Jackass Joey Vento gets it wrong again

I should preface my comments by saying that I have a history with Geno's "English-only" campaign (or as I like to think of it, their "Anglo-Saxon American authority reams your ass" campaign.)

I even put my quizzo rep on the line at a Johnny Goodtimes-arranged event in which I soundly beat a Vento supporter head-to-head in order to raise some cash for the Nationalities Service Center.

Coming home from the Ray's game last night, I couldn't help but notice the mannequin above on display with Vento's conspicuous consumption collection of low-performance, overrated and poorly made "American" motorcycles. (Hey Joey, did youse know Harleys are assembled in the US to sucker jingoistic tools like you into thinking they're "made" here? Most of their jobs are overseas.)

It seems that in the constrained mind of the nationalist bigot, the conception of anything they enjoy or consider to be iconic must needs be from the same country and culture as themselves. Oddly in this example we're dealing with such a case of cognitive dissonance that the subject appears to have turned a continental European character into an English- speaking American!

For the record, Frankenstein's monster was not American and we have no reason to believe he spoke English. Victor Frankenstein was born in Geneva, Switzerland and went to university at Ingolstadt, Germany. I should think that since he taught the monster to speak he spoke French (you might prefer to call it "Freedom Tongue") or an Alpine dialect of German. Even the author, Mary Shelley, was not American. Wrong again, Joey, even in your moments of prejudiced attempted whimsy. I pass Geno's regularly, and I'm not sure what your employees are speaking, but it ain't gonna get them far on the SAT Verbal, let's put it that way.

Quiz schedule unaffected by Phillies games

Major League Baseball announced the playoff days and times for the first round of the playoffs. This week both games take place in the afternoon, so the quiz schedule is unaffected. Next week, if Game 5 is necessary, we might have to push the Ray's quiz starting time back a half hour or so. We can play that by ear.

2007 National League East Champions

Congratulations, Phils! "The team to beat" indeed.

Has there been a more likable team in this city in any sport? Couldn't happen to a nicer team.

The trading card is from 1996, a young J-Roll indicated as a "Top Prospect."

Answers to this week's Secret Theme rounds

Hey, do people know that the blue text is all hypertext links to some truly cool and infotaining internet fodder? I hope you do, because I've been wasting some serious time I'll never get back if you don't...

Ray's:

The theme was whales.

1) Aka, Baka, Babongo and Twa are African ethnic groups commonly referred to in English by a non-African catch-all word you know, what is that word? Pygmies / Pygmy beaked whale
2) What NHL franchise became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997? Hartford Whalers
3) What California governor was recalled in a 2003 election? Gray Davis / Gray whale
4) What huge Linda Ronstadt hit (#3 on the pop charts) from 1977 was originally written and recorded by Roy Orbison in 1963? "Blue Bayou" / Blue whale
5) Who was the only guest star on The Simpsons to receive a writing credit for his episode? Ricky Gervais / Gervais' beaked whale
6) What variety (not brand) of caviar is the most expensive? Beluga/ Beluga whale
7) What successful 1983 film featured both actors and characters named Glenn and Shephard, although neither played their namesake? The Right Stuff / Right whale
8) What's the smallest type of cell in the human body? Sperm / Sperm whale
9) What 1993 film featured Patricia Arquette as Alabama Whitman? True Romance / True's beaked whale
10) In Greek mythology, what Trojan prince, son of Priam, initially opposed the Trojan War but later became one of its best-known warriors? Hector / Hector's beaked whale

Frank's:

The theme was the Operation game.

