was Hornish's best since a 15th at Talladega in the Fall of 2010.

17
On any race week, chances are that at least one of the top-5 starters will finish in the top-5.  That is the current trend, anyway, as the last 17 races have seen at least one top-5 starter end up finishing in one of the first five positions.

21st
Juan Pablo Montoya, who won the Indy 500 in 2000 and dominated the 2009 and 2010 races here, was never a factor in this year's running and could only manage a 21st-place finish.

24th
David Stremme, a start and parker for most of the year, posted a 24th-place result on Sunday, the best effort for Inception Motorsports in their two-year stint in the Cup Series.

27
Despite all of Jimmie Johnson's accomplishments, he has never posted 25 top-10s or more in a single season.  Well, if he maintains his current pace, he will end the season with 27 top-10s, as he is finishing there in three out of every four races this year.

35th
Matt Kenseth's early exit from the Brickyard was easily his worst finish of the season.  Prior to Sunday, he hadn't run worse than 22nd. 

BONUS F-1 Edition (In spirit of the Senna documentary that aired the past two nights on ESPN2, here are a few of statistical nuggets from Ayrton Senna's career.)

3
Senna captured three F-1 championships in his 11 year career, just one of eight drivers in the series history to have won at least three.

41
Senna's 41 career victories ranked second-most at the time of his death, only behind rival Alain Prost.  Both Senna and Prost have since been passed by Michael Schumacher, whose 91 victories are the most all-time.

65
Senna had 65 poles, a record he held up until 2006, when Schumacher broke it by winning four that year to make his total 68.  No other driver has more than 33.

80
Senna's 80 podiums rank third all-time, just behind Schumacher and Prost.

Garrett Horton is a Contributor to Frontstretch.  He can be reached via e-mail at garrett.horton@frontstretch.com.  Follow him on Twitter at @Garrett_Horton.

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ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand?  A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!  Interested parties can contact us at frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com for details.

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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:


Five Points to Ponder: Time to Send the Brickyard Packing (and the Restart Rules...and the Points System)
by Bryan Davis Keith


Still Shiny and Slick: Kevin Manion Prepares Car #1 for Pocono Race #2
by Mike Neff

Who's Hot/Who's Not in NASCAR: Indianapolis/Pocono Edition
by Brett Poirier

Overhyping and Individual Coverage Mars ESPN at Brickyard
by Phil Allaway

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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q: Joe Nemechek lived up to his "Front Row Joe" nickname by winning the pole for the 1997 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono.  However, after leading 11 laps, an incident took him out of contention for a decent finish.  What happened?
 
Check back Wednesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Monday's Answer:

Q:
In the 1990 AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono Raceway, Darrell Waltrip started the race just two weeks after breaking his leg in a practice crash at Daytona.  Under an agreement between Waltrip, his doctor and NASCAR, he would run only one lap before coming in and handing over the Tide Chevrolet to Jimmy Horton.  However, when Waltrip came in for the change, Horton was penalized by NASCAR.  Since there was no pit road speed limit at the time (they were instituted early in 1991), he could not be held in the pits for that; and Dave Marcis, who did a similar driver swap that weekend, was not penalized for doing it.  So why was the No. 17 held?

A: Technically, Waltrip broke a promise to Dick Beatty (the series director at the time) not to pass anyone on the first lap.  Waltrip made a couple of passes before bringing his Tide Chevrolet in for the stop.  Beatty was naturally ticked and held Horton for a lap before he could go out on track.  Horton eventually finished three laps down in 20th.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee:  If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs!  If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!

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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Brad Morgan
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!

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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:


Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
What does one innocuous comment from Dale Earnhardt, Jr. tell us about how his 2012 victory has failed to boost the sport's presence nationally -- or his own popularity? Tom returns with the reality of a "popular driver" that's lost some of his mojo, part of a list of small but important observations about the sport.

Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
Your favorite Frontstretch writers are back to discuss a variety of different topics. Among them: How to bring back excitement to Indy, the definition of winning at all costs and a rulebook written in ... pencil?

Kevin's Corner by Kevin Rutherford
Kevin is back with a website look at one of the hot topics in NASCAR now.

Frontstretch Top Ten by the Frontstretch Staff
We'll have a top ten list that will tickle your funny bone, guaranteed.

Beyond The Cockpit: Jim Hurd by Mike Neff
Sometimes, it's the men behind the scenes who keep NASCAR going more than you will ever know. Mike has a special story about an "air gun specialist" who truly keeps everyone on pit road in perfect position to succeed.

Open-Wheel Wednesday by Matt Stallknecht
This week, Matt returns with another look at the Izod IndyCar Series ahead of this weekend's race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

-----------------------------
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©2012 Frontstretch.com

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Monday, July 30, 2012

The Frontstretch Newsletter: July 30th, 2012

THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 30th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXXXVIII

USE FANVISION AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND... FOR FREE!

