google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

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Mar 6, 2012

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Going, Going, Gone! - Four RBIs at the same time equals a home run with the bases loaded.

17A. Top banana : MISTER BIG

25A. A low-flow showerhead will help lower it : WATER BILL

30A. 50 cents, in slang : FOUR BITS

45A. Baker's container : FLOUR BIN

50A. Hit generating four 71-Across : GRAND SLAM

64A. "The Iron Horse," baseball's all-time 50-Across recordholder : LOU GEHRIG


71A. One of them is hidden in 17-, 25-, 30- and 45-Across : RBIs

Argyle here to play ball. I am going to assume we all know a little about baseball here. If not, it's time you learn and it's time for spring training. Quite a line up today(7). I thought about listing two more to stretch it out to a full nine roster but I'm afraid I'd be called out.
Centerfield (3:52) "Two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar, all for the baseball stand up and holler"

Across:

1. Picket line crosser : SCAB

5. Arrange, as a vacation : PLAN

9. Washington neighbor : IDAHO

14. "Splendor in the Grass" director Kazan : ELIA. IMDb bio.

15. Gutter site : EAVE

16. La Scala's city : MILAN. Italy

19. Mayan corn crop : MAIZE

20. Observation after too many wrong turns : "I'M LOST"

21. "Dirty Harry" composer Schifrin : LALO. Four Grammy Awards and six Oscar nominations but I still don't know him.

23. "Don't __ stranger" : BE A

24. Like a dog's hind leg : BENT

27. Enzyme ending : ASE

29. Online auction site : EBAY

35. After "get," gain an advantage : A LEG UP. Or an attempt to break up a double play.


39. Attending a Lakers game, say : IN L.A.. If you say they are playing a home game.

40. Ski resort named for a tree : ASPEN

42. Longest river entirely in Switzerland : AARE

43. Inning half : BOTTOM

47. Dedicated works : ODEs

49. Taylor of fashion : ANN. I'm shocked; there wasn't a real Ann Taylor.

54. Horizontal punctuator : DASH

58. Hold up, as a bank : ROB. "We wuz robbed!" Oft heard at the old ball park.

59. Yogi, for one : BEAR. Berra, for two.

60. Wheel cover : HUBCAP. Used for a base in sand lot ball games.

62. HI hello : ALOHA. HI = Hawaii

66. Jeopardy : PERIL

67. Hops kiln : OAST

68. Took __ loan : OUT A. "It's outta here!"

69. It has reservations : HOTEL

70. G.I. fare : MREs. (Ready-to-Eat)

Down:

1. Event before finals : SEMI

2. Ascend : CLIMB

3. Path between rows : AISLE. At a stadium, perhaps.

4. Conductor's wand : BATON

5. Cheeky : PERT

6. Research site : LAB

7. St. Teresa's city : AVILA. West of Madrid, Spain.

8. Cancel out : NEGATE

9. Wicked : IMMORAL

10. Lunes o martes : DÍA. All through Spain, Monday or Tuesday is a day(DÍA).

11. Perp's story : ALIBI

12. Eye color : HAZEL

13. "Shaq Diesel" rapper : O'NEAL. Shaquille O'Neal, basketball player and rapper.

18. Founded: Abbr. : ESTAB.. (established)

22. Beirut's country : LEBANON

25. Licks, as a stamp : WETS

26. One way to play : BY EAR. I wonder if Shaq has an ear.

28. Cat breed : SIAMESE

30. White lie : FIB

31. Dedicatee of Lennon's "Woman" : ONO

32. Final: Abbr. : ULT. (ultimate)

33. Inform against : RAT ON

34. Sunblock letters : SPF. For those sunny days at the ball park.

36. Gift of the garrulous? : GAB. Back to Yogi Berra?

37. Ocean State sch. : URI. (University of Rhode Island)

38. Pilot product : PEN. We had bull PEN back on the first.

41. Jason with a record 63-yard field goal to his credit : ELAM. How'd football get in here?

44. Weirdo : ODDBALL. Such as Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

46. Like inappropriate influence : UNDUE

48. Picabo Street race : SLALOM. Skier.

50. It's plotted in math class : GRAPH

51. Loggers' game : ROLEO. (logrolling) Two loggers on one log

52. Scrub the launch : ABORT

53. Like a cheering crowd : AROAR

55. Can't stand : ABHOR

56. Use elbow grease on : SCRUB

57. Part of Hispaniola : HAITI

60. 5'2", 6'3", etc.: Abbr. : HGTs. (heights)

