Anticipation...

April 8, 2014, 9:55 am

Andy here with a recap of Monday's game! It's been awhile...

For those of your who wished Jason Keller had competed in the Battle of the Decades and were wondering what he'd been up to, he was a featured Success Story at Weight Watchers' website this week!

This week's contestants:
Monique Aldred - San Diego, CA (KNSD)
Rebecca Baird - Thousand Oaks, CA (KABC)
Sandie Baker - Eastpointe, MI (WDIV)
Jessica Guard - New York, NY (WABC)
Ed Hagar - Mobile, AL (WALA)
Jonathan Kuehnle - Springfield, OH (WDTN)
Bruce Leaman - Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (CHCH)
Michelle Leppert - Danvers, MA (WBZ)
Amy Nienaber - Bettendorf, IA (KWQC)
Derrick Shivar - Baltimore, MD (WBFF)
Annalisa Srivatsan - Carlsbad, CA (KNSD)

Today's players:

Will Amy win her third game today and make our ToC list?

J! round categories:
ICE CREAM PARLOR WORDS
INNOVATION
AUTHORS' PLOTS
GUITARS
TV HOSTS BY INITIALS
THE USS OLYMPIA

AUTHOR'S PLOTS was about the final resting places of authors, and the bottom of it held the Daily Double! It was Michelle's to play on the game's 5th clue, and we had scores of:

Michelle $800
Amy $600
Jonathan $0

Michelle bet $1000. Her clue: The monument for his grave in Elmira, New York is 2 fathoms tall. Michelle went for Washington Irving, but the correct answer made a lot of sense (as they usually do!). Her score went to -$200.

By the first break, we also made it through INNOVATION and four clues in GUITARS. Scores:

Amy $2,600
Michelle $800
Jonathan $400

Jonathan is completely colourblind! He can only see black, white, and shades of grey! I hope there are no clues tonight that require the use of colour!

Back to the game, Amy did well in TV HOSTS BY INITIALS; the USS Olympia was a Clue Crew category! We got through only 3 of those clues!

Scores after the J! round:
Amy $6,000
Michelle $2,600
Jonathan $1,400

DJ! round categories:
BORN TO BE WILD
"COM" TO ME
QUOTABLE QUOTES
ON THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE DANUBE
A LEAGUE
OF THERON

The bottom clue of QUOTABLE QUOTES had the Daily Double, and Michelle just took the lead away from Amy before finding it! Scores:

Michelle $8,600
Amy $7,600
Jonathan $3,800

Michelle bet $3,000. Her clue: Year in which a U.S. President remarked, "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since the creation". Michelle went for 1946 and fell to $5,600.

BORN TO BE WILD was an all-video category which did not contain a Daily Double! Instead, it was under ON THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE DANUBE $1600! This was Jonathan's to play, with scores at:

Amy $11,600
Jonathan $10,200
Michelle $8,400

There are $7,200 in clues left on the board. An interesting bet here would be $8,500 from Jonathan. If he gets it right he can sit on his buzzer and be guaranteed the lead going into Final! He chose just $2,000. His clue: It's the only country through whose territory the Danube flows that used to be part of the USSR. Alex told Jonathan that he was correct about as slowly as Jonathan gave his answer, but they all count the same! Jonathan goes to $12,200.

The game came down to the final $800 clue, and any of the three people could have had the lead! Amy got it to pull into the lead! Scores going into Final:

Amy $12,800
Michelle $12,400
Jonathan $12,200

FJ! category: FOOD & DRINK

FJ! clue: The corporate website for this product says it leaves its container at .028 miles per hour

Jonathan 12200 + 12000 = 24200
Michelle 12400 + 12300 = 24700
Amy 12800 - 12200 = 600

Michelle Leppert is the new champion! She'll be back tomorrow to defend! U'm disappointed Amy lost; I enjoyed watching her play!

↧

Better Late Than Never?

April 9, 2014, 10:04 pm

≫ Next: ...is makin' me wait

≪ Previous: Anticipation...

Andy here with a slightly delayed and slightly shorter recap! This one's of Tuesday's game. I'd like to apologize for the technical difficulties I had with getting this recap up! Jeanie really wants to have all five of these, so onward we go!

Today's contestants:

J! round categories:
MOVIES' MAIN CITIES
POETIC TERMS
FOOD LABELING
AMERICAN HISTORY
7-LETTER WORDS
THE CULLINAN DIAMOND MINE

Annalisa got to play the first Daily Double, under AMERICAN HISTORY $400. Scores:

Derrick $1,600
Michelle $800
Annalisa -$800

Annalisa bet $1000. Her clue: In July 1960 the U.S. stopped imports of sugar from this country that was cozying up to the USSR. Her correct response put her at $200!

My dad likes to keep track of these; Alex had another slip-up today -- another instance of his accepting a not-quite-correct answer (this one from Annalisa), and giving the correct answer before the judges can stop him! Every time it happens, my dad says that Alex needs to retire! I say that Alex should stay on until I get on the show!

At the first break, the scores sat at:
Michelle $2,200
Derrick $1,600
Annalisa $0

Derrick is so terrible at DIY projects, he once cut himself on the staple of the instruction manual of a grill!

Arthur Chu is shaking his head at Annalisa's interview. Another proposal interview subject! Annalisa was proposed to on a popsicle stick!

Michelle's baking specialty is cheesecake. I'd like her recipe!

At the end of the J! round (with one clue in POETIC TERMS unplayed), the scores sat at:
Michelle $5,400
Derrick $5,000
Annalisa $1,400

DJ! round categories:
17TH CENTURY THINKERS
TV COPS
STATUES
OVER THE "P.A."
LONG WALKS ON THE BEACH
TAKING IN THE SUN

Michelle did very well in TV COPS, but Derrick kept her from running the category!

STATUES $1600 had the first Daily Double uncovered. Derrick played it, with scores at:

Michelle $12,200
Derrick $10,600
Annalisa $600

Derrick bet $2,000. His clue: It's no fairy tale - in 2013 this beloved Danish statue celebrated her 100th birthday. Derrick couldn't be more specific than "mermaid" and he fell to $8,600.

Derrick had a chance to redeem himself on the final Daily Double, at the bottom of 17TH CENTURY THINKERS! Scores:

Michelle $12,600
Derrick $10,600
Annalisa $2,600

Derrick bet $2,000 again. His clue: This seminal Dutch thinker of the Enlightenment was the son of parents who fled the Inquisition in Portugal. Derrick had no answer and fell to $8,600. Again.

At the end of the round, Derrick did his best to retake the lead, but could not. Once again, a clue went unplayed!

Scores going into Final:
Michelle $12,600
Derrick $11,800
Annalisa $2,600

FJ! category: MUSIC MAKERS

FJ! clue: Salisbury Cathedral's Dean said this man, via his 2013 album, "is creating a huge awareness of" an historic document

Annalisa 2600 - 2599 = 1
Derrick 11800 + 11000 = 22800
Michelle 12600 - 12000 = 600

I didn't see what Keith had to say about the betting in this game but I can't see it being favourable!

Jeanie will have the next recap posted in 24 hours. We'll see you then!

↧

...is makin' me wait

April 10, 2014, 9:30 pm

≫ Next: Gee Whizzer White

≪ Previous: Better Late Than Never?

This is a reference to our title of "Anticipation..." earlier in the week.
So as I think you know this week's episodes were taped the same week I was in L.A. for the 80s piece of the Battle of the Decades Tournament. So I got to see these too. It sure felt like April was never gonna come, but here we are!
I stood in line with a man who said he was 86 years old. Today I was describing him as "crotchety," and I see on my notes that's the same way I described him then! He was with his wife and another lady. "What are you writing," he says to me. (My notes.) "About me?"
I was chatting with and texting Andy with every new development or even thought, and as I had my head down telling him I didn't see anyone I recognize, the old man said, "That guy looks familiar." I look up, and it was Bob Harris! Remember, he was to play in the Battle of the Decades the next month. I told the old man that's who it was, but he didn't know who I was talking about. He stood out to many others, though. He was extremely popular in the studio, getting a hug from Glenn, and Maggie came over too. (I was not sitting on the same side of the studio as the contestants this time, but I did get to sit behind Bob.) Later, Glenn asked Bob about lunch, which makes me think he'd have been invited to eat in the Sony cafeteria. What I wouldn't give for another opportunity to eat there.
I saw Mitch the wardrobe guy and producers talk to Bob too. Speaking of Mitch, Johnny drew a laugh when he said to him in the microphone, "What's going on, big guy?" And Johnny said into the microphone, "Mr. Harris is here?" Mr. Trebek came over during a commercial break and talked to the studio audience about Bob's "second book," The International Bank of Bob. I looked for Bob's reaction, because it is not his second book. Bob just smiled at his girlfriend.
Also during a commercial break, someone asked Mr. Trebek about his kids. Immediately a picture of them at a Lakers game was shown to the audience. Mr. Trebek said the Lakers give him tickets every year to the Christmas game!
I couldn't believe it but someone also asked Mr. Trebek what sports he played in high school.... A kid asked him that as I sat in the studio audience after I lost! It was memorable because Trebek listed every sport you can think of, including some ridiculous ones. That first time, it did my heart good when he made a serious kid laugh over it. This time, he listed those sports all over again.
The guy sitting next to me was sketching the view from his seat. It turns out he was an artist! Later, he was wondering aloud what font the clues were written in. Mr. Trebek wasn't taking questions at the time but the people around this guy were encouraging him to ask anyway. So the guy YELLED "Alex!" That got his attention. Trebek didn't know but someone told him the answer was "Corrina Bold." Then he started singing "Corrina Corrina." Would you believe that I heard that song in my rental car when I was leaving that night?
Before I get to today's episode, my Coryat for the weekend's rerun was 26800 (27400 without a neg). It originally aired 1-14-13. The first time I played, my score was 13000 (17400 without negs)!
Also, I came across this article about Arthur Chu as I was searching for tweets tonight. I tried to leave a comment but you have to be on Facebook for that. So I'll ask here: Is the ToC in September?? And is that when it is taped or when it airs?

