Remember that song? The Indiana football program has come a long way. Yesterday they beat powerhouse Oregon in Eugene, 30-20. Since football was first invented by Moses in Egypt over 100 years ago, Indiana had never beaten an opponent ranked in the top 5 nationally on the road. In a post-game interview Coach Curt Cignetti was asked what he said to his quarterback Fernando Mendoza after Mendoza threw a devastating interception. He said “I asked him if he was having fun.” Sounds like a good coach.
After the game, Cignetti was arrested on child molestation charges. (No he wasn’t.)
Michigan was on the road too, but fared much worse, getting schooled by USC 31-13. It might have been more lopsided: two turnovers prevented USC from additional scoring. We were ranked 15th before the game and USC was unranked. That should be turned around now.
Phil caught this shot of Michigan’s defensive line braced for a crucial third-down play.
At 4A today, for the clue “Words that might precede ‘Out, darned Spot!?’” the answer was BAD DOG. It led Anony Mouse to share this bad joke with us.
A sad-looking man walks into a bar. Tender asks what’s wrong. Man replies “I just found my wife in bed with my best friend.” “So what did you say to your wife?” “Honey, I want a divorce.” “And what did you say to your best friend?” “BAD DOG!”
On that dog clue/answer, above, here’s Rex: “This is doubly weird. First, the Macbeth quote is ‘Out, damned spot!’; why in the world would you bowdlerize it? And second, why in the world are you yelling “‘BAD DOG!’ at your dog? The dog’s not bad. Yelling at your dog only scares your dog. And yelling judgmental phrases (as opposed to commands the dog can understand) is basically useless. You’re not helping. Calm down.”
The puzzle really rubbed him the wrong way today, unfairly, IMO. The theme was “measure twice, cut once” and was pretty clever. There was a phrase that contained two units of measurement, following by a phrase in which the letters ONCE were “cut” by a little pair of scissors (left out). E.g., FENNEL BULBS, has LB in it twice, and then TO WHOM IT MAY C[ONCE]RN, has the letters ONCE replaced by a little pair of scissors. Good wordplay — what’s not to like?
Re: “Measure twice, cut once,” I commented: At last, a theme a mohel can relate to.
I crashed at the crossing of 75A and 75D. 75A asked for “‘The Facts of Life’ girl.” I guessed Clair because I had the “lair.” But it’s BLAIR. Then, 75D asked for “Men who marry later in life.” Again, no idea. It’s BENEDICTS, but I had it started with that C from Clair. According to Rex, the term comes from the character Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, but did not become a general term for “confirmed bachelors” who finally get married until the 19th century.
My favorite clue today was at 36A: “Lampshade-shaped candy piece.” Never thought of it like that before: ROLO. Yup, I can see it.
Here is a line from a poem that did not make it past the Owl Chatter guard puppies:
I have never been novel, but in the days of impending volcanos, I walk throwback, the doyenne of novices.
[What the hell are you talking about?]
It was opening day of the season for the NJ Symphony and the band was as sharp as ever. The brilliant pianist Joyce Yang blew the crowd away (to the extent a concert hall full of 90-year-olds can be blown away) with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. For an encore, she played Grieg’s Knockwurst. No, wait. Nocturne, sorry. Quite lovely. Let’s class up the joint for a few minutes with it.
It was a good way to get the taste of the Jets’ sixth straight loss out of my head. New Coach Aaron Glenn still seems not to appreciate the sheer horror of his position. I love the Coach’s post-game nonsense as he sinks lower and lower into the abyss. “We worked our butts off today, guys.” Yup, 0-6 now. Keep at it.
About 30 years ago, in a post-loss interview one poor Jets coach (Bruce Coslet) “guaranteed” a win the following week. When the Jets lost (of course), the press asked him “what happened to your guarantee?” And he said: “What am I supposed to say — we’re gonna lose?” Good answer.
See you tomorrow, Chatterheads!
The Wellington Files 