• 17A: 1922 Willa Cather novel that won a Pulitzer ("ONE OF OURS")
• 25A: Bridge or Scrabble need (SCORE PAD) 
• 36A: Verdi's "Don Carlos," e.g. (GRAND OPERA)
• 43A: Big attraction for bargain hunters (SALES EVENT)
• 51A: Some school exams (MID-YEARS)
• 66A: Maximum loads of hay or vegetables (WAGONFULS)

Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (/ˈhɒnəs ˈwæɡnər/; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage ("Dutch" in this instance being analteration of "Deutsch"), was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He played in the National Leaguefrom 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won eight batting titles, tied for the most in NL history with Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times, and in stolen bases five times.

In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb and tied with Babe Ruth.

Although Cobb is frequently cited as the greatest player of the dead-ball era, some contemporaries regarded Wagner as the better all-around player, and most baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatestshortstop ever. Cobb himself called Wagner "maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond." In addition, Wagner is the featured player of one of the rarest and most valuable baseball cards in the world. (wikipedia)

Richard Phillips Feynman (/ˈfaɪnmən/; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory ofquantum electrodynamics, and the physics of thesuperfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as inparticle physics (he proposed the parton model). For his contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman, jointly with Julian Schwinger and Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965. He developed a widely used pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions governing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams. During his lifetime, Feynman became one of the best-known scientists in the world. In a 1999 poll of 130 leading physicists worldwide by the British journal Physics World he was ranked as one of the ten greatest physicists of all time. (wikipedia)

• NOT TO WORRY
• IT GETS BETTER
• THIS WILL PASS
• THERE, THERE

Bain Capital is an American alternative asset management and financial services company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit and public market investments. Bain invests across a broad range of industry sectors and geographic regions. As of early 2012, the firm managed approximately $66 billion of investor capital across its various investment platforms.

The firm was founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Since inception it has invested in or acquired hundreds of companies including AMC Theatres, Aspen Education Group, Brookstone, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Clear Channel Communications, Domino's Pizza, DoubleClick, Dunkin' Donuts, D&M Holdings, Guitar Center, Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Sealy, Sports Authority, Staples, Toys "R" Us, Warner Music Group andThe Weather Channel.

As of the end of 2011, Bain Capital had approximately 400 professionals, most with previous experience in consulting, operations or finance. Bain is headquartered at the John Hancock Tower in Boston, Massachusetts with additional offices in New York City, Chicago, Palo Alto, London, Luxembourg, Munich, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Tokyo.

The company, and its actions during its first 15 years, became the subject of political and media scrutiny as a result of co-founder Mitt Romney's later political career, especially his 2012 presidential campaign. (wikipedia)

• 11D Milk Additive OVALTINE— (cf. 1A BOSCO) I tried to get Vitamin D in there awhile, then moved on until I had few crosses.
• 6A TV actor who lived, appropriately, in Hawaii JACKLORD— Being from Texas, I am pretty familiar with (6D One of the Bushes JEB), for good or ill, so I quickly sussed the actor.
• 53A Dicey issue (HOTPOTATO) / 56A Deep-fried treat (ONIONRING)— I like both of these individually, and I like that they are stacked together. cf. 28A Relative of a leek CHIVE.
• 57A Third-place finisher in 2004 and 2008 / 42D "Northanger Abbey" novelist (NADER / AUSTEN)—Being in the Best City in Texas, I would have preferred a "Low point-" / "Live Music Capitol of the World-" type cluing, but I do enjoy Ms. Austen now and then, and I voted for NADER when he was Green (i.e., not in '08).
• 36A First name in pop (CELINE)— when Michael didn't fit, I just waited. I know it's perfectly acceptable as a clue/answer, but it pained me to see it.

Pia mater (/ˈpaɪ.ə ˈmeɪtər/ or /ˈpiː.ə ˈmɑːtər/) often referred to as simply the pia, is the delicate innermost layer of themeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Pia mater is medieval Latin meaning "tender mother." The other two meningeal membranes are the dura mater and the arachnoid mater. Pia mater is a thin fibrous tissue that is impermeable to fluid. This allows the pia mater to enclose cerebrospinal fluid. By containing this fluid the pia mater works with the other meningeal layers to protect and cushion the brain. The pia mater allows blood vessels to pass through and nourish the brain. The perivascular space created between blood vessels and pia mater functions as alymphatic system for the brain. When the pia mater becomes irritated and inflamed the result is meningitis. (wikipedia)

• JETS FAN (1D: One feeling 15-Across after Super Bowl III)— I knew who played in Super Bowl III. Thus, this answer went straight in the grid, and the whole NW corner came together quickly after that.
• "ULALUME" (2D: Title name written "on the door of this legended tomb," in poetry)— this is possibly the longest piece of crosswordese in existence. I also saw it recently, which helped me recall it with just a cross or two.
• PASEOS (42D: Leisurely strolls)— why do I know this word (as anything but a bygone Toyota model)? I just do. Crosswords. Sometimes stuff like this just sticks. 