Ed Hagar

Derrick Shivar

Sandie Baker

Derrick found the first Daily Double in State Schools.
Derrick 1200 (2 right)
Sandie 1400 (3 right)
Ed 2400 (4 right)
He wagered everything on this clue: "This u. boasts 'Mesas to the west...the banks of the historic Rio Grande (&) the Sandia mountains to the east.'" He missed it. :-( At the first break:
Derrick 600 (One right)
Sandie 1600 (One right)
Ed 4600 (3 right)
At the end of the round:
Derrick -600 (2 right and 3 wrong)
Sandie 6400 (6 right)
Ed 5800 (5 right and one wrong)
Derrick found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in 1901-1910.
Derrick 2600 (3 right)
Sandie 5200 (2 wrong)
Ed 7000 (One right)
Derrick wagered 1000 on this clue: "On February 8, 1904 the Japanese launched an attack on Port Arthur, this country's naval base in China." Poor Derrick missed it. Did any of you know this?
Ed found the last Daily Double in Hinduism.
Derrick 1600
Sandie 8000 (6 right and one wrong)
Ed 11400 (3 right)
Ed wagered 3300 on this clue: "Hindus rhymingly believe in karma & this, the moral law governing individual conduct." They basically handed it to him on a platter! Of course he got it.
At the end of the round:
Derrick 6800 (4 right)
Sandie 12400 (3 right)
Ed 15900 (One right)
As contestants wrote their wagers, Mr. Trebek must've heard a contestant coordinator tell the contestants not to write personal messages - Trebek clarified that's what he heard and said he didn't know that before! ??? How is that possible?
The Final Jeopardy category is Around the USA. Here is the clue: "The Mayo Clinic Mile is a walking path that features 1 mile, 5K & 10K routes within this structure." I got this right from the studio audience. Derrick got this wrong and lost 6500. Sandie was right and added 10000! Ed was wrong and lost 8901. So we'll see Sandie tomorrow!

One year ago: DVR me, ASAP
Two years ago: A true Daily Double
Three years ago: Short vs. tall (and...in-between?)
Four years ago: What IS a guybrarian, Alex?

↧

Gee Whizzer White

April 11, 2014, 9:30 pm

≫ Next: This Post Shall Remain Nameless

≪ Previous: ...is makin' me wait

Care to find out if Sandie Baker wins a second time?

Sandie Baker

Jessica Guard

Bruce Leaman

I'm not sure if I got it from the studio audience, but I knew this triple-stumper today in The 5 Families: "Every year from 1947 to 2011, a member of this family served in Congress; in 2013 the family began a new streak." Sandie found the Daily Double of the round in the same category.
Sandie 2600 (3 right)
Bruce 600 (2 right)
Jessica 2000 (5 right)
Sandie wagered 1000 on this clue: "Original surname of the first & third prime ministers of India." She got it wrong.
At the first break:
Sandie 1600
Bruce 1000 (One right and one wrong)
Jessica 2600 (2 right)
Mr. Trebek drew a big laugh from the audience after he asked Jeopardy! staff how long the Christmas break would be. He said that leaves time for one or two surgeries!
Jessica talked about the World Cup in Brazil. I was just reading in the paper that it's in 10 weeks, and that Pele doesn't think the local airports are ready.
I loved Bruce's anecdote: witnessing his mother's wedding vows. And the fact that she had just a week to decide whether they wanted him to do it! Awww. The studio audience reaction was positive too.
At the end of the round:
Sandie 3600 (3 right)
Bruce 2600 (4 right and one wrong)
Jessica 5600 (5 right)
The Clue Crew was present for the taping this day. As their clues rolled I had to wonder what they think when they watch themselves!
You know how Mr. Trebek said that during the break he learned there were people from Canada in the audience. He had said during the break, "Anyone from Canada?"
Someone in the audience asked Trebek whether he'd ever given the correct response before someone could ring in. Do you remember the "Baby Jessica" thing from 80s week of The Battle of the Decades? Remember that episode was taped the day before, but before I could get to the studio. Mr. Trebek told the crowd all about it. That night, someone in the pub told me too! Well later in this episode, it happened that Mr. Trebek gave a correct response early. He pointed to the person in the audience who'd asked, and said that was why it happened!
Sandie came out of the commercial break with guns blazing, sweeping In the Dictionary. It was Bruce who found the next Daily Double though, at the end of International Authors.
Sandie 10000 (6 right)
Bruce 6200 (3 right)
Jessica 5600
Bruce wagered 3000 on this clue: "Born Helen Lyndon Goff in Australia, she wrote 1934's 'Mary Poppins'& several sequels." Bruce didn't know.
When Bruce found the next Daily Double in Supreme Court Justices, on TV Trebek said, "Answer there...." In the studio, he said "Let's go back to Justice O'Connor...." He said that he didn't know it was a Daily Double because there was a Post-It note covering up that information. He said to the Jeopardy! staff, "He'll clean that up, right?" Well, "he" did!
Sandie 14000 (5 right)
Bruce 8000 (3 right and one wrong)
Jessica 11200 (6 right)
This time Bruce wagered 100 on this clue read by - surprise! - Justice O'Connor!: "In an old tradition, before entering the courtroom every justice shakes hands with every other justice. I learned to be careful with the crushing grip of this one-time Heisman trophy runner-up." Bruce got it! The last clue of the round was a triple-stumper.
The Final Jeopardy category was Foreign Leaders. This is the clue: "In 1964 he was convicted of sabotage & conspiracy & served over 20 years in prison." Now remember this was taped on December 18th, and this guy died on December 5th. But Trebek had to say this guy was in the news a few months ago! Bruce got it right and added 8000. Jessica did too and added 5001. You know how Sandie wrote the word "Mandel" under her correct response? Well before it was revealed, the tape was stopped and you'd have thought by all the activity that there was a fire on the stage. Mr. Trebek himself was in the huddle of seven or eight people! A producer literally got on a red phone, appearing to consult with someone. Later a kid asked Johnny who was on the other end of the line. Without missing a beat, he said "That's Domino's Pizza." Then he said it was a "control room". Of course Sandie was eventually ruled correct. She added 8500, and we'll see her tomorrow!
There's been a dearth of usable tweets lately. Raise your game, Twitterverse!

One year ago: One Last Salvo
Two years ago: Hello, World!
Three years ago: More deets about the unofficial Jeopardy! reunion
Four years ago: What IS a guybrarian, Alex?

↧

This Post Shall Remain Nameless

April 13, 2014, 2:19 pm

≫ Next: Happy Birthday, Alex's Mother!

≪ Previous: Gee Whizzer White

Andy here with a quick recap of Friday's episode!

Today's contestants:

J! Round categories:
SHAKESPEARE WITH SPOILER ALERTS
FASHION ABBREV.
BACK TO BASEBALL
U.S. PLACE NAMES
KNOW YOUR CAR
CHECK YOUR "OIL"

SHAKESPEARE $600 had the first Daily Double, on the third clue of the game! It was Sandie's to play, with her at $400, and Rebecca at $200. She bet $1000. Her clue: King Lear has 3 daughters; (spoiler alert) this youngest one lasts the longest but is finally hanged. Sandie couldn't come up with her name and fell to -$600.

The scores at the first break:
Sandie $3,200
Rebecca $2,000
Monique -$400

Sandie works at General Motors; I'm surprised that she waited a bit before getting to the KNOW YOUR CAR category! She went 3/5 in the category! She then negged on the last two BASEBALL clues (sigh...), bringing her back below Rebecca.

The scores after the J! Round:
Rebecca $4,200
Sandie $3,800
Monique -$1,000

DJ! round categories:
WELCOME TO NASHVILLE
BEASTLY RHYME TIME
WOMEN OF CHINESE DESCENT
HISTORIC BATTLES
THE CHARACTER SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS
SPOT ME

Monique started BEASTLY RHYME TIME at the bottom. She should have started at the bottom of HISTORIC BATTLES, as the Daily Double was there! Rebecca got to play it, and she faced the following scores:

Rebecca $9,800
Sandie $6,200
Monique $-1,000

Rebecca bet clue value. Her clue: The U.S. Marines' 6-month battle for this island in the Solomons helped secure American air superiority in the Pacific. Rebecca picked Iwo Jima and fell to $7,800.

From there, Sandie and Monique did well in THE CHARACTER SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS. It was Monique who got to play the final Daily Double, under WOMEN OF CHINESE DESCENT $1600! Scores:

Rebecca $11,000
Sandie $9,800
Monique $5,000

Monique bet $2,500. Her clue: One of Vogue's youngest fashion editors, she was inspired by her own marriage to design wedding gowns. Her correct response put her up to $7,500!

At the end of the round, the scores were:

Sandie $13,400
Rebecca $11,800
Monique $6,700

FJ! category: HISTORIC IRONY

FJ! clue: Theodore Herzl was inspired to begin the work that's the foundation for modern Zionism by an opera by this composer

Monique 6700 - 6700 = 0
Rebecca 11800 + 11800 = 23600
Sandie 13400 + 10300 = 23700

Sandie makes it 3 wins; she'll be back Monday to defend!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
9. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
10. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
11. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
12. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
13. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
14. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
15. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
---
16. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
17. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
18. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
19. Sandie Baker $68,600 (3 wins)
20. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
21. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
22. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
23. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
24. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
25. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Happy Birthday, Alex's Mother!

April 15, 2014, 6:07 am

≫ Next: Double Trouble

≪ Previous: This Post Shall Remain Nameless

Hello! Andy here with a recap from Monday's game!

Today's contestants:

Will Sandie win her fourth?

Alex took the time to wish his mother a happy 93rd birthday!

J! round categories:
CROQUET, MONSIEUR
GOOD LUCK CHARMS
6-LETTER BIBLE BOOKS
CLICHÉS
WARM
& FUZZY

THERE IS A #CROQUET CATEGORY ON #JEOPARDY!
— Ben Ingram (@julysixteenth) April 14, 2014

All three of our contestants today got off to a good start; Sandie found the first Daily Double at 6-LETTER BIBLE BOOKS $600! Scores:

Sandie $3,600
Devin $1,800
Chrissy $1,200

Sandie bet $1,000. Her clue: This epistle says, "A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law". Her correct response put her at $4,600!

Sandie also got the $1,000 clue before the first break! Scores after 15:

Sandie $5,600
Chrissy $1,200
Devin $1,000

Part of me wants to start a count of engagement interview stories next season! Chrissy adds to this season's count; her fiancé didn't have to buy a ring!

Sandie gave "The Red Queen" as opposed to "The Queen of Hearts" on one clue -- it's a popular misconception to conflate the two of them!

Scores after 30:
Sandie $6,600
Devin $4,600
Chrissy $3,200

DJ! round categories:
BORN 100 YEARS AGO
FRUIT IN THE WORD
FOR YOUR REFERENCE
KINGS OF MUSIC
BIG 5
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES

FRUIT IN THE WORD seemed to mystify our contestants! There were originally three Triple Stumpers in the round! That three became two when they chose to accept a neg that Devin had given!

Sandie had most of the buzzes early on in this round. BORN 100 YEARS AGO $1600 (surprise surprise!) had the first of our Daily Doubles. Sandie's to play, with scores:

Sandie $14,600
Devin $6,200
Chrissy $2,800

Sandie bet $3,000. Her clue: Born in Swansea, Wales, he went somewhat gentle into that good night in 1953. Her correct response put her at $17,600!

