Search found 45 matches

by MJG
Sun Apr 08, 2007 11:44 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Oh my. I was really confused about why you would write that until I saw that it was posted April 1st. DOH!

Random thought: where are all the senior quizbowlers going to college next year?
by MJG
Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:31 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I too really wondered about the pools. I kept my mouth shut though, not knowing much about Hinsdale, Joliet, or even Libertyville. How exactly are the pools determined?
by MJG
Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:22 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the other team had already buzzed in with an incorrect answer.
by MJG
Wed Mar 07, 2007 12:04 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

We (Sterling) beat Rockford Boylan 263-254 to win our regional.

Highlight: I REALLY freaked out my team and coach by buzzing and saying "no answer" to kill the last question on the off chance that someone else on my team knew it.
by MJG
Sun Mar 04, 2007 9:01 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I had similar feelings toward an article in our local paper this year about the Masonic regional. The reporter wrote almost exactly how you describe, with a list of mostly junk topics and a list of questions that were asked during the day. It was incredibly sad to me because most of the questions th...
by MJG
Sun Mar 04, 2007 4:25 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I also about lost it when a guy came in, stood next to our team and took like 17 flash pictures, then came back for more ten minutes later. Granted it is the Mason's meet and thus they can do what they want with it (in addition to the match being pretty much decided by then), but I would have expect...
by MJG
Sun Mar 04, 2007 1:43 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Bloomington wasn't at full strength today; they were Hunter-less.
by MJG
Sun Feb 18, 2007 7:00 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Speaking of inverted pyramids, we had a reporter around all day and I'm pretty sure he was the only one who knew the answer.
by MJG
Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:16 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Most of the moderators were schol-bowl affiliated people I was familiar with (Jim Say, Justin Van Zuiden, etc.), not Masonic-affiliated people (I dunno about any overlap there). From that selection, I am guessing that the Masons left it up to the TD to find moderators.
by MJG
Sun Feb 18, 2007 3:57 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Comments on the tournament: BEST PART OF THE DAY: The last part of a bonus asked for all the rational answers to y^2=2 (there are no rational solutions). The other team says, "Part 4, no answer". The moderator looks at the sheet for a little bit and then asks "can you be more specific...
by MJG
Sat Feb 17, 2007 6:53 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Rock Falls sectional:

1. Sterling
2. Newman Catholic (Sterling)
3. Scales Mound
4. Amboy

Consolation: Pecatonica

THe questions were atrocious. I'll elaborate later.
by MJG
Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:01 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Wow. And I was always sad that Auburn was in our sectional!

I can't wait for Masonic on Saturday though, Rock Falls is so much closer than the burbs.
by MJG
Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:55 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

NCIC Tournament results: Varsity 1. Sterling 2. IVC (Chillicothe) 3. Princeton 4. Hall F/S 1. Lasalle-Peru 2. Sterling Also, thanks to the IHSSBCA for putting on the Team Illinois selection event today. It was fun, despite the fact that I suck at Panasonic format (negs and I don't get along). Though...
by MJG
Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Oh man, I feel bad for you. Good luck seeding with that! Results from Streator Rotary: 1. Bloomington 2. Maine East 3. Moline 4. Sterling The semifinals: Sterling lost to Maine East on a tiebreaker (which was tossup only b/c "Streator" rules were different then IHSA), and Moline lost to Bl...
by MJG
Tue Jan 30, 2007 10:32 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

A couple of random topics: 1) I say screw political correctness and do what you want. My coach would probably kill me if I did something like that (changing up introductions), but honestly if you are offended just by the words "happy buzzer squadron" you need to take a chill pill. That bei...
by MJG
Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:27 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Sorry about the puppy killing. As for bonuses: on ones side every team loves bonuses that are like "evaluate i^99, i^4, etc" and "name these stages of mitosis" because they are such an easy 20 points. But you have to think on the flip side. Because as much as I love sweeping bonu...
by MJG
Sat Jan 20, 2007 8:58 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: YES! Saddam Hussein is DEAD
Replies: 11
Views: 3923

