At the end of 15 questions last night, we were in second place behind a team that was pitching a perfect game. The emcee noted that he'd likely jinxed them by mentioning it, but they handled the jinx during questions 16 through 19, maintaining their perfect streak.

Up to question 20. The final question. Which they missed.

This opened the door for us, as we bet the maximum and answered the final question correctly to eke out a one point win over the team that entered the final question in third. This landed us a spot in the next tournament of champions, sponsored by the good folks at the Harpoon brewery. We even got a free round of Harpoon Ale thanks to a random draw, so it was a winning night all around.

Your questions:

What TV family lives at 633 Stag Trail Road in North Caldwell, New Jersey? The Sopranos (Greg) - First question of the night, got it on a guess. They were the first TV family that we could think of that lives in New Jersey.

Name four African countries that border on the Mediterranian Sea. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt (Greg) - we swapped Algeria for Morocco before answering, but it was all good.

What singer, born Mary O'Brien in 1939 and who passed away in 1999, experienced a revival of her career after teaming up with the Pet Shop Boys in 1987? Dusty Springfield (Greg) - the Pet Shop Boys clue iced it for Allyson. For some reason, at the mention of the Pet Shop Boys the only musician I could think of was Willie Nelson.

What type of engine was invented in 1930 by Frank Whittle? Jet (Greg) - we got this on a guess, the main problem being that the jet engine seems like something that was developed by several people rather than invented. We bet low, so the bulk of our deficit was here.

Who was the first sports broadcaster to win a Peabody Award? Curt Gowdy (Scott) - We played the current events angle here. Clearly, we need to read our dead pool obits more closely. Sorry, Chris.

What organization, founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, won the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize? Amnesty International (Chris) - this was the only question we missed all night, as my memory for Nobel prize winners has atrophied over time. We guessed the Peace Corps, which I think we all felt wasn't going to be right. But lacking anything better, off it went.

At 12,316 feet, Mount Cook is the highest peak in what country? New Zealand (Paul) - Based on what we knew about Captain Cook, and knowing that the highest peak in Australia is named for Kosciusco, we bet the full points and went with New Zealand. The team with the perfect game did not, changing from New Zealand to Australia. Apparently, they didn't think New Zealand would have mountain of that size. I guess they don't know where Lord of the Rings was filmed. Which worked out nicely for us, I will say.