Eleonora Duse (Italian: [eleoˈnɔːɾa ˈduːze]; (3 October 1858 – 21 April 1924) was an Italian actress, often known simply as Duse. // Duse was born in Vigevano, Lombardy, and began acting as a child. Both her father and her grandfather were actors, and she joined the troupe at age four. Due to poverty, she initially worked continually, traveling from city to city with whichever troupe her family was currently engaged. She came to fame in Italian versions of roles made famous by Sarah Bernhardt. She gained her first major success in Europe, then toured South America, Russia and the United States; beginning the tours as a virtual unknown but leaving in her wake a general recognition of her genius. While she made her career and fame performing in the theatrical "warhorses" of her day, she is today remembered more for her association with the plays of Gabriele d'Annunzio and Henrik Ibsen. (wikipedia)

Karl August Leopold Böhm (August 28, 1894 in Graz – August 14, 1981 in Salzburg) was an Austrian conductor. […] Böhm was praised for his rhythmically robust interpretations of the operas and symphonies of Mozart, and in the 1960s he was entrusted with recording all the Mozart symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic. His brisk, straightforward way with Wagner won adherents, as did his readings of the symphonies of Brahms, Bruckner andSchubert. His 1971 complete recording of the Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic was also highly regarded. On a less common front, he championed and recorded Alban Berg's avant-garde operas Wozzeck and Lulu before they gained a foothold in the standard repertory. Böhm mentioned in the notes to his recordings of these works that he and Berg discussed the orchestrations, leading to changes in the score (as he had similarly done, previously, with Richard Strauss).

• 22A: "Greetings, Ms. Retton!" ("HELLO, MARYLOU")
• 31A: "Very nice, Ms. Kennedy!" ("SWEET, CAROLINE") (ew, introduction of the comma there is painful, especially as other songs do not have to be similarly altered to fit the clue)
• 37A: "Hurry up, Ms. Brennan!" ("COME ON, EILEEN")
• 55A: "Cheer up, Ms. Teasdale!") ("SARA, SMILE!")
• 62A: "Am I the one, Ms. Andrews?" ("JULIE, DO YA LOVE ME?")
• 74A: "You look hot in a thong, Ms. Hawkins!" ("SEXY, SADIE") (ew, ew, ew … why in the world did the clue go to "thong"??? Clue works perfectly well with just "You look hot…" "In a thong" is completely gratuitous and kinda creepy)
• 86A: "I need a hand, Ms. Fleming!" ("HELP ME, RHONDA!")
• 94A: "Leave it alone, Ms. Zellweger!" ("WALK AWAY, RENEE")
• 110A: "Time to show your cards, Ms. Field!" ("LAY DOWN, SALLY!") — is that the phrase for "show your hand"—"lay down"?

Sambucus (elder or elderberry) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. It was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified due to genetic evidence. It contains between 5 and 30 species ofdeciduous shrubs, small trees and herbaceous perennial plants.

The genus occurs in temperate to subtropical regions of the world. More widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, its Southern Hemisphere occurrence is restricted to parts of Australasia and South America. Many species are widely cultivated for their ornamental leaves, flowers and fruit.^[2]

The leaves are pinnate with 5–9 leaflets (rarely 3 or 11). Each leaf is 5–30 cm (2.0–12 in) long, and the leaflets have serrated margins. They bear large clusters of small white or cream-colored flowers in late spring; these are followed by clusters of small black, blue-black, or red berries (rarely yellow or white). (wikipedia)

• 20A: Start of a bumper sticker that may end with one's favorite vacation spot (I'D RATHER BE IN …)
• 29A: Start of a bumper sticker that may end with one's favorite hobby (HONK IF YOU LOVE …)
• 45A: Start of a bumper sticker that may end with one's favorite (usually expensive) vehicle (MY OTHER CAR IS A…)
• 54A: Start of a bumper sticker that may end with one's favorite attraction (WILL BRAKE FOR …) — I don't quite get "attraction" here. If I WILL BRAKE FOR turtles, I like them, I don't want to kill them, but "attraction" doesn't really get at it. Also, wondering if "I BRAKE FOR" isn't the more common phrase. Just wondering.

n.
A piece of dough stuffed with potato, meat, or cheese and baked or fried.

