Saturday, Sep 12th, 2015, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie~!

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,Z)

Blocks: 30

I figured it was Silkie time, and there you have it~!  This one started off well, went blank, then with just the minimum of crossings (perps) it filled in nicely, and well inside my personal time allotment.  No fun-sponge proper names, vague references or any other clues that would normally force me into cheating, red-letters and Google.  Makes for a pleasant start to the weekend~!  Triple 10-letter corners across, and almost triple 9's in the down, with one spanner;

35. With "The," Massachusetts license plate slogan :  
SPIRIT OF AMERICA - I can think of a couple of blog members who knew this one outright; I had no clue

~!

ACROSS:

1. Game with a Bad Piggies spin-off : ANGRY BIRDS - can you believe I have never played this~?

11. Pi preceder? : OCTO - octopi, more than one octoPUS

15. Modem interface : SERIAL PORT

16. Fizzle : FLOP

17. Westminster attraction : CLOCK TOWER - "Save the clock tower~!"

18. 17-Across display : TIME

19. Plant with tubular flowers : ALOE - always looking for a fresh way to clue this age-old crossword answer

20. Inside job : DECOR

22. "Willy and the Poor Boys" band, familiarly : CCR - Creedence Clearwater Revival

Down On The Corner

23. Poe title stowaway : PYM

24. Grain beard : AWN - could not remember this; the "W" was my second-to-last fill

26. Type of sandwich? : KNUCKLE

28. 2009 Emmy co-winner for Outstanding Talk Show Host : BEHAR - not ELLEN or OPRAH

30. Try to get : GRAB AT

31. Gateway Arch architect : SAARINEN - had it, spelled it correctly, took it out; I should trust my architectural instincts

34. Puff : PANT

38. Neophyte : TYRO

39. Calm : SERENITY - my mantra -

40. Key of Grieg's Piano Concerto : A MINOR - as always, start with - M - - OR, and go from there

43. Sturdy carts : DRAYS

44. Cork's province : MUNSTER - mostly perps, and the "U" was a WAG

46. Menu term : A LA

47. Consumer protection org. : BBB - Better Business Bureau

50. Calif. setting : PST

51. Described in letters : SPELT - Massachusetts; how do you spell it~?   " I - T "

53. Wells creation : ELOI - H.G., the author, and one the Time Machine races

54. Play group : TEAM - oh, OK.  I was thinking "play" as in actors on stage; ergo, troupe was not going to work

56. Cell warning : EMAIL ALERT - was not sure on the first pass if this was "cellular" or cell like those found in prison

59. Arctic fliers : AUKS - huh, I filled this in and forgot about it

60. Like some protests : NON-VIOLENT - I could have sworn we just had this clue/answer

61. Marvel Comics superheroes : X-MEN

62. "Through the Looking-Glass" brother : TWEEDLE DEE - I'm sure you're familiar with his twin, Tweedledum

DOWN:

1. Recording acronym : ASCAP

2. "M.O." rapper : NELLY - a WAG off the "N"

3. Stable employee : GROOM - women would like their GROOM to be STABLE, I would think

4. 2003 College World Series winner : RICE - all perps

5. Jaw : YAK

6. Short order? : BLT - Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato sa'mich order

7. Apple products : iPOD NANOS - did you hear that Apple is now coming out with sound-proof drywall panels~?  It's called "iRock"

8. 1930s-'40s pitcher "Schoolboy" __ : ROWE - again, all perps

9. Worthless trash : DRECK

10. Solid : STRONG - I pondered STURDY, but that appears at 43a.

11. "... the apparel __ proclaims the man": "Hamlet" : OFT

12. Provocative and frequently misleading link : CLICKBAIT - we had this last month (36-Across)

13. "The Sum of All Fears" author : TOM CLANCY - I knew this one, so it made me change my " - - - STATE" pre-answer for 35a.

