enigma #35

[enigma]

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 357pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=476 border=0 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 357pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 17408" width=476><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; WIDTH: 357pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=476 height=17 x:str="'22-26-11 12-26-17-19">For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,
don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.

22-26-11 12-26-17-19
</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17 x:str="'3-22-22-13-12 11-13-26-7-10">3-22-22-13-12 11-13-26-7-10</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17 x:str="'4-2-11-2-15-24-9 10-12-17-12-15-16">4-2-11-2-15-24-9 10-12-17-12-15-16</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>2-11-14-26</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>23-2-25-16-12-9-8 14-25-18-21-23-9</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>22-8-7-8-22-8 9-1-2-5-5-2-9-12</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>21-1-12-1-25-10-7-13-8</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>26-19-4</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>17-25-23</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>23-20-12-1-20-9-9 5-16-18-26-16-7-19</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>10-19-6-23-14-3-2</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>21-2-26-18 17-18-3-2-7</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>14-17-4-23-5-20-21-4-17 20-13-6-20-13-9-13-11</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>12-23-5-3-20-12 18-3-26-6-1</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>23-13-21-15-3-3-25-24</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>12-10-1-13-18-23-10-21 17-14-10-21-3-17</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>1-2-9-2-13 14-9-26-21</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>18-25-22-14-12-25</TD></TR><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" height=17>13-8-21-21-16-12 20-8-12</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

MN-LK

LL-LF

LG-KN

[enigma]

Bump for the workday crowd.

[Maple Leafs]

So starting with the obvious:
- the numbers range from 1 - 26, strongly implying that they represent letters
- the introductory parangraph seems awkward and has a forced line break, so there's probably a clue in there somewhere

[tanglewood]

Fret = guitar frets?

Fortunate seems to be prominentley stressed.

[enigma]

Good comments so far, but are you all talk and no action?

[Solecismic]

How 'bout a simple yes-no? Is this another music lyrics/title/artist quiz?

[enigma]

No.

[Solecismic]

Phew. I'm just not good at those.

Okay, on first glance, it looks like a cryptogram of sorts. But with all 26 numbers represented pretty much randomly and evenly, if it is a cryptogram the key changes every line or every few lines, or even with every "word."

Some of the lines look like they could be names. Some of the "words" also have number patterns with heavy repetition that lead me to believe that one key may be found simply by finding a name or a phrase that fits that word.

There are 19 lines. Twelve have what looks like two words. Seven have one word. While the one-word lines could be titles of sorts, they are interspersed randomly in the list, leading me to believe that they aren't. Which does hurt the likelihood that names are involved.

There are 3 sets of 2 letters at the end which could be assembly instructions. And there are 12 "names". That means the end letters could correspond to the names, but that's a wild guess.

There are 23 words in the clue, 19 lines and 31 "words" in the puzzle.

So, what I'd do first is try and "crack" what looks like a first name, because there are fewer first names out there and a couple of distinctive looking patterns, particularly this one:

14-17-4-23-5-20-21-4-17

However, I'm at a loss to figure out what first name could match that pattern, or a couple of other distinctive patterns.

[weinstein7]

I'm terrible at these things, but isn't it a common principle to start with the shortest words, since there are limited possibilities?

[Solecismic]

I'm terrible at these things, but isn't it a common principle to start with the shortest words, since there are limited possibilities?

Not necessarily, because the key clearly changes throughout the puzzle. That would be true if this was a straight cryptogram, though I usually attack longer words first. If that doesn't work, I start looking for "the" and "and."

In this puzzle, there's one "word" where I can only think of one real word that fits: Revere. Which is not a name. It's entirely possible that the word groupings are misleading, or that even the key changes within a word (though the repetition within certain words like "revere" lead me to believe that's not correct).

It could be that the word groupings serve only to tell you when the key changes. In which case we need to solve the key first. 180 letters, 31 word groupings. Nothing's jumping out at me.

[TazFTW]

MN-LK

LL-LF

LG-KN

My guess is that's a hint to the key.