That's right! Frontstretch is running a competition in the Newsletter this week where one lucky fan will win a free weekend of FanVision at Pocono, the newest way to get the inside story on all your NASCAR stars at the track through team radio transmissions, up-to-the-date field summaries and so much more. How can you win? Look for a special trivia question on our Twitter feed (@TheFrontstretch) sometime this week; the right answer could land you with the latest, greatest at-track technology right at your fingertips this Sunday! But you can't participate if you don't follow our feed; so don't hesitate! Jump on Twitter today and give us a look.
~~~~~~~~~~

Top News
by Jeff Wolfe

Jimmie Johnson Makes History At Indy, Ties Record With Fourth Career Victory At Track

Jimmie Johnson sure hopes history repeats itself. If that happens, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet might have a new nickname when the season is over, because "Five-Time" won't really work with a six-pack of championship hardware.

Johnson, often called "five-time" for his five NASCAR Sprint Cup titles, won his fourth Brickyard 400 Sunday. Of the previous 18 winners of the race, eight have gone on to win the title. At least on Sunday, Johnson looked like a good bet to make it nine, in which case he might have to be called six-timer.

He could be called nothing but fast in this win at Indy. After wresting control from Denny Hamlin early in the race, Johnson was in the lead much of the rest of the way in the 160-lap, 400-mile event at the famed 2.5-mile oval. Johnson led 99 laps and became the first driver who has led the most laps in the race to also win at Indy since 2007, when three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart took the checkers.

"I slept well last night knowing I had such a good car and feeling that today was going to be my day," said the superstar, who picked up his 58th career victory and third this season. "Winning is great but the way you win is just as important."

Johnson was helped by the fact his main challengers each had some type of issue to deal without throughout the race. Early on, Hamlin was in control and led the first 26 laps, but lost the lead to Johnson after pit stops cycled through under green.  Johnson beat Hamlin out of the pits on lap 28 to get the advantage, one the No. 11 team could never quite earn back.

And for good reason. After the first of five cautions on lap 42, for a Travis Kvapil spin, Brad Keselowski, who was on a different pit strategy, joined Johnson and Hamlin  at the front of the pack for the restart. That's when Hamlin's car lost its grip and slipped up out of the narrow racing groove at Indianapolis, dropping him back to 14th and costing him the track position needed to truly contend.

That passed things off to Keselowski, who also had his moments in the bright sun at Indy, leading for 22 laps. And even though he was on a slightly different pit strategy, once the stops cycled through about midway through the race, he had a lead on Johnson from laps 76-89 and seemed destined to be a factor. After Keselowsi  pitted on lap 90, though the third caution of the day came out on lap 95, meaning he could stay out while the rest of the leaders came into the pits. However, Regan Smith, also looking for track position, took just two tires on the stop and started second next to Keselowski.

On the ensuing restart, Keselowski was trying to pass Smith on the outside but got loose and also went up out of the groove. He fell to sixth and Johnson took advantage by taking the lead. That left eventual second-place finisher Kyle Busch as the only other potential challenger for Johnson on the day. Busch, too, had his moments as he led briefly for three laps. However, he had issues on pit road when after leaving his pit box on a yellow flag, the car belched black smoke for a moment, costing him several positions before picking up speed again. While the team recovered, the speed in the car was never good enough; Johnson beat the No. 18 car to the line by about four seconds.

"If it wasn't for the No. 48, we were probably in our zip code on the rest of the field, but Jimmie Johnson was in his own country today, so we just couldn't keep up with him," Busch said.  "We had a really good car today.  My team brought a phenomenal piece here, and we worked on it well this weekend."

Good, but not good enough to make this type of J.J. history. Johnson joined a phenomenal group of four-time winners at Indy, including Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, IndyCar legends A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears and Formula One legend Michael Schumacher.

"To come here and win is a huge honor," Johnson said. "And to win four – four wins … I'm at a loss for words. It was a total team effort, and we put it to them today. It was nice.

"I can remember watching the (Indy) 500 on the couch with my grandfather, and I remember him telling me he came to Indy. Man, you just hope to race here, and it is nice to create my own family memories here."

Johnson said the key moment for him in this race came on the next-to-last restart, when he spun his tires just a bit, allowing third-place finisher Greg Biffle to take a brief lead and then getting side-by-side with Busch before regaining his grip and pulling away.

"That was my moment of panic when I thought I had lost the race, but then I was able to get back into the lead," he said. "On the last restart, I got away quickly and was able to manage it."

Also managing to finish in the top 10 were Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth, then Gordon, Hamlin, Newman, Truex Jr., Keselowski and Stewart in front of an estimated crowd of 125,000, marking the fifth straight decrease in attendance at for the Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis. But it wasn't just the track accountants who left Sunday night fairly upset. Stewart, who considers the speedway his home track, made it clear he wasn't happy with some drivers during the race.

"There are guys who just forget about what we are supposed to be doing here," Stewart said. "They are more worried about blocking the guys behind them than trying to pass the guys in front of them. You just race them how they race. We'll just keep adapting to how they want to race."

The Sprint Cup Series will race again next Sunday at another 2.5-mile track at Pocono on a 1 p.m. start on ESPN.

Have news for The Frontstretch?  Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com with a promising lead or tip.

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Chasing the Chase: Earnhardt Back In The Points Lead

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. broke his 143-race, four-year losing streak earlier this year, and now, for the first time in eight years, NASCAR's Most Popular Driver finds himself with the Sprint Cup point lead. Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth Sunday at Indianapolis, while previous points leader Matt Kenseth was involved in a crash on lap 133 that caused him to finish 35th. That swung the edge to Earnhardt, by 14 points with only six races remaining in NASCAR's regular season. Kenseth, whose DNF was his first of the year, secured just his second finish outside the top 20 in nineteen starts.

Greg Biffle, third in the race sits third in points; behind him, the other big winner in the championship race Sunday was race winner Jimmie Johnson. He is now fourth in the standings, 27 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Earnhardt Jr. and five behind third-place Biffle; he also joined Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski as the other drivers with three victories this season. When the standings for NASCAR's version of the playoffs, the Chase for the Championship are reset with 10 races to go, it will be based on victories, meaning Johnson, Stewart and Keselowski would be on top at the moment.

Behind those top drivers, fifth through tenth remained solidly ahead of their main competitors. Indy polesitter Denny Hamlin's top-10 finish left him fifth; Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Jr. and Tony Stewart are sixth, seventh, and eighth, with the three of them separated by no more than a single point. Brad Keselowski, despite a late-race dropoff jumped up a position to ninth while Clint Bowyer, after a midrace crash dropped a spot. His 15th-place finish at the Brickyard leaves him 10th, but a healthy 55 points ahead of 11th-place Kyle Busch.

Behind those ten, the next two drivers with the most wins and in the top 20 in points will also make the Chase as wild cards. Busch has a victory, making him safe while Kasey Kahne has two wins this year and is 13th in points after finishing 12th Sunday. That makes him the first wild-card qualifier, while sitting in the final spot is Kyle Busch.

The other drivers with a win this season not inside the top 10 are Ryan Newman and Joey Logano. Newman finished seventh Sunday and is 15 points behind Busch. Logano dropped to 17th in points after finishing 33rd, 16 laps down due to being involved in the same crash as Kenseth. That leaves him 44 points behind Busch, a number large enough it likely means he would most need another victory to make the Chase.

Three drivers who could put themselves in the middle of the Chase "wild card" scene with a win are Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Paul Menard. Edwards fell to 12th in points as he had engine troubles early Sunday and finished 29th; however, he is still just six points behind Busch. Gordon and Menard are each 24 points behind Busch, respectively and close enough to cause him problems with a victory. Gordon is in 15th in the standings after finishing fifth on Sunday. Menard, who won at the Brickyard last year, is 16th in points after finishing 14th.

I'll end with a quick note: of the previous 18 Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis, the season champion has emerged from the top six finishers 14 times. Looking down the list of top 6 finishers Sunday, only Gordon is currently not in the Chase.

Standings:
1) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 731, 2) Matt Kenseth -14, 3) Greg Biffle -22, 4) Jimmie Johnson -27, 5)  Denny Hamlin -64, 6) Kevin Harvick -78, 7)  Martin Truex, Jr. -78, 8) Tony Stewart -79, 9) Brad Keselowski -82, 10) Clint Bowyer -88.

Chase "Wild Cards:" Kasey Kahne 13th in points, 2 wins; Kyle Busch 11th in points, 1 win.

Race Winners:
Matt Kenseth (Daytona 500), Denny Hamlin (Phoenix, Kansas), Tony Stewart (Las Vegas, Fontana, Daytona-2), Brad Keselowski (Bristol, Talladega, Kentucky), Ryan Newman (Martinsville), Greg Biffle (Texas), Kyle Busch (Richmond), Jimmie Johnson (Darlington, Dover, Indianapolis), Kasey Kahne (Charlotte, New Hampshire), Joey Logano (Pocono), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Michigan), Clint Bowyer (Sonoma).


Tracking The Top 35: Gap Between 35th And 36th Grows Larger

While NASCAR guarantees a starting spot for just the top 35 in owner points each week, those close to the 35th-place bubble still have big cushions as the gap between the 35th-place car and the 36th-place car grew by 8 points on Sunday. The No. 36, owned by Tommy Baldwin Racing and driven by Dave Blaney sits in the 35th spot while the No. 33 car, driven by Stephen Leicht and owned by Joe Falk is in 36th. Blaney finished 33rd Sunday, putting together a solid lead-lap finish while Leicht battled engine issues most of the day en route to 31st. That leaves the gap a healthy 86 - almost two full races' worth of points - with 17 races left to go in the season.

Few of the teams on the bubble, besides Blaney had a solid run on Sunday. Trevor Bayne was the best of the bunch, coming home a quality 17th driving the Wood Brothers Ford as they continue their limited schedule of events.

Here's your owners point standings around the all-important cutoff...
29) Front Row Motorsports (No. 34 - David Ragan) 155 points ahead of 36th.
30) BK Racing (No. 93 – Travis Kvapil), 148 points ahead of 36th.
31) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 - David Gilliland), 145 points ahead of 36th.
32) BK Racing (No. 83 - Landon Cassill), 110 points ahead of 36th.
33) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 10 – J.J. Yeley), 102 points ahead of 36th.
34) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), 98 points ahead of 36th.
35) Tommy Baldwin Racing/Stewart-Haas Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), 86 points ahead of 36th.
36) Richard Childress Racing/LJ Racing (No. 33 – Stephen Leicht), 86 points behind 35th.
37) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 - Trevor Bayne), 108 points behind 35th.
39) Inception Motorsports (No. 30 – David Stremme), 124 points behind 35th.
38) Robinson-Blakeney Racing (No. 49 – not entered at Indianapolis), 147 points behind 35th.
40) Front Row Motorsports (No. 26 - Josh Wise), 160 points behind 35th.
41) Parsons Racing (No. 98 – Michael McDowell), 171 points behind 35th.

Jeff Wolfe is a Frontstretch.com Contributor. He can be reached at jeff.wolfe@frontstretch.com.
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We are looking for someone who shares our enthusiasm for NASCAR and has an experienced background in web design. Specifically, we are looking for someone who can help maintain and enhance our website, increase our SEO, and upgrade our publishing platform while producing a limited amount of content throughout the season. This job presents a perfect opportunity for someone with a technical background, a person who wants their work to gain national exposure.
 
If you are interested, contact frontstretcheditors@googlegroups.com. Please include references to your past work in your e-mail.

