The Jeopardy Fan

After this recap, see what contestant Rebecca Anderson has to say about her appearance on the show! (Thank you, Rebecca!) As for this week's contestants, the Howdies are posted! Way to go Jeopardy!
Rhea Hantelman
Jermaine Jones
Sean Kram
Marge Lindblom
Andrea Massar
Norah McKissic
Neal Shah
Jennifer Spirko
On Friday, Mike Shapiro won his second episode. So this post might have 2 tags on it! But the most pressing question on my mind is whether I'll have watched this episode the second time through in time for baseball. I hate blogging under the gun but getting this to you in a timely fashion is paramount. I'm starting to wonder whether anyone cares, though.
Enough doom and gloom.

Gus Iurillo
(He's wearing a different outfit in his Howdy.)

Mike Shapiro

Molly Kossoff

Molly is a "beauty-industry magazine editor." The pressure's on to look like one!
At the top of the show, Mr. Trebek reminded us to enter the Explore the World sweepstakes. (He called it the "World Adventure" sweepstakes.) You need to know the day's Final Jeopardy category but, disappointingly, they give you a choice of 3!
We suffered through 5 long clues from Wicked (the musical). What is the show's obsession with this musical? They tweeted twice and retweeted twice about it. Molly went to the category after getting the first clue of the show right. She swept the category. Then of course the audience applauded, and Mr. Trebek paused to congratulate the show on its 10th anniversary. No, you weren't wrong: We really did only get through 2 categories before the first break. (Is that a record?)
Mike 600 (2 right and one wrong)
Molly 4600 (8 right)
Gus 0
Molly found the Daily Double of the round in Another Jackson 5.
Mike 2000 (2 right)
Molly 5600 (4 right and one wrong)
Gus -200 (2 right and one wrong)
Molly wagered 2000 on this clue: "Maynard Jackson was mayor of this city, & one of the USA's busiest airports now bears his name." I was proud to know this one. Molly got it wrong.
Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning with 9 clues left.
I was wondering if I was dreaming when this was a triple-stumper in Things to Do Today: "Pick up more of these for that roofing job -- I'll need cedar ones in the 24-inch 'royal' length to match."
At the end of the round:
Mike 2000
Molly 5000
Gus 1000
I'm a lifelong Catholic but I'd never have gotten this triple-stumper, in It's in the "Can": "In Catholicism this part of the Mass begins after the preface & Sanctus & ends just before The Lord's Prayer." I did get this next clue, a triple-stumper in the same category: "This postal marking or perforation on a stamp indicates that it's been used." Maybe the contestants thought the correct response was too easy?
Mike found the first Daily Double of the round in Middle Age Men.
Mike 4800 (2 right)
Molly 11400 (7 right)
Gus 3000 (2 right)
Mike wagered 3200 on this clue: "Al-razi gave the first description of acquired immunity in a discussion of this disease that disfigured & killed." I got it wrong, and so did Mike.
I got this triple-stumper in Are You Gonna Eat That?: "This generic 4-letter variety of seaweed, kombu in Japanese -- no."
Mike found the next Daily Double too, in House Hunters Intergalactic. Mr. Trebek said we were running out of time. There were 4 clues left on the board.
Mike 6000 (3 right)
Molly 12600 (3 right and one wrong)
Gus 8600 (2 right)
Mike wagered 5000 on this clue: "Want land? Buying on this moon of Saturn is a no-brainer: it's 3,200-mile diameter is bigger than Mercury." Luckily he got this right. Somehow, I did too! I threw out a word not expecting it to be right. I should've gotten the next 2 right also, but didn't ring in.
We saw all the clues in the round!
Mike 11000
Molly 16200 (3 right)
Gus 7000 (One right)
When I saw Gus's total I thought it was a runaway because I'd forgotten that Mike had gotten his Daily Double right.
The Final Jeopardy category was Literary Characters. This was the clue: "This 19th century character talks about his own writings about tattoo marks & on the tracing of footsteps." This clue was badly done. (Two "about"s?) I got stuck on Gulliver and couldn't think of anything better. This clue stumped all three contestants too. Molly did not write anything down. Gus and Mike both said "Fagin"! He posts on the boards, so I'll read there about why he guessed that. There must be something to it. Gus lost 1500, Mike lost 10000 and Molly lost 5100, leaving her with 11100 and enough to be the new champ. So no update to the ToC list here.
My Coryat today was 26600 (29000 without negs).
Now enjoy this from Rebecca.

Jeanie: I see on your Twitter home page you are a Diamondbacks fan! Are you watching the World Series?
Rebecca: I have been watching the divisional series and the championship series, and though I missed the first two World Series games (one was the night of my Jeopardy appearance!). I got to see game three and hope the World Series will go seven games. Baseball is my favorite sport to watch, so I want as many games as possible!
Jeanie: Can you explain your Final Jeopardy wager?
Rebecca: The short answer is I panicked and forgot all the strategy. Final Jeopardy wagering is something I never paid attention to before I knew I was going on, and although I practiced after I found out I would be a contestant, it clearly wasn't enough! With hindsight I know I wagered too much, and it ended up costing me 2nd place. To be clear, I didn't feel rushed by the Jeopardy crew, I just did my math wrong.
Jeanie: A couple of people noticed that you're tall. How tall are you?
Rebecca: I'm 6'2". One of the things that Mike, Bill, Alex Trebek, and I joked about during the filming of the closing credits was that everyone would now see how much taller I was.
Jeanie: I was encouraged when you said you had a "great experience" (even though you lost). Is there anything particular you had in mind, or that you wanted to say?
Rebecca: I really did have a great experience. Being a contestant on Jeopardy was a dream come true, and I knew I would be happy regardless of the outcome for simply being on the show. All the other contestants were friendly and supportive, and the staff is so positive and accommodating. Although of course I wish I had performed better, I had a wonderful experience overall. I can also say I lost to two multi-day champions, and I wish Mike continuing good luck!
Jeanie: Did you play on a Tuesday or Wednesday? If it was Tuesday, did you go back to the studio Wednesday to watch some more?
Rebecca: I played on a Wednesday, so I headed right back to Phoenix after they finished our week. I'm looking forward to seeing how Mike does tonight!

Yesterday, I forgot to put the "one year ago/two years ago/etc." links at the end of the post! I'm doing it today.
I'm pleased to announce that today's Sean Kram has agreed to answer questions for the blog after his appearance! Leave a comment if you have anything! Today he takes on Molly Kossoff and Marge Lindblom. The former rolled her opponents yesterday. Can she do it again?

Molly

Marge

Sean

I have to admit the show's Explore the World Sweepstakes has some really cool prizes. I'm entering every day, for sure. But right now I'm desperate to go to the 30th anniversary tournament.
I'd be kind of insulted if Mr. Trebek implied I was old enough to be one of these, as he did to Marge on this clue in "Uga": "The Carnival cruise with this name, for older women & younger men, only sailed once." But Marge responded to the clue very, uh, eagerly.
I was a little worried about Sean when it seemed, my first time through, that he took a long time to get going. But by the first break he was doing fine:
Molly 2600 (7 right and one wrong)
Sean 2000 (4 right)
Marge 1400 (3 right and one wrong)
Molly thinks she's gone "full nerd" by having Mr. Trebek on her fingernails? Come on.
Mr. Trebek pointed out that Sean was in the lead by the time he found the Daily Double of the round, in Deep Inside of Me.
Molly 2600
Sean 3800 (3 right)
Marge 1800 (One right)
Sean wagered 1200 on this clue: "About 80% of this organ can be removed without creating an insufficiency of the insulin it produces." I'm a nurse but I'm pretty sure I'd have known this anyway. Sean looked like he knew it immediately too. "Took you no time there," Mr. Trebek said.
Has anyone heard of the response to this triple-stumper in I Can't Stop This Feeling?: "I gotta wear this brand of pants. The stripes are slimming, right?"

I had to refer to closed-captioning to see how it was spelled.
What about this one that came later, during Double Jeopardy, in Strange Rhymes: "This farmers' organization was founded in 1867." Marge knew that one.
At the end of the Jeopardy round:
Molly 4600 (3 right)
Sean 7400 (4 right)
Marge 3400 (2 right)
I got this one, read by a "David Carr," at the last second in The New York Times: All the News That's Fit to Print because I read and play along to the daily Who Wants to Be a Millionaire transcripts: "On the 'Media Decoder' blog I've been following this Netflix series that shows Washington officials & yes, even a few journalists, in a harsh light." And I guessed on the Millionaire clue too. By the way, I've been playing along since this season began, in case I can take the Millionaire test again someday. It's been thought that the tests contain clues from past episodes, and I don't get the show where I live.
Speaking of transcripts, I almost needed one to get that clue posted here. Wicked indeed. Luckily I remembered that here at my parents' house, there's no bar across that bottom of the screen that would've covered the clue when I paused. Otherwise I'd have gone through the clue like two dozen times.
Side note: I just heard a representative say "You don't need to be a Jeopardy! champion to get this..." on CSPAN.
Marge got the first Daily Double of the round in Riding on the Metro.
Molly 9800 (6 right)
Sean 9000 (3 right)
Marge 11800 (6 right)
She wagered 2000 on this clue: "Duke Ellington knew this NYC Metro Line that runs from Manhattan to Far Rockaway." I don't know this, but Marge got it immediately.
Sean got the next Daily Double in Manned Space Flight. He had almost negged when he said "Mercury 7," ultimately accepted, on this clue immediately preceding, in the same category: "The monument seen here at Pad 14 at Cape Canaveral honors the men of this program."

