1.19.2010

TUESDAY, January 19, 2010 — Dan Naddor


Theme: Good Ol' What's-His-Name — Theme answers are real names of professional athletes clued by their nicknames.

Theme answers:
  • 20A: MAGIC (EARVIN JOHNSON).
  • 26A: TIGER (ELDRICK WOODS).
  • 46A: PRIME TIME (DEION SANDERS).
  • 53A: YOGI (LAWRENCE BERRA).
I have always been a big fan of sports nicknames. My favorites are Charlie Hustle, Macho Camacho, and Sweetness. None of those would work with this theme but — (and I can't tell you how much I hate to say this) ... neither does Prime Time. Let me tell you why. I'll also tell you why it's totally possible that I'm wrong. Magic Johnson, Tiger Woods, Yogi Berra. That's what we call those three guys. We all know those aren't their real first names, but we call them that anyway. No one would say "Boy that Eldrick Woods sure gets around!" or "I get such a kick out of the crazy things Lawrence Berra says." On the other hand (and this is the part where I admit I might be wrong because I'm not a huge football fan), nobody calls Deion Sanders "Prime Time Sanders." I've heard him called "Prime Time." I've heard him called "Deion 'Prime Time' Sanders." I've heard him called "Neon Deion." But I've never heard him called "Prime Time Sanders." PRIME TIME is also, obviously, two words, which further sets it apart from the other theme clues. Extra points for the four athletes representing four separate sports. That's going to cut down on the possibilities for that fourth theme answer. But I guess I really want to know if Dan tried REFRIGERATOR. I have heard William Perry (which has the same number of letters as Deion Sanders) called "Refrigerator Perry." I wonder if there is something about "William Perry" that just made the grid impossible.

With all that said, I still liked the puzzle. The awkwardness of the one theme entry didn't really detract from my solving experience. I didn't notice it until later and I only point it out because ... that's what we do here. We point stuff out. About crossword puzzles. We really don't care if people think we're big nerds.

But wait! There's more sports in the puzzle! And each of these six extra sports answers represents a different sport. I've gotta believe that's not coincidental.
  • 41A: Palmer with his own "army" (ARNIE). Golf
  • 58A: Nastase with a racket (ILIE). Tennis
  • 47D: Unit with six outs (INNING). Baseball
  • 49D: NFL replay feature (SLO-MO). Football
  • 60D: Kareem, formerly (LEW). Basketball
More:
  • 14A: Like top-quality beef (PRIME). Oh, ouch. This word should not be in the grid. This is bad.
  • 23A: Saint Francis's home (ASSISI). Can never remember where all the Ss go.
  • 25A: Little Red Book follower (MAOIST). I thought the Little Red Book had something to do with Mao, but with the M in place, I entered Moonie. Totally different country and everything. Sheesh.
  • 40A: Teen detective Nancy (DREW). I wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on Nancy Drew. It was called "The New Nancy Drew: But Can She Still Tap-Dance in Morse Code?"
  • 52A: Bath sponge (LOOFAH).
  • 5D: Letter opener? (DEAR SIR). I'm gonna guess that I would be completely horrified if I knew the extent to which people still opened their letters with DEAR SIR.
  • 9D: City north of Indianapolis (KOKOMO). Not sure why the Beach Boys are singing a song about Indiana ....
  • 28D: "Witchy __": Eagles hit (WOMAN). Oh yeah.