It could be that the word groupings serve only to tell you when the key changes. In which case we need to solve the key first. 180 letters, 31 word groupings. Nothing's jumping out at me.

31 word groupings plus the enigma saying, "Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.", makes me think of the 31 teams that do not win the Super Bowl in a given year.

[enigma]

So starting with the obvious:
- the numbers range from 1 - 26, strongly implying that they represent letters




Okay, on first glance, it looks like a cryptogram of sorts. But with all 26 numbers represented pretty much randomly and evenly, if it is a cryptogram the key changes every line or every few lines, or even with every "word."

Perhaps this might help you rebound from a seemingly slow start.

[weinstein7]

Not necessarily, because the key clearly changes throughout the puzzle. That would be true if this was a straight cryptogram, though I usually attack longer words first. If that doesn't work, I start looking for "the" and "and."

In this puzzle, there's one "word" where I can only think of one real word that fits: Revere. Which is not a name. It's entirely possible that the word groupings are misleading, or that even the key changes within a word (though the repetition within certain words like "revere" lead me to believe that's not correct).

It could be that the word groupings serve only to tell you when the key changes. In which case we need to solve the key first. 180 letters, 31 word groupings. Nothing's jumping out at me.

You just blew my mind. In the midst of head-scratching, I'll just point out that "Revere" is of course a name, as in Paul. But I don't really understand what you're getting at with names, so that might not help.

[Solecismic]

I'm guessing names was a bad tangent (Revere would not be a first name). Not sure whether enigma is saying I had a bad start or the rest of the group did, though. Very enigmatic message.

I'm intrigued by the concept that the 31 "words" may correspond to 31 losing NFL teams, but the spacing and the use of 3-letter words makes that seem unlikely. It may be time for a brute-force attack on the code rather than analytic eyeballing.

[mhass]

I tried some 'brute force' and got gobblitygook:

HLO NLCE for the first line.

another way: EAP OAJH

Next

[BrianD]

I'm guessing names was a bad tangent (Revere would not be a first name). Not sure whether enigma is saying I had a bad start or the rest of the group did, though. Very enigmatic message.

I'm intrigued by the concept that the 31 "words" may correspond to 31 losing NFL teams, but the spacing and the use of 3-letter words makes that seem unlikely. It may be time for a brute-force attack on the code rather than analytic eyeballing.

Perhaps this might help you rebound from a seemingly slow start.

The word rebound strikes me as important.

[Maple Leafs]

Another possible definition of "fret":

An ornamental design consisting of repeated and symmetrical geometric figures, often in relief, contained within a band or border. Also called key pattern.

[QuikSand]

So, either 22-8-7-8-22-8 represents REVERE, or else it represents some other word or name that might not appear in a dictionary or search. Hmmm... it seems tough to make sense of REVERE in a puzzle like this.

[BrianD]

I've had an idea stuck in my head that the code looks like a locker combination. Add to that the "clue" *rebound*, and I'm looking at a back-and-forth traversing of the alphabet. Something along the lines of 3-2-19 =cat. 3 to the right is 'c', 2 back to the left is 'a', 19 back to the right is 't'.

This hasn't helped me at all, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

[QuikSand]

I think the 22-8-7-8-22-8 pattern can also map to the unofficial ape of FOFC, the BONOBO. (Reference for the old timers around, I guess)

[QuikSand]

...or the great arcade game GALAGA...

[QuikSand]

...or oil gaint CONOCO...

[BrianD]

...or oil gaint CONOCO...

If we start the alphabet at h and wrap around, 22-8-7-8-22-8 is CONOCO.

[BrianD]

If we start the alphabet at h and wrap around, 22-8-7-8-22-8 is CONOCO.

Let me take that back, if we start the alphabet at h and wrap around, 22-8-7-8-22-8 9-1-2-5-5-2-9-12 becomes CONOCO PHILLIPS

[Solecismic]

HEWLETT PACKARD and IBM are in there as well. Definitely part one is just about complete.

[Solecismic]

It's incremental as well, the key cycles one forward each time.

