The Jeopardy Fan

Andy here with the final recap of this week! (No pictures today, though.)

We have Bob Verini, Jerome Vered, and Tom Cubbage competing for the final spot from the 1980s in the final million dollar tournament!

J! round categories:
MYTH DIAGNOSIS
STOCK SYMBOLS
ARCHIPELAGOS
NOTABLE NAMES
THE T IS SILENT
'80s ACTORS & ROLES

Jerome seemed flustered, as evidenced by the opening clue (NOTABLE NAMES $200): Before become Secretary of State in 1997, she was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Jerome's neg on that clue seemed to throw him off considerably! Meanwhile, Bob and Tom both got off to a strong start!

STOCK SYMBOLS $600 had the Daily Double, and it was Jerome's to play. Scores:
Tom $2,000
Bob $1,800
Jerome $600

Jerome bet $1,000. His clue: This verb is the 3-letter stock symbol for Sotheby's. Jerome said "BUY" and fell to -$400. (I also said BUY.)

At the first break, the scores sat at:
Tom $2,000
Bob $1,800
Jerome -$400

Bob recalled fondly having 5,000 people chant his name at the Million Dollar Masters tournament, even though he missed the True Daily Double at the end of that event!

Bob has his fans in the Twittersphere, too:

Forgot how much I enjoyed watching Bob Verini play. #jeopardy
— Miss Bee (@MissBeeOKC) February 8, 2014

Jerome had his eyes set on a Steinway piano, which ended up being sold to The Edge before Jerome could buy it after the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Jerome ended up with a different piano!

Tom's got 5 kids and they don't recognize Tom from videos of his original appearances!

Back to the game, there were a few Triple Stumpers, but Bob and Tom kept their lead together against Jerome! Scores after 30:

Bob $5,800
Tom $2,600
Jerome $1,000

DJ! round categories:
1980s BOOKS
PHYSICS
FIRST LADIES' FATHERS
"DUM" IT UP
NO LONGER AROUND
SONG OF THE YEAR

Jerome started straight out in FIRST LADIES' FATHERS, but Bob went over to 1980s BOOKS as soon as he took control. The middle clue had the Daily Double! Scores:

Bob $7,800
Tom $2,600
Jerome $1,400

After nearly being goaded into a True Daily Double, Bob bet $3,000. His clue: Drug-fueled debauchery in New York City takesup much of this Jay McInerney debut novel. $10,800 became Bob's score after his correct response!

Jerome got to play the final Daily Double after taking second place from Tom! It was under FIRST LADIES' FATHERS $2000! Scores:

Bob $10,800
Jerome $6,600
Tom $3,800

Jerome bet $3,000. His clue: William Bolling, a Virginia judge. Jerome went for "Elizabeth Monroe", lamenting "we were just talking about that earlier" as his score fell to $3,600. His calling of "DUM IT UP" made the crowd laugh!

From there, the game seemed to turn Tom's way, as he had some excellent buzzer mojo! He nearly took over the lead by the time the round ended!

Some lamentations about one of the NO LONGER AROUND clues:

What? Chipwich's don't exist anymore? Thanks for ruining my summer plans, #Jeopardy
— Erica Hind (@carebearica) February 8, 2014

Scores going into Final:

Bob $14,000
Tom $13,000
Jerome $8,400

FJ! category: WORLD POLITICS

FJ! clue: When these 2 swapped jobs in 2012, their country's media described the move as "castling"

Jerome 8400 + US1600 = 10000
Tom 13000 + 3801 = 16801
Bob 14000 - 12001 = 1999

So, Tom Cubbage makes it 5 for 5 in ToC winners winning games this week!

Next week? The College Tournament! See you then!

Andy here with a recap of the first game of the College Championship! (No pictures today.)

This week's College Championship contestants:
Whitney Thompson, University of Oklahoma
Sarah Stevens, University of Delaware
James Fulwiler, Temple University
Laurie Beckoff, The University of Chicago
Cameron Kim, Duke University
Ben Juster, University of California, Los Angeles
Kenesha Bennett, Oakwood University
Terry O'Shea, Princeton University
Kevin Shen, University of California, Berkeley
Julia Clark, Harvard University
Tucker Pope, Texas A&M University
Eric Turner, Vanderbilt University
Maria Khrakovsky, The Ohio State University
Erika Sloan, Middlebury College
Alex Sventeckis, Ball State University

Whitney, Sarah, and James are our first set of quarterfinalists!

Today's J! round categories:
NOVELS BY QUOTE
BACKING BANDS
NAMES IN NATURE
CAL TECH
OTHER COLLEGES
"ACA"DEMIA

Whitney and James had the best start, getting 5 questions apiece over the first three categories. Whitney had two negs, though! Scores at the first break:

James $3,000 (5 right)
Whitney $1,600 (5 right, 2 wrong)
Sarah $400 (1 right)

The interviews are usually slightly less awkward during the College Championship.

Whitney has written a children's book about bassett hound genetics!

Sarah doesn't wear shoes for special events; in fact, she wasn't wearing shoes during taping!

James did a good deed as a lifeguard the past summer, helping a swimmer who had swallowed too much water!

NAMES IN NATURE $800 had the first Daily Double; it was Whitney's to play! Scores were:
James $2,800
Whitney $2,400
Sarah -$200

Whitney bet $600. Her clue: They have only one cell each but can take pride in their name, from the Greek for "first animals". Whitney gave what my first instinct was ("amoebas"), and fell to $1,800.

Half of LearnedLeague groaned, I'm sure, at OTHER COLLEGES $200 (Founded in 1961, Hamburger University is this chain's training center).

By the end of the round, Whitney had done really well in CAL TECH. The scores sat at:
Whitney $6,200 (14 right, 3 wrong)
James $3,400 (9 right, 2 wrong)
Sarah -$200 (2 right, 2 wrong)

DJ! round categories:
ANCIENT HISTORY
POP CULTURE
FAMOUS HOMES
CLASSICAL MUSIC
"D" PLUS
THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT TERM

I was going to suggest that Sarah find some shoes, but she got two of the first three POP CULTURE clues! Then Whitney and James found their buzzer mojo again! The second Daily Double of the game went Whitney's way, at the bottom of ANCIENT HISTORY.

Scores:
James $7,400
Whitney $7,400
Sarah $2,600

Whitney bet small again: $600. Her clue: In 439 A.D. Genseric the Vandal captured this North African city, which became the Vandal capital. Whitney said Cairo and fell to $6,800.

Two clues later, James found the final Daily Double under FAMOUS HOMES $800. Scores:

James $7,800
Whitney $6,800
Sarah $2,600

James bet $1,000. His clue: Peacefield in Quincy, Massachusetts was the mansion of this man who purchased it in 1787. James' correct response put him at $8,800 -- and an opportunity was lost.

I'm glad I was blogging after CLASSICAL MUSIC $800: At age 37, Rossini wrote his last opera -- this one about an archer. (Sorry, Jeanie)

I'm proud of myself: I ran CLASSICAL MUSIC!

A close call on the timing of James' proper phrasing on a $400 clue ended up costing him $800 and a tie for the lead! I thought that he was okay, but the judges said otherwise!

Scores going into Final:
Whitney $10,000 (5 right, 2 wrong)
James $9,200 (9 right, 4 wrong)
Sarah $6,200 (7 right, 1 wrong)

Those negs sure kept the scores down!

As always seems to happen during the College Championship, there is lots of Tweeting going on. Some of it good, some of it not. This encapsulates everything:

seriously cracking up at all this #Jeopardy hate. remind me, who was the one who was on it again? #ohwait #thatsme
— sarah stevens (@_evenstevens_) February 11, 2014

FJ! category: ISLANDS

FJ! clue: In a satellite photo, volcanic activity can be seen on this 10,000-square mile island

Sarah 6200 - 4800 = 1400
James 9200 - 9200 = 0
Whitney 10000 - 0 = 10000

And a tweet from the peanut gallery on James' wager:

WHY, JAMES, WHY?!?!??? #jeopardy
— Duke E. Brown (@hotterthanjuly) February 11, 2014

So Whitney is our first semifinalist!

Wild Card scores:
Whitney Thompson (Monday winner)
Sarah Stevens $1,400
James Fulwiler $0

I'll be back tomorrow!

Today on Jeopardy!, we have Cameron Kim, Ben Juster, and Laurie Beckoff!

Remember, if you haven't already, to like us on Facebook!

J! round categories:
HARD TO DEFINE
RECENT TV
SOLVE FOR x
JUST A WORD BEFORE GOING
MINI
HA HA

Cameron found the Daily Double very early on (JUST A WORD BEFORE GOING $600); scores:

Ben $200
Cameron $200
Laurie $0

Cameron bet $1000. His clue: A final manifesto attributed to him in 1883 was "Last words are for fools who haven't said enough". His correct response put him at $1,200.

All 3 players had good gets and buzzes in the opening 15, and the end of the rightmost three categories, the scores sat at:

Cameron $3,000
Ben $2,600
Laurie $2,200

Cameron's choice of sports include brooms -- he plays both Muggle Quidditch and curling!

Ben's current employer? Babies 'R' Us!

Laurie's interests include Arthurian legend, after being inpsired by Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings!

The math category seemed to trip up our contestants a little bit!

At the end of 30, the scores were:

Ben $5,600
Laurie $4,000
Cameron $3,400

DJ! round categories:
KING ME
RHYME TIME
U.S. GEOGRAPHY
"S"PORTS TALK
19th CENTURY BOOKS & AUTHORS
OCCUPATIONS

A couple of Triple Stumpers in "S"PORTS TALK - I'm sure Jeanie got this one at $1600 (To take a tennis match 6-1 6-2 is to "win in" these)

Also:

How does the UCLA kid on Jeopardy not know what a sky hook is?!? Kareem is shaking his head. #Disappointed #kareem #Jeopardy @Jeopardy
— Matt Davidson (@MatthewDavidso1) February 12, 2014

It took awhile for the Daily Doubles to come out; the first one was under 19th CENTURY BOOKS & AUTHORS $2000. It was Cameron's to play. Scores:

Ben $10,400
Cameron $6,200
Laurie $4,800

Cameron bet $800. His clue: Between 1872 and 1882 she wrote 6 volumes of "Aunt Jo's scrap-bag". Cameron went for "Austen" and fell to $5,400.

KING ME $800 had the final Daily Double. This one was Laurie's! Scores:
Ben $10,400
Cameron $5,400
Laurie $5,200

Laurie bet $1,000. We have our second Tweet of the Night:

Two folks on #Jeopardy! wagered short on Daily Doubles in categories they didn't like. #gametheory
— Ben Ingram (@julysixteenth) February 12, 2014

Laurie's clue: In 1922 King Victor Emmanuell III refused to proclaim martial law to stop this man's march on Rome. Laurie's correct response put her at $6,200.