Everything Else — 1A: Somewhat warm (TEPID); 6A: Polio vaccine developer (SALK); 10A: Wheel edges (RIMS); 15A: Prefix with logical (IDEO-); 16A: Jacques's state (ÉTAT); 17A: Phi Beta __ (KAPPA); 18A: Earth inheritors, with "the" (MEEK); 19A: Water barrier (DIKE); 30A: Madre's brother (TIO); 31A: Silky synthetic (RAYON); 32A: Volkswagen sedan (JETTA); 36A: Stuff of headlines (NEWS); 38A: Cooking apples (ROMES); 43A: Stories (TALES); 45A: Hagen of Broadway (UTA); 49A: Glossy cotton fabric (SATEEN); 52A: Bath sponge (LOOFAH); 57A: Akron's state (OHIO); 59A: Tells really badly, as a joke (KILLS); 62A: Suvari of "American Pie" (MENA); 63A: Society oddball (NERD); 64A: And the following, in bibliographies: Abbr. (ET SEQ.); 65A: Pigged out (on), as junk food (OD'ED); 66A: Takes one's turn (GOES); 67A: Cinema chain (LOEWS); 1D: Rd. often spanning an entire state (TPK.); 2D: Historical span (ERA); 3D: Shuts up (PIPES DOWN); 4D: Damage (IMPAIR); 6D: California's __ Valley (SIMI); 7D: Yemen's Gulf of __ (ADEN); 8D: Actor Cobb (LEE J.); 10D: Like Rudolph (RED-NOSED); 11D: "Who's calling?" response (IT IS I); 12D: Strong sharks (MAKOS); 13D: Surgical tube (STENT); 21D: Goldsmith's Wakefield clergyman (VICAR); 22D: Trip to Mecca (HADJ); 23D: Health insurance giant (AETNA); 24D: More devious (SLIER); 27D: Former Japanese capital (KYOTO); 29D: Law school beginners (ONE-LS); 33D: Test type with only two possible answers (TRUE/FALSE); 34D: Aquarium fish (TETRA); 35D: Covered with water (AWASH); 37D: Hardly a main drag (SIDE ROAD); 39D: Black Panthers co-founder (SEALE); 42D: Very wide shoe (EEEE); 44D: Coral reef explorer's device (SNORKEL); 48D: Frito-Lay chip (DORITO); 50D: Responded to a massage (AAHED); 51D: Strong string (TWINE); 54D: Egyptian played by Liz (CLEO); 55D: Green land (EIRE); 56D: Dream worlds? (BEDS); 61D: Four-sided figs. (SQS.).

49 comments:

Zeke said...

@PG - You're right, the puzzle would be 100% better if SWEETNESS replaced PRIME TIME. You also had the wrong <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVrv1wevcuE?>KOKOMO</a> reference, though this version of the right song sucks.

Sfingi said...

Well! All sports - all hits, no errors. Can't believe I said that.

New, to me (like my cars) MENA, MAKOS, ETSEQ.

Connie Frances. We have all her Italian records. Hubster sings at nursing homes with an Italian group, Coro Italiano, accompanied by accordion and mandolin. I always thought of her as an Italian Soul singer. The emotionalism in her voice that I love is what gags some listeners.

Zeke said...

Sorry, correct formating here
@PG - You're right, the puzzle would be 100% better if SWEETNESS replaced PRIME TIME. You also had the wrong KOKOMO reference, though this version of the right song sucks.

Sandy said...

this puzzle killed me. I'm not sure how I'm going to get over failing so badly on a Tuesday.

Al said...

@PG, just in case you weren't just making a funny with your Kokomo comment, that Jamaican island is now called Sandals Cay.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Dan.

Parsan said...

I really liked this clever but easy puzzle and was pleased to see all the sports clues. PRIME TIME was fine with me and I am not analytical enough to care if Sanders is rarely added, but PG, that is your job and you do it well.

EARVIN, ELDRICK, and LAWRENCE just do not seem to fit the personalities of Magic, Tiger, and Yogi, but their nicknames seem just right.

@Timberi--Thanks for the way to remember ILIE. Now I'll always get it right.

I was unsure of how to spell LOOFAH and ETSEQ filled in but I did not know it. Have always wanted to go to KYOTO. JETTA one of the few car models I know.

I've hear of someone being told to "pipe down", and heard of someone who would "pipe up", so PIPES DOWN seems less often heard; I liked it!

@Sfingi--Congratulations on getting this puzzle. I know you don't like sports clues.

DN continues to entertain us, MHRIP. Thank you for the write-up PG!

Enemaximus said...

@PG, LOOFAH + Bill O'Reilly pic = WIN!

Rex Parker said...

Ugh. MAGIC, YOGI, and TIGER are all nicknames, yes, but that's all anyone ever calls those guys. Those are virtually the only names used to refer to them. Not not not so for PRIME TIME (or SWEETNESS, for that matter). Theme is thus horribly inconsistent. People call DEION "DEION" all the time ("NEON DEION" is one of his damned NICKNAMES!). No one calls Tiger "ELDRICK" or Yogi "Lawrence." People call Magic "Earvin" sometimes, but not often, and when they do, it's usu. part of the full name "Earvin 'Magic' Johnson."

DEION is odd man out. Way out.

Theme fail.

Anonymous said...

If I wanted to do Sports Crosswords, I would get a sports illustrated.

This puzzle stank to high heaven.

GLowe said...

STEVENMCNAIR

Linda Hobbs said...

Crashed and burned on this one. Gave me a headache!