1) What TV cop show, which ran on NBC 1968-1975, focused on LAPD officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed? Adam-12 / Adam's Apple
2) What's the bowlers' term for bowling a 0 in the first half of a frame and knocking down all 10 pins in the second half (note that this is not a strike)? Hard spare / Spare Ribs
3) What beloved Christmas character was created in 1939 by Robert L. May as part of a promotion for Montgomery Ward? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer / That glowing red nose
4) What popular national brand of salad dressing is named after the Kansas City, MO restaurant in which it was first produced over 50 years ago? Wish-Bone / Wish Bone
5) What best-selling 1970 American Indian history book lent its title to a 2007 movie produced by HBO? Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee / This was a two-fer: Water on the Knee and Broken Heart
6) What villain was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1997's Batman & Robin? Mr. Freeze / Brain Freeze
7) What Warner Bros. cartoon character is patterned after Orson Welles? The Brain (of Pinky and the Brain)/ Brain Freeze again
8) What Revlon perfume was advertised in the '70s and '80s with a jingle that began There's a fragrance that's here to stay...? ... And they call it Char-lie! / Charlie Horse
9) What 1976 hit (#2 on the pop charts for 3 weeks) for The Spinners had a lyric about a musician with a strange method of making music? "The Rubberband Man" / The reference was the rubber band that comprises Ankle Bone's Connected to the Knee Bone
10) What British sit-com, which ran 1978-1983 on British TV and was in regular syndication on PBS in the US in the '80s, starred Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Rush? Butterflies / Butterflies in the Stomach

Benefit for Tony Jeeter on October 7th

Tony Jeeter of local bands Purple Generals and Cisco Jeeters fame needs help. Surgery on his leg is costing somewhere in the range of $10,000, and he's missed a lot of work while out of commission.

Local folks are taking up the safety net where the government falls short ...

***A NIGHT WITH JEETER***
A BENEFIT FOR TONY JEETER

Ray's Happy Birthday Bar
1200 E. Passyunk Ave.
near 9th & Federal Sts.
Sunday, October 7th, 2007
6PM

LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY:

THE SPARKLERS***THE PROS FROM DOVER***THE ESTELLES***MARK & JOHN
plus a special appearance by THE AVALON STRING BAND

plus...

CROCK POT COOK-OFF

and...

A WONDERFUL RAFFLE
with prizes from
THE PHILADELPHIA PHANTOMS***CENTRAL BARK***aka MUSIC***TLA VIDEO***PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL***PHILLY ROLLER GIRLS***DELAWARE VALLEY SPORTS CENTER***TERROR BEHIND THE WALLS***B-LOVE STRUTTERS***BROWNIE'S***AMADA***KELLY WOLF***RAY'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAR

Be there or be square!

Fall into two all-new quizzes!

"As the days grow shorter and cooler and that autumnal verve finally kicks in, warm yourself with some cider or a hearty brew while answering some brisk trivia questions for prizes."

How was that as advertising copy? Weak, huh? I have no particular talent for copyrighting, first to admit that... I don't know how people churn out that glurge for a living.

Tuesday, October 2, 9pm
Ray's Happy Birthday Bar
1200 E. Passyunk Ave.(near 9th & Federal Sts.)
Subject Round: AMERICAN HISTORY

Wednesday, October 3, 9pm
Dirty Frank's
13th & Pine Sts.
Subject Round: DISASTERS

Group W dominates at Frank's

Multiple-time champs Group W (candid shot of the pair at left) enhanced their reputation as quiz giants last night, cruising to victory with a perfect Subject round and by being the only team in the room to figure out the Secret Theme. Pick Withers scored a very impressive 7 of 10 in the Unreasonably Difficult Round but had dug themselves too deep a hole to catch a depleted Sofa Kingdom (of 2). This was the second quiz this week with a lot of new faces and a fine attendance; hope to see more of that! I think we're over the summertime bar crowd funk.