After one neg, Laurie did well in RHYME TIME to ensure Ben didn't have a complete lock!

Scores going into Final:

Ben $16,400
Laurie $8,200
Cameron $5,400

FJ! category: SOCIAL MEDIA

FJ! clue: The most retweeted tweet of all time happened on November 6, 2012 & started with "four"& ended with these 2 words

Cameron 5400 + 5400 = 10800
Laurie 8200 + 5200 = 13400
Ben 16400 + 0 = 16400

Ben Juster is our second semifinalist!

Wild Card scores:
Whitney Thompson (Monday winner)
Ben Juster (Tuesday winner)
Laurie Beckoff $13,400
Cameron Kim $10,800
Sarah Stevens $1,400
James Fulwiler $0

I'll be back tomorrow!

Andy here with a recap of Quarterfinal #3 of the 2014 College Championship!

Today's contestants:

J! round categories:
MUSIC MAKERS
BIOLOGY CLASS
PRIME NUMBERS
STUDENT AID
3-LETTER WORDS
THE HARVARD BOOKSTORE TOP 100

Our 3 contenstants kept flipping categories but took them in order! I did notice, though, that they caught themselves a couple of times in PRIME NUMBERS to make sure their answers were prime! I liked that! By the end of 15 clues, the scores were:

Kenesha $4,400
Terry $800
Kevin $0

Kevin coded a casino game that apparently was very good at beating some of his classmates at blackjack, poker, and slots!

Terry is a member of the Institute of Chocolate Studies -- basically, they make chocolate and eat it.

Kenesha goes to the only Seventh Day Adventist HBCU in the United States.

Back to the game, the first clue out of the break (STUDENT AID $800: This group gives scholarships to minority students & financial support to 37 historically black colleges & universities) made me think that Alex went with what he wanted to on Kenesha's interview, knowing that this clue was coming! There were a few people, especially on Twitter, that thought that Alex Trebek was being racist here. What did you think? Post a comment!

The first Daily Double came in THE HARVARD BOOKSTORE, at $1000, the last clue of the round! It was Terry's to play! Scores:

Kenesha $5,000
Terry $3,200
Kevin $2,000

Terry bet $2,000. Clue: The 1855 volume of American poetry rounds out the top 100. Terry came up with the correct response on a guess and Alex nearly gave her a heart attack in telling her she was right! She went to $5,200.

DJ! round categories:
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
TIME MANAGEMENT
SHARP THINGS
GETTING YOUR "M-B-A"
KENYA WEST
NO DISREPECT TO BEN AFFLECK

Kevin got to play the first Daily Double, under TIME MANAGEMENT $1200! Scores:
Terry $8,800
Kenesha $6,200
Kevin $4,400

Kevin bet $2,400. His clue: It's what the U.S. Naval Observatory calls a timepiece regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of cesium particles. Kevin's correct response put him at $6,800!

Terry seemed to be rolling through HAIL TO THE CHIEF when the final Daily Double was waiting for her at the bottom of it! Scores:

Terry $12,800
Kevin $6,400
Kenesha $5,400

Terry bet $3,000. Her clue: This soldier served only 16 months as the 1st President who had never been in Congress or the Continental Congress. She went for Andrew Jackson and fell to $9,800. That was a toughie!

Kevin jumped on the opening that Terry gave and jumped into the lead by the end of SHARP THINGS, but Terry regained it in BEN AFFLECK. Scores going into Final:

Terry $15,400
Kevin $10,800
Kenesha $2,200

FJ! category: BIBLE CHARACTERS

FJ! clue: "Take care of him", says the man called this in Luke 10 after giving money to an innkeeper

Kenesha 2200 + 2200 = 4400
Kevin 10800 + 4601 = 15401
Terry 15400 + 2000 = 17400

Terry O'Shea is our third semifinalist!

Wild Card scores:
Whitney Thompson (Monday winner)
Ben Juster (Tuesday winner)
Terry O'Shea (Wednesday winner)
Kevin Shen $15,400
Laurie Beckoff $13,400
Cameron Kim $10,800
Kenesha Bennett $4,400
--
Sarah Stevens $1,400
James Fulwiler $0

It's a shame that I'm in a pretty big funk today. And naturally I'm blogging, when my mood's been fine all week. You feel bad blogging like this and you hate to waste a good mood, you know? I think by the time this publishes I'll feel better. At least I hope so, on what has been my favorite holiday. If you want to give me a Valentine, leave me a comment of any kind. In a strange coincidence, I found out a dear friend was in a similar mood at the same time.
I'm even recording the Olympics tonight, something I haven't been able to get into for a couple years. Where I once saw hard work pay off, now all I see is dreams shattered in the blink of an eye and that work come to nothing. What do you guys think; do you watch?
My Coryat for this weekend's rerun was 26400 (26800 without one neg). The first time I played, my score was 29600 (32800 without negs). Funny that the post is titled "A game that was a joy to watch." It really was - it featured Lucas Peterson, the guy who was extra on the day I taped the show myself.
I watched two more Crackle episodes: 1-9-90 (featuring Frank Spangenberg): 13600 (19000 without negs!) And 10-10-90 (featuring Jim Scott): 10200 (11200 without negs). Do you guys like old-school Mr. Trebek more than the current one? I do. I'd like to have seen what he was like during taping, in those days.
I find that looking for tweets about Jeopardy! is probably bad for me (read: stressful), like when I felt like I had to respond to this one from the so-called "Mad Genius" Arthur Chu:

Is it actually true live tweeting your @Jeopardy episodes wasn't a thing until I did it or is that fake hype like me inventing the Bounce
— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) February 14, 2014

Arthur's on my nice list since he both retweeted and favorited my response!!! Speaking of Twitter, I'm converting to Google+. I don't know much about it yet but I have a book on the way on the subject. If you're on Google+, I'd love it if you tell me in a comment.
Finally (before getting to today's game of course), it occurs to me that I haven't posted a link to my experience on Day 2 at the Build Your Blog Conference.
On with the show.

Julia Clark

Eric Turner

Tucker Pope

Is it just me or does Eric look like Michael Falk? And Julia reminds me Jo from The Facts of Life, only blonde of course.
Tucker said "International Monetary Foundation" in response to this clue in Let's Begin the Lecture: "The U.N. maintains a library of lectures on subjects such as the role of this money-lending institution established in 1944." After Julia came up with the correct response, Mr. Trebek said "Not the IMF." I wonder if he noticed it's supposed to be "International Monetary Fund." I got this triple-stumper in the same category: "1,742 times Al Bartlett delivered his lecture on this world problem, especially as it relates to energy consumption." Of course there is controversy as to whether this is a "problem."
Tucker found the Daily Double of the round, in Historic Americans.
Julia 0 (2 right and one wrong)
Tucker 4200 (7 right and one wrong)
Eric 1200 (3 right)
He wagered 2015 (no typo) on this clue: "Like his cousin Charles, Thomas Pinckney served as governor of this state." I was clueless, and Tucker appeared to be too. This was the last clue before the first break.
I had to rewind to make sure Mr. Trebek really did say "Seega" on this one in Video Game Vault: "You don't need to be a spelunker to enjoy this Sega game named for the place spelunkers explore." Julia's response, incidentally, was counted correct but later overturned because she added an "s" to the correct response. So Mr. Trebek got a chance to say "Seega" a second time. Why didn't someone there tell him?
At the end of the round:
Julia 1000 (2 right and one wrong. This is after the adjustment. And Mr. Trebek had already said she was "in a distant third"!)
Tucker 4785 (5 right)
Eric 5600 (7 right and one wrong)
Julia found the first Daily Double in The Elements after only two clues, though.
Julia 2200 (2 right)
Tucker 4785
Eric 5600
She wagered it all on this clue: "Martin Klaproth discovered this element in 1789 & named it for a discovery of 1781." She got it right after thinking about it! She soon found the next Daily Double too, in Name the Shakespeare Play.
Julia 4800 (One right)
Tucker 4785
Eric 7200 (One right)
This time Julia wagered 4000 on this clue: "2 young royal brothers go missing, never to be seen again." She and I were clueless. Anybody get this? I thought this one at 2000 was the easiest!: "A woman disguised as a man is loved by a woman who ends up marrying her brother."
I got this triple-stumper in What's Your Range?: "Pikes Peak." If I were Mr. Trebek, I'd have been tempted to tap the microphone and ask if it was on. Never mind that this was, I believe, the third triple-stumper in a row!
I got really nervous when I was getting everything right in A (Taylor) Swift Category. I'm not a fan and didn't want to sweep! I'd rather have gotten more than one right (and at 200 no less!) in Video Game Vault. What ever happened to Guitar Hero and Just Dance, two faves of mine? I am proud to have swept State Governors, so that includes this triple-stumper: "This Californian has served as governor on 2 occasions, both times succeeding an actor." Like the contestants, I didn't get this one at the bottom of the Swift category: "'Someday I'll be living in a big old city, & all you're ever gonna be is'this."
Look what this fan did:

Taylor's category and all the questions from Jeopardy! pic.twitter.com/hLqyh9nmdE
— bethers (@countingswifts) February 14, 2014

I just think that's cool. At the end of the round:
Julia 6800 (6 right and one wrong)
Tucker 9185 (5 right)
Eric 14000 (4 right)
The Final Jeopardy category is Historic Places. This is the clue: "Administered by the army, its 1st graves were dug by former slave James Parks, the only one buried there who was born on the site." What a snap! Julia was right and added 6799. Tucker got it right and added 2185. Eric too got it and added only 1!
The wild card race:
Whitney Thompson (Monday winner)
Ben Juster (Tuesday winner)
Terry O'Shea (Wednesday winner)
Eric Turner (Thursday winner)
Kevin Shen $15,400
Julia Clark $13,599
Laurie Beckoff $13,400
Tucker Pope $11,370
Cameron Kim $10,800
--
Kenesha Bennett $4,400

Sarah Stevens $1,400
James Fulwiler $0

My Coryat today was 22800 (24600 without negs). Now I'm gonna treat myself to pulling out the ol' (new) couch bed and vegging. Okay, it's not new but it had been my aunt's, and it's new to me.

One year ago: Day 2 Betting is Tough!
Two years ago: Nobody mess with the 'do!
Three years ago: What is Stuart Little?

I meant to mention this like, last week. I agreed to share this piece of animation created in honor of Arthur Chu. Sorry I can't embed it, apparently! What do you think?
Today we find out who all makes the semifinals of the college tournament.