Tinbeni said...

@Sfingi - Glad to hear you nailed it, esp. with the additional 5 sport clues.

@Parsan - re: ILIE, only problem is I don't think he ever did, ... 'lie' that is.

My only objection to Prime Time Deion is I seem to remember HE was the one who came up with HIS nickname when he was at FSU.

Ergo, @PG's suggestion, Refrigerator Perry would have been better.
With @Rex on the 3 out of 4, but it was a good Tuesday LAT level puzzle.

OD'ED on Junk food seems iffy to me.
IT IS I, twice in about a week, huh?
KILLS,'tells really badly, as a Joke?' I always thought if a comic does well, "he killed the audience" was a good thing.

@PG There are sports other than wrestling, but you nailed the write up. Good job!

Perpetually Juvenile said...

MAGIG JOHSNON is funny in and of itself.

Parsan said...

@Anon 7:57--I am always totally in the dark with crossword puzzles about car models, but that is no reason they shouldn't exist. If puzzles were written only about subjects readers understood there wouldn't be any, because everyone knows different things. As the saying goes, "everyone is ignorant about something!" Cars, sports, ancient popes, historical battles, are all fair game. That's how we learn something new.

@Anon6:47 and @Anon7:57 are certainly different people, so why not pick a name (ABC?, XYZ?)?

JOHNSNEVERHOME said...

I'm usually a big fan of the late Dan Naddor, but I don't think this puzzle was in his A-list. I didn't expect Rex to like this one for the reasons he gives, but for me, I just don't like puzzles that are so heavy with sports names... a few are okay, but not nine!!! Despite that, I broke my personal-best record for puzzle solving time.

I don't think CLEO was an Egyptian... I think she came from Macedonia and had some Persian in her. Well anyway, the beautiful Liz Taylor was well cast for that movie---
CLEOPATRA

Yesterday we learned about good sweetness names for your special woman... today we get one that you definitely SHOULD NEVER USE--- "Witchy WOMAN."

Didn't we just have MAKO last Sunday?

And is it UNA or UTA that shows up too much in puzzles?

Ever since the movie "American Pie" (with MENA Suvari), I'll never be able to eat another apple pie again... totally grossed out by that w--- scene. Yuck!!!

When I was recently in China, I visited the Forbidden City and bought two things inside those sacred walls. 1) The "Little Red Book" of MAO Tse-Tung, and 2) a Starbucks latte. Can you believe? Mao must have rolled over in his grave (tomb) when Capitalism moved INSIDE the Forbidden City.

I Love hearing the name KOKOMO, almost as much as Kalamazoo. And both had songs about a "gal in K..."
@PG et al
From Wikipedia---
"Although there is a small city in Indiana called Kokomo, most Americans know of Kokomo as the former name of an island in Jamaica that is now known as Sandals Cay. The song also mentions many places in and around the Caribbean, including Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama(s), Key Largo, Montego, Martinique, Montserrat, and Port-au-Prince (HAITI)."
I too thought the song was about Indiana.

Just remember--- "The MEEK shall inherit the earth..."
A good lesson for us arrogant "ugly Americans."

Time for John to PIPEDOWN and get some breakfast.

*David* said...

A more difficult then usual Tuesday but nothing with any real roadblocks. I noticed the DEION "difference" in theme as well but it didn't bother me that much.

Jan said...

Here's an interesting explanation on the origin of "pipe down": http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/283600.html

C said...

I have no problem with the Dangling Deion portion of the theme, then again, I am not a puzzle constructor (nor have I ever played one on TV) so puzzle construction rules are a mystery to me.

Fun puzzle that was a quick solve due to the sports related clues being 100% in my knowledge sweet spot. Now, if it had been nicknames for 16th and 17th century Mayan authors for clues, I would have developed a head ache.

hazel said...

I'll just add that I didn't KNOW any of the other three's first names - Earvin was vaguely familiar but I couldn't fill it in without several crosses in places. Deion was a total GIMME though - he did play simultaneously for the Falcons and the Braves, famously flying in from a football game to (ultimately sit on the bench for - maybe he pinchran I don't remember) a baseball playoff game.

To me, though, this is truly just a nit, as I thought the concept itself was excellent and the remaining fill satisfying.

Putting my thinking cap on to try to think of another athlete who would satisfy the criteria.

xyz said...