61. Some major golf tournaments, informally : PGAs

63. Move it : HIE. Archaic or poetic.

65. Employ : USE


Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Here is a wonderful article from the Times of India today on our LA Times constructor Mangesh Ghogre, who was invited as a judge for the 2012 ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle Tournament). Congratulations again, Mangesh! And be sure to say Hi to Mangesh if you attend ACPT this year.

2) Finally a puzzle for baseball! Don and I originally had HANK AARON for 60-Across, since AARON holds the MLB record for RBIs (2,297). Rich felt LOU GEHRIG should be the focus due to GRAND SLAM entry. Had A-Rod hit one more grand slam last season, we would have to place him in the grid also.

71 comments:

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Zipped right through this clean project from the dynamic DGCC team. Knowing nothing about baseball proved no handicap, as perps came to the rescue every time. Didn't know, for instance, that LOU GEHRIG was holder of any records. I only know his famous farewell because it's so famous.

Not my thing, sports.

Thanks for another info session, Argyle!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Nice puzzle today. Relatively straightforward and very dense themage. Wasn't crazy about some of the short fill (HGTS, PGAS, etc.), but nothing too egregious.

I will say, though, that I was surprised at how tame the clues were this time around. I expect a bit more zing and trickiness from our Dynamic Duo, but I suppose that has more to do with editorial decisions than anything else.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Don G. and C.C., for a great tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.

I could not sleep so I got up at 3:45 AM and printed the puzzle and worked it.

Started off easily in the NW, but that changed quickly.

Saw the baseball theme answers and missed the RBI initially, but it appeared. Did not know Lou Gehrig's stat but I probably won't forget it.

AARE is a river we see quite often in the puzzles.

Nice Tuesday puzzle as it turned out.

Kazie: Watched you link from yesterday about the french I Love You. thank you.

Seen: Checked your link on Casimir Pulaski. Yes, he was quite a guy. The large Polish population in Chicago caused this holiday to become a reality a long time ago.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Lemonade714 said...

A really fun baseball puzzle from our own C.C. and Don; grrreat!
I think the inning clue and the pen would make up the starting nine, but also hidden in the fill was Bobby AVILA while no saint, was a tremendous ball player, perhaps the greatest ever from Mexico. Now if Hack Wilson had been worked in along with Hank Aaron, we would have all the RBI leaders.
Thanks Argyle.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Wow, a baseball-rich theme that I could actually solve! Thanks Don G. and C.C. for making me feel really smart this morning!! And thanks for including a couple answers that were right up my alley - Picabo Street in her SLALOM race, and the beautiful ski resort at ASPEN.

Argyle, I loved how you twisted so many of the other clues around to turn them into baseball references - very clever!

Fund stuff from our DGCC team. Have a great day, everyone!

Cookie Monster said...

Too bad the ubiquitious OREO didn't appear in today's puzzle. I just saw on the morning news that the Oreo made is debut 100 years ago today.

desper-otto said...

Good morning, all.

I should've guessed this was a DGCC opus. When I got GRANDSLAM I confidently penned in RUNS for 71A. ABHOR worked, but when I saw HAITN, I knew that I had SCRUUed up. So RBIS finally appeared, and then I could finally see the hidden theme letters. Fair, but tough, workout for a Tuesday.

Argyle, if you watched TV action/cop shows in the 7o's, then you've heard several of Lalo's compositions. I think his most famous is probably the theme from Mission Impossible.

SouthernBelle said...

Mornin' to all,

When I saw DGCC as constructors, I figured I would be in left field. Got'em all and it was a fun puzzle. Thank you, thank you!

Argyle, how can you do such clever writing so early in the morning???

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks CCDG for another fun puzzle! Thanks Argyle again!

Fortunately the unknowns were filled in fast by perps and the puzzle was speedy. Don't know more than a teaspoon about football.