~~~~~~~~~~

Secret Star Of The Race: The Best Run You Never Saw

40 laps into the Brickyard 400, Sam Hornish, Jr. looked like a teenage amateur at Indianapolis – not a former Indy 500 winner with one of the most successful track records of any driver. Instead, the open-wheeler turned Cup Series hopeful was sitting 26th, on the tail end of the lead lap and frustrated over a third straight mediocre start behind the wheel of the No. 22 Dodge he earned through Penske loyalty. Granted a substitute role for the now-indefinitely suspended AJ Allmendinger, full-time work is still no guarantee; at some point, the man must put his best foot forward in order to go from placeholder to earning the permanent job.

Perhaps that moment came Sunday, Lady Luck providing a perfect assist with a caution for Travis Kvapil's hard crash on Lap 42. That incident, giving Hornish a second chance, would not go to waste. The team made adjustments, working hard to improve the car and feedback between driver and crew chief Todd Gordon seemed to finally click. At one point, in the race's second half the car rose all way to the fringes of the top 10 before Hornish faded slightly for a 16th-place, lead-lap finish by the checkered flag.

"I'm proud of the effort and run we had with the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge today," said Hornish, who had his best run on the Cup Series level since a 15th at Talladega in the Fall of 2010. "This is a tough place to pass for stock cars and I thought we did a good job working our way through the field.

"It looked like we were heading toward a top-10 on our last run when the car just loosened up and we couldn't make the passes that we needed to late in the race."

At times during the second half, at the peak of his performance Hornish was running lap times in clean air equivalent to the fifth-fastest car. But like many drivers complained about on Sunday, the dreaded aero push – more prevalent at Indianapolis than almost any other track – made coming up on a car, let alone getting around them an equivalent to a handling nightmare.

"You can be three-tenths faster than the guy in front of you but when you get within five car lengths of him, it's really hard to get by," he explained. "You have to keep pressuring until they make a mistake.  It's not like a lot of other tracks.  That's what makes this place so challenging."

Still, looking ahead Hornish has given himself an opportunity to prove he deserves a full-time shot behind the wheel. Already, owner Roger Penske has extended this "temporary" assignment through Watkins Glen as his driver showcased noticeable improvement during a race from start to finish.

"I thought Sam did an awesome job," summed up crew chief Todd Gordon. "It was a day that we can build off of and move forward."

For Hornish, the chance to revive a Cup Series career clearly depends on it. – Tom Bowles

STAT OF THE WEEK: 279. That's the number of races since Dale Earnhardt, Jr. last held the Cup Series point lead, at Talladega in October of 2004 before a 25-point penalty for swearing on television (yes, that actually happened) handed it to Kurt Busch. NASCAR's Son of the Intimidator has been staring at second or worse ever since, even failing to make the Chase four times over the last seven seasons as critics openly questioned his driving talent. But what's even more amazing about Junior's points "futility" of sorts is that season is the only one of his career where he's landed atop the standings. In total, over 12 years on the Cup circuit Earnhardt has now led the points for a total of a dozen weeks (11 if you don't count the time before the Talladega penalty). Not only is that an eyebrow-raising stat, but it's just a shade higher than his father's seven championships; in comparison, Dale Sr.'s total number of weeks at number one is closer to, say, 200. Like Father, like son? Apparently not in this case. - Tom Bowles

~~~~~~~~~~

Quotes To Remember: Brickyard 400

"Well, I hope we have that same swagger everywhere we go. I mean, that's what we try to do. We don't put any more effort in — you can't put any more effort in than we do here, but I'll tell you, when you start believing that you've got it figured out is when you'll get your butt handed to you because so many times when we've been dominant at a place, something happens at the very end, and that's what I was concerned about today." - Rick Hendrick on being successful at Indy

"I'm a lot happier today than I've been in the last two months. Just so many frustrating days, including yesterday having the fastest car. I know what Jimmie (Johnson) feels like today because I had that yesterday, but I didn't win. We kind of gave that one away too." - Kyle Busch, finished second


"It didn't really matter if you were in front of him or not, he was going to pass you in about four or five laps anyway. His car was just really, really good. Sometimes you don't want the guy behind you, if inevitably he's going to pass you no matter what." - Greg Biffle, finished third

"We would actually rather us two to fight for the championship at the end knowing one of us is going to get it for the company. If I could line that up right now, I would. That is how I'd have it." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr., finished fourth, on the potential of fighting for the championship with Jimmie Johnson

"I'm pretty disappointed really. It's always nice to finish in the top five but at this point in the season, the way our season has gone with so many missed opportunities that we've had, I feel like it was a little bit of a missed opportunity today. We needed track position there at the end and we didn't get it when it counted most and it cost us." - Jeff Gordon, finished fifth

"The Hendrick cars had something going on with the back of their cars that's unique. Other than that, they were the dominant cars. No one was going to run with them, especially the 48 (Jimmie Johnson). The 24 (Jeff Gordon) found something there at the very end that was beneficial. We had about a fourth, fifth, sixth-place car and that's kind of where we ended up. Once I got back there, I was able to maintain and make up a little ground, but I wasn't going to go any further forward than where I was." - Denny Hamlin, finished sixth

"
It's almost impossible unless you're really faster than the guy in front of you. It's so hard to pass and everyone who finishes second to 43rd is going to tell you that same thing. It's frustrating, but it's part of it. We come to this track that wasn't necessarily made for our cars and it's just tough. The aero is so important anyway with our cars that you put us on a flat track with a lot of speed, it's going to be dramatic." - Denny Hamlin on passing at Indy

"We had excellent pit strategy. Paul Wolfe and the team should be very proud of that. I just made too many mistakes. It's hard to be mad with a top 10. I'm not mad, but no, I'm not happy. I want to win these races. I want to be a legit contender to win the big races and we were today. I just didn't close it out. We had a strong shot at getting a top two or three and didn't. I don't have much more to add to that." - Brad Keselowski, finished ninth

"We definitely made contact. I'll talk to him about it. I just raced the 78 (Regan Smith) real clean and didn't get the same in return. That's racing." - Brad Keselowski on his midrace incident, up front with Regan Smith

"We were junk all weekend. No matter if we were turning left or going straight. That pretty much summed up today." -Kevin Harvick, finished 13th

"Just was racing and got on that outside — them outsides on the restarts, you're in no man's land. You try to get to the bottom as quick and efficiently as possible, but the 31 (Jeff Burton) got to the inside of the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) and I realized that I was three-wide on the outside and tried to get out of there and just barely caught in the left-front and cut my tire down, spun out. Anytime you spin out on a track like this, you usually end up crashing in the infield. Just thankfully everything worked out and we ended up with a top-15. Not what we wanted, but it could have been a heck of a lot worse." - Clint Bowyer, finished 15th

"To see those 12 names on our car was quite emotional, they shouldn't have been on our car. Those 12 people should have been watching the race today or doing something else on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It hurts and we all deeply mourn this unspeakable tragedy." - Regan Smith, on the names of the Aurora, Colorado shooting victims written on his Furniture Row Chevrolet

"Chad (Norris) got thrust into about the most terrible predicament a crew chief can be in. We didn't know what was wrong with the engine and we were kind of points racing but also racing for the win. We had a fast race car and we came in and did the best diagnosis we could and went two laps down under green. Then we stayed out there with seven cylinders or so and it ran pretty well and then got caught up on pit road again by about 50 feet when we got beat by the pace car and went another lap down and that was pretty much the death nail for the whole thing. We talked about it a little bit and the silver lining is this kind of makes it official that we just go race for wins now for the next six races. I don't think there is much of a chance we are going to march back up there in the points." - Carl Edwards, finished 29th

"I think it will involve lots of pushing on the right pedal and turning left and going as fast as possible. We have to take chances. We have to go race. We can do that, we can race like that. It will actually be a big relief in a way because there is no other choice. We just go race for wins. I wouldn't bet against us. We can do it." - Carl Edwards on his strategy going forward

"We could stay up in the top-10 most of the day but we didn't have a better car than that. If you put us seventh or eight we could run there and if you put us 15th we would run there unfortunately. We got back there and some guys were driving pretty crazy. I guess at the very end of it the 21 and 78 were mad at each other and running into each other and then the 20 was trying to pass the 21 and just lost control of his car." - Matt Kenseth on his day... and his wreck (35th)