Well

One of my absolute favorite theme puzzles of all time. NO awful words, overuse of ABBR's or awkward non-english uses. Obviously serious puzzlers don't agree except the lovely puzzle girl, thanks for a great and sympathetic write up. If I like it someone WILL absolutely hate it.

Seriously - If you were ELDRICK, EARVIN, DEION or LAWRENEC, wouldn't you want a nickname? I think that is part of the theme in that the nicknames are borne out of awkward first names (And we are seeing more and more of them all the time - it's a fact that we're going to see a new baby this weekend with an awkward name - something like Phrarey? Ick. Made up pseudo ethnic names are the worst, or are Dweebil, Rumour or chance? Why not an Edsel?

NOt call him Eldrick? - we golfers have frequently called Tiger Woods Eldrick - in a derogatory way as with lately all his foibles it is "Dumba$$ Eldrick" or the like. That's why guys like Eldrick get nicknames, yeah I know about Earl's buddy in 'Nam, but who wants that moniker. I can hear Kultida now "ELLLLLLLLLLLL-DRICK, diner's ready!"

Gret puzzle bcause: Francis' home had the Tuesday appropriate "St." attached, many other varied sports references, several great words like KOKOMO (great rhythm), SATEEN, REDNOSED, LOOFAH, TETRA and our friend this week - MAKO(S) yet again. Laughed out loud at EEEE (probably not to puzzle-ee! HAH!

(ONEL) 1L the Law equivalent of the Medical PGY-1 residency as lawyers clearly need much less training. Needed crosses for ETSEQ, no complaints so I can't must be terribly common lit. stuff.

ILIE Nastase was known as "NASTY" and he most certainly did "lie" as he argured calls like crazy (but he was crazy good, too) as there was no "CYCLOPS" back when he played to definitively make the call. McEnroe was the more modern version of Ilie, one of my all-time fav Tennis greats.

A+ puzzle here, way cool, great theme continuity. (What do I know?) ;-)

R.I.P. Dan would have liked to thank you on here personally.

jeff in chicago said...

meh II

ddbmc said...

I guess I'm just happy to be able to complete the puzzles! Yesterday was my personal best, and today's was a minute or so behind that time. Mind you, I will never reach Torch or Orange speed!

Actually knew the sports figure's names today. Whoa! amazing. But again, it's Tuesday. By the end of the week I'll be scratching my head again.

Knowing how sick Dan was when he was creating these puzzles, I always wonder how he got through all his treatments without wanting to just construct a whole puzzle of medical jargon or words that touched upon whatever he happened to be going through on a given day. (STENT? AETNA?)

The theme might not have been perfect, but the fact that Dan could cram all those sports greats (and not so great-Eldrick, you're a good golfer but a lousy husband) into a puzzle is pretty neat, IMHO.

@Perpetually Juvenile, The J.Geils Band also had an amusingly named band member, who played a "lickin' stick..."(harmonica)

chefbea said...

Wasn't too bad considering I'm not a sports buff. Never heard of Prime time but knew Deion Sanders.

Tinbeni said...

@JNH
A while back, the last time UTA Hogan appeared I made the comment that UTA & UMA (Thurman) were trite CW fill at the time.
Almost to the point of the EEE, ENE, ESO, ET AL, ETC.

Letterman, when he hosted the Oscar's a while back, had a running 'Oprah / UMA' joke with himself that night. They never asked him back.

@Redanman
ILIE Nastase did earn the nickname "nasty" for arguing line calls, but arguing a line call should not be classified as a lie.
A lie would be saying you did not take performance enhancing substances, then later admiting you did.
ref. AROD & Mark McGwire.
Or telling the New Zealand reporter (10 days before Nov.28, 2009) that family is # 1 in your life, then having your multiple affairs aired all over the media. Hmmmm, could that be Tiger?

Neither of which I make a judgement on.
Though the term hypocrite does come to mind.

lit.doc said...

Would have been faster today except so many of the clues landed squarely in my knowledge-and-spelling-impaired zone. Was delighted when the crosses got me ELDRICH (but became suspicious when I couldn’t find HYOTO on my trusty Japan map). LAWRENCE I could spell, but had never, ever heard (it was like deja who? all over again).

My ear more or less knew EARVIN and DEION, but how to spell them? ERVING? IRVING? Huh? As for D___N, I finally gave up and picked Scrabble tiles till I had three vowels (though I probably would have settled for a Y).

Same problem as Puzzle Girl with ASISSI. And LOOFAH took me beyond even spelling-impaired. My ear can’t even hear it quite right ever since Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“Learned from CWs” reflex misfire of the day was slamming ONERS at 29D. And MENA who?! I really *must* start seeing more American art cinema.