In addition to the people that I thanked last night for their splendid links, I have to add another thanks to CrossEyed for the crossword puzzle link, but only because it has a splendid sudoku link on the page!

Time for real sleep, I hope!

Enjoy your day!

Middletown Bomber said...

Great puzzle from Don and C.C. Great write up from Argyle. This was a Monday difficulty on a Tuesday so I qualify it as a speed run. As I burned through this puzzle in record time for me.

enjoy tuesday all.

Coach J said...

ALOHA to all and thanks to out duo for a fine puzzle and to Argyle for an equally fun summary. Although this was no BEAR, it wasn't a DASH either. Just stuck to my PLAN and got to the BOTTOM of it rather quickly. The ASPEN is my favorite tree and reminds me that I need to get out to my adopted home state of Colorado. Love those mountains! Well, off to work...good day to all...this is the old left-hander rounding third and headed for home

Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard from Windhover since the tornados?

Mari said...

This one had me out in left field, but I was able to finish the game. Great witty write-up Argyle. I too liked your other baseball references.

I wonder if anybody still WETS stamps? (25D)

It has reservations: HOTEL cracked me up.
Attending a Lakers game, say: IN LA was a groaner.

Now I'm going to stop being Garrulous. Enjoy your Tuesday!

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

A puzzle with a baseball theme ......... it doesn't get any better. I sailed through this without any hold ups other then 70D MRES. I started with MESS and it took the perps to undo the error.

Lemonade, I too thought of Bobby Avila when 7D appeared. Whether or not he was the greatest player of Mexican descent is debatable, but he was good.

CC & DonG, thank you for a great start to the day.

Least favorite clue was EBAY. It's sure made it a lot more difficult for a vintage sports card dealer to buy product today.

Have a good day.

Husker Gary said...

Even a baseball devotee like I missed but loved the hidden RBI (not RBI’s like we used to say). Well done BATman and ROBin.

Musings
-A sportscaster likened Harvard grad Jeremy Lin’s rejuvenating the Knicks to Columbia alum Lou Gehrig doing the same for the Yankees. Go Ivy League!
-We definitely PLAN vacations and don’t just HIE out there
-BE A gives Golden Girl the day off
-The Dog Leg on hole number 6 gives me fits
-Has anyone tried the new pay to bid “auction” site QBID? I read it is a scam.
-Perhaps Tin’s and my ancestors basked on the banks of the AARE (or were up the AARE without a paddle)
-I much prefer “It’s outta here” to the current “go yard”
-The chemical reaction in MRE’s makes a great chemistry demo. Man, they get hot!
-The L in the AVILA/LALO crossing was my WAG of the year
-Isn’t every druggie’s ALIBI, “I was just holding it…”
-Could we say ONO is very utile?
-What was Willie Sutton’s famous reply to, “Why do you ROB banks, Willie?”

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the commentary, Argyle.

Lots of baseball today. Fun puzzle. RBI helped me get FLOUR BIN. Did you know a navy mess worker is called a "jack o' the dust"? Comes from the Brit Navy where a bakery person was once covered in flour dust. Learned that AARE, which we have had before, is the longest river within Switzerland. It is a tributary of the Rhine. Easy enough puzzle; no look-ups needed.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning everyone:


Great write-up, Argyle, and fun puzzle, CC and Don. Mostly breezed right along and caught the theme as soon as I read the clue for the unifier. A good Tuesday tune-up for the rest of the week.

Recently watched two very good movies from Netflix: The Company Men with Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner. It's about the financial meltdown of 2008 and how it affected the people who lost their jobs, homes, etc. The other one was The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams. This was based on a true story about a championship boxer who became a crack addict, went to prison, but eventually mentored his half-brother who went on to win a world boxing title. It was sometimes hard to watch and the language would make a sailor blush, but it was worth any discomfort because of Christian Bale's performance, which won him an Oscar.

Happy Tuesday all.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up.
Don & C.C. FUN Tuesday.

Husker: 'cause that's where the money is ...

Always like a puzzle with a member of my "Evil Empire" LOU GEHRIG.

Cheers to all at Sunset.

Barry G. said...

