April 6, 2024 • 8 mins
From time to time on the weekends, we’ll be bringing you some of our recent favorite episodes. Enjoy your weekend, and we’ll be back with a brand new puzzle on Monday!
Hello, Puzzlers! Puzzling with us today: ESPN analyst and former college basketball coach and player, Jay Bilas!
Join host A.J. Jacobs and his guests as they puzzle–and laugh–their way through new spins on old favorites, like anagrams and palindromes, as well as quirky originals such as “Ask Chat GPT” and audio rebuses.
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"The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs" is distributed by iHeartPodcasts and is a co-production with Neuhaus Ideas.
Our executive producers are Neely Lohmann and Adam Neuhaus of Neuhaus Ideas, and Lindsay Hoffman of iHeart Podcasts.
The show is produced by Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown of Roulette Productions.
Our Chief Puzzle Officer is Greg Pliska. Our associate producer is Andrea Schoenberg.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello Puzzlers, and welcome to the Puzzler Weekend, where we
bring you some of our favorite episodes from the vaults
for your weekend listening. This weekend, we thought we would
give you a basketball related puzzle since we're at the
end of the March Madness Tournament. The misleadingly named March
Madness Tournament, I should add because it's April, so it
(00:26):
should be March Madness and April Anarchy. That's my proposal
free advice for the NCAA. Before we get to the puzzle,
one quick trivia question for you. What was the score
of the very first basketball game played in eighteen ninety
one out of YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. The game was
(00:47):
played in eighteen ninety one. Peach baskets and a soccer
ball were used, and the score of that first basketball
game was one to zero. That's right, one to zero,
thanks to a miss court basket by William Chase. He
was the Lebron James of eighteen ninety one, the MVP.
Presumably he signed a multi hundred dollars Cream Soda endorsement
(01:11):
deal right after I hope so for his sake, and
with that, enjoy the puzzle. Hello, Puzzlers. Welcome to the
Puzzler Podcast, the Free Wi Fi in your daily puzzle
coffee shop. I am your host, AJ Jacobs, and today's
(01:34):
guest is the awesome Jay billis ESPN's college basketball analyst, attorney,
former player and coach at Duke University.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Welcome Jay, Thank you, Aj.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Great to be with you again.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Great to have you this puzzle. I think you'll enjoy.
It's all about sports team names. Do you have a
couple of favorite sports team names?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I do.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I grew up in Los Angeles, so my favorite is
the Dodgers. I grew up an LA Dodgers fan. The Lakers,
even though they're originally from Minneapolis and there are not
a lot of lakes in southern California, and I grew
up a big Rams fan.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Well, it's funny you say the Dodgers because also that
has nothing to do with LA, because it was about
dodging the subways in Brooklyn. So your two favorites have
nothing to do with what they are.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, I dodged a lot of traffic in LA.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
There you go. Well. Today's puzzle is written by Chief
Puzzle Officer Greg Pliska. It's one of my favorites. So Greg,
please come up from the puzzle lab and give us
your wisdom.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Well, I appreciate you letting me out of the puzzle lab,
but I realized it's going to be a very contentious day, Jay,
because I grew up in San Francisco. Oh no, all
my other team loyalties. I live in New York. Now,
I'm a big Mets fan, but the forty nine ers
are like etched on my heart.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
So we all have our crosses to bear. Greg, I'm
sorry to hear that exactly.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Well, we've certainly it's one of the great rivalries, no question, and.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I hope you too can get along enough to get
through this puzzle.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think we'll manage. We'll manage.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
This puzzle isn't just about football teams. It's going to
involve teams from all the major North American sports. And
what we've done is imagined if there was an opposite
world version of these teams, what the team names would be,
where they're all replaced by their opposites. So, in this
opposite wide world of sports, there's a California basketball team
(03:35):
that's named for female monarchs, and they would be known
as the.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You're talking about the Sacramento Monarchs. I'm sure in the WNBA, so.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
No, no, I was thinking about the sacramental NBA team, but
named for the opposite thing.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Oh, I see, we're saying Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Peasants.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
That's good, like the opposite of king. I like that,
go with that, Sacramento. But I was thinking of the
female monarch, So it would be the Sacramento queen queens.
I guess.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, Okay, I got you even easier.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
But I like peasants. That's a good one.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That's the opposite of king.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
No question, no question. So in this game, I'll give
you a clue to the opposite world team and you
tell us what that alternate name is. Okay, all right,
here's your first one. If you want to see this team,
you need to go to Anaheim or to Hell.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Be the Angels. So I guess the opposite would be
the Devils, right.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
That's right, the Los Angeles Devils. All right. This team
is formerly of New Jersey. It's an NBA team that's
interested in all of the income, not just the portion
which counts as profit.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
So it would be the Nets, the Brooklyn Nets. What
would be the opposite of net profit lost the Brooklyn loss.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Brooklyn loss is a good one. I like that too.