Beautiful Gold: Group W 160
So-So Silver: Sofa Kingdom (of 2) 137
Shameful, Shameful Bronze: Pick Withers 135

Also-rans:

The Voice of Geddy Lee 104
Bob Loblaw 74
Long & Salty 55
Lifesensors SUX 50
Mook Mook 27
Alex, I'd Like to Buy a Vowel for $200...* 26

* indicates team quit

Service Animals 7 beat large field at Ray's

What a wonderful turn-out at Ray's! For the first time ever we even had issues with seating. Success all the way around. Hope to see the new people back again in the coming weeks! Service Animals 7 (in reality a team of 4) won a tough quiz fairly easily. The Classical Music-themed Subject Round killed everyone and lowered scores generally. Speaking of scores:

Beautiful Gold: Service Animals 7 106
So-So Silver: How Do You Say Closet in Farsi? 88
Shameful, Shameful Bronze: Cosine of 4 (-2) 86

Also-rans:

Chester Copperpot 65
Buttered Sconehenge 64
Grimace 61

Awesome gallery of '60s, '70s Asian record covers

This you need to see! It combines two of the best things in the world, far-flung cultural artifacts and cool, obscure music. Very, very cool...

Your Secret Theme rounds for this week

Each group of 10 otherwise unrelated questions has a theme running through their answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the theme? Beyond that, can you tell me why adults would dress themselves this way? Answers (except to the fashion faux pas) will be posted in a few days.

Ray's:

1) Aka, Baka, Babongo and Twa are African ethnic groups commonly referred to in English by a non-African catch-all word you know, what is that word?
2) What NHL franchise became the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997?
3) What California governor was recalled in a 2003 election?
4) What huge Linda Ronstadt hit (#3 on the pop charts) from 1977 was originally written and recorded by Roy Orbison in 1963?
5) Who was the only guest star on The Simpsons to receive a writing credit (likely due to his improv comedy style) for his episode?
6) What variety (not brand) of caviar is the most expensive?
7) What successful 1983 film featured both actors and characters named Glenn and Shephard, although neither played their namesake?
8) What's the smallest type of cell in the human body?
9) What 1993 film featured Patricia Arquette as Alabama Whitman?
10) In Greek mythology, what Trojan prince, son of Priam, initially opposed the Trojan War but later became one of its best-known warriors?

... and what theme links the 10 answers?

Frank's:

1) What TV cop show, which ran on NBC 1968-1975, focused on LAPD officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed?
2) What's the bolwers' term for bowling a 0 in the first half of a frame and knocking down all 10 pins in the second half (note that this is not a strike)?
3) What beloved Christmas character was created in 1939 by Robert L. May as part of a promotion for Montgomery Ward?
4) What popular national brand of salad dressing is named after the Kansas City, MO restaurant in which it was first produced over 50 years ago?
5) What best-selling 1970 American Indian history book lent its title to a 2007 movie produced by HBO?
6) What villain was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1997's Batman & Robin?
7) What Warner Bros. cartoon character is patterned after Orson Welles?
8) What Revlon perfume was advertised in the '70s and '80s with a jingle that began There's a fragrance that's here to stay...?
9) What 1976 hit (#2 on the pop charts for 3 weeks) for The Spinners had a lyric about a musician with a strange method of making music?
10) What British sit-com, which ran 1978-1983 on British TV and was in regular syndication on PBS in the US in the '80s, starred Wendy Craig and Geoffrey Rush?

... and what theme links the 10 answers?

MacArthur Fellowships announced; question from weeks ago revealed as faulty

The MacArthur Fellows Program awards were given out today for 2007. I asked a question about this at Frank's a few weeks ago. Within hours of the annoucment I received an email pointing out an error of mine regarding that. Obviously I'm not getting one of these "Genius Grants" anytime soon...

My question was what the monetary award is in total. The source I'd read (an article about a different topic I can no longer exactly recall) claimed that 5 annual payments are made of $500,000 each. This is incorrect; the prize is quarterly payments for 5 years which total $500,000. Now I know. I have to be more careful with original sources.

This means that a few teams lost 6 points each in the Unreasonably Difficult Round. I don't believe it would have affected standings as I believe all of the top teams had what turns out to be the correct answer. If anyone thinks this alone kept you off of the All-Time Top Ten List, let me know.

