I’d like to tell you about one more unpleasant thing that happened at this quiz.

A member of a team who are, apparently, in the hunt for victory each year in this quiz copped on pretty early that we were a serious team.  This chap got in to the habit of coming by our table after each round to see how we’d got on.  We were sitting near the bar so I guess he could claim that he was (always) just on his way up for a drink but we thought his intention was clear enough – he was worried about how well we were doing.

Now, whenever I’m doing a quiz I tend to put my phone out on the table.  I don’t think there’s any need to deny that I own a phone.  Also, I’m not doing anything surreptitious with it, so what have I got to hide?  At the midway interval, your man came over to see how we’d got on with the previous round.  We told him we’d definitely missed the Italian scorer in the Premier League question below.  “Are ye sure?” he asked. “Yeah, we’ve just looked up the answer on the phone,” we told him*. He did a very dramatic ‘Tut, tut’ thing and moved on.

Anyway, so what, you’re asking.

Well, after the picture round, when we weren’t at our most ebulient, he arrives over to see how we’ve done.

“We’re out of it” we tell him. “We only got seven of them.”

“Seven?!” he said, his tone indicating that they’d done much better.  “Well, I guess ye couldn’t look them up on the phone.”

What. A. P&:<k.

Here are the answers to the picture round:

1. Marco Pantani
2. Tony Pulis
3. George Berry
4. Sid Waddell
5. Alain Roland
6. Craig Johnstone
7. Gavin Dykes
8. Roberto Mancini
9. Arsene Wenger
10. Jim McGuinness
11. Dennis Priestly
12. Manuela Spinelli **
13. A Claremorris runner *** (Update: Catherine Conway)
14. Pete Warren
15. Michael Robinson
16. Henry Coyle
17. Wes Hoolahan
18. Davy Keogh (on right)

Here are the answers to the few questions I can remember:

1. Which former Olympian is now a senator? A> Eamonn Coghlan
2. The battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882 gave its name to which Leinster Senior League football team? A> TEK United
3. Name the only Italian player to score for five different English Premier League clubs. A> Benito Carbone
4. Who is the current Chairman of the Galway GAA county board? A> Noel Treacy
5. Kevin O’Brien set a new world record for the fastest 1-day century in Ireland’s victory over England in the Cricket World Cup last year.  How many balls did it take him to reach 100 runs? A> 50
6. Footballer Kevin Cassidy was asked to leave the Donegal panel after the publication of which book? A> This is our year
7. Name the four runners who set the world record for the 4 x 1 mile relay in Dublin on August 17, 1985. A> Eamonn Coghlan, Marcus O’Sullivan, Ray Flynn and Frank O’Meara

If you like your sport, you’ll have enjoyed that challenge.  If you don’t, well fear not, there won’t be another all-sport quiz for a long time.

Footnotes:

* Which surely proves that we hadn’t looked it up on the phone during the round. We’d have gotten it right if so.

** This is Giovanni Trapattoni’s translator, in case you’re baffled.

*** Apologies to this lady.  As I said the other day, I’ve lost my notes since the quiz.

And so it was, at the annual Claremorris AFC Sports Quiz, which took place in the Dalton Inn on the Wednesday before Christmas.  RTÉ’s Martin Carney was the host, for reasons I couldn’t fathom.  He added a little glamour to the whole occasion I guess!

It was my first time taking part in the event but I’d heard great things about it.  The questions were said to be of a very hard standard with a great variety of sporting knowledge needed to prosper.  So, being in contention throughout the night before hitting the front after round 8 would be something to be thrilled about, surely?

In quizzing, as in sport, how a result arrives dominates the memory of the result itself. Who’s more happy with a 2-2 draw – the team that lead 2-0 or the team that pulled back the two goal deficit? Yet, they both finished with the same result, didn’t they?

Alas, from such a great position, we didn’t even get a draw. Our downfall was round 9, the evening’s sole picture round. It was a bad round to struggle on. For a start, it (strangely) featured 18 pictures whereas the other rounds had all included 10 questions.  We performed terribly, and only scored 7 out of 18.

Your only hope after such a pitiful score is that everyone else found it just as hard.  Alas, that was not the case.  A couple of teams scored 15 and there were several more above 12 points.  So, when the scores were called out after round 9, we weren’t even mentioned!

Here’s that particular picture round:

I’m afraid I’ve lost my notes with the other questions we missed.  However, we missed so few, to be honest, that I think I can remember most of them.

1. Which former Olympian is now a senator?
2. The battle of Tel-el-Kebir in 1882 gave its name to which Leinster Senior League football team?
3. Name the only Italian player to score for five different English Premier League clubs.
4. Who is the current Chairman of the Galway GAA county board?
5. Kevin O’Brien set a new world record for the fastest 1-day century in Ireland’s victory over England in the Cricket World Cup last year.  How many balls did it take him to reach 100 runs?
6. Footballer Kevin Cassidy was asked to leave the Donegal panel after the publication of which book?
7. Name the four runners who set the world record for the 4 x 1 mile relay in Dublin on August 17, 1985.