Wal Mart, Exxon Mobil, General Motors, Ford, Chevron Texaco, Conoco Phillips, Citigroup, IBM, AIG, Hewlett Packard...

[BrianD]

but that patterns seems to fail on the ends. The second last line is kroger, but the last line does not follow the pattern.

[Solecismic]

The first 18 do follow that pattern, though. Perhaps the solution to #19 is the next step.

EDIT: Well, #19 is Fannie Mae, which is also +19 (like Kroger). I wonder why.

EDIT 2: The oops clarifies that. So we have our list.

WAL MART
EXXON MOBIL
GENERAL MOTORS
FORD
CHEVRON TEXACO
(+7) CONOCO PHILLIPS
CITIGROUP
(+9) IBM
AIG
(+11) HEWLETT PACKARD
VERIZON
HOME DEPOT
(+14) BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
ALTRIA GROUP
MCKESSON
CARDINAL HEALTH
STATE FARM
(+19) KROGER
FANNIE MAE

[enigma]

Whoops! Last line should be:

12-7-20-20-15-11 19-7-11

[BrianD]

That gives us:

wal mart
exxon mobil
general motors
ford
chevron texaco
conoco phillips
citigroup
IBM
AIG
Hewlett packard
verizon
home depot
berkshire hathaway
altria group
mckesson
cardinal health
state farm
kroger
fannie mae

[Solecismic]

So, basically, we have a list that very well might be #1 through #20 on the Fortune 500.

[BrianD]

19 lines, so maybe 2-20

[BrianD]

actually, 1-4 and 6-20. #5 GE is not on the list.

[Solecismic]

It is in order, except #5, General Electric, is missing. I think I screwed up trying a couple of other things, so I have to wait to try that.

[BrianD]

I tried the login with 'ge' and 'generalelectric' and it didn't get in.

[Solecismic]

Well, we still have this to deal with...

MN-LK

LL-LF

LG-KN

That could be instructions for encoding General Electric.

[BrianD]

Using the same increasing key on the bottom part, I get:
1819-1716
1616-1610
1510-1417

Not sure what that means.

[Solecismic]

The code didn't skip when GE was skipped, so I think GE must be signficant.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
GENERALELECTRIC

MN-LK
RI-TC

LL-LF
TT-TA

LG-KN
TL-CT

That's just an eye-chart.

Just took a few minutes break to get the mail. My front-row Monster seats (Fenway) have arrived.

[Solecismic]

The clue "not everyone is fortunate enough..." does seem to lead us to what's missing from the fortune list as well. And Enigma has had plenty of time to tell us if the omission was an accident. So I've got to think that General Electric will lead us to the solution.

Can't be a grid, because MN is too big to be an index, at least if the letters are just thrown in there from all the answers (13x14 = 182 > 180). Just taking the letters from General Electric isn't working. Why the repetition in the final code, then?

MN - LK = AC
LL - LF = F
LG - KN = S

Also nonsense.

[BrianD]

The clue "not everyone is fortunate enough..." does seem to lead us to what's missing from the fortune list as well. And Enigma has had plenty of time to tell us if the omission was an accident. So I've got to think that General Electric will lead us to the solution.

Can't be a grid, because MN is too big to be an index, at least if the letters are just thrown in there from all the answers (13x14 = 182 > 180). Just taking the letters from General Electric isn't working. Why the repetition in the final code, then?

MN - LK = AC
LL - LF = F
LG - KN = S

Also nonsense.

Which repetition in the final code are you looking at? Just all of the 'L's?

[mhass]

MN - LK = AC
LL - LF = F
LG - KN = S


There's this which is a wild stab but involves GE, ACF's and those not 'fortunate enough.'

http://www.networkinaging.com/Lawsuit%20Says%20GE%20Unclear%20on%20LTC%20Insurance%20and%20ACFs%20htm.html

[Franklinnoble]

How about we look at the company stock symbols..?

[enigma]

Using the same increasing key on the bottom part, I get:
1819-1716
1616-1610
1510-1417

Not sure what that means.
One will be amazed at this post when one solves the enigma.