~~~~~~~~~~

ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand?  A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!  Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.

~~~~~~~~~~

TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Brickyard 400 Race Recap
by Matt McLaughlin

Pace Laps: Winning At All Costs, RestartGate, And Going Dancing Again
by the Frontstretch Staff

Best NASCAR Driver Of The Modern Era? Building A Case, Brick By Brick(yard)
by Tom Bowles

Has Earnhardt Jr.'s Time Finally Come?
by Mike Neff

The Big Six: Questions Answered After The Brickyard 400
by Phil Allaway

Nationwide Breakdown: Indiana 250
by Mike Neff
~~~~~~~~~~
 
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
 
Q:
In the 1990 AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono Raceway, Darrell Waltrip started the race just two weeks after breaking his leg in a practice crash at Daytona.  Under an agreement between Waltrip, his doctor and NASCAR, he would run only one lap before coming in and handing over the Tide Chevrolet to Jimmy Horton.  However, when Waltrip came in for the change, Horton was penalized by NASCAR.  Since there was no pit road speed limit at the time (they were instituted early in 1991), he could not be held in the pits for that; and Dave Marcis, who did a similar driver swap that weekend, was not penalized for doing it.  So why was the No. 17 held?

Check back Monday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
 
Friday's Answer:
 
Q: This year's Indianapolis 500 was the first one since 1996 to feature cars with turbocharged engines. The 1996 race was marked by pole sitter Scott Brayton dying days after claiming the pole (and a long-retired Danny Ongais coming in to finish seventh), outdated cars (some by as many as three years) and a winner (Buddy Lazier) who all but couldn't get out of the car on his own due to prior injuries. However, Tony Stewart appeared to be the dominant force in his No. 20 Glidden-sponsored Lola Menard V6.  What ultimately took him out of the event?

A: Engine issues took Stewart out of third place on Lap 81.  Earlier in the event, Stewart had apparently adjusted too much boost into his turbocharged engines and unseated the pop-off valve, eventually blowing his V6.  While running too much boost, Stewart was turning laps at near qualifying pace, setting himself up for a possible charge to the front... but it was not to be.  After hitting the garage, Stewart was angry, calling the pop-off valves assigned by USAC as "junk."  The instance can be seen at the 3:15 mark of this clip while Stewart's interview can be seen here.

Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: Take the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!

~~~~~~~~~~

Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News by Tom Bowles
-- Fan's View Commentary by S.D. Grady
-- This Week's Topic: What If... An Earnhardt Really Did Rule The NASCAR World Again?
-- Numbers Game: Brickyard 400 by Garrett Horton
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
 
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:

Who's Hot / Who's Not in Sprint Cup by StarCoach Race Tours: Indianapolis - Pocono Edition by Brett Poirier
With just six races left until the Chase, Brett takes a look at which drivers are in perfect position to make the field... and which ones are already taking a look ahead towards 2013. Can Pocono be the weekend those slumping wheelmen turn it all around?

Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has his weekly edition of talking points to wrap up the first off-week of the season and get us ready for Pocono. Among them: the fallout from Elliott Sadler's restart gone wrong at Indy, why the outside line was such a problem at the 2.5-mile oval and attendance, attendance, attendance.

Couch Potato Tuesday by Phil Allaway
ESPN kicked off their 17 races of Sprint Cup coverage with Sunday's Brickyard 400. How did they do in their transition back to NASCAR's top level? Phil Allaway breaks down their strategy, how Saturday's Nationwide telecast was affected and more in his weekly TV Critique.

Tech Talk by Mike Neff
This year, we have an interesting new weekly feature for our readers where we'll have a special guest stop by on a weekly basis to discuss the technical aspects of our sport. Pocono is up next, with a special guest giving us the inside dish on how to set up a car for the Tricky Triangle.

The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny returns with another interesting commentary. This week, he tackles the sudden rush of labeling Jimmie Johnson this year's Cup Series championship favorite.

-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com

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Sunday, July 29, 2012

rec.games.trivia - 26 new messages in 4 topics - digest

rec.games.trivia
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia?hl=en

rec.games.trivia@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

* Calvin's Quiz #236 - 6 messages, 6 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/a0994fb892cb229a?hl=en
* QFTCIWSSSG Current Events Final - 6 messages, 6 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/8c124a764fef08b0?hl=en
* Rotating Quiz #67 ANSWERS - 7 messages, 5 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/c3d64e69a8236ae4?hl=en
* Rotating Quiz #68 - 7 messages, 4 authors
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/1c71d972b347dd90?hl=en

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Calvin's Quiz #236
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/a0994fb892cb229a?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 6 ==
Date: Wed, Jul 25 2012 11:15 pm
From: Joachim Parsch




Calvin schrieb:
>
> 1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?

9

> 2 Which actor starred in both Pushing Tin and High Fidelity?

John Cusack

> 3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?

London

> 4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?

Left

> 5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?

Lebanon

> 6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?

Ben Gurion

> 7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the end of
> a ridged roof?

Walter?

> 8 Actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the ex-husband of which
> Oscar-winning actress?

Emma Thompson

> 9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?

Oman

> 10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?

Pink

Joachim




== 2 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 1:06 am
From: Erland Sommarskog


Calvin (calvin@phlegm.com) writes:
> 1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?

8

> 3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?

Bath

> 4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?

Left

> 5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?

Lebanon

> 6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?

Ben-Gurion?

> 7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the
> end of a ridged roof?

Gable

> 9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?

Oman

> 10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?
>

Orange

--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se




== 3 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 3:30 am
From: Dan Tilque


Calvin wrote:
>
> 1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?

9

> 2 Which actor starred in both Pushing Tin and High Fidelity?
> 3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?
> 4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?

left

> 5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?

Lebanon

> 6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?

Golda Myer

> 7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the
> end of a ridged roof?

mansard

> 8 Actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the ex-husband of which
> Oscar-winning actress?
> 9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?

Oman

> 10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?

orange

--
Dan Tilque




== 4 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 7:50 am
From: Bruce Bowler


On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 09:35:56 +1000, Calvin wrote:

> 1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?

9 and between 1 and 4 depending whether you're talking offence or defence.

> 2 Which actor starred in both Pushing Tin and High Fidelity?
> 3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?
> 4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?

The top side (just like the rest of the world :-) or the left...

> 5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?

Lebanon

> 6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?

A sane person

> 7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the
end
> of a ridged roof?

Pediment


> 8 Actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the ex-husband of which
> Oscar-winning actress?
> 9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?

Oman

> 10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?

Blaze Orange





== 5 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 1:43 pm
From: "Peter Smyth"


"Calvin" wrote in message
news:op.wh0zt6bdyr33d7@04233-26jz62s.staff.ad.bond.edu.au...
>
>1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?
9
>2 Which actor starred in both Pushing Tin and High Fidelity?
Kevin Costner
>3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?
Oxford
>4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?
Left
>5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?
Lebanon
>6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?
Einstein
>7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the end of
>a ridged roof?
Gable
>8 Actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the ex-husband of which
>Oscar-winning actress?
Emma Thompson
>9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?
Oman
>10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?
Orange

Peter Smyth





== 6 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 10:22 pm
From: Gareth Owen


Calvin <calvin@phlegm.com> writes:

> 1 How many on-field players are there in a baseball team?

9

> 2 Which actor starred in both Pushing Tin and High Fidelity?

Tim Robbins?

> 3 The Ashmolian museum is located in which English city?

Oxford (FWIW, its Ashmolean)

> 4 Cars drive on which side of the road in Malaysia?

Left

> 5 Which country's flag includes a cedar tree?

Lebanon

> 6 Who declined the presidency of Israel in 1952?

Einstein

> 7 What name is given to the triangular upper part of a wall at the end
> of a ridged roof?

Gable

> 8 Actor and director Kenneth Branagh is the ex-husband of which
> Oscar-winning actress?

Emma Thompson

> 9 Muscat is a city in which Middle-East country?

Oman

> 10 A black box flight recorded is normally what colour?

Yellow





==============================================================================
TOPIC: QFTCIWSSSG Current Events Final
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/8c124a764fef08b0?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 1:11 am
From: Erland Sommarskog


Mark Brader (msb@vex.net) writes:
> 4. Two Seattle men returning from a trip to Vancouver were
> detained by US Customs when they tried to take six of these
> products across the border. In fact, the US has seized more
> than 60,000 of them due to concerns over of a "non-nutritive
> object" embedded in each one. What is this tasty treat?

Twix

> 8. Name the town in Colorado where a shooting rampage Saturday
> left 12 dead and anywhere between 59 and 70 injured.

Aurora

> 9. Name Syria's largest city, the scene of fierce fighting last
> week between rebels and supporters of President Assad.

Aleppo

> 14. This week Yahoo appointed Melissa Mayer as its new CEO --
> the fifth in 6 years. What aspect of her personal life
> made this appointment especially newsworthy, and might have
> prevented her from winning such a high-profile position in
> the past?

She is pregnant, child due in October

> 15. What company cancelled its IPO this week, blaming economic
> strife in Europe? Its products have been used by Bob Dylan,
> Bruce Springsteen, and Jimi Hendrix.

Gibson



--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se




== 2 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 3:54 am
From: Dan Tilque


Mark Brader wrote:
>
>
> * Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>
> 1. Name the Hollywood producer who died this week. He was the
> son of a famous movie mogul, but achieved success on his
> own as producer of films such as "The Sound of Music",
> "Patton", "The French Connection", "The Sting", and "Jaws".
> The surname is sufficient.

Mayer

>
> 2. Name the long-time writer for "Saturday Night Live" who died
> this week at age 59. He was Senator Al Franken's long-time
> writing partner.
>
> 3. Name the American actress who died last week at age 95.
> A star of Broadway, Hollywood, and TV, she achieved fame
> in as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!" and was nominated for Best
> Supporting Actress in "All About Eve".
>
> 4. Two Seattle men returning from a trip to Vancouver were
> detained by US Customs when they tried to take six of these
> products across the border. In fact, the US has seized more
> than 60,000 of them due to concerns over of a "non-nutritive
> object" embedded in each one. What is this tasty treat?

bottle of beer

>
> 5. It's the 25th anniversary of the domain .ca. A Canadian
> university had the first web address to end with .ca.
> Name that university.

University of Waterloo

>
> 6. According to an Angus Reid poll released this week, drivers
> in what province have been identified as the worst in Canada?
> Offenses include driving while multitasking, littering,
> and running red lights.

Ontario

>
> 7. Name the street in Scarborough where a shooting rampage
> Monday left 2 dead and 23 injured.
>
