1. This man was hired to be the insurance-required backup director to Robert Altman for the film version of A Prairie Home Companion. Born in 1970 in Studio City, California, his father was the voice of ABC television in the 70s and 80s. His first feature length film, 1996's Hard Eight, was nominated for five Independent Spirit Awards, while his second feature effort, released one year later, earned supporting acting Oscar nominations for Burt Reynolds and Julianne Moore. For ten points, name this acclaimed director of Punch-Drunk Love, Magnolia and Boogie Nights.

2. Current top players in this sport include Australia's Simon Whitlock, Denmark's Brian Sorenson and Dutchman Raymond van Barnevald, who won the World Masters title in 2005. Matches in competition play typically start from 501, but other common starts are 301, 401, 701 and 1001. Hitting the treble area of the board is worth three times the sector score, an outer bull scores 25, while a center bull is worth double 25, or 50. For ten points, name this popular tavern game played with the title objects and a giant target board.

3. In May 2005, they became the first American act to play an outdoor show in communist Cuba. Formed in 2001, they temporarily broke up in 2002 before they had released an album. Their eponymous debut featured the tracks "Show Me How to Live", "Cochise", and "Like a Stone", while their 2005 follow-up Out of Exile debuted at No. 1 on the strength of songs such as "Doesn't Remind Me" and "Be Yourself". For ten points, what group joined guitarist Tom Morello and the other instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden?

4. After you beat this game, an "Armies of the Night" arcade game appears in "the hub," which you can use to play a Double Dragon-like minigame. Its innovative co-op mode lets you mix solo and co-op play while working through the story, which begins several months before the movie on which it is based. Its plot depth is considered to be in between its publisher's other two signature franchises, Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto. For ten points, identify this 2005 fighting game named for the street gang Vermin and Cleon bring to prominence by beating up a host of rivals.

5. Its official magazine, Go, features sections like Home Turf, Gastronome, Driven, and Crew Cuts. Launched in 1988 as a holding company for Mesaba Airlines, it became a separate company seven years later, shortly after acquiring Orlando-based Conquest Sun Airlines, and in 1997, it merged with the ill-fated ValuJet. The first low-fare carrier to assign seats and add business class, it has equipped many of its aircraft with XM Satellite Radio. For ten points, name this carrier, with hubs in Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and whose planes may just feature Elton John's face on them.

6. Run under the name Credit Dauphine, it was protected by a scanner located in a sub-level accessed by special elevator and explosives ringed around the foundation of the building. Its headquarters were almost destroyed by McKenas Cole, who was also exacting revenge against its head, Arvin Sloane. It becomes the blueprint for APO, or Authorized Personnel Only, and used many of the same people, most of whom joined believing it to be a secret unit of the CIA. A constituent part of the Alliance of Twelve, name, for ten points, this Los Angeles-based espionage group that was brought down by Sydney Bristow on Alias.

7. Born in Newburgh, New York, this author started his career in advertising, serving as chairman of J. Walter Thompson North America for six years. His first novel, 1976's The Thomas Berryman Number, was rejected by 24 publishers, but won the Edgar Award for best first mystery novel. In 2006, he will release his fifth book in the Women's Murder Club series, The 5th Princess, months after the latest Alex Cross book Mary, Mary, was published. For ten points name this author of such best sellers as Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls.

8. Its screenwriter undertook it as a personal challenge to outwrite The Great Gatsby. Intended as the first film of a planned trilogy, the third film, Cloverleaf, was never produced; while the second, The Two Jakes, was released in 1990. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, this film focuses on a private eye who, during a routine straying-spouse investigation, finds himself drawn into a jigsaw puzzle of clues and corruption. For ten points, name this critically acclaimed Roman Polanski film, written by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson.

9. He was raised by strict Baptist parents in Culpepper, Virginia. Orignially a real estate developer, that industry's bust in the 1990s left him bankrupt at the age of 25. He recorded a solo CD titled Live a Little in 1999, but Hollywood Records did little to promote the disc before its re-release in 2005. Despite his success with a collaborator, the solo CD had dismal sales, as it consists of music influenced by Tom Waits, Latin Jazz and psychedelic pop. Most of his fans expected a harder-edged country sound, given his work on Horse of a Different Color. For ten points, name this Musik Mafia mainstay, the recording partner of John Rich.

10. In 2005 she was inducted into the U.S. Olympics Hall of Fame. Despite her busy schedule as a second-year law student at Boston College, she still dedicates much time to her sport, conducting clinics in her specialty, the balance beam. Born in 1977, she made her mark at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, winning two silver medals. For ten points, name this Edmond, Oklahoma native, the most decorated American gymnast in world and Olympic competition, who added two gold medals to her collection at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

11. People in Oklahoma and Arizona started making it in the 1860s after receiving surplus lard and white flour from the U.S. government. In some communities, its consumption has been linked to rates of diabetes that top 70% for adults. It can be eaten alone, or with beans, or as a desert with honey or powdered sugar. For ten points, name this native American staple made by cooking balls of dough in vats of hot oil.