14. Victor Herbert work : OPERETTA - if Mr. Silk says so.  Again, mostly perps

21. Influential sci-fi drama : R.U.R.- which added "robot" to the English language

24. Atmosphere: Pref. : AERI

25. Scintilla : WHIT - not IOTA

27. Warm-weather pants : CAPRIs

28. Industrial bigwigs : BARONS

29. Put another quarter in, as a parking meter : RE-FED

31. "Trust No One" Washington attraction : SPY MUSEUM - The X-Files; I own the DVD set

32. Internal combustion engine system : AIR INTAKE - I have to remove the air intake plenum on my Dodge Stratus in order to change out three of my six spark plugs.  I had a frozen brake caliper, and this week I finally wore off the pad and got down to raw metal, so I changed it today, along with the pads and rotor.  I figure I better do the other side before I grind those pads down to raw steel, too

33. Tale : NARRATIVE

35. 1765 levy repealed in 1766 : STAMP TAX

36. Board part : MEAL - as in Room & Board

37. New Age superstar : ENYA - new age~? Four letters~? = ENYA

41. Causes of "60 Minutes" delays, briefly : OTs - my mother hates it when Sunday football throws the TV sked off

42. Feel sorry for : REPENT

45. Do more lawn work : REMOW

47. Run : BLEED - ah, that "RUN".  My dictionary has 15 (subdivided) definitions of the verb run, 15 for the verb transitive, and 12 for the noun; 11a is this kind;

48. Supported : BORNE

49. Polite word, in Potsdam : BITTE - "Thanks", if I'm not mistaken

52. Pool division : LANE

53. Women's issue : ELLE - magazine issue

55. ISP choice : MSN - and a genuine clecho; 58. ISP choice : AOL

57. Top : LID - CAP~? HAT~? decisions, decisions....

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Today we celebrate the birthday of our quick-witted friend & foodie Steve, who has traveled around the word to taste every global cuisine. How many people on our blog knows Shamoji? Amazing. Steve hikes to the Hollywood sign regularly and he's an avid runner as well.

Friday, September 11, 2015, Patti Varol

Theme: A pass/fail puzzle, unless you understand  all the variations of pass, you fail.

A new puzzle from Patti Varol, who is Rich Norris' assistant at the LAT. C.C. did a nice INTERVIEW back in 2013. This style of cross-referential cluing is reminiscent of a 2012 Friday presentation which I believe was the first of her puzzles that I blogged. In this case the single word which is the clue for the four long answers is PASS which appears as the last Across clue, but has no clue.  There is room for a lot of fun fill like ANTHEM, BUTTES, (which reappears immediately after last week's duty in the theme) CONFAB,  DENOTE, LOUISA,  MOREAU,  ONIONY, ENTHUSE, NUANCES,  RAN AMOK,  UTENSIL, BROWBEAT and TIRAMISU. As someone who gets to read all of the submissions to the LAT Ms. Varol has a sense of what is fresh. I know many do not like cross-references, but I think you will like this Friday frolic.

20A. See 69-Across : FOOTBALL THROW (13). The forward PASS changed football forever.

34A. See 69-Across : MAKE THE GRADE (12). Important both in school and in life. Does pass/fail stunt learning? With all of our teachers out there, does competing for a grade improve performance?

41A. See 69-Across : SKIP ONE'S TURN (12). A term familiar to all who play bridge or any other bidding game; can you skip your turn in Monopoly?

56A. See 69-Across : MOUNTAIN ROUTE (13). There are so many famous mountain passes, but did you know the TOPOGRAPHY?

And the common clue

69A. Clue for four puzzle answers : PASS.

Across:

1. Some UPS deliveries : CODS. No, Splynter is not bringing fish to your home, or an outdated male garment.  Historically, the term was Cash On Delivery, but UPS has repurposed it as Collect On Delivery, getting the payment and forwarding to its customers.

5. First Homeland Security secretary : RIDGE. It is impossible to not think of this MAN on this anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, and equally impossible to discuss without venturing into politics.

10. Help badly? : ABET.

14. Scott Turow title : ONE L.

15. "I don't give __" : A DARN. Even Rhett was more emphatic than that.

16. It may be hard to resist : URGE. So, why resist?

17. One in una escuela primaria : NINO. Spanish for boy or child in primary school.

18. Like two Tim Lincecum games : NO HIT. There have been six in June, July and August this year. A complete LIST.

19. Senate garment : TOGA. Fun misdirection did not fool me.

23. Country song : ANTHEM.

24. __ generis : SUI. Latin for 'of its own kind.' In the law, it is used to identify a specific party in litigation.