The final Daily Double came three clues from the end, under SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES $1200. There were a $1,600 and $2,000 clue left on the board! Scores:

Sandie $24,800
Devin $9,800
Chrissy $4,400

I'd bet $2,100 here, as that guarantees a lock game, even if Devin gets the final two clues. Sandie chose $2,000. Her clue: This protective layer of the stratosphere was discovered by Charles Fabry in 1913. Another correct response put her at $26,800 as the end-of-round signal left both of those $1,600 and $2,000 clues on the board!

Scores going into Final:
Sandie $26,800
Devin $9,800
Chrissy $4,400

Haven't been live tweeting @Jeopardy but I am officially scared of this Sandie woman
— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) April 14, 2014

FJ! category: SIGNS & SYMBOLS

FJ! clue: Meant to evoke a person with arms outstretched & pointed downward, it was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom

Chrissy 4400 - 4400 = 0
Devin 9800 - 1000 = 8800
Sandie 26800 - 200 = 26600

This was a rare Final where absolutely none of our three players offered any response whatsoever to Final!

Sandie moves up the ToC list slightly!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
9. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
10. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
11. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
12. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
13. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
14. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
15. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
---
16. Sandie Baker $95,200 (4 wins)
17. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
18. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
19. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
20. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
21. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
22. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
23. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
24. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
25. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Double Trouble

April 17, 2014, 7:15 am

≫ Next: Going Up The Hard Way

≪ Previous: Happy Birthday, Alex's Mother!

Andy here with two recaps in one!

I realized that on Monday, I didn't post contestant names for the week! Here they are:
Devin Baker - Cincinnati, OH (WXIX)
Sandie Baker - Eastpointe, MI (WDIV)
Jake Bryant- Weymouth, MA (WBZ)
Jennie Crabbe- Ballwin, MO (KSDK)
Frederique Delapree - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (CHCH)
Matt Farr - Lookout Mountain, TN (WTVC)
J.D. Lape - Corona, CA (KABC)
Kristin McAuliffe - Brighton, MA (WBZ)
Kathryn Schoenberger - Washington, D.C. (WJLA)
E.A. Srere - Dallas, TX (KTVT/KTXA)
Chrissy Swisher - Glendale, CO (KMGH)

Tuesday's players:

J! round categories:
SEA WORTHY MOVIES
MEDALS & DECORATIONS
CHARLES DICKENS
FACTS ABOUT FIGURES
BIG CITY MAYORS
"ITS" AT THE END

Rob Ford didn't come up in BIG CITY MAYORS, I was disappointed! It did have London's Lord Mayor Boris Johnson on a bicycle, though!

Jennie got off to a good start against our champion! At the first break, scores were:

Sandie $3,200
Jennie $2,800
J.D. $600

J.D is wearing suspenders to honour his late father! A good PSA from Sandie's interview: you should go donate blood!

Coming out of the break, the Daily Double was found at the bottom of MEDALS & DECORATIONS. Sandie played it, with scores of:

Sandie $5,000
Jennie $3,400
J.D. $1,000

Sandie bet $1,500. Her clue: In 1964 Egypt instituted a special friendship medal for those who helped in the construction of this project. Her correct response put her at $6,500!

Over the rest of the round, Jennie did a good job clawing back the deficit slightly! Scores at the end of 30:

Sandie $8,700
Jennie $5,600
J.D. $1,600

DJ! round categories:
ORGANIZATIONS
10-LETTER WORDS
TRUE "NORTH"
SONG OF THE SOUTH
THE FAR EAST
THE OLD WEST

Jennie found the first Daily Double on the 10th clue of the round, at the bottom of TRUE "NORTH". Scores:

Sandie $10,700
Jennie $8,400
J.D. $2,000

Jennie bet for the lead, going for $3,000. Her clue: This landmark took its place in American history on April 18, 1775. She could not remember it, and she fell to $5,400. Sadly for her, Jennie was only able to get 3 of the remaining 20 clues!

JD found the final Daily Double under THE OLD WEST $1,600! Scores:
Sandie $19,500
Jennie $7,000
J.D. $3,200

JD bet $3,000. His clue: The Wild Bunch's Harry Longabaugh took this nickname from the name of the town where he was imprisoned for horse theft. He gave a correct response and that put his score at $6,200!

Scores going into Final:
Sandie $21,100
Jennie $9,400
J.D. $6,600

FJ! category: THE ANCIENT WONDERS

FJ! clue: Far apart alphabetically, they're the 2 deities in the names of the 7 ancient wonders

JD 6600 - 6600 = 0
Jennie 9400 - 3805 = 5595
Sandie 21100 - 1100 = 20000

Sandie's won 5, for $115,200!

Wednesday's players:

J! round categories:
WE HAVE LAWS
PUP CULTURE
THAT'S PAINFUL
IOWA
POTPOURRI
THE "END" IS JUST THE BEGINNING

WE HAVE LAWS was a fun category about weird laws in places; it even mentioned Vancouver's building code banning doorknobs in new buildings!

At the end of the first segment, scores were:
Sandie $4,400
Kathryn $2,600
Matt $0

It sounds as if Kathryn's interview was cut off a bit, it felt like there was a jump cut; she had studied abroad in Italy and Belgium! Matt is so afraid of sharks he won't wade into the ocean past his ankles!

The Daily Double was found under THAT'S PAINFUL $800. Matt found it on his first hunting shot! Scores:

Sandie $5,600
Kathryn $3,400
Matt $1,000

Matt bet $1,000. Clue: This autoimmune disease in which certain cells attack the joint cartilage is called R.A. for short. His correct response put him at $2,000!

By the end of the round, the scores were:
Sandie $7,800
Kathryn $4,600
Matt $1,800

DJ! round categories:
A FARSI LEXICON
AL PACINO MOVIES BY ROLE
AMERICAN AUTHORS
FORMER U.N. MEMBERS
BREAD
THE STAFF OF LIFE

Matt seemed to be the only player interested in hunting Daily Doubles! However, Sandie found the first one, under FORMER UN MEMBERS $1200 (the penultimate category played). Scores:

Sandie $16,600
Kathryn $6,200
Matt $5,800

Sandie bet $3,000. Her clue: In 1971 this island nation was expelled from the U.N. & replaced by its mainland adversary. Sandie's correct response put her at $19,600!

Sandie also got to play the final Daily Double, on the game's penultimate clue, LIFE $1200. The $1600 clue was left on the board. Scores:

Sandie $22,400
Kathryn $5,800
Matt $4,600

Sandie bet $2,000 -- enough to keep her lock intact! Her clue: Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed
the Cuban fishing village that inspired this 1952 novel first published in "Life". Sandie's correct response put her at $24,400!

After the final clue, the scores were:
Sandie $26,000
Kathryn $5,800
Matt $4,600

FJ! category: TV MUSIC

FJ! clue: "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Tommy James & The Shondelles was heard in this drama's "Gliding Over All" episode

Matt 4600 - 4600 = 0
Kathryn 5800 - 3400 = 2400
Sandie 26000 - 1000 = 25000

Sandie's now at 6 wins, $140,200!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
9. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
10. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
11. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
12. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
13. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
14. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
15. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
---
16. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
17. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
18. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
19. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
20. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
21. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
22. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
23. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
24. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
25. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Going Up The Hard Way

April 18, 2014, 8:56 am

≫ Next: Wrong of the South

≪ Previous: Double Trouble

Andy here with a recap of Sandie Baker going for Win #7!

Today's contestants:

It's always great to see a Canadian on the show!

J! round categories:
REJECTED SUPERVILLAIN NAMES
THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM
SAUCES
1-CONSONANT WORDS
MADDEN COVER MEN
HISTORIC DAYS

Sandie and Kristin both did very well over the first three categories (Supervillain, Madden, and Sauces). Alex expressed some rather sexist surprise at the performance over Madden, though!

The first Daily Double went Sandy's way under SAUCES $600! The scores were:

Kristin $3,600
Sandie $2,200
Frederique $800

Sandie bet just $1,200. Her clue: One story says the French came up with this sauce to imitate a buttery one brought with a visiting Dutch king. Her correct response put her at $3,400! I really think that Sandie missed a spot for a True Daily Double, though! There would have been plenty of opportunity to catch up...

At the end of 15, the scores were:
Sandie $4,400
Kristin $3,600
Frederique $800

Frederique, on her trip to Macchu Picchu, walked the Inca Trail for four days! It was apparently the hard way, and she cursed a lot on the trek -- in both English and French!

Over the back half of the round, it was more of Sandie and Kristin. I think Sandie got "one consonant" mixed up with "one syllable"; she negged with "flute" on an "oboe" question!

Kristin ended up getting a neg refunded on HISTORIC DAYS $1000 (Jan. 24, 1948 out west); "the gold rush" was specific enough!

Scores after 30:
Sandie $8,600
Kristin $6,800
Frederique $1,200

DJ! categories:
A BEASTLY CATEGORY
COMPOSERS
CELEBRITY EPITAPHS
WIND
LITERARY TITLE CHARACTERS
THAT'S THE "WAY"

COMPOSERS $1600 had the first Daily Double! Sandie's to play, scores were:

Sandie $9,800
Kristin $8,000
Frederique $1,200

Sandie bet $2,000. Her clue: In 1727 this German composer became a naturalized British subject under George I. Her correct response put her at $11,800!

I would have put big money on A BEASTLY CATEGORY having the other Daily Double. It was a video category to boot! I'm glad it didn't, though! It came up under WIND $2000. Frederique got to play it, with scores sitting at the following:

Sandie $13,400
Kristin $11,200
Frederique $6,800

Frederique bet only $2,200. Her clue: A common scale of wind velocities was devised in 1805 by Sir Francis Beaufort of this military group. Frederique went for the army and fell to $4,600.

The last clue in A BEASTLY CATEGORY went unplayed! Scores going into Final:

Sandie $15,400
Kristin $13,200
Frederique $6,200

FJ! category: 19TH CENTURY PRESIDENTS

FJ! clue: Good looks weren't enough as he became the only full-term president rejected in a bid for his party's 2nd term nomination

Frederique 6200 - 0 = 6200
Kristin 13200 - 13199 = 1
Sandie 15400 - 11100 = 4300

So Frederique ends Sandie's win streak! She'll be back tomorrow to defend! Jeanie, armed with lots of fun stories from her trip, will have the recap! See you then!

