Random Questions
1999 ACF Regionals - Packet by Boston University and Wichita State - #28 [report this tossup]
An outspoken defender of human rights, he hosted Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn for four years. With his wife, singer Galina Vishnevskaya, he left the Soviet Union in 1974 but returned without a visa in 1991. During the failed Soviet coup he was hailed as a national hero. Better known as a musician, he was soloist in the premieres of two Shostakovich concerti. He has been music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington since 1977. For 10 points, name this legendary cellist.
Answer: Mstislav Rostropovich
2007 ACF Regionals - Packet by Harvard B - #6 [report this tossup]
This player has spent short stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who drafted him as their third expansion pick, and with the Pittsburgh Pirates, who traded him away with Anastacio Martinez and Brandon Lyon in return for Freddy Sanchez. Initially drafted by the Red Sox, he spent four mediocre seasons with the Royals after being acquired in 1998. Both of his career home runs have come off of Steve Trachsel, the last of which being the most memorable en route to a 5-0 victory in the playoffs. Just recently given a 4-year deal by the Milwaukee Brewers, FTP, name this pitcher who won MVP honors this year after starting game 7 in the NLCS for the St. Louis Cardinals, and is fittingly nicknamed "Soup."
Answer: Jeff Suppan
1999 ACF Regionals - Packet by Swarthmore - #12 [report this tossup]
Among her lesser-known works are The Pearl of Orr's Island and Old Town Folks, both of which were based on the childhood memories of her husband, Calvin. When her friend Lady Byron died and Byron's former mistress wrote a book bashing her, she replied with the work Lady Byron Vindicated. She is better known, however, for an early novel. FTP, name this woman, the daughter of a famous evangelical preacher and the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Answer: Harriet Beecher Stowe