Thus far I've asked in the neighborhood of 2,200 questions, 6 of which were disputed. In 3 of those cases I was right all along, in 2 I was wrong and in 1 case things were a bit ambiguous. That means I've accepted outright incorrect answers 0.000909% of the time, which I find to be a tolerable margin of error. I'm striving for better than that. I've always said that if anyone's unhappy with the quiz I'll be more than happy to fully refund your entry fee*. Funny thing is I've never gotten an email that said "Hey, I was watching the news the other day, and you're right! Lansing is the capital of Michigan!" or some such.

* yes, this is a joke, it's always free to play...

Dangerous cult runs at least two Philadelphia restaurants; stay away!

Govinda's and the related Gourmet to Go restaurants at Broad and South Streets are run by a dangerous cult, ISKCON. You might know ISKCON as the "Hare Krishnas."

Now, you might think that the Krishnas are a little weird but pretty much harmless. You would be wrong. You might also think that giving them your money for food because they prepare vegan food is the kindest thing you could do for the world around you. You couldn't possibly be more wrong.

The diet has little to do with mainstream Hinduism. In point of fact, most Hindus aren't vegetarians. And most Hindus consider ISKCON to be a weird little cult that isn't really Hindu. ISKCON has been involved in brainwashing since its inception; part of this is starving the brain of protein, and even restricting use of garlic and onions (!) on the claim that these are "too stimulating." This, along with the sleep deprivation and chanting, is used to create a cadre of mostly young devotee zombies, removed from their families and former friends, forced to provide cult leaders with cash and sexual favors.

Let's say for a moment that you don't mind forking over cash to a movement that teaches that human women are of less worth than cows, that women are intellectually inferior to men (link to an ISKCON page which makes this very clear). Would you mind giving your cash to a international criminal organization that's involved in everything from stockpiling guns to drug dealing to repeated child sexual abuse (with branches worldwide sharing in legal/compensation costs) and even murder? Don't just take my word for it, read the excellent book on the terror of the Krishnas by a pair of respected investigative reporters, Monkey on a Stick.

Thus I say a hearty "Fuck off!" to Govinda's and Gourmet to Go, and encourage you to do the same. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a comparatively cruelty-free hoagie to eat.

Bumped from Suicide Pool in second week

By the by, I picked the Birds over the 'Skins in Week 2 in the Glen Macnow/WIP Suicide Pool. Owing the the Eagles' miserable performance, I was unceremoniously bounced from the contest before it even became all that interesting and fun. So much for that weekly blog feature! Thanks for waking up a few weeks late, guys. Where were those 56 points when I could've really used 'em?

Answers to last week's theme rounds

Ray's:

One team, unsurprisingly the winning one, figured out that the theme was chicken(s).

1) The British soul group The Foundations had their biggest chart hit in the US (#3) in 1968; name the song. "Build Me Up Buttercup"/ Buttercup is a breed of chicken
2) Los Angeles is the largest city in population in California; which one is second? San Diego, as in the San Diego Chicken
3) Which US state is indirectly named after an Englishman named Thomas West? Delaware, a chicken breed as well as being the home of the Blue Hens
4) What language is the most commonly spoken of the Western Slavic language family? Polish, a breed of chicken
5) What endangered European language is called Kernewek by speakers? Cornish, as in the game hens
6) What southern province of Spain has its capital at Seville? Andalusia, also a chicken breed
7) What Mexican fast-food chain, mostly located in the West and Midwest, is owned and operated by Denny's? El Pollo Loco, pollo being Spanish for "chicken"
8) What Warner Brothers cartoon character, who has a nemesis named George P. Dog, was introduced in 1946 in a short titled Walky Talky Hawky? Foghorn Leghorn
9) What is the four-letter stock abbreviation for software giant Sun Microsystems, Inc. (it has nothing to do with the name of the company, it's one of their products)? JAVA, a chicken breed also
10) What American historical relic was broken in half accidently by a team led by Col. Theophilus Cotton in 1774? Plymouth Rock, also a chicken breed

Frank's:

A few teams figured out the theme; Alfred Hitchcock movies.