[Yiddish, from Ukrainian knysh, probably of Turkic origin.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/knish#ixzz2lbzXHT3V

• 17A: Hiker's snack (GRANOLA BAR) — these are such a popular, everyday food that I hardly think of them as having any association with hikers. Gorp is super hikery. Kids have GRANOLA BARs in their lunch boxes. 
• 21A: What's being discussed in the National Enquirer or Globe (TABLOID BUZZ) —ugh (see below)
• 39A: Provision in many a construction contract (ESCALATOR CLAUSE) — no idea what this is. Sounds vaguely familiar. Very vaguely.
• 57A: Poor weight-loss practice (YO-YO DIETING) — far and away the best answer in this grid. 

The Landsat program is the longest running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. On July 23, 1972 the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Landsat. The most recent, Landsat 8, was launched on February 11, 2013. The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and at Landsat receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, cartography,geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education. Landsat 7 data has eight spectral bands withspatial resolutions ranging from 15 to 60 meters; the temporal resolution is 16 days. (wikipedia)

• 17A: Source of easy money (GRAVY TRAIN)
• 24A: One of a pair in a court (SQUASH RACKET)
• 51A: Locale for a big mirror (DRESSING ROOM)
• 64A: Old ragtime dance (TURKEY TROT)

Soba (そば or 蕎麦^?) is the Japanese name for buckwheat. It is synonymous with a type of thin noodle made from buckwheatflour, and in Japan can refer to any thin noodle (unlike thick wheat noodles, known as udon). Soba noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sauce, or in hot broth as a noodle soup. It takes three months for buckwheat to be ready for harvest, so it can be harvested four times a year, mainly in spring, summer, and autumn. In Japan, buckwheat is produced mainly inHokkaido. Soba that is made with newly harvested buckwheat is called "shin-soba". It is sweeter and more flavorful than regular soba. (wikipedia)

• 15A: Joe Louis, to fans (THE BROWN BOMBER)
• 34A: One interested in current affairs? (HANG GLIDER)
• 42A: Gang Green member (NEW YORK JET)

Alexandre Aja (born 7 August 1977) is a French film director who rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror filmHaute Tension (known as High Tension in the US, and known as Switchblade Romance in the UK). He has also directed the horror films The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Mirrors (2008) and Piranha 3D (2010). (wikipedia)

… so-called "Jewish rye" is further seasoned with whole caraway seeds and glazed with an egg wash, and is traditionally associated with salted meats such as corned beef, pastrami, and (outside kosher circles) ham. (wikipedia)

:  a league originally constituted of merchants of various free German cities dealing abroad in the medieval period and later of the cities themselves and organized to secure greater safety and privileges in trading

2

:  a medieval merchant guild or trading association (m-w.com)

• "THERE AND [BACK] AGAIN" / TURNS [BACK] THE CLOCK
• HUMP[BACK] WHALE / WON'T [BACK] DOWN
• PAPER[BACK] BOOK / FEED[BACK] LOOP
• "BROKE[BACK] MOUNTAIN" / BEND OVER [BACK]WARDS

Faheem Rasheed Najm (born September 30, 1985), who goes by his stage name T-Pain, is an Americansinger-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany, which reached number one on the Billboard 200. His third studio album, Thr33 Ringz, was released in 2008. T-Pain has earned two Grammy Awards alongside artists Kanye West and Jamie Foxx.

T-Pain is the founder of the record label Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005. Throughout his career as a singer, T-Pain is known for using & popularizing the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect. Throughout the years of 2006-10 T-Pain was featured on more than 50 chart topping singles, his most successful feature to date was in Flo Rida's debut single "Low" which has since been certified 6x Platinum. (wikipedia)

• LITTLE LEAGUE (20A: "The Bad News Bears" activity)
• RED HERRINGS (32A: Supposed hints that mislead)
• RIDING MOWER (41A: Lawn tractor)
• HOOD ORNAMENT (52A: Jaguar on the front of a Jaguar, e.g.)

The Bad News Bears is a 1976 comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. The film was followed by two sequels, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training in 1977 and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan in 1978, a short-lived 1979–80 CBS television series, and a 2005 remake titledBad News Bears.