I think the U.S. wanted to let the Iraqis handle the process to alleviate concerns that the trials would be set up and run by the U.S., and therefore be somehow illegit. I think there is some merit in that making that decision. I also think there was a lot of fear (irrational or not) (or hope in the...
by MJG
Sat Jan 20, 2007 8:48 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

If we were screwed over, it was because we weren't given the full 3 seconds after Byron missed the last tossup. Tom buzzed in to spell "amalgamate" a fraction of a second after time was called, which seemed to me because the timer didn't remember to give 3 seconds or else let the 10 second...
by MJG
Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:10 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Sterling will be at Winnebago on the 20th.
by MJG
Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:22 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Tom and I both made All-Tournament. The Geneseo captain and a girl from Boylan were also All-Tournament.
by MJG
Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:39 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Results from the Sterling Invitational: 1. Wheaton North 2. Moline 3. Sterling 4. Winnebago Consolation: Boylan Geneseo, Byron, and I believe Charleston also made the afternoon Bonnie Jain from Moline had the most tossups in the morning with 34. The scary part is that we only had 4 rounds, that he i...
by MJG
Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:24 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I would think it unethical to not inform top teams that they would all be put in the same morning pool, but at the same time if I was a top team I would want to go to those meets. It gives experience in terms of playing good teams all morning, and not having those 4 or 5 rounds of warm-up rounds bef...
by MJG
Sun Jan 07, 2007 3:24 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Friarup, is that a joke about the distance? And as for this whole A team/B team discussion, I'm not sure what went on, but I remember being mad at some other teams sophomore year because we would beat an A team in the morning, then lose to them in the afternoon when they combined their team in to on...
by MJG
Sun Jan 07, 2007 1:38 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

The questions surely weren't pyramidal, but I'd hesitate to classify them all as "one clue". Most of them contained more than one piece of information. The buzzer races were there, but most of them that I encountered were the result of neither team knowing the information that came before ...
by MJG
Sun Jan 07, 2007 1:06 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

yep...... Boylan and Moline were two of the teams that lost that first round.
by MJG
Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:54 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

WWSouth was 5th, Sterling 6th, not sure about the other two. And as for the questions: I was NOT a fan of the superwhatevertheheck bonuses, but I suppose that's just personal bias against nonacademic topics. And the whole day seemed extremely math and science heavy. Not bad questions overall though,...
by MJG
Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:49 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Stock phrases
Replies: 34
Views: 16027

How about "Norwegian playwright" for Ibsen. And "famous for only writing one book" for Harper Lee, I swear no one need ever know what the book was about, just that it was THE Harper Lee book. Kinda sad. And one of my personal favorites, "this physicist played the bongos"...
by MJG
Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:43 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Sterling will be at Kaneland.
by MJG
Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:36 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Trending up & down
Replies: 2
Views: 2988

Bonnie Jain of Moline. Won the national Geo Bee in 8th grade. Made all tournament at the Kickoff, I think he was 3rd or 4th from the top.
by MJG
Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:02 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Worst Question EVER...
Replies: 92
Views: 38582

Stupid, yes. But at least it was a middle school question.
by MJG
Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:45 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

On Richards: 1) I've come up with a new theory after that meet temporarily dubbed the "Simpsons's question" effect. A writer knows the topic so well that he or she writes ridiculously hard questions that even someone quite familiar with the topic has a hard time answering. In this case we ...
by MJG
Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I guess drifting would be the only concern for tomorrow. And the fact that I will probably have to get up even earlier. :cry:
by MJG
Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:06 am
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Well put Brad and everyone. I understand the knowledge versus speed argument. I think the best example I can remember is our upset of Auburn at Masonic State last year. We got something like 13 tossups but were still tied at the end of 20 questions because they were wiping up our bonuses. We all (qu...
by MJG
Wed Nov 29, 2006 11:18 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Sterling is headed to Richards this week. And I believe there is a Rockford Boylan meet on the week of the Streator Rotary or one of the weeks being discussed, which is where we will be. As for the Rotary meet, the only negative I can recall is a moderator sticking to paper infallibility when our co...
by MJG
Sun Nov 19, 2006 3:02 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