> 8. Name the town in Colorado where a shooting rampage Saturday
> left 12 dead and anywhere between 59 and 70 injured.

Aurora

>
> 9. Name Syria's largest city, the scene of fierce fighting last
> week between rebels and supporters of President Assad.

Aleppo

>
> 10. At age 86, comedian Jerry Lewis is directing a live stage
> production for the first time. It's a musical with a score
> by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. Which one
> of his classic movies is it based on?
>
> 11. British tourists caught and released a monster fish in
> the Fraser River: at nearly 4 m long and almost half a tonne
> in weight, it is the largest fish ever caught for sport in
> North America. What kind of fish is it?

sturgeon (no other river fish grows anywhere near that size)

>
> 12. Royal Envelope of Concord, Ontario, will cover 50% of
> the costs of adopting a cat or dog from the Toronto Humane
> Society -- if the animal meets a certain criterion. What is
> the requirement?
>
> 13. Name the company that announced it will spend an additional
> $500,000,000 on safety features for a proposed project.
>
> 14. This week Yahoo appointed Melissa Mayer as its new CEO --
> the fifth in 6 years. What aspect of her personal life
> made this appointment especially newsworthy, and might have
> prevented her from winning such a high-profile position in
> the past?

sexual orientation (i.e. a lesbian)

>
> 15. What company cancelled its IPO this week, blaming economic
> strife in Europe? Its products have been used by Bob Dylan,
> Bruce Springsteen, and Jimi Hendrix.

Fender


--
Dan Tilque




== 3 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 6:59 am
From: Marc Dashevsky


In article <jur6ed$6re$1@dont-email.me>, dtilque@frontier.com says...
> Mark Brader wrote:
> > 11. British tourists caught and released a monster fish in
> > the Fraser River: at nearly 4 m long and almost half a tonne
> > in weight, it is the largest fish ever caught for sport in
> > North America. What kind of fish is it?
>
> sturgeon (no other river fish grows anywhere near that size)

Damn. I could have used that logic. I just wasn't thinking.

--
Go to http://MarcDashevsky.com to send me e-mail.




== 4 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 1:33 pm
From: "Peter Smyth"


"Mark Brader" wrote in message
news:Cemdnez6X5uGKo3NnZ2dnUVZ_qKdnZ2d@vex.net...

>* Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>
>1. Name the Hollywood producer who died this week. He was the
> son of a famous movie mogul, but achieved success on his
> own as producer of films such as "The Sound of Music",
> "Patton", "The French Connection", "The Sting", and "Jaws".
> The surname is sufficient.
>
>2. Name the long-time writer for "Saturday Night Live" who died
> this week at age 59. He was Senator Al Franken's long-time
> writing partner.
>
>3. Name the American actress who died last week at age 95.
> A star of Broadway, Hollywood, and TV, she achieved fame
> in as Ado Annie in "Oklahoma!" and was nominated for Best
> Supporting Actress in "All About Eve".
>
>4. Two Seattle men returning from a trip to Vancouver were
> detained by US Customs when they tried to take six of these
> products across the border. In fact, the US has seized more
> than 60,000 of them due to concerns over of a "non-nutritive
> object" embedded in each one. What is this tasty treat?
Kinder Eggs
>5. It's the 25th anniversary of the domain .ca. A Canadian
> university had the first web address to end with .ca.
> Name that university.
>
>6. According to an Angus Reid poll released this week, drivers
> in what province have been identified as the worst in Canada?
> Offenses include driving while multitasking, littering,
> and running red lights.
Quebec, Ontario
>7. Name the street in Scarborough where a shooting rampage
> Monday left 2 dead and 23 injured.
>
>8. Name the town in Colorado where a shooting rampage Saturday
> left 12 dead and anywhere between 59 and 70 injured.
Denver
>9. Name Syria's largest city, the scene of fierce fighting last
> week between rebels and supporters of President Assad.
Damascus
>10. At age 86, comedian Jerry Lewis is directing a live stage
> production for the first time. It's a musical with a score
> by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. Which one
> of his classic movies is it based on?
>
>11. British tourists caught and released a monster fish in
> the Fraser River: at nearly 4 m long and almost half a tonne
> in weight, it is the largest fish ever caught for sport in
> North America. What kind of fish is it?
Carp
>12. Royal Envelope of Concord, Ontario, will cover 50% of
> the costs of adopting a cat or dog from the Toronto Humane
> Society -- if the animal meets a certain criterion. What is
> the requirement?
It has been neutered
>13. Name the company that announced it will spend an additional
> $500,000,000 on safety features for a proposed project.
>
>14. This week Yahoo appointed Melissa Mayer as its new CEO --
> the fifth in 6 years. What aspect of her personal life
> made this appointment especially newsworthy, and might have
> prevented her from winning such a high-profile position in
> the past?
She is pregnant
>15. What company cancelled its IPO this week, blaming economic
> strife in Europe? Its products have been used by Bob Dylan,
> Bruce Springsteen, and Jimi Hendrix.
>

Peter Smyth





== 5 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 3:09 pm
From: Calvin


On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:08:56 +1000, Calvin <calvin@phlegm.com> wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:18:51 +1000, Mark Brader <msb@vex.net> wrote:
>
>
>> * Final, Round 1 - Current Events
>>
>> 1. Name the Hollywood producer who died this week. He was the
>> son of a famous movie mogul, but achieved success on his
>> own as producer of films such as "The Sound of Music",
>> "Patton", "The French Connection", "The Sting", and "Jaws".
>> The surname is sufficient.
>
> Hill

He *directed* The Sting.

>> 5. It's the 25th anniversary of the domain .ca. A Canadian
>> university had the first web address to end with .ca.
>> Name that university.
>
> Berkeley

Sigh. Now I read the question twice, and read "California" each time.

"The mistakes are all there, just waiting to be made."

--
cheers,
calvin




== 6 of 6 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 10:31 pm
From: Gareth Owen


msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) writes:

> 1. Name the Hollywood producer who died this week. He was the son of
> a famous movie mogul, but achieved success on his own as producer of
> films such as "The Sound of Music", "Patton", "The French Connection",
> "The Sting", and "Jaws". The surname is sufficient.

Zanuck

> 4. Two Seattle men returning from a trip to Vancouver were
> detained by US Customs when they tried to take six of these
> products across the border. In fact, the US has seized more
> than 60,000 of them due to concerns over of a "non-nutritive
> object" embedded in each one. What is this tasty treat?

Kinder Eggs

> 5. It's the 25th anniversary of the domain .ca. A Canadian
> university had the first web address to end with .ca.
> Name that university.

McGill

> 6. According to an Angus Reid poll released this week, drivers
> in what province have been identified as the worst in Canada?
> Offenses include driving while multitasking, littering,
> and running red lights.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba

> 8. Name the town in Colorado where a shooting rampage Saturday
> left 12 dead and anywhere between 59 and 70 injured.

Aurora

> 9. Name Syria's largest city, the scene of fierce fighting last
> week between rebels and supporters of President Assad.

Aleppo

> 10. At age 86, comedian Jerry Lewis is directing a live stage
> production for the first time. It's a musical with a score by Marvin
> Hamlisch and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. Which one of his classic movies
> is it based on?

The Nutty Professor? King Of Comedy?
[Rupert Holmes as in "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"? - Cool]

> 11. British tourists caught and released a monster fish in the Fraser
> River: at nearly 4 m long and almost half a tonne in weight, it is the
> largest fish ever caught for sport in North America. What kind of
> fish is it?

Catfish, Marlin

> 12. Royal Envelope of Concord, Ontario, will cover 50% of the costs of
> adopting a cat or dog from the Toronto Humane Society -- if the animal
> meets a certain criterion. What is the requirement?

6 months in Rescue without adoption

> 13. Name the company that announced it will spend an additional
> $500,000,000 on safety features for a proposed project.

Virgin Galactic

> 14. This week Yahoo appointed Melissa Mayer as its new CEO -- the
> fifth in 6 years. What aspect of her personal life made this
> appointment especially newsworthy, and might have prevented her from
> winning such a high-profile position in the past?

Openly gay woman. Pregnant.

> 15. What company cancelled its IPO this week, blaming economic strife
> in Europe? Its products have been used by Bob Dylan, Bruce
> Springsteen, and Jimi Hendrix.

Fender





==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rotating Quiz #67 ANSWERS
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/c3d64e69a8236ae4?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 5:56 pm
From: swp


1. who played al bundy in the tv show 'married with children'?

ed o'neill

2. on "wkrp in cincinnati", Howard Hesseman played this crazed dj.

dr johnny fever (or anything approximately close)

3. there are 67 throws in what martial art?

judo (apologies for leaving out the word 'exactly' in this one)

4. this 1998 action thriller starred bruce willis and alec baldwin where an autistic child has cracked a government code.

mercury rising (German version also accepted)

5. what is -273.15 degrees celsius better known as?

absolute zero

6. who wrote the lyrics to the song 'goodbye yellow brick road'?

bernie taupin (sir elton john composed it)

7. name any u.s. state with 67 counties.

PA, AL, FL (apologies for leaving out the word 'exactly' in this one)(I will also accept all other us states with more than 67 counties, such as TX)

8. every year since 1934, the winner of the "indianapolis 500" has drunk this beverage to celebrate.

milk

9. what is the 19th prime number?

67 (yes, I put this one in as a 'gimme'.)

10. The u.s. navy's aircraft carrier with registry CV-67 has what common name?

uss john f. kennedy

11. name either major city the european route E67, the Via Baltica, goes between (not in the middle).

prague to helsinki (my apologies for being unclear here) (I'll accept almost any protest with a little supporting evidence)


stay tuned for the scoring, assuming these thunderstorms leave me with power long enough to complete it.

swp




== 2 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 6:27 pm
From: swp


name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
Marc D 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 6
John M 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
Erland 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
Mark B 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 5
Peter S 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
Joachim 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 7