↧

Wrong of the South

April 19, 2014, 9:00 am

≫ Next: This one time at O'Brien's

≪ Previous: Going Up The Hard Way

I've resisted revealing this pic long enough:

There is much more where that came from, but I want to do that night justice with a post all its own (though I did refer to it in a comment on yesterday's post). Wait for it....
Remember Preston Nicholson? Like me, he was at the Battle of the Decades this week and in fact we happened to be on the same flight from Denver to Los Angeles. I remembered he was going to be on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at some point in the future and intended to ask him, but before I could he told me his episode airs Monday. So don't miss it like I will have to (because it doesn't air in my area). Preston tells me it doesn't air where he lives now either (Des Moines).
Now, you see my poll about who will be the alternate at the Battle of the Decades? When I posted the poll, I thought there was only one. It turns out there was one from each decade. I'll tell you who they were next week, once the poll is closed. ;-)
My Coryat for this weekend's rerun, which originally aired 1-15-13, was 25400 (27400 without negs). The first time I played, my score was 25800 (29800 without negs).
Yesterday, Frederique Delapree won her first episode, defeating Sandie Baker! Anybody else think Sandie was gonna go a little further?

E.A. Srere

Frederique Delapree

Jake Bryant

Since Mr. Trebek said no one got yesterday's final, I went back and looked at it. I wouldn't have gotten it either.
Didn't it sound like E.A. was saying "autocrats" when she asked for Pulitzer for Fiction Autocorrects?
At the first break:
Frederique 800 (2 right and one wrong)
Jake 0 (2 right and one wrong)
E.A. 4800 (10 right)
Was anyone else thrown by the two-word correct response to this first one after the break, in Anagrams?: "Unwanted facial feature: chub on deli." I wonder if the contestants were. But then this next one was two words and no one got it (I did): "Any temperamental diva: pin on drama."
Doesn't it sound like Jake left the "t" off the correct response to this one in Home Sweet Home?: "You get a blue ribbon if you know the name of this family whose mansion sits at 2000 W. Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee." E.A. found the Daily Double of the round at the bottom of the category.
Frederique 4400 (4 right)
Jake 400 (2 right and one wrong)
E.A. 6000 (2 right)
E.A. wagered 1000 on this clue: "From 1903 to 1957, Beauvoir, his former home in Biloxi, was a home for Confederate veterans & their widows." I was not on the right track here, but E.A. got it.
At the end of the round:
Frederique 4800
Jake 600
E.A. 7800
I said "lightning bolts" for this one in World Myths & Legends: "Like Zeus, Shango, an African god of storms, dispenses justice by hurling these at the offending party."
Frederique found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in FedEx Doesn't Go There.
Frederique 9200 (4 right)
Jake 4200 (5 right and one wrong)
E.A. 16200 (4 right)
Frederique wagered 2200 on this clue: "Though this country has 'Central' in its name, it's too far off the beaten path for FedEx." She and I got this right.
The last clue of the round was the other Daily Double, in The Duke of Wellington. E.A. found it.
Frederique 12600 (2 right)
Jake 7000 (2 right)
E.A. 20600 (3 right)
How I wish E.A. would've tried to put it out of reach here. But she wagered 2000 on this clue: "This contemporary nickname was a tribute to Wellington's toughness; Punch put 'wrought' in front of it." She and I got it wrong.
The Final Jeopardy category was Characters in Novels. This was the clue: "One of this man's'most priceless memories' is of 'a delicately nurtured southern belle with her Irish up." This was a no-brainer for me, because it's my favorite novel so far. Jake was right and adds 5600. Good for him! Frederique was right too and added 2000. E.A. was wrong! She lost 6600. Too bad for her, after the good game she played. Frederique will be back Monday!
My Coryat today was only 16600 (16800 without a neg).
One year ago: I got the "beat"
Two years ago: Shark Tale
Three years ago: D.C., Day 3
Four years ago: [untitled]

↧

This one time at O'Brien's

April 19, 2014, 11:14 pm

≫ Next: Photobomb

≪ Previous: Wrong of the South

So of course I have a lot I can't wait to tell you about my week in Los Angeles watching the Battle of the Decades finals. I don't have to wait to tell you about this: the O'Brien's pub quiz!
This week the episodes taped on Wednesday and Thursday instead of Tuesday and Wednesday! Remember the guy who has attended every taping for years? (Sorry, I can't find where I've referred to him in the past.) His name is Joe. He's guessing that the schedule was arranged that way because Tuesday was the first day of Passover. I'd been worried that regular episodes taped on Tuesday that week, because I could've been there. But Joe says nothing taped.
Mark May was Tom Cubbage's guest on Wednesday. Mark and I determined we were both going to the pub that night. He asked if I had a team, and I was sorry to say I didn't because I know it's my responsibility and I didn't want to burden Mark. But ever the gracious host, he said "We'll take care of you."
I saw Stefan right away when I walked in to the pub. I didn't talk to him long then because he had a full team, and I had to kind of hurry and find one since it might be a challenge. I got to talk to Stefan after the quiz, and it was highly entertaining!
Since the pub quiz would be happening smack in the middle of the finals instead of at the end, I thought that might impact attendance - contestants who advanced might want to rest because they'd play again the next day for such high stakes. You'll have to wait to find out who, if anyone, among these people advanced to week two: Colby Burnett, Robin Carroll, Dan Pawson and Mark Dawson! Also, India Cooper, Shane Whitlock and their spouses were there. They were alternates in the Battle of the Decades tournament. Maria Wenglinsky was the alternate for the 2000s, but she wasn't at the pub. I did tell her the next day I looked for her! Here she is at the taping, with Dan Pawson's wife Andrea Saenz. Thanks to Bill MacDonald for this picture!

Incidentally, Maria had gone to the Getty that morning. She was only present for the afternoon session. She said she arrived at 1:30 but no one would let her in. (We'd been told to be back in our seats by 3:15.) She'd said this in front of contestant coordinator Maggie, who was understandably bummed!
I came upon Jerome Vered as I wandered around the pub looking for a team with space available. He yelled at a guy at another table, asking if his team was full. It wasn't, but at the same time I was being led to another table, and that's where I wound up. There was some uncertainty because apparently that team had been expecting someone named "Mary Beth" and her husband, which would've made them a full team. Jerome yelled to the team he'd asked, "You snoozed, you losed!" The guy yelled back that he said his team wasn't full! It makes me laugh out loud even now. I didn't even see the guy he was yelling back and forth with. By the way, I loved Jerome's green glasses this week, and I never told him! Here we are at the party after taping the next day:

Bill MacDonald took this picture too! When Bill looked a little exasperated, I was like "Oh no," but it was because of what Jerome's doing! Here was the next attempt:

Unfortunately Bill wasn't at the pub! By the way, I could only attend this party because Mark Dawson let me be his guest. I'm forever grateful.

I didn't take any pictures at the pub, and to my knowledge no one took a picture of me. It's too bad because I liked my dress and hair that day:

So who was on the team I joined? Colby, Robin, Dan and Andrea. I'm serious. Robin's daughter wasn't there. I thought she might be since Robin told me in our Q & A that Alison is 21. Apparently Alison was doing something else, but I met her the next night. That's her next to Robin in the picture below. Kelly and Jimmy from the Clue Crew are on the left. Contestant coordinator Maggie and Pam Mueller are on the right.

When I approached my team's table, I was surprised Colby knew my name and that I was behind this blog. (I didn't say any of that when I was on his team the last time!) He recalled a few things I'd said in my post about the last quiz. Remember, "he'd be back"? :-) He'd said that after he'd known a correct response but it didn't get to the scorekeepers correctly. Colby was on his game again at this quiz, but there were two responses he knew and was talked out of. I wish I had them for you verbatim, but one was about tax brackets, which Colby knew something about since he'd won so much money last year. The other was about Barry Sanders.
At some point during the quiz, my teammates mused about how much money the people in the room had taken Jeopardy! for. This prompted a chorus of "I've won [suchety-such] hundred thousand dollars...I've won [blank] hundred thousand dollars." Andrea is a Jeopardy! champ too. And this was just my table! I didn't have much to say there, but I didn't the whole night. Again. I remarked I don't think there was anything I knew that someone else didn't too. And there was very little of that. This was a hard quiz, and probably the most vulgar of the ones I've been to! I doubt there's been another 5 minutes of my life where I heard a certain body part word as often and from as many different people. Even in nursing school. Believe me, I never expected to hear it out of these mouths! Later, at the post-mortem, Mark M. noted he'd have to tweet the name of the winning team. (See below.) The discussion continued the next day at the studio, between Jerome and Michael Rooney. The latter had hosted the quiz with Dileep Rao. I think poor Bill was a little surprised at what he was hearing! We broke off into a different conversation at that point.
Remember at the last quiz, when I had pointed to a picture and wondered if it was Mecca? Colby showed me the real Mecca and it looked nothing like the one I'd pointed to. Something like that happened this time too. We had a handout where we were given names of "second bananas," and we were to name other half. There was a name "Archie," and I'd asked Colby if it could be the Archie from the comic strip. Colby knew that Archie's last name (it wasn't the one on the handout), and that Archie wouldn't have been considered the second banana anyway!
Here's a picture of the winning team. Look: every face a familiar one!

New winning team! 4/16/14 - This One Time At Band Camp, I Stuck An Airplane In My Pussy http://t.co/o2bpNmFkM8
— O'Brien's Pub Quiz (@obrienspubquiz) April 17, 2014

As I mentioned earlier, I went to the post-mortem afterwards at the coffee shop across the street, which was a treat. A lot of people came, including Robin and Mark D. Jerome was bringing chairs from another room but he was missing some of the discussion he obviously relishes about the evening's questions. He stopped what he was doing so he could stand and be close to the people who had the scoresheets. I told him we could switch places but he wouldn't hear of it!
Here are a couple of questions from the quiz (mercifully G-rated), courtesy of Michael Rooney:

Who, in a 1914 novel, was the first to coin the term "atomic bomb"?

The only circular state line in the U.S. lies between which two states?

Mark M. offered to walk me to my car, but I'd already asked Warren Usui since he did it last time! It was a sad goodbye with Mark, since he had to work the next day and wouldn't be at the taping. I don't know when I'll be out that way again! I told contestant coordinator Robert the same thing. That's Bill MacDonald on the right, and he gave me the picture! This was also at the party after the Thursday taping.

↧

Photobomb

April 21, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: Chicago Fun Times

≪ Previous: This one time at O'Brien's

That is, there are more than usual in this post!
I've been wanting this for a while, but I'm giving you the option of following by e-mail, on the right. Ideally this will go under the "subscribe" tab above, but I don't know how to do that myself and the one guy I have doesn't seem like he's going to do it. If anyone knows how, please contact me.
Did anybody watch Preston Nicholson on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire today? How as it? Here I am with Preston at the Battle of the Decades taping last week. I think I was eating a piece of an orange that Jerome handed me. Thanks to Bill MacDonald for the picture.