@Husker Gary: QBID is legitimate, but you have to understand exactly what is going on. It is advertised as a "penny auction" site where you bid for items in increments of a penny and the last bid placed wins it. The auctions have a set time, but if a bid is placed at the end within a specific time period (something like 30 seconds), the auction gets extended for a little while. So, theoretically this means you could win something like a brand new laptop computer for a bid of only $20.

What they don't tell you in the ads, though, is that you have to pay for the privilege of bidding. You buy bid tokens in advance for something like $1 per token, so when you increase the current bid by a penny you are actually paying something $1 to do so. So even if you win the laptop for $20, you may have had to pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of getting it for that price. And since everybody who bids has to pay for bid tokens, QBID actually makes a ton of money for each item sold.

Under the right circumstances, it is possible to get good deals, but in general there's just no way to get anything like the bargains they mention in the ads and you might even end up paying more than retail.

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all, Fun puzzle thanks Don and C.C. Kudos to Argyle for your insights.No smudges or writeovers for me a nice smooth and happy Tues. Baseball is always good for us sports nuts,but the perps made it doable for all. Going thur for my leg hopefully it fits this time. Have a great dia to all. RJW.

CrossEyedDave said...

Great fun, but like Desper-otto, i too immediately put in "runs" after 50A. Since i didn't have any of the hidden answers yet, it led to many a "WTF are they talking about" moments until 56D took a lot of elbow grease to try and get "scour" to fit.

I would like to say FIW, (thanks Jayce) but i vote for a new abbr.
&^%^$%#*^*&#&^%(*
meaning "L" was my 1st choice for the crossing of 7D &21A, but i overthought it, and decided "Avina" sounded more like a city than Avila. Rats...

CrossEyedDave said...

FermatPrime@7:34

You can get lost in those sidebar links for hours, i was not sure which link you were referring to, slice and dice seemed obvious, but further down, "The X Wing Technique" is very interesting...

Lucina said...

ALOHA and Hi, puzzlers. Argyle, I see that baseball turns you on and you are even sharper than usual at blogging. Nice!

And thank you, dynamic duo for a lovely half-cup speed run. (It took me a half-cup of coffee to finish.)

To quote Dudley, "not my thing, sports." However, the clues were all easily filled and I even saw the RBI within the theme.

LALO Schifrin is easy to recall because it's such an odd combination of names: Latin and Germanic. He was born in Argentina.

Fav clues were for HOTEL and jeopardy (because I love the TV sgiw!)

Have a lovely Tuesday, everyone!

Lucina said...

Sorry, that should be TV show. I'll be so glad when these cataracts are removed!

Vairnut said...

Easy, smooth Tuesday puzzle. Went right through, no lookups, no erasures...except to erase RUNS and replace it with RBIS. Since I worked top to bottom on this one, careful study of the theme answers cleared that up for me. Nice, fun puzzle today.

Rube said...

Pleasant puzzle today with only one writeover, like others, at MRES/MesS. Had to make an educated guess at the AVILA/LALO crossing, but both sounded vaguely familiar. Prefer that Edouard LALO had been the sought after composer, but that's just me.

So... the AARE is entirely in Switzerland. Well, you got to take your new fact-of-the-day where you can find it. And, I hope I can remember ROLEO for longer than the time it takes me to finish this comment.

Haven't seen a hubcap in decades. (On a new car, that is.)

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup. I finished quicker than usual Fun.

Yes, I got an e-mail from Windhover two days ago.

Argyle, I enjoyed Centerfield as I always do. Here's a link to my favorite Creedence song.

Rube, many new cars, especially the low-end ones, come with hub caps. They are disguised to look like the more expensive wheels.

Argyle said...

Hubcaps are a sure sign you are looking at a Ford Crown Vic police car. That and spot lights, unmarked or not.

Anonymous said...

I lived in Chicago when "Crawford" was changed to "Pulaski." It was fun to see how the Irish motormen
(almost all were Irish at that time) refused to say
"Pulaski" and continued to say "Crawford Avenue" in their delightful Irish brogue.

Misty said...

