First of all, in case you haven’t heard, I had to undergo fairly major surgery yesterday. However, due to my “pluck” and “toughness” I am going to fight through the pain of wisdom tooth removal and host quizzo tonight, against doctors orders. This is a lot like when TO played in the Super Bowl on a bad ankle. Of course, I will make some concessions to the wisdom tooth, and therefore I would expect many, if not all, questions to be in the picture, music, and crossword/word search variety. Should make for a rather interesting quiz. Will it be enough to unhinge Steak Em Up? We’ll see. Action at Bards starts at 10:15 p.m. and if you can knock off the Steak you win like $60. I don’t even know what it is now. Regardless, it’s ridiculous money if you win. Before that, we get started at O’Neals, home of the $50 gift certificate for the winners. That buys a lot of $3.50 margaritas.

As for other news, it seems that the Summer Invitational was a big hit. Therefore, we may very well make this a seasonal event, and do it again in the fall. I’ll keep ya updated. Also, a heads up: I’ll be hosting a special quizzo at the Franklin Institute on September 10th. Winners will get free passes to see the Cleopatra exhibit. That’s an over $200 prize (assuming you have a team of 8.) And it will be in the planetarium, meaning that you’ll get to see a planetarium-style show as well. And yes, there will be a bar. So mark it down in your calendars. September 10th. People who went to these on past years will tell you that they’re a lot of fun. Finally, if anyone is interested in doing some sports writing for isportacus, shoot me a line.

Yesterday’s big Invitational was a lot of fun.  Despite being prepared to hate the Wild Card round, it turned out to be very interesting and very fair.  Even though we tied for second, there are no sour grapes here. Congrats to Philly’s ONLY true Man of Leisure for hosting such an enjoyable event.

But there is no rest for the wicked.  We keep right on chugging with the Monday night lineup of quizzos.  First stop, the Terrace Taproom in Manayunk.  The train pulls into the station at 7:30 PM.  This is a change from last week, and will be the starting time from here on.  The theme round at the Taproom tonight is 80’s sitcoms.  The beer specials are all Magic Hat bottles for $3 and Troeg’s for the same price.  I am looking forward to a nice bowl of the veggie chili myself.

Last stop on the line is The Westbury at 10:30 PM.  The Westbury was well represented at the Invitational yesterday by The Four C’s, Duane’s World (who tied for second), and Group W (playing with evil alter-ego Steak ‘Em Up and coming in first).   Clearly, you need to bring your A game to the Westbury.  When some other quizzo regulars manage to get up the courage, we’d love to see them show up and  give these three teams a run for their money.  But until someone  has the cojones, we’ll just keep enjoying great beer specials and  playing top-notch quizzo.  The theme round this evening is John Hughes movies and the keg special is Rogue Dead Guy Ale at $4.  I know what I’ll be drinking tonight.

Hope to see ya on the wrong side of the tracks tonight!

Today’s wild card round will be unlike any you have ever played, I can almost guarantee it. It does not favor any particular team. If Steak Em Up is better than everybody else at this, then we are just going to have to concede that they are far superior humans than the rest of us in every aspect. It will revolutionize the game or it will destroy my career. The speed round is going to be interesting as well, and unlike any I have ever done before. One last time, I do know that there are some teams that are in search of a couple of extra teammates, so if you want to play, please hit me up and let me know. (For details, scroll down a little bit). See you guys at 3:30!

Here’s the updated scoreboard, with teams that have confirmed in Blue and yellow. Green means I still haven’t heard. We are now up to 19 teams confirmed, with Catdog and Why Can’t Us the only Top 20 teams I haven’t heard from. After that, as you can see, there are several teams in Green. If any of them contact me before tomorrow’s event, they are welcome to play. I just got the speed round completed. Going to be very interesting. As for the wild card round, I’m still on the fence as to whether to go totally crazy or not. We’ll see.

Please RSVP and let me know if you can make it on Sunday. If I don’t hear from you by Noon tomorrow, I will assume the answer is no and I’ll have to give your slot away. (And Inglorious Barristers you have a 1 in 10 shot at the drawing). Shoot me an email at johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com. Thanks, and we hope you will take advantage of this fine honor!