Andy tells me that Keith Williams ran the Boston Marathon today, and that his time was 2:53:02. Go Keith!
Andy also tells me his book is available in Kindle, Nook and Kobo formats, as well as from the Google Play bookstore. Here's a link if you want it: A's Bad as It Gets: Connie Mack's Pathetic Athletics of 1916

I'll also put one on the right for you to access easily in the future.
For posterity, I'd like to post the results of my "Who will win the Battle of the Decades?" poll. I'm pleased with the number of responses. One hundred twenty four people voted, and for this blog that's pretty good. Give yourselves a round of applause.

Colby Burnett

9 (7%)

Robin Carroll

1 (0%)

Roger Craig

13 (10%)

Tom Cubbage

2 (1%)

Mark Dawson

0 (0%)

Chuck Forrest

4 (3%)

Ken Jennings

60 (48%)

Mark Lowenthal

0 (0%)

Pam Mueller

1 (0%)

Tom Nosek

0 (0%)

Leszek Pawlowicz

1 (0%)

Dan Pawson

1 (0%)

Brad Rutter

25 (20%)

Russ Schumacher

3 (2%)

Rachel Schwartz

4 (3%)

And the results of "Who will be the alternate," even though you and I now know there was one from each decade. Thirty-four people voted on this one:

Maria Wenglinsky	1 (2%)
Keith Whitener	0 (0%)
Vinita Kailasanath	0 (0%)
Michael Falk	2 (5%)
Larissa Kelly	4 (11%)
Tom Kavanaugh	2 (5%)
Vijay Balse	0 (0%)
Stephanie Jass	4 (11%)
Celeste DiNucci	0 (0%)
Tom Nissley	2 (5%)
Fritz Holznagel	0 (0%)
Dan Melia	0 (0%)
Bob Harris	2 (5%)
Shane Whitlock	1 (2%)
Dave Abbott	0 (0%)
Claudia Perry	1 (2%)
Mike Dupee	4 (11%)
Jill Bunzendahl Chimka	1 (2%)
Eddie Timanus	4 (11%)
Babu Srinivasan	0 (0%)
India Cooper	0 (0%)
Jim Scott	0 (0%)
Leslie Frates	0 (0%)
Andrew Westney	1 (2%)
Richard Cordray	0 (0%)
Leslie Shannon	0 (0%)
Frank Spangenberg	1 (2%)
Bob Verini	0 (0%)
Jerome Vered	4 (11%)

My Coryat for the weekend rerun was 29200 (31400 without negs). It originally aired 1-16-13. The first time I played, my score was 25400 (32000 without negs).
Appearing on the show this week:
James Behrens - San Diego, CA
Hilary Gaughen - Lakeside, CA
Donna Innes - Kalamazoo, MI
Zia Jones - Lake Forest, CA
Dilip Rajagopalan - Newtown Square, PA
Grace Riley - Fort Smith, AR
Aimee Seligstein - Memphis, TN
Brad Wright - Spartanburg, SC

And today's contestants:

Kris Voss

Frederique Delapree

Julia Collins

Mr. Trebek reminded us that the Explore the World Sweepstakes is back on. Today, a trip to the Galapagos is being given away.
Frederique found the Daily Double of the round in The Captain.
Frederique 1400 (2 right)
Julia 1800 (3 right)
Kris -400 (One wrong)
Frederique wagered 500 (?) on this clue: "Sparking a debate about women in combat, in 1989 U.S. capt. Linda Bray led troops under fire during the invasion of this country." Frederique and I got it wrong.
This next clue, in the same category, was one I expect everyone to know but me, but it was a triple-stumper. Read by Jimmy: "Here's a replica of the Half-Moon, the ship on which this explorer sailed in search of the Northeast Passage in 1609."

I got this triple-stumper in The Crew: "In 'The Ox-bow Incident,' Mapes says, 'Rustlers got Kinkaid this morning...there's' a this group'forming.'" I negged on the next 2 clues though! Then came the first break.
Frederique 1900 (One right)
Julia 800 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Kris -200 (One right and one wrong)
There were 9 clues left when Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning. :-( I'd have swept The First Mate, I'm sure, but 4 of those were left covered.
Frederique 3900 (4 right)
Julia 1600 (3 right)
Kris 800 (One right)
Believe it or not, the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy was found in Man Candy. It was Kris's to play.
Frederique 5900 (3 right)
Julia 5600 (3 right)
Kris 2400 (One right)
Kris wagered 2000 on this clue: "This candy bar was named for what girls said to the boy who came to the candy factory to flirt with them." I got this right but Kris didn't. He drew a laugh with his response of "Hey Baby."
Frederique found the next Daily Double in The National Park System.
Frederique 6300 (One right and one wrong)
Julia 6000 (One right)
Kris 0 (One right and one wrong)
Frederique wagered 1500 on this clue: "275-foot General Sherman is found in this national park."

She and I got it right.
Here's another one I'd have thought everyone would know but me, in Less-Than-Genteel Men of History: "In the 1990s divers off the Carolina coast found the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge, captained by this pirate." This time, I knew it though!
This time there were 6 clues left when Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning. Unfortunately, 2 clues were left covered.
Frederique 7800
Julia 8000 (4 right and one wrong)
Kris 5200 (4 right)
The Final Jeopardy category is Historic Groups. This is the clue: "With fewer than 10 member cities in attendance, this association based in Lubeck held its last assembly in 1669." Kris was wrong and lost 3000. Frederique and I were right, and she added 7300. Julia was right too and added 7605. That's enough to make her the new champion! And I don't have to update the ToC list.
My Coryat today was 18400 (23400 without negs). :-(

One year ago: Judy, Judy, Judy
Two years ago: Axes of Evil
Three years ago: Sara, Smile
Four years ago: [untitled]

↧

Chicago Fun Times

April 22, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: The Carolinas

≪ Previous: Photobomb

Reminder: There's a new follow-by-email widget on the right. Someday it will go where it belongs, under the "subscribe" tab. If you know how to make that happen, let me know.
So this morning I was laying around thinking of this tweet I'd seen hours earlier:

More details forthcoming, but I'll be playing in the quarterfinals of the #Jeopardy Battle of the Decades on Tuesday, May 6!
— Russ Schumacher (@russ_schumacher) April 22, 2014

The significance of the date occurred to me suddenly: If the quarterfinals are the week of May 6, is week 2 of the finals the very next week? I got up and opened my suitcase, then opened a bag with the postcard holding the airdates. Sure enough.

So what's the problem? I'd planned to visit my sister in Wisconsin with my family at the end of that week. But don't panic like I did. I have some ideas, including staying at my sister's in Chicago to blog on Thursday and Friday before joining my family on Friday evening. (I learned from Colby Burnett the show airs at 2:30 there.) No matter what, I am there for you.
I got my copy of Tom Nissley's Readers Book of Days in the mail today, as well as Brendan DuBois'My Short, Happy Life in Jeopardy!

Anyone read these? You can buy them here:
A Reader's Book of Days: True Tales from the Lives and Works of Writers for Every Day of the Year

My Short, Happy Life In "Jeopardy!"

Julia Collins

Donna Innes

Dilip Rajagopalan

Yesterday, Julia Collins won her first game. Was it her last?
There seemed to be something to say about every clue today, including this first one in Food-Titled Books: "It's the title offering seen here."And more pictures! Okay, I'll get off the couch but I won't crouch down.

Anyway I didn't know that the ham was green too, in this book. Did you? Julia went 4/5 in this category.
And I thought of the correct response to this one in Top 40 Debuts, but didn't think they were a trio: "1987: This female trio pushed onto the charts with 'Push It.'" And here's a notable one in the same category, thanks to something that happened at the O'Brien's quiz I attended in January: "2009: This single-named British gal was 'Chasing Pavements.'"
I said what Donna did for this one in On My Hands: "To keep from slipping, gymnasts use this substance, mainly magnesium carbonate, on their hands." This was the last clue before the end of the round.
Julia 5800 (10 right)
Dilip 0
Donna 1400 (4 right and one wrong)
Poor Donna - she seems like someone who's had a colorful life but can't really say much about it!
Shoutout to the U.S.T.A. in Dilip's interview! I mentioned it to them on Twitter, and here's what they said:

@vamosdavid We heard - thanks for mentioning! Great to see/hear one of our leagues players on the show.
— USTA (@usta) April 23, 2014

Is Julia that old that there was no Teen Tournament when she was in high school? When do you think the first one was?
Dilip finally rang in and answered correctly, and the next clue was the Daily Double!
Julia 6600 (2 right)
Dilip 800 (One right)
Donna 1400
Dilip wagered just 500 on this clue in I've Got Time: "There are 60 billion of these in a minute." Dilip was wrong but I got it right. My closed-captioning said he said "quarks," but it didn't really sound like it!
At the end of the round:
Julia 7600 (2 right)
Dilip 1100 (2 right)
Donna 4600 (5 right)
I got this triple-stumper in Changing the White House Towel Monograms: "From WJC to this." The next clue was the Daily Double, in the same category. Julia found it.
Julia 10800 (4 right)
Dilip 700 (One right and one wrong)
Donna 4200 (One wrong)
Julia wagered 2000 on this hard one: "From RBH to this." She and I didn't get it.
I got this triple-stumper in Colleges, not Universities: "The name of this one of the Seven Sisters is a Welsh phrase meaning 'high hill.'" I got this next one too, a triple-stumper in the same category: "This pizza magnate & 2012 presidential candidate was a math major at historically black Morehouse College." I was thinking the same thing Trebek said. How quickly they forget!
Julia found the next Daily Double in U.S. Bodies of Water.
Julia 13200 (3 right)
Dilip 1100 (One right)
Donna 4600 (One right)
She wagered on this clue: "Oregon's Wizard Island in this volcanic lake has a cinder cone rising 760 feet above the lake." She got it.
I swept Crossword Clues "O", which included this triple-stumper: "'Boom' or 'cuckoo,' for example (12)." Remember this?
There were three clues left covered at the end of the round.
Julia 18400 (3 right)
Dilip 3900 (2 right)
Donna 7400 (2 right)
The Final Jeopardy category is Baseball. This is the clue: "Vine Line is the official magazine of this major league baseball team." I got this instantly. Dilip was wrong and lost 3501. Donna didn't have a response and lost 600. Julia got it right! I'm surprised they all didn't. She added 2600. We'll see her tomorrow.
My Coryat today was 20600 (22800 without negs).
One year ago: Crater Fake
Two years ago: Axes of Evil
Three years ago: You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no
Four years ago: Did I mention I'm holding a contest?

