One of the questions in the “Famous Cliffs” round we did this week to honor Cliff Lee was, “What’s it called when someone blows an insurmountable lead in Final Jeopardy?” It’s called pulling a Cliff Clavin, from one of the most famous episodes of Cheers ever. The segment in question is above. Classic.

Just a friendly reminder from the good people at Comcast that the safest thing for you to do this holiday season is to sit on the couch and watch TV.

Yeah, I know it’s awesome. I heartily agree. Let’s talk about it, shall we? If you need to find me, I’ll be at O’Neals at 8 p.m. and the City Tap House at 10:15 p.m.. $50 gift certificate for the winner of O’Neals and $100 gift certificate at the City Tap House. Not to mention great specials. $3.50 margaritas at O’Neals and $3 Sly Fox cans at City Tap House.

In Manayunk, Mike Minion will be hosting his quiz at Terrace Taproom starting at 8 p.m. The Bonus points are now up to 100. Going to be a huge prize for the winner of the challenge round. (It’s a damn tough quiz, but nonetheless my team of heavyweights went into the Westbury last night and crushed Group W. The Westbury last night was a veritable who’s who of Philadelphia geekdom.)

Apparently the Uber-Nerd Super Bowl Harry Potter Quizzo last night was a huge success. 15 teams, over 60 players. Wow. Here’s Mike:

I want to thank everyone who came out to the Harry Potter Tri-Quizard Tournament at The Ugly American last night. That was one of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable crowds I’ve seen at any quiz. Everyone who was there should be proud. It’s the quizzo players, not the quiz,  that make evening like this one a success. P.S. It’s nice to see I’m not the only nerd out there! Even better, you were fun and engaging people, proving that not all nerds have personality issues. Dorks of the world, unite!!

In case you haven’t heard, Rocky Balboa is going into the Boxing Hall of Fame with Mike Tyson and Julio Cesar Chavez. Today on Comcast I wrote a column arguing that Rocky Balboa does not belong…not because he’s fictional but because he wasn’t that good.

Congrats to our good friend Trivia Art, whose popular blog Foobooz was just acquired by Philly Mag. Glad to see Trivia Art get his hard earned due. (Even though he’s got a girlfriend now and so I don’t get to go to any more cool parties.)

Finally, a Happy Birthday to one Mr. Junkyard Dog (above). He was born on this date in 1952, but sadly passed away in 1998 in a car accident.

Mike Minion is posting a sizable bounty tonight at the Westbury. Here’s a few words about the quiz.

Tonight is a long night of quizzo, as I kick off the evening at the Ugly American with the Tri-Quziard Tournament, mentioned below. Don’t forget to check out the rules as they will be enforced most strictly. Also, the quiz will start ON TIME, seeing as the fun continues immediately afterward at The Westbury with the regular Monday night quiz.  The Harry Potter quiz is 5 rounds, so unless I get a Time-Turner, there won’t be time to dawdle.  Might I suggest arriving early? The UA has a good selection of potions and their macaroni salad is my favorite anywhere.  The chili and veggie pizza are pretty darn good as well. There will be some good specials for the quizzo crowd, so take advantage of them. It a great place to eat and  there won’t be time for dinner beforehand, so why not?

Now, more on the quiz at the Westbury.  Group W has had a strangle hold on the competition lately.  I’m tired of it, and frankly I’m surprised none of the the teams on the circuit has had the guts to try and end the streak. L Ron, where are you? Oh that’s right, you guys only play when you’re sure you’ll win.  The Champs? The quiz now starts at 10 so it’s not past your bedtime. The Jams (aka Phil)? The Westbury is only a few blocks from the ‘Vous- you won’t get lost if you leave a trail of breadcrumbs. Narcotyzing? You’re used to losing to these guys – at least losing at The Westbury will be something different.   Dork Sided? Savage Ear? Missing Heads?  O’Neals is a great place, but other bars serve beer as well. Other Westbury regulars like Duane’s World and the 4 C’s? Maybe if more teammates show up, it would help. I noticed your ranks have been a little thin lately.  Best of all – a team from the rank and file shows up and kick ALL of your collective butts.