[KWhit]

Using the same increasing key on the bottom part, I get:
1819-1716
1616-1610
1510-1417

Not sure what that means.
Well if you subtract these from each other you get:

103
6
93

Not sure what that means. :)

[mhass]

For the record:

In the Fortune 500, company
103 is Washington Mutual
6 is Chevron-Texaco
93 is Wellpoint Health

[Solecismic]

The problem I have with straight subtraction is that it has nothing to do with GE - the result is the same no matter which key you use.

I like the idea of using the rest of the Fortune 500 to find the clue.

[enigma]

Using the same increasing key on the bottom part, I get:
1819-1716
1616-1610
1510-1417

Not sure what that means.
But what about GE? Surely there is a method to my madness.

[mhass]

Is 'GE' another key (i.e. G-E)?

Probably not. That translates to:

either AB G A (and then either AH or C depending on alphabet subtraction methods)
or YZ E (and then either YF or A)

Garbage.

[st.cronin]

'fret' is perhaps a clue as well. Possibly there is a musical aspect to this.

[QuikSand]

'fret' is perhaps a clue as well. Possibly there is a musical aspect to this.

Is 'GE' another key (i.e. G-E)?

Probably not. That translates to:

either AB G A (and then either AH or C depending on alphabet subtraction methods)

I would note that both GE and AB G A are all letters to reference musical notes. I don't know jack about music, but I do remember that every good boy deserves fudge... or something like that.

[st.cronin]

6 strings on a guitar ... G and E could relate to the frets to uncode that last bit.

[mhass]

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 357pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=476 border=0 x:str><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 357pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 17408" width=476><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 12.75pt" height=17><TD class=xl24 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e1e0d2; BORDER-TOP: #e1e0d2; BORDER-LEFT: #e1e0d2; WIDTH: 357pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e1e0d2; HEIGHT: 12.75pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" width=476 height=17 x:str="'22-26-11 12-26-17-19">For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,

don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.

22-26-11 12-26-17-19

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MN-LK

LL-LF

LG-KN
Ref.

[enigma]

Perhaps another shot at moving this along. General Electric/GE in and of itself isn't really important. United or Staples could have been the company name and it would not matter.

[enigma]

Bump for the weekend crowd.

[Buccaneer]

I think it's the placement on the list - #5. Maybe we are looking for the 5th something?

[BrianD]

I went back to the cipher starting with the fifth letter and got:
89-76
77-71
72-69

Subtraction gives us 13 6 3.

Back to the cipher starting with the 5th letter we get: rkh
Starting from the beginning of the alphabet: mfc

We'll see if this leads anywhere.

[enigma]

I went back to the cipher starting with the fifth letter and got:
89-76
77-71
72-69

BrianD for 2. Buccaneer with the assist.

[Radii]

DAMMIT.

Alright I'll make the last step and set someone else up, because I don't know what it is.


89-76
77-71
72-69

Michigan State's last national title was in 2000, they won 89-76.

North Carolina beat Michigan 77-71 in 1993.

Louisville beat Duke 72-69 in 1986.


Illinois has never won a national title.

unless I made a typo...

illinois , louhenson , bruceweber , 1989 (illinois' last final four trip) are not the answers.

[BrianD]

DAMMIT.

Alright I'll make the last step and set someone else up, because I don't know what it is.


89-76
77-71
72-69

Michigan State's last national title was in 2000, they won 89-76.

North Carolina beat Michigan 77-71 in 1993.

Louisville beat Duke 72-69 in 1986.


Illinois has never won a national title.

unless I made a typo...

illinois , louhenson , bruceweber , 1989 (illinois' last final four trip) are not the answers.

Of course, that brings our 'rebound' clue back in. I should have caught that.

I tried illini, fightingillini...no joy.

[Solecismic]

I had a list of winners and runners up out early on, but that was before we found the company names.

So it's probably referring to the 1979 final, in which Michigan State beat Indiana State, 75-64.

Is there a password in there anywhere?