The first afternoon round was actually Sterling vs. Morrison (We had what can only be called a TOTAL implosion and still only ended up losing by 80 points or so) Auburn must have played Rock Island I'm not 100% about the others. Do other teams find that they have a big performance dropoff going from...
by MJG
Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:50 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Responses to Siva and other comments on the questions: 1. To teams as powerful as Auburn, I can definitely see those questions being construed as easy. But you have to stop and think about all levels of teams competing. In the morning, even we won all our matches by 100 points or more and broke 300 ...
by MJG
Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:28 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

And I suppose I should post the results from Sterling as best as I remember them: 1. Auburn (John Brown and Siva-All Tournament) 2. Morrison (Eliot Driver-Top Morning Scorer) 3. Moline (Bonnie Jain-AT....I recognized him from PBS when he won the National Geo Bee last year, which makes him a freshman...
by MJG
Sat Nov 18, 2006 11:20 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

The questions were very good. There was one mythology tossup that failed to specify whether the proper anwer was Greek or Roman, so the girl on my team waited for it and it never came. Other than that I have no complaints. Facebook bonus, YAY!
by MJG
Wed Nov 15, 2006 8:35 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Worst Question EVER...
Replies: 92
Views: 38582

I would pay a LOT of money to see that! Sad that it cost the match, though. Under different circumstances, that could be gold. Perhaps we shoul make "funniest question ever" a new thread.
by MJG
Wed Nov 15, 2006 7:01 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Worst Question EVER...
Replies: 92
Views: 38582

True, Mr. Riley. It might have been bone names or something like that, I don't remember clearly. I guess it's not a bad question, just an exceedingly odd one IMHO, and not very different from common bonuses asking "what part of the body contains the following bones".
by MJG
Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:52 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Worst Question EVER...
Replies: 92
Views: 38582

At an unrecalled varsity tournament: What are buildings for? A: People. Last night at a HORRIBLE local meet: Why is it bad for your health to be overweight? How many days of the week end in y? From a Wheaton North fresh-soph: Bonus: Stand up and point to the location of the following body parts on a...
by MJG
Sun Nov 12, 2006 2:17 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

'Twas a fun time. I felt decent about my performance, and at least got a category ribbon (if Current Events qualifies as a real category lol). And for the record, I would have gotten that governor handout during the finals. It is always fun to see the best of the best go at it like that, and Congrat...
by MJG
Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:46 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

I'm flattered by the above. I really have to say I would call it an upset if I made the finals. After going through Northwestern, I don't consider myself on anywhere near the same level as Carlo, Stoncius, etc. I got killed by Stoncius at Team Illinois last year, and I wouldn't expect that result to...
by MJG
Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:22 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Illinois 06-07
Replies: 802
Views: 292415

Siv, I'm pretty sure the PSAT is only offered on those two days. Here in Sterling, all of the juniors who took the PSAT took it on the Wednesday (or whatever it was). Of course, there was only like 30 of us :roll: And for some PSAT related whining, I missed National Merit SF by one stupid algebra mi...
by MJG
Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:23 pm
Forum: High school area archives
Topic: Brad Fisher or whatever his name is and you
Replies: 7
Views: 3480

Brad Fisher or whatever his name is and you

We never did manage to beat Brad, but our Masonic State fluke victory over Auburn is now a Sterling High School QB legend. What can I say, they asked our questions. Of course, that set us up for some brutal regional revenge, but it was well worth it.