There are only about three or four other questions.  That’s how well we did, aside from the picture round. Oh well.

Update: answers here.

How did you do? Get to the final or out in the first round?

1. The first World Cup finals took place in Uruguay. 13 teams took part, how many of these were European? A> Four
2. What was the first country to win the World Cup twice? A> Italy
3. Six of the seven nations that have won the World Cup did so at least once at home. Which is the odd one out? A> Brazil
4. Which player has the record for the most goals at a single World Cup finals? A> Juste Fontaine (France)
5. Hungary, Netherlands and which other country share an unfortunate record of reaching the final twice, but losing both times? A> Czechoslovakia
6. The USA has blown hot and cold at the World Cup. What is their best finish? A> Semi-finalists
7. How many goals have Ireland scored at the World Cup finals (excluding penalty shootouts)? A> 10
8. There have been two World Cup trophies. What was the first of these called? A> Jules Rimet trophy
9. There World Cup was suspended for 12 years because of World War II. Which two years should have seen finals take place? A> 1942 and 1946
10. Hungary hold the record for the most goals scored (10) in a game at the World Cup finals. In which year? A> 1982
11. Following the 1950 tournament Brazil changed the colour of their strip to yellow from what? A> White
12. Only three players have scored in the final of different World Cups. Pelé, Zinedine Zidane and who? A> Paul Breitner (W. Germany)
13. In which year was the first ever match decided by a penalty-shootout at a World Cup finals? A> 1982
14. Who are the only country to have been eliminated from the World Cup Finals without conceding a goal in the tournament? A> Switzerland
15. Finally, what word links the “Wizard of Oz” with the top goal-scorer in the 1990 World Cup finals? A> The word is: Toto.

Now, let’s get back to watching some football!

I actually wrote most of this quiz four years ago and, back then, posted it on my old Bebo account.

Let’s see if I still have any friends left from those days!

Questions:

1. The first World Cup finals took place in Uruguay. 13 teams took part, how many of these were European?
2. What was the first country to win the World Cup twice?
3. Six of the seven nations that have won the World Cup did so at least once at home. Which is the odd one out?
4. Which player has the record for the most goals at a single World Cup finals?
5. Hungary, Netherlands and which other country share an unfortunate record of reaching the final twice, but losing both times?
6. The USA has blown hot and cold at the World Cup. What is their best finish?
7. How many goals have Ireland scored at the World Cup finals (excluding penalty shootouts)?
8. There have been two World Cup trophies. What was the first of these called?
9. There World Cup was suspended for 12 years because of World War II. Which two years should have seen finals take place?
10. Hungary hold the record for the most goals scored (10) in a game at the World Cup finals. In which year?
11. Following the 1950 tournament Brazil changed the colour of their strip to yellow from what?
12. Only three players have scored in the final of different World Cups. Pelé, Zinedine Zidane and who?
13. In which year was the first ever match decided by a penalty-shootout at a World Cup finals?
14. Who are the only country to have been eliminated from the World Cup Finals without conceding a goal in the tournament?
15. Finally, what word links the “Wizard of Oz” with the top goal-scorer in the 1990 World Cup finals?

Just for fun, give them a go.

I’ll post the answers later in the week.

I’ve also put together some photos to illustrate the answers!

Click more… to see who’s who.

Answers:

1. Ronnie Whelan (v. USSR 1988)
2. Jason McAteer (v. Netherlands, 2001)
3. Wim Keift (Netherlands, 1988)

A great goal, an important goal and a tragic fluke.

Last week, in the buildup to the Irish football team’s two big games against Bulgaria and Italy, they ran a competition for a trip for two to the away game in Bari on Wednesday night, with flights and accommodation thrown in.

Entry was simple. Each night, from Monday to Thursday, they played the same three clips, back-to-back. All one had to do was email in the names of the players who scored immediately after the commentary was cut off.  Sort of like a ‘What happened next’ round.

Click more… to have a listen for yourself.

Audio clip:

They’re not very hard, if you’re a fan of the Irish football team.  All three goals were (shall we say) significant in the history of Irish football.

Update: see the answers here.

1. Who were the losing finalists when Clare won the 1995 All-Ireland senior hurling final? A> Offaly
2. In two successive Olympics, Irish runner Eamon Coughlan finished outside the medals, in which position? A> Fourth
3. Which team has lost the most All-Ireland senior football finals? A> Kerry
4. Venus Williams has appeared in 13 Grand Slam finals, winning 7. Of the 6 she’s lost, 5 have been to the same player. Who? A> Serena Williams
5. Which team was defeated in this year’s NFL Superbowl? A> Arizona Cardinals
6. Who did Lewis Hamilton pip to the 2008 Formula One Drivers Championship? A> Felipe Massa
7. What was the final score when Munster were defeated by the All-Blacks in November 2008? A> 18-16
8. Eusebio Pedroza, the boxer defeated by Barry McGuigan when he won the world featherweight title, hails from which country? A> Panama
9. Which horse lead the 1956 Grand National with only 45m to go before jumping an imaginary fence and falling? A> Devon Loch
10. Which team lost the final soccer match to be played at Lansdowne Road before demolition? A> St. Patrick’s Athletic

Coming up tomorrow: the Photoshop round.