25. Word with band or toy : BOY. N'sync or Backstreet Boys?

28. "Peace out" : BYE.

29. Struggling with a choice : TORN.

32. Hardly friendly looks : SNEERS.

36. Idaho motto word : ESTO. Really needed perps to get this. Esto perpetua is Latin for 'let it be forever.'

39. Theater funding gp. : NEA. This time it is the National Endowment for the Arts. LINK.

40. "... like __ not" : IT OR.

46. Doctor with an island of Beast Folk : MOREAU. The wonderful mind of H.G. Wells.

47. Idée source : TETE. Did anyone do David Steinberg's puzzle last week about heads? Awesome.

48. Butcher's units: Abbr. : LBS.

51. Progressive __ : ERA.

52. Gives birth to : HAS. On alert for the birth of my second grandchild. Trying hard to keep up with Kazie.

54. Enjoy the bistro : EAT OUT.

60. Home to many Indians : ASIA.

62. Indianapolis pros : COLTS.

63. Wrap alternative : PITA.

64. Staff at sea : MAST. Not much sailing talk these days, Spitzboov?

65. Food inspector's concern : E. COLI.

66. Showing wear : USED.

67. And : PLUS.

68. "Hamlet" prop : SKULL. Alas, poor Yorick...


Down:

1. Informal chat : CONFAB. A really fun word; from the Latin root that gives us fable.

2. Like some dips : ONIONY.  Just an adjective.

3. Symbolize : DENOTE. A five dollar word.

4. Critter that sleeps upside down : SLOTH. Kinda cute sleeping.

5. Went berserk : RAN AMOK. Amok comes from a Malay word; this is the national language of Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. It is spoken by 270 million people, per wiki.

6. Screen VIP : IDOL.

7. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" author : DAHL. Roald wrote so many twisted tales.

8. Breakfast side : GRITS. learned to enjoy them at Skeeter's in Gainesville.

9. Speak with passion : ENTHUSE.

10. Start to focus? : AUTO. Autofocus.

11. Bully : BROWBEAT. An interesting word around since the 1500s.

12. Frittata base : EGG.

13. Leaves in a bag : TEA. In the bag, not left in the bag.

21. Interim software phase : BETA. There really is alpha TESTING.

22. Digital band : RING. Not music but on a finger.

26. Great Seal word : ORDO. Novus ordo seclorum ( "New order of the ages") appears on the back of every one dollar bill so you should recognize the term. If you want more READ.

27. Strategic European river of 1914 : YSER. The BATTLE.

30. Former Quebec premier Lévesque : RENE.  This MAN died 28 years ago.

31. Arms control subj. : N-TEST. I wonder why I get so many bomb related fill.

33. Land with "her back towards Britain, her face to the West," in a William Drennan poem : ERIN. Not familiar  with Poem but it was an easy guess.

34. Brood : MOPE. Most teenagers do lots of this.

35. Not fancy at all : HATE. In the British sense....

36. Miss Megley's charge, in a Salinger story : ESME.

37. Chocolate-and-toffee bar : SKOR. I have seen it but never bought it and I love chocolate.

38. Layered dessert : TIRAMISU. Only the GARNISH is chocolate for this classic.

42. Waimea Bay locale : OAHU.

43. Easy things to overlook : NUANCES. Very subtle.

44. Diner's need : UTENSIL.

45. Slowpoke's place : REAR.

48. Creator of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy : LOUISA. May Alcott's Little Women.

49. Flat-topped formations : BUTTES. A gimme if you paid attention last week.

50. Places : STEADS.

53. Seller's supply : STOCK.

55. Freshen, as a drink : TOP UP. Never top off.

57. Stable diet : OATS.

58. Giants manager before Bochy : ALOU. Felipe, the oldest brother.

59. "__ be all right" : IT'LL. Do you prefer ROCK or POP ?

60. Juice unit : AMP. Juice as electricity.

61. ESPN reporter Paolantonio : SAL. I am glad I did not have to spell his last name.

Well on that embarrassing note, I wish you all a good week end and remember all the brave people who came to the fore in 9/11 and let them inspire us all to be better people. For those who celebrate the New Year, L' shana Tovah. Lemonade 714 out.

