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Testing a relationship
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Engaged track athletes go heart-to-heart in Vindicator version of ‘The Newlywed Game’
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Hello everyone and welcome to the (sort of) “Newly-Engaged Game” where we pit (sort of) newly engaged Youngstown State track athletes against each in other a few days before Valentine’s Day in a direct rip-off of “The Newlywed Game.”
Ready? OK!
Today’s contestants are fifth-year seniors Adam Kagarise and Alisha Anthony.
Kagarise, a Fitch High graduate, finished third in the 400-meter dash at last year’s Horizon League championships and also placed in the 200 and 4x400 relay.
Anthony, a native of Van Wert, holds school records in the long jump (19 feet, 9 inches) and triple jump (40- 31/2).
They’ve been dating since the first month of their freshman year and got engaged last March. Both have been accepted into physical-therapy school, so there’s no wedding date yet.
We asked each contestant 12 questions, and narrowed it down to 10 since neither of them have any idea what they wore on their first date or which movie they first saw together.
They both agree they went to Olive Garden on their first date, so we’ll immediately deduct two points from Kagarise’s total, since he should have known better than to pick an Italian franchise restaurant.
Each question is worth up to five points, based solely on my judgment.
Let’s start the game!
What is the other person’s favorite food?
Kagarise’s guess: Cheese. Shredded cheese, nacho cheese. Any kind of cheese.
Anthony’s answer: Pizza.
Anthony’s guess: Pasta. That’s what he eats most often.
Kagarise’s answer: Pasta.
Verdict: Anthony gets the full five, while Kagarise gets one point since cheese is on pizza.
What is the other person’s least favorite food?
Kagarise’s guess: Raisins. She hates them.
Anthony’s answer. That’s tough. I like a lot of foods. I’ll say broccoli.
Anthony’s guess: Anything fried. He’s a very healthy eater, so anything that’s fried or has fat on it. Meat with fat freaks him out.
Kagarise’s answer: Nacho cheese. I’ve got a phobia of it. I don’t know what it is but it grosses me out.
Verdict: Both contestants get zero, although Anthony admits she hates raisins. (Kagarise had to leave for practice immediately after his interview, so this will be his first time reading Anthony’s guesses.)
First song you danced to?
Kagarise’s guess: I know for some reason our song is “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw, so I’ll guess that. She always requests it at weddings.
Anthony’s guess: I’ll go with “My Best Friend” by Tim McGraw.
Verdict: Both get four points, since neither was 100 percent sure if that was the correct answer.
What is the other’s favorite singer or musical group?
Kagarise’s guess: I’d say Nick Lachey from 98 Degrees. Not so much anymore, but back in the day, that was her guy. I had to hear about it all the time.
Anthony’s answer: Rihanna.
Anthony’s guess: I’m gonna have to say “Pretty Ricky.” It’s some rapper. He says it’s his favorite but he might have forgot.
Kagarise’s answer: I’d say Eminem. Some of his songs. Not all of them. Some are a little too much.
Verdict: Zero for both, although we’re tempted to deduct points from Kagarise’s total for liking someone called “Pretty Ricky.” And we’re really tempted to deduct points for liking Eminem.
What would the other person say is your most annoying habit?
Kagarise’s guess: I forget things all the time. She’s always having to remind me to do things.
Anthony’s answer: Probably his eating habits. He has to analyze his food before he touches it. Any little piece of fat, he has to stop and get rid of it.
Anthony’s guess: My OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder]. That’s a no-brainer.
Kagarise’s answer: Her OCD. She has to check the stove five times to make sure it’s off and she has to wrap her curling iron up so it doesn’t plug itself back in and set the house on fire. One time we were almost all the way to Cleveland and nobody was there to turn the curling iron off so we had to drive a half-hour back home to make sure that it was unplugged. [Was it?] Yeah, of course. It always is.
Verdict: Anthony gets the full five. Kagarise gets one point, since he probably forgot his fat-phobia annoys her. He gets a bonus point for giving such a funny answer.
Halfway through the game, Anthony leads 14-5.
What item will the other person throw out when you get married?
Kagarise’s guess: Probably my XBox 360. She would like to throw it out, but there’s no chance.