Well, I was excited to see our Dynamic Duo as constructors when I started this morning, and delighted it was a speed run until . . . I hit all those baseball references. Aaargghhh. But it all turned out okay. It helped that I know my Catholic saints (Teresa of AVILA) if not my sports Saints. Did I hear some awful stuff on the news about football teams paying players to badly injure guys on the other team? Pretty shocking, I thought.

Always love your punning, Argyle.

In the end I had a Trifecta (is that a sports reference?) this morning: finished Sudoku, Crossword, and Kenken! That should make this a good Tuesday!

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

Thanks, Don & C.C., for an enjoyable Tuesday puzzle! I loved the baseball theme and really enjoyed your clever write-up, Argyle ... great baseball references!
I avoided solving 71A because I wanted to try to figure out the theme on my own. I wrote down and stared at BIG, BILL, BIN and BITS. I didn't even notice the 'R' in front of each one. Duh. Of course after filling in RBIS it was easy to see. I, too, had 'Mess' before MRES but that didn't last long.

~~ C.C. ~ Too bad A-Rod didn't get that grand slam needed for him to be included in this puzzle ... OK, not really. ;-)

~~ I'm following baseball Spring Training, but at the moment I'm watching UCONN basketball in the Big East tournament. March Madness is upon us!

~~ Best of luck on Thursday, Ron W!

Enjoy the day!

Jayce said...

Avast thar, mateys! AARE!

As C.C. said many months ago, I also have a hard time remembering all those 4-letter European river names.

Fun puzzle today. Thank you, constructors. And thank you, Argyle, for a kewl writeup.

Wanted LANE for 15A, but PLRT at 5D seemed wrong. Changing ANILA to AVILA gave me that "Aha" bell-ring.

Lucina is a YOGI, wouldn't you say, Lucina?

My eyes are HAZEL.

Nature ABHORs a vacuum, so I use a Hoover.

Best wishes to you all.

Marge said...

Hi all,
Thanks C.C.,Don and Argyle for this puzzle and review. Really enjoyed it. Most of it came OK, had to do a couple look ups. I love baseball.

On the MLB channel last evening I came upon a ball game between The Milwauke Brewers and SF Giants. A training game of course in Scotsdale.

Does anyone lick stamps anymore?

DH told me the Lou Gerhig answer before I ever startrd the puzzle. I saw a movie many years ago about his life. His last speech was so sad.

It seems to be lunch time so I had better go.
Marge

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A clean quick puzzle for me today. I'm afraid I didn't even look at the constructors until I had finished the puzzle. I might have know who put this one together with all the baseball bits. I felt really good about being able to get all the baseball related answers. That doesn't usually happen.

I thought this puzzle was a bit easier than most from our dynamic duo.

A great puzzle you two, and a fine writeup, Argyle.

Thank you,also, C.C. for posting the article about Mangesh.

fermatprime said...

Forgot to mention my least fill: ONO.

Ron--Good luck!

JD said...

Good morning all,

LOVED your puzzle C.C. and Don, especially since it was on a Tues. Knew enough about baseball, saints,rivers to easily work my way through...although I did have a set back in the NE corner.Lunes o martes drew a complete blank. I wagged the O for Oneal, but didn't risk it with Lal_, so I did look him up, which helped me see immoral. Why didn't I think of that?

Argyle,enjoyed your baseball slant on everything, and the L.G. link.

Splender in the Grass is one of those movies that I watch with a box of kleenex.

eddy, I'll be pulling for the Sharks tonight. They need a little umpf.Maybe Mclellan's return will help.

Mari said...

Silly baseball question: I know what RBIs are. What does ERA stand for, and is it better to have a high or a low ERA?

Tinbeni said...

Mari:
ERA is Earned Run Average.
Pitcher's want them to be LOW.
(Indicating they do NOT give up many Earned Runs).

Cheers!

Bill G. said...

Tinbeni explained what ERA stands for but it occurred to me that you might not know what an earned run is. An earned run is when a pitcher gives up a hit or a walk that results in a runner crossing home plate for a run. If the batter hits the ball in a way that should result in an out but a fielder makes an error, that might score a run too. But since the team really didn't deserve the run (because of the error), it's not counted against the pitcher's ERA because it wasn't earned, therefore not an earned run.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Fun outing today - or should I say inning? Felt a bit somber after attending a funeral this a.m., so the lift is very welcome. Didn't notice the constructors until I got here. I was thinking C.C. would love this one. D'OH!