Alex Sventeckis

Maria Khrakovsky

Erika Sloan

Yesterday's names were not this tricky!
This triple-stumper in was the only one I didn't get in the category: "Someone who types 'BIO' is likely headed to this room." So what does it stand for? I'd seen this abbreviation but didn't know what it meant til I saw this TOM: "'IRL is short for this phrase, what you're 'in' when not gaming."
At the first break:
Maria 4200 (7 right)
Erika 800 (One right)
Alex 2800 (5 right)
Maria found the Daily Double of the round in The Stage. It was the second-to-last clue on the board.
Maria 6400 (4 right and 2 wrong)
Erika 1200 (One right)
Alex 4600 (5 right)
Maria wagered 2000 on this clue: "'Cabaret' is set in this European city." I knew this but Maria didn't. That last clue of the round was a triple-stumper.
Sorry to slam through the rest of this but an event I went to tonight went longer than expected, and I have somewhere I must be in less than an hour and wasn't expecting it!
Alex got the first clue of the round right at 400, and the next clue was a Daily Double, in Languages. He wagered 1200 on this clue: "This language with a unique syllabary is now spoken more than 10,000 native Americans in North Carolina & Oklahoma." I said the right answer, then changed my mind. :-( Alex got it wrong too. The last 3 of the category I should've gotten but didn't. Later, I sure got schooled in Getting Schooled on TV. They were all blank stares.
I got this triple-stumper in The "Ex" Factor (I like this word): "Meaning 'higher,'this Latin word is New York's state motto."
Erika got the next Daily Double, in Where Were You & When?
Maria 10000
Erika 5200
Alex 4200
She wagered just 1000 on this clue: "This German military man, Sept. 17, 1916: high above Cambrai, France." We both got it right.
I got this triple-stumper at the last second in The Topic is Microscopic: "The end of a conflict, or a measure of the detail a microscope can observe." I also got this one, read by Jimmy, in the same category. Now's not the time for a video clue!!: "Sharing its name with a body part that helps you breathe, this part of the microscope changes the amount of light used to view a specimen."
At the end of the round:
Maria 12800
Erika 11400
Alex 3800
The Final Jeopardy category was Getting a "D" in College. What the crap? Here's the clue: "The U.S.A.'s oldest endowed chair is a Harvard chair of this subject, given in 1721 when that was largely what Harvard taught." Alex got it right and added 3000. Erika got it right and added 3600. Maria got it wrong and lost 9000.
My Coryat today was 20000 (25000 without negs).
So here are your semifinalists, as promised:
Whitney Thompson (Monday winner)
Ben Juster (Tuesday winner)
Terry O'Shea (Wednesday winner)
Eric Turner (Thursday winner)
Erika Sloan (Friday winner)
Kevin Shen $15,400
Julia Clark $13,599
Laurie Beckoff $13,400
Tucker Pope $11,370

One year ago: Tricky Nelson
Two years ago: Nobody messes with the 'do
Three years ago: It's finally happening...

Easy now - not that kind of bowl game. This morning I leisurely checked out the schedule for David Madden's National History Bowl, and I noticed he will be in Lincoln this Saturday for it. I've tweeted him asking if I can drop in. Wouldn't that be exciting?! I'll keep you posted!
My Coryat for the weekend episode, which originally aired 1-3-13, was 26400 (29000 without negs). The first time I played, my score was 32000 (33800 without negs)! No excuse but I chalk it up to not ringing in on a few I "knew."
Finally, before today's episode, is anyone else stoked about Learned League starting tomorrow?!
These contestant pics are the first pics I've taken with my new phone's camera. My provider offered an early upgrade, so I said yes. Incidentally they also gave me a deal on a "hotspot," so in theory I could blog with my netbook from the couch. I tried it tonight, and it works, but at least at first it's extremely slow. I don't have time to wait to bring this to you, but I'll try again this week.

Laurie Beckoff

Whitney Thompson

Tucker Pope

If I hadn't gone to the Sony boards and seen this post after blogging, I would've forgotten to mention here that Mr. Trebek had a cast on his arm at the beginning of today's show. As I said there, when I saw the show being taped in either December or January Trebek had the cast on his arm, and someone in the audience asked about it. I hadn't noticed it til then! He said he'd had surgery on it.

I swept Student Health Center.

Whitney got the Daily Double of the round in The Old Testament.

Laurie 1800 (3 right)

Tucker 1600 (3 right)

Whitney 2400 (5 right)

She wagered just 600 on this clue: "This third book of the Old Testament is named for the tribe from which the priests of Israel were descended!"Remember I know the books of the Old Testament by heart? This one was a breeze, but Whitney missed it, giving the fifth book! The next clue was a triple-stumper (see below), and then came the first break. At the end of the round:

Laurie 3200 (3 right)

Tucker 2800 (4 right and 2 wrong)

Whitney 4200 (4 right)

Laurie found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in International Cinema Showcase.

Laurie 4400 (2 right and one wrong)

Tucker 3600 (One right)

Whitney 4200

Laurie wagered 1600 on this clue: "'City of God' is about 2 boys growing up in a violent favela in this South American country." I almost said what Trebek says Laurie almost said (which would've been right). Anyway I was wrong and so was she.

Tucker found the next Daily Double in Kiwi Fauna. There was one category left, African-American History, after this clue.

Laurie 9200 (4 right)

Tucker 10400 (7 right)

Whitney 8600 (4 right and one wrong)

He wagered 1200 on this clue: "Found in New Zealand's waters, the blue bottle jellyfish is also known as this due to its resemblance to a battleship." Tucker got it! Each contestant got one right in the last category (and 2 were triple-stumpers that I didn't get either) before the end of the round.

Laurie 10400

Tucker 12000

Whitney 10600

"What an exciting game; thank you so much," said Mr. Trebek. The Final Jeopardy category was 19th Century Names. This was the clue: "In preparation for a work he published in 1828 that was over 20 years in the making, he learned 26 languages." Laurie and Tucker got this one. Whitney started to write the correct response but she crossed it out and put something wrong. She lost 10207. Laurie added 9400 and Tucker added 9201, making him a finalist. I'll spare you having to do the math: he'd have won even if Whitney kept her correct response.

I'll put my triple-stumpers in a list:

In College Towns: "A shortened version of the name of trapper Etienne Provost is on a college in this western state." I was happy to get this one after having negged on the previous two clues!
In The Old Testament: "Esther 4:3 reports that 'there was great mourning among the Jews...and many lay in sackcloth and'these."
A puzzling one in Olympic Gold: "Men's 100-meter dash, 1984, 1988; men's long jump, 1984, 1988. 1992, 1996." And Tucker negged on it!
In Thomas, Write?: "Climb up 'The Magic Mountain,' a novel by this German."

My Coryat today was 26000 (29200 without negs).

One year ago: Two Recaps in One!

Two years ago: Oscar makes a grouch out of me tonight

Three years ago: An odd clue about an Olympic oddity

At the top of today's episode, Mr. Trebek said "We could not have asked for a better kickoff to our semifinals than the game we had yesterday. If today is as good, then you folks are in for a great treat." What else do I need to say?

Ben Juster

Eric Turner

Terry O'Shea

Ben found the first Daily Double in Other Lone Star States.
Terry 0 (2 right and one wrong)
Ben 4400 (7 right)
Eric 1800 (4 right)
Ben wagered just 1200 on this clue: "Mauritania's green flag has one of these under its single star." He and I got it right. We saw one more clue, at 1000, before the first break. It was a triple-stumper and Ben negged on it. At the end of the round:
Terry 3600 (8 right)
Ben 7200 (5 right and one wrong)
Eric 2800 (One right)
Eric found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in Inside Art.
Terry 3600
Ben 7600 (One right)
Eric 3600 (One right)
Eric wagered 2000 on this clue: "A closer look at this European river it was based on, and not in the Delaware."

I pulled this one out of thin air. Eric missed it. Then I swept Fruits & Vegetables and Mom & Dad's Date Movies, so that includes this triple-stumper in the latter: "Mom says Dad got a little jealous when they saw this Frenchman try to get his 'Green Card.'" And I was proud to get this triple-stumper in Country Math: "The number of Canadian provinces times the number of Canadian official languages." Ah, memories. The next clue was a Daily Double, and it was Ben's. The category was still Country Math. There were 2 clues on the board after this one.
Terry 11600 (5 right)
Ben 16800 (8 right)
Eric 7200 (7 right and 2 wrong)
Ben wagered 3000 on this easy clue: "Stripes on the U.S. flag minus colors on the French flag." Man, he should've wagered more, as we'll find out in the final....
Now I've never seen this happen before: Ben negged on the last clue of the round, then gave the correct response before Terry was called on and said it! It was clear she knew the right response, though. At the end of the round, then:
Terry 12000 (One right)
Ben 19800 (One right and one wrong)
Eric 7200
The Final Jeopardy category was Physics. Ugh. Here's the clue: "The name of this theory is from viewing sub-atomic particles as 1-dimensional objects, not as 0-dimensional points." Eric got it wrong and lost it all. Terry got it right, even though she shrugged before her response was revealed! She added 7900. Ben got it wrong and lost 4201. We'll see Terry in the final then!
My Coryat today was 29600 (32000 without negs).
One year ago: Two recaps in one!
Two years ago: Oscar makes a grouch out of me tonight
Three years ago: Sound off

I don't know why this didn't publish last night at 9 p.m., but I'm mad. >:-( And I'm sorry. I only checked because I wondered why we didn't have any comments yet!
On a happy note, I do believe this is our 800th post!
I notice the 90s flashback episodes are on Crackle. My goal is to play one (including the rest of the 80s episodes) every day til I've done them all. Since I got done blogging so far ahead of American Idol starting, I was able to do one tonight...or so I thought. I ran out of time because I got a message as Double Jeopardy was starting. From David Madden. It turns out he won't be there Saturday, but I might still drop in if I can. If I do I'll write up a post about it.
The Crackle episode I chose was India Cooper (12-20-91). No joke - One of the correct responses was a triple-stumper I got right today, before watched this one. Wow! My Coryat was . Hopefully they'll post more and more and I'll never be done! I just wish the site kept track for me which ones I've watched.
Shall we find out who joins Tucker Pope and Terry O'Shea in the finals of the College Tournament?