He'd selected that clue anyway, but who knows: maybe Molly would've picked it up. (Marge had negged on it too.)
Molly 11000 (2 right)
Sean 11000 (2 right)
Marge 13000 (One wrong)
Sean wagered 2500. He looked like he'd made up his mind on the wager and was waiting for Mr. Trebek to quit talking. This was the clue: "This lunar excursion module used by Armstrong & Aldrin was left in lunar orbit & has crash landed." I didn't know this, but Sean did. I did get this triple-stumper in the category: "Her main qualifications for her June 1963 flight were being a parachutist & a good Communist." Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning then with 5 clues left.
I didn't know the correct response to this one, read by Linda Greenhouse, in All the News That's Fit to Print...til Marge said what felt like everything but the correct response: "In a multimedia feature, I gave a tour of the papers of this Supreme Court justice who wrote the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade & about whom I've written a book." It didn't look like Sean or Molly had a chance, but neither Sean nor Molly rang in after Marge handed the response to them. Mr. Trebek said Marge took 15 seconds to tell us all that. "Of course. Totally embarrassing," Marge said when Mr. Trebek gave the name of the man in question. This was the last clue of the round.
Molly 14200
Sean 16700
Marge 11000
The Final Jeopardy category was Movie Comedies. This was the clue: "The hero of this 1993 comedy says he's 'been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted & burned.'" I have not seen this movie, but I got it right! Marge didn't get it, and she lost 4000. Molly got it and added 12000. Sean got it too, and added 11701! I applauded too when he won.
My Coryat today was 24600 (26800 without negs).
One year ago: Frowns all arownd
Two years ago: Stand and deliver
Three years ago: It was a graveyard smash

Good morning! Andy here with the October 30 recap!

Jeanie has been putting one year/two years/three years ago links, but I'm not quite sure how she's doing that, so I'm not going to. I'm sure I'll get a message from her within minutes of this post going up, though!

Neil Shah and Jennifer Spirko are the challengers for Sean Kram, who won $28,401 yesterday!

In his opening, Alex mentioned something about a trip to the Galapagos. I'm confused, as I saw no further mention of it in the show!

J! round categories:
A PASSAGE TO INDIANA
GARDENING
SUPER BOWL-WINNING COACHES
HOMONYMS
LET'S TWIST AGAIN
LIKE WE DID LAST SUMMER

Sean did well in SUPER BOWL-WINNING COACHES, until he got tripped up by $800 (Chicago Bears). We also went through HOMONYMS, and parts of GARDENING and INDIANA before the first break. Clue #15 was A PASSAGE TO INDIANA $600 and it had the Daily Double! It was Sean's to play, and the scores were:

Jennifer $3,200
Sean $1,400
Neal $1,000

Sean bet $1,400. Clue: A log stockade made by a certain "mad" Revolutionary War general in 1794 gave this city its name. Sean said "Evansville" and zeroed out his score going into the first break. He gets a chance to regroup, though!

Neal Shah is a competitive pool player -- he does have his own two-piece cue, he's named it Veronica! Meanwhile...Jennifer's spelling bee trophy reads SPEILING BEE! Oops!

Meanwhile, Jennifer continued to ring in quickly after the break, and did well at the bottom of LET'S TWIST AGAIN and GARDENING! Neal's get on the $1,000 clue in Indiana broke the tie for second, leading to scores at the end of 30 of:

Jennifer $7,800
Neal $3,800
Sean $2,800

DJ! round categories:
SUE GRAFTON TEACHES THE ALPHABET
A "MAD" CATEGORY
THE LAW
THEIR BIBLICAL MAMAS
CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD
NEW YORK TIMES MOVIE REVIEWS

Jennifer did well to extend her lead at the start of the round, but an untimely neg or two kept pushing her score back to the chasing pack!

Remembering that Neal was introduced as an attorney, THE LAW $1600 had the first Daily Double. It was Neal's to play as well! Scores:

Jennifer $13,800
Neal $11,000
Sean $7,200

Neal wagered just $3,000. His clue: It's on you to give me this word preceding "probandi" in a legal phrase meaning "burden of proof". All Neal could come up with is "preponderance" and his score fell to $8,000. That awkward moment when the expert misses the question in his field...

Meanwhile, our contestants made no effort whatsoever to find the final Daily Double. Neal stumbled upon it under CULTURE $800. Let's see if he can forget about his past miss and play this like he's supposed to. Considering he only bet $3,000 in a bet on his own field, I can't see this being played right.

Scores:
Jennifer $13,800
Neal $10,000
Sean $7,200

Neal bet just $2,000. His clue: Drawing from the name of our motion picture capital, it's the name for India's movie industry. He did give the correct response this time, but only went to $12,000.

Meanwhile, Neal was forced to guess on the $2,000 clue -- which he missed -- dropping his score.

Scores going into Final:

Jennifer $13,400
Neal $10,000
Sean $7,600

FJ! category: INTERNET FIRSTS

FJ! clue: A broken laser pointer for $14.83 in 1995 holds this distinction

Sean 7600 + 7590 = 15190
Neal 10000 + 10000 = 20000
Jennifer 13400 + 6601 = 20001

It means Jennifer Spirko is our new champion. Neal's miss on the first Daily Double didn't cost him the game. His underbet on the $800 second one did.

$800 clues are easy. $800 Daily Doubles are not tougher. You need to take advantage of those opportunities and go huge on those easy questions. Not nearly enough contestants do. As Bob Harris wrote in "...Trebekistan": "Next question". Move on from your misses. They're in the past and you can't do anything about them. You need to play the next question as best you can. Neal didn't do that today -- and that's why Jennifer's the champ.

Good morning -- Andy here with the October 31 recap!

Just want to say that there are times where I'll sometimes get critical on the blog of things. When I do that, it's because I'm pointing it out to help future contestants (who may happen to be reading) avoid making the same mistakes when they go on! Nothing personal, really!

Onto the show.

Your challengers for Jennifer Spirko today: Jermaine Jones and Rhea Hantelman. Alex claims "They gave me a choice -- Come out as the great pumpkin or as Nathan Detroit."

J! round categories:
STATE YOUR BUSINESS
THE WORLD OF DR. SEUSS
A TREASURE TROVE
ABBREVIATED VIDEO GAME TITLES
WORDPLAY GRAB BAG
INDEPENDENCE SEAPORT MUSEUM (Looks like a video category. Hooray!)

An early stumper at DR. SEUSS $800 (I didn't get it either): Title number of hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

Thankfully the Daily Double was not buried in the video category! It was in STATE YOUR BUSINESS $800! The scores were:

Rhea $1,200
Jennifer $1,000
Jermaine $800

Rhea bet $600. Her clue: Delta Air Lines. Rhea went for Texas and fell to $600.

I definitely would have bet everything in Rhea's position. It's still early and it's not like $1,200 is a significant amount of money, either. The "don't want to go back to $0" is a bit of a poor thought process as well -- after all, $0 is where you start the game!

It sounds like WORDPLAY GRAB BAG was a category full of unplayed wordplay clues from previous games!

Scores at the first break:
Jermaine $3,800
Rhea $1,600
Jennifer $1,600

Jermaine works for an international educational program that provides fellowships to US citizens who wish to study, research or teach English overseas -- to over 140 countries around the world. Alex seemed uncharacteristically interested in this!

Back to the game, A TREASURE TROVE $400 gave our contestants some difficulty (The wealth of gold & silver in its mountains earned it the nickname "The Treasure State") -- Nevada and California were given as negs.

Meanwhile, Jennifer ran ABBREVIATED VIDEO GAME TITLES to pick up $3,000. I'm impressed as well -- even I didn't pick up all 5! It helped propel her very close to the lead by the end of the round as well!

Scores at the end of 30:

Jermaine $6,000
Jennifer $5,600
Rhea $2,400

DJ! round categories:
GONE WITH THE WIND
"RET-"
BUTLER
PARTING WORDS
FRANKLY, MY DEAR
WE GAME A DAM

Rhea did very well on "RET-" to bring herself back into the game! Her buzzer mojo in BUTLER brought her into the lead! No Daily Double hunting was taking place, though!

Jermaine finally broke Rhea's big run, one clue before finding the Daily Double (FRANKLY, MY DEAR $2000). Scores were:

Rhea $16,800
Jermaine $9,600
Jennifer $4,800

Jermaine bet $3,000. It's a tough choice -- you're dealing with a bottom level clue, but this might also be your only chance to get back into the game -- especially considering you're probably sunk on a wrong answer anyway. I might have gone higher, but I also fortunately knew this answer straight away: This ancient playwright's "Lysistrata" contains the line "Can't live with them, or without them!". Jermaine went for Sophocles and fell to $6,600.

Meanwhile, Rhea got to play the final Daily Double, under WE GIVE A DAM $1600. Scores:

Rhea $18,400
Jermaine $7,400
Jennifer $4,800

Rhea bet $2,000. Her clue: Originally named the Karababa, a dam on the upper Euphrates was renamed this to honor the founder of modern Turkey. A correct response put her at $20,400.

That round was all Rhea's -- by the end of it, the only question was "how high is her score going to go?" ($26,000.)

Scores going into Final:

Rhea $26,000
Jermaine $7,400
Jennifer $5,600

FJ! category: THE TUDORS

FJ! clue: "Alone in prison strong / I wail my destiny"& "Let pass my weary, guiltless ghost" are lines from a poem attributed to her

Jennifer 5600 - 5500 = 100
Jermaine 7400 - 2600 = 4800
Rhea 26000 - 1000 = 25000

Rhea's the new champ; Jeanie will have her title defense tomorrow!

My Coryat for this past weekend's episode, which originally aired 7-9-13, was 30800 (34800 without negs). The first time I played, I described my score as "lackluster": 22800 (26000 without negs). It's obvious it hasn't been very long since these episodes aired.
Yesterday, Rhea Hantelman blew away the competition in winning her first episode.

