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THE FOOTBALL FAN

New York Times, Sunday, February 7, 2010

Author:
Patrick Berry
Editor:
Will Shortz
Blog:
"The football fan is fingering the buttons on the remote ... he pushes the ___ and the game is on!"
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Patrick Berry

This puzzle:

Rows: 23, Columns: 23 Words: 170, Blocks: 81 Missing: {XZ} This is puzzle # 127 for Mr. Berry. Sunday freshness: 76%
1
L
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O
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W
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A
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M
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M
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N
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C
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R
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D
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D
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D
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A
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O
R
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C
U
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M
O
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L
E
A
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O
B
E
Y
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A
N
A
T
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F
I
R
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S
T
D
O
W
N
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I
N
N
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S
U
P
E
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R
B
O
W
L
30
T
E
M
P
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D
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A
F
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T
P
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K
S
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O
D
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R
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A
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S
N
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R
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D
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Y
A
W
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S
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P
S
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V
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A
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H
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L
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P
O
C
K
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L
A
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W
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L
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P
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C
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N
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T
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B
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N
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J
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D
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S
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P
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L
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M
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J
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H
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T
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B
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G
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B
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J
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L
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S
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F
U
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V
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E
N
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W
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A
A
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T
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T
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Y
A
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D
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N
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Q
116
U
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A
R
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E
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R
B
A
C
K
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T
A
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D
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E
P
I
L
O
G
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U
P
P
E
R
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O
S
S
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A
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N
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L
I
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D
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N
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J
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A
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A
B
A
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I
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S
T
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O
N
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D
E
K
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C
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K
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E
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R
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C
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E
P
T
I
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O
N
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T
O
E
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T
O
U
C
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H
