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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago Stars players started trivia nights for fun. The result was a stronger team bond.
The NWSL season is long, with games starting in March and rolling through November. The Chicago Stars have found a fun way to release the pressures of the year — and bond. The soccer players meet up weekly to try their hand at Waddayaknow Trivia, a free event started in 2008 at multiple bars in Illinois to keep family and friends connected in the Chicago area. Everyone needs a break, but trivia keeps the mental — and competitive — juices going. 'It's really nice to connect to something that's not on the field,' said defender Sam Staab, who has one goal and one assist this season. While Staab and the rest of her teammates knew each other to a degree, they were not the 'closest of friends' starting out. But playing trivia has brought them closer than ever. 'Now they look forward to hanging out every (week) and shoot the s—,' Staab said. 'Eat, play some trivia, hang out and catch up. So it's fun, and not soccer, which is really fun, too.' For the 1-2-8 Stars, formerly the Red Stars, they discovered these trivia nights at a normal team hangout at a bar. The club met up in 2024 to watch Caitlin Clark — whose Indiana Fever visited the Chicago Sky at United Center on June 7 — break the college basketball scoring record in her senior season at Iowa. A worker came up to the group with a suggestion. 'We were having dinner at the place and they (said to) come up and sign up for trivia and it starts in 20 minutes,' Stabb said. 'We all looked (at each other) and said 'Oh my gosh, we should totally play.'' The competitive spirit of the Stars looks the same whether on the pitch or guessing trivia answers. Once a year, there is a Tournament of Champions where over 300 teams compete for a grand prize. The Stars take the event 'seriously,' as well as the weekly qualifiers. 'You wager what you think is best for each answer, so Sam is also our wagerer,' midfielder Shea Groom said. Staab added: 'And I keep people on track as well. I'm a control freak, if you couldn't tell.' The Stars won their most recent round of trivia, with a full squad on hand: Along with Groom and Stabb, the group included forward Catherine Barry, defender Hannah Anderson, midfielder Maitane Lopez, forward Ava Cook, goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz and defender Justina Gaynor. Each player has their individual role for answering questions, with random knowledge a necessity. Hailing from different areas of the globe brings a worldwide perspective to the trivia team, which is an advantage. 'We all went to college for different things, where maybe other teams work together and are in the same field,' Groom said. 'Ava is our music expert, Alyssa (Naeher) is pretty much random knowledge and I like to claim U.S. geography and African geography. We really balance each other out.' 'We have this diverse background,' Staab said. 'We're able to answer a lot of questions, or just have at least educated guesses on a lot of things. And we just kind of kept going with it.' The squad — named Cheeseburgers in Paradise — is on a winning streak now, claiming victory in their last two trivia outings. They usually finish in the Top Five, with the first-place prize a $50 restaurant credit. 'We got into a streak where we were up to probably $300, then we started (buying) dinner and actually eating,' Groom said. There's not a certain method of training for trivia days, as any question in any category can pop up on any given day. Categories can sway from old sitcoms to presidential history. Groom tries to stay prepared each week, as much as she can be, at least. 'I memorized the entire map of Africa,' Groom said. The trivia nights are 'pretty chill,' a welcome feeling for any professional athlete. And when sports is your day job, you might as well play that card when it helps. 'There was a question about the World Cup that Alyssa (Naeher) knew, and we wrote on the bottom (and asked) if we get extra points if we have a winner,' Groom said, referring to the Stars goalkeeper's two World Cup wins. 'And they did give us extra points.'
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists reveal unique role canine workers have in saving crucial species: 'Like we've never had before'
Researchers in Texas are using bee-sniffing dogs to locate bumblebee nests, the San Antonio Express-News reported. Bumblebees are important pollinators, supporting many of the region's native plants, which can't reproduce without pollination. However, as the world gets hotter and insecticide use pollutes the environment, these adorable insects are under threat. Their declining populations are a source of worry for many who care about the environment. To help bumblebees, conservationists have to find them. There are many ways for the average person to help, but humans aren't good at finding bumblebee nests, which are hidden underground. To do that, researchers use dogs. Do you worry about getting diseases from bug bites? Absolutely Only when I'm camping or hiking Not really Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Specifically, they use Jane and Gerty, two German shorthaired pointers trained by ecologist Jacqueline Staab. "I wanted to help fill in these knowledge gaps about nesting and overwintering," Staab told the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "I jumped at the opportunity and decided to make training and deploying detection (canines) to conserve and research bees my masters project, and, ultimately, my career and life's mission." Staab started her program, Darwin's Bee Dogs, in North Carolina in 2019 when she began training her first bee dog, Darwin. While Darwin has since died, Jane and Gerty have taken over the task of sniffing for bees. The TPWD has recruited Staab and her dogs for its Pollinators & Prairies program, which is designed to conserve the state's native prairie ecosystems. Finding bumblebee nests is the first step in studying and protecting them as part of the program. The TPWD told the San Antonio Express-News that this collaboration will help count the populations "of several pollinator species of greatest conservation need in Texas to inform conservation planning efforts." These include American bumblebees and rare variable cuckoo bumblebees. "These dogs give us and other collaborating scientists access to wild nests like we've never had before, allowing us to conduct groundbreaking research on these imperiled pollinators," Staab told the TPWD. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
