Todd

Gulp. Well being new to NYTimes crosswords over the past few weeks, this was... humbling. All of a sudden looking forward to Monday :)

Great Sunday puzzle, especially following yesterday's slog. When I discovered Wreck It Ralph didn't fit, I knew something was amiss. KabukiTheater made it click! Admittedly, I got stuck way up in the NE with "Embers". I somehow ended up with Ebbers/Beat for "Heart of the Matter". UGH! Good stuff.

Love the shout out to the brilliant Frank Oz, who also created and was the puppeteer for Yoda in the Empire Strikes Back. I'm big time bummed that Mail Order Brie didn't make it into the puzzle. That's an astounding pun/play on words.

First time under 10:00!!!! (9:01)

Still a little confused with "POLED" for Punted???