1) What was The Hollies' first Top 40 single in the US (1966)? "Look Through Any Window"/ Rear Window
2) What was comedian Jack Benny's perpetually claimed age? 39/The 39 Steps
3) Which astrological sign uses the goat as a symbol? Capricorn/Under Capricorn
4) What musical figure's real name was Christopher Wallace? Notorious B.I.G./ Notorious
5) What fictional character's "real" name (the character was referred to as something else more commonly in a seried of stories) is Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy, KCMG? "M" from the James Bond stories/ Dial M for Murder
6) What number was worn by both Wilt Chamberlain and Dan Marino? 13/Number 13
7) What respected university has campuses at Evanston, IL and in Chicago? Northwestern University/ North by Northwest
8) Fawn Hall had 15 minutes of fame in 1987 for being someone's secretary, whose? Lt.Col. Oliver North / North by Northwest
9) What European country has been led by the House of Grimaldi since 1297? Monaco, as in Princess Grace (Kelly), star of a few Hitchcock films
10) What band, active 1964-1973, had Roger McGuinn as the only consistent member? The Byrds / The Birds

Prepare yourself for the next two all-new quizzes

Two all-new, high-quality quizzes as presented each week. Distinct sets of questions every week. Play one or both!

Tuesday, September 25, 9pm
Ray's Happy Birthday Bar
1200 E. Passyunk Ave.(near 9th & Federal Sts.)
Subject Round: CLASSICAL MUSIC

Wednesday, September 26, 9pm
Dirty Frank's
13th & Pine Sts.
Subject Round: METAL

Can you ace this week's Secret Theme rounds?

Each group of 10 questions has a theme running through their answers. Can you answer the questions and figure out the theme? Answers will be posted in a few days.

Ray's:

1) The British soul group The Foundations had their biggest chart hit in the US (#3) in 1968; name the song.
2) Los Angeles is the largest city in population in California; which one is second?
3) Which US state is indirectly named after an Englishman named Thomas West?
4) What language is the most commonly spoken of the Western Slavic language family?
5) What endangered European language is called Kernewek by speakers?
6) What southern province of Spain has its capital at Seville?
7) What Mexican fast-food chain, mostly located in the West and Midwest, is owned and operated by Denny's?
8) What Warner Brothers cartoon character, who has a nemesis named George P. Dog, was introduced in 1946 in a short titled Walky Talky Hawky?
9) What is the four-letter stock abbreviation for software giant Sun Microsystems, Inc. (it has nothing to do with the name of the company, it's one of their products)?
10) What American historical relic was broken in half accidently by a team led by Col. Theophilus Cotton in 1774?

... and what's the theme?

Frank's:

1) What was The Hollies' first Top 40 single in the US (1966)?
2) What was comedian Jack Benny's perpetually claimed age?
3) Which astrological sign uses the goat as a symbol?
4) What musical figure's real name was Christopher Wallace?
5) What fictional character's "real" name (the character was referred to as something else more commonly in a seried of stories) is Vice Admiral Sir Miles Messervy, KCMG?
6) What number was worn by both Wilt Chamberlain and Dan Marino?
7) What respected university has campuses at Evanston, IL and in Chicago?
8) Fawn Hall had 15 minutes of fame in 1987 for being someone's secretary, whose?
9) What European country has been led by the House of Grimaldi since 1297?
10) What band, active 1964-1973, had Roger McGuinn as the only consistent member?

... and what's the theme?

