Top team has local connection

By MARK SCARBOROUGH
Tribune Staff Writer

Members of the winning team in this year's "world-largest trivia contest," sponsored over the weekend by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point radio station WWSP/FM 90, have been there before. Calling themselves simply "N," the team better known as Network scored 8,265 points to win the contest, besting its nearest rival with 795 points to spare, according to final results posted on the official contest Web site.  In the 33-year history of the contest, Network finished in first place 1982-86 and 1990-95 and generally has been among the top five teams since 1978.

Playing with the team for 25 years has been Don E. Chesebro, Nashville, Tenn., who attended grade school in Wisconsin Rapids. Chesebro, a 42-year-old paralegal, is the son of Rita Erickson, Texas, and, Donald J. Chesebro, Wisconsin Rapids, a local musician and teacher. His stepmother is Marlene Chesebro.

Our headquarters is in a friend's house in Plover," the younger Chesebro said "It's great because we're all good friends and we enjoy seeing each other every year. ... We could be more organized but that would be more like work. It's more fun to riffle through your notes."

Network's win this year was thanks to answering two questions that most other teams missed, resulting in extra points, Chesebro said. "We weren't really hyper about anything," he said. "We started slow, as we always do, but we eventually caught up." Use of the Internet has been increasingly helpful, at least to give members an idea what the question is about, Chesebro said.

With roughly 25-30 members who range in age from 7 to 60, Network also draws players from Boston, Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee and Los Angeles. "It's just fun and tradition," Chesebro said. "It's a hobby for most of us. ... Everybody has got to have something like that to do."

Other top finishers, local teams listed

Ranked in descending order from second to 10th place, here are the other top teams in this year's trivia contest:
• Cnof Hour 54, Bud Strikes Back!: 7,470 points.
• Graduates Of A Lesser God: 7,260 points.
• Tin Man: 7,210 points.
• Hairy Beerpig And The Trivia Stone: 7,070 points.
• Astro Wolfpack: 6,890 points.
• Yaargh! Big & Hairy Cletidus Hunt!: 6,830 points.
• Franklin Street Burnouts: 6,715 points.
• Late Night With Bob Keeshan: 6,685 points.
• Mutated Members: 6,435 points.

Some 12,000 players and more than 500 teams participated, including these Wisconsin Rapids-area teams:
• Fossil Fuel - Got Gas? earned 4,410 points, ranked 54th.
• Wanna Buy A Money??? earned 4,290 points, ranked 60th.
• Ama Napla Naca Nalpa Nama earned 4,080 points, ranked 75th.
• UWSP Underware With Special Powers earned 3,380 points, ranked 135th.