Rhea

Andrea Massar

Norah McKissic

The first clue of the game was a triple-stumper that got me, too. Not a good sign. In Also a Classic Monopoly Space: "Randomness." At the first break:
Rhea 2800 (5 right)
Norah 1600 (5 right)
Andrea 1800 (3 right)
Rhea found the Daily Double of the round, in Birth, School, Work, Death.
Rhea 3600 (2 right)
Norah 3200 (3 right)
Andrea 2200 (One right)
Rhea wagered just 500?! on this clue: "A hotel room in 1888, a year at Princeton, some 'Electra'-fying playwriting, a hotel room in 1953." She and I got it wrong.
There were 7 clues left when Mr. Trebek gave the minute-to-go warning, and some were video clues. Three were left covered.
Rhea 3100
Norah 6000 (3 right)
Andrea 4000 (2 right)
Whoa, Rhea's in third place going into Double Jeopardy!
This first clue in The Jesuits (though not the first clue selected in the round), was a triple-stumper that got me too, and the contestants didn't go back to it until the remaining 4 clues were the only ones left in the round: "The Jesuits were founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius, a man from this present-day country."
Norah found the first Daily Double of the round, in U.S. Forces Overseas.
Rhea 3500 (One right)
Norah 13200 (6 right)
Andrea 8800 (5 right)
Norah wagered just 2000 on the clue, which wasn't a video even though the first 2 in the category were: "Camp Patriot & a related naval base are located on the southeast coast of this small Persian Gulf country." She and I got it right, but mine was a guess.
TV Title Math was surprisingly easy (that is, the shows in the clues were all known to me), but I did commit an embarrassing math error on the first clue of the category. Norah found the next Daily Double there, too.
Rhea 5900 (Two right)
Norah 16000 (One right)
Andrea 8800
I'd have gone big here. Norah wagered 3000 on this clue: "Sum of the digits in a famous Shannen Doherty zip code." Norah and I got it right.
I don't believe we saw any negs (from the contestants anyway) until there were 6 clues left in the round, and the first one shouldn't have happened because he'd already been a correct response in the category. Norah negged here, in The Current Supreme Court Justice Who: "Was nominated to the court, then renominated." I stayed clam. Then Rhea appeared to guess on a 2000 clue and got it wrong, only to be picked up by Andrea. And that hurts. She shouldn't have done that since "Ginsburg" had already been a correct response, and "O'Connor" could be ruled out easily. I got this one right too, but, like Andrea, only after Rhea negged: "Was the first woman to become solicitor general."
I ended the round with a bang, getting this one in The Jesuits: "The Jesuit society is considered a 'mendicant order,' meaning they get by by doing this."
Rhea 7900 (3 right and one wrong)
Norah 19400 (One right and one wrong)
Andrea 13200 (4 right)
The Final Jeopardy category is Nations of the World. This is the clue: "The only 2 countries in the Americas that border each other & begin with the same letter." Okay, I peeked at the boards before watching this show so I could see the final category and enter the daily Explore the World Sweepstakes. So while I tried to avoid it I saw a teeny bit of discussion, and it led me to not even consider South America; only central America. :-( So like the contestants, I did not come up with a correct response. Rhea lost 7800. Andrea lost 6201, and Norah lost 8000. Norah ended with enough to be the new champ.
My Coryat today was 25000 (28600 without negs). I'm surprised it was that high, actually.

One year ago: Andy Saunders, The World's Youngest Old Curmudgeon
Two years ago: No no no no drama
Three years ago: [untitled]

Thank God I have the vivacious Sean Kram's Q & A to present to you today, because today's episode was a bit of a snooze in my opinion. In fact, I'm putting his Q & A first.
Speaking of Q & As, in my eternal quest to make the blog a little better, I came up with something: What if my Q & As were videos, done with Skype? Is that something you guys would want? I do wonder how many of the few contestants I can find would have that capability. I'd have to learn how to do it myself.
Don't forget to enter today's Explore the World Sweepstakes. Even my non-Jeopardy! watching friend is getting into it, asking me which trip appeals to me the most. She cited a whole bunch of 'em! I told her I'd have to look at the list. What about you? I wonder how we'll find out the winners. They could write guest posts here about their trip.
My Coryat from this weekend's episode, which originally aired 7-10-13, was 24400 (29000 without negs). The first time I played, my score was 21200 (22000 without one neg).
To refresh your memory on Sean if you didn't click the link above, here is a video from Jeopardy!'s YouTube channel. I have many new questions for him, after seeing this! Thanks so much, Sean!

Jeanie: You told me you visit this blog every day. Did you do that even before you were going to be on the show?
Sean: I came across your blog after I received my audition e-mail, and was seeking out as much advice and information as I could to prepare. I enjoy the personal commentary that you give each episode, it makes them a lot of fun to read whether the recapped show aired last night or sometime three years ago. The more I watched, the more it became part of my daily routine.
Jeanie: I was happy you got the clue right about "WHIP," and even happier when you said the next day you have 20,000 baseball cards. Do you have a favorite team? Did you watch the World Series? Andy and I are in a fantasy baseball league together.
Sean: Haha, I felt very lucky to have come across a baseball question. I follow the Orioles (since most of my family is Baltimore-based) and the Mariners, and though I haven't had a lot of time to tune in this year, I've tried to keep tabs on the postseason. I've always been a big fan of the game, though the baseball cards were an addiction that took a long time to kick.
Jeanie: You taped on a Tuesday, right? Did you go back to the studio the next day to watch?
Sean: I did tape on the first day (it was Monday-Tuesday that week, for some reason), and considered coming back to watch, though I wasn't sure what their policy was on that. As it happened, two straight days of waking up at 5 a.m. meant that I slept in very late the next, late enough that I'm sure tape was already rolling once I'd finally gotten out of bed.
Jeanie: Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Sean: Though I'm flattered that some people out there enjoyed watching me, I feel that this can't go without comment: what I had hoped would come off as enthusiasm for the game and happiness to be a part of it all wound up coming across as smug, cocky, irritating, and just about every one of the worst qualities a contestant could have. And I am both sorry, and fully in agreement that Alex or any of my competitors should have punched me clean across the face before the first commercial break.

My physical self-awareness is pretty awful on a normal day, and when faced with the nerves that accompany having one chance to play the best game of Jeopardy that you can, I made it my goal to simply loosen up and have fun, because in all honesty I felt remarkably out of place and never expected to have a chance to win. I'm sure that I'm nowhere near as smart or as skilled at trivia as most contestants who appear on the show, and knowing that many deserving players have gone home winless because they didn't get the lucky break or two they needed, I sought only to fully enjoy my 20 minutes on stage, try not to finish in the red, and cheer on the victorious champ when it was all over. I was stunned at my good fortune to come away with a win, and horrified to see how obnoxiously I had really behaved through every moment of it.

As little as I realized how much I was bouncing around like a toy up there, I truly had no idea that my misses on the buzzer were so often followed by those pained, spiteful-looking grimaces toward whomever buzzed in first. In the heat of the moment, I was frustrated at myself and curious to see whose timing had come out on top, but in no way did I mean to begrudge any competitor for playing a faster and better game, and am ashamed that I even did that once, let alone fifteen or twenty times. So to wrap up, I want to apologize to all of you who watch Jeopardy as a means of dignified entertainment, and instead had to endure my ruthless, overdone quirks for an entire two shows. And I especially want to apologize to Marge, Molly, Jennifer and Neal, for having to put up with Bobblehead Jones any time they want to relive their Jeopardy dream. They are all extraordinarily kind and smart people, but above all they carried themselves the way that champions should, and that alone made them more deserving of the title than me.

On Friday, Norah McKissic won her first game.

Norah

Woody Houchin

Ramsin Toma

I did love these Jeopardy round categories. I've been to St. Paul's Cathedral. The Daily Double was found there at the bottom of the category.
Norah 1400 (3 right)
Ramsin -600 (One wrong)
Woody 0
Norah broke into giggles when wagering it all. Mr. Trebek asked why, and she said "Because it could be bad.""Well let's hope it's good," Mr. Trebek said. Norah sobered up in a hurry for this brainless clue: "In 1969, the Alabama-born widow of this man became the first woman to preach in St. Paul's." Norah let out a sigh of relief when she was right.
Woody came alive after Norah's Daily Double. At the first break:
Norah 3200 (One right)
Ramsin 0 (One right)
Woody 3200 (5 right)
I don't think the contestants have ever seen A Baby Story, since no one got this one easy for me: "From the Greek for 'female slave,'it's a woman who assists a mother during labor & after childbirth." Mr. Trebek didn't look like he'd heard of it either because he spelled it out first, but he didn't say that.
I got this one too, in World Series: "Yankee manager from 1949 to 1960, he won 37 World Series games, the most of any manager in history." And was this really a triple-stumper, in Numerical Groups?: "The group of elites that were convicted in China for implementing the Cultural Revolution."
Mr. Trebek gave the less-than-a-minute warning with 7 clues left. I was glad when Norah, unlike Woody, dove for the higher-valued clues then. At the end of the round:
Norah 5400 (3 right)
Ramsin 1000 (3 right)
Woody 4200 (2 right)
Woody found the first Daily Double in "C" the World.
Norah 5800 (One right)
Ramsin 1000
Woody 6200 (2 right)
Woody wagered 2000 on this clue, that I thought was hard: "Its waters separate Azerbaijan from Turkmenistan." Woody didn't get it either.
Do you remember when I used this phrase in a post a few days ago? This is in Precious Phrases: "Giving someone something that hasn't been earned is giving it to him on this serving tray."
And this was a triple-stumper, in The Thespian Directs?!: "Hey, Lavoine! This woman was a 'Big' director in 1988."
Unfortunately Norah negged on two 2000 clues, and each of her opponents picked those up. When Woody found the next Daily Double in Third Party Presidential Candidates:
Norah 5800 (4 right and 2 wrong)
Ramsin 7000 (4 right)
Woody 13400 (8 right)
Mr. Trebek had already given the one-minute warning. Mr. Trebek hinted that Woody could "put this game away," so Woody wagered 700 on this clue: "Socialist Party, 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912 & 1920." Woody and I got this right, and it was the last clue of the round. Poor Ramsin and Norah!
The Final Jeopardy category was Food & Drink. This was the (brainless) clue: "This soft drink was named for a digestive enzyme & a native African plant." Maybe it's because I'm a nurse, but I doubt it. In any case I got this instantly and left the couch to do other things. I did reread it, wondering if it could really be that easy. It was. Norah had it wrong and she lost 5700. Ramsin got it and added 5011. Woody got it but added nothing. We'll see him tomorrow!
My Coryat today was 24000 (26400 without negs).

