New York Times, Wednesday, September 5, 2018

TEAMBUILDING as a revealer came about as we brainstormed for a different puzzle. The last Super Bowl must have been on Amanda's mind because PAT-RIOTS jumped out immediately as a funny way to say PATRIOTS. Turns out a lot of team names can be broken down into other words! We went about making a list and, with the theme set selected, moved onto the grid.

Erik has an amazing knack of connecting theme entries (4 in this case) and he built the majority of the grid. We had originally clued the theme entries to both be people (in some way or another) to stick with the TEAMBUILDING concept, but this works too!

TEAM BUILDING today, explaining how six NFL franchises were formed. Apparently the rapper TI was a founding member of the TITANS. And who knew NCOS helped build the BRONCOS?

(Also, who knew that there was a rapper named TI?)

Such an appropriate fact, that RIOTS are an integral part of the PATRIOTS. My book agent is a die-hard PATRIOTS fan, which makes things difficult when I have to point out that they're the moral equivalent of a cat dingleberry implanted inside a dog turd.

Great effort to work in such a ton of long downs — NO FEWER THAN six! This is an incredibly tough ask; it's so difficult to get every one of them to sing. I love, love, loved THE DOG ATE IT and TENTH INNING — such great entries!

Not so hot on DSL MODEM. It is a real term, no doubt — something essential for DSL service. I don't know that I've ever called my (DSL) modem anything but just a modem, though.

And I'VE GOT A PLAN? Huh. I stared at that for a while during my solve, and I'm still staring at it. That one gets some side-eye from me. Feels arbitrary as a sentence / statement. Unless it's someone's famous catch line?

A couple of prices to pay for the audacious grid layout, but I don't mind ORA ENT ORO that much. And good old ODIE, who's only borderline crossworthy (sorry, bud!) gets saved with that delightful clue. Funny to think of ODIE as Garfield's frenemy.

A couple of oddballs in BATHOS and UBUNTU. I think they're fair game for a mid-week puzzle, seeing as all the crossings are fair, but man are they tough. UBUNTU, in particular, is hard to suss out unless you have some programming background. Or you're Bantu (it means "humanity toward others").

Fun concept, and I love that the authors trashed the hated PATRIOTS. PAT + RIOTS = detestable. And that's a fact. Ipso facto. Q.E.D.

That's the way I'm taking it, at least. Stupid winning Patriots, why must you win so much grumble grumble.