Come on out and  demonstrate some team pride and take down Group W. And by the way, earn an extra $50 in the process.

10 PM at The Westbury. Be there or be yellow.

As you may know, Mike Minion is crazy about Harry Potter (with the operative word being “crazy”.) Therefore, he is not only hosting the Harry Potter quiz tonight at the Ugly American at 7:30, he also took the time to put this write-up together.  I don’t even have words. Entire spiel written posted after the break for those of you fluent in Potter-ese.

Continue reading “Harry Potter Quiz Tonight!” →

Nothing like a good old fashioned quizzo match without an Eagles game going on in the background. A “Return to Normalcy” tonight at the Ugly American and Bards. We start at the Ugly American at 8 p.m., home of the $1 corn dog and $3 Kenzinger. We then move to the Bards at 10:15 p.m. where Lagers are $3 and we’ve been rocking the past few weeks. Of course it is French Fry Thursday, so I will be giving away free fries tonight. As for the theme round, it seems to be what everyone is talking about, so it will be “Weather”. Hope to see ya tonight!

Alright kids, three big money quizzes tonight, one in Center City, one in West Philly, and one in Manyunk. We begin at O’Neals. $50 GC first prize, $25 GC 2nd Prize, and total parity, with 4 different winners in the last 4 weeks. Action starts at 8 p.m. $3.50 margaritas.

We move to City Tap House at 10:15 p.m. Awesome specials and awesome food. $10 gets you a beer and a personal pizza, and $3 gets you a Sly Fox. They also have 60 beers on draft. And of course the best quizzo prize in the city. $100 GC for first place, $50 for 2nd.

And I will break precedent and give you tonight’s wild card round. I am totally fascinated by this Wikileaks affair, so tonight’s wild card round will be “International Affairs”. Might want to spend a minute or two poking around the BBC website instead of just spending your whole damn day on TMZ for once in your life. Cretin.

Of course, it is also big money Tuesday in Manyunk. Mike Minion explains:

This is the week for big bounties. After Ebonic Plague won again last week, I immediately placed a $20 bounty on them.  The Taproom’s wonderful bartender Ephraim immediately backed my play by adding $20 of his own.  You just gotta love a bartender who’s got the quizmaster’s back.  That should tell you a little bit about the spirit of quizzo at the Taproom.

What it means for all of you is that if someone can beat Ebonic Plague for first place, they will get an extra $40 in addition to the $25 gift certificate.  Not a bad payoff for having fun with a great group of people.

As if that’s not enough, the Challenge Round ended in a tie last week when one team crossed off a right answer that would have won the prize pool.  So tonight’s pool starts off HUGE and will easily top 100 “points”.

The Taproom also upgraded their already excellent menu.  I have eaten there several times and each time it has been a real treat. I would put their food up against any of the Main Street places and it would win hands down.

There’s LOTS of money and pride on the line tonight. So come on out and join an incredibly festive and enthusiastic crowd for one of the best nights of quizzo anywhere.

Here’s a few words from Mike Minion on tonight’s quiz at the Westbury.

That is, if your team is good enough. Despite a huge bounty on Group W and Duane’s World last week, they still finished first and second.  And if that wasn’t bad enough, Group W won the challenge round as well. So it’s time to wipe the smug grins off Group W’s collective faces. This week, any team  who can beat them for first place gets $40 extra, straight from my pocket. That’s in addition to the $40 gift certificate for winning the quiz.  Frankly, I thought teams on the JGT circuit had some pride. So why are they staying at home and letting these guys win week after week? Show some mettle and win $80 in the process.

All the rest of the festivities are as usual.  I’ll give away some books and CD’s before the quiz, and the hugely popular challenge round will take place immediatley after the main event.  There is a French Fry question after Round One where some lucky team will win a free basket of fries. And of course, there will be some incredible keg and bottle specials.

See ya there tonight!

ALSO TONIGHT: The return of Chip Chantry’s One Man Show! Show kicks off at Shubin Theatre (407 Bainbridge) at 8 p.m.