One year ago: We were contestants once, and young
Two years ago: [untitled]
Three years ago: [untitled]

Hey hey, the Hometown Howdies are up. Here are the contestants we haven't seen yet this week:
Amanda DeMeola
Kellie Herson
Adam Johnston
Vimal Murthy
Sarah Orman
Evan Voorn
And today's contestants:

Woody Houchin

Carole Furr

Rani Peffer

I hope you'll forgive me for taking a little nap before blogging this episode. Normally I'm a pitbull when it comes to blogging ASAP, but sometimes you know when everybody'd be better served for doing what one has to do. Tonight that includes not watching the episode through first or keeping track of my Coryat.
Yesterday, Woody won his first episode. Poor guy had a brainfart on this first clue of the game, in Pi: "Pi is the ratio of this measurement of a circle to its diameter." I have to admit I had to think hard about this on myself and at first thought what he did, but caught it in time. (This is before I decided not to track my Coryat.) Later Woody said "Berlusconi" in response to this one in Shepherds: "When traveling, this man sometimes uses an Alitalia jet dubbed 'Shepherd One.'" That one came after the first break, but Woody'd negged 3 times by the time Rani found the Daily Double in Entertaining Occupations just before the first break. (By the way, I've discovered that Rani was on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2011.)
Woody 200 (4 right and 3 wrong)
Rani 2000 (6 right and one wrong)
Carole 2400 (3 right)
Rani wagered 1800 on this clue. (Why not the whole thing?): "If you had this job in Japanese Bunraku theater, it was common to spend 15 years as a left arm operator." Rani got it right.
I did know this triple-stumper in Entertaining Occupations: "Fruity term for the straight man in a comedy duo."
I was sweeping TV Self-Help Me when the round ended with two of those clues left. :-(
Woody 2800 (3 right and one wrong)
Rani 6400 (5 right)
Carole 3200 (3 right and one wrong)
By the time Woody found the fourth clue in Double Jeopardy, the Daily Double, Mr. Trebek said he'd "moved up handsomely."
Woody 4800 (2 right)
Rani 6400
Carole 3600 (One right)
Woody wagered 2400 on this clue in Come to Our "Ade". I'd have wagered it all. "'Haffner'& 'Colloredo' are 2 of these compositions by Mozart." Woody didn't get it, and I have to admit I didn't either. He only had time to get one more right (and Rani did too) before the next Daily Double in Water, Water Everywhere.
Woody 3200
Rani 6800
Carole 3600
Woody wagered 1000 on this clue: "In 2011 about 20% of globally traded oil left the Persian Gulf region through this strait." Woody got it!
Soon after this point I absent-mindedly put my pen down to mark yet another one Alex got right - that is, another triple-stumper.
The New York Times Theater was painfully slowly read by Ben Brantley, but it was the best thing that could've happened to Carole, and in the nick of time. She'd had zero in this round but came back with this category's help. I did get this triple-stumper: "In 1996 I reviewed the revival of this Kander & Ebb musical, whose jaded take on celebrity worship & a fractured justice system were timely then; I said I hoped it would run for a long time. Little did I know it would still be playing today." I got this next one right too, another triple-stumper. It was the last clue of the round: "Based on a movie, this musical about an Irish guy and a Czech girl uses song & dance in a way I've never experienced in an American musical: to convey a beautiful shimmer of might-have-been regret." At the end of the round, then:
Woody 10600 (5 right)
Rani 7200 (2 right and one wrong)
Carole 5600 (4 right and 2 wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category was First Families. This was the clue: "Sasha and Malia Obama are the first presidential children who were not old enough to vote for Dad since this one." This one was an insta-get. Carole looked like she thought she had it right, but she didn't. She lost 1601. Rani got it right and added 7111. Woody did not get it right! He lost 3801. I'm surprised this was not a triple-get. Anyway, Rani'll be back tomorrow.

One year ago: We were contestants once, and young
Two years ago: No no no no drama
Three years ago: Vito vetoes the competition, all election week

I told this reader I'd post a video of this clue, so here it is:

Yesterday, Rani Peffer won for the first time.

Kellie Herson

Rani Peffer

Evan Voorn

Evan found the Daily Double of the round in It's a Federal Holiday after the girls negged on the previous clue.
Rani -800 (One wrong)
Kellie -400 (One right and one wrong)
Evan 800 (2 right)
Evan wagered 1000 on this clue: "The first presidential proclamation of this day mentions 'the favorable interpositions of' God's providence." I got this one but Evan took almost the whole time before saying "Easter." I said what he did though on this one in In the World Capital: "Plaza de Garibaldi, near the Avenida Juarez." All three contestants wound up negging on it.
At the first break:
Rani -1400 (One wrong)
Kellie 800 (3 right and one wrong)
Evan 1000 (4 right and one wrong)
Rani cracked up Mr. Trebek and the audience when she said this about her future husband, who'd been her accounting professor: "When I talked to him...he was so much like myself, it was like looking in a mirror. And I couldn't resist the idea of spending the rest of my life with myself."
Like Evan, I said "horse tail" on this one in Beastly Words & Phrases: "Long wispy cirrus clouds are sometimes referred to by this name, from their resemblance to a certain equine body part."

We were negged but it was reversed before the Double Jeopardy round started.
I got this triple-stumper in Mystery Folks: "'Immortal Beloved' is the only I.D. we have on the woman whom this 19th C. composer called 'my angel...my all, my very self.'"
At the end of the round (and there were two clues left covered in New York Times Food:
Rani 1600
Kellie 2600
Evan 2800 (This is after the horse neg above was reversed.)
Rani found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy, in Colleges & Universities. "You guys are rolling now; that's good!" said Mr. Trebek.
Rani 8000 (6 right)
Kellie 4200 (2 right)
Evan 7200 (4 right and one wrong)
Rani wagered 2000 on this clue: "Truman the Tiger has been this school's mascot since 1984." Rani didn't get it but I did.
Kellie found the next Daily Double, in Lit-tree-ture.
Rani 6000
Kellie 5400 (One right)
Evan 8400 (Two right and one wrong)
Kellie wagered 2000 too on this clue that I thought was hard: "This self-described 'fool' wrote, 'A tree that looks at God all day/and lifts her leafy arms to pray.'" I understood once Mr. Trebek revealed the correct response, but Kellie looked like she still didn't.
I said what Evan did on this one in Plymouth Colony, and was shocked when it was negged: "This chief of the Wampanoag indians signed a peace treaty with the pilgrims & became a loyal friend." It was a triple-stumper. I got this triple-stumper in Medical Talk: "A little bird told us smoking or dentures can cause this most common fungal infection of the mouth & throat." Kellie said "gingivitis." Unfortunately two clues in the category were left covered. Mr. Trebek said to Kellie, "Hey, way to go, you've moved up handsomely there."
Rani 9600 (3 right)
Kellie 6600 (3 right and one wrong)
Evan 7200 (3 right and 2 wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category today was On the Globe. This was the clue: "Of the 5 named circles of latitude on a standard Earth globe, it's the one with the longest name." I'm amazed I got this right because I cannot name all 5 named circles of latitude. (Can you?) It was a triple-get, though. Kellie doubled her score. Evan did too. Rani wagered enough to beat Evan by a dollar, making her a two-day champ now.
My Coryat today was 25800 (28600 without negs).

One year ago: J! Block Tango (plus Q&A with Ariane Helou!)
Two years ago: No no no no drama
Three years ago: Vito vetoes the competition, all election week

Hello! Andy here with Thursday's show recap!

Today's challengers: Sarah Orman and Adam Johnston. Rani Peffer's won $28,712 in her first two games; will she make it onto the ToC list after today's games?

J! round categories:
AROUND THE USA
SONG & DANCE
LITERARY BUNNIES
HODGEPODGE
THE FABRIC OF OUR LIVES
ALAS, POOR... (all words which rhyme with "Yorick")

We went through POOR... and HODGEPODGE before Adam decided out of the blue to go to AROUND THE USA $600. Because the world hates me, it revealed a Video Daily Double.

Scores:
Rani $2,800
Adam $800
Sarah $0

Adam bet $1,000. The clue: As the U.S. expanded its territory westward, this point moved from the east coast in 1776 to south dakota in 1959 with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii. Adam's correct response put him at $1,800.

At the opening break, the scores ended up at:
Rani $3,200
Adam $2,000
Sarah -$400

Rani's husband proposed to her by putting a ring in fast food French Fries. Rani joked, "thank goodness I wasn't up to ketchup yet"!

Sarah got SONG & DANCE $1000 to get her score back on the good side. She got in a few more times before the end of our round! This round did belong to Rani, though! Scores at the end of 30:

Rani $8,600
Adam $3,400
Sarah $1,800

Also, congratulations to J! Archive, as I believe their 250,000th clue will be entered in very soon!

DJ! Round categories:
BRITISH PRIME MINISTERS
THE NEW YORK TIMES BUSINESS
O-E-O-E
WHAT ISLAND?
99 MODELS OF GEAR
ON THE WALL

After going through WHAT ISLAND and BUSINESS, Adam started Daily Double hunting again and found it under BRITISH PRIME MINISTERS $1600! The scores were:

Rani $9,800
Adam $8,200
Sarah $2,600

Adam bet $6,000! I was not expecting to see that! His clue: The longest-serving Labour Prime Minister ever. Adam went for Benjamin Disraeli and his score fell to $2,200.

The $2,000 clue, a Triple Stumper: Alternated with Gladstone between 1868 and 1880. Alas, poor Adam...

99 MODELS OF GEAR was a sports category (athletes who wore the number 99), but we only got through 3 of the clues!

After the minute-to-go signal, Rani decided to try to take out the final Daily Double, and she found it under ON THE WALL $1200! Scores:

Rani $14,600
Sarah $5,000
Adam $4,600

Rani bet clue value: ...of this museum is a portrait of Elizabeth Petrovna as a child (1712-13) by Ivan Nikitin. Rani said "the Louvre" and fell to $13,400. Only one clue was seen, and scores going into Final were:

Rani $14,200
Sarah $5,000
Adam $4,600

FJ! category: LITERARY INFLUENCES

FJ! clue: The "Gossip Girl" series of books was inspired by this Pulitzer-Prize winning novel also set in New York City but 120 years earlier

Adam 4600 - 3000 = 1600
Sarah 5000 - 4300 = 700
Rani 14200 - 1777 = 12423

And now the ToC standings!

1. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
2. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
3. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
4. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
5. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
6. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
7. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
8. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
9. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
10. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
11. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
12. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
13. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
14. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
15. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
16. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
17. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)
18. Rani Peffer $41,135 (3 wins)

We'll see tomorrow if Rani can get to 4 wins! See you then!

Andy here with the final episode of the week! Remember that the Teacher's Tournament begins next week!

Today's contestants: Vimal Murthy and Amanda DeMeola are the challengers for Rani Peffer, who won $41,135 in her first 3 days. Will she win her all-important fourth game?