@Tinbeni, every college student who minored in smoking dope back the ‘70s OD'd on junk food regularly. Or so I’ve heard. So it speaks well of you that the phrase sounded odd. :)

xyz said...

Knowing/seeing that da ball was in and claiming it was out is a lie where I come from, quibble quibble quibble.

I won't now relate it to the "Ilie"/mass delusion/State of Fear that is HICC FKA GW

:-)


haha
Am I up to three??????

Anonymous said...

As a sports fan, I'm actually alright with Prime Time. I know it doesn't fit perfectly, but I liked the theme, and it's hard to come by many people who truly go by their nickname.

Other options could've been "The Bus" and "The Great One" (Jerome Bettis--football and Wayne Grezky--hockey, respectively). My personal choice would've been "Bear" (Paul W. Bryant), although adding the W. is a bit of a stretch.

Joon said...

lots of athletes are known more by their nickname than their legal name. george ruth, rich gossage, robert grove, edward ford... baseball alone has lots of them. i guess if you want a football-only example to replace deion in the theme, puzzlegirl's WILLIAM PERRY (same number of letters, too) would have been great. HAROLD GRANGE is another example. RAGHIB ISMAIL, more recent but less ... good at football. BRONISLAU NAGURSKI, anyone? (i know, too long.)

smev said...

The only clue I was bothered by, was 21 across - silky synthetic. Rayon is man-made, but NOT synthetic.

JIMMIE said...

Not perfect CW but straightforward and fun to me who has a limited sports knowledge, but enough for today.

Too late to say to Dan to keep up the good work but not too late to say to Rich and Joyce to keep picking Dan's CWs.

I, like PG, would have liked to see Charlie Hustle, who has been totally forgiven by me and lots of others.

Entropy said...

EARVIN & ELDRICK becoming Magic & Tiger, hell I would search out a nickname.
LAWRENCE c/b Larry, but I am sure glad he got YOGI, leading to the many Yogisms!
(Larryisms = naah!)
DEION, well I remember a singer DION (and the Belmonts) back in the '60s so that isn't so bad.

But you throw in ARNIE, ILIE & LEW, plus SLO-MO and INNING and you have my all time favorite, don't even think, sport CW puzzle.

Way to familiar with STENT.
MAKOS is a great word-of-the-week.

@lit.doc - I went to college in the early '70s, minored and got the munchies a few times, but the only OD'd I heard of were those doing something much stronger than weed. U of M w/Smuggler Blues

@Joon - His name is so good, I would have annexed two extra SQS for Bronco.

@radanman & @smev - stretchy quibbles

GLowe said...

Besides my Air (Steven) McNair, which was 12, I got Boomer (Norman) Esiason @ 13.

@ Joon - Forgot about Rocket (Raghib) Ismail, which is perfect @ 12 as well.

Used to work with a guy named Karim Ismail, always called him "the Rocket". Not being a football fan, he never knew why, but he liked the moniker and it caught on around the office.

hazel said...

@GLOWE I just came up with Norman Esaison, hit preview and there you were!!!!!!!!

I had to go out and kayak for 2 hours before I could come up with him to boot!! High five to you anyway.

mac said...

Not flawless, but I still enjoyed doing this one, even though I didn't know any of the real names. No Naticks here at all.

I also thought rayon wasn't synthetic.

@tinbeni: when a comedian does a good job, he "slays" his audience.

Shechy Greene said...

@mac
When I was "on" the bosses used to tell me "Ya killed 'em"

Kills / slays what does it matter, as long as they laughed.

Van55 said...

Considering a theme a "horrible" failure because of one minor inconsistency seems small minded in the extreme.

Naddor gave us the nicknames of four star jocks in the theme. The fact that Sanders was not referred to as "Prime Time" Sanders customarily does not, for me, detract from the cleverness of the theme.

I thought this one offered just the right amount of resistance for a Medium Tuesday. I hate that Mr. Naddor's store of 20 approved posthumus LAT puzzles is being used up so seemingly quickly.

Joon said...

boomer esiason! good one. reminds me of this recent onion one-liner.

Linda Hobbs said...

"Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic fiber.[1] Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry. It usually has a high lustre quality giving it a bright sheen." ~ Wiki

Entropy said...

@GLowe - I did not know Boomer Esiason first name was Norman. That would have made this puzzle perfect and a bit tougher.