I was thinking, what you the opposite of net profit
would be.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
The gross profit gross profit?
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Okay, right, the Brooklyn, the Brooklyn grosses.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Or net deficit, the Brooklyn deficits.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Yeah, exactly, a lot of options here.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
The Brooklyn bankrupts well.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
And some seasons. I think that's what they are. They're
considered all right. You mentioned the WNBA earlier. Let's uh,
let's do a WNBA one. This is the team from Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
They make their opponents have terrible visions in their sleep.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So it's the Atlanta dream. So the Atlanta Nightmare, the
Atlanta Nightmare.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Exactly, exactly, well done. Here's another one for you. This
Canadian hockey team is named for the four hundred and
thirty five members of the lower House of the US Congress.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
The senators. Ottawa senator, I guess, so would be what
would that be? The voters?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Oh? Good, No, I'm thinking of the other House of Congress.
So instead of the Ottawa senators, they.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Would be what would be the other So we've got.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
One hundred senators and then we've got that other even
Wackier Branch of Congress with four hundred and thirty.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Five, what would be the House of Representatives.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
The Ottawa Representatives exactly what.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I see what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, I think Jenkins doing some good, some good alternative answers.
I think we got it great. Got to give them credit.
These are not wrong answers.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
There are a lot of different opposites. All right, here's
your last one. This is actually there are two opposites
in this in this team name. It's an American League
baseball team that has very dark hand coverings.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Very dark hand coverings.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Instead of light colored foot coverings.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Oh, I see what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
So it would be the Black Gloves instead of the Chicago.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
White Exactly, the Chicago Black Gloves on the same wavelength.
They are excellently done.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
That should have been the name of the infamous team
that cheated.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
In the Night or the nineteen nineteen World Series. That
would be the they were called the Black Sox.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah, give them black gloves, just to have.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Them black gloves. Who really go for Well, you.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Did great, Janget, You know your team names. Where can
people find more of your content, whether free or paint?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Well?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They can always find me on ESPN, especially during the
basketball season, and the mute button is handy for anybody
who's heard too much of me on Twitter. I'm Twitter X,
I'm at J Billis and at j Billis on Instagram
and TikTok.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Love it so, Greg, before we leave, do you have
an extra credits for the Puzzlers at home?
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Of course I do. I always have an extra credit
before you banish me back to the Puzzle Lab. Sometimes
known as America's Team, this football franchise features young women
who like a questrian sports.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Well, thank you Greg, and thank you Jan and Puzzlers.
Please don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler podcast and
we will meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
Hello Puzzlers, and welcome to the Puzzler Weekend, where we
bring you some of our favorite episodes from the vaults
for your weekend listening. This weekend, we thought we would
give you a basketball related puzzle since we're at the
end of the March Madness Tournament. The misleadingly named March
Madness Tournament, I should add because it's April, so it
(00:26):
should be March Madness and April Anarchy. That's my proposal
free advice for the NCAA. Before we get to the puzzle,
one quick trivia question for you. What was the score
of the very first basketball game played in eighteen ninety
one out of YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. The game was
(00:47):
played in eighteen ninety one. Peach baskets and a soccer
ball were used, and the score of that first basketball
game was one to zero. That's right, one to zero,
thanks to a miss court basket by William Chase. He
was the Lebron James of eighteen ninety one, the MVP.
Presumably he signed a multi hundred dollars Cream Soda endorsement
(01:11):
deal right after I hope so for his sake, and
with that, enjoy the puzzle. Hello, Puzzlers. Welcome to the
Puzzler Podcast, the Free Wi Fi in your daily puzzle
coffee shop. I am your host, AJ Jacobs, and today's
(01:34):
guest is the awesome Jay billis ESPN's college basketball analyst, attorney,
former player and coach at Duke University.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Welcome Jay, Thank you, Aj.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Great to be with you again.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Great to have you this puzzle. I think you'll enjoy.
It's all about sports team names. Do you have a
couple of favorite sports team names?
Speaker 2 (01:56):
I do.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
I grew up in Los Angeles, so my favorite is
the Dodgers. I grew up an LA Dodgers fan. The Lakers,
even though they're originally from Minneapolis and there are not
a lot of lakes in southern California, and I grew
up a big Rams fan.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Well, it's funny you say the Dodgers because also that
has nothing to do with LA, because it was about
dodging the subways in Brooklyn. So your two favorites have
nothing to do with what they are.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Well, I dodged a lot of traffic in LA.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
There you go. Well. Today's puzzle is written by Chief
Puzzle Officer Greg Pliska. It's one of my favorites. So Greg,
please come up from the puzzle lab and give us
your wisdom.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Well, I appreciate you letting me out of the puzzle lab,
but I realized it's going to be a very contentious day, Jay,
because I grew up in San Francisco. Oh no, all
my other team loyalties. I live in New York. Now,
I'm a big Mets fan, but the forty nine ers
are like etched on my heart.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
So we all have our crosses to bear. Greg, I'm
sorry to hear that exactly.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Well, we've certainly it's one of the great rivalries, no question, and.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
I hope you too can get along enough to get
through this puzzle.