J! round categories:
AMERICAN POETRY
DEPARTMENT STORES
"LEAD" THE WAY
CARTOGRAPHIC ABBREVIATIONS
THE OSCAR-WINNING ROLE
SOUTH AFRICAN WILDLIFE

All 3 contestants had good luck with getting in on the buzzer over "LEAD" THE WAY, CARTOGRAPHIC ABBREVIATIONS and SOUTH AFRICAN WILDLIFE, the scores at the end of 15 were:

Vimal $3,200
Rani $3,000
Amanda $1,200

Amanda's a bit of a collector - she has the original cast recording of over 500 musicals. Rani said that she would be interested in winning enough to by a small- or medium- sized island, "like Cyprus".

Going back, the Daily Double stayed hidden for awhile; it was under AMERICAN POETRY $800 - the second-to-last clue of the round! It was Rani's to play, and the scores were:

Rani $5,400
Amanda $3,800
Vimal $3,600

Rani bet $800. Her clue: In "Paul Revere's Ride", these 9 words precede "and I on the opposite shore will be". She went straight to her fingers to count, gave the 9 words, and went to $6,200 as the end-of-round signal played.

DJ! round categories:
THE SWEET 1600s
PANTSLESS TV
GLASS & GLASSMAKING
FILTHY 4-LETTER WORDS
IMMIGRANTS
FROM THE "OL" COUNTRY

Vimal did quite well in FROM THE "OL" COUNTRY and found the Daily Double at the bottom of it! Scores were:

Rani $6,600
Vimal $6,000
Amanda $3,800

Vimal bet $3,000. His clue: This South American country has coasts along both the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans - Vimal went to the other corner of "Atlantic, Pacific, Both, or Neither" with "Bolivia" and fell to $3,000.

Meanwhile, Amanda found her buzzer mojo in FILTHY 4-LETTER WORDS and PANTSLESS TV to take the lead! Meanwhile, Vimal tried hunting all over IMMIGRANTS for the Daily Double until it appeared at $800! The scores were:

Amanda $10,200
Rani $9,000
Vimal $8,600

Vimal bet $3,000. His clue: He was California's first foreign-born governor since Irishman John Downey, who left office in 1862. His correct response put him into the lead at $11,600, and gave us less than a minute to deal with GLASS.

The end-of-round signal came with 2 clues left on the board, and we had scores of:

Vimal $12,000
Amanda $10,200
Rani $7,800

FJ! category: OLYMPIC HISTORY

FJ! clue: In London in 2012, judo & the 800m run included the first female Olympians ever from this Mideastern country

Rani 7800 + 7777 = 15577
Amanda 10200 - 10200 = 0
Vimal 12000 - 8401 = 3599

I think Alex screwed up at the end of this one -- he said "we'll see you Monday" to Rani but the Jeopardy! website says that the Teacher's Tournament starts on Monday! Oops!

ToC update:

1. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
2. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
3. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
4. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
5. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
6. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
7. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
8. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
9. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
10. Rani Peffer $56,712 (4 wins)
11. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
12. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
13. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
14. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
15. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
16. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
17. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
18. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Be back Monday!

Andy here, first with an apology, secondly with a pair of recaps.

First up: I tried something new trying to post this, and it didn't exactly work. I won't be trying that again!

Secondly: The Teacher's Tournament is on!

The 15 players:
Eli Barrieau, Leominister, MA
Anne Baxter, Detroit, MI
Cathy Bloedorn, Ellicott City, MA
James Brown, El Paso, TX
Karen Cafaro, Laurinburg, NC
Patrick Dillon, Manhasset, NY
Becky Giardina, Waynesboro, GA
Mary Beth Hammerstrom, Anchorage, AK
Maryanne Lewell, Saint John, NB, Canada
Katie Moriarty, Wyoming, OH
John Pearson, Coppell, TX
Timothy Shuker-Haines, Williamstown, MA
Kati Sorenson, Elkhorn, NE
Michael Townes, Greenville, SC
Rico Vazquez, Elmhurst, IL

Rico Vazquez, Katie Moriarty, and Anne Baxter are Monday's contestants! If you have any questions for Rico, ask them! Jeanie will be doing a Q & A with him!

J! round categories:

BIBLICAL WHO'S WHO
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION FILM!
ANAGRAMMED SCHOOL SUBJECTS
AWARDS & HONORS
STATE CAPITALS
CARBONATION NATION

Rico got the first clue, but then got into a rut. Anne and Katie got off to the best start over the first 15 clues! The scores at the end of 15:

Katie $3,400
Anne $2,800
Rico $800

Rico holds Ugly Shirt day on Thursday at his school -- in that he picks out an ugly shirt to wear in class! Apparently that was the most asked question he's had about his appearance! (I bet he would have had he played in the Thursday quarterfinal)

I bet that Anne could have a conversation with Maryanne from Saint John in French -- New Brunswick is a bilingual province!

The first Daily Double was at the bottom of STATE CAPITALS, and it went to Anne! Scores were:

Katie $5,600
Anne $3,800
Rico $2,000

Anne bet all $3,800! (Good call!) Her clue: French-Canadian trappers named it for the tree-lined river that provided relief for those crossing the Snake River plain. After a very long time, Anne came up with the correct response to put her at $7,600!

At the end of 30, the scores were:
Anne $8,000
Katie $6,400
Rico $3,800

DJ! round categories:
LITERARY PRINCIPALS & TEACHERS
AMPHIBIANS
THOSE "R" THE TOP 10 HITS
OLD PAINT
IT'S ALL POLITICS
MORE VOWELS

THOSE "R" THE TOP 10 HITS $2000 was a Triple Stumper that I got (Jesus Jones, 1991)

The first Daily Double came under OLD PAINT $1600. It went to Katie! Scores:
Anne $8,800
Katie $8,800
Rick $5,800

Katie bet $3,000. Her clue: Here is a 1640 self-portrait by this Flemish man. Note the beard

The next Daily Double came up under IT'S ALL POLITICS $1200. Katie's again, the scores were:

Katie $12,600
Anne $9,200
Rico $5,800

Katie bet $3,000 again. Her clue this time: In the late 1780s, fearing a strong central. govt., the anti-these opposed the adoption of the Constitution. Katie went for anti-ratifiers and fell to $9,600.

It felt as though Rico had a poor time of it in this round, he only got 2 correct responses in! Maybe an ugly shirt would have distracted his opponents! Anne and Katie had most of the buzzer mojo today...

Scores going into Final:
Anne $13,600
Katie $12,400
Rico $5,800

FJ! category: 2013 NEWSMAKERS

FJ! clue: The name of this woman who achieved a long-held goal in 2013 is a homophone of a word for a water nymph

Rico 5800 + 5600 = 11400
Katie 12400 + 4000 = 16400
Anne 13600 + 11201 = 24801

Anne Baxter is the first semifinalist!

Tuesday's contestants: Kati Sorenson, Mary Beth Hammerstrom, and Patrick Dillon!

J! round categories:

GOING EMILY POST-AL
NOVELS BY CHARACTER
NUMBER, PLEASE
THAT'S TOTALLY HISTORICAL!
8-LETTER WORDS
THE RACE IS TO THE STRONG

This game started off pretty evenly; we saw NOVELS BY CHARACTER, GOING EMILY POST-AL, and some of NUMBER, PLEASE and THAT'S TOTALLY HISTORICAL! before the break!

Scores at the end of 15:
Patrick $2,600
Mary Beth $2,000
Kati $1,600

Mary Beth was originally a lawyer, but got into teaching after her brother, an English teacher, dragged her into a classroom and told her to teach his students how to argue!

Coming out of the break, it was Patrick who had the best time of it on the buzzer! Mary Beth took a few negs keeping her score down! The Daily Double went to Patrick at the bottom of NUMBER, PLEASE. Scores:

Patrick $5,600
Kati $2,800
Mary Beth $1,800

Patrick bet $1,400. His clue: Total cups in a gallon. His correct response put him at $7,000!

Scores at the end of 30:
Patrick $8,000
Kati $2,800
Mary Beth $2,600

DJ! round categories:
YOUR MYTHIC ABCs
TEACHING THE TEACHERS
QUOTABLE QUOTES
VOLCANOES
ACTORS PLAYING WRITERS
CROSSWORD CLUES "F"

The Daily Doubles came out early! YOUR MYTHIC ABCs $1600 had the first one and it went to Mary Beth! Scores:

Patrick $8,800
Mary Beth $3,800
Kati $3,600

Not the decision I would have made, but Mary Beth bet just $1,000. Her clue: C: This Greek sea monster is the personification of whirlpools. The K aside, Mary Beth went for Kraken, and fell to $2,800.

QUOTABLE QUOTES $1600 had the final Daily Double and it was Mary Beth's as well. Scores:

Patrick $10,800
Mary Beth $4,800
Kati $3,600

Mary Beth went conservative here as well, betting just $2,000. Her clue: At the Brandenburg Gate in 1987, President Reagan gave "Mr. Gorbachev" this 4-word challenge. Mary Beth got this one to go to $6,800! However, her enunciation of the correct response led to Alex jibing her, suggesting she was on Wheel of Fortune!

Over the final 20 clues, Mary Beth managed to keep the negs at bay, and her score ballooned as a result! Patrick was up to the challenge, and his score did stay ahead! Kati was unfortunately left in the dust, with her score at $3,600 for most of the Double Jeopardy! round before she had a few gets at the end of it!

Scores going into Final:

Patrick $19,200
Mary Beth $15,200
Kati $4,400

FJ! category: HISTORIC OBJECTS

FJ! clue: In 1802, 3 years after it was discovered, it was moved to London under the terms of the surrender of Alexandria

Kati 4400 - 4001 = 399
Mary Beth 15200 + 4800 = 20000
Patrick 19200 + 7502 = 26702

Mary Beth has an excellent score for a Wild Card, Patrick is the second semifinalist!

Wild card standings:
Anne Baxter (Monday winner)
Patrick Dillon (Tuesday winner)
Mary Beth Hammerstrom $20,000
Katie Moriarty $16,400
Rico Vazquez $11,400
Kati Sorenson $399

My Coryat from last weekend's rerun, which originally aired 7-11-13: 28000 (31600 without negs). The first time I played, my Coryat was 22200 (26000 without negs).
So this is Day 3 of the Teacher Tournament.

