Today is Groundhog day
Today is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Groundhog day is Grou
I’d been handling the pandemic as well as or better than pretty much everyone in my circles, based largely on the facts that I was already a remote worker, already good at communicating with friends and family via the internet, and already prone to spending large, long stretches of time without talking to anyone. I’m single, I live and work alone, and am good at cooking, keeping away from junk food, and exercising sans gym. But last week none of that mattered. Everything I did and every other thing I thought was tinged with a mournfulness I couldn’t shake. I ended up melting down and getting in a bad argument with a close friend, and shortly after, I ate two 150g bags of individually-wrapped Wint-O-Green Lifesavers because apparently I am a criminal.
I quit drinking seven months ago, but I miss going to bars and feeling people’s energies and hearing people laugh and watching people fumble around on first dates. I miss getting sweaty at punk shows, where, at 42, I still sometimes crowdsurf and jump off stages. I miss restaurants and popups and casse-croûtes and the people I’d eat new things with at them. And, boy howdy, I miss the way sports used to be a thing to witness and less a thing to only watch.
Wherever you are in your pandemic journey, reader, please know that one of the reasons Jonathan and I rebooted Oddball is because we wanted to make something that, at least for the time you spend reading it, transports you out of the morass of *broadly gestures of everything* and places you back in a chair at your favourite pub on trivia night.
Hang on, y’all. We’ll get out of this.
— DJ
Answers from last week’s issue
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox recently completed a rare trade, only the fifth time they’ve done so the past 40 years. The last time was in 2014, when the Yankees received Player A, who has played for every AL East team, and the Red Sox received Player B, whose brother won a World Series with the Sox in 2007 and was once a teammate of Player A’s when they were both Atlanta Braves. Who are Players A and B?
Stephen Drew (brother of J.D.) and Kelly Johnson were traded for each other in 2014.
The late, great George Armstrong was the longest-serving captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history, wearing the C for twelve seasons. The next two longest-serving Leafs captains each held the captaincy for ten seasons and are both in the Hockey Hall of Fame. One captain won a Stanley Cup as a player and five as a coach. Who are they?
Hap Day (1927-1937) and Mats Sundin (1997-2008) were captains for ten seasons each, with Day winning six Stanley Cups. Sundin didn’t win any.
What was the last team that played a Super Bowl game that was hosted in their home state?
Super Bowl XXXVII was played in San Diego, between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders. The Buccaneers won 48-21 for their first Super Bowl championship.
Today is Vince Carter’s birthday. Since 1990, only two other players have played in an NBA game at age 43 or older. Both are centres who also won championships in their 40s. Who are they?
In his final NBA season Robert Parish played 43 games at age 43. Kevin Willis came out of retirement at age 44 to appear in five games for the Dallas Mavericks.
#whoigyourfriend
Since 2000, there have been two occasions where former NBA #1 overall draft picks were traded for each other. One trade occurred in 2006 between the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets, and the other occurred in 2012 between the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors. Who were the four #1 picks involved in these trades?
Since 1990, three players — all second basemen — have collected 200+ hits, 50+ doubles, and 20+ steals in a season. Who are they?
What NHL player recorded a plus-minus rating of -40 in 1989-90, the worst rating for a player scoring 100+ points in the same season?
Tom Brady has passed for a record total of 2,838 yards in Super Bowls — over 1,700 yards more than the next QB. Who has thrown for the second-most Super Bowl yards in NFL history?
#postscript
Many thanks also to Yasiel Puig for being named his name and to you for being named your name, unless your name is Pasiel Yuig because that’s just silly.
Want to help Oddball out? Please click the heart and share this issue (and all the other issues!) with likeminded friends, enemies, and frenemies you think may enjoy the challenge.
For the few, proud people who’d grown accustomed to our weekday trivia on Facebook: we’re likely moving that to Instagram. More information on that soon. Until then, be the Ezequiel Carrera you wish to see in the world.
DJ/JY