Thursday, May 10, 2012

PCS 5.3: 3 Up, 3 Down

How horrible! Someone has snatched a prized possession each of these current and former Dodgers! For some reason, the burglar has sent the following clues to each of the players he targeted, along with the form seen below. Who could be responsible for this?

1. Eric [Stereotypical blogger setting (8)] Karros
2. Orel [... --- ... (3)] Hershiser
3. Sandy [Photoelectric effect Nobel prize winner (8)] Koufax
4. Andre [Birthday gift for Grandmaster Flash, perhaps (6)] Ethier
5. Matt [On TV, he was opposite of West (4)] Kemp
6. Ron [Notable pack member (12)] Cey
7. Jackie [WWI Alliance opponent (7)] Robinson
8. Don [L'aqua, to the Medici (4)] Newcombe
9. Shawn [Desdemona's other half (7)] Green
10. Jerry [Ein Rhein wein (8)] Reuss
11. Don [Like Krypton or Xenon (5)] Drysdale
12. Pedro [Arizona, Maine, or Enterprise lead-in (3)] Guerrero
13. Johnny ["Inventor" Goldberg (4)] Podres
14. Gil [Richthofen's Ride (8)] Hodges
15. Manny [Oboe's bigger bro (11)] Mota
16. Frank [Don of rock (6)] Howard
17. Mike[Jackie O's beau (9)] Piazza
18. Bill [Vega's celestial setting (4)] Russell
19. Raul [It was famously broken at Bletchley Park. (6)] Mondesi
20. Don [He had become death, destroyer of worlds (11)] Sutton
21. Steve [Much-sought Higgs, and friends (6)] Yeager
22. Fernando [Updike protagonist. (6)] Valenzuela
23. Duke [Without accompaniment (9)] Snider
24. Tommy [Spirit's martian comrade. (11)] Lasorda
25. Ron [Bernese bread dip (6)] Perranoski



Click to Enlarge

 Puzzle Rules: The solution to the puzzle is a Dodger. Comment freely in the thread, but if you have the solution, please don't give it away to everyone in the comments section. Instead, do the following:
  • Send us an Email with "PCS" somewhere in the subject line, containing the first and last name of the players, along with your reasoning. Submitted answers without the reasoning, or those submitted with the incorrect reasoning, will count for participation only, even if the answer itself is correct. And please include your screen name somewhere in the email; and
  • Post a comment simply saying you have emailed your solution attempt. We may not be able to reply to your original email promptly, so please be patient and check back on the comment thread for the latest news; we may confirm correct answers there.
You have until midnight PT tonight to submit your answer. Answer will be posted tomorrow morning. Good luck!

Hint#1 Posted to the "crossword" clues.

44 comments:

Steve Sax said...

fuck, that's a lot of circles.

Franklin Stubbs said...

325. But don't worry, they're not all equally important.

Franklin Stubbs said...

That's a half-ass hint, so it doesn't count.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Maybe later.

Eric Karros said...

This is my participation-point-securing comment.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Progress sent.

ubragg said...

Uncle. I, for one, am ready for a full-ass hint.

Todd Etter said...

Should "Sterotypical" read "Stereotypical"? If not, I'm submitting NOE Muñoz. :)

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #1 up

(and "Stereotypical" typo corrected)

(can't guarantee that's the only one)

Franklin Stubbs said...

@Marla

Progress response coming.

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #1 pertains to how the answers are arranged in the grid.

Franklin Stubbs said...

Is everyone still beating their head against the wall of circles? I'll post another hint at 11 if someone doesn't have a breakthrough before then.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Quick query sent.

Franklin Stubbs said...

You're one step away, Marla.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I am? That's news to me.

ubragg said...

I'm still beating... Tried lots of things, but nothing has panned out yet.

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

Digging the avatar, ubragg.

ubragg said...

Thanks Marla!

QuadSevens said...

Question sent.

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #2: The title can also be considered a hint. An appropriate clue for that would be "Kareem [Chavez Ravine Pros (7)] Abdul-Jabbar"

ubragg said...

Educated guess sent.

ubragg said...

Better answer sent!

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

There go my hopes of a first-place finish.

Franklin Stubbs said...

He's 3-for-3!

1. Ubragg

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I think I'll settle for the participation ribbon.

BJ Killeen said...

I have to work today. On deadline...yeah, that's my excuse...I was an English major in college, not a mathematical statistician! How the F am I supposed to solve this one? I'm out...give me a spelling bee or a rhombus and I'll kick all y'all's arses...

Franklin Stubbs said...

BJ,

Ever do a diagramless crossword, though?

Todd Etter said...

answer submitted!

Franklin Stubbs said...

BCCSweet is in!

1. ubragg
2. BCCSweet

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #3: There is a direct connection between each player, the number of letters in the answers, and the number of circles in each column...

Franklin Stubbs said...

There is also a direct connection between SoSG Stubbs and the Oxford comma.

QuadSevens said...

Now Vampire Weekend is playing in my head. My chances of solving this puzzle are dead too, that's cruel.

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #4: The names of each player won't fit the grid. You need to substitute something else...

MR.F said...

No work today! I'm attempting this puzzle. I don't even know the Vampire Weekend song, but I think of them whenever I hear people talk about oxford commas.

Jason said...

Comma free answer sent

MR.F said...

I'm drawing blanks =(

Franklin Stubbs said...

Jason snags the #3 spot out of nowhere!

1. Ubragg
2. BCCSweet
3. Jason

QuadSevens said...

I've been staring at this form too long. I'm picturing Bob Barker and the Punch A Bunch game from The Price Is Right.

MR.F said...

I keep refreshing this page in the hope that another hint gets posted =/.

Franklin Stubbs said...

It's a freaking Mad Max scenario out on the roads today. Sorry if I haven't been able to review progress.

I'll be back in action shortly.

Franklin Stubbs said...

OK, back in civilization. Mr. F, you've got a response e-mail.

Franklin Stubbs said...

Hint #5: I could have used Patrick Ewing, Tony Dorsett, or some funny looking dude from Indiana as the player in Hint #2

MR.F said...

Answer sent. YESSSSSSS

Steve K said...

I got to this too late... been trying to figure out the clues for about 20 minutes now and am going to give up and go to sleep.