Eli Barrieau

Karen Cafaro

James Brown

This game felt like it kicked my butt but my score, 18000, was the same as Monday's, and I had fewer negs. (Today I had 20600 without negs). I did have a rough day today long before the show ever started, though. I didn't get any of the clues in The Right Tool, and I didn't get anything right until this 8th one in Yes, November!: "On Nov. 23, 2013, National this day, organizers hope to bring more than 4,000 kids out of foster care." Despite the title of this post, I went 3/5 in Talkin' Math. I never thought math was a weakness of mine, and I'm surprised to see it's my worst category in Learned League. In fact it looks like I haven't gotten one right yet. I negged on this one today, even though the correct response came to mind: "Students usually take this, the study of angles & their functions, after geometry & algebra." I don't know about you but at my high school, pre-calculus came after geometry. (Algebra's first.)
At the first break:
Eli 5200 (8 right)
James 2000 (4 right)
Karen 1400 (2 right)
Karen found the Daily Double of the round in U.S. Landmarks.
Eli 6000 (One right)
James 1800 (One right and one wrong)
Karen 3800 (Four right)
She wagered 1000 on this easy clue: "This landmark's Skycity restaurant has been serving its Lunar Orbiter ice cream sundae since the 1962 World's Fair." She got it right. At the end of the round:
Eli 5800 (One right and one wrong)
James 4200 (3 right)
Karen 4600 (One wrong)
I thought these three clues at the bottom of TV Shows by Nerd were way easier than the two above it (correct responses The Big Bang Theory and Happy Days):

"White-collar worker Dwight Schrute"
"Next-door neighbor Steve Urkel"
"Bayside High School student Samuel 'Screech' Powers"

I got this triple-stumper in The Year 1713, but it was a guess: "The Tuscarora War in N.C. was decided, leading to the Tuscarora heading north & the Five Nations becoming this." James moved to An Eponymous Category after that. He found the first Daily Double there.

Eli 7800 (2 right)

James 7800 (5 right)

Karen 6600 (One right)

James wagered 2400 on this clue: "The name of these breeches is derived from a pseudonym used by Washington Irving for one of his works." I said "knickers" and am counting it. James said "headless horseman"! ?

I said "Brown" for this one in Journalists and am counting it, even though I was thinking of someone other than "Tina": "The former editor of Vanity Fair, she served as editor-in-chief of both Newsweek & The Daily Beast."

James found the next Daily Double too, in "A" in Geography.

Eli 12200 (4 right)

James 9400 (3 right and one wrong)

Karen 9800 (4 right and one wrong)

James wagered 2400 on this clue: "Great Britain has several rivers named this, from the Celtic for 'river.'" James answered immediately but was wrong. Ouch. Lucky for him though, Eli negged on the next clue for 1600. On the second-to-last clue though, Eli got a 1600 clue that Karen and James both negged on.

Karen took a while to select clues after getting a correct response, but we saw every clue in the first two rounds.
Eli 12200 (One right and one wrong)
James 6600 (One right and one wrong)
Karen 9000 (One right and one wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category was Mythology. This was the clue: "Rich with electrum, the Turkish river Pactolus is where this legendary man was said to have washed off his curse." The correct response crossed my mind but I wound up saying what James did. I guess I associate this guy more with the Bible than with mythology. I doubt it's in the Bible but I think I learned about this in religion class. I remember seeing the illustrations that went with the story. Karen got it wrong too, but Eli got it right. James lost everything! (What about the wild card!?) Karen lost 3000. Eli added 2200, and we'll see him next week.
So Rico's score is higher than that of today's losers. I'm glad. I'd like him to play next week. By the way, I did a lot of asking around for Q & As this tournament (though I didn't get to everyone), and Rico's the only one who responded. Phew!

Wild card standings:
Anne Baxter (Monday winner)
Patrick Dillon (Tuesday winner)
Eli Barrieau (Wednesday winner)
Mary Beth Hammerstrom $20,000
Katie Moriarty $16,400
Rico Vazquez $11,400
Karen Cafaro $6,000
Kati Sorenson $399
James Brown 0

One year ago: Lucas: The good seed
Two years ago: Tweeting Tom
Three years ago: Play it again, Sam

Okay you guys. James Brown and Eli Barrieau have said they will answer our questions about their appearance on the show. So leave a comment somewhere with those.
I'd planned to go to a dinner tonight - a lady's 3rd or 4th attempt to start a single women's group at my church. I didn't really want to go but thought I should since I happened to not be working and I usually am. But I no longer feel like going and you just know when it's for the best to change your mind. There will be another chance, and like this time, I won't want to go.
Here's a rundown of Thursday's episode.

John Pearson

Becky Giardina

Maryanne Lewell

John got the first seven clues right, and that means he swept Color TV. Maybe it's just me but I thought this 200 clue was the hardest: "______ Is the New _____." The eighth clue was a triple-stumper in U.S. History: The First 100 Years, but I got it after the contestants eliminated a couple: "In the first census, 1790, New York was America's largest city & this was the most populous state." By the time John found the Daily Double of the round in Annual Events, he'd gotten 11 right.
Becky -600 (One wrong)
Maryanne -600 (One wrong)
John 6000
John wagered 2000 on this easy clue: "This holiday falls on what was once the last day of the Celtic year when the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth." At the first break:
Becky 200 (One right)
Maryanne -600
John 7400 (One right and one wrong)
Why did Mr. Trebek say, "You notice folks John missed one. Bad sign."?
Like me, John can't remember when he first started watching Jeopardy!
At the end of the round:
Becky 1200 (2 right)
Maryanne 5000 (8 right)
John 9800 (4 right)
Maryanne found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy, in I Resign!
Becky 1600 (One right)
Maryanne 8600 (4 right)
John 11400 (3 right and 2 wrong)
Maryanne wagered 2000 on this toughie: "In 2013 the chairman of this food company chicken-tendered his resignation as a Univ. of Arkansas trustee." I thought of Maryanne's response too but I wound up going with "Burger King."
The contestants should consider themselves lucky they don't know this stupid song, in Pop Goes the Music: "Ho hey, cello player Neyla Pekarek is one of the bright lights of this band& its only female member." Though I don't know how they don't know this song.
Becky found the next Daily Double, in It Ends with "U".
Becky 4400 (2 right)
Maryanne 6600
John 13800 (2 right)
Becky wagered everything on this clue: "Hastily prepared or improvised." She and I got it right.
At the end of the round:
Becky 10800 (One right)
Maryanne 9400 (2 right)
John 22600 (8 right)
It's a lock!
The Final Jeopardy category was Symbols. This was the clue: "One legend says Clovis, king of the Franks, adopted this symbol after flowers revealed a safe river crossing for his army." I misread the clue but I'm counting my response right because I knew what symbol the writers were talking about. All 3 contestants got it right too. Maryanne doubled her score. Becky added 8001, giving her a one dollar lead over Maryanne. Why, since she can't win anyway and if she was wrong she'd probably be out of wild-card contention? "Good move on both your parts," Mr. Trebek said. What?! John wagered nothing but we'll see him next week.
My Coryat today was 30200 (31000 without one neg).

Wild card standings:
Anne Baxter (Monday winner)
Patrick Dillon (Tuesday winner)
Eli Barrieau (Wednesday winner)
John Pearson (Thursday winner)
Mary Beth Hammerstrom $20,000
Becky Giardina $18,801
Maryanne Lewell $18,800
Katie Moriarty $16,400
Rico Vazquez $11,400
Karen Cafaro $6,000
Kati Sorenson $399
James Brown 0

One year ago: We Apologize for the Technical Difficulties
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Play it again, Sam

You guys, John Pearson from yesterday's episode has contacted me for a Q & A! This does my heart good - he's the guy who left the comment here.
The big question today, for me: Am I gonna be sending Rico my questions this weekend or next? (That is, was his score high enough to be a wild card?) Here we go.

Cathy Bloedorn

Michael Townes

Timothy Shuker-Haines

I was looking forward to Rap Stage Names, and it was one of I think 3 categories I swept in the Jeopardy round. I'm glad we saw them all - It was the last category the contestants chose!
I got this triple-stumper in Same First & Last Letter: "Shortened term for an agreement before a marriage that stipulates rights." I thought of "Loyalist" but didn't quite make it to the correct response on this triple-stumper in Same First & Last Letter: "Traditional contradictory-sounding adjective for a Parliamentary opposition party."
At the first break:
Cathy 1800 (3 right)
Timothy 3800 (6 right)
Michael 1000 (3 right)
Did you notice how many of this week's teachers made education their second career? Maybe the contestant coordinators like that.
I noticed Michael's pink tie when he was introduced because I like that look. I was glad he mentioned in his interview. But "hot pink"? Uh uh.
Timothy found the Daily Double of the round, in On his Presidency's Secret Service.
Cathy 2200 (One right)
Timothy 5000 (2 right)
Michael 1000
Timothy wagered 3000 on this clue: "In 1902 the service began full-time protection of the president, this man whose predecessor could've used some protecting." He and I got it right.
At the end of the round:
Cathy 4000 (2 right)
Timothy 9400 (3 right)
Michael 4400 (5 right)
Did Timothy's students really call him "Timothy" in the video from his school? I hope they don't do that in the classroom! I have a feeling they don't - He didn't look too happy about it.
I got this triple-stumper in Diseases: "The disease that kills all these animals in Egypt in Exodus 9:6 is believed to have been anthrax." Timothy and Cathy negged but Michael didn't, and the next clue was the Daily Double in the same category.
Cathy 5200 (3 right and 2 wrong)
Timothy 9800 (2 right and one wrong)
Michael 11600 (7 right)
Michael wagered 1600 on this clue: "CFTR, the defective gene responsible for transmitting this metabolic disease, lies in the middle of chromosome 7." I didn't know it either, but I was disappointed that he didn't even throw up a guess. He seemed unwilling to even think about it, even after Mr. Trebek waited to reveal the correct response. Boo. Timothy and Cathy negged on the next clue too! But Michael and I got it.
I got this triple-stumper in Raid!: "This Biblical patriarch led a daring raid with his servants to rescue his nephew Lot."
The last clue of the round was the other Daily Double, in Raid! It was Cathy's to play.
Cathy 8400 (4 right and one wrong)
Timothy 13400 (5 right and one wrong)
Michael 16400 (5 right)
Cathy wagered 2000 on this clue: "In February 1942 he wrote that the purpose of his upcoming raid was 'to bomb and fire the industrial center of Japan." Cathy didn't get it.
The Final Jeopardy category was Play Characters. This was the clue: "In Peter Roach's phonetics glossary, this alliterative guy is 'the best-known fictional phonetician.'" I didn't get this one. Cathy did and wagered all but $5. Timothy got it too and added 7000. Michael didn't get it and lost 2600. Timothy walked so quickly toward Mr. Trebek the camera almost didn't catch him.
So, I'll compile questions for Rico and James this weekend. I'd still like to know if you have any for them. Here are next week's players:
Timothy
Anne Baxter
Patrick Dillon
Eli Barrieau
John Pearson
Mary Beth Hammerstrom
Becky Giardini
Maryanne Lewell
Katie Moriarty
My Coryat today was 33000 (34400 without negs).