1715-1614 = QOPN

[Buccaneer]

Try going back 7 or 14 years to 1979 or 1972.

[BrianD]

"Not everyone is fortunate enough to win."

Maybe it has something to do with Tournament runners-up...in addition to being a Fortune 500 clue?

[enigma]

Radii with the steal.


He's alone on the break.


He goes up for the dunk and...oh it's off the back of the rim.





You guys are close.

[mhass]

The theme in the last three lines is 'last time in the Final Four.' So in 1989, Illinois did what, played whom, scored how many....etc.

The answer is somewhere in the '89 finals. Help.

[Radii]

The theme in the last three lines is 'last time in the Final Four.' So in 1989, Illinois did what, played whom, scored how many....etc.

The answer is somewhere in the '89 finals. Help.

Not the last time they played in final fours... the last time they won national titles. Illinois has not only never won a national title, tonight's the first time they've even played in the finals.

That's what led me to look at Illinois specifically instead of the '89 final four.

[henry296]

The 89 Finals was Michigan - Seton Hall. The final went into OT and Michigan won by 2, something like 89-87 on 2 Rumeal Robinson free throws.

Todd

[Solecismic]

1989: Michigan 83, Illinois 81
Final: Michigan 80, Seton Hall 79 (ot)

[TRO]

Under the "rebound" motif, I tried:

sionilli (illinois backwards)
inilli

Also tried:
roywilliams
roy

And further rebound thinking, tried Illinois 2005 rebound leader:
augustine
jamesaugustine

[Radii]

Here are all the various comments by the enigma:


For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,
don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.
============================================
Good comments so far, but are you all talk and no action?
============================================
Perhaps this might help you rebound from a seemingly slow start.
============================================
Perhaps another shot at moving this along. General Electric/GE in and of itself isn't really important. United or Staples could have been the company name and it would not matter.
============================================
BrianD for 2. Buccaneer with the assist.
============================================
Radii with the steal.
He's alone on the break.
He goes up for the dunk and...oh it's off the back of the rim.
You guys are close.





Is the "all talk and no action" reference to a coach? Lou Henson and Bruce Weber have already been tried... Bruce Webber too just in case I misspelled it.

And I wonder if we're just seeing a lot of basketball terms in general and rebound is irrelevant once we know it's basketball related.

[rjolley]

Maybe the "not everyone is fortunate enough to win" has to do with the Illini's only loss this year...

[digamma]

Perhaps another shot at moving this along. General Electric/GE in and of itself isn't really important. United or Staples could have been the company name and it would not matter.
United Center? Staples Center?

Does the Edward Jones Dome fit in somehow?

[Radii]

Perhaps just another basketball reference to point us in the right direction, i have no idea.

[enigma]

The theme in the last three lines is 'last time in the Final Four.' So in 1989, Illinois did what, played whom, scored how many....etc.

The answer is somewhere in the '89 finals. Help.
Airball.


And I wonder if we're just seeing a lot of basketball terms in general and rebound is irrelevant once we know it's basketball related.
Radii with the front end of the 1 and 1.

Perhaps just another basketball reference to point us in the right direction, i have no idea.
And he makes the second.

[enigma]

DAMMIT.

Alright I'll make the last step and set someone else up, because I don't know what it is.


89-76
77-71
72-69

Michigan State's last national title was in 2000, they won 89-76.

North Carolina beat Michigan 77-71 in 1993.

Louisville beat Duke 72-69 in 1986.

Radii with the trey!

[QuikSand]

Maybe the "not everyone is fortunate enough to win" has to do with the Illini's only loss this year...

Or maybe it has to do with the fact that they are the only one of the 2005 final four teams who has not yet won a title.

[weinstein7]

Just a thought, is it possible that the answer will be the score of tonight's game?

[Radii]

what illinios links are left? I cannot think of anything related to Illinois having never won a title, coach then/coach now...

I also looked a Bucc's 7 year thing that he mentioned earlier(2000/1993/1986... 19679) Indiana State, the final score of that game, 75-64, no go.