We're going to the Tigers - Mud Hens exhibition on April 4. Now I'm getting itchy.

I see some golf snuck in there, too.

Never can remember ROLEO.

Didn't know Shaq was a rapper. Will now try to forget.

You don't know LALO Schifrin?!? That's Impossible!

Wicked weirdo = IMMORAL ODDBALL.

Now to read the comments.

Cool Regards!
JzB My dad had hazel eyes

kazie said...

OK so what is an RBI? No intricate explanations, please--just what is stands for, since I won't remember or understand any more than that anyway. Thank you.

AbeJo,
Glad you watched it. I was afraid on retiring last night that nobody saw it.

Nice job C.C. and Don G!

My CW effort today was rewarded with a straight run through due to perp help here and there. Unknowns LALO, ONEAL, ELAM, URI and unsure item ASE all fell in fairly quickly.

My eyes are HAZEL too.

Husker Gary said...

One More Thing

-The NFL has been told that the New Orleans Saints are in hot water because someone revealed that there was a “bounty system” for viscous hits on opposing players and that a coach was aware of it. Today’s 33 Down - RAT ON brings up the recent quotes from some current football players that they are more upset for the guy who revealed this horrible practice and not the guys who actually participated in the bounty system.
-People I have talked to have said that QBID, et al are scams and if you get caught up in the action, you can wind up paying more than retail. In for a dime, in for a dollar.
-Just off the course on this 72°F day and could only play 18 as the course is full of players!

kazie said...

Argyle,
I remember your mentioning the police car hubcaps before, because I had never noticed that, and so took care to look especially at all the police and sheriff's cars in their fleet parked at our courthouse. Sure enough, they all had them!

eddyB said...

Hello.

JD. Critical game for Sharks tonight. They will either move
back to 1st or 9th and out of play-off picture. Maybe time for McLellan to go. Jill isn't allowed to watch since they lose when she does.

TG Indy car season starts in 18 days. Can hardly wait for St Pete.

eddy

Mari said...

Kazie, RBI stands for Runs Batted In. I think it means that if you are at bat and another player makes it home from 1st, 2nd, or 3rd base you earn an RBI. Better let the pros opine though, cuz I'm not a sports expert.

By the way, thanks for the explanation, Guys.

I live near Chicago, where we have 2 MLB teams. I grew up with my dad watching the Sox, and now my husband watches the Cubs!

Mari said...

PS: Hands up for hazel eyes.

Anonymous said...

real bitter immigrant

Anonymous said...

Anon@2:40 Actually the proper term is Really Bitter Immigrant. In German it is considered proper to...

Anonymous said...

lol. thanks for the correction!

p.s. don't bother me with any more baseball nonsense as i don't care either.

A Couple Notches Down said...

Everything you need to know about RBI.

Yellowrocks said...

I didn't look for the constructor right away, but as soon as i had two baseball answers i knew it had to be Don and CC. Cute puzzle. very easy. argyle I enjoyed the witty way you skewed everything to baseball.

Ron W. wishing you a successful fitting on Thursday.

HG @2:29, from me, the world's worst typist, I loved your typo. That VISCOUS hit you mentioned must have been really sloppy, not to mention sticky. LOL I picture them pouring oil on each other.

Anonymous said...

Temper, temper, Other Anon! Baseball related coments were posted because this was a baseball themed crossword. They can't all be winners.

Anonymous said...

I see nobody has pointed out that Picabo Street was a Downhill and SuperG specialist. She didn't compete in the Slalom or even the Combined. This bit of extra knowledge messed me up on the crosses to SKIING.

PeekaBoo Avenue said...

Proving one more time that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing

kazie said...

Anons @ 2:40 and 2:46,
Thanks for the giggles. Actually, I know about as much about cricket, Aussie Rules, Rugby League, Rugby Union and horse racing as I know about Gridiron or Baseball. Although I actually have attended a (one) real baseball game and a couple of horse races and have never gone to any of the others.