One year ago: On the Decay of the Art of Strategy
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Play it again, Sam

Rico played in the Teachers Tournament on November 11th. Thanks, Rico!

Jeanie: You did fine. I'm sorry you didn't make it to week 2 of the tournament.
Rico: Thank you. I wish I would have made it, but someone has to lose, too. James Brown ended with $0 and had a hockey jersey made that said “Jeopardy” on the back with the number 0. I admire his attitude. I should have totally worn an ugly shirt, even if it wasn't Thursday.
Jeanie: Your dream category is Classical Music?!? I have to ask, would you have gotten my neg right if it had been a clue on your show? (A Classical Mix-up for 800)
Rico: Your clue was a tricky one, due to the vagueness of it. I felt for you on that answer. At least you didn’t name “Sherman” as the capital of Mississippi. I get called Sherman in the hall, now.
Jeanie: I noticed that Katie rang in before you on the Blagojevich clue (you're from Illinois), and the next clue was the Daily Double. Did you try to ring on the Blagojevich clue?
Rico: Katie did beat me to the Blago one, and almost every other one. J She really had that buzzer working. I knew the Daily Double, but what can you do? Even in the practice rounds I kept getting beat on the buzzer.
Jeanie: Can you explain your Final Jeopardy wager?
Rico: My final wager was almost a joke. I wanted to bet all of it, but didn’t want to end with 0. I then thought “Wouldn’t it be funny to bet $5,595 so that I would be left with $205 (My district number) if I lost?” I then freaked out a little bit and left it at $5600. I figure it would be better to have a little money, just in case.
Jeanie: Is there anything else you'd like to say?
Rico: I would like to say that I am so happy I was there. It truly was a very surreal experience, but one I hope I always remember. The other teachers were all great people, and we have kept in close contact with each other. The contestant producers were amazing, too. Everything about Jeopardy! was so wonderful.

James Brown played on November 13th. Thanks, James!

Jeanie: Can you talk about your Final Jeopardy wager?
James: Sure. I had 6600 and I was really just focused on what I should do against Eli. He had 12200. In my mind, he wasn't going to go 0 so I figure if he wagered anything and got it right, then my only shot was the wild card. That's why I bet it all. If I double to 13200 then it may be a decent shot at it. Anything less than that didn't make sense given the format. It was either wager it all or go 0 and hope Eli and Karen went big and missed it. I didn't want to leave my fate in their hands so I went all in.
Jeanie: Did you come back the next day to watch the second week of the Teachers Tournament from the audience?
James: Yes I did go back the next day. Our little group of teachers became friends and we all were rooting for each other. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. There was also a reception after the taping was over.
Jeanie: Is there anything else you'd like to say?
James: I will admit to panicking during the daily doubles. I had no idea what the answers were but I didn't want to just stand there and say nothing. Lol your post said I answered immediately but wrong on the a in geo Daily Double. They edited out a bit of my staring blankly at the camera lol. Not that it matters but I thought long and hard for my wrong answer lol.

The only two answers I regret was 1) not answering Disney hall. I knew it was Disney but didn't know if it was hall or theatre or what the official name was and I didn't know if Disney was acceptable. The other was missing Aegean Sea. My mouth answered before I fully thought it out to realize there are two parts of the Mediterranean that began with a.

While preparing for my Q & A with John Pearson, I came across this on the Jeopardy boards and am so shook up I just have to show you. What do you think?!?
My Coryat from this weekend's rerun, which originally aired 7-12-13, is 17400 (23200 without negs). I remember this episode but for some reason I can't find a recap or Coryat from that time.
I'm pleased to bring you Day 1 of Week 2 of the Teachers Tournament.

Katie Moriarty

John Pearson

Timothy Shuker-Haines

And I'm relieved that John and Eli Barrieau are not playing each other in the semifinals - I want them both in the finals! I'm doing a Q & A with them, so leave a comment with any questions you have for them.
The Daily Double was only the second clue of the round! John found it in "Oh". The first clue was worth 200. He wagered 1000 on this easy clue: "This Czech region gave us a name for artistic people who live by unconventional standards." He got it.
I think I swept People (as in the magazine), and I got this triple-stumper: "In 2013 People reported 'the new YouTube sensation' was 'doing'this dance; 'R.I.P. Gangnam style'!" No one got it even after Timothy said "Harlem shuffle"! I knew it before he said that, of course.
At the first break:
John 3400 (4 right)
Timothy 200 (3 right and one wrong)
Katie 2200 (4 right)
I don't know about you but I thought Timothy was way more relaxed this episode than the last one.
I liked John's story about Coach K calling him the worst player who tried out for the team, and I liked John's reaction to it.
I got this triple-stumper in Places: "In Biblical times, caravans stopped at Capernaum, Israel to stock up on fish from this nearby lake."
At the end of the round:
John 4800 (5 right and 3 wrong)
Timothy 400 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Katie 4400 (3 right)
Timothy got the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy, in More Than One Meaning.
John 5200 (One right and one wrong)
Timothy 800 (One right)
Katie 4800 (One right)
Timothy wagered "up to 2000" (2000) on this clue: "Polite & friendly, or any of various liqueurs." He got it right!
John got the next clue right, and then the next clue was the other Daily Double, in Short Stories.
John 6000
Timothy 2800
Katie 4800
John wagered 2500 on this too-hard clue: "'Bow Wow'& 'A Bit of a Shock,' 2 of John O'Hara's stories about Joey Evans, were the basis for this 1940 musical." He was wrong.
I got this triple-stumper in American Experience: JFK: "During his 1946 run for Congress, the skinny JFK already suffered from this disease of adrenal insufficiency."
I was thankful for the brainless Everybody Must Get Birthstones, for my Coryat's sake.
One clue was left covered, with no warning.
John 8700 (7 right and one wrong)
Timothy 8400 (6 right and one wrong)
Katie 4800 (3 right and 2 wrong)
The Final Jeopardy category was Buildings. This was the clue: "Charles Evans Hughes laid the cornerstone for this building on October 13, 1932 & got to work in it for about 6 years." I got this one right on a lucky guess. I'm especially glad because it was a triple-stumper. Katie and Timothy lost everything! John wagered everything but 500. I'm so glad we'll see him again on Thursday.
My Coryat today was 19600 (21800 without negs).

One year ago: On the Decay of the Art of Strategy
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Wide world of weird, weird moments

I was hoping to see Eli Barrieau play today but it's okay. We'll see him tomorrow when his opponents must be Mary Beth Hammerstrom and Maryanne Lewell. I kinda like his chances.

Becky Giardina

Patrick Dillon

Anne Baxter

I swept the easy Movies with Structure. And did I really get two triple-stumpers, in Sounds Like Football?: "The profit you get back on an investment" and "Folded pastry." Later in the round I completed a sweep of Flashin' Some Fashion, and I got this triple-stumper in Science Survey: "This roughly 3-pound organ converts glycogen to glucose." At the first break:
Patrick 800 (4 right and one wrong)
Anne 3000 (7 right and one wrong)
Becky 1200 (2 right)
Anne found the Daily Double of the round in Flashin' Some Fashion.
Patrick 1800 (2 right)
Anne 1800 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Becky 3600 (3 right)
Anne wagered it all, to applause, on this clue: "Popular in the 20s and again in the 60s, this French-named hat will be there with bells on." I'm sorry but there's supposed to be an image here. Something's wrong with my desktop computer so I'm blogging from McDonald's, and I forgot to take the picture before I left. If it's important to you I can edit this post later. Anyway, Anne and I got it instantly. Lucky for her she is a French teacher!
At the end of the round:
Patrick 0 (2 wrong)
Anne 4000 (One right)
Becky 5200 (2 right)
I swept the breezy Celebrity Relatives.
Anne found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in Let's All Chant.
Patrick 0
Anne 9200 (6 right)
Becky 7600 (2 right)
Anne wagered 1500 after much consideration, on this clue: "Priests chant the name of the god Ptah in the last scene of this opera." Anne got too cute in my opinion when she said, apparently sarcastically, "Oh I love opera." But she and I came up with a correct response.
Patrick found the next Daily Double, in Front to Back, Back to Front. Mr. Trebek had given the less-than-a-minute warning with 5 clues left, and there was one on the board after this.
Patrick 10000 (7 right)
Anne 15100 (5 right and one wrong)
Becky 12400 (5 right)
Tough decision, but Patrick wagered 2200 on this tough clue: "Beastly home & Mideast currency." Patrick didn't get it either, and we didn't see the last clue.
The Final Jeopardy category was The 2012 Olympics. This was the clue: "NBC reported that in the first days of Olympic coverage, this sport seen in recent books & on film was the most watched on cable." I got this instantly. Patrick missed it and lost 6800. Becky got it right and doubled her score! Anne missed it and lost 9701. So Becky took a risk but she wins, and we'll see her in the finals! She was not near as excited as I like to see contestants, and Mr. Trebek noticed she wasn't smiling too.
My Coryat today was 24800 (29000 without negs).

One year ago: On the Decay of the Art of Strategy
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Jeopardy! goes green and gives it too

So today we see Eli Barrieau, Maryanne Lewell and Mary Beth Hammerstrom try for the final slot in the Teachers Tournament finals. Two of them teach history, and one teaches social studies! Don't forget Eli is answering questions for us. Leave a comment if you have any.

Maryanne

Mary Beth

Eli

My desktop computer is still down, so I have to blog on the episode from my phone at home, then add pictures, links etc. at McDonald's. It's no drag, but I'm sure it would get old! And I'd get even weirder looks from the McDonald's employees. I hope my computer guy can come over tomorrow.
Unfortunately Eli negged on this first clue of the game, in Seen from Space: "The building seen here is the headquarters of this Cabinet department." He just misread the clue is all. Hey, I remembered to take the picture before heading out!

