Burning the midday oil

    I'm staying up late to blog today because Andy up and went to a Blue Jays game last night. And I'm jealous. I should put a Jeopardy! spoiler in this post's title as some sort of revenge, since our posts tweet automatically upon publication. ;-) But hey, if I can stay up late to watch tennis I can do it for Jeopardy! Just not every day.
     Here's an indication you may be in for a wild read: I'd forgotten I turned the TV on and thought from the other room, "What is that noise?" There you go.
     Scott Singer really impressed Andy yesterday with his first win, though Mr. Trebek said at the beginning of this episode "I was very excited about yesterday's program because al three players performed extremely well." Did Scott do it again?

Scott

Mike Lewis

Julia Lent (I love the bright red.)

     Yesterday, Scott seemed to be hunting for the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round, but someone else found it at 400. Today Scott started with a 400 clue, but Julia found it at 400 in another category (The Vice Presidency). She'd gotten 2 right and had 400. Mike had gotten one right and also had 400, and Scott had not responded yet. Julia wisely wagered 1000 on this clue, read by Vice President Biden: "The vice president is a member of the board of regents of this, 'America's attic.'" Julia knew it immediately and gave her response before Biden was even off the screen. I'd never have gotten it.
     Scott went on a roll then, answering 6 before the first break. He had 4000. Julia got one right and had 2200, and the ever-smiling Mike got 2 right and had 1600.
     Mr. Trebek gave the minute-to-go warning with 7 clues left, and 3 were left covered. Maybe he spoke to the contestants too long? Otherwise the game was moving briskly! Scott got 5 right and one wrong since the break, and ended the round with 7000. Julia got one right and had 3000. Mike got 2 right and 2 wrong and had 4200.
     Happily, Scott found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in German History. Mr. Trebek seemed to egg him on by saying Scott appeared comfortable with the category and had the most money with 13400. He'd gotten 8 right and one wrong since the round began. Julia had gotten 2 right and had 6200. Mike had gotten 4 right and had 9000. Scott wagered 2400 on this clue: "In 1919 the National Assembly met in this city to write a new constitution & establish a federal republic." Scott got it!
     Mike found the next Daily Double in It's Gary. It seemed to me he'd have more money than 14600, even though that's a lot. Scott had 21000 though. And Julia still had 6200. Scott and Mike had each gotten 5 right since Scott's Daily Double. There were 3 clues on the board after this one. Mike wagered 6400 on this clue: "This actor is in the Lt. Dan Band." This was a snap for me, and apparently for Mike. He got it, tying Scott for the lead. This was a gutsy wager.
     Mike got the last 3 clues right, giving him 25000 going into the Final. The category was Art Subjects. I'm lucky to have seen Goya's stuff myself in Madrid, and I've been to a bullfight there, but I didn't need to have gone there to answer this one easily: "In 1816 Francisco Goya published a series of 33 etchings called 'La Tauromaquia,' depicting this activity." This is the kind of clue I wish had been my own Final. I was very surprised only one contestant got it. No surprise: It was Mike. Not that it matters for the win, but he added 10000. Scott lost 4001 and Julia lost 1000. (She didn't write anything!)
     Two great games in a row. My Coryat today was 26800 (28800 without negs). I'll be blogging here again in just a few hours! And I love it!