Andy’s back, a bit of a long post, but I’m sure you’ll manage!
As promised, a little more description of LearnedLeague for the uninitiated.
I’m co-opted the following description of LearnedLeague from fellow competitor Ben Bass’ blog – because he’s worded it better than I could!
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You play a six-question head-to-head match against a different opponent every day in a season comprising 25 such matches. After each season, depending upon performance, players may be promoted or relegated to higher or lower divisions, and at the highest rank, an overall league champion is crowned.
The unique element of LearnedLeague is that a match includes both offense and defense. The offense part is straightforward: you try to score points by answering the questions correctly.
The defense part is both elegant and strategic: you assign points to the questions for your opponent to earn (or preferably not earn). Each day you distribute a 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 and 0 based upon what you think your opponent will know. You’d give your opponent 0 on a gimme, and 3 where you’re sure they won’t know it.
Defense can and often does decide matches. It’s routine to get the same number of answers correct but lose a match, or get one more correct and tie; also possible to get one more correct and lose; and even possible, although rare, to get two more answers correct and still lose due to catastrophically bad defense (known as “Bucknering” a match). On the offense side, answering all six questions correctly is known as “drinking the beer,” i.e. scoring a six-pack.
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My first two days I’d say have gone pretty well, even though I played horrible defense against UToCer Robert Slaven and lost a match I very well could have won. But I won my second matchup!
Now onto Round 2 Day 6 of the SHC:
READ, WIGHT, AND BLEW (In honor of the Olympics)
2: This railroad connected Delaware to Pennsylvania until 1976, but after that only connected Income Tax to Oriental Avenue.
4: Operational code name for the 1944 invasion calling for the fleet to assemble twenty miles south of the Isle of Wight.
6: Someone informing the public about criminal activities in government or business might do this, like a soccer referee calling a foul.
8: To be classified as one of these, a winter storm must have gusts reaching 35 MPH and blowing snow which reduces visibility to less than a quarter mile.
10: An undead creature that drains energy, the wight was one of the original monsters in this role-playing game first published in 1974.
“MY” PEOPLE
3: Nikki McCray and Chamique Holdsclaw were among the first players to take this Washington-based team to the WNBA playoffs.
6: Serving from 1993-1994, she was the first female White House Press Secretary.
9: Sherlock Holmes once commented that this man, his older brother, is “the most indispensable man in the country.”
12: In 1970, Raquel Welch played the title role in the film adaptation of this Gore Vidal novel.
15: First name shared by the actress who starred as Nora Charles in The Thin Man and the actress who played Maria Crespo in Zorro.
I’ve done quite well to not fall for pitfalls, though I still think I’m afraid of negging and am probably staying clam a little bit too much!
Scores:
Julie Bratvold Ghanbari 60
Ryan Chaffee 72
Joon Pahk 75
Megan Barnes 60
Liz Murphy 45
Stefan Goodreau 54
David Menchaca 65
Alison Stone Roberg 14
Andy 45
Jeanie 62
Robert 55
Kathy Wright 66
Week 2 overall:
Winner: 421
Julie Bratvold Ghanbari 337 (28th)
Ryan Chaffee 348 (24th)
Joon Pahk 369 (17th)
Vito Cortese 311 (35th)
Megan Barnes 263 (52nd)
Liz Murphy 282 (45th)
Stefan Goodreau 259 (55th)
David Menchaca 245 (56th)
Alison Stone Roberg 223 (63rd)
Andy 215 (68th)
Jeanie 209 (70th)
Robert 219 (67th)
Kathy Wright 222 (66th)
Jeanie’s blogging tomorrow with the recap of Week 3, Day 1!