↧

The Carolinas

April 24, 2014, 9:27 am

≫ Next: Going For Four

≪ Previous: Chicago Fun Times

Andy here with a no-pictures recap!

Brad Wright and Zia Jones are the challengers today to Julia Collins, who has won $36,605 over her two wins thus far!

J! round categories:
TECH EDUCATION
GEOGRAPHER'S DICTIONARY
LATIN PREFIXES
COOKING "P"s
TOUCHDOWNS
CONVERSIONS

I enjoyed TOUCHDOWNS (much like I enjoy most sports categories). Brad got off to the best start over the first segment. At the first commercial break, the scores were:

Brad $3,400
Julia $800
Zia $600

Brad has hiked the entire 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail! Julia apparently ran into Ken Jennings in Chicago once; her friend embarrassed her! Meanwhile, Alex said Brad was from North, not South Carolina! He corrected himself next break!

Coming out of the break, CONVERSIONS $600 was the first clue selected -- by Julia -- and it had the Daily Double!

Julia bet just $700. Her clue: A 4th C. statue of him & a cross read, "By this saving sign I have...restored liberty to the Senate and people of Rome". Julia hesitantly gave the correct response and her score went to $1,500!

I was actually shocked that TECH EDUCATION had products that weren't Sony!

Meanwhile, Brad managed to keep his advantage over Julia over the remainder of the round! Scores after 30:

Brad $6,000
Julia $3,900
Zia $1,800

DJ! round categories:
LITERARY TITLE FIRST NAMES
THE BODY
THE MAN OF THE HOUSE
BEFORE & AFTER
"B" IN THE TOP 40
APRIL...

LITERARY TITLE FIRST NAMES was a tough category! Julia made a common mistake on the $2,000 clue (Mr. Shandy); she left out the R!

THE MAN OF THE HOUSE (a Congressman category) $1200 had the first Daily Double; Brad got to play it!

Scores:
Brad $10,400
Julia $5,100
Zia $3,400

Brad bet $2,000. His clue: Tom Cole & Markwayne Mullin, the only Native Americans in Congress, are from this state's "five civilized tribes". Brad went for South Dakota and fell to $8,400.

Meanwhile, I'm sure that Jeanie is very disappointed that Adrian Smith didn't come up at all in that category!

BEFORE & AFTER $1600 had the final Daily Double! Brad's to play again, the scores were:

Brad $9,200
Zia $7,000
Julia $5,500

Brad bet $1,000. His clue: Morning phone reminder from the front desk that's on the spine of a library book. Brad went for "wake-up calling card" and he fell to $8,200.

Meanwhile, Julia got a number of clues on the way into the clubhouse to take the lead going into Final!

Scores going into Final:

Julia $12,300
Zia $8,200
Brad $7,800

FJ! cateogry: HOLIDAYS IN OTHER COUNTRIES

FJ! clue: William Tubman's nearly 3 decades of leadership is celebrated on his birthday, November 29, in this country

Brad 7800 - 7700 = 100
Zia 8200 - 7400 = 800
Julia 12300 + 4200 = 16500

Julia's now won $53,105 over 3 games!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
9. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
10. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
11. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
12. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
13. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
14. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
15. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
---
16. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
17. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
18. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
19. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
20. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
21. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
22. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
23. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
24. Julia Collins $53,105 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Going For Four

April 25, 2014, 8:37 am

≫ Next: Abort, retry, fail

≪ Previous: The Carolinas

Good morning! Andy with another recap! No pictures again, though...

Today's contestants: Grace Riley and James Behrens challenging Julia Collins, who has won $53,105 over her first three games!

I discovered Julia's Twitter account yesterday; she live-tweets the games!

J! round categories:
FILL IN THE MOVIE TITLES
FROM "B" TO "Y"
THE WOMAN WHO WROTE...
IT WAS AN ACCIDENT
THAT EXPLANATION
DOES HOLD WATER

Over the first 15 clues, both challengers had good luck on the buzzer! In face, it was Grace who found the first Daily Double, just before the break, at the bottom of THE WOMAN WHO WROTE!

Scores:

James $3,400
Grace $2,800
Julia $1,200

Grace bet $1,000. Her clue: In 1882, "An Official History of the Red Cross". Her correct response put her at $3,800 and the show into its first break!

Grace received an invitation to Clinton's inaugural ball for raising so much money at the age of 12 for his campaign! She didn't get to go, unfortunately, as her parents didn't let her skip school! (Her parents must have been Republican.)

Today is Julia's brother's birthday! Happy birthday, John!

Happy Birthday, John! We had a family celebration, complete with cake! Thanks, @Jeopardy! for a unique birthday gift.
— Julia (@JeopardyJulia) April 24, 2014

Coming out of the break, Julia dominated on the buzzer, getting most of the clues, including ACCIDENT $600: It's the accident that got 78-year-old Texas lawyer Harry Whittington into political news in 2006

“Getting shot in the face… by Dick Cheney” = My favorite @Jeopardy! response. #CantBelieveISaidThatOnTV
— Julia (@JeopardyJulia) April 24, 2014

At the end of 30, the scores were:

Julia $8,400
Grace $5,000
James $2,400

DJ! round categories:
LEO, THE POPE
STATE OF THE ART
LEGAL MATTERS
WORDS REFASHIONED
SINGAPORE
SITCOM NEIGHBORS

Singapore $400 was a video clue! Made me though that the Daily Double was there. STATE OF THE ART $2000 had the first Daily Double! Julia's to play, with scores at:

Julia $12,800
Grace $9,400
James $3,200

Julia bet $2,000. Her clue: Degas' portrait of his American cousin Estelle, who lived there. Julia said New York and fell to $10,800.

LEO $1200 had the final Daily Double. Julia's to play, with scores at:

Julia $13,200
Grace $8,200
James $3,200

Julia bet $2,000 again. Her clue: Leo XIII's 25-year reign as Pope was the 3rd-longest in Papal history, following Pius IX & this more recent Pope. Her correct response put her at $15,200.

Over the rest of the round, Julia managed to keep her opponents at bay!

Scores going into Final:

Julia $20,800
James $10,000
Grace $9,400

FJ! category: DIARIES & JOURNALS

FJ! clue: This archaeologist's diary for Nov. 26, 1922 mentions 2 "ebony-black effigies of a king, gold sandalled"

Grace 9400 + 9400 + 18800
James 10000 - 8801 = 1199
Julia 20800 - 795 = 20005

Julia has won $73,110 over her 4 games!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
9. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
10. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
11. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
12. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
13. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
14. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
15. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
---
16. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
17. Julia Collins $73,110 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Abort, retry, fail

April 26, 2014, 8:30 am

≫ Next: Will The Streak Get Cracked?

≪ Previous: Going For Four

Remember how I wished I had two of the questions from the last O'Brien's pub quiz I went to? Well co-host Dileep Rao graciously e-mailed them to me, and I've added them to that post. Thanks, Dileep!
On to yesterday's episode:

Hilary Gaughen

Julia Collins

Aimee Seligstein

I like Aimee's style of holding the buzzer. I wonder where she learned that. I like her shirt, too. By the way, doesn't she look a little like Blossom?
At the first break:
Julia 3800 (6 right)
Aimee 600 (2 right and one wrong)
Hilary 800 (3 right and one wrong)
Why did Hilary have to ask her dad if she could bring her current pet home?
Anybody else shocked this was a triple-stumper, in Pick a Number Between 5 & 477?: "It's the atomic number of iridium; it also used to be a famous address on the Sunset Strip."
Aimee found the Daily Double in Product Design.
Julia 5400 (2 right)
Aimee 2000 (2 right)
Hilary 0 (One wrong)
Aimee wagered it all on this clue: "You can scramble the colors on the boxy lamp named for this Hungarian sculptor & toy creator." She and I got it right!
When I saw that Donald Trump was a correct response to this clue in Elevation Destination, I had to see if he tweeted about it: "In 2013 a trio of parachutists leaped off the 92-story Chicago tower named for this colorful NYC developer." He didn't! Hilary got it right though. Julia had negged on it.
At the end of the round:
Julia 9400 (7 right and one wrong)
Aimee 4200 (One right)
Hilary -200 (One right and one wrong)
Aimee found the first Daily Double of the round in Tough European Capitals.
Julia 12200 (2 right)
Aimee 5800 (2 right)
Hilary 2200 (2 right)
Aimee wagered 3000 on this easy clue: "It's the closest mainland European capital to the United States." She and I got it right! How I wish she'd wagered it all.
I guessed right on this triple-stumper in War Stories: "'Rise to Rebellion' by Jeff Shaara."
Aimee found the last Daily Double, and it was the last clue of the round!
Julia 20600 (8 right)
Aimee 16800 (5 right)
Hilary 3000 (2 right)
Tough decision. Aimee wagered 2000. Why in the world wouldn't she wagered for the lead?? This was the clue: "Seen here, the symbol of this society is called The Sword of Hope."

That was a hard one, and she was wrong.
The Final Jeopardy category was Computers. This was the clue: "The creator of this computer command called it 'a 5-minute job;' in 2013 Bill Gates called it 'a mistake.'" Hilary was right! She added 2999. So was Aimee, and she only added 1200. What did Julia do? She was right, and added 9100! So we'll see her again Monday.
That was so fun I'm willing to do another one right now, and I don't think I've ever thought that before. Mr. Trebek was right when he said "Great game," and he isn't always. Also, I like Aimee a lot even though she wagers so low, and I wish she was the one who'd won 5 times so far.
I did not track my Coryat today.
I know I'd said I don't want any 5-time champs to not make the ToC, but I don't mind if Rani Peffer falls off the list. I'm sorry to see Mark Japinga go, though.

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
9. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
10. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
11. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
12. Julia Collins $102,810 (5 wins)
13. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
14. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
15. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
---
16. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
17. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

One year ago: Fan of the show!
Two years ago: Hi Ho Silverman
Three years ago: Oh, brother
Four years ago: [untitled]

↧

Will The Streak Get Cracked?

April 29, 2014, 7:16 am

≫ Next: The Hagiographer Appears Again

≪ Previous: Abort, retry, fail

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only person who's shocked that there have been so many five-time-plus champions since the last Tournament of Champions!

In any case, it's Andy here starting off another week of recaps at TJ!F.

This week's players:
Elissa Burr - Annandale, NJ (WABC)
Julia Collins - Kenilworth, IL (WLS)
Michelle Flaherty - Natrona Heights, PA (WPXI)
Mallory Howe - Brea, CA (KABC)
Bob Kochersberger - Raleigh, NC (WTVD)
Nick Lemek - Omaha, NE (WOWT)
LaWanda London - Round Rock, TX (KXAN)
Marlon Morris - Mayood, IL (WLS)
John Ogden - Silver Spring, MD (WJLA)
Sarah Shody - Toronto, Ontario, Canada (CHCH)
Mary Twellman - Bowling Green, MO (KSDK)

Today's contestants:

Sarah's Hometown Howdy failed to make a Rob Ford joke. I'm disappointed.