Julia Clark

Erika Sloan

Kevin Shen

When I saw Dorm Room Checklist, I thought, "I got this." And I did, sweeping it. But it was easy - you needn't have lived in a dorm for four years like I did. I never had any of the items to which the clues referred!
Kevin found the Daily Double of the round in State Lines. Mr. Trebek said "You're off to a great start."
Kevin 4400 (8 right)
Erika 1200 (3 right)
Julia 600 (One right)
Kevin wagered just 1000 on this clue: "From the pen of screenwriter Noel Langley: 'I've a feeling we're ___ __ ______ _______." Of course he got it right, as I'm sure 95% of us did. The next clue was a triple-stumper, and then we were at the first break. Mr. Trebek said, "Kevin, I hate to slow you down."
Kevin said in his interview he solves lots of crosswords. For fun, I checked to see if he's attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. I couldn't see that he has.
I was lost on those The Movie Superhero Who... clues, going 0/5.
At the end of the round:
Kevin 7000 (4 right)
Erika 4000 (5 right and one wrong)
Julia 3000 (4 right and one wrong)
Erika found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in French History.
Kevin 11000 (3 right)
Erika 5600 (2 right)
Julia 2600 (One right and one wrong)
Erika wagered 1600 on this clue: "At Castillon in 1453, French troops defeated the English in the final great battle of this war." She knew the answer! I think this triple-stumper at 2000 was the only one I knew in the category: "To grant religious freedom to Protestants, in 1598 King Henry IV issued the edict of this city." Okay, it was a guess, but I felt good enough to ring in. This was the response that also appeared in the Cooper episode!
Did anyone else say "victuals" on this clue in Civil War Slang?: "From the Latin for 'life,' vittles meant this."
I was just saying last night I didn't recognize many of the songs on American Idol, and I wondered whether I was out of the loop. Apparently not, as I swept 21st Century Music.
I got this triple-stumper in Civil War Slang: "A union soldier could be called this, now found before 'trade commission.'" Really, guys?
Erika found the second Daily Double of the round in Sorority Sisters. There was one clue left on the board after this one.
Kevin 13000 (2 right and one wrong)
Erika 10400 (5 right and 2 wrong)
Julia 10600 (8 right)
A critical wager here. (I guess many of them are.) She chose 1200, on this clue: "This George W. Bush cabinet member was Alpha Chi Omega, a sorority with musical origins, at the University of Denver." Erika got it right. Mr. Trebek said "Go again," but there was only one clue left, as I mentioned. I ended the round with a bang, as I got this triple-stumper still in Sorority Sisters: "Chi O! & Roll Tide! This author won a Pulitzer for fiction in 1961."
So the scores going into the final, to be clear:
Kevin 13000
Erika 11600
Julia 10600
Mr. Trebek said, "Impressive scores, once again." The Final Jeopardy category was Shakespeare Characters. This was the clue: "He has the most speeches of any character, with 471 in 3 plays, of which 2 are histories & 1 is a comedy." I wasn't watching (or even paying attention to the clue), but Mr. Trebek said "this was a piece of cake, I feel" and everyone wrote their response quickly. They all got it right! How did they know this, or am I missing something? Julia added 2402. Erika added 9700. Kevin added 10201, making him a finalist. The two-day event starts tomorrow!
My Coryat today was 26400 (28200 without negs).
One year ago:

Andy here with both halves of the College Championship Final! In one post!

Our first Tweet of the Night comes early:

Soooo the College Championship ends tonight and I'm back on Monday! #TellYourFriends
— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) February 22, 2014

One of Arthur's opponents on Monday will be doing a Q&A with Jeanie!

Our 3 finalists: Terry O'Shea, Tucker Pope, and Kevin Shen

Game 1 J! round categories:
COLD-BLOODED KILLERS
6-SYLLABLE WORDS
TEACHING "ASSISTANT"
FEMALE FANTASY CHARACTERS
IT TAKES 2
CELEBRITIES' MIDDLE NAMES

A bunch of Triple Stumpers and negs kept the scores down over the first segment. Scores after 14 of the opener:

Tucker $1,400
Kevin $1,200
Terry $800

Interviews? Have you followed @CoolJepStories yet? Terry feels less intimidated than she thought it would be; Tucker feels the games go by very quickly, and Kevin expressed how much he likes the other contestants!

Getting back to the game, things picked up a bit! The Daily Double in this round went Terry's way, at the bottom of FEMALE FANTASY CHARACTERS. Scores:

Terry $2,800
Tucker $1,200
Kevin $1,200

Terry bet $2,800. Her clue: King Arthur's half-sister Morgaine is the main character in Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of" here. Her correct response put her at $5,600!

Over the rest of the round, Tucker did very well on CELEBRITIES' MIDDLE NAMES, running the category and earning some adoration from the audience as well! At the end of 30, scores were:

Terry $5,600
Tucker $5,000
Kevin $2,200

Game 1 DJ! round categories:
PIER REVIEWS
JUST ONE VOWEL
AGES & AGES
HIP-HOPPERS
SOCIAL LIFE
CARNIVAL KNOWLEDGE

I was disappointed that there were no questions about dirndls in the "JUST ONE VOWEL" category!

The first Daily Double came out in AGES & AGES $1600. Tucker's to play, the scores were:

Terry $10,800
Tucker $5,400
Kevin $3,400

Tucker bet $2,400. His clue: An 1870s novel about greed & corruption gave us the name of this "age". Tucker shook his head, unable to come up with a response, and fell to $3,000.

SOCIAL LIFE $1600 -- five clues later -- had the second Daily Double. Tucker's again, scores were:

Terry $11,200
Kevin $5,400
Tucker $4,200

Tucker bet $2,200 this time. The clue: If you're the youngest, Mom & Dad's gloom after you leave home has been medically identified as this syndrome. His correct response put him at $6,400.

Over the rest of the round, the PIER REVIEWS category had user reviews of piers used in Jeopardy! clues. Interesting concept! A few Triple Stumpers on the way to Final, but scores were pretty good!

Not a Triple Stumper but a fun fact: HIP-HOPPERS $1200: Colour was an issue when Drake grew up in Forest Hill, a neighbourhood in this North American city. The fun fact? Forest Hill is one of Toronto's high end neighbourhoods!

Scores going into Final:
Terry $13,200
Kevin $10,600
Tucker $10,400

Game 1 FJ! category: AUTHORS

Game 1 FJ! clue: On his death in 1862 a Mass. paper said, "No man ever lived closer to nature, and reported her secrets more eloquently"

Tucker 10400 + 4400 = 14800
Kevin 10600 - 1835 = 8765
Terry 13200 + 6600 = 19800

Remember, these scores get added to Game 2!

Game 2 J! Round categories:
NO COOKING REQUIRED
GLOBAL STUDIES
"H"OMONYMS
MONEY TALKS
NOTABLE NAMES
JOHNNY GILBERT PERFORMS TODAY'S HITS

I'm just going to put the Youtube video here:

At the end of 13 clues -- an early first break, the scores sat at:
Kevin $1,200
Tucker $1,200
Terry $-600

The second set of interviews felt very ad-libbed. Terry rubbed her hand near her microphone, causing some sound issues and Alex trying to explain what had happened! Oops!

The round's Daily Double came in under "H"OMONYMS $600. Tucker's to play, scores were:

Tucker $2,200
Terry $1,800
Kevin $1,400

Tucker bet $1,200. Clue: A big basket, or to impede. Tucker, like myself, forgot the category! He said "stall". His score fell to $1,000.

The rest of the round, like yesterday, saw the scores increase nicely between the Daily Double and the end of the round! Scores after 30:

Terry $4,600
Kevin $3,400
Tucker $2,800

Game 2 DJ! round categories:
FICTIONAL COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
PUT IT THERE
WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR?
COUPLING ON TV
"ONY" BALONEY
FIGURING OUT THE UNIVERSE (from the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota)

The first Daily Double came in under PUT IT THERE $1600. Kevin's to play, the scores were at:
Terry $5,000
Kevin $4,600
Tucker $3,600

Kevin bet $2,000. Clue: TARP Programs: this Cabinet department. Kevin went for the Department of Defense and fell to $2,600.

A key clue at the bottom of WHAT'S YOUR MAJOR: In music, a major one of these is defined as having a half step between the 3rd & 4th & between the 7th & 8th degrees. Terry's response was originally negged but she got $4,000 back! Do you agree with the call?

Meanwhile, the final Daily Double came in at FIGURING OUT THE UNIVERSE $2000. Of course, it was a video clue! It was also Kevin's to play! Scores:

Tucker $13,200
Terry $9,000
Kevin $7,000

Kevin, saying he may regret this, made it a True Daily double! Clue: Doing physics experiments deep in the earth protects the results from being contamined by these rays, from the Greek for universe. Kevin went for "gamma" and fell to $0.

Meanwhile, Terry picked up $4,000 -- the first four clues in "ONY" to retake the tournament (though not the game) lead going into Final!

Scores going into Final!

Tucker $13,200 ($14,800 yesterday)
Terry $13,000 ($19,800 yesterday)
Kevin $0 ($8,765 yesterday).

This is probably as simple of a betting scenario as you're ever going to see in a 2-day final. Kevin's 2 day score is stable at $8,765, and neither Tucker nor Terry can fall below that.

The most Tucker can finish with is $41,200 (13200 + 13200 + 14800). Terry should therefore bet 41201 - 19800 - 13000 = $8,401.

If Terry gets Final incorrect, she finishes with 13000 - 8401 + 19800 = 24399. Tucker should therefore aim to finish with no fewer than $9,600 (24400 - 14800) today, meaning he should bet $3,600.

FJ! category: THE BRITISH EMPIRE

FJ! clue: 1713's Treaty of Utrecht concluding the War of the Spanish Succession granted this small 2.3-square-mile are to Great Britain

Kevin 0 + 8765 = 8765
Terry 13000 + 5000 = 18000 + 19800 = 37800
Tucker 13200 - 13200 = 0 + 14800 = 14800

Our second Tweet of the Night comes from our runner-up:

FYI I knew Gibraltar. Jeopardy! edited out me doubling over in self-loathing when I realized the answer and didn't have time to change it
— Tucker Pope (@PopeT_7) February 22, 2014

Heartbreak. Them's the breaks, though. I also don't dislike Tucker's wager that much -- especially if he felt Terry wasn't going to make a sufficient bet! I do think that Terry will be one-and-done in the Tournament of Champions, though! (If you want to use this as ammunition to prove me wrong, by all means, go ahead!)

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. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
5. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
6. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
7. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
8. Jerry Slowik $121,800 (5 wins)
9. Joshua Brakhage $103,205 (5 wins)
10. Rebecca Rider $101,600 (5 wins)
11. Sarah McNitt $89,398 (5 wins)
12. Rani Peffer $68,701 (5 wins)
13. Mark Japinga $112,600 (4 wins)
=14. Mike Lewis $102,800 (4 wins)
=14. Arthur Chu $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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Andy's back, and so is Arthur Chu!

This week's contestants:
Sofi Albizuri
Padraic Connelly
Myfanway Davies
Semret Lemma
Josh McIlvain
Stephen Mellis
Chris Sanchez
Lindsey Stallings
Clair Tuley
Dawn Volmert

battling defending champion Arthur Chu!

