Sports Before and After

Every once in a while, I pay homage to my Jeopardy! experience with another installment of “Sports Before and After.” As with the “Before and After” category on the show, the answer to each clue combines two different subjects, with the end of the first part being the beginning of the second. For example, if asked for the female race car driver who had a Hall of Fame career as an NHL goaltender, you would answer “Danica Patrick Roy.”

Now that you’re prepared, go ahead and try your luck! Answers are listed at the end, and there’s no need to phrase your responses in the form of a question. For more “Sports Before and After” fun, feel free to check out my first and second installments. As a matter of tradition, the first question always involves UNC.


1. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” singer who’s a force in the paint for the Tar Heels

2. All-time strikeout record holder who hosts American Idol

3. George H.W. Bush campaign promise about a Baltimore Ravens safety

4. Milwaukee Bucks sharpshooter who starred on Sanford and Son

5. Film starring Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell about a Los Angeles Dodgers manager

6. Ohio State quarterback whose abduction brought about the Trojan War

7. Classic Steppenwolf song about Dwight Howard’s team

8. Legally Blonde star who played shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers

9. Big East member who sang “Maneater”

10. Don Johnson TV show about a two-time NBA MVP

11. Prison, named after a Buffalo Bills linebacker, where Sir Walter Raleigh was confined for 13 years

12. Beatles song about a 1980s New York Mets slugger

13. Evander Holyfield nickname, taken from a hit NBC game show

14. Hit Blondie song about Michigan’s star running back

15. Casablanca-inspired Woody Allen comedy about a Los Angeles Clippers guard

16. First day of Lent, named in honor of a late tennis star and activist

17. Lambeau Field franchise connected to a food product that Charlton Heston screamed was “PEOPLE!!!”

18. New Toronto Blue Jays signee who’s a locomotive in a children’s TV series and books

19. Pittsburgh Penguins star who sang “Woodstock” and “Teach Your Children”

20. Tearjerker starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts about an All-America guard for Alabama

21. Rob Schneider comedy about a legendary Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster

22. USA For Africa song about a female teenage golf sensation

23. Harvard Law School-set John Houseman film about a Philadelphia Phillies second baseman

24. “Playhouse” and “Big Adventure” star who coaches the Kansas City Chiefs

25. 1995 Heisman Trophy winner who hung out with Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer


ANSWERS:

1. Bonnie Tyler Hansbrough

2. Nolan Ryan Seacrest

3. Ed Reed My Lips, No New Taxes

4. Michael Redd Foxx

5. Grady Little Miss Sunshine

6. Helen of Troy Smith

7. Orlando Magic Carpet Ride

8. Pee Wee Reese Witherspoon

9. Seton Hall & Oates

10. Steve Nash Bridges

11. Tower of London Fletcher-Baker

12. Darryl Strawberry Fields Forever

13. The Real Deal Or No Deal

14. Michael Hart of Glass

15. Play It Again, Sam Cassell

16. Arthur Ashe Wednesday

17. Soylent Green Bay Packers

18. Frank Thomas the Tank Engine

19. Sidney Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

20. Ronald Steele Magnolias

21. The Hot Chick Hearn

22. Michelle Wie Are The World

23. The Paper Chase Utley

24. Pee-Wee Herman Edwards

25. Eddie George Costanza