J! round categories:
WHAT "ITIS" IS IT?
TENNIS TIPS
GETTING POSSESSIVE
2-LETTER SCRABBLE WORDS
APPROXIMATE WEIGHTS & MEASURES
REIGN

Sarah did very well in "Scrabble Words", though. I'm slightly less disappointed.

However, both of our challengers did very well over the first segment. Our 5-time defending champion was in third place! Scores were:

Sarah $2,800
Bob $2,000
Julia $1,400

Sarah's husband is a home brewer; when they found out that Sarah was going to be on Jeopardy, he made a Belgian beer, and called it the Daily Dubbel!

Julia fell asleep in the middle of her SATs!

REIGN $1000 had the Daily Double. Of course it was a video (Harumph.) Julia's to play, the scores were:

Sarah $3,400
Bob $2,000
Julia $2,000

Julia bet $1,500. Her clue, presented by Torrance Coombs: Even though my character, Bash, has feelings for Mary, she is betrothed by my brother, who boasts this French title as Henry II's eldest son & heir apparent. Her correct response puts her at $3,500!

Bob did well in TENNIS to take the lead at the end of the round! Scores after 30:

Bob $5,000
Julia $4,700
Sarah $4,000

DJ! round categories:
GERMAN CITIES
FASHION HISTORY
STARTS WITH DOUBLE O
THE COLE PORTER SONGBOOK
A PIG
A POLK

Both Bob and Julia had some negs keeping her score down in the early part of this round!

Over half of the round went by before we saw a Daily Double! GERMAN CITIES $1200 had it! Julia's to play, the scores were:

Julia $11,500
Sarah $7,200
Bob $4,600

Julia bet $1,500. Her clue: The Farina Fragrance Museum in this city has on exhibit perfume bottles dating from antiquity. Her correct response put her at $13,000!

A POLK had the final Daily Double. It went to Bob at $1600! Scores:

Julia $16,600
Sarah $10,800
Bob $6,600

Bob bet $3,000. His clue: In his 1845 inaugural address, Polk mentioned annexing this republic & "her desire to come into our union". Bob went north, to Canada, and fell to $3,600.

Scores going into FINAL:

Julia $19,000
Sarah $10,800
Bob $4,400

FJ! category: NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHORS

FJ! clue: Due to injuries suffered in 2 plane crashes in Africa, he was unable to accept his 1954 Nobel Prize in person

Bob 4400 - 2400 = 2000
Sarah 10800 + 9000 = 19800
Julia 19000 + 3000 = 22000 (6-day champion, $124,810)

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
8. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
9. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
10. Julia Collins $124,810 (6 wins)
11. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
12. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
13. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
14. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
15. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
---
16. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
17. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

The Hagiographer Appears Again

April 30, 2014, 6:18 am

≫ Next: Politics as usual

≪ Previous: Will The Streak Get Cracked?

Andy here as Julia Collins goes for Win #7!

Today's contestants:

J! round categories:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: YOU NEVER FORGET YOUR FIRST
ARMY BRATS
IT'S THE END "FER" YOU!
THE TV CHESSBOARD
DAM LIES
STATISTICS

DAM LIES $400, the fifth clue of the game, had the Daily Double! It was Mary's to play after her first get. Scores:

Julia $600
Nick $600
Mary $200

Mary bet $1,000. Her clue: The Euphrates Dam in this country created Lake Assad. A tricky one, as the usual Euphrates response of "Iraq" -- what Mary gave -- was not correct! She fell to -$800. To be honest, I think that may have been a bit of dirty pool from the writers, especially in the $400 box!

At the first break, the scores sat at:

Julia $2,800
Nick $1,400
Mary -$600

The first year that Mary was married to her husband, her Christmas gifts: an ironing board and a scale...

Coming out of the break, Julia had the best time on the buzzer, and jumped out to a big lead! Scores after 30:

Julia $8,000
Nick $4,200
Mary -$1,200

DJ! round categories:
RECENT HISTORICAL FICTION
AMERICANA
ABBREVIATED ABC
I DIRECTED MY WIFE IN THAT FILM
GEOGRAPHIC ANAGRAMS
SCIENCE & SCIENTISTS

Mary's first selection: AMERICANA $800. It had a Daily Double! Mary bet $2,000. Her clue: After Noah Webster's death, the company named for these brothers bought the rights to his dictionary. Her correct response put her at $800!

AMERICANA $2000: This minister wrote anecdotal bios of Ben Franklin & William Pen as well as the one about George Washington. I still hate that man. I don't care.

Meanwhile, Julia did quite well in DIRECTED MY WIFE to keep a commanding lead. SCIENCE & SCIENTISTS $1200 had the final Daily Double, and it was hers to play!

Scores:
Julia $18,800
Mary $7,600
Nick $5,800

Julia bet $3,500 -- a big bet for her! Her clue: He was in charge of Italy's radio service during World War I. Her correct response put her at $22,300!

In spite of Nick's smart strategy of taking the endgame bottom-to-top, Julia had the best time of it after that final Daily Double, leading to scores going into Final of:

Julia $25,100
Mary $10,000
Nick $6,200

FJ! category: U.S. HISTORY

FJ! clue: Messrs. Gusenberg, Gusenberg, May, Weinshank, Clark, Heyer & Schwimmer famously died on this day in 1929

Nick 6200 - 6199 = 1
Mary 10000 - 9999 = 1
Julia 25100 - 5000 = 20100

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (12 wins)
5. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
6. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
7. Julia Collins $144,910 (7 wins)
8. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
9. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
10. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
11. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
12. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
13. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
14. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
15. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
---
16. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
17. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

↧

Politics as usual

May 1, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: Book 'em

≪ Previous: The Hagiographer Appears Again

No, you're not missing anything. We are. We've skipped yesterday's episode, which is kinda too bad because I had stuff I planned to say in a comment. But not enough so that I'd do episodes in one post. Naturally Julia won it. My Coryat was 28000 (31000 without negs). My Coryat for the weekend rerun, by the way, was 31400 (no negs). The episode originally aired 1-17-13, and the first time I played my Coryat was 26200 (31600 without negs). I did not track my Coryat today. I was racing through this so I could watch a debate live at 7. And I made it with time to spare! Tomorrow I'm going to a "Young Professionals reception" for a local elected official, which is an excellent excuse for a delayed recap here.

Michelle Flaherty

Julia Collins

Marlon Morris

Mr. Trebek said today that Julia has now won more episodes than any other woman.
At the first break:
Julia 2000 (5 right)
Marlon -1000 (One wrong)
Michelle 2800 (6 right)
Marlon's anecdote was a long one but worth it: He described an "incredible vision" approaching, and "she got more and more pretty as she got closer." He was in line to buy things but abandoned them to go ask her out. The story ended with Marlon waving his wedding ring. Aww!! Don't you wish you looked that good every day? I wonder if she was in the studio audience.
I got this triple-stumper in Scrambled Mammals: "What's gnu? Edible stew." I'd have gotten the Daily Double, because it was the next clue. Michelle found it in Multiple Meanings. The less-than-a-minute warning had already been given.
Julia 2600 (3 right and one wrong)
Marlon -1800 (One right and one wrong)
Michelle 6000 (5 right)
Michelle wagered 2000 on this clue: "A long-billed game bird, or to shoot at something from a hidden position." She and I got it, and it was the last clue of the round.
I got this triple-stumper in Authors' Fictional Places: "Brobdingnag."
Julia found the first Daily Double of the round in 19th Century France.
Julia 6600 (4 right)
Marlon -2600 (One wrong)
Michelle 6400 (One wrong)
Julia wagered 1500 on this clue: "In June 1830 French troops seized this north African capital from the Ottomans & Berbers." She got it right. She found the next Daily Double in Authors' Fictional Places.
Julia 10100 (3 right and one wrong)
Marlon -600 (One right)
Michelle 12400 (6 right and one wrong)
She wagered 3500 on this clue: "The city of Casterbridge." She got it right.
Like in the Jeopardy round, 6 clues were on the board when Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning. We didn't get to see them all.
Julia 16400 (2 right and one wrong)
Marlon 2200 (4 right and one wrong)
Michelle 14000 (2 right)
The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. States. This is the clue: "Other than Q, these 2 letters appear the least in the names of states, each appearing only once." Marlon was wrong but didn't lose any money. Michelle was wrong too and lost 9599. Did Julia get it? Yes! She added 11700, making Mr. Trebek go "Oh my gosh!" So we'll see her again tomorrow.

One year ago: Custard cutie
Two years ago: 7 years go by so fast...
Three years ago: Here come the men in black
Four years ago: [untitled] and Thank you, Blogger!

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Book 'em

May 2, 2014, 10:59 pm

≫ Next: No milquetoast, that Roger

≪ Previous: Politics as usual

I had today's title picked out as the contestants were being introduced: a children's book author and a library assistant...?
So yesterday Julia Collins won her 9th episode. Trebek reminded us today that the Battle of the Decades finals start airing Monday. Remember I was there in person and will give behind-the-scenes scoop.

Elissa Burr

Julia Collins

LaWanda London

How is it that this first clue of the game in Like, Totally was a triple-stumper?: "An amply-proportioned woman is said to be this'-figured.'" And later this one, in Cohen-cidentally?: "Heard here, he'll be turning 80 in 2014." You don't even need the audio, do you?
I think Elissa should've been asked to be more specific (instead of negged) on this one in Spider-Man: "The very first Spider-Man comic book story featured the line 'With great power there must also come'this." Do you think Mr. Trebek didn't realize there was one clue left in the category when he said the movie came out today?
At the first break:
Julia 2200 (5 right)
LaWanda 600 (One right)
Elissa 1400 (5 right and 2 wrong)
Why wasn't Elissa allowed to say the name of the book she wrote?
I guessed right on this triple-stumper in Writ in Water: "A wind called a gregale that plagues this sea caused waves that drowned 600 in Valletta in 1555."
Julia found the Daily Double of the round in Eye on Health. Mr. Trebek said then that there was less than a minute to go.
Julia 5600 (6 right)
LaWanda 200 (One right and one wrong)
Elissa 2400 (2 right)
Julia wagered 1600 on this clue: "To improve eye health, try fish like wild salmon that are high in these fatty acids." She and I got it right. I also got this triple-stumper that came next in the same category, even though I had my head down blogging: "A National Eye Institute study showed that antioxidants & zinc can reduce the risk of AMD, age-related this."
At the end of the round:
Julia 8200 (One right)
LaWanda 200
Elissa 3400 (One right)
LaWanda found the next Daily Double in English Literature.
Julia 10200 (2 right)
LaWanda 1400 (2 right)
Elissa 2200 (One right and one wrong)
LaWanda wagered 1000 on this clue: "In Maugham's 'The Moon and Sixpence,' Charles leaves his wife & eventually goes to this Pacific island to paint." Hey, no ampersand! LaWanda was right.
Elissa found a Daily Double too, in The 4 Rs.
Julia 13400 (5 right and one wrong)
LaWanda 6400 (3 right and one wrong)
Elissa 4600 (3 right)
She wagered 3000 on this clue: "The Seti Institute searches for this type of intelligence." She got it right!
At the end of the round:
Julia 18600 (4 right)
LaWanda 7600 (2 right and one wrong)
Elissa 5200 (2 wrong)
I pre-called LaWanda's mispronunciation of "gangnam" to be ruled incorrect after all. Mr. Trebek had said before the commercial break that it was not a runaway, but now it is.
The Final Jeopardy category was Business History. This is the clue: "In 1945 this product added a plaid design to its 'snail' dispenser." Elissa was right and added 5000. So was LaWanda, and she added 3000. Julia was right and added 3300.
I did not track my Coryat today since this post would already be published a little later than I like.
It occurs to me I didn't update the ToC list yesterday.