     I got this triple-stumper in Speak Up: "The woman in this song by 'Til Tuesday needs to speak up despite what her boyfriend says." I wouldn't have if they hadn't played the song. Maryanne looked like she thought it was time for a commercial. Later Mary Beth looked like she was putting her signaling device down at an odd time, too. When it was time for the first break:
Mary Beth 2000 (5 right and one wrong)
Maryanne 2400 (6 right and one wrong)
Eli 800 (2 right and the one wrong)
     Eli says he doesn't have a cellphone. He says he doesn't need one! I know I have many times. When I was on the show, contestant coordinator Maggie said she'd never sent a text. I bet that's still the case, and I bet she's still proud of it.
     Mary Beth found the first Daily Double, in Don't Say Um. (Correct responses are elements that don't have "um" in the word.)
Mary Beth 2400 (One right)
Maryanne 2400
Eli 800
     Mary Beth wagered 1000. She giggled when she said "um" while pondering it. This was the clue: "The Latin for this element gave us the word plumbing." She got it right.
     I would've been tempted to respond "no-no" on this clue in Hyphenated Terms: "With 7, Nolan Ryan still holds the record for pitching the most of these games in the major leagues."
     I was pleased to see the Music of Today category and was 3/3 when time ran out in the round. >:-( One was a triple-stumper: "These 2 states precede 'line' in the name of the country duo featuring Tyler Hubbard & Brian Kelley." At the end of the round:
Mary Beth 3800 (One right)
Maryanne 6200 (5 right)
Eli 1800 (2 right)
     Eli found the first Daily Double of Jeopardy in World History.
Mary Beth 3800
Maryanne 6200
Eli 3000 (2 right)
     Eli wagered it all on this clue: "On August 26, whip France's National Assembly approved this 'declaration' that proclaimed, 'Men are born free and remain free.'" Eli smiled and got it right. Soon Mary Beth found the next Daily Double in Inspiration.
Mary Beth 6200 (2 right and one wrong)
Maryanne 8200 (2 right)
Eli 6800 (One right)
     This time Mary Beth wagered 2000 on this: "Looking like a giant lying down, Cave Hill near Belfast inspired this man in the 1720s." She and I got it.
     Mary Beth widened the gap on the last clue, when she picked up one that Maryanne negged on.
Mary Beth 21000 (11 right)
Maryanne 7800 (3 right and 2 wrong)
Eli 14800 (6 right)
     The Final Jeopardy category was Novel Titles. This was the clue: "These are not in the Koran, & the angel Gabriel told Muhammad that they were not revealed by God." I said The Ten Commandments and thought it was right! All 3 contestants got it right, so it wound up not really mattering if Mary Beth did add a letter to one of her earlier responses. She wagered enough to beat Eli by a dollar if he doubled (and he did). Maryanne doubled her score too. So the finals are set!
     My Coryat today was 15600 (16000 without one neg).

One year ago: Three contestants in search of an author
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Jeopardy! goes green and gives it, too

By that I refer to both the facial expression and the purple McDonald's character. Yes, I'm here again to blog! And I drove through McFlurries to get here. My poor computer guy came over a few times, even after 6 p.m., which delayed my getting here (and eating). I just need a new modem, we found out.
So today is Day 1 of the 2-day Teachers Tournament final.

Mary Beth Hammerstrom

John Pearson

Becky Giardina

Mr. Trebek prattled on and on so long I had time to e-mail myself all 3 contestant pictures, and handily. We saw every clue though, so no harm no foul.
John said in a previous episode he's 6'4", but I didn't think he looked it til today. Don't forget he's answering questions for us, so leave a comment if you have any.
John, who swept a TV category earlier in the tournament, went to Classic Automobile Tags when he could (at first). Becky seemed to favor Random House Dictionary Definitions, which I swept, and Mary Beth liked Law. I got this triple-stumper in the category: "A 2010 Irish law bans this, calling it speech 'insulting...to matters held sacred by any religion.'"
I also swept Famous Former Teachers. John was plowing through the category when Mr. Trebek said it was time for the first break. It's too bad, as there was one clue left there. John went back to it after the break, but Mary Beth got it right.
Mary Beth 2000 (3 right)
Becky 400 (2 right)
John 5000 (9 right!)
John said he made a video for YouTube, where he explains the Pythagorean Theorem as Darth Vader. I found it!

Apparently the music's associated pretty closely with Star Wars - a guy near me here at McDonald's recognized it. I heard him say to the girl with him, "Star Wars?"
Mary Beth was sweeping Dinosaur Names when she found the Daily Double there.
Mary Beth 4200 (4 right)
Becky 400
John 5000
Mary Beth wagered only 800 on this clue: "The high-flying pterodactyl's name means 'winged'this body part." She and I got it right. John got the last clue in the category though.
At the end of the round:
Mary Beth 7200
Becky 1400
John 5000
Mary Beth found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in Nonfiction.
Mary Beth 8800 (3 right and one wrong)
Becky 3800 (2 right)
John 9800 (5 right)
Mary Beth wagered 1000 on this easy clue: "This bestseller by Lynne Truss has been described as 'a book for people who love punctuation.'" Mary Beth got it and tied the game. Unfortunately John negged on the next clue worth 2000.
I was amazed this was a triple-stumper in Types of Musical Instrument: "Alto (Art Pepper's specialty)." And I don't even know who Art Pepper is.
Mary Beth found the next Daily Double too, in Charter School. There was one clue left on the board after this.
Mary Beth 16600 (8 right and one wrong)
Becky 5000 (One right)
John 8600 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Mary Beth wagered only 600 on this clue: "The Pfaffenbrief or Priests' Charter of 1370 made the first mention of a confederation that became this country." Mary Beth missed it. The last clue of the round was a triple-stumper.
The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. Presidents. This was the clue: "The second man to become president who was never elected to the job, he ran twice for the position unsuccessfully." I didn't get this. Becky got it wrong and lost all 5000. John got it right after crossing out the same response Becky had. He added 6600. Mary Beth was wrong and lost 5000 too. On to tomorrow!
My Coryat today was 23400 (26600 without negs).

One year ago: 18 clues
Two years ago: You must remember this...
Three years ago: Jeopardy! goes green, and gives it too

Good morning! Andy here with the recap of the final game of the Teacher's Tournament!

Yesterday's scores:

John Pearson: $15,200
Becky Giardina $0
Mary Beth Hammerstrom $11,000

Remember, those scores get added to what they win today!

J! round categories:
GEOGRAPHY CLASS
STAR BUCKS
TIME"LY" WORDS
THE KOREAN WAR
USER NAME
PASSWORD

All 3 players had good buzzer luck over the first few clues, and it was Mary Beth who found the Daily Double midway through the first segment, under THE KOREAN WAR $800! Scores were:

Mary Beth $1,800
Becky $1,200
John $800

Mary Beth bet just $800. Her clue: "War's End Near" said a jubilant U.S. headline on the capture of this metropolis October 19, 1950. Her response of Saigon dropped her to $1,000. (I would have said Panmunjom)

At the first break, the scores were:
Becky $1,400
John $1,200
Mary Beth $0

Becky thinks that she has one student that will end up on Jeopardy! one day -- I wonder if the show will still be around at that point!

I had trouble figuring out how STAR BUCKS translates to a literature category...the only thing I could think is of the character Starbuck from "Moby Dick", but that seems rather tenuous. Anyone want to make me feel less stupid?

John had the best time of it over the rest of the round -- in spite of losing $2,000 to a judge's correction -- leading to scores of:
John $4,800
Becky $4,000
Mary Beth $1,600

DJ! round categories:
LITERARY OPENINGS
EARTH BLANKS
AP FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
THE SHORT VERSION
ANATOMY
THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Becky got the first GUGGENHEIM clue, went straight over the LITERARY OPENINGS, where John was waiting to pounce. He ran the category! He then got the next 3 in ANATOMY to bring himself to 8 correct responses in a row, leading to the Daily Double at $1600! The scores at this point were:

John $13,200
Becky $4,400
Mary Beth $1,600

John bet $3,000. His clue: Your tear glands are an example of this type of gland that secretes fluid through a duct and not directly into the bloodstream. John said "sebaceous" and fell to $10,200.

Meanwhile, the final Daily Double stayed hidden for awhile, but it was a video clue at Guggenheim $800! It was Mary Beth's, with scores of:

John $18,200
Becky $8,000
Mary Beth $4,000

Mary Beth bet just $2,000. For the love of Pete, that was a terrible bet. Mary Beth is behind a ton and needs to catch up huge to prevent a lock. Her clue: Jean arp turned to abstraction as a founding member
of this movement that rejected traditional values and embraced chance, even in how its name was supposedly chosen randomly from the dictionary.

Meanwhile, Mary Beth did very well in the rest of Guggenheim, meaning I think her bet above was even worse, leading to scores going into Final of:

John $18,200
Mary Beth $10,800
Becky $8,000

Even though Alex says "it's anyone's game", John has a lock tournament, as long as he bets no more than $799! Had Mary Beth bet more -- in what was obviously a strong category for her -- we might have had a game here!

FJ! category: COUNTRY NAMES

FJ! clue: In England in 1933, Choudry Ramat Ali coined this name, a country that wouldn't be formed until 14 years later

Becky 8000 - 8000 = 0 + 0 = 0
Mary Beth 10800 + 10800 = 21600 + 11000 = 32600
John 18200 - 0 = 18200 + 15200 = 33400

I think John is a favourite already to do well in the Tournament of Champions, to be honest!

We're back to regular play next week!

ToC update:

1. John Pearson (November 2013 Teacher's Champion)
2. Jim Coury (May 2013 College Champion)
3. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
4. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
5. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
6. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
7. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
8. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
9. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
10. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
11. Rani Peffer $56,712 (4 wins)
12. Adam Holquist $76,299 (3 wins)
13. Sara Garnett $75,403 (3 wins)
14. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
15. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
16. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
17. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
18. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
19. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Wicked fast

All quiet at the front

The Awkward Moment When...

Happy Halloween!

Girl group

Q & A with Sean Kram

It's a Chelsea morning

Tail of two equines

Alas, Poor Adam...

The All-Important Fourth Game

Six Teachers

Math is hard

Party pooper

Pink tie blues

Q & As with Rico Vazquez and James Brown

Won't the real Jeanie please stand up?

Sting like a B as in Becky

I can get used to this

Grimace-ing again

Daily Chicken