We had dinner last night with Chairman Moe at a local French restaurant, merveilleux!

Notes from C.C.:

1) I'm so pleased to see you guys meet again, Chairman Moe and Lemonade!

2) Happy Birthday to Husker Gary, my tenacious & always eager-to-learn friend and puzzle collaborator. I never heard him complain about life or anything during his three stays at the hospital a few months ago. He's a fighter.

Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann, August 22, 2014

Thursday September 10, 2015 Mary Lou Guizzo

Theme: A LOW KEY Thursday, like this hilarious LOW KEY Comedian

Mary Lou's lovely Thursday exercise got me with LACT_/SAM_. I didn't know SAMI but had a good feeling about LACTO. Her LOW KEY theme used the gimmick that the word KEY could be appended to the last word in the  four down fills with asterisks to form a common phrase. The first word of the amended phrase was also LOW on the  vertical fill and so LOW KEY!

3. *Event for A-listers, say : PRIVATE FUNCTION - Where the elite meet and FUNCTION KEY on my MacBook Pro. Any of the 11 on the top row

11. *The Hagia Sophia, for nearly a millennium : BYZANTINE CHURCH - Constantinople CHURCH and CHURCH KEY - puncture or cap removal type

27. *Sirius' constellation : CANIS MAJOR - The winter constellation and MAJOR KEY signatures in music

29. *Space to maneuver : WIGGLE ROOM - Plausible denial or ROOM KEY (modern version) that all my Florida kids got and half managed to lose at one time or another

58. With 59-Down, subdued, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : LOW. 59. See 58. Down - KEY and there you have the reveal: LOW KEY

Marti is off in Europe sightseeing, staying with friends and helping to kick off Oktoberfest in Bavaria. I am her envious and barely adequate pinch hitter.

Across   
     
1. Oz. sextet : TSPS - 6 TSPS per oz. abbr/abbr. Not Kazie's Oz.

5. Hamlet's foppish courtier : OSRIC - Yeah, I knew that!

10. Abba not known for singing : EBAN - ABBA Eban who held many posts in Israeli government 

14. Other, in Orizaba : OTRO - Español - "On the other hand" becomes "pro OTRO lado"

15. __ Park: Knott's Berry Farm city : BUENA

16. Connecticut town for which a disease is named : LYME - Less favorable notoriety than Buena Park

17. Sinn __ : FEIN - An Irish political party. Name means "Ourselves"

18. 100-eyed guardian of Io : ARGUS - Yikes! I'm pretty sure we wouldn't see eye to eye to eye to eye... 

19. Weizman of Israel : EZER - Seventh president of Israel

20. Bean used in falafel : FAVA - They were also a side dish in a grotesque meal in Silence Of The Lambs.

21. Half a comedy duo : MEARA - Part of Stiller and Meara and mother to Ben Stiller

22. Two-time MLB all-star Ron : GANT - Now host of Good Morning Atlanta, a city where he once played

23. Three-handed game : SKAT - Aggressive SKAT play

24. Wrench handle? : ALLEN - I loved this clue. My bike requires ALLEN wrenches on most bolts

25. Stats for QBs : INTS - When your number of INTerceptionS exceed your number of COMPletionS, you will probably have to seek other employment

26. "Clueless" co-star __ Dash : STACEY - I know it's lame, but I was CLUELESS about Stacey

28. Johannesburg section : SOWETO - SOWEstern Townships. 

30. Salad option : CAESAR - Et tu?

31. Social calls : VISITS 

33. "__ Wiedersehen" : AUF - Literally means "until we see again". AUF Wiedersehen, Marti!

34. It often says "Hello" : NAME TAG

38. FDR loan org. : NHA - National Housing Agency was part of FDR's alphabet soup

39. "Pardon me, Giuseppe" : SCUSI - Dean Martin sang "Grazie, Grazie, SCUSI, Prego"

41. CPR provider : EMT - First responders run TO danger

42. Something in your eye : GLEAM

44. Wires, e.g. : SENDS - Used mainly to transfer money today

45. Mr. Rogers : ROY

46. Dairy prefix : LACTI - LACTOse occurred to me first 

47. Brown shade : CAMEL

49. "He that __ down with dogs shall rise up with fleas": Franklin : LIETH - Birds of a feather...