12. Built from a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, it was created by George Barris on three weeks notice. Its front end modifications include dual 4,500-watt lasers behind amber reflective lenses, a hydraulically-operated steel chain and cable cutter blade, and rockets mounted in the grill cavity. The rear boasts three rocket launchers, a turbine exhaust finned air cooling tube, and two parachutes, one on each side of the tube. This describes, for ten points, what crime-fighting vehicle whose dual 84-inch rear fins were bulletproof, offering protection from Gotham City's worst criminals?

13. Stevie Wonder and Hank Cosby wrote the instrumental part of this song in 1966, and they gave it to the singer who made it famous as a Christmas present. It was not originally intended to be released as a single, but in light of its band's impending breakup, Motown released a new mix of this song from the back catalog in 1970, and it promptly hit #1 on both the U.S. and U.K. charts. The lyrics are based loosely on the opera Pagliacci, and describe the character as a comedian who hides his hurt behind an empty smile. Later covered in a ska version by the English Beat, for ten points, name this song whose success inspired Smokey Robinson to remain with the Miracles.

14. Her first part was a small part in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders which was filmed in her native Tulsa. After reprising her most famous role for the last time in 1994, she moved into TV movies, playing Nancy Kerrigan in Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story. Earlier TV roles included shy nerd Mary Lubbock on Just the Ten of Us. For ten points, name this actress discovered while a student at Stanford, who played Nancy Thompson in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.

15. Recent additions to this strip include a ferocious guard duck and a couple of dimwitted and overzealous crocodiles who live next door. They've done "invasion" angles of The Family Circus and Cathy, and were upset at not being "invited" to Blondie and Dagwood's 75th anniversary. Named after a New Testament passage and drawn by ex-attorney Stephan Pastis, this is, for ten points, what strip usually focused on the simple-minded Pig and his overbearing friend Rat.

16. Soranus of Ephesus suggested coughing, jumping, sneezing, and holding one's breath for this purpose. Samuel Pepys recorded the advice of several women, including not eating hot suppers, drinking juice of sage, keeping one's stomach warm and back cool, and making the foot of the bed higher than its head. For ten points, name this practice for which the only method permitted by the Catholic Church is the rhythm method.

17. In 1945, under the leadership of Eric Johnston, the group changed its name. Johnston presided during the anti-Communist blacklist, remaining in office until his death in 1963. Since 2004, it has been headed by Dan Glickman, a former Agriculture Secretary during the Clinton administration. Its founding members included the Walt Disney Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Paramount Pictures. For ten points, name this trade organization chaired for almost 40 years by Jack Valenti, the group that oversees the rating of movies.

18. The fourth season opens with Valerie Taylor discovering after a wild night in Atlantic City that she's married to her plumber, Todd, played by Luke Perry. Turns out she was dreaming, and is actually married to Vic - played by Dan Cortese. Meanwhile, Val's sister Holly is stowed away in a car heading to Florida, hoping to tell her friend Vince her true feelings for him. So much for Valerie keeping an eye on Holly while their dad is working in Japan. This describes, for ten points, what WB show starring Jenny Garth as Valerie and Amanda Bynes as Holly?

19. Brandon, MVP of the 2005 Roundball Classic, is the third member of this family to play Division I basketball as he finally qualified academically to join Kansas' current freshman class. His other two brothers were legends at Kansas City's Pembroke Hill High School. Oldest brother JaRon played for UCLA, while middle brother Kareem was a star at Missouri and is now playing for the Charlotte Bobcats. For ten points, hurry up and give me the name of this basketball family.

20. The host of the Sirius radio show "Lighten Up", he is the founder of "Hoot Camp", for AFAA instructors and hawks the "Food Mover" system that he developed. He sold pralines on New Orleans street corners after graduating from high school, when he weighed 268 pounds. Most recently in the news for slapping motorcycle salesman Chris Farney at the Phoenix International Airport, for 10 points name this fitness guru behind "Sweating to the Oldies" and "Deal a Meal".

21. Built by George Dahl and Cleveland-based Osborn Engineering, its first event took place on October 1, 1961, as the Giants beat the home team, 24-21. A 1993 heavyweight title fight between Riddick Bowe and Jesse Ferguson was held here, as was the 1969 MLB All-Star Game. A September 30, 1971 baseball game here ended in a forfeit when fans jumped onto the field in search of souvenirs. The home to the 2002 and 2004 MLS All-Star Games and a four-time MLS championship franchise, this is, for ten points, what ballpark, the current home of the Washington Nationals.