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Terry O'Shea (February 2014 College Champion)
4. Arthur Chu $297,200 (11 wins)
5. Julia Collins $220,610 (10 wins)
6. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
7. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
8. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
9. Sandie Baker $140,200 (6 wins)
10. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
11. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
12. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
13. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
14. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
15. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
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16. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
17. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
18. Carlos Ross $89,774 (3 wins)
19. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
20. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
21. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
22. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
23. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
24. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
25. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
26. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

One year ago: There's no ketchup in baseball
Two year ago: Jeopardy! Champions Panel
Three years ago: Here come the men in black
Four years ago: [untitled] and Thank you, Blogger!

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No milquetoast, that Roger

May 5, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: If the shoe fits

≪ Previous: Book 'em

I don't know about you, but these Battle of the Decades finals have sure snuck up on me. Before we get into it, my Coryat for the weekend rerun was 26200 (30400 without negs). The episode originally aired 1-18-13, and the first time I played my score was 25000 (30800 without negs).
Since I had drained my Delta frequent flyer miles to go to this conference (read my account of it here and here), I flew from Kearney for the first time, on Frontier Airlines. It went well but know this: You will not get something to eat or drink on Frontier flights! :-( And I still can't explain this: When I was going to buy something and asked the stewardess, she mysteriously disappeared and never did explain, even whenever I made eye contact with her later. That was from Denver to Los Angeles. As I mentioned in a previous post, Preston Nicholson was on that flight too! I'd seen him waiting by the gate but wasn't 100% sure, so I didn't approach him. After we landed I stood up and looked around for him (that is, whoever looked like him), and he said my name. He was only a few rows behind me.
I was blown away when I got to my hotel - the guy checking me in not only remembered me but that I write a blog about Jeopardy! And I hadn't even stayed there in January for the 1990s/2000s episodes, so I hadn't seen him since December. I didn't even remember telling him all that.
Unlike whenever I'd watched episodes from the studio audience in the past, I took it easy that morning and arrived much later. I knew since I was a production guest (as opposed to a ticketholder) I'd be getting in no matter what. In fact, there were no ticketholders in the audience for these finals. Only production guests and contestant guests. I mean that's pretty special.
Remember Lillian and Randy, Mark Dawson's guests last time? They'd told me they were coming back for these episodes, but I saw no sign of them outside the studio. I had been planning what I'd say to Lillian when she'd try to drag me to lunch (I don't like to leave during the break), but I didn't have to worry about that. I did see Michael Rooney, Cliff Galiher and O'Brien's fixture Mark May. Mark was Tom Cubbage's guest! I also saw the lady who'd been described to me on a previous occasion as Brad Rutter's "agent." I also saw the man "Joe" who attends every taping. I sat by him in the studio, as well as who turned out to be India Cooper's husband. Joe will never see this because he doesn't do Internet stuff, but he is a wonderful companion for studio audience Jeopardy! watching!
I sat in front of an angelic little boy who turned out to be Shane Whitlock's son. The kid stole the show everywhere he went, both days. The next night at the party after the taping, Shane's wife joked "Sorry" that I had to sit in front of him. I was only worried at the very beginning when he made noise while we were supposed to be quiet. Otherwise he was fine.

I was surprised when he rested his head on my hip like it was nothing! Bill MacDonald had joked he hoped the boy could "overcome his crippling shyness." I told Bill how the boy raised his hand to ask Trebek a question during this episode, and when called on he said "I think I saw you in a commercial, Alex Twebeck!" Later on when the audience could ask questions, a woman begged Mr. Trebek to come visit her workplace, some kind of nursing home, because he has a lot of fans there. This woman would not take no for an answer, and while he didn't say "no" explicitly, it was clear he would never be coming!
Who else did I see waiting to be let in to the studio that first day of taping? Jerome Vered, in a baseball cap! Jerome's a lot of fun in the studio audience too. He's so engaged in what's happening! He, Cliff and Michael may take more notes than I do.
I also saw a guy with a scarf wrapped around his head. I guessed he had some kind of injury or couldn't stand the light for some reason, but in fact it was just going to be a surprise to him where he was! I wonder when he figured it out.
I did not see the "Mel" who gives us the rousing informational speech as we wait, or the Jeopardy! page who knew my name last time and put me in the front row.
I'm not being lazy; I just don't feel the need to list this week's contestants. I hope that's okay with you.

Roger Craig

Leszek Pawlowicz

Robin Carroll

Happily, we were spared the images of these contestants from their original runs.
Johnny Gilbert mangled the pronunciation of Leszek's last name, and it had to be redone later. Johnny said seriously, "I need [contestant coordinator] Robert." Someone said, "He's on his way!" Speaking of Johnny, Jerome had me guess Johnny's age. When I was in the process, we had to stop talking and we never got back to it. That page to which I link above indicates he's 90!
Imagine you were in the studio audience (like I was). What would you have thought of Roger's chances, seeing these contestants at their lecterns?
Leszek seemed the fastest on the signaling device out of the gate. No one else had responded yet when he found the Daily Double in A Brief History of Time.
Leszek 2000 (3 right)
Robin 0
Roger 0
Leszek wagered it all on this clue: "Israeli forces destroyed Egypt's Air Force on the ground on June 5, 1967, the first day of this war." Leszek knew this cold, and Mr. Trebek said he was on a roll. Then he answered the last clue in the category correctly, sweeping it! Leszek appears to have come to play!
Does it kill you that Robin got this one right in One-Word Book Titles?: "1980 nonfiction by Carl Sagan." She'd said in her Q & A with us that she liked watching that show as she was studying for this final! Then I could be wrong but it didn't look like Robin tried to ring in on this one in What's in a Name?, even though she is from Georgia: "A popular name for girls, it suggests a treeless plain or a city in Georgia."
Check out these scores at the first break:
Leszek 5800 (3 right)
Robin 2800 (5 right)
Roger 1800 (4 right)
You couldn't tell in his interview, but Roger fumbled his answer to Trebek and had to say he was going to start over! It was so messy I didn't think they'd be able to edit it well. But they did. Now that Roger has revealed that he is engaged (and isn't that awesome?), I can tell you that is his fiancee over my shoulder in this picture of me and Ken Jennings. It was so exciting to hear Roger tell this story from the studio audience.
At the end of the Jeopardy round:
Leszek 7800 (3 right and one wrong)
Robin 4000 (3 right)
Roger 3000 (6 right and 3 wrong)
Mr. Trebek said after the break "not too many misses." Maybe not at first, yeah? I have that Roger reacted but I didn't indicate what the reaction was! Leszek had a painful neg at 2000 to start out the round. Then Roger negged on the next clue!
Roger found the first Daily Double of the round in A Brief History of Time. I love watching him do his thing on these.
Leszek 7400 (One right and one wrong)
Robin 4000
Roger 3400 (One right and one wrong)
Naturally, Roger wagered it all on this clue: "Following Einstein, in 1908 Hermann Minkowski proposed the idea of 4-dimensional this hyphenated term." This seems like something in Roger's wheelhouse. And he got it!
I was pleased when Roger found the next Daily Double too, in Lesser-Known Americans.
Leszek 13400 (5 right)
Robin 3600 (One right and one wrong)
Roger 9200 (2 right and one wrong)
So what would Roger do this time? He wagered 5000 on this clue: "With a mark of 5'6" in this event, in 1948 5'7" Alice Coachman became the first African-American woman to win Olympic gold." Roger got it at the last second! Trebek said Roger was scaring him, and Roger was sure scaring me too. Roger said that was scaring him more! I had crossed my fingers on this Daily Double, and I noticed another guy in the audience did too! Later, he could be seen urging Roger by moving his arms like he was riding a horse. I found out later the woman sitting next to him was Roger's fiancee! They must've all been together.
I'm glad you could hear the audience reaction to this one, maybe my favorite of the finals, in Slang: "Described by urbandictionary.com as 'Carpe diem for stupid people,' YOLO is actually short for this."
At the end of the round:
Leszek 15000 (3 right and one wrong)
Robin 5200 (2 right)
Roger 21000 (8 right and one wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category was Word Origins. While it was called 4-Letter Words, the subject was similar to the Final in Robin's quarterfinal episode! This is the clue: "This word for a timid person comes from the last name of a character in a 1920s newspaper comic called 'The Timid Soul.'"I freaked out from the audience. I had known what it meant but probably not its origin when I looked it up maybe in the week or so before seeing this clue, after talking with my family about this. Robin didn't get this right and lost everything. (Remember, there are 4 wildcards available for the semifinals next week.) Leszek was wrong but didn't wager anything. Roger was right and added 1078. He heaved a sigh of relief. I guess I cheered a little too hard for Roger, as India's husband and a Jeopardy! staffer asked if I was his fiancee!
Let's keep track of wild cards:

Leszek Pawlowicz 15000
Robin Carroll 0

So since Robin talked about what she might wear in her Q & A, what do you think of her outfit?

Robin's daughter Alison said the next night Robin looked like a presidential candidate. And hey, now you know that Robin had not advanced when she played the O'Brien's pub quiz that night. We'll find out everybody else's fate later this week!
I didn't track my Coryat since I saw this game already, but I'm curious to see yours.

One year ago: Sigh. But not for the reason you think!
Two years ago: By the skin of his dientes
Three years ago: I'm lovin' it (some of it anyway)
Four years ago: [untitled]

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