51. Bar made by Hershey's : KIT KAT 

53. Enterprise bridge regular : MR SULU

56. "Vous êtes __": Paris map words : ICI - You are here!

57. Dog days mo. : JUL - A fairly cool July on the prairie this year

59. Kitchy-__ : KOO

60. Cartoonist Chast : ROZ - Clueless redux

61. Disney's Bob Iger, e.g. : CEO

62. Dash prefix : ODO - The ODOmeter on your car's dashboard. Can they still be turned back?

63. Frequent co-producer of U2 albums : ENO - A frequent cwd commodity

64. "__: Miami" : CSI

65. 54-year-old doll : KEN - Middle-aged KEN and Barbie

66. VCR button : REW

67. Sweet tuber : YAM - YAMS with brown sugar, marshmallows and football. Now that's Thanksgiving!

68. Bulls and bucks : HE'S - Both male

 Down:

1. Farnham Fops - TOFFS - A gaggle of TOFFS

2. Outback condiment : STEAK SAUCE

4. Piano pieces : SONATAS

5. Period since 2009 : OBAMA ERA

6. Without a doubt : SURELY - From my "funniest movie ever"

7. Courtly : REGAL

8. Hardens : INURES

9. 18th-century Italian adventurer : CASANOVA - Oh, it's called adventuring 

10. Poetic laments : ELEGIES - Was I the only one who read this in high school?

12. "I'll say!" : AMEN TO THAT - Right on, brother!

13. "Darn it!" : NERTS

30. Mama known for singing : CASS - "...and everyone's getting' fat 'cept Mama CASS"

32. Scandinavian native : SAMI- Not a clue, er no idea. These are Indigenous people living in the very north of Sweden, Finland and Norway. Tundra is a SAMI word used in many other languages. 

35. Jazzman Saunders : MERL - SF jazz organist/keyboard player

36. Expressive music genre : EMO

37. Texter's sign-off : TTYL - Talk To You L8r

40. Home to Pierre: Abbr. : S DAK - Where Lewis and Clark encountered Teton Sioux or Lakota tribes

43. Back muscles, briefly : LATS - Latissimus Dorsi

48. Czerny piano piece : ETUDE

50. "__ roll!" : I'M ON A

51. Bit of excitement : KICK 

52. Frozen treat : ICEE

54. Shed : LOSE

55. Strong arms? : UZIS - I'll bet EZER Weizman knew his way around one

C.C. was very LOW KEY when we visited with her and Boomer but I wonder how many of my other crossword friends here. There are a lotta hot buttons out there! Who knew a comma could raise IRE?

Husker Gary

Wednesday, September 9, 2015, Pawel Fludzinski and Amy E. Hamilton

Theme: It's another Wednesday, By Cracky!   We are presented with beautifully common two-word phrases, beginning coincidentally with B and C.  Is this a bold concept?  

20 A. *Competition won by a knockout? : BEAUTY CONTEST.  I have to admit I love this brilliant clue.  In one sense, a knockout is physically incapacitating one's opponent in a combat sport.  in another it's lady of beguiling charm.

But why chose?

36 A. *Certain cutlet : BONELESS CHICKEN.  As the name suggests, this is a cut of chicken with the bones removed.

Or so we are led to believe

53 A. *Nonviolent revolution : BLOODLESS COUP.   A Coup [d'état] is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually by a group of insiders.  It's bloodless if done by non-violent means.

You never know what gifts Mr. Google will provide

4 D. *Dressing with Buffalo wings : BLUE CHEESE.  Blessedly cool to balance/contrast the heat of buffalo chicken.

Also serving Buffalo Calimari

31 D. *Arm-strengthening reps : BICEP CURLS.  The barbell is curled upward from waist level to the chest.

Big contraction

And the unifier -- 66 A. Recently retired NCAA football ranking system, and, as a plural, a hint to the answers to starred clues : BCS.    Acronym Finder lists 106 various things, from Bar Code Scanner to Bangladesh Civil Service that might be indicated by the abbreviation BCS.    But, with the beginning of football season we have the somewhat more topical BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. This was a system in place from 1998 through 2013 that used 5 Bowl games involving 10 of the top rated college football teams in a vain attempt to define a national champion.   Whether this was worth doing is a topic I'll let remain undiscussed.