Stan B 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 6
Calvin 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
Jeff T 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Dan T 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 6
Rob P 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5
---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

note: california has 58 counties, mississippi has 82, and texas has the most of any us state.

As of right now, *Joachim* is the winner! Congratulations young man!! RQ #68 is yours to do with as you please.

(note: unless Marc D, Stan B or Dan T have at least 2 valid protests, which seems unlikely.)

I am going back to watching Olympic soccer. yes, I am a junkie for this. I recommend all of you watch the games of the XXX Olympiad, held in London starting tomorrow and running through august 12th. there isn't a single event that isn't worth watching, these kids are really giving it their all.

swp




== 3 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 9:05 pm
From: swp


On Thursday, July 26, 2012 9:27:52 PM UTC-4, swp wrote:
> name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
> ---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
> Marc D 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 6
> John M 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
> Erland 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
> Mark B 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 5
> Peter S 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
> Joachim 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 7
> Stan B 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 6
> Calvin 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
> Jeff T 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
> Dan T 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 6
> Rob P 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5
> ---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
> Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

of course, that totals line should read:
Totals 4 2 5 1 11 7 8 6 9 0 1 54

I missed setting a question that 3 of you got right (which I thought would be q4), and other that 10 of you correctly answered. but this is as close to perfect as I've come, so I'm happy with it.

no more questions about us naval ships, I think.

swp




== 4 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Jul 26 2012 11:18 pm
From: Dan Tilque


swp wrote:
> name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
> ---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----

> Dan T 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 6


> As of right now, *Joachim* is the winner! Congratulations young man!! RQ #68 is yours to do with as you please.
>
> (note: unless Marc D, Stan B or Dan T have at least 2 valid protests, which seems unlikely.)

Well I do have a correction, but it goes the other way. You gave me
credit for #6, but I didn't answer it correctly.

--
Dan Tilque




== 5 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 12:04 am
From: Joachim Parsch




swp schrieb:
>
> name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
> ---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
> Marc D 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 6
> John M 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
> Erland 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 4
> Mark B 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 5
> Peter S 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
> Joachim 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 7
> Stan B 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 6
> Calvin 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
> Jeff T 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
> Dan T 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 6
> Rob P 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 5
> ---------- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -----
> Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
>
> note: california has 58 counties, mississippi has 82, and texas has the most of any us state.
>
> As of right now, *Joachim* is the winner! Congratulations young man!!

Who's that young man, you're talking to?
Anyway: Thank you very much. :-)

> RQ #68 is yours to do with as you please.

I'll give my best.

Joachim




== 6 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 1:06 am
From: Erland Sommarskog


swp (Stephen.W.Perry@gmail.com) writes:
> 7. name any u.s. state with 67 counties.
>
> PA, AL, FL (apologies for leaving out the word 'exactly' in this one)(I
> will also accept all other us states with more than 67 counties, such as
> TX)

Personally, I think you have no reason to ask for apologies. I never
read the question as anything else (nor did I read the judo question
differently). "Exactly" would of course be better, but leaving it out
is far less serious than leaving out "contiguous" when talking about
"US mainland".

> prague to helsinki (my apologies for being unclear here) (I'll accept
> almost any protest with a little supporting evidence)

E67: Prague - Helsinki
Via Baltica: Warsaw - Tallinn

> I am going back to watching Olympic soccer. yes, I am a junkie for
> this. I recommend all of you watch the games of the XXX Olympiad, held
> in London starting tomorrow and running through august 12th. there
> isn't a single event that isn't worth watching, these kids are really
> giving it their all.

If any of the Swedish handball teams makes it to the semi-finals I
may watch. Else I don't expect to waste much time on the Olympics.

--
Erland Sommarskog, Stockholm, esquel@sommarskog.se




== 7 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 5:08 am
From: Bruce Bowler


On Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:56:17 -0700, swp wrote:


> 8. every year since 1934, the winner of the "indianapolis 500" has
> drunk this beverage to celebrate.
>
> milk

Not every... Emerson F drank OJ (but later apologized for his
"transgression")






==============================================================================
TOPIC: Rotating Quiz #68
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.trivia/t/1c71d972b347dd90?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 1:05 am
From: Joachim Parsch


Living by the Sea

Two thirds of the earth are covered by water, so there
are quite a lot of lovely and not-so-lovely places beside
that water. This quiz is all about places at the sea (or, for
one case, near some water).

I'll be offline from Aug 4-18, so I will post the results
about next Tuesday/Wednesday, or so. That will leave some
time for corrections and complaints.

1pt. each question - tie-breaker will be the questions with
less correct answers. I hope that it's not too easy this
time.

1.
This group of islands forms an independent state since
1970. Although having not much more than half a million
inhabitants, the country's national team still managed to
reach the quarterfinals in a world championship - in a sport
where Australia and New Zealand have win more than one world
title.

2.
Two hints should be enough: Carnival and Christ at large.
Name the city.

3.
Wanna smoke some pot? Then this city, the largest of its
country, may be the right place for you. Founded in the
12th century, it also is the starting place for a lot
of the tourists mentioned in Q4.

4.
This city is not really at the sea, not even near the
sea. But it still has a port, thanks to a channel connecting
the two biggest rivers of the region. Loads of tourists
(mostly from the U.S.) arrive at the port almost daily,
because they want to visit the city for historical reasons.
Partly because of the rich medieval history, but mainly
because of younger history, in which this city played an
infamous role, when utilized by a dictator for his propaganda,
and a famous role, when the dictator's willing helpers
were brought to court here.

5.
This political entity exists since 1850. Here in Germany,
a lot of people, when hearing its name, tend to think of
sun, beaches, easy living and, of course, the girls, which
are praised in a famous pop song. In the recent past this
entity had a political leader who was much more famous
for the profession he had before his political success.
Name the entity.

6.
This country has famous food, soccer, history - and a lot
more, of course. Children are hungry and moaning?
Don't worry - just find a restaurant with food from this
country. You want to find the history of the "old world"?
Just visit this country, which was the leading political
power two thousand years ago. Name the country.

7.
A country in the middle of an ocean. And still big enough
to host two Olympic Summer Games in two different cities.
From that, you may gather that we're not talking about
Tonga or Mauritius. Name the city where the more recent
Olympic Games were held.

8.
A city, that is well known for two things: the famous
white cliffs at the coast near the city, and the fact,
that the city is located at the point, where you would
have to swim the shortest distance from the island,
where the city is located, to the nearest continent.
Still, for us average types using a boat might be advisable.
Name the city.

9.
Ilsa Lund meets Rick Blaine - again. No, the name of
the city, where this famous pair meets the second
time, is not the question. Name today's capital of the
country.

10.
Name the Capital of the country, that lies directly
East of the country of Q10.

11.
Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan have something in common
which this state "invented" in 1956, so to say.
The biggest city in this state is also the 5th largest
city in the world, with about 13,000,000 inhabitants.
Name the city.

12.
One island, one state? Not quite, but since 1921 there
are two parts, one independent and one still governed
by the state, that ruled the whole island before 1921.
How is this island called in the traditional native language
of the inhabitants?

13.
Find the name of a famous guy, who has spent an important
part of his life with the sea, in the answers 1 to 12.

Joachim




== 2 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 2:26 am
From: John Masters


On 2012-07-27 08:05:06 +0000, Joachim Parsch said:

> Living by the Sea
>
> Two thirds of the earth are covered by water, so there
> are quite a lot of lovely and not-so-lovely places beside
> that water. This quiz is all about places at the sea (or, for
> one case, near some water).
>
> I'll be offline from Aug 4-18, so I will post the results
> about next Tuesday/Wednesday, or so. That will leave some
> time for corrections and complaints.
>
> 1pt. each question - tie-breaker will be the questions with
> less correct answers. I hope that it's not too easy this
> time.
>
> 1.
> This group of islands forms an independent state since
> 1970. Although having not much more than half a million
> inhabitants, the country's national team still managed to
> reach the quarterfinals in a world championship - in a sport
> where Australia and New Zealand have win more than one world
> title.

Fiji

> 2.
> Two hints should be enough: Carnival and Christ at large.
> Name the city.

Rio

> 3.
> Wanna smoke some pot? Then this city, the largest of its
> country, may be the right place for you. Founded in the
> 12th century, it also is the starting place for a lot
> of the tourists mentioned in Q4.

