Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
October 27, 2000, Washington Post

Sports Quiz Results and Winners

Congratulations to the 20 kids listed below, who gave correct answers to all of the questions in our sports quiz. If you missed the quiz, here are the questions--and answers.

1. In what sport does "love" play an important role? Answer: Tennis. In tennis, love means zero. Games are scored 15-love, 30-love, 40-love, game. What can I say: Tennis players count in a funny way.

2. What is the name of soccer's most important tournament? Answer: The World Cup. The United States won the women's World Cup in 1999. The United States men's team is trying to qualify for the next men's World Cup, which will be played in 2002.

3. Badminton is an Olympic sport. True or False? True. But it isn't the friendly game you play in the backyard. Olympic badminton players smash the shuttlecock at speeds up to 200 miles per hour.

4. In which sport are the athletes animals? Answer: Iditarod. This is a dogsled race across 1,150 miles of rough terrain and wild weather in Alaska. It's been called "The Last Great Race on Earth."

5. Thirty years ago, Washington had its own baseball team. It was called the Senators. True or False? True. The Senators often were not very good. Baseball fans joked that Washington was "First in war, first in peace and last in the American League."

6. What is not a golf term? Answer: Round robin. The other choices--hole-in-one, bogey and birdie--are all scoring terms in golf.

7. The first basketball hoop was . . . Answer: Peach basket. Basketball was started in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, by James Naismith. He needed an indoor game for some unruly young men. He nailed a peach basket on the gym wall, gave the young men a ball and called his game "basket ball."

8. Lacrosse began a long time ago as . . . Answer: Training for Native American warriors. The original version of lacrosse was a brutal sport played by thousands of Native Americans in North America who were training for war.

9. Only women play field hockey. True or False? A lot of kids got this one wrong. The answer is: False. Men's field hockey is even an Olympic sport. This year the Netherlands defeated Korea for the gold in men's field hockey.

10. Not counting the end zones, a football field is . . . Answer: 100 yards long. That is a long way to go when you are being chased by the Tennessee Titans' Jevon "The Freak" Kearse.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

Quiz Winners: Valerie Bonk, 12, Ellicott City; Caitlin Denney, 10, Bowie; Susan Garabedian, 10, Bethesda; Katie Gatski, 10, Springfield; Michael Grant, 7, Potomac; Julia Gruver, 9, Arlington; Jonathan Hale, 9, Bethesda; David Hirsh, 11, Washington; Laura Kail, 10, West Lafayette, Indiana; Darius Mobarakeh, 11, Sterling; Stevie Montgomery, 8, Fairfax; Stephanie Patterson, 10, Columbia; Monika M. Raithel, 12, Washington; Jirasith (Jay) Sindhusake, 10, Fairfax; Marisa Solorzano, 10, Alexandria; Peter Steinwald, 11, Washington; Amber Vazquez, 8, Chester, Maryland; Deuce Via, 7, Forestville; Alex Woldoff, 11, Kensington;Christopher Zimmerman, 8, Stevensville, Maryland.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company