So my immigrant status, American citizenship since 2004 notwithstanding, has nothing to do with it. Nor does it imply a complete disinterest in any sport. Only team sports that have way too much money and spleen expended on them.

I do however enjoy watching tennis, diving and Olympic sports, both winter and summer, without knowing much more about them either.

Mari,
Thank you for jumping in there too.

Yellowrocks said...

anon @3:25 "If you knew Google like I knew Google...."

Wiki says, "The Super Giant Slalom is an Alpine skiing discipline. It is usually referred to as Super G and is a "speed" event, along with the faster Downhill event." Picabo won it (the slalom).

LA CW Addict said...

Okay, I need a bit of edjeecating...

Lemonade, which one was the inning clue? Went back over the puzzle and it didn't jump out at me. BTW, nobody mentioned Oddball as part of the baseball theme.

Husker Gary: I get BAT in Batman but do not get the ROB... googled, but to no satisfaction. I presume you were making baseball references?

Jazzbumpa: Thanks for the Mission Impossible link! Was nice to hear it in its entirety as they cropped it for the show.

We sure learned a lot about baseball today. I also enjoyed the Centerfield link. Thanks for that Argyle! All of those great players! I have so lost track of the game today. I don't think it's the same anymore.

Susan said...

Hi All,

Easy puzzle for me today even though I know diddly about sports. My DH has been watching a lot of basketball lately. Since NM seems to always be near the bottom of every list that comes out, it's nice to see the Lobos doing so well.

EBay was a gimme since I've spent thousands of dollars on it. I've also sold a few things and my DH has sold three sand rail dune buggies for hefty sums. I mostely buy books.

Jayce said...

The last time I used eBay my credit card was compromised, even though I use Paypal. Dunno if it is because the seller was somebody in China.

Susan said...

Jayce, sorry about your PayPal mess. So far I've been lucky and haven't had any problems. I've been using it for almost ten years.

Jayce said...

Susan, I'm sure I'll have good results with eBay. I'll just be careful whom I buy from. In fact I was extremely fortunate to get hold of a hard-to-find item for a good price the previous time I used eBay.

Argyle said...

LA CW Addict@5:22

BATman came from 4-Down: BATON.
ROBin came from 58-Across: ROB.
It related to our constuctors, sometimes called the Dynamic Duo, here on the Corner.

43-Across. Inning half : BOTTOM

44-Down. Weirdo : ODDBALL. Such as Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, pitcher for the Detroit Tigers.

Seldom Seen said...

Great puzzle Don G. and C.C.. I guessed it was yours before I came here.

Great write up Argyle. Did I miss you identify your new avatar. Some sort of specialized pliers?

I see Rich timed this right for Shaq's birthday(40th). But I was looking for the OREO's 100th shout out.

Argyle said...

Yes, Seen, they are old brake pliers but even a letter to the manufacturer didn't turn up what their exact use was.

Avg Joe said...

Argyle, they look like they might have been used in a banding process. Maybe to connect a solid brake tube to a flexible rubber tube. If you ever find out, let us know. Old specialty tools are fascinating.

And thanks for asking Seen. I'd been wondering too.

Grumpy 1 said...

Argyle, those pliers are, I'm pretty sure, brake adjusting pliers for the Steedraulic brakes that were used in the 20's and 30's on several makes of cars including Auburn and Huppmobile. Several companies made them.

Argyle said...

Grumpy, you've hit the nail on the head. I had to add a L to make it Steeldraulic; here is a big picture of the tool.

Maybe the strange shape was due to limited working space. More research!

Argyle said...

Hurray! Another mystery solved.

Steeldraulic website here.

Grumpy 1 said...

Argyle, if you've adjusted brakes with the 'starwheel adjuster' where you stick the adjusting tool in through the backing plate and pry the wheel a notch at a time, you can probably picture a similar adjuster with knurls instead. A cover on the backing plate was removed and the pliers were shaped so the jaws straddled a steel bar and grabbed the knurl, allowing just a few degrees of adjustment on each grab.

Grumpy 1 said...

Here is a pretty good picture of a Steeldraulic Brake Assembly The adjuster knurl is in the lower part of the assembly.

Argyle said...

Now I can make out the access cover behind it in the backing plate. Thank you.