On-air challenge

I’m going to read some sentences. Each sentence conceals the name of a popular TV series past or present. (Ex. Down South, parking meters still line many streets.  –>  “South Park”)

1. James loved his mother-in-law and ordered a dozen roses for her birthday.

2. The camp counselor counted twenty-six feet underneath the dining table.

3. For pioneers in the West, wing-footed deer were a highly prized source of meat.

4. The mountain whippoorwill and graceful egret are two of the aviary’s most popular birds.

5. The brigadier general was tonight courtmartialed on the Army base.

6. If you’ll get on the bandwagon, training will start next week.

7. At the bookstore, I bought a witch-doctor whodunit.

8. The desert nomad mentioned something about a herd of camels.

9. In 1930, rockets were first being designed to fly to the moon.

10.The thieves aim to target smartphones in a California warehouse.

Last week’s challenge

Last week’s challenge came from Donn DiMichele, of Redlands, Calif. Name a famous current American singer. Replace the last name with a colloquial term for a person from the place where this singer was born and raised. Say the result out loud. Phonetically, you’ll get a form of singing the singer doesn’t usually do. Who is the singer and what is the kind of singing?

Challenge answer

Carrie Underwood –> karaoke

Winner

Scott Anderson of Beloit, Wisconsin.

This week’s challenge

This week’s challenge comes from Andrew Chaikin, of San Francisco. Name a popular automobile import — make + model. Add the letter V and anagram the result. You’ll name a popular ethnic food. What names are these?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, November 6 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.

This week’s show was recorded in Chicago with host Peter Sagal, guest judge and scorekeeper Rhymefest, Not My Job guest Julia Fox and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Adam Burke. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.

Who’s Rhymefest This Time

Extreme Halloween; An Extra Hour For Regret; Pet Peeves

Panel Questions

Goodnight, Siri

Bluff The Listener

Our panelists tell three stories about an innovation in walking, only one of which is true.

Not My Job: Uncut Gems’ Julia Fox answers our questions about movies that have been cut from their original edit

Actor, model and icon Julia Fox, known for her role in Uncut Gems, plays our game called “Recut Gems.” Three questions about movies that were recut from their original versions.

Panel Questions

A New Role in the Office; Too Many DeBlasios;

Limericks

Rhymefest reads three news-related limericks: Putting Wine Snobs To Work; Decoration or Infestation; Primal Therapy

Lightning Fill In The Blank

All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else

Predictions

We’re setting our clocks back this weekend, so our panelists to tell us what they’re doing with the extra hour they get this week…

Gold’s Gym, a decades-old fitness brand with a cult following and roots in Venice Beach, is allowing almost all of its Southern California outlets to be taken over by Eōs Fitness.

The gym’s long-time SoCal franchisees, brothers Angel and Willy Banos, sold more than 20 locations to Dallas-based Eōs. Gold’s will retain ownership of the original Venice Beach Gold’s Gym, which opened in 1965 and is known to some as “the mecca of bodybuilding.”

Founder Joe Gold opened the Venice location with a focus on strength and conditioning, work ethic and lifestyle. The gym has attracted bodybuilding greats such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno.

The brand has hundreds of other franchised locations across the U.S. and globally, including in Italy and Mexico.

The move isn’t a rejection of California. It allows the chain to open up to new franchisees in the region, the company said in a news release.

“Gold’s Gym has always been a leader in health and fitness, and this decision marks a huge step forward for the brand, our franchisees and our members,” said co-chief executive Danny Waggoner in the release. “We are pushing the brand into a new era while remaining true to our heritage.”

In an email sent to members, Gold’s Gym SoCal said the move to sell “wasn’t a decision we made lightly,” the WeHo Times reported.

The email noted that Eōs Fitness chief executive Rich Drengberg spent more than a decade with Gold’s Gym earlier in his career.

Eōs Fitness operates more than 200 locations across the country under the slogan “Better Gym. Better price.” The Gold’s Gym acquisition will make Southern California the largest market for Eōs, where the brand plans to have 50 locations by the end of the year.

“While this acquisition accelerates our expansion in a highly competitive real estate market, we are especially grateful to Angel and Willy Banos for their vision and diligence in building these gyms,” Drengberg said in a company release.

The new Eōs locations will include Beverly Center, Hollywood, Long Beach and Santa Barbara. Eōs announced in an email to members that the transition took effect Oct. 29 and would not interrupt gym access.

Gold’s Gym was acquired by fitness company RSG Group in 2020. It costs between $1.7 million and $4.3 million plus a franchise fee to own a 25,000 square-foot Gold’s location.