D
O
W
N
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K
A
H
N
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A
N
N
E
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A
B
E
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A
D
L
A
I
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L
E
E
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S
T
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T
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T
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D
150
R
E
D
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T
E
L
L
S
152
L
D
R
© 2010, The New York Times2/7/10 ( No. 22,006 )
Across
1
Despicable : LOW
4
World capital once called Philadelphia : AMMAN
9
Computer book inserts, often : CDS
12
Funny fellow : CARD
16
"Antiart" art : DADA
20
Gold, to Goya : ORO
21
1980s-'90s New York governor : CUOMO
22
Actress Thompson : LEA
23
Observe : OBEY
24
Medical sch. topic : ANAT
25
"The football fan is fingering the buttons on the remote ... he pushes the ___ and the game is on!" : FIRSTDOWN
27
Halfway house : INN
28
"He's prepared a ___ of popcorn for himself ..." : SUPERBOWL
30
Crunch-time helper : TEMP
31
"... and he's got Budweiser and Michelob on tap - excellent ___!" : DRAFTPICKS
34
Form popular among the Romantics : ODE
35
No. on a food label : RDA
36
Bergen dummy : SNERD
38
Go off course : YAW
39
Thoroughly wets : STEEPS
41
Perfumery bottles : VIALS
43
Eastern exercise : TAICHI
46
Up to, in brief : TIL
48
"Now he remembers setting $10 aside for pizza - he searches his jacket and finds it ___" : INTHEPOCKET
50
"But he forgot to place the order - we may be looking at a ___ here, folks" : LATECALL
52
Like birds of prey : TALONED
54
N.F.L.'er Manning : ELI
55
Mountain West Conference team : UTES
56
Nastase of tennis : ILIE
58
Lost power : WANED
59
A number of : SEVERAL
63
Hiker? : CENTER
65
Pirate treasure : PLUNDER
67
"He phones the pizzeria and tells them he wants full cheese and mushroom ___" : COVERAGE
68
Castaway's call : SOS
70
Not up : INBED
71
Green man? : NADER
72
Male meower : TOM
73
"The pizzeria's out of mushrooms, though, so he'll need to make a ___" : SUBSTITUTION
78
Film producer Apatow : JUDD
79
Veep Agnew : SPIRO
81
Big holding in Risk : ASIA
82
Mildness : LENITY
83
Like cartoon "Melodies" : MERRIE
85
Essayist Didion : JOAN
86
Lacks, briefly : HASNT
88
Vaulted recess : APSE
89
"O.K., he's ordered the pizza - but now his wife is moving around in front of the TV, making ___!" : SCREENPASSES
91
IntelliStation maker : IBM
92
Pertinent, in Latin : ADREM
94
1978 World Series M.V.P. Dent : BUCKY
95
Bronx cocktail ingredient : GIN
96
"He's looking for an opening, but she's doing a tremendous job of ___!" : BLOCKING
98
Impure : ALLOYED
100
Soft-soap : CAJOLE
105
"A Shot in the Dark" star, 1964 : SELLERS
106
Muddled situation : SNAFU
107
Fashion's Wang : VERA
109
Sufficient, once : ENOW
110
Battery size : AAA
111
Wheeled table : TEACART
113
"Now he's spotted the pizza delivery boy, who's through the gate and crossing the ___!" : YARDLINE
115
"The pizza is $9.75 ... he hands the $10 off to the boy and waits for the ___" : QUARTERBACK
119
Wee bit : TAD
121
Novel ending : EPILOG
122
Amphetamine, slangily : UPPER
123
Heroic poet of Gaelic legend : OSSIAN
125
Ceiling : LID
127
Masked warrior : NINJA
129
Org. that accredits law schools : ABA
130
Suffix with special : IST
132
"Now he's got the pizza - but the TV's showing nothing but snow! He quickly gives it an ___ ..." : ONSIDEKICK
136
Periods of time : ERAS
137
"... and it works - the ___ is good!" : RECEPTION
140
Corn site : TOE
141
"His posterior goes all the way back into the easy chair - ___!" : TOUCHDOWN
143
"It Had to Be You" lyricist : KAHN
144
Sister of Charles : ANNE
145
Actor Vigoda : ABE
146
'52 campaign name : ADLAI
147
Gettysburg general : LEE
148
Keep in : STET
149
Even : TIED
150
Bloodshot : RED
151
Unintentional poker table signals : TELLS
152
P.M. or pres. : LDR
Down
1
Tosses high : LOFTS
2
Show the ropes : ORIENTATE
3
Ratty : WORMEATEN
4
Play a part : ACT
5
Newsman Roger : MUDD
6
Shrubby wasteland : MOOR
7
Direct-sales giant : AMWAY
8
Light, say : NONFAT
9
Movie snippet : CLIP
10
Leary of TV's "Rescue Me" : DENIS
11
Permissible : SANCTIONED
12
Spoiled : COSSETED
13
"Aladdin" monkey : ABU
14
Lie peacefully : REPOSE
15
Gone platinum? : DYED
16
Lotion amount : DAB
17
Inuit jacket : ANORAK
18
Waste time : DAWDLE
19
After much delay : ATLAST
26
Most agile : SPRIEST
29
They're drawn in western scenes : REVOLVERS
32
Nettlesome person : TWIT
33
Easy-Bake Oven introducer : KENNER
37
700, once : DCC
40
High degree : PHD
42
Slicker, in a way : ICIER
44
Pomade : HAIROIL
45
Scarcely : ILL
47
Brand name acquired by Toro : LAWNBOY
49
Vexation : PEEVE
50
French director Besson : LUC
51
Crater's edge : LIP
53
Carrying a lot : LADEN
57
Snobbishness : ELITISM
59
Laying down the lawn : SODDING
60
Sine and cosine : RATIOS
61
Old public squares : AGORAE
62
They may be on the verge of a breakdown : LEMONS
64
Id follower : EST
66
Make one : UNITE
67
Core military group : CADRE
69
Bear's partner in investing : STEARNS
71
Frequent partner of Fonteyn : NUREYEV
73
Colonial "masters" : SAHIBS
74
Aidful : USABLE
75
"Pepto" go-with : BISMOL
76
Francisco, e.g. : SAN
77
Remove a fastener from : UNPEG
78
Spasmodic : JERKY
80
Some loungewear : PJS
83
"'Tis" memoirist : MCCOURT
84
Fruit peel : EPICARP
87
Vacation : TAKEATRIP
89
Kind of drug : SULFA
90
Ivanovic of tennis : ANA
93
Another name for the Furies : DIRAE
94
97
Quilty of "Lolita" : CLARE
98
Motrin rival : ANACIN
99
Old Ottoman title : DEY
101
One way to serve eel : JELLIED
102
Bialy, e.g. : ONIONROLL
103
Having a big mouth? : LONGJAWED
104
She that is shorn : EWE
106
Battle-scarred : SEASONED
108
Arctic explorer John : RAE
111
Cable inits. : TBS
112
Fireside recitation : TALE
114
Ruckus : DIN
115
Up and down : QUARKS
116
Optimistic : UPBEAT
117
Iraq War helicopter : APACHE
118
Salad pasta : ROTINI
120
Harsh decree : DIKTAT
124
Daughter of Tantalus : NIOBE
126
Part of L.E.D. : DIODE
128
Actor Ed : ASNER
131
"Now!" : STAT
133
Exploit : DEED
134
Get the best of : CULL
135
Food energy unit: Abbr. : KCAL
138
Talking tree of Middle-earth : ENT
139
Letterless phone button : ONE
142
Greetings : HIS

Answer summary:
13 unique to this puzzle, 7 debuted here and reused later, 4 unique to Modern Era but used previously.

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