Today's contestants:

Remember, Josh is doing a Q&A with Jeanie! Let us know if you have any questions you'd like her to ask!

J! round categories:
PLANET FILL-IN
DON'T SONGS
GROUP NAMES OF ANIMALS
COMIC STRIPS IN OTHER WORDS
WHAT DO I STAND FOR?
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY

Both Josh and Sofi got out to an excellent start in this game, and as it turns out, all 3 players decided to start categories in the lower valued clues by the middle of the round! Sofi found the Daily Double under WHAT DO I STAND FOR $1000. Scores:

Sofi $3,600
Josh $2,600
Arthur $1,000

Sofi bet $3,000. Her clue: In BVI, including Tortola. Sofi named the V, and fell to $600.. It seemed to really knock the wind out of Sofi's sails.

By the first break, the scores sat at:
Josh $2,800
Arthur $2,600
Sofi $600

At his retirement, Josh had a speech sprung upon him. In front of a bunch of teachers, his amusing one liner: "I had a speech prepared, but the dog ate it!"

Sofi is a lifelong New York Rangers fan. Her favourite player? Rod Gilbert!

Arthur once volunteered as a costumed character at the White House at Hallowe'en. Apparently he shook Obama's hand in a gory zombie glove. It was awkward.

The second half of the round seemed to drag on quite a bit! We did get through all 30 clues, though! Scores:

Arthur $4,800
Josh $4,600
Sofi $2,600

DJ! round categories:
WRITERS HATIN' ON WRITERS
OSCAR BEST PICTURE PARTIAL MARQUEES
ASIAN CAPITALS
A PROPER BRITISH BURIAL
"BED"
BREAKFAST

Sofi seemed to be shocked each time she got a question right, and took a very long time to select a clue!

OSCAR BEST PICTURE PARTIAL MARQUEES had the Daily Double at its bottom. Arthur got to play it, with scores at:

Arthur $9,600
Josh $5,800
Sofi $3,000

Arthur bet $5,000. I probably would have bet all $9,600 in Arthur's position.

His clue: ??? QUIET ?? ??? ??????? ????? (The third Best Picture winner). Arthur's correct response put him at $14,600!

The Arthur train kept motoring along during this round. I'm surprised that WRITERS HATIN' ON WRITERS $1600 didn't have the Daily Double! It was under ASIAN CAPITALS $800 instead! And yes, Arthur got to play it. Scores:

Arthur $23,400
Sofi $7,000
Josh $5,400

Arthur bet $5,000. Clue: This capital is named for a religion. Another correct response put him at $28,400.

With Sofi stalling, I am absolutely shocked that we made it through all of the clues today!

Scores going into Final:
Arthur $30,800
Sofi $7,000
Josh $5,800

FJ! category: 19th CENTURY PEOPLE

FJ! clue: Frederick Douglass said this man's "zeal in the cause of my race was far greater than mine"

Josh 5800 - 5800 = 0
Sofi 7000 - 7000 = 0
Arthur 30800 - 10000 = 20800

Arthur has now won Game #5! I'll be back tomorrow for the recap of his sixth!

It's really tough to find Tweets of the Night when you have people retweeting half of the snark! It's pretty annoying, if you ask me!

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. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
5. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
6. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
7. Andrew Moore $137,803 (6 wins)
8. Arthur Chu $123,600 (5 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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Andy here with another recap! I know I'm probably a few days behind with this news as I don't check JBoard as often as I should, but it sounds as if Chicago's invitations for auditions have gone out! I was on a date last night and my date casually mentioned that the friend of a friend had been invited for Chicago. My heart skipped about three beats as I fully expected her to say Detroit! Crisis averted.

That being said? If you hear that Detroit auditions have come out...please tell me! Even though the best way of telling me would be via an email from the Contestant Department!

Today's contestants: Myfanwy Davies and Padraic Connelly battling Arthur Chu! Arthur has won $123,600 over 5 days thus far! Will he make it 6?

Some Twitter snark:

tonight's #jeopardy theme is contestants with made up names #padraic #myfanwy
— nora (@noralltogether) February 26, 2014

J! round categories:
STARTS WITH A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
WOLF POTPOURRI
U.N. COUNTRY ABBREVIATIONS
LADIES WHO LUNGE
OUT IN THE BACKYARD
HISTORIC CARS (from the Petersen Automotive Museum)

Arthur started by hunting all over the board! Can we go back to the era where technological limitations forced contestants to take video categories in order? No Daily Double was found and by the time the first break rolled around, the bottom two rows were just about taken out! Scores:

Arthur $5,600
Myfanwy $3,800
Padraic -$800

No surprise for someone who is Welsh, but Myfanwy has sung in many Welsh choirs, both in Ottawa-only groups, and North American-wide ones!

Padraic, while on a cruise ship for a year, took part in a cruise ship rendition of "Hairspray"; one of his costumes was a bunch of grapes and vines!

Arthur's wife commissioned a theme song for an imaginary sitcom: "Arthur Knows Everything". It certainly seems that way after five days!

The only clue on the bottom two rows not called for in the first segment: HISTORIC CARS $800. Guess where the Daily Double was! It was Arthur's to play, and the scores sat at:

Arthur $6,000
Myfanwy $3,800
Padraic -$800

Arthur went for the True Daily Double! Wow. His clue: Inspired by the '56 Packard, The 1962 Chaika was a favorite of Nikita Khrushchev, who owned one himself and gave one as a present to this first cosmonaut.. His correct response put him at $12,000 -- and both opponents now need to move into catch-up mode.

By the end of the round, the scores sat at:
Arthur $15,000
Myfanwy $3,800
Padraic $200

DJ! round categories:
2013 BESTSELLERS
OBSERVATORIES
MOVIE MUSICALS BY SONGS
NET ADVERTISING
LIFE OF RILEY
BACK IN THE 6-"T"s

Neither Myfanwy nor Padraic seemed to have any interest in searching for the Daily Doubles. Some amusement came in when Myfanwy jumped in in front of Padraic on the Hairspray clue in MOVIE MUSICALS! However, once Arthur got control of the board, his first selection of the round -- OBSERVATORIES $2000 -- netted him the first Daily Double of the round!

Scores:
Arthur $15,800
Myfanwy $6,600
Padraic $3,000

Arthur bet $5,000. His clue: Since 1999 a green laser has been beamed into the sky from this observatory to mark the Prime Meridian. Arthur gave a rather cringe-worthy pronouciation but got the money! He went to $20,800.

A Twitter comment:

Come on, Arthur should have been shamed a bit for pronouncing Greenwich, England like the color green and which. Jeopardy whining.
— Stacey Molski (@staceymolski) February 26, 2014

Arthur found the second Daily Double a few clues later under 2013 BESTSELLERS $2000. Scores:

Arthur $22,800
Myfanwy $6,600
Padraic $3,000

Arthur bet $5,000. Clue: The nonfiction book about these title men tells how art historians & museum curators saved art from Nazi looting. Arthur went for "The Resistance" and fell to $17,800. Is it just me or did the authors of this work miss a trick by not making an Inglorious Basterds reference in the title?

Arthur did give his opponents a chance to get back in the game, and then his opponents selected clues as though there was a third Daily Double on the board! Arthur did get most of the clues on the way back to the clubhouse, though, to get his score nearly to $30,000!

Scores going into Final:
Arthur $29,400
Myfanwy $9,800
Padraic $3,400

FJ! category: BUSINESS (Even the writers know it's the Great Equalizer. If only Arthur didn't have a lock.)

FJ! clue: "The Everything Store" is a book about this company that in 2012 was home to 1% of all North American Internet Traffic

Padraic 3400 + 1119 = 4519
Myfanwy 9800 + 9000 = 18800
Arthur 29400 + 5000 = 34400 (6-day total, $158,000.)

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. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
5. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
6. Jared Hall $181,001 (6 wins)
7. Arthur Chu $158,000 (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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Andy here with the recap as Arthur goes for win #7!

But first, our first and only Tweet of the Night:

I published my first post four years ago today. http://t.co/HfcaCPe6Nf
— Jeanie Kenkel (@vamosdavid) February 27, 2014

Yes, February 27th (the day this posts) is the four year anniversary of this website! Wow, we've come a long way! Congratulations to Jeanie on lasting four years and let's hope for plenty more!

On with the game!

Today's contestants!

Today was a rare time I've been happy for Alex to make a Ken Jennings comparison to the champion off the top of the show. Normally it's the kiss of death!

J! round categories:
TOY STORY
A BUG'S LIFE
THE INCREDIBLES
UP
BRAVE
PIX-"R"

All 3 players were complicit in selecting clues off the bottom two rows of the board to start. Of course, there were plenty of Triple Stumpers off the top! At the first break (15 clues), the scores sat at:

Arthur $5,000
Lindsey $2,600
Stephen $1,400

Stephen wrote and published a novel at the age of 13: It was called, "Dink Jones: Pentagon Lab Rat Explorer." It wasn't quite the bestseller that Gordon Korman's "This Can't Be Happening At MacDonald Hall" was -- written at the age of 12!

Lindsey just recently ran her first marathon; apparently the marathon had a "trivia mile" around mile 19!

Arthur was part of an improv group in Washington; no elected officials, though! "Because they have no sense of humour", Alex said.

Back to the game, UP $600 had the Daily Double and it was Stephen who found it! Scores:

Arthur $5,600
Lindsey $3,200
Stephen $1,800

Stephen went for the True Daily Double. His clue: In their military careers, Princes William and Harry were both primarily trained as pilots of these. His correct response put him at $3,600!

By the end of the round, the scores sat at:
Arthur $7,000
Stephen $5,000
Lindsay $3,600

DJ! round categories:
POLITICAL CONVENTION KEYNOTERS
LITERARY DOCTORS
NEW ORLEANS
"PHIL"-OSOPHY
POP CULTURE
PEAS ON EARTH

I will say, I do give our two challenges credit today for joining Arthur in the Daily Double hunt. So many times, contestants get locked in to taking categories their way and are unable to adapt to what's going on around them! To Arthur's credit, though, LITERARY DOCTORS $2000 was his first selection of the round and it contained the first betting clue! Scores:

Arthur $8,200
Stephen $5,000
Lindsey $3,600

Arthur calmly states "True Daily Double, Alex." Surprisingly, Alex doesn't express any emotion towards this attitude. Arthur's clue: Shipwrecked in the South Seas, Edward Prendick stumbles on the island of this doctor who's creating human-animal hybrids. Arthur immediately gives the correct response and moves to $16,400!

(Wow. I thought that this category would be about doctors who were also famous writers. That is one reason to take the $400 clues -- to get a feel for the category!)