Round seven is the sports round.  More specifically it’s not about sporting victory, but sporting defeat. Then again, I’m sure you grasped that from the title Sporting Losers.

Click more… for the qs.

1. Who were the losing finalists when Clare won the 1995 All-Ireland senior hurling final?
2. In two successive Olympics, Irish runner Eamon Coughlan finished outside the medals, in which position?
3. Which team has lost the most All-Ireland senior football finals?
4. Venus Williams has appeared in 13 Grand Slam finals, winning 7. Of the 6 she’s lost, 5 have been to the same player. Who?
5. Which team was defeated in this year’s NFL Superbowl?
6. Who did Lewis Hamilton pip to the 2008 Formula One Drivers Championship?
7. What was the final score when Munster were defeated by the All-Blacks in November 2008?
8. Eusebio Pedroza, the boxer defeated by Barry McGuigan when he won the world featherweight title, hails from which country?
9. Which horse lead the 1956 Grand National with only 45m to go before jumping an imaginary fence and falling?
10. Which team lost the final soccer match to be played at Lansdowne Road before demolition?

Update: answers here.

1. Oliver Gough (Wexford ’55 and Kilkenny ’63)
2. Joe McNally (1982 and ’83)
3. Bobby Beggs (Galway ’38 and Dublin ’42) and Caleb Crone (Dublin ’41 and Cork ’45)*
4. Tony Davis and Martin O’Doherty (both Cork)*
5. Limerick (1921)
6. William ‘Squires’ Gannon (Kildare)
7. Pat O’Neill
8. Rome
9. Christy Ring, Jack Lynch and Dan O’Keeffe**
10. Antrim (1911)
11. Con Murphy
12. Offaly (1982)

If you’d like to hear how the final show went, with eight people taking part in an on-air quiz, you can check out the audio of the show here.

* Problems arose here with the wording of the questions.  If you notice on my original post, I had actually spotted this! Mind you, so did Mícheál but someone messed up subsequently when putting the questions on the website.

** Bit of a trick question this one.  Dan O’Keeffe is on the Team of the Millenium as a Kerry player but he was born in Cork.

This is basically the gaelic games equivalent of the Golden Ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and will get you into any GAA game of your choice, anywhere in the country, throughout 2009.  This includes big games in Croke Park and you can even use it more than once a day!  That’s if your transport capabilities are up to the task, admittedly.  Still, it’s a great prize.

Anyways, you’ve probably guessed that I wouldn’t be mentioning it here if a quiz wasn’t involved and you’d be right.  They’re running a quiz all this week to find a suitable person to bestow this prize on.

Each night from Monday to Wednesday, a celebrity quizmaster will ask three questions.  Judging by the standard of Monday’s questions (asked by Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh), this could be one of the hardest quizzes we’ll come across here on the blog.

For the sake of completeness I’d going to reproduce the questions here.  That said, one could always just go straight to the source too.  I’ll give the answers the usual new blog post when they’re made known.

Night 1 (Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh):

1. Name the last player who won senior All-Ireland hurling medals with two different counties?
2. Who was the Dublin footballer that won an All-Ireland minor medal one year and a senior one the following year?
3. Who was the player who won Railway Cup football medals with two provinces and All-Ireland senior medals with counties in those provinces? (This isn’t exactly what’s on the RTÉ site but it’s how the question was clarified on air by Mícheál)
4. Who was the only player in the history of the GAA to have won All-Ireland medals at minor, under-21, junior and senior intercounty levels and at club level in football? (Again not exactly what’s on the site but he did say it’s a football question)

Night 2 (Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin):

5. What county was the first to receive the Liam McCarthy cup?
6. Who was the first man to receive the Sam Maguire cup?
7. Name the Rhodesia-born player who won senior All Ireland football medals in 1976 and 1977?
8. An inter-provincial Railway Cup final (in hurling) was played outside the country for the first time in 2003. Where was it played?

Night 3 (Jimmy Magee):

9. Name three Cork men, each selected on a Team of the Millennium, who between them won 21 All-Ireland senior medals?
10. Which of the Ulster counties was the first to play in an All-Ireland senior final?
11. Which future president of the GAA, in a period of nine years, was involved in seven All-Ireland senior finals, winning four and refereeing two?
12. Which county won the Sam Maguire cup with five sets of brothers?

There ye go.  I’ll post up the answers tomorrow evening, when they’re announced.

If you’d like to enter the competition yourself you’ve got til sometime* on January 29 to email your answers to: drivetimesport@rte.ie.

* They’re a bit vague on the website.  All it really says is that four finalists will be announced on Thursday evening’s show.  Obviously, folks will have had to have entered by then!  That’s all I can tell ye…

Update: Answers are here…