Wednesday's New York Times puzzle times: June 6, 2018

My time: 8:58.

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Richard F. Mausser incorporates (symmetrically, to his credit) a quip "attributed to British comedian Ken Dodd:" I HAVE / KLEPTOMANIA, BUT / WHEN IT GETS BAD / I TAKE SOMETHING / FOR IT.  Ha, that's a knee slapper.

Dodd was a music-hall singer and rapid-fire comedian who was famed for his three-hour comedy performances, and his props known as "tickle sticks."

What "Missouri city, informally" is  ST. JOE?  St. Joseph, known for being the birthplace of Eminem.  I put *ST. LOU.

"Suffix with narc-" got me good. I put *-OTIC for a long time and couldn't understand why it clearly didn't fit.  It's -OSIS.  I must have been in a state of narcosis myself.

I did not know that scientists have found trace amounts of OPAL gemstones on Mars (or at least, on a Martian meteorite?). They may contain microbes!

The Westminster Bridge is a bridge on the river THAMES, painted green like the House of Commons which is close by.

For "Algonquian language" I thought about putting *ONEIDA, but they're Iroquois of course.  It's OJIBWA (often spelled Ojibwe), who mostly live in Canada.

The cue that gave me the most pause was "kind of off-season baseball league."  Even as it became clear the answer was HOT STOVE, I wondered if it was right.  I have never in my forty-something years heard of this term.  It's not a league at all, but a euphemism, like armchair quarterback.  It refers to fans gathering around a hot stove in the winter to rehash all the sports action the saw during the season.

Speaking of sports, "Big" BEN Roethlisberger is a quarterback for the Steelers.  A two-time Super Bowl champion, he also is the youngest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in NFL history, leading a win in Super Bowl XL at the age of 23.

Speaking of football, I uncharacteristically knew that the EAGLES were the champs this year became that fat moron Russian puppet in the Oval Office disinvited them after they said they wouldn't be visiting.

A school of whales is not just a pod but a GAM.  I vaguely remembered this from September 15, 2017.

CIA spook SPYS (styled S*P*Y*S) appeared on December 31, 2017.

Clever clues: "It's not free of charge" is ION.  "Mud" is JAVA.  "Needing quarters, maybe" is COIN-OP (I kept thinking about needing shelter).

This one had a lot of clues that were hard to ENWRAP my head around.  It was NOT SO easy!  I guess I'm a little SLOW.