Amsterdam

> 4.
> This city is not really at the sea, not even near the
> sea. But it still has a port, thanks to a channel connecting
> the two biggest rivers of the region. Loads of tourists
> (mostly from the U.S.) arrive at the port almost daily,
> because they want to visit the city for historical reasons.
> Partly because of the rich medieval history, but mainly
> because of younger history, in which this city played an
> infamous role, when utilized by a dictator for his propaganda,
> and a famous role, when the dictator's willing helpers
> were brought to court here.

Nurenberg

> 5.
> This political entity exists since 1850. Here in Germany,
> a lot of people, when hearing its name, tend to think of
> sun, beaches, easy living and, of course, the girls, which
> are praised in a famous pop song. In the recent past this
> entity had a political leader who was much more famous
> for the profession he had before his political success.
> Name the entity.

California

> 6.
> This country has famous food, soccer, history - and a lot
> more, of course. Children are hungry and moaning?
> Don't worry - just find a restaurant with food from this
> country. You want to find the history of the "old world"?
> Just visit this country, which was the leading political
> power two thousand years ago. Name the country.

Italy

> 7.
> A country in the middle of an ocean. And still big enough
> to host two Olympic Summer Games in two different cities.
> From that, you may gather that we're not talking about
> Tonga or Mauritius. Name the city where the more recent
> Olympic Games were held.

Sapporo

> 8.
> A city, that is well known for two things: the famous
> white cliffs at the coast near the city, and the fact,
> that the city is located at the point, where you would
> have to swim the shortest distance from the island,
> where the city is located, to the nearest continent.
> Still, for us average types using a boat might be advisable.
> Name the city.

If you mean Dover it is a town, not a city

> 9.
> Ilsa Lund meets Rick Blaine - again. No, the name of
> the city, where this famous pair meets the second
> time, is not the question. Name today's capital of the
> country.

Ryadd?

> 10.
> Name the Capital of the country, that lies directly
> East of the country of Q10.

Algiers (Do you mean East of Q9?)

> 11.
> Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan have something in common
> which this state "invented" in 1956, so to say.
> The biggest city in this state is also the 5th largest
> city in the world, with about 13,000,000 inhabitants.
> Name the city.

Kingston

> 12.
> One island, one state? Not quite, but since 1921 there
> are two parts, one independent and one still governed
> by the state, that ruled the whole island before 1921.
> How is this island called in the traditional native language
> of the inhabitants?

E

> 13.
> Find the name of a famous guy, who has spent an important
> part of his life with the sea, in the answers 1 to 12.

Francis Drake. Had to change a few answers when I twigged the seafarer,
that's if Drake is correct. Which it probably isn't.

> Joachim


--
John Masters

Of those who say nothing, few are silent.
- Thomas Neill





== 3 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 3:21 am
From: Joachim Parsch




Joachim Parsch schrieb:
[...]
> 9.
> Ilsa Lund meets Rick Blaine - again. No, the name of
> the city, where this famous pair meets the second
> time, is not the question. Name today's capital of the
> country.
>
> 10.
> Name the Capital of the country, that lies directly
> East of the country of Q10.

This should read: directly East of Q9, of course.
(as John has pointed out).

Please reply to the original posting with that in mind.

Joachim




== 4 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 3:32 am
From: Joachim Parsch




John Masters schrieb:
>
> On 2012-07-27 08:05:06 +0000, Joachim Parsch said:
> > 8.
> > A city, that is well known for two things: the famous
> > white cliffs at the coast near the city, and the fact,
> > that the city is located at the point, where you would
> > have to swim the shortest distance from the island,
> > where the city is located, to the nearest continent.
> > Still, for us average types using a boat might be advisable.
> > Name the city.
>
> If you mean Dover it is a town, not a city

Upps - for my foreign ears "town" and "city" have
very similar meanings. So what exactly is the difference
in use and meaning?

Joachim




== 5 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 3:47 am
From: John Masters


On 2012-07-27 10:32:25 +0000, Joachim Parsch said:

> John Masters schrieb:
>>
>> On 2012-07-27 08:05:06 +0000, Joachim Parsch said:
>>> 8.
>>> A city, that is well known for two things: the famous
>>> white cliffs at the coast near the city, and the fact,
>>> that the city is located at the point, where you would
>>> have to swim the shortest distance from the island,
>>> where the city is located, to the nearest continent.
>>> Still, for us average types using a boat might be advisable.
>>> Name the city.
>>
>> If you mean Dover it is a town, not a city
>
> Upps - for my foreign ears "town" and "city" have
> very similar meanings. So what exactly is the difference
> in use and meaning?
>
> Joachim

Well traditionally a city had to have a cathedral although that has
changed in modern times. The government can now designate any large
town (or even towns in the case of Brighton & Hove) as a city. It is
not exactly clear where a town becomes a city.
--
John Masters

Of those who say nothing, few are silent.
- Thomas Neill





== 6 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 5:06 am
From: björn lundin


On 27 Juli, 10:05, Joachim Parsch <s...@bunuel.franken.de> wrote:
> Living by the Sea

Hi, trying to use google groups again, last time (ca 1 year ago) I
noted my answers coming in _very_ late.

> 1.
Polynesia


> 2.
> Two hints should be enough: Carnival and Christ at large.
> Name the city.
Rio de Janeiro

> 3.
> Wanna smoke some pot?
Amsterdam


> 4.
> This city is not really at the sea, not even near the
> sea.

Nürnberg


> 5.
> This political entity exists since 1850.

California

> 6.
> This country has famous food, soccer, history -

Italy

> 7.
> A country in the middle of an ocean.
Sydney

> 8.
> A city, that is well known for two things:
Dover


> 9.
> Ilsa Lund meets Rick Blaine - again.
1 in 192 ? I will guess Quito

> 10.
> Name the Capital of the country, that lies directly
> East of the country of Q10.
Bolivar ?

>
> 11.
> Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan have something in common
> which this state "invented" in 1956, so to say.
> The biggest city in this state is also the 5th largest
> city in the world, with about 13,000,000 inhabitants.
> Name the city.

Cairo?

>
> 12.
> One island, one state? Not quite, but since 1921 there
> are two parts, one independent and one still governed
> by the state, that ruled the whole island before 1921.
> How is this island called in the traditional native language
> of the inhabitants?

Haiti ?

>
> 13.
> Find the name of a famous guy, who has spent an important
> part of his life with the sea, in the answers 1 to 12.

And my answers are all over the world...
James Cook?


/Björn
--
Björn Lundin






== 7 of 7 ==
Date: Fri, Jul 27 2012 7:36 am
From: Gareth Owen


Joachim Parsch <sm@bunuel.franken.de> writes:

> 1. This group of islands forms an independent state since
> 1970. Although having not much more than half a million inhabitants,
> the country's national team still managed to reach the quarterfinals
> in a world championship - in a sport where Australia and New Zealand
> have win more than one world title.

Well, Fiji and Samoa have both made Rugby Union World Cup QF (in 2007
and 1991 respectively), and both beat Wales en route ... (I was at the
1991 game, my father and brother were at both...)

But Samoa were Western Samoa at the time, so I'll pick ... Fiji as my
final answer.

*some time later* Oh, I've done the link now.
I'm definitely going for Fiji.

> 2. Two hints should be enough: Carnival and Christ at large. Name
> the city.

Rio de Janeiro

> 3. Wanna smoke some pot? Then this city, the largest of its country,
> may be the right place for you. Founded in the 12th century, it also
> is the starting place for a lot of the tourists mentioned in Q4.

Amsterdam

> 4. This city is not really at the sea, not even near the sea. But it
> still has a port, thanks to a channel connecting the two biggest
> rivers of the region. Loads of tourists (mostly from the U.S.) arrive
> at the port almost daily, because they want to visit the city for
> historical reasons. Partly because of the rich medieval history, but
> mainly because of younger history, in which this city played an
> infamous role, when utilized by a dictator for his propaganda, and a
> famous role, when the dictator's willing helpers were brought to court
> here.

Nuremberg

> 5. This political entity exists since 1850. Here in Germany, a lot of
> people, when hearing its name, tend to think of sun, beaches, easy
> living and, of course, the girls, which are praised in a famous pop
> song. In the recent past this entity had a political leader who was
> much more famous for the profession he had before his political
> success. Name the entity.

The state of California


> 6. This country has famous food, soccer, history - and a lot more, of
> course. Children are hungry and moaning? Don't worry - just find a
> restaurant with food from this country. You want to find the history
> of the "old world"? Just visit this country, which was the leading
> political power two thousand years ago. Name the country.

Italy

> 7. A country in the middle of an ocean. And still big enough to host
> two Olympic Summer Games in two different cities. From that, you may
> gather that we're not talking about Tonga or Mauritius. Name the city
> where the more recent Olympic Games were held.

Sydney, Austalia

> 8. A city, that is well known for two things: the famous white cliffs
> at the coast near the city, and the fact, that the city is located at
> the point, where you would have to swim the shortest distance from the
> island, where the city is located, to the nearest continent. Still,
> for us average types using a boat might be advisable. Name the city.

Dover

> 9. Ilsa Lund meets Rick Blaine - again. No, the name of the city,
> where this famous pair meets the second time, is not the
> question. Name today's capital of the country.

Rabat

> 10. Name the Capital of the country, that lies directly East of the
> country of Q10.

Algiers?

> 11. Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan have something in common which this
> state "invented" in 1956, so to say. The biggest city in this state
> is also the 5th largest city in the world, with about 13,000,000
> inhabitants. Name the city.

Karachi (Islamic Republic)

> 12. One island, one state? Not quite, but since 1921 there are two
> parts, one independent and one still governed by the state, that ruled
> the whole island before 1921. How is this island called in the
> traditional native language of the inhabitants?

Eire

> 13. Find the name of a famous guy, who has spent an important part of
> his life with the sea, in the answers 1 to 12.

FRANCIS DRAKE




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