An amusing Triple Stumper for me, under POP CULTURE $1200: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin & Andrew Dice Clay were all in this 2013 Woody Allen movie. I wrote a question about this film being Woody Allen's 16th screenplay Oscar nomination which ran in my pub quiz last night!

Arthur's score broke $20,000 and $25,000 before the second Daily Double was found! It was under POLITICAL CONVENTION KEYNOTERS $1200. Scores:

Arthur $27,200
Lindsey $10,000
Stephen $5,800

Arthur bet $7,000. His clue: Republicans, 1944: This Californian future Chief Justice. Arthur went for Rehnquist (a bit of a head-scratcher, both location- and time-wise) as his score dropped to $20,200.

Arthur's buzzer mojo then took over, as he knocked off a number of $400 and $800 clues on the way into the clubhouse to ensure he still had a runaway! It must be nice to be so confident in your buzzer skills that you can afford to bet more on Daily Doubles!

Scores going into Final:
Arthur $22,600
Lindsey $10,800
Stephen $7,800

FJ! category: SINGERS

FJ! clue: The only solo artist to have 5 Billboard No. 1 albums before the age of 19

Stephen 7800 - 5000 = 2800
Lindsay 10800 - 6000 = 4800
Arthur 22600 - 600 = 22000

Jeanie will have tomorrow's recap as Arthur goes for Win #8 tomorrow!

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. Ben Ingram $176,534 (8 wins)
5. Drew Horwood $138,100 (8 wins)
6. Arthur Chu $180,000 (7 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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

Yesterday Andy mentioned we celebrated the 4th anniversary of this blog. Look at the retweet I woke up to:

Happy 4 year anniversary boys! @ctomasevicz @StevenHolcomb @justinbolsen #2010gold pic.twitter.com/YWyCShsL6S
— Steve Mesler (@SteveMesler) February 27, 2014

Very cool coincidence. I'm pleased to add a four years ago link to the bottom of each post!
I'd be remiss if I didn't show you that Drew Scheeler appears on this week's episode of The Experts Show.

Look what Drew's said:

@vamosdavid @TheExpertsShow If I write something up about my time on The Experts, would you want to publish it at The Jeopardy! Fan, Jeanie?
— Drew Scheeler (@drewscheeler) February 24, 2014

Yes!
I've decided to post my Crackle Coryats within posts and not comments. I've found that when you put words in the search widget on the right side of the page, if those words appear in a comment they won't be listed in your search results. Making it a pain to find which Crackle episodes I've already played. What a mess. From now on I'm playing 'em in order. Anyway my score on the Andy Westney episode (2-20-91) is 21800 (27400 without negs). On Leslie Shannon's (10-4-92), my score was 22600 (25000 without negs). My Coryat for this weekend's rerun, originally airing 1-4-13, was 19800 (21800 without negs). The first time I played, my score was 15600 (20800 without negs).
On to today's show.

Claire Tuley

Arthur Chu

Chris Sanchez

Arthur's looking so comfortable now he's leaning on the lectern as he plays. After only two clues he'd opened an 1800-sized gap when he got the first clue right and his opponents negged on the next clue, a triple-stumper. This next one was a triple-stumper too, in 5-Letter Words: "& in other news, change a letter in the name of a sea creature & you get this short filler item in a newspaper." My first bachelor's is in Communications, and I'd never heard of this.
At the first break:
Arthur 4000 (6 right and one wrong)
Chris 1000 (3 right and one wrong)
Claire 1800 (3 right and one wrong)
Arthur revealed today he's only 29! He found the Daily Double of the round in 5-Letter Words.
Arthur 5400 (3 right)
Chris 1000
Claire1800
Arthur wagered all 5400 on this clue: "A recess in a wall, or a situation suited to a person; we hope you've found yours." Is it just me or is Arthur getting really easy Daily Doubles?
Maybe because there were so many triple-stumpers, there were 3 clues left on the board at the end of the round.
Arthur 12000 (4 right)
Chris 1400 (One right)
Claire 2400 (One right)
This was a triple-stumper, in State Birds!: "Both Montana and Nebraska have the Western type of this bird."

Look, I intentionally kept the bird decal in the picture above. ;-) That one is a woodpecker, though. If you are not from Nebraska, did you know this one?
Arthur found the first Daily Double of the round, in U.S. Government.
Arthur 14800 (2 right)
Chris 4600 (2 right)
Claire 4000 (One right)
Arthur wagered his usual 5000 on this clue: "Financial need for a federal Pell grant is determined by this department." Arthur got it right.
It had to really sting Chris when he negged on this one in CNN Religion, and Arthur picked it up...for 2000!: "Exciting archaelogical finds such as clay seals & the names of Biblical figures have been unearthed in this 3,000-year-old part of Jerusalem known as the city of this Biblical king." And Arthur had just gotten 5 right. By the time he found the next Daily Double, still in CNN Religion, this is what we saw:
Arthur 31000 (8 right)
Chris 2600 (One wrong)
Claire 5200 (One right)
Arthur wagered 10000 this time on this clue: "A 2013 CNN special on him, 'A Man of Many Firsts,' included his newsmaking line 'Who am I to judge?" Easy Daily Double again, for the third time today alone. Incidentally I was hoping Christiane Amanpour would've read one of these clues!
I do believe I swept 1980s Bookstore.
How was this one a triple-stumper in State Birds?: "This state bird of Maryland is black & orange." And Chris negged on it!
Even though Mr. Trebek had given the less-than-a-minute warning with 5 clues left in the round, we saw them all. So at the end of the round:
Arthur 44200 (5 right) (No, that's not a typo.)
Chris 1800 (One wrong)
Claire 6000 (One right)
I don't remember seeing a total this high, before the Final. Mr. Trebek said (eventually) the highest one-day total was 77000.
The Final category was Landmarks. This was the clue: "From 1936 to 1987, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power helped operate this facility in another state." I got it right, as did all 3 contestants. Chris added 1798, Claire added 2000, and Arthur? He added 14000.
So Arthur's opponents were competitive...with each other.
Like yesterday, I didn't feel like tracking my Coryat. Unlike yesterday, though, I'm glad I didn't.

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 $238,200 (8 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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

One year ago: The Cheese stands alone
Two years ago: Another Oracle of Omaha?
Three years ago: How about a mulligan?
Four years ago!: Welcome to the Jeopardy! Fan...

You guys, don't forget that the 90s piece of the Battle of the Decades tournament airs next week. I saw it in person, so come back here for the scoop.
Today Mr. Trebek said at the top of the show that Arthur Chu is number 3 in cash winnings from regular games. It reminded me of this tweet I'd seen earlier:

I thought it'd take a little longer, but I'm ok being dropped to #4 on the @Jeopardy list by a player as good as @arthur_affect. Congrats!
— Tom Nissley (@TomNissley) February 28, 2014

I found it amusing that Mr. Trebek said one of the two with more winnings had won 19 games, and the other "of course" is Ken Jennings. As if we don't know who the former is.

Dawn Volmert

Arthur

Semret Lemma

Surprising triple-stumper here in The Cookie Aisle: "This shortbread cookie has a literary heritage - it's named for a 19th century novel heroine." I'm almost sure I swept the category.

Arthur found the Daily Double of the round in States by Counties.

Arthur 1800 (4 right and one wrong)

Semret 2400 (3 right)

Dawn! 1400 (3 right and one wrong)

Arthur can't wager 5000 this time. He did wager it all on this: "Nez Perce, Lincoln, Gem." He got it right. At the first break:

Arthur 3000 (One wrong)

Semret 3000 (One right)

Dawn! 1600 (One right and one wrong)

WHOA WHOA WHOA they showed Arthur's wife during his interview! I've gotta get a pic:

Another reminder of Nissley, who supported his wife's dream too with his winnings. In Arthur's case, his wife is writing a fantasy novel.

Next surprising triple-stumper, in States by Counties: "Petroleum, Lincoln, Big Horn." Every clue had a "Lincoln" in it, but none of the correct responses was Nebraska! We do have a Lincoln county just a stone's throw from me.

At the end of the round:

Arthur 7200 (9 right)

Semret 2200

Dawn! 3000 (5 right)

If Semret didn't sweep Who Sang It First?, he came close. Soon he rebounded on an Arthur neg. Then it was Arthur's turn to get a whole bunch right, before Semret found the first Daily Double in Photography.

Arthur 10800 (5 right and 3 wrong)

Semret 10200 (7 right)

Dawn! 6200 (2 right)

Semret wagered just 1200 (?!) on this clue: "In 1929 this 2-word phrase was coined for Erich Salomon's spontaneous photo technique, later used by Allen Funt." They must've expected Arthur to find this one, because it was easy. Semret got it wrong though!

Arthur found the next Daily Double in Rip Van Winkle. I was scared for his opponents.

Arthur 11600 (One right)

Semret 9400 (One right)

Dawn! 6200

Arthur wagered 8000 on this clue: "The strange men playing 9-pins were said to be this British captain& his crew, who would visit the area every 20 years." Arthur got it!

At the end of the round:

Arthur 22400 (3 right and one wrong)

Semret 11400 (3 right)

Dawn! 7400 (One right)

The Final Jeopardy category was Modern Day Suffixes. What?? Even Mr. Trebek had to turn to read it from the monitor after the commercial break. This is the clue: "Dating from 1973, this 4-letter suffix indicates a person or thing that has become associated with public scandal." For real? Come on, Jeopardy! Dawn got it right and added 4001. Semret got it and added 10600. Arthur got it and added just 400. He'd have tied Semret if he'd been wrong!

Here's an update to the ToC list:

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 $261,000 (0 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. Salvo Candela $66,195 (3 wins)
20. Neal Pollack $60,798 (3 wins)
21. John Anneken $60,112 (3 wins)
22. Tim Anderson $56,001 (3 wins)
23. Stuart Anderson $51,601 (3 wins)
24. Bill Tolany $44,200 (3 wins)

I didn't track my Coryat again today. My Internet connection's been slow with this hotspot, and I'm hoping to go somewhere tonight. Turns out it was fast, but oh well.

One year ago: Is This the Last Game Josh'll Play for You?

Two years ago: Talking Soup

Three years ago: Sit a Spell

Four years ago: Welcome to The Jeopardy! Fan...

Andy here and we get a week's worth of past champions returning!

The 90s Battle of the Decades players:
Eddie Timanus
Babu Srinivasan
Rachael Schwartz
Pam Mueller
Dan Melia
Ryan "Fritz" Holznagel
Shane Whitlock
Bob Harris
Robin Carroll
Claudia Perry
Mark Dawson
Dave Abbott
Brad Rutter
Mike Dupee
Jill Bunzendahl-Chimka

Jeanie is doing a Q&A with Robin Carroll, who plays Wednesday, before and after her show, so if you have anything you'd like her to ask, let us know! Also remember that we have a Q&A publishing soon with Josh, who lost to Arthur Chu last week!