Group W notches another win at Frank's

Group W (pictured at left) continued their dominance at Frank's by winning by, in effect, less than two questions. With strong efforts by the team that always changes their name - this week they left it up to me and I went with Been Through the Desert on a Horse - and new regulars Bob Loblaw, things are tightening up even when Sofa Kingdom is AWOL. Newcomers Ultimate Cocksuckers posted a very respectable score their first time out.

In case you're wondering about Jack & Coke, it was one guy & he was hammered.

Scores:

Beautiful Gold: Group W 166
So-So Silver: Been Through the Desert on a Horse 159
Shameful, Shameful Bronze: Bob Loblaw 122

Also-rans:

Ultimate Cocksuckers 114
Dart Nerds 80
No Friends* 7
Jack & Coke 6

* team folded

Cosine posts big win at Ray's

Propelled by a Subject Round of rock'n'roll instrumentals of their generation, Cosine of 4 (-2) had an easy time of it at Ray's. This is a fun, mellow quiz and I'd love to see some more folks at it. Scores follow.

Beautiful Gold: Cosine of 4 (-2) 124
So-So Silver: Buttered a Sconehenge 79
Shameful, Shameful Bronze: Mittens for Kittens 70

Answers to last week's Secret Themes

Ray's:

The theme was America's National Parks. Names of related parks follow each answer.

1) What 1987 U2 album, which went Diamond in sales in the US (10 million+ copies sold), also generated 3 Top 40 singles? The Joshua Tree /Joshua Tree

2) What 1973 film starred Martin Sheen as Kit Carruthers and Sissy Spacek as Holly Surgis? Badlands / Badlands

3) What anti-Semetic forgery was likely written by Matvei Golovinski in the 1890s? "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" / Zion

4) What 1973 pop-folk song, which went Top 10 in the US that year, was officially adopted as a co-state song of Colorado earlier this year? "Rocky Mountain High" /Rocky Mountain

5) Which US president is said to have coined the "Good to the last drop" ad slogan for Maxwell House coffee via an off-hand remark? Teddy Roosevelt / Roosevelt, who was also the founder of the national parks

6) Who is Juan Diego Cuauhtlalatoatzin famous for having supposedly met in December of 1531? The Virgin of Guadalupe / Guadalupe Mountains

7) What's the Spanish word for "turtle"? tortuga / Dry Tortugas

8) What was founded by Pierre de Fredy, Baron de Coubertin in 1894? The modern Olympic Games / Olympic

9) Mike Oldfield's 1973 album Tubular Bells was the first album released on this prog-rock label in 1973, owned by British billionaire Richard Branson. Name the label. Virgin / Virgin Islands

10) What American record label, with an architecturally distinct HQ in Los Angeles, was founded by songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942? Capitol / Capitol Reef

Frank's:

The theme was Scientology. Link to the Operation Clambake site, which seeks to expose the cult.

1) What's the 8th letter of the Greek alphabet, situated between eta and iota? Theta / "Body Thetans"

2) What San Francisco-based pop combo had 5 Top 40 singles in the period 1977-1981, including their biggest hits "Love Will Find a Way" and "Don't Want to Live Without It"? Pablo Cruise / Tom Cruise

3) Where do the Philadelphia Phillies hold spring training? Clearwater, Florida, which is the HQ of Scientology. Scientology appears to have a strange and disturbing hold on the local government.

4) In Euclidian geometry, what do you call a segment of the perimeter of a circle? An arc; the "ARC Triangle" is a Scientology belief

5) What sit-com actress was married to former teen heartthrob Parker Stevenson 1983-1997? Kirstie Alley

6) Who played sadistic bully Billy Nolan in the 1976 film Carrie? John Travolta

7) What singer, songwriter and producer won his third Grammy for his classic 1971 album Black Moses? Isaac Hayes

8) What nursery rhyme is said to be a disguised retelling of the refusal of Cardinal Wolsey to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine of Aragon? Old Mother Hubbard

9) What prog-rock band did Steve Howe join in 1971? Yes

Here's the problem with Question #9: I misrembered L. Ron Hubbard as the author of Starship Troopers; it was actually Robert Heinlein. The connection I was aiming for is that the song "Starship Troopers" appears on Yes' 1971 album The Yes Album.

