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News/Highlights/Interviews: FOOZ OR LOOZ Sponsered by The Physics Club Go to Tournament Bracket 1st Annual Lori Schranz Memorial Champion of the 1st Annual Olin Fooz or Looz Tournament: Devesh Khanal FOOZ OR LOOZ Thanks to everyone who participated or watched for a successful completion of the first annual Olin FOOZ OR LOOZ Tournament! We had quite the crowd for the final match after the SPS banquet. Be prepared next year, YOU could be the next champion! Remember, the champion gets to name and engrave a player on the foosball table. Check the bracket for final results of the tournament Archived Interviews/Articles: Note: All articles are written in jest and are for entertainment purposes only. All language in all articles have been cleared and approved by everyone involved (those that are writing and those that are being written about). -The Battle Continues Between Tufte and Khanal (Steve Interview) 12/1/04 -Pre Thanksgiving Rumble (Devesh Interview) 11/29/04
The Battle Continues Between Tufte and Khanal 12/1/04 Khanal was up two wins in the recent weeks, but Thursday afternoon changed everything. In his usual Comeback King style, Khanal fell to a comfortable defecit of 1-7, but made it back to 8-9. Tufte wouldn't let it go this time, though, clinching the last point in a seemingly miraculous backcourt shot -- some would say lucky -- and ending the rein of Khanal. Khanal was quoted as saying "Well, you see, this is enterntainmentand you have to keep them entertained. I was afraid Steve would be too upset if he lostthat third game as well...sometimes you just have to concede for the sake of the game." Physics Club Sports Correspondent SLT sat down with the victor, Tufte, for an engaging interview, take a look: Interview with Stephen "The Doctor" Tufte 12/1/04 I had a chance to interview the usually very private Dr. Stephen Tufte after his recent victory that re-established him as the preeminent foosball player in Olin.
Post-Thanksgiving Rumble:
SLT: Congratulations on your win, you must feel redeemed.
SLT: Huh? Win? Oh, you’re talking about beating that pip-squeak, what is his name?
SLT: It seems a bit strange to call Mr. Khanal a “pip-squeak”, he is nearly seven feet tall.
SLT: OK, he’s tall, but very thin.
SLT: We all expected the outcome, the more puzzling thing is that he beat you the last two times, what happened then?
SLT: Beginner’s luck, I suppose. Or maybe it was that ghetto style of his.
SLT: I hear that you stuffed him with a kick-back no less than three times, could this be true?
SLT: What can you expect? He is just a boy. He shows some promise - I
expect when he grows up he’ll make something of himself. On the
other hand, just yesterday I saw him reading a chemistry book.
SLT: So, in two previous efforts you lost, how did you beat him this time?
SLT: It was partly the coffee, I had had a lot of coffee and I know
that not only keeps me sharp but its generally intimidating. Otherwise,
it was getting in his head. It’s really a head game, you know.
I suppose you could say it boils down to the old “odd or even”
psychology thing.
SLT: Odd or even psychology? I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with that one.
SLT: Let’s take a game situation to illustrate my point.
I got the ball with my middle front guy and he’s circling around
the ball (tends to freak out the defense right there). He’s got
his defenders in front of me, leaving both sides of the goal open.
Now, I say “I’m going right”. Taken at face value,
he starts thinking “hmmm, better get prepared to move right”.
Bet then, thinking he’s smart he says “wait a minute, this
is reverse psychology, I bet he’s going left”. Then
he starts thinking, “hold it, he expects me to think that, I bet
he’ll actually go right”. You see where this is going.
He’s got his head spinning going back and forth wondering if I’m
using reverse psychology, reverse reverse psychology, or reverse reverse
reverse psychology and he’s asking himself if its an odd or an even
number of psychologies and he’s thinking maybe he should flip a
coin. I get in peoples heads like that. See what I mean?
SLT: Sort of.
SLT: I’m probably getting in your head right now as well.
SLT: Scary thought. Let’s move on. I understand that
Devesh sometimes has delusions of grandeur. What do you make of
this?
SLT: I’ve seen it plenty of times, almost typical of his rags to
riches situation, you know, a ghetto Nepalese boy suddenly finding himself
making it big at a ritzy and prestigious college (a Pamplin fellow, oh
boy!). They start thinking their King Midas. You’ve
got to wonder how they manage to selectively ignore the negative signs
– the guy lost to Nat, “the bear”, after all, and then
started thinking he could beat “the bear” and Yu Hou together.
What an embarrassment.
SLT: Coming back to your earlier losses, do you suppose slowing reflexes
played a role?
SLT: What? Slowing reflexes? What are you talking about?
SLT: Well, you are getting a bit older now…
SLT: What are you talking about, I’m as spry as a cricket! You want to arm wrestle?
SLT: You know, some would say you’re getting a bit old for this game, when are you planning to retire? Is that some grey hair I notice on the sides there.
SLT: I can’t believe this! Now I remember why I never grant interviews, you insulting and pesky paparazzi! I’ve got better things to do. (stomps out)
End of Interview 12/3/04
Pre Thanksgiving Rumble in Olin 11/29/04
The throne of the Olin King of Foosball is up for grabs it seems. Long held by Professor Stephen Tufte, it has been recently taken over by an unassuming Nepalese kid from the ghetto: Devesh Khanal. I sat down with Devesh recently and asked him how it feels to sit on the throne.
DK: Thanks for sitting down with me.
DK: No problem.
DK: So, you honed your skills in the ghetto, eh? What was it like growing up in such an environment?
DK: I never said I was from the ghetto, you made that up.
DK: Perhaps, but that's unimportant: So where'd you hone your skills?
DK: Well, it never really took much. I mean, I played a bit here or there, but it always came really naturally to me. I guess you could say I have an inborn talent.
DK: Well, that's certainly true. Both games against Steve, you made historical comebacks. How do you manage against such an intimidating opponent.
DK: Steve's only intimidating if you let him be. He walks in thinkin he's all that, cup of coffee in hand. I've heard some people say they almost pass out just from the coffee, they get so scared. I think I saw Yu Hou run as he passed the dovecote once. Steve sort of gets in your head like that. But that's all it is, head games. You've got to rise above that, and that's what I do with ease. In fact, I play his game back. I start letting him think he has the game, then turn up the heat. He usually never knows what hit him. When you get control of the game like that, it's effortless, really.
DK: Wow, you're pretty cocky about this.
DK: Well, I can be. I'm the best.
DK: No you're not, you lose to people all the time. I heard you lost to Nat "the bear" the other day.
DK: It was a fluke, I don't want to talk about it.
DK: I mean, he's a bear. And he's from Virginia to boot.
DK: Next question.
DK: Where do you plan to go with all of your foosball talent.
DK: Well, training keeps me kind of busy. There's talk of a tournament coming up.
DK: Do you ever play beyond LC?
DK: No.
DK: Cause yo'ure scared.
DK. No, shut up.
DK: Shut up? How old are you?
DK: Why do you antagonize me like this?
DK: How does it feel to get interviewed by yourself?
DK: Next question.
End of Interview
11/30/04