Today's contestants:

J! round categories:
STEPHEN KING
ROLE IN COMMON
ON THE "GO"
THE 90s
DOT COM
BOOM!

Remember, Alex gives Eddie a Braille card with the categories on it, and a soft tone beeps when the clue ends!

Eddie left ROLE IN COMMON to go BOOM. Rachael went back and found the Daily Double under the $800 clue! Scores:

Rachael $800
Eddie $600
Babu $0

Rachael bet just $500. Her clue: Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Richard Harris. All Rachael could come up with was Henry Higgins and she fell to $300.

At the first break, the scores were:

Eddie $1,200
Babu $400
Rachael -$500

Eddie dropped a great line on Alex during his interview: "And, um, may I also say that gold tie looks wonderful on you?"

Babu has spent $4,400 on a camera. To take pictures of his cat. To share them on the Internet. "That's why they invented the Internet, you know..."

Rachel's applying to PhD programs, wanting to study aging and longevity!

A whole bunch of Triple Stumpers coming to the turn. A very difficult Jeopardy! round board. After 30, the scores were:

Eddie $2,400
Rachael $1,700
Babu $1,200

DJ! Round categories:
2014 ANNIVERSARIES
ON THE MAP
THE LAST CENTURY
THE ELEMENTS
1990s NO. 1 HITS
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD CLUES "L"

Much like the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, Babu had issues with coming close to answers, but being not quite there. He said "I'm So Sexy" instead of "I'm Too Sexy" when dealing with the Right Said Fred song in 1990s NO. 1 HITS! It enabled Eddie to run the category and earn applause!

Our first Tweet of the Night:

Eddie is going to be in all your nightmares tonight. #Jeopardy
— THRILLHO (@PatriotsDasein) March 4, 2014

After dominating, Eddie gave up control to Rachael on the $1600 ELEMENTS clue, who then hit the Daily Double at $2000! Scores:

Eddie $11,200
Rachael $3,700
Babu $800

Rachael bet just $1,000. Her clue: This element is named for a mythological king for whom food was always just out of reach. Her correct response put her at $4,700!

2014 ANNIVERSARIES had the last Daily Double! It was under the $1200 slot. There was a $1600 and $2000 clue remaining. Scores:

Eddie $12,800
Rachael $9,500
Babu $2,000

Rachael bet $1,000. Her clue: Happy 400th anniversary to this interracial couple who tied the knot in Jamestown. Rachael's correct response put her at $10,500. Such wasted opportunities, though.

At the end of the DJ! round, the scores sat at:
Eddie $14,400
Rachael $10,500
Babu $2,000

FJ! category: PRESIDENTS

FJ! clue: He is the only 19th century President to serve 2 complete terms with the same vice president

Babu 2000 - 2000 = 0
Rachael 10500 - 2600 = 7900
Eddie 14400 - 6700 = 7700

(I coin flipped and picked the wrong James.)

And our second Tweet of the Night:

Morning, Twitterverse. And in their darkest hours you can hear them say, I'd give all I got for just one more shot at the one that got away.
— Eddie Timanus (@EddieTimanus) March 4, 2014

I was cheering for you, Eddie...

That makes it 6 for 6, I believe, now, with Tournament of Champions winners making the Tournament of the Decades! Up tomorrow? Pam Mueller, Dan Melia, and Fritz Holznagel! Jeanie will have the recap!

Here it is - the beginning of my behind-the-scenes account from 90s week (day, for me). You've come to the right place.
Mercifully, I arrived the night before as scheduled. (I wasn't so lucky for 80s week.) What did go wrong is I went to the wrong Travelodge to start, and it was already kind of late. Also, I had to pay an additional $5 a night for parking at the right hotel. To me that's wrong. But I won't complain because the hotel had ESPN and ESPN2, which was handy when I woke up the next day at 2 a.m. The Australian Open was going on, and if you can't sleep that's the next best thing. Sometimes, it's better! Especially if Stan Wawrinka, or anyone else, defeats Novak Djokovic. I see now the match lasted 240 minutes.
I knew I wanted to get to the Sony studios at least an hour before the 45-minutes-ahead (10:30 a.m.) that is recommended. I got there at 9:15. ;-) I didn't want to take any chances, and I won't next time either. I'm proud of this:

The next people to arrive turned out to be Randy and Lillian, guests of Mark Dawson. They were very nice, chatty people, and they helped me out a lot. For example, Randy approached these two for me when I suspected the lady in the middle of this picture was Christine Valada:

It was, and the lady at right is Lisa Klink. I also saw Cliff Galiher, Michael Rooney and Bob Harris's girlfriend, as well as a woman someone said was Brad Rutter's publicist. (I don't know if that's true.) Then I saw Jerome Vered and Alan Bailey.
Incidentally, Lillian surprised me when she said off-handedly after hearing I was from Nebraska, "I know someone in Kearney." Are you kidding?! That's where I live! Strange coincidence.
I was seated on the same side of the audience as the contestants, which of course I love. Bob Harris looked at me and smiled. Of course we couldn't really talk yet because he hadn't played. And guess who was back. Contestant coordinator Robert! He wasn't there the month before, and I was afraid he was gone. The first thing he said was "Are you here tomorrow?" I hoped I'd be given the chance to eat lunch in the Sony cafeteria again. :-) Robert made me laugh later when he was naming the contestants for today's episode. He moved his head around in a circle before choosing Pam. Robert winked at me.
Randy and Lillian both e-mailed me after the taping that day. You'll find out later this week if I'll see them again. ;-)
Before I get to today's episode, I finished India Cooper's classic one this weekend. My Coryat was 15000 (18400 without negs). I played Richard Cordray's, too (4-21-87): 12600 (15800 without negs). My Coryat on the weekend episode, which originally aired 1-7-13, was 28200 (31200 without negs). The first time I played, my score was 25000 (28800 without negs).

Pam Mueller

Fritz Holznagel

Dan Melia

Pam looked different with her red hair!
Fritz found the first Daily Double, in Like It's 1998.
Fritz 1200 (2 right)
Dan 0
Pam 1400 (3 right)
Fritz wagered 1111 (?) on this clue: "On July 17 this ruler& some of his family members were re-buried in St. Petersburg." He got it right.
At the first break:
Fritz 5111 (4 right)
Dan -200 (One right and one wrong)
Pam 2400 (3 right)
It was fun to watch Brad as Pam told the story of being recognized when they were together in New York City. Mr. Trebek said "You go, girl!" Then Dan told the story of being married by Bob Harris on the Jeopardy! stage. But wait...Did Trebek say Bob was appearing tomorrow?! Heads snapped all around in the studio. Later a contestant coordinator said to the contestants, "Alex and his big mouth."
At the end of the round:
Fritz 7711 (5 right)
Dan 2200 (3 right)
Pam 4200 (4 right and one wrong)
Dan found the first Daily Double of the round in Art & Artists.
Fritz 7311 (One wrong)
Dan 6200 (4 right and 2 wrong)
Pam 4600 (One right and one wrong)
Dan wagered 2500 on this clue: "His 1911 work 'I and the Village' evokes the look of his Hasidic hometown." Dan missed it. Pam then promptly swept As "If"! Then, Fritz got one right and found the next Daily Double in Science Timeline.
Fritz 8511 (One right)
Dan 3700
Pam 12600 (6 right)
Fritz said he wasn't crazy about the category, then wagered 777 on this clue: "In 1576 King Frederick II granted him title to the island of Ven to build an observatory." Fritz missed it.
At the end of the round:
Fritz 12934 (4 right)
Dan 5700 (2 right)
Pam 17000 (5 right)
The Final Jeopardy category was Borders. Now, I wish you could've seen Pam carry on while she appeared to calculate her wager. Good thing I'm here for you. She looked stressed resting her head on her hand as she wrote during the break, and she took a really long time. Eventually Mr. Trebek said to her, "Have you got your wager made?"
Here's the clue: "Twice as long as Hadrian's Wall, Offa's Dyke was the traditional border between these 2 lands." Dan got it right and added 4000. Fritz got it wrong and lost 1331. Pam got it wrong too. So that wager she appeared to agonize over? 0. 0! I thought the studio audience went a little more nuts than it sounded like tonight from home. Anyway we'll see Pam in a couple months. And as you know, we'll see Bob tomorrow.
I noticed after Pam played she went from high heels to foam flipflops. I wondered what she'd wear the next night at the pub!
One year ago: Anecdotally speaking
Two years ago: Know and Tell
Three years ago: I've got to keep on Walken
Four years ago: Introducing calendar clues

Do you remember when I told you about the new "Sports Jeopardy" app? The guy who told me about it is giving me 5 free downloads of the Jeopardy! app for iPhone/iPod Touch, and 5 for iPad. Since you guys have responded so overwhelmingly when I've asked you to post your Coryats (not), all I ask is: leave a comment on any post saying you want one, and it's yours. The first 10 people, then.
Speaking of comments, don't forget that Robin Carroll is answering your questions here. Please leave a comment with them.
These are my Crackle Coryats this time: Pam Mueller (10-23-01): 23200 (24800 without negs). Eddie Timanus (10-26-99): 27400 (28800 without negs).