CATDOG

WHY CAN’T US

SAME NAME AS LAST WEEK

BANGER IN THE MOUTH

THE FOUR Cs

Here are our final standings. I have taken out the teams that have declined, so that it’s easier for folks to tell if they made it. Teams in blue are in the Top 10 and have confirmed, teams in yellow are in the Top 25 and have confirmed, and teams in green have not confirmed. If you are in the Top 25 and have not confirmed yet, please contact me asap (either at johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com or on facebook). If I’ve not heard from you by Saturday at noon, I am giving away your spot. Here’s the details:

WHAT: The first annual JGT Summer Invitational. Win this and you are a JGT Quizzo Immortal, not to mention $400 richer.

WHEN: Sunday. Doors open at 3:30, show starts at 4 p.m.

WHERE: Urban Saloon. 21st and Fairmount.

WHO: In addition to questions offered up by Philadelphia’s only true man of leisure, sweet, sweet tunes will be laid down by one of the most legendary jazz groups in Philadelphia, the Crowd Pleasers.

WHY: Why the hell not?

ALSO: If you played in the last 7 weeks, but your teammates cannot play (i.e. Jams, Savage Ear, etc.), you still can. I have a several teams that have fewer than 8 players, and can use a couple extra players. Contact me if that’s the case and I’ll put you on a team.

I am currently tallying scores, and will have them up soon. In the meantime, if you think you might be in the Top 25 and haven’t let me know if you’re playing, please do so ASAP (Catdog and Barristers, I’m looking at you). And don’t assume that because you didn’t have your best 7 weeks on the quizzo circuit means you are out of it. Truth be told, it might only take 2 points to qualify, and I may have one final physical challenge. Not sure yet. Details coming soon.

This is it, folks. One night left and to be perfectly honest, things are still WIDE SLAM OPEN. Some teams currently in the top 25 will make it out on Sunday, but some will not, and others are joining to forces to make one team. What does this mean? This means that a win tonight essentially assures you an invitation, even if you haven’t played a single time yet.

Action starts at Ugly American at 8 p.m. Dollar off all drafts and keep in mind the Phils play tonight and since they have the best food deal in the city when the Phils are on (delicious $1 corn dogs), I would highly suggest making an appearance.

We move to the Bards at 10:15 p.m. $2.50 Lagers and $2.50 Miller Lites. Oh, and our last two physical challenges will be worth 3 points. Bring your trinkets.

(Btw, Catdog, holla atcha boy -johnny@johnnygoodtimes.com-and let me know if you guys are gonna make it. I thought I’d see ya last night to give you an invite, but instead I had 20 screaming maniacs from Temple.)

It just gets better and better. The Crowd Pleasers, the house band at Bob and Barabara’s, are going to be rocking at the Urban Saloon on Sunday night between rounds. I am quite excited to have one of Philly’s premiere bands on the show. Sadly, Nate passed away a few years ago, but the Crowd Pleasers have continued his legacy of great, old time “whiskey drinkin’ music.” They are, quite simply, going to rock the house on Sunday.

Packed houses at both O’Neals and Bards last night, as teams are desperately trying to earn an invite. If you have 5 points or less, you are really going to put yourself in the drivers seat if you earn some physical challenge points. There are currently two possible physical challenges, and they can combined earn you a total of 7 points.

As I said yesterday, everybody is still alive. There are 4 more quizzes to go, and there are rumors that the Jams may be a man down tonight, meaning that they may be vulnerable. I see the Rendezvous as a spot you could seriously score some points. Teams that have already qualified, but the way, will get your official invitations tonight. Action starts at the Vous at 6:15 p.m. This week’s specials are pretty awesome. $3 Sly Fox Royal Weisse pints and $2 16-ounce Narragansett Lagers. Black Sheep kicks off at 8 p.m. And a word of warning: a very difficult Impossible round this week. Just a little heads up.

That’s right, folks, this week it’s 40 questions you don’t know the answer to, instead of the usual 39. Why? Because it’s game time folks. It’s time to separate the wheat from chaffe. It’s time for every single question to come from your heads and not from Google. There is no such thing as a free lunch. This week, you got to earn it!