[KWhit]

Just a thought, is it possible that the answer will be the score of tonight's game?
Only if Illinois wins.

[KWhit]

United Center? Staples Center?

Does the Edward Jones Dome fit in somehow?
Yeah I thought the same thing. 'edwardjones' doesn't work.

[henry296]

the enigma said that GE didn't matter, could've been Staples or United. However, GE doesn't have an arena named for them. That's why Edward Jones doesn't solve it.

[BrianD]

The answer is not 2007 (following the 7-year pattern into the future).

It is not 'mh-mf' (the score of Illinois' last final four loss converted back to letters).
It is also not 'mhmf'.

Should we be looking at the initial clues again?
"For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,
don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win."

"Fortune" gave us the Fortune 500 (or Forture 20 I guess) companies, and "win" had us look at winning basketball scores. Is there anything in the first two sentences we haven't used yet?

Key words in the first sentence seem to be "person" and "congratulations". Key words in the second sentence include "fret". Is there anything there?

[enigma]

For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,
don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.
In hopes of preventing overtime...

[st.cronin]

Something to do with Matt Sylvester, maybe?

[Radii]

In hopes of preventing overtime...

the "not everyone is fortunate enough to win" thing takes us back to Illinois I assume. billself is not the answer, in addition to the already tried louhenson and bruceweber ...

looking at the 7 year angle the loser of the 1979 NCAA champ isn't the answer, neither is larrybird.


I'm sure its right under our noses but I'll be damned if I can see it.

[KWhit]

In response to "The answer is somewhere in the 1989 finals" enigma wrote "Airball."

So if not in 1989... And still having to do with Illinois....

[Radii]

Harry Combes coached Illinois to 3 final fours in the late 1940s and early 1950s. combes/harrycombes is not the answer.

[enigma]

the "not everyone is fortunate enough to win" thing takes us back to Illinois I assume.
Airball


I'm sure its right under our noses but I'll be damned if I can see it.
Well, 2/3 of the answer IS right under your nose. How appropriate for a puzzle around here.

[QuikSand]

Suggests the answer might be, somehow, in three parts? And we have two of them?

Or maybe that of the three past years that have been found to connect to the scores shown... that only two of them is correct? (Tough to see how)

Meh.

[Radii]

Dunno. I'm totally lost.

[KWhit]

I have tried combining the two elements that we already have:

Fortune 20 companies and Illinois.

But no luck. There is one company in the top 20 located in Ill - State Farm. I tried a lot of things, but can't get State Farm to work.

[QuikSand]

Good idea, though.

[KWhit]

Enigma said that "Not everyone is fortunate to win" does not deal with Illinois.

That's important. But I can't figure out what he's referring to.

[BrianD]

Enigma said that "Not everyone is fortunate to win" does not deal with Illinois.

That's important. But I can't figure out what he's referring to.

I think the "Not everyone is fortunate enough to win" quote exists only to point us toward the Fortune 20 companies.

The omission of position 5 in the list of 20 gave us the key to decrypt the basketball scores.

I'm not sure what the basketball positions give us, though one thought is that the NCAA tournament had expanded to 64 teams 20 years ago, not counting the tournament that was in progress at the time of this puzzle. Maybe there is significance to this connection.

All three of the basketball scores listed are from this modern era, and all three winners won only once in the modern era.

I tried entering the NCAA Champion 5 years ago (connecticut, uconn) and the 5th champion of the modern era (kansas).

Michigan State was the only 5-seed to make the final four this year.

[enigma]

Okay, time for the hammer over the head.



Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.

DAMMIT.

Alright I'll make the last step and set someone else up, because I don't know what it is.


89-76
77-71
72-69

Michigan State's last national title was in 2000, they won 89-76.

North Carolina beat Michigan 77-71 in 1993.

Louisville beat Duke 72-69 in 1986.

[mhass]

If we have 2/3 of the answer (per enigma) is the answer something including Michigan, Duke and Florida (the 1/3 missing in Radii's post above?

[BrianD]

dola - I think I am using this right.

Okay, time for the hammer over the head.