@Joon - perfectly timed embed.

@mac - kills or slays the audience, I have heard them both used. When it comes to a joke the only thing I want to know is if it is funny.

@Linda Hobbs - Thank you, that should clear up the RAYON debate.

Sports names and Rayon aside, I was wondering why the trip to Mecca was spelled HADJ and not the more commonly used and proper Hajj?

hazel said...

Charles Smith = BUBBA SMITH - remember him? maybe not as famous as BOOMER, but he's a 12.

Now I am officially expunging this whole issue from my brain!

Again very cool concept for a puzzle.

Charles Bogle said...

@mac, @shechygreen: I've learned from Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up" and endless interviews w comics that KILLS in their context is great, eg, I killed them; I wowed them; I had that audience in the palm of my hand. One "FLUBS" a joke..ajoke can be "killed" if, eg, the teacher or counselor learns of it in advance and puts the kebash on it. But, as clued in this puzzle, I beg to differ.

Dangling Deion notwithstanding, puzzle was fun, enjoyable. Learned several synthetic fabrics of which I was previously unaware.

I can see easily how this puzzle could have been VERY unpleasant for a non sports fan. @Sandy?

Anonymous said...

The only fotball player that I never knew his real name would be Ickey Woods. Whose name is Elbert and only remembered for the shuffle. Well Night Train Lane but RICHARDLANE doesn't fit either. I guess Boomer too.

Bob said...

This is the anon from 7:57.

@Parsan
I'm not a fan of those either, but at least there's only about a dozen cars that ever show up in puzzles, so it's not too hard. There are hundreds of sports figures, and I not only don't know any sports people, it would take two of me to care less about sports.

The bigger problem is that when the sports things are in the puzzle, it's 90% of the time a name, and I truly truly hate names in crosswords - if you don't know it, you won't know it. When two names cross, I can assure you that there's a greater than even chance that square will be left blank.

I know lots of words, and I can work out crossWORDS because of that. CrossNames would be a different puzzle, thank you.

I don't watch a lot of tv, or theater, or any sports, so when names come up, it goes from "fun wordplay" to "apparently I'm not pop-culturally savvy enough for this" and it's not fun, which I thought was the point.

GLowe said...

Dunno if I should post cuz I can't count as well as can't spell, but @ Hazel - if it came to you in a Kayak trip, well, you can have the credit. It came to me sitting on my @55 doin' nuthin, so I lose.

We used to have a goalie (that's a an ice-hockey netminder) back in the day with two nicknames: 'Smokie' McLeod and 'Club-foot' McLeod. The rags would go Smokie "Club-Foot" McLeod! Double nick-name jeopardy!

Dunno what his real name was, or if I spelt the others right. Why was he 'Smokie' and more importantly 'Clubfoot'? NO IDEA. I guess you can't say 'clubfoot' any more.

As usual ain't gonna look it up, so treat me as a liar.

CrazyCat said...

Kind of late today and all has been very nicely covered. So I'll just say I thought this was a perfectly fine, fun Tuesday puzzle. Even though I'm not a big sports fan, I was able to get all the theme answers pretty easilly. I never knew Yogi's really name was Lawrence. Guess that's my new knowledge of the day. @PG thanks for the Bill O'Reilly/Loofa/Falafel memory. That made my rainy day!

Tinbeni said...

@GLowe
You got you back. Good job.

Between you, Hazel & Joon there were some better additional names to be considered.

@Lit.doc.
Smoked a bit of 'other than cigarettes' when in college. Just was never a junk food junkie. ooooh, get the munchies, eat an apple.

@Crazycatlady
Soooo, I have your weather and you have my last two or three week yuk.
Oh well, this too will pass.

@Bob / Anon7:57
Even not being a sport fan, Tiger Woods, Magic Johnson and Yogi Berra (and his sayings) are part of our culture ... not pop-culturally savvy world. Or did you rent the cabin?

Sfingi said...

I thank everyone for sharing my joy in conquering a sports' puzzle. Preiviously, all I knew was "Joltin' Joe" DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper (all Sicilian) and Roy "Campy" Campanella (half Sicilian).

@Linda Hobbs - very interesting. Many people who favor natural fibers include rayon. Furthermore, I've been told "real" Hawaiian shirts are rayon.

lit.doc said...

@Tinbeni, I admire your dietary virtue. Still have nightmares of Captain Crunch, Jello Instant Pudding, Oreos and milk, and many orange foodstuffs.