Taking One for the Team

[Berto]

OTC!!!
Wow, took me a long time to figure it out, but boom! Made the connection and in for the TD.
Great fun - thank you!

[Darth]

OTC. That was very clever! Thanks, Jay.

[MarkWoychick]

Off the couch - thanks, Jay!

[ChrisKochmanski]

OTC!

Hey, that was fun! The nudges helped me. Thanks, Jay!

[SamKat9]

OTC! Thanks for the great puzzle! I did peek at the nudges but I didn't understand at first until something clicked.

[Schmeel]

Off the couch - thanks for the puzzle!

[woozy]

I can’t do anything about technical difficulties at Crosshare. But I can offer help with other difficulties. Apparently the Fan Duel handicappers were way off in their assessment of difficulty. They’re raising the point spread.

Traditionally, Wednesday is Nudgeday (yes, we have traditions here at the MMM), so I may be jumping offsides, but since some people seem to have gotten off to a false start or no start at all, here are a couple of early nudges.

Parsing the title, one might say that solving the meta is a singular achievement.

Along similar lines, eleven Easter eggs are nestled in the clues. A couple of the clues hold more than one. These goodies are not necessary for the solution, but they might help. And it might be enjoyable just to find them and put them in your basket.

so I'm taking that the Easter eggs are the *only* things I've found?

[rjy]

Finally got it, wow! Great concept and construction, Jay!

[miked]

Is it just me or has the TAB key stopped working on CrossHare after the grid is complete? *VERY* annoying.

I was just alerted to this issue - there was a change that went out this week that I think must have broken this. Will try to address it today!

[Bird Lives]

Maybe you should have bet the under. So far, it’s a low-scoring game. On Day One we had twenty-seven solvers. (If you solved and I missed you, let me know.)
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More nudges tomorrow. Or maybe earlier, depending on the action.

[woozy]

Welll..... I just plain failed that one. No real excuse except.... well, no real excuse. It's certainly clever and legitimate but I just plain couldn't see it.

[miked]

Is it just me or has the TAB key stopped working on CrossHare after the grid is complete? *VERY* annoying.

I was just alerted to this issue - there was a change that went out this week that I think must have broken this. Will try to address it today!

I just deployed a fix for this that should be rolling out over the next hour or so. If you notice anything amiss after that time please don't hesitate to let me know!

[CPJohnson]

Still not seeing it. I mean, I see several things, but can’t produce an answer from them. Waiting on the next nudge.

[CPJohnson]

Got it, finally, with help from Jay. Great puzzle!

[sharkicicles]

finally got it, well worth the effort, great puzzle.

[whimsy]

OTC -- Wow! I echo sharkicicles -- This was jam-packed, challenging and ultimately so satisfying. Thanks, Jay!
(Uh, now what should I do with all these Easter treats?)

[Bird Lives]

Nine more solvers have joined the huddle.

28. JM
29. woozy
30. Sharkicicles
31. markhr
32. DrTom
33. CPJohnson
34. Hector
35. whimsy
36. Laura M

For those still warminmg up, these nudges should help

Themer entries all have two words.

The first word is just filler.

But the second word shouldn’t stand alone. It has to be accompanied by a team member. One of these has two possible teammates; either will do.
One of these has two possible teammates; either will do.

Four of these five new terms should be familiar. The fifth comes from a scientific field. You may have to Google this one to confirm.

Taken together, these new pairs are not dumb jocks. That is, they are not clueless. They have clues. In fact, the relevant clues lead to the crucial entries.

The letters from those entries are not the complete answer. The remaining step is consistent with the themers, the title, and the Easter eggs.

[Cinny]

Off the couch. Needed a nudge only to realize I was doing it correctly in the first place!

[hcbirker]

Needed the first nudges. My knowledge in this area is spotty at best. Clever puzzle Jay!

[ajk]

lol needed Nudge 4 to steer me off my path of maximal resistance, and then got close enough to backsolve. Fun puzzle that I managed to make much much harder than it was. Thanks.