The original screenplay was written by Bill Lancaster. Notable was the score by Jerry Fielding, which is an adaptation of the principal themes of Carmen. (wikipedia)

• SADDLE SHOES (17A: Bobbysoxer's footwear)
• HALTER TOP (24A: Sleeveless garment)
• SPUR OF THE MOMENT (37A: Impromptu)
• BIT O' HONEY (47A: Nestlé bar)
• CROP CIRCLES (57A: The signs in the movie "Signs")

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to present-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, northern Madhya Pradesh, and the Delhi region. The rebellion posed a considerable threat to Company power in that region, and was contained only with the fall ofGwalior on 20 June 1858. The rebellion is also known as India's First War of Independence, the Great Rebellion, the Indian Mutiny, the Revolt of 1857, the Uprising of 1857, the Sepoy Rebellion and the Sepoy Mutiny. The Mutiny was a result of various grievances. However the flashpoint was reached when the soldiers were asked to bite off the paper cartridges for their rifles which they believed were greased with animal fat, namely beef and pork. This was, and is, against the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims, respectively. Other regions of Company-controlled India – such as Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, and the Madras Presidency – remained largely calm. In Punjab, the Sikh princes backed the Company by providing soldiers and support. The large princely states of Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore, and Kashmir, as well as the smaller ones of Rajputana, did not join the rebellion. In some regions, such as Oudh, the rebellion took on the attributes of a patriotic revolt against European presence. Maratha leaders, such as Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, became folk heroes in the nationalist movement in India half a century later; however, they themselves "generated no coherent ideology" for a new order. The rebellion led to the dissolution of the East India Company in 1858. It also led the British to reorganize the army, the financial system and the administration in India. The country was thereafter directly governed by the crown as the new British Raj. (wikipedia)

I like the grid way more than I like the theme. First-words-have-something-in-common. Again. A bit tired. The only theme answer I really like here is SPUR OF THE MOMENT. Nice attempt to get all the horsey words into non-horsey contexts, but SADDLE SHOES do derive their name from their saddle-shaped pattern, so still some horsiness there. Anyway, as I say, you can have the theme. I do think the grid is more interesting than most Tuesday grids, though the short stuff in the SW is ugly, and there's probably more short ugliness than you'd like to see on any day. But DOBRO is a nice 5-letter answer (not many of those), and the long Downs give the grid some flair. Even LESSER GOD, which I only know from the movie title "Children of a LESSER GOD," is growing on me. LESSER is just a bunch of common letters, but the phrase as a whole seems original and interesting.

• SQUID MARKS (17A: Food critic's assessments of calamari?)
• SQUARE TACTIC (27A: Maneuver on a chessboard?)
• SQUIRT CHASER (43A: Rug rat pursuer?)
• GREAT SQUAT (57A: Outstanding posture for a catcher?)

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (/ˈstɛŋɡəl/; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975), nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and originally nicknamed "Dutch", a common nickname at that time for Americans of German ancestry. After his major league career began, he acquired the nickname"Casey", which originally came from the initials of his hometown ("K. C."), which evolved into "Casey", influenced by the wide popularity of the poem Casey at the Bat. In the 1950s, sportswriters dubbed him with yet another nickname, "The Old Professor" (or "Perfessor"), for his sharp wit and his ability to talk at length on anything baseball-related.

Although his baseball career spanned a number of teams and cities, he is primarily associated with clubs inNew York City. Between playing and managing, he is the only man to have worn four of New York's major league clubs' uniforms. He was the first of four men (through the 2012 season) to manage both the New York Yankees and New York Mets; Yogi Berra, Dallas Green, and Joe Torre are the others. Like Torre, he also managed the Braves and the Dodgers. He ended his baseball career as the beloved manager for the then expansion New York Mets, which won over the hearts of New York partly due to the unique character of their veteran leader. (wikipedia)

• CAVE
• TEMPT
• TACT
• TENDER
• DESCEND
• CORD
• TRITE
• TEST
• SCRIPT
• CURRENT

Eleazar (or Elazar; pronounced /ɛliˈeɪzə/), (Hebrew: אֶלְעָזָר, Modern Elʻazar Tiberian Elʻāzār ; "God has helped") was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol (High Priest) - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses. (wikipedia)

The Harajuku Girls are four Japanese and Japanese American backup dancersfeatured in stage shows and music videos for Gwen Stefani during her solopop/R&B/dance-record phase. The women also act as an entourage at Stefani's public appearances. // The Harajuku Girls are Maya Chino ("Love"), Jennifer Kita ("Angel"), Rino Nakasone-Razalan ("Music") and Mayuko Kitayama ("Baby"). The name of the group is a reference to Harajuku, a neighborhood of Tokyo. The stage names of the women are derived from Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby., which was the name of her first album as well as her clothing brand. (wikipedia)