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here - though with symphony season back in session perhaps I should be Classical Bumpa, at least for today.  [Wait - that's backwards.  Oh, well.] At any rate, we have five long horizontal and vertical two-word theme answers, one a grid spanner, with the initials B and C.  We needn't go back to Old Testament times, nor will our excursion take us to British Columbia, Boston College, nor Baja California.   Let's see if we can blithely conquer this puzzle, before conceding.

Across:

1. "Hardball" station : MSNBC.   Chris Matthews hosts this politically oriented program.  'Nuff said.

6. McCain's org. : GOP.   John and the Grand Old Party.  'Nuff said.

9. Mardi Gras mementos : BEADS.  Mardi Gras will land on Feb 9 in 2016.  Are you ready?

I guess there is some sort of tradition about earning them

14. São __, Brazil : PAULO.  The most populous city in Brazil, the Americas, the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.  It's named for Saul of Tarsus, who became St. Paul.

15. Body spray brand : AXE.

Body Conjured?

16. Baseball Hall of Famer Murray or Mathews : EDDIE.    Steady Eddie Murray was a first baseman and designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles, 1977-1988. He played until 1997 for several more teams.  Eddie Matthews played 3rd base for the Braves as they were stationed in Boston, Milwaukee and then Atlanta from 1952 through 1966.  After a partial year in Houston, he finished up with the Tigers in 1968.

17. Arrange ahead of time : SET UP.

18. Irish actor Stephen : REA.   Best actor nominee for his performance in The Crying Game, and has been in many more films and TV series.

Source

19. Jeans accent : RIVET.

Bluejeans Characteristic

23. Magazine fig. : CIRC.  The abbrv'd figure is CIRCulation.

25. Easily led sorts : SHEEP.   Figuratively speaking.  We keep venturing dangerously close to politics.

Wouldn't be prudent

26. Seminary subj. : REL.  And now RELigion!  What did I do to deserve this?

27. Kerfuffles : HOOHAS.   Altercations, brouhahas, etc. This word also has other definitions, which you may discuss amongst yourselves.

29. Easily roused crowd : RABBLE.  Sheep with teeth and claws?

32. Single : UNWED.  Once wed, you are double, I suppose.

33. Highest North American peak, to natives : DENALI.   And to everybody, now.  [Well, almost] Formerly Mt. McKinley, so named in 1896 by a gold prospector who supported the then presidential candidate. This was made official by President Wilson in 1917.  To be clear, pretty much everyone in Alaska has always called it by the Athabascan name, meaning great one.  The Alaska Board of Geograhic Names changed it back to DENALI in 1975, and has been petitioning the Federal government to follow suit ever since..  It is located in a national park that has been named DENALI since 1980.  {Reference}

41. Not quite boil : SIMMER.  If you can't stand the heat  .  .  .

42. Grammar class subject : TENSE.  A verb characteristic expressing a time reference; Frex., past, present or future.   Once in grammar class the teacher asked me, "What tense would it be if you said, 'I have money?'"  My answer was, "Pretense."

43. Slide subject : AMOEBA.  Tiny critter on a microscope slide.  This has nothing to do with baseball, nor trombones.  I hope.

46. Common motel prohibition : NO PETS.   This refers to your animal friends, and presumably does not extend to physical contact.

47. Turned on : LIT.  As a light bulb.

48. With no affection : ICILY.  As, for example, when encountering one's ex.

52. Corp. bigwigs : CEOS. Chief Executive OfficerS.

57. First name on a 1945 bomber : ENOLA Gay.  Delivered a nuke.

58. SoCal team, on scoreboards : LAA.  Los Angeles Angels.  Long shot for a wild card this year.

59. Athenian with harsh laws : DRACO.  In the 7th century B. C. he replaced oral laws that could be arbitrarily applied and interpreted with a written constitution that was publicly displayed.  These laws led to the death penalty for even minor offenses, and were more lenient to the upper classes.