10) What 1994 film stars Harrison Ford as CIA agent Jack Ryan? Clear and Present Danger; infamously Scientologists get "audited" to become "clear."

Winning the quiz isn't everything, it's the only thing

Last week at Ray's I asked a Subject Round's worth of "Notable Quotes," which is to say I read 10 semi-famous to famous quotations and asked people to identify the speaker or writer thereof. This inadvertently launched one of those trivial debates that people who enjoy trivia love to kick around.

Quotes can be a tricky business as they are commonly misquoted, incorrectly attributed and so forth. I tried to pick 10 that were unlikely to be the least bit controversial, but no dice. One was "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." The attribution I was looking for was legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi.

As it turns out there are two separate controversies surrounding the quote. One is the position that it was first coined - most likely but not with certainty - by UCLA football coach Henry R. "Red" Sanders and not Lombardi. The other is that later in life, coaching the less successful Washington Redskins and suffering from terminal illness, Lombardi seems to have had some regret over being identified with a harmful, aggressive jock mentality and denied saying such a thing exactly.

There seems to be no doubt that Sanders was uttering the quote as early as the 1930s, and that Lombardi followed his lead either directly or via a now largely forgotten John Wayne movie in which a girl attributes the quote to Wayne's character. The film's screenwriter said he drew the quote directly from Sanders, who might in turn have derived it from other coaches years earlier. If you'd like to read an exceptionally detailed history of the life of a quote, check out this Football Studies [!] article in Adobe .pdf format.

The secondary argument is over whether or not Lombardi used the quote at all. This I'm more dismissive of; check out the Bartlett's entry:

"This remark has been widely attributed to football
coach Vince Lombardi. In Vince Lombardi on Football,
ed. George L. Flynn, vol. 1,chapter 1, p. 16 (1973),
Lombardi is quoted, “I have been quoted as saying,
‘Winning is the only thing.’ That’s a little out of context.
What I said is that ‘Winning is not everything—but making the
effort to win is.’”

Not everyone agrees. Time, September 14, 1970, p. 61,
attributed this remark to Lombardi and called it his
creed. Bob Rubin, Green Bay’s Packers, p. 84 (1973),
quotes this from Lombardi’s opening talk on the first
day of training camp in 1959."

Incidentally, Sanders died in 1958, which would explain the lack of input from him as Lombardi gained notariety through the 1960s. Saint Vincent was also quoted as saying "If winning isn't everything, why do they bother keeping score?", a quote which is far harder to misconstrue. Additionally I have a very hard time believing that Lombardi thought that "trying to win" would be motivational for an NFL team in 1959, and that he'd take the care to emphasize fair play, good sprortsmanship and the playing fields of Eton and such when facing Chuck Bednarik in the championship game.

Bottom line? I was looking for Lombardi as the answer, and 3 of 4 teams got it right. I didn't ask for who coined the thoughts or quotes originally, so I think I'm covered there; I actually took care in fact to point out that I was looking for more obvious answers than usual that round. Had anyone answered Red Sanders, which no one did, I would have awarded points. The question was over whether or not Lombardi ever said the quote, and I'm abundantly satisfied he did. It was the fourth round, not the sixth. I'm not likely to ask a question about the super-obscure Red Sanders in that round. Sometimes the obvious is obvious for a reason.

I'm always happy to discuss answers that people think might be off. Thus far I've posted about a few, owned up to be flat out wrong about a question once and noted that, unfortunately, I made a misattribution of a different sort in last week's Secret Theme round at Frank's. The answer to the question was correct, the connection to the theme not useful (two teams did manage to get the theme, which I thought more obvious than most, from the other 9 answers); more about that later this week ...