NFL Week 10: $ale of the Century

Today on America's biggest bargain sale, we are offering a 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier worth $8,500 for only $150! A trip to Hawaii worth $3,000 for only $21! Two of the incredible bargains

 on…..$ale of the Century!

I really loved this game show – it was a trivia show with a twist. The general basis was simple – 3 contestants playing a trivia game; they start with $20. Every correct answer is worth $5, and every miss took away $5. The contestant with the most points at the end wins! How simple can you get?

Two little wrenches were thrown into the game play to make it more interesting. First, there were three “instant bargains” during the match. At a random time, someone offstage would ring a bell, meaning it was time for the instant bargain. The leader at that point was able to use their point total to buy something. For instance, a refrigerator was shown and modeled. “Isn’t this nice? You told me offstage you were moving! You need a fridge!” And the host (more on him in a second) would try to entice the contestant to “buy” the prize for $11 or so. The $11 comes out of their point total for the game, however…..The host would throw in cash as well to sweeten the pot. And then he would start the countdown for the sale: “Going once! Going twice…….” Most of the time, it was a “no sale” as the contestant wanted to keep their lead – but later in the game they had nice prizes – trips, spas, etc. – that people bought.

The second wrinkle was the “fame game”. This was a biographical type of a question – and the person who buzzed in correctly with the answer got a shot at the “money cards”- 9 cards on a board; one or more of them would have $10, $15 or $25 bonus for the player. The others had gifts from Ron Popeil, and the contestant would have to look interested in a year’s supply of Lee Press-on Nails.

These fame game questions were not easy. The question always start with “I am ……” and then the host would take a meander through the biography of the person/ “I was born in 1547, in a little farm in Germany. My mother couldn’t read, nor could my father….”. It was like Paul Harvey reading the questions. They were not trivial questions – I really appreciated that in a game show.

The main game ended after the last “fame game” with the “speed round”. 60 seconds of rapid fire trivia questions at 5 points a piece. If you buzzed in, you were expected to answer right away. If you didn’t, a voice offstage would yell (and I mean yell) “TIME!”.; 5 points were deducted and we move on.

Our host for $ale of the Century was Jim Perry. I think Guy Smiley from Sesame street was based off of Jim (although Jim probably came on to the scene after Guy made his debut). Jim was a bit corny, but most importantly he played the role of salesman with excellence. He tired to cajole the contestants into the instant bargains. He had a voice that was perfect for the speed round, and could “act” the part out while reading the questions in the fame game. I liked him a lot, and I think we will talk about him more in another blog (for his hosting of another show).

Oh – the hostess – her name was Summer Bartholomew. That names just rolls off the tongue; apparently she is an ex-Miss America with a graduate degree. Brains and beauty together! She was around for most of the show.

The one weakness of the game was the bonus game. What do you do with the winner of the trivia contest and you still have 8 minutes left and have to create a bonus round for the winner? They tried putting the winnings in a bank – and the person could “buy” a grand prize item with the money – and leave – or keep the money save it for bigger items in the future (or they could buy the whole kit and caboodle with enough money). Then they tried a random match board to give away a prize every game. Nothing really worked nor caught on.

The show was on NBC for 6 years – that’s the black hole for game shows; nobody watched NBC. Sometimes they had this on a 10:30 going up against Press Your Luck; I always chose $ale over the Whammy. Sometimes they had it at 11:00, which made $ale or TPiR a tough call.

The Browns almost had their Sale of the century with this year’s trade deadline; Joe Thomas’s name continually came up but no deal was reached. You never know how close any team was to agreeing on a price. I can’t fault the Browns for trying to see what he is worth. Joe is by far the Best Brown of the past 20 years, and is Hall of Fame worthy…..but he dseres to play for a contender instead of the idiots we have here. Joe is pure class and the model for any future Brown.

On to the games; handicapping them from high in the air aboard a Singapore Airlines flight…

Bal 27, Jax 24. Bal is off a bye and should get a little healthier; Jacksonville is playing well but always gives up the turnovers at the wrong time. Should be closer than the line indicates.

GB 23, Det 17. I’m sure there are plenty of “what’s wrong with the Pack” stories in the US right now; maybe the answer is “well, they’re not that good!”. They are one-dimensional and their defense is getting worse.

Phi 23, Mia 20. I don’t understand how the Eagles can be favored by more than a field goal over any one. They let the Cowboys back in the game multiple times last week.

StL 23, Chi 10. This defense isn’t the Charger defense. I think Cutler will be hassled all game will be forced into multiple turnovers.

Dal 24, TB 16. Tampa Bay is good enough to win offensive shootouts, but I remain impressed with the Dallas D. If the Giants shut down Tamps fairly well, I expect the Cowboys to do even better.

Car 27, Ten 20. How many times have I said that I like Mariota? Why didn’t I pick them last week?

Was 31, NO 20. How many times can I say that New Orleans is a fraud? Outdoors with that shaky defense – I think the Skins will control the lines and have a comfortable win.

Oak 27, Min 17.  I’m just not convince that Minnesota can score enough to keep up with the raiders. Maybe I’m basing this too much on the Raiders playing an awful Steelers D …. But I expect the Radiers to be in the high 20s here, and I haven’t seen the Vikes put those kind of numbers up.

Den 24, KC 17. The numbers say this should be extremely close, but Denver is the kind of team that has a mental lock on the Chiefs. The Chiefs can be 14-1 and still find a way to lose to the Broncos, just because of past ghosts.

NE 31, NYG 24. I am just not interested in this game. Offenses will control the game and it will be decided by a late PI call in favor of Brady.

Sea 27, Az 24. Just think the Seahawks are too desperate to show up flat for this one. Both teams aare off the bye – I expect improvement by the Seahawks on both lines. Should be a classic Sunday night game.

Cin 23, Hou 16. I have to point out that the Bengals are a 7-0-1 against the spread. Wow. I think they are due for a letdown….but do I really have faith in Hoyer to keep it close?

Best bets: 15 of them. Ugh, I don’t like these. Last week: 6-5; overall: 67-53-4

Det +10.5

Det/GB under 48 1/2

Mia +6

Mia/Phi under 50

StL -6.5

Chi/Stl under 42 1/2

Dal +1

Car -4

Car/Ten over 44

Was pk

Oak -3

Den -4.5

Az/Sea over 44

Hou +10/5

Hou/Cin under 47.5

By the way, no one got the game show from last week? It's Layup's favorite slot machine game. 

Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-2; overall: 24-20-1

Det +11.5

StL -7

Dal +1.5

Was pk

Hou +10.5