62. Race with batons : RELAY.  The baton is passed from runner to runner on a team, at set distance intervals.

63. Clean one's plate : EAT.   Figuratively,  except for the Sprats, of course. 

64. Respected church member : ELDER.

65. Deuce beaters : TREYS.  Twos and threes in a deck of cards.

67. Pitcher's arm, say : ASSET.  But only if he can get a grip.  

Down

1. U.S. Army cops :. Military Police (plural S.)

2. Encl. with a manuscript : SAE.  Self Addressed Envelope.

3. Type of ale : NUT BROWN.  

Not a rave review

5. Nightclub of song : COPA.  A Barry Manilow song that I will not link.

6. Brooks of C&W : GARTH.   A County singer who I will not link.

7. Daisy variety : OX EYE.  So prolific it is now considered to be a noxious weed.

Bad Chrysanthemum?

8. Flower child's parting word : PEACE.  

Is that an ox eye daisy?

9. Swiss capital : BERN.   Neither Francs nor Euros; instead the capital city.

10. Revise text : EDIT.

11. Sooner or later : ADVERB.  Self-referential clue.

12. Semi-filling liquid : DIESEL.  Fuel for semi tractor trailer rigs, not light beer.

13. Come to terms : SETTLE.   Reach an agreement.

21. Pearl Harbor's __ Arizona Memorial : USS.  United States Ship, a prefix applied to a commissioned ship of the U. S. Navy.  This is only used during the time that the ship is commissioned. 

22. Personality with an online book club : OPRAH.   Winfrey (b. January 29, 1954.)

23. Carp family fish : CHUB.  A common fish name applied to a variety of families and genera.

24. Prefix with sphere : IONO-.   The upper region of the atmosphere, from about 40 to over 600 miles of altitude, where the molecules of the atmosphere are ionized by solar radiation and cosmic rays.

28. Go off-script : AD LIB.

30. 2005 Bush Supreme Court nominee : ALITO.  Samuel (b. April 1, 1950)

33. Mil. award : DSM.  Distinguished Service Medal.   British, awarded from 1914 to 1993.

34. L.A.-to-Tucson dir. : ESE.  East-SouthEast.

35. ATM giant : NCR.  National Cash Register.

37. Phishing medium : EMAIL.

38. Rollerblading safety gear : KNEE PADS.  So they don't get skinned.

Protective armor

39. José's "this" : ESTO.   Spanish.

40. Loch near Inverness : NESS.   Scottish Lake with a mythical monster.

43. Angels' slugger Pujols : ALBERT.  He was more of a slugger, and hit for higher average with the Cardinals from 2001 through 2011.   Things fell off dramatically when he changed uniforms in 2012. This year the HR's are back on track, but the average is still slipping.

Baseball coverage

44. Martin of "Adam-12" : MILNER.  Sadly, passed away on Monday.

"I was never a celebrity"

45. "Lawrence of Arabia" Oscar nominee : O'TOOLE.   Irish stage and screen actor ((2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) 

Holds the record for most Oscar nominations without a win

46. 1785-'90 U.S. capital : NYC.  New York City.

49. Star : CELEBrity.  O'Toole, not Milner.

50. Newton associated with apples, not figs : ISAAC.  (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726)  English physicist and mathematician.  Very clever clue, too.  

51. Exams for future J.D.s : LSATS.  Law School Admission TestS.

54. Nivea rival : OLAY.   Skin care products.

55. Diary pages : DAYS.   

56. Old Greek theaters : ODEA.  Plural of ODEON.  Ancient Greek or Roman structures used for performances in singing, poetry, and theater.   I imagine some of the performances were odious.

60. Average grade : CEE.  Spelt out letter name.

61. Food scrap : ORT.  From Middle English, with cognates in German and Dutch; evidently derived from ǣt, Old English for food. 

Well, that wraps it up for today.  Lots of themeage, and some clever cluing but also a lot of 3-letter verticals, many of which were abbrvs.  There's always a trade-off.  And thus end my blog comments.

Big Cool Regards!
Jz[&C]B