Ask Grandstander

[perfectstormhits]

Fresno State just won the 2008 College World Series.

They became the lowest seeded team to win an NCAA championship in any sport.

How much money did you win?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by perfectstormhits

Fresno State just won the 2008 College World Series.

They became the lowest seeded team to win an NCAA championship in any sport.

How much money did you win?

Wasn't a good year. It cost nearly as much to put in the fix for Fresno State as I collected on the wagers.

[Zen653]

What is your game of choice - poker, chess, backgammon, something else?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Zen653

What is your game of choice - poker, chess, backgammon, something else?

I like to win by cheating, I really do. The games and their rules are always far less interesting to me than are the ways and means of getting around the rules. My feeling is that prevailing by cheating is simply one more way to prevail and if you can do it and get away with it, it's as legitimate a victory as one where your opponent actually had a chance.

Of the three you have listed above, poker is the easiest at which to cheat, but card games in general bore the bejeebers out of me. My best cheat as a kid was rigging the Stratego game. Ever see that one? Each player commands armies of platic pieces which represent different ranks of soldiers and officers. The higher value ones kill the lower value ones when they clash, but you aren't supposed to know what they are until after you attack them. Well, that of course is a disadvantage, corrected by marking my opponent's pieces so that I at all times knew exactly what the value was before I attacked.
Here's a picture of a Stratego board with the pieces set up. Note that the blue player sees the values and ranks of his own pieces, but sees only the blank backs of his opponent's. I scratched teeny little imperfections into the plastic, each mark representing a different rank.



As crude as this system was, no one ever caught on and I was simply hailed as the neighborhood Stratego genius. ..which I was since I won every game. I would deliberately make a few blunders so as to not make it so one sided as to raise suspicions, but never so many as to jeopardize my certain win.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Most overrated first ballot Hall of Fame baseball player?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

Most overrated first ballot Hall of Fame baseball player?

I think that Nolan Ryan getting the highest percentage of votes ever shoves him into the # 1 slot for this award. Of course he produced enormous value with his strikeouts, but he negated that greatly with his walks. The net result was that he was a good, valuable pitcher, but certainly not the most valuable of all time. People were always excusing his relatively low winning percentage by pointing out that he pitched for lousy clubs, so I once looked it all up, added it together and discovered that Ryan's winning percentages were actually just a teeny tiny bit better than the clubs for which he played.

He was a gimmick of sorts, the most extreme pitcher ever in terms of removing the outcome from the batter (either striking him out or walking him) but for the overall results, the prevention of runs scoring, Ryan was less spectacular.

[skrable]

as requested, i've brought you the head of eddie murpht. what do you want done with it?

[perfectstormhits]

Is skrable carrying an unsafe load?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

as requested, i've brought you the head of eddie murpht. what do you want done with it?

Put it between Jayne Mansfield and Alfredo Garcia in the Head Trophy Room.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by perfectstormhits

Is skrable carrying an unsafe load?

Not according to his latest bloodtests.

[SugarBaby]

I can't get that truly disturbing photo of Carrott Top out of my head. It's gving me nightmares. What should I do?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by SugarBaby

I can't get that truly disturbing photo of Carrott Top out of my head. It's gving me nightmares. What should I do?

When you have a song stuck in your head, the best way to get rid of it is to replace it with some other song. In the same manner, a substitute image should help you eradicate the Carott Top vision. How about this from one of Joan Rivers recent marriages?

[skrable]

which one in that picture is joan rivers?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

which one in that picture is joan rivers?

C'mon, Joan would never let herself be photographed while her moustache was that visible.

[Zen653]

Is there any doubt that Brian McNamee will eventually publish a book? What are your favorite sell-out stories involving publication of a book?