Anthony’s answer: He doesn’t really have anything I’d throw away. He’s pretty good about throwing away stuff.
Anthony’s guess: Maybe some of my clothes or shoes or something? I can’t think of anything.
Kagarise’s answer: That’s tough. I can’t think of anything.
Verdict: Kagarise gets zero. (“I’d never throw out his XBox,” Anthony said. “He needs something to do in his free time.”) Anthony gets two points for sort of getting it right.
What is the other person’s best athletic moment?
Kagarise’s guess: I’d say the time she jumped 19-7, which kind of came out of nowhere. We were both in awe when it happened. She won state twice in high school, but I’ll go with the 19-7.
Anthony’s answer: Probably the outdoor Horizon League meet two years ago. It was my 21st birthday and I won the triple jump and set the Horizon League record. My family was there.
Anthony’s guess: In high school, he won indoor state [in the 400]. I know that was a big thing. And at one Notre Dame meet, he ran his best time. I think it was 47.6. But I’ll have to say the indoor state one.
Kagarise’s answer: At this Notre Dame meet, I went 47.5 [in the 400] and it was my first time under 48. It was great.
Verdict: Anthony gets one point for at least mentioning the Notre Dame meet, although she was off by a tenth of a second on the time. Kagarise, unfortunately, gets another zero. “He’s wrong because I never jumped 19-7,” she said. “It was 19-9.” Anthony gets two bonus points for having such a terrific birthday (May 3).
What is the other person’s favorite sports team?
Kagarise’s guess: I’d say the Cavs, if she had a team. She doesn’t really care about sports, other than what she competes in. She likes to dance a lot.
Anthony’s answer: I don’t really care about sports. But if I had to pick one, it’d be the Bengals. I do like the Cleveland teams, though.
Anthony’s guess: The Browns.
Kagarise’s answer: That’s tough for me. I love all the Cleveland sports. Browns, Indians, Cavs. If I had to choose, I’d say the Browns. We go to a lot of sporting events because of me.
Verdict: Anthony gets five for getting the right answer, although we’ll deduct two since she forces Kagarise to watch terrible dance movies such as “You Got Served.” Kagarise gets two since they both said she doesn’t care about sports. Kagarise also gets 10 bonus points for being a Cleveland fan, while Anthony gets two extra.
Who would the other person most like to meet?
Kagarise’s guess: I’m going to get this wrong. Let’s go with Rihanna.
Anthony’s answer: Nick Lachey.
Anthony’s guess: That Olympian. The 400 guy. I can’t remember his name.
Kagarise’s answer: Probably Jeremy Wariner. That’s one of the few people I actually look up to.
Verdict: Anthony gets four for guessing right, even if she forgot his name. We’ll give Kagarise one point for guessing both Nick Lachey and Rihanna, even if he got the questions wrong. We’ll also deduct one point from Anthony’s total for giving an answer sure to cause marital friction.
What item of clothing do you wear that the other person can’t stand?
Kagarise’s guess: I have a pink shirt that I was wearing in a picture of me and my last girlfriend. It’s been six years and she still hates it.
Anthony’s answer: I’m fine with his style. He wears a lot of sweatpants and T-shirts and jeans. There’s nothing that annoys me.
Anthony’s guess: Nothing I can think of.
Kagarise’s answer: That’s tough. She makes everything look good. Can you make sure you say that?
Verdict: Anthony gets another five, while we’ll give Kagarise four because he’s a very smart man. When reminded of the pink shirt, Anthony laughed and said, “Now that you bring it up. It’s not that I don’t like pink — pink’s my favorite color — but I didn’t know he still had that shirt. I’ll have to tell him to throw it out.”
And our winner is? Well, it wasn’t much of a contest. Anthony scored 30 while Kagarise had 22. It’s a good thing he’s not a Steelers fan or this could have been really ugly.
In “The Newlywed Game,” the winners received cash, prizes or a paid (second) honeymoon, but since those things might compromise their NCAA eligibility, we’re going to give Anthony the chance to see this story on newsprint for the low, low price of 50 cents.
Kagarise won’t go home empty-handed, though. He gets The Vindicator online edition, which can be found at www.vindy.com.