Speaker 4 (03:09):
I think we'll manage. We'll manage.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Well.
Speaker 4 (03:12):
This puzzle isn't just about football teams. It's going to
involve teams from all the major North American sports. And
what we've done is imagined if there was an opposite
world version of these teams, what the team names would be,
where they're all replaced by their opposites. So, in this
opposite wide world of sports, there's a California basketball team
(03:35):
that's named for female monarchs, and they would be known
as the.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
You're talking about the Sacramento Monarchs. I'm sure in the WNBA, so.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
No, no, I was thinking about the sacramental NBA team, but
named for the opposite thing.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Oh, I see, we're saying Sacramento Kings, the Sacramento Peasants.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
That's good, like the opposite of king. I like that,
go with that, Sacramento. But I was thinking of the
female monarch, So it would be the Sacramento queen queens.
I guess.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Yeah, Okay, I got you even easier.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
But I like peasants. That's a good one.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
That's the opposite of king.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
No question, no question. So in this game, I'll give
you a clue to the opposite world team and you
tell us what that alternate name is. Okay, all right,
here's your first one. If you want to see this team,
you need to go to Anaheim or to Hell.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Be the Angels. So I guess the opposite would be
the Devils, right.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
That's right, the Los Angeles Devils. All right. This team
is formerly of New Jersey. It's an NBA team that's
interested in all of the income, not just the portion
which counts as profit.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
So it would be the Nets, the Brooklyn Nets. What
would be the opposite of net profit lost the Brooklyn loss.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Brooklyn loss is a good one. I like that too.
I was thinking, what you the opposite of net profit
would be.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
The gross profit gross profit?
Speaker 4 (05:08):
Okay, right, the Brooklyn, the Brooklyn grosses.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Or net deficit, the Brooklyn deficits.
Speaker 4 (05:15):
Yeah, exactly, a lot of options here.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
The Brooklyn bankrupts well.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
And some seasons. I think that's what they are. They're
considered all right. You mentioned the WNBA earlier. Let's uh,
let's do a WNBA one. This is the team from Atlanta.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
They make their opponents have terrible visions in their sleep.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
So it's the Atlanta dream. So the Atlanta Nightmare, the
Atlanta Nightmare.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Exactly, exactly, well done. Here's another one for you. This
Canadian hockey team is named for the four hundred and
thirty five members of the lower House of the US Congress.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
The senators. Ottawa senator, I guess, so would be what
would that be? The voters?
Speaker 4 (06:04):
Oh? Good, No, I'm thinking of the other House of Congress.
So instead of the Ottawa senators, they.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Would be what would be the other So we've got.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
One hundred senators and then we've got that other even
Wackier Branch of Congress with four hundred and thirty.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Five, what would be the House of Representatives.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
The Ottawa Representatives exactly what.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
I see what you're saying.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Okay, I think Jenkins doing some good, some good alternative answers.
I think we got it great. Got to give them credit.
These are not wrong answers.
Speaker 4 (06:33):
There are a lot of different opposites. All right, here's
your last one. This is actually there are two opposites
in this in this team name. It's an American League
baseball team that has very dark hand coverings.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Very dark hand coverings.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Instead of light colored foot coverings.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Oh, I see what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
So it would be the Black Gloves instead of the Chicago.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
White Exactly, the Chicago Black Gloves on the same wavelength.
They are excellently done.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
That should have been the name of the infamous team
that cheated.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
In the Night or the nineteen nineteen World Series. That
would be the they were called the Black Sox.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yeah, yeah, give them black gloves, just to have.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Them black gloves. Who really go for Well, you.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Did great, Janget, You know your team names. Where can
people find more of your content, whether free or paint?
Speaker 2 (07:27):
Well?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
They can always find me on ESPN, especially during the
basketball season, and the mute button is handy for anybody
who's heard too much of me on Twitter. I'm Twitter X,
I'm at J Billis and at j Billis on Instagram
and TikTok.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Love it so, Greg, before we leave, do you have
an extra credits for the Puzzlers at home?
Speaker 4 (07:48):
Of course I do. I always have an extra credit
before you banish me back to the Puzzle Lab. Sometimes
known as America's Team, this football franchise features young women
who like a questrian sports.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Well, thank you Greg, and thank you Jan and Puzzlers.
Please don't forget to subscribe to the Puzzler podcast and
we will meet you here tomorrow for more puzzling puzzles
that will puzzle you puzzlingly.
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