I apparently achieved my saving throw for your hammer had no effect. :)

[enigma]

22-26-11 12-26-17-19
3-22-22-13-12 11-13-26-7-10
4-2-11-2-15-24-9 10-12-17-12-15-16
2-11-14-26
23-2-25-16-12-9-8 14-25-18-21-23-9
22-8-7-8-22-8 9-1-2-5-5-2-9-12
21-1-12-1-25-10-7-13-8
26-19-4
17-25-23
23-20-12-1-20-9-9 5-16-18-26-16-7-19
10-19-6-23-14-3-2
21-2-26-18 17-18-3-2-7
14-17-4-23-5-20-21-4-17 20-13-6-20-13-9-13-11
12-23-5-3-20-12 18-3-26-6-1
23-13-21-15-3-3-25-24
12-10-1-13-18-23-10-21 17-14-10-21-3-17
1-2-9-2-13 14-9-26-21
18-25-22-14-12-25
13-8-21-21-16-12 20-8-12

It should be fairly obvious that since no number is above 26 these are substitutions.
The first one shouldn't be too hard to get, as you simply shift 1 character --> B = 1,
C = 2 and so on. The answer you get is Wal Mart. The second group of letters shifts 2
instead of 1. Hopefully I didn't have to give a hint on this. The third group 3 and
so on. However, the fifth group doesn't shift 5, but instead shifts 6. The 6th group
shifts 7, the 7th group 8 and so on until the end. The reason? The fifth group is
missing from the list. So, here is the list once all the substitutions have been made.

1. Wal Mart
2. Exxon Mobil
3. General Motors
4. Ford

6. ChevronTexaco
7. ConocoPhillips
8. Citigroup
9. IBM
10. AIG
11. Hewlett Packard
12. Verizon
13. Home Depot
14. Berkshire Hathaway
15. Altria Group
16. McKesson
17. Cardinal Health
18. State Farm
19. Kroger
20. Fannie Mae

Hopefully someone was able to recognize the top 20 of the Fortune 500 for 2004. The
company that is missing is General Electric, although it is the 5th spot that is
important. It tells you that the shift for phase II is 5. By shifting the numbers
that correspond to the alphabet by 5 you find that

MN-LK

equates to 89-76

LL-LF

equates to 77-71

LG-KN

equates to 72-69


Hopefully it didn't take too much nudging to recognize these as basketball scores.
Considering it is Final Four time, a search of Tournament history should reveal that
these are the scores from the last NCAA Championships of Final Four participants
Michigan State, UNC, and Louisville. However, as I said at the beginning:


For the person who is able to solve this, congratulations. For those who can't,
don't fret. Not everyone is fortunate enough to win.

The answer isn't the winners, but the losers of those games, in order

floridamichiganduke

[QuikSand]

This is a late observation, but I'll guess that United and Staples are probably #31 and #57 on the Fortune 500 list... (duh)


Glad to see this is solved.

[Solecismic]

Yeah, I tried Florida with my fifth password guess an hour or so ago, because they've never won and Michigan and Duke have. I was going to try them all in a row next.

[Radii]

oh. That works. I got my head wrapped around the final four and could not get away from the idea that there was a 4th piece to the puzzle, a 4th score, 4th team, something... good job whoever finally got it :)

[mhass]

If we have 2/3 of the answer (per enigma) is the answer something including Michigan, Duke and Florida (the 1/3 missing in Radii's post above?I tried flamichduke to make it fit. Congrats to the winner.

[KWhit]

The Illinois thing was too distracting. I couldn't get past that, although I likely would have had I seen the enigma's hammer over the head post before now.

[BrianD]

The Illinois thing was too distracting. I couldn't get past that, although I likely would have had I seen the enigma's hammer over the head post before now.

The hammer didn't help me much. I kept parsing "not everyone is fortunate enough to win" as "someone is unfortunate enough to lose". I was looking for a specific someone rather than the general everyone.

Congrats to the solver, and thank goodness it wasn't me. I'd rather work on the puzzles anyway. :)