#641 - "No-Win Situations"

An excellent puzzle written by one of the innovators of the meta crossword format. It comes out every Friday at noon and increases in difficulty throughout the month. Available for modest subscription (worth every cent) here: www.xwordcontest.com
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MajordomoTom
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#21

Post by MajordomoTom »

looking for the inelegance/elegance, <deleted, a bit too much> and am on the board at #190, so looking back at it.

Thanks to a few PMs, I see it now. It is very nice.
Last edited by MajordomoTom on Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Lots of planets have a North", the Ninth Doctor.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#22

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Beam me up!

I just missed a leaderboard update, so I'll sweat it out for a while. My answer seems solid, but all this talk of inelegance has me nervous. Am I missing something? I'll admit, I'd have liked a harder click. But it seemed loud enough for me. We'll see.

EDIT: On the board!
Last edited by ChrisKochmanski on Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Joe Ross
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#23

Post by Joe Ross »

Musical interlude...
Last edited by Joe Ross on Sat Sep 12, 2020 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Whole blood, platelets, or plasma: Donate 4 in 2024

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๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ENORMOUS ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ:
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Big Mac
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#24

Post by Big Mac »

Beam me up! This played more like a week 1 for me but that grid was an adventure.
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KayW
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#25

Post by KayW »

Beam me up! This week is no no-win situation for me. Three metas attempted and solved (WSJCC, bonus meta, MGWCC). And it's only Saturday :)

..oh dear. There I go again, tempting the meta-gods with my hubris...
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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BarbaraK
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#26

Post by BarbaraK »

Beam me up, please, Scotty.
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Al Sisti
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#27

Post by Al Sisti »

Hey, how about a big (virtual) hand to Meg, whose MGWCC streak hit #200 today! (man, I hope that's not like "he's one out away from a no-hitter..." or "he hasn't missed a putt inside 7 feet all tournament").
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hashbrown
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#28

Post by hashbrown »

Beam me up! Family members have been a lot of help as of late - first my dad with Will's Weekly Meta, and now my younger brother with today's MGWCC. If only my mum could help me crack PGW or the WSJ...
-HB
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Meg
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#29

Post by Meg »

Al Sisti wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:22 pm Hey, how about a big (virtual) hand to Meg, whose MGWCC streak hit #200 today! (man, I hope that's not like "he's one out away from a no-hitter..." or "he hasn't missed a putt inside 7 feet all tournament").
Awww, thanks. We'll know next week if Iโ€™m one out away from a no-hitter. ๐Ÿ˜€
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Dplass
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#30

Post by Dplass »

Pretty sure I got it. Waiting for the leaderboard to update.

Update: on the board.
Last edited by Dplass on Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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oldjudge
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#31

Post by oldjudge »

Meg wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:55 pm
Al Sisti wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:22 pm Hey, how about a big (virtual) hand to Meg, whose MGWCC streak hit #200 today! (man, I hope that's not like "he's one out away from a no-hitter..." or "he hasn't missed a putt inside 7 feet all tournament").
Awww, thanks. We'll know next week if Iโ€™m one out away from a no-hitter. ๐Ÿ˜€
No Bill Rohr for you
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Thurman8er
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#32

Post by Thurman8er »

Meh.

Anyway. Beam me up.
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Meg
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#33

Post by Meg »

oldjudge wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:30 pm
Meg wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:55 pm
Al Sisti wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:22 pm Hey, how about a big (virtual) hand to Meg, whose MGWCC streak hit #200 today! (man, I hope that's not like "he's one out away from a no-hitter..." or "he hasn't missed a putt inside 7 feet all tournament").
Awww, thanks. We'll know next week if Iโ€™m one out away from a no-hitter. ๐Ÿ˜€
No Bill Rohr for you
Sure, I know who that is......
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MikeM000
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#34

Post by MikeM000 »

So, now that I've filled the grid, seen a good answer, submitted it and gotten on the leaderboard....I should probably go back and look at the puzzle and figure out *why* that was the correct answer....
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oldjudge
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#35