Bob Harris

Robin Carroll

Shane Whitlock

That was nice of Shane to mouth the words "Thank you" when Johnny said the fans voted him into the tournament.
Mr. Trebek noted that 2 women have advanced in the tournament so far.
The Daily Double was just the second clue of the round, in the 400 spot of Holidays! Bob had gotten the first clue right (worth 200), so the Daily Double was his. He wagered 1000. This is the clue: "In 2011 the 250th edition of a real oldie hit parade marched up New York's 5th Avenue on this date." Bob missed it, but he made the audience laugh when he said "I've been there before" after Mr. Trebek said he was at -800. He was soon to be joined by Robin and Shane, in the red!
Shane is from Arkansas, but he didn't get any of the Bill Clinton clues. In fact he negged on the last clue in the category. That was the least clue before the first break.
Robin 3200 (8 right and one wrong)
Bob -800 (One right and one wrong)
Shane -400 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Mr. Trebek asked Bob about his latest book. You can buy it here: The International Bank of Bob: Connecting Our Worlds One $25 Kiva Loan at a Time

, or by clicking on the widget on the right side of the page. I just finally bought one for myself a minute ago! When Bob was in the audience for regular episodes in December, Mr. Trebek acted like Bob had only written one book, but in fact he has written several (and I hope many more). I was glad Mr. Trebek got it right this time. Bob autographed a couple of them for me when I met him at the National History Bowl a couple of years ago! In fact Bob spoke about the International Bank book at that event! Were you surprised Bob gave a URL and it was allowed to stay in his interview? Maybe because it's a charity!
At the end of the round:
Robin 2000 (2 right and 4 wrong!)
Bob 1200 (5 right and one wrong)
Shane 400 (3 right)
During the commercial break in the studio, Mr. Trebek said he wanted to reread the triple-stumper where Eddie Murphy was quoted - He said he wanted to do it in Murphy's voice!
Shane found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in Nature. Do you expect these scores from these champions at this point in the game?
Robin 800 (One wrong)
Bob 1200 (2 right and one wrong)
Shane 2800 (2 right)
Shane wagered it all on this clue: "A type of warship, or a soaring bird with a nearly 8-foot wingspan that might follow it." He missed it. :-(
Robin soon found the next Daily Double, in British Authors.
Robin 2800 (2 right)
Bob 1200
Shane 400 (One right)
Robin wagered 2000 on this clue: "In an 1890 letter, he called himself 'a Polish nobleman, cased in British tar." She got it right!
At the end of the round:
Robin 5600 (One right)
Bob 6000 (5 right)
Shane 10000 (8 right)
The Final Jeopardy category was 4-Letter Words. This was the clue: "New research says this word that has become ubiquitous dates back to young men also called 'macaronis.'" I'm dying to know what you guys think of this clue. Robin wagered everything and had it right! Bob got it wrong and lost it all. Shane had no response and he lost 2001. Robin advances!
I am really looking forward to seeing Dave Abbott, Mark Dawson and Claudia Perry play tomorrow.
One year ago: 39 Minutes of Boredom...1 Minute of Thought-Provoking Stuff!
Two years ago: Know and tell
Three years ago: What is Frye?
Four years ago: Just in time for the Oscars...

Don't forget I have codes for free downloads of the Jeopardy! game app. Just leave a comment somewhere saying you want one.
After the Wednesday episode at the Sony studio comes lunch. I had made my mind up not to leave so that I'd be ready when audience members were being admitted for the afternoon. This was much to the chagrin of Randy and Lillian, guests of Mark Dawson who I'd met that morning. But another person joined them - the lady I sat next to in the studio that morning. I'd asked her if she was coming back, and she said she didn't have a ticket for the afternoon. Luckily, I'd reserved two online. So I offered her mine, and she seemed overjoyed. She was nice enough to bring lunch back to me from a nearby Indian place, though I didn't eat it til that night.
After lunch, I happened to sit next to Claudia Perry's guests, and she waved at them. One said, "She looks great." Bob's girlfriend sat in front of me in the afternoon. Bob of course had already played but I don't know where he was.

Claudia Perry

Dave Abbott

Mark Dawson

Once again Mr. Trebek mentioned that all the winners this week have been female.
My parents were over today, and we watched the show together. I got to tell them what I'm now telling you. I'd forgotten Nebraska was a category.
I'd never heard of this book but I'm still intrigued by it, from On the Bookshelf: "'The Devil's Candy' chronicled the disastrous film production of this Tom Wolfe bestseller." Has anyone read it?
At the first break:
Dave 3200 (6 right and one wrong)
Mark 3000 (6 right)
Claudia 1400 (3 right)
How cool that Claudia spent her 50th birthday in Antarctica. But would you guess she's 50? And I wonder how long ago that was - Mr. Trebek acted like she'd spent her Jeopardy! winnings on the trip.
I was alarmed that a chunk was cut out of Dave's interview. Mr. Trebek dissed Dave's behavior (arm-in-arm on the floor with his dad and laughing about Dave's original-run winnings "like a couple of kids"). I forget the words Mr. Trebek used.
Mark found the Daily Double of the round in Internal Fluidity.
Dave 3800 (One right)
Mark 6200 (5 right)
Claudia 1800 (One right)
Mark wagered 3000 on this clue: "Plasma is blood without cells; this is blood without cells & clotting factors." I got this one right from the audience, but Mark got it wrong.
One of the It Was the 90s clues had to be replaced - It was a video clue of Sarah and Jimmy doing the Macarena. When Mr. Trebek was surprised no one remembered it, the contestants pointed out that the lights never came on to signal that they could ring in.
At the end of the round:
Dave 4600 (One right)
Mark 6800 (5 right)
Claudia 2600 (One right)
My parents and I puzzled over the category title Welcome to the Jute Mill. At the studio, Mr. Trebek mentioned that it was staffer John Lauderdale's dream category, but that didn't give me any hints as to what it was.
Mark found the first Daily Double of the round in Consider That a Divorce.
Dave 6600 (2 right)
Mark 10800 (4 right)
Claudia 7800 (6 right and one wrong)
Mark wagered 800 on this clue: "Their storybook royal romance produced 2 daughters but ended in 1996." I got this one right from the audience too, but Mark missed it. But guess what. He found the final Daily Double too, in Islands in the Stream.
Dave 9800 (3 right)
Mark 13600 (3 right)
Claudia 6200 (One wrong)
This time Mark wagered 2000, on this clue: "Elephantine Island & Kitchener's Island." He got it wrong too. There were 8 clues left on the board. At the end of the round:
Dave 16200 (Four right and one wrong)
Mark 13600 (2 right)
Claudia 5800 (One right and 2 wrong)
I notice Mark didn't neg, but he did lose 5800 on Daily Doubles!
The Final Jeopardy category was Pulitzer Prize-Winning Authors. This was the clue: "He's the most recent winner of 2 Pulitzer prizes for fiction, winning in 1982 & 1991 for books in the same series." I was lost on this one, but Claudia and Mark got it right. They added 5800 and 1999, respectively. So Dave was still leading, til it was revealed he got it wrong and wagered 11001. I'll see Mark (and Randy and Lillian) again, then!
At the end of that day (after Friday's taping), Lillian helped me into the Sony party meant for contestants and their guests. Dave looked especially devastated about his loss there. My new "friend," the lady who used my extra ticket, came too. She was so pleased, she hugged me afterward.

One year ago: 39 Minutes of Boredom...and 1 Minute of Thought-Provoking Stuff!
Two years ago: Know and tell
Three years ago: What is Frye?
Four years ago: Jeopar-daddy

Andy here!

Last I heard from Jeanie, we still have codes available for the iPhone and iPad Jeopardy! game. I believe we have 1 iPad code and 5 iPhone codes left! Let us know if you want one!

Onto Friday for the Battle of the Decades! I believe this means that Arthur Chu returns on Monday...

Today's contestants:

Our first Tweet of the Night:

*drooling over Brad Rutter on Jeopardy*😍😍😍😍
— Emily Spaulding (@misfitglory182) March 8, 2014

I don't think that Emily was the only person thinking that!

J! round categories:
OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB
THE 2-DOORS
THE WORLD WIDE "WEB"
ALL SORTS OF SPORTS
THE NEW YORK TIMES THE 1990s
HAIL TO THE CHEF

Going into the game, against Brad and Mike, I probably would have set the over/under on "number of times Jill rings in" at 2.5 -- and taken the under. Brad dominated the buzzer over the first 15 clues, getting in 10 times. Mike got in 5 -- with 2 negs. Scores after 15:

Brad $5,600 (10 right)
Mike $400 (3 right, 2 wrong)
Jill $0

Brad had tried out for the College tournament but didn't get on. I'd say that worked out pretty well for him!

Mike's mother told him to wait until he was 30 to try out for Jeopardy!, as apparently 30 is the perfect age for a Jeopardy! contestant. I'm 30 this year... (hint hint!)

Jill was pregnant with her daughter the last time she was on Jeopardy!; her daughter is now watching her play in the audience!

Coming out of the break, it was Mike who got to play the first Daily Double, under NEW YORK TIMES $1000! Scores:

Brad $7,200
Mike $1,600
Jill $0

Mike bet $1,500. His clue: "Accord reached to end the war in Bosnia" in a 1995 story datelined this Midwest U.S. city. His correct response put him at $3,100!

It took Jill until the 22nd clue of the round to get in on the buzzer; she picked up $400 in THE WORLD WIDE "WEB".

Brad took a couple of negs on the way into the turn, bringing Mike a little bit closer after 30 clues! Scores:

Brad $7,200 (15 right, 2 wrong)
Mike $5,100 (9 right, 2 wrong)
Jill $1,200 (2 right)

DJ! round categories:
ASIAN GEOGRAPHY
MOVIE SONGS
14-LETTER WORDS
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
CAUSES & EFFECTS
TELL US WHAT HE'S WON!

Brad started hunting down Daily Doubles and his first selection of the round, AMERICAN REVOLUTION $1200, had one! Scores:

Brad $8,000
Mike $5,500
Jill $1,200

Brad bet $3,000. His clue: On Dec. 16, 1773 members of this 8-year-old group left a meeting to board British ships & dump tea. His correct response put him at $11,000!

And, as it always seems to, the $1600 clue on the leftmost category on the board had the other Daily Double. Brad's again. Scores:

Brad $12,200
Mike $7,500
Jill $1,200

Brad bet $2,000, claiming that the Daily Double was going to be "evil". His clue: Kotte, a suburb of this city, was once a capital of Sinhalese kings. His correct response put him at $14,200!

An interesting occurrence late: in CAUSES & EFFECTS $1200, Brad first said "streptolococcus", and when asked to change his answer, said "streptococcus". This is the second time this has happened recently, when a contestant changed his answer when asked to repeat. Remember that Chip was allowed 3 attempts at "Narragansett Bay"! However, I commend the judges for ruling on them both the same way! You may disagree with the rule itself, but the judges are consistent!

Brad got the final $2,000 clue of the game correct, ensuring he had a lock game!

Scores going into Final:
Brad $30,600 (17 right, 1 wrong)
Mike $14,300 (10 right)
Jill $0 (1 right, 1 wrong)

FJ! category: BIBLICAL NAMES

FJ! clue: In Genesis 4 this name is chosen because God "hath appointed me another seed"

Mike 14300 + 14000 = 28300
Brad 30600 - 0 = 30600

So the "streptolococcus" thing ends up being huge and puts Brad through to the quarterfinals!

And our second tweet of the night:

My all-time Jeopardy fave @bradrutter just won again!! I love every time he comes back!
— Kate. (@RedHeadedScot) March 8, 2014

See you next week!

What They Called The Game Of Death

2014 College Championship Day 1

More More Posts

What do you think?

Misery loves company

I'm under the gun so I'm blogging on the run

A Bowl game comes to Husker Nation

Terry's got the boys on a "string"

When bad things happen to good people

Johnny Gilbert, Rap God

The Dog Ate It

Crisis Averted

Happy 4th Anniversary!

These Happy Golden Years

How the Cookie crumbles

Where Alex Wears A Gold Tie

You go, girl

Doodle dandy

Consider that a win

The Judges, If Nothing Else, Are Consistent