Post by oldjudge »

Meg wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 8:09 pm
oldjudge wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 7:30 pm
Meg wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 6:55 pm

Awww, thanks. We'll know next week if Iโ€™m one out away from a no-hitter. ๐Ÿ˜€
No Bill Rohr for you
Sure, I know who that is......
He was a pitcher on the Red Sox who, in his MLB debut, was one batter away from a no hitter against the Yankees, but gave up a single to Elston Howard to blow the no hitter. That happened in the late-1960s I believe.
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boharr
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#36

Post by boharr »

1967. Even more heart wrenching, he was not just one out away from a no hitter but just one strike away before Howard got the hit. In his next outing, he beat the Yankees again. Then won just one more game in his major league career.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#37

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Here in Detroit Tigers land, we have Milt Wilcox, some time in the early โ€˜80s, losing a PERFECT GAME, to the White Sox, with two outs in the ninth ... AND Armando Gallarago, eight or ten or so years ago (Iโ€™m too lazy to look it up), also losing a PERFECT GAME with two outs in the ninth, but this time because of the umpire Jim Joyceโ€™s TOTALLY BLOWN CALL on a ground out to first!

Meg, we certainly donโ€™t wish THESE fates upon you!
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boharr
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#38

Post by boharr »

ChrisKochmanski wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:01 pm Here in Detroit Tigers land, we have Milt Wilcox, some time in the early โ€˜80s, losing a PERFECT GAME, to the White Sox, with two outs in the ninth ... AND Armando Gallarago, eight or ten or so years ago (Iโ€™m too lazy to look it up), also losing a PERFECT GAME with two outs in the ninth, but this time because of the umpire Jim Joyceโ€™s TOTALLY BLOWN CALL on a ground out to first!

Meg, we certainly donโ€™t wish THESE fates upon you!
And in NY, we have Bill Bevins throwing a no hitter into the bottom of the ninth for the Yankees against the Dodgers in 1947. Then Cookie Lavagetto got a weird hit that scored two runs. Bevins lost the no hitter ... and the game. It was the last hit of Lavagetto's career. The Yankees ended up winning the series. And Bevins never played in the majors again after the series.

Baseball. It can break your heart.
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Al Sisti
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#39

Post by Al Sisti »

ChrisKochmanski wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:01 pm Here in Detroit Tigers land, we have Milt Wilcox, some time in the early โ€˜80s, losing a PERFECT GAME, to the White Sox, with two outs in the ninth ... AND Armando Gallarago, eight or ten or so years ago (Iโ€™m too lazy to look it up), also losing a PERFECT GAME with two outs in the ninth, but this time because of the umpire Jim Joyceโ€™s TOTALLY BLOWN CALL on a ground out to first!

Meg, we certainly donโ€™t wish THESE fates upon you!
Worst call ever... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlDTBDJbNE4&app=desktop. But what I didn't know until tonight was that 7 weeks later -- after admitting he blew the call -- he saved a woman's life, giving her CPR and bringing her back after she flat-lined twice.
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MikeM000
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#40

Post by MikeM000 »

ChrisKochmanski wrote: โ†‘Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:01 pm Here in Detroit Tigers land, we have Milt Wilcox, some time in the early โ€˜80s, losing a PERFECT GAME, to the White Sox, with two outs in the ninth ... AND Armando Gallarago, eight or ten or so years ago (Iโ€™m too lazy to look it up), also losing a PERFECT GAME with two outs in the ninth, but this time because of the umpire Jim Joyceโ€™s TOTALLY BLOWN CALL on a ground out to first!

Meg, we certainly donโ€™t wish THESE fates upon you!
April of 1983. Friday night game on channel 4 when about 50 games were televised each year. Jerry Hairston was the pinch hitter they sent up. He had a Junior son who played in the majors for 10 or 15 years and